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The Heart Beat of True Popularity Begins From Unpopular Positions
October 10, 2013 destroyerofharmony1983, Alameda All Stars, Alan Fitzgerald, AOR Rock Format, artists, audition, Bernie Torme, bio, Brad Gillis, brother, California, Chippin Away, composer, Different, discover, drummer, Eight Finger tapping, era, Eric Martin, exploded, Geffen Records, headlining act, history, interim player, Jack Blades, Jeff Watson, John Kalodner, Kelly Keagy, L.A, Let Him Run, LP, major label deal, metal cred, Metal Health, Midnight Madness, Montrose, Mr Big fame, new, Night Ranger, not rookies, opening act, outcasts, Ozzy Osbourne, paid their dues, parents, Passion Play, past, Pat Thrall, Pat Travers, Pat Travers Band, piano piece transposed, Preston Thrall, progress, psuedo supergroup, Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads, Ranger, Record Labels, REO Speedwagon, replacement, results from the unpopular, rock band, Ronnie Montrose, Rubicon, Rudy Sarzo, Rumours In The Air, Sacramento, Sammy Hagar, seasoned, second album, sequencing, Seventies, Sharon Arden, Sharon Osbourne, Shred Hall Of Fame, shredder, Side 1, Side 2, side project, Sister Christian, Sly and The Family Stone, Spotify, Stereo, suits, supergroup, Ted Nugent, The Hero, Tommy Aldridge, Tommy Shaw, Touch Of Madness, uniqueness, us vs them, virtuoso guitarist, When You Close Your Eyes, Why Does Love Have To Change, Xfactor, You Can Still Rock In America, YouTube 4 Comments
The kids of today are looking for the new and the different, while they are discovering the past with the help of their parents. If artists don't have people dropping their jaws these days, chances are they are not going to last.
With this in mind, it got me thinking about Jeff Watson and his time in Night Ranger, along with that jaw dropping eight finger tapping technique.
In 1983, Night Ranger went from an opening act to a headlining act with the release of their second album "Midnight Madness" album.
I can't believe that it is not on Spotify for me to officially stream, however if I go onto YouTube it is available in its entirety, to be streamed unofficially.
The band at the time was made up of Jack Blades – Bass/Lead vocals, Jeff Watson – Guitars/Keyboards, Brad Gillis – Guitars, Alan Fitzgerald – Keyboards and Kelly Keagy – Drums/Lead vocals.
Jack Blades once said that "Sister Christian" and the release of Midnight Madness was the band's pinnacle moment.
So what happened.
Let's look at Jack Blades first. His first band was called "The Nomads" and it goes back to 1966. He work with "Sly and The Family Stone" as a songwriter and experienced fame with funk rockers "Rubicon" in 1978 along with Brad Gillis.
By 1979, the band was no more. When "Rubicon" broke up, Kelly Keagy was their touring drummer. The trio then formed the band Stereo.
Stereo then ceased to be when a roommate of Blades called Alan Fitzgerald (bassist for Montrose, keyboardist for Sammy Hagar) suggested that they form a rock band. Alan knew a virtuoso guitarist called Jeff Watson from Sacramento, and with Jack Blades, Brad Gillis and Kelly Keagy coming over from Stereo, the band Ranger was formed in 1980. Due to a naming dispute, the name changed from Ranger to Night Ranger.
When Night Ranger broke up in 1989, Blades received a call from John Kalodner, then at Geffen Records. Kalodner mentioned to Blades that Tommy Shaw and Ted Nugent are working on songs in New York, but something was missing. Kalodner thought that Blades would be a good addition to the equation. From one super group to another super group.
Anyway looking at Jack Blades, his year zero as a composer began in the "seventies". His greatest work according to himself, happened in 1983 with "Midnight Madness", which took place 17 years from when he joined his first band. From a Night Ranger perspective, it took the band three years to compose their greatest masterpiece from when they formed in 1980.
Next up you have Brad Gillis.
Gillis will always be remembered for replacing Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne's band immediately after Rhoads' death in 1982. At the time, Night Ranger was still an unknown band from California. When Night Ranger got together in 1980, they focused solely on getting a major label deal instead of playing live.
In the interim, Gillis had a side project called "Alameda All Stars" that played the local clubs for extra cash. During one of those gigs, Preston Thrall, the brother of Pat Thrall was in attendance. After seeing Gillis tear up the stage covering a few Ozzy/Rhoads era songs, he mentioned to Gillis that he should audition.
For the history buffs, Preston Thrall told his brother Pat Thrall about Brad Gillis. Of course, Pat Thrall knew current Ozzy drummer Tommy Aldridge as they played together in the Pat Travers band. So Pat Thrall informs Tommy Aldridge and Aldridge them informs Sharon. At the time Ozzy was working with Bernie Tormé as an interim player.
In the end, Gillis didn't feel that Ozzy's band was the best fit for him. He saw another L.A band, Quiet Riot, get a record deal, and when he saw Rudy Sarzo leave to go back to Quiet Riot, Gillis left Ozzy as well, to go back to Night Ranger.
Jeff Watson is the X-factor here. While Brad Gillis is a good guitar player and Jack Blades gave the band it's crossover rock appeal, Jeff Watson was the shredder that the band needed, which in turn gave the band some serious metal cred. Any person that transposes a piano piece he wrote to the guitar and plays it tapped with eight fingers, deserves a trophy in the Shred Hall Of Fame.
In my opinion Jeff lives in the upper level of guitar circles and his playing/technique is held in high regard. He was born and raised in Fair Oaks (Sacramento) California and started to play the guitar when he was seven.
He took it seriously when he finished high school and got a job at a local music store, where he launched The Jeff Watson Band. Eric Martin (from future Mr Big fame) was the first of three singers the band had. The band got a decent amount of radio airplay as the songs were being produced by both Alan Fitzgerald and Ronnie Montrose. The Jeff Watson Band even opened up for Sammy Hagar, Heart and Ted Nugent. It was while producing "The Jeff Watson Band" that Alan Fitzgerald decided to include Jeff Watson in any new project that he would be involved in.
Even though Jeff Watson doesn't have a lot of song writing credits on "Midnight Madness", his influence is still heard years after due to the lead breaks and the Eight Finger Tapping Technique.
Kelly Keagy started doing the club circuit in the Seventies and eventually entered the world of Jack Blades and Brad Gillis as a touring drummer for "Rubicon".
Alan Fitzgerald goes back to 1974, when he played bass in the band Montrose. He went on to play keyboard for Sammy Hagar's solo releases and was rooming with Jack Blades.
When "Midnight Madness" came out, Jack Blades was 29, Brad Gillis was 26, Jeff Watson was 27, Kelly Keagy was 31 and Alan Fitzgerald was 34. All of the members had paid their dues in other bands since the start of the Seventies. In other words they were seasoned. Music was all they had. There was no fall back position. There was no safety net or a plan B. It was all or nothing.
In a way, you could call Night Ranger a pseudo supergroup. Jack Blades, Brad Gillis and Kelly Keagy came from Rubicon. Alan Fitzgerald came from Montrose, Gamma and Sammy Hagar's solo band. Jeff Watson came from his own solo band, that had songs on radio and production from Ronnie Montrose.
The album kicks off with the Jack Blades and Brad Gillis composition "(You Can Still) Rock in America". How do you follow-up this song?
You change tact and go into the melodic AOR Rock format, popularised by Journey, REO Speedwagon and Styx. There is no point in trying to re-write a bona fide classic.
Two Jack Blades compositions come next in "Rumours In The Air" and "Why Does Love Have to Change". That guitar intro in "Rumours In The Air" is smoking and the keyboard call to arms lead break after the first chorus shows that Fitzgerald wasn't there just to play chords.
Side 1 ends with the anthem "Sister Christian". The song is composed by Kelly Keagy. This is the era of the LP, when sequencing mattered. When the song finished it made you want to turn the LP over, so that you hear what was on the other side.
Side 2 opens up with two Jack Blades compositions in "Touch of Madness" and "Passion Play". What a way to kick it off, with the tinker box intro that to be honest was used to maximum effect by Ozzy Osbourne on the song "Mr Tinkertrain".
Not as strong as Side 1, up next was the Jack Blades, Alan Fitzgerald and Brad Gillis composition" When You Close Your Eyes". A pure slice of melodic AOR rock.
The Jack Blades and Brad Gillis composition "Chippin' Away" is next and the album closes with the Jack Blades, Kelly Keagy and Jeff Watson track "Let Him Run".
Being different was a uniqueness when I was growing up. That was the space the heavy metal and rock musicians occupied.
It was an us vs. them mentality. The "Them" was always a moving target. It could have been teachers, parents, police officers, neighbours or anyone else that upset the status quo for the day.
The end of Night Ranger happened with the success of "Midnight Madness." Suddenly, the band was on the radar of the record label. The label wanted another "Midnight Madness" so they could capitalise on the cash. It came in "7 Wishes". Then the label wanted another "Midnight Madness" and it came in "Big Life."
The band went from outcasts and creating something new, to a maintenance model of new music, purely designed to earn maximum profits.
Music is best when it's created and led by the outcasts, those artists that sit on the fringes. Record Labels and suits believe they know best, because all they care about is profits. Night Ranger sat on the fringes for "Dawn Patrol" and for the writing of "Midnight Madness".
Even Quiet Riot sat on the fringes. Then it all exploded with "Metal Health" in 1983. It took everyone by surprise. Then the money started to roll in from the large record label advances. Then the bands started to go on massive arena tours.
Suddenly, the bands are afraid to lose friends. Suddenly, the bands are afraid to stand out. The key is to be different AND liked.
Look at the now. Nothing sounded like Volbeat's "Beyond Hell Above Heaven" previously but it was a huge hit. Protest The Hero are all twisted with their insane progessive songs, but they are embraced by a hard-core fan base that gave the band over $300K to get their next album done..
There is a quote that I remember from Adlai E. Stevenson that goes something like;
"All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions."
Put that quote in a musical context. All great music has resulted from people who lived as casts, who had unpopular positions, who wrote music because they wanted to write music, not because they wanted to make millions.
That is where the heart beat of true popularity begins.
Alternate Reality, Music, My Stories
Cold Case – Connecting The Dots With Motley Crue And It's Vocalist Problem.
September 24, 2013 destroyerofharmonyaudition, Bullet Boys, Dream Theater, drummer audition, February, hard rock music, Hot Metal, Interview, John Corabi, June 1992, Kik Tracee, Marco Minnemann, Marq Torien, Mike Portnoy, Motley Crue, music, nikki sixx, parted ways, Sebastian Bach, September, singerless, Skid Row, Stephen Shareaux, Stevie Rachelle, The Scream, Tuff, Vince Neil, Walt Woodward 1 Comment
"MOTLEY STILL SINGERLESS" is the headline from a news break item that did the rounds in an issue of Hot Metal from June 1992.
For everyone that had a vested interest in hard rock music knows, Motley Crue and Vince Neil parted ways in February 1992. The actual argument took place on February 11, 1992, with Motley Crue issuing the official statement on Neil's departure on February 14, 1992.
Now from all evidence, it looks like the band started working with John Corabi immediately, from as earliest as February 17, 1992, however it wasn't until September 27, 1992, that John Corabi officially signed a contract to be Motley Crue's new lead vocalist. The below is from the June 1992, Hot Metal magazine and it is an update from Walt Woodward III (RIP);
In a conversation with Walt Woodward III, drummer with much touted and Hot Metal-approved The Scream, we just had to ask what exactly was going on with the band's singer John Corabi? It seemed to those on the outside that just as The Scream was about to explode Down Under, John Corabi was gonna bail for Da Crue.
Well, as of April 15th no confirmation had been made. Says the very friendly Walt, "We've just finished recording a song with John. It's for [MTV comedian] Paulie Shaw's new movie Encino Man. Sure, Motley Crue are really interested in John. He's been writing with them, and whether the songs end up on our album or the Crue's is yet to be seen."
Walt went on to explain that he was a big fan of dedication. Y'see, since becoming The Scream, John Corabi, Walt, Bruce Bouillet and John Alderette"…had really grown together, become good friends. I would hope that dedication would win through."
If John was to bail from The Scream though, things would definitely go on. Says Walt, "We've all talked about it and if John did leave I can honestly say that there's a couple of cool cats out there who've rung us up and will definitely blow some people away."
The above is interesting for two reasons. As far as the guys in "The Scream" where concerned, the songs that John Corabi was working on, could have ended up on a Motley Crue album or a new Scream album. That would mean that even though John Corabi was working with Motley Crue, he was still technically or legally in The Scream.
This also goes against Nikki Sixx's viewpoint on the matter that John Corabi was the only guy on the scene. The comments from Walt Woodward, gives some street cred to Sebastian Bach's claim that he did in fact audition, as it was almost seven months from when Vince Neil left to when Motley Crue officially announced John Corabi as the replacement. The other vocalists that also auditioned are Stevie Rachelle from the band Tuff, Marq Torien from the band Bullet Boys and Stephen Shareaux from the band Kik Tracee.
Now if Sebastian Bach did audition in 1992, it would have had to have been between February 1992 and September 1992. Due to the fact that John Corabi had to wait until September to be officially recognised as the lead singer, it points to one thing; some reservations existed within the Motley Crue circle of managers, record label reps and road crew if John Corabi was the right man.
During the period December, 1991 and June 22, 1992, Skid Row was touring the U.S. Plenty of free days in between to tee up an audition.
From July 8, 1992 to August 11, 1992, Skid Row did a South American tour and wrapped up the month of August with an appearance at Castle Donnington in the U.K. Again, plenty of time to fit in an audition after the tour ended.
Skid Row didn't hit the road again until October 1992 for a small Japanese tour and then they wrapped up the "Slave To The Grind" cycle, by supporting Guns N Roses on their "Use Your Illusion" Australian tour from January 30, 1993 to February 6, 1993. Of course by the time this cycle completed, Sebastian Bach had committed to Skid Row.
It is not uncommon for different theories to emerge when band members are replaced. Even Dream Theater got caught up in it, when the stories came out that Marco Minnemann got the Dream Theater drummer spot when Mike Portnoy left. That is why on the videos of the drummer audition that came out, you don't see footage of Dream Theater telling Minnemann that he didn't get the gig, however there was footage of when they told all the other drummers that auditioned they didn't get the gig.
By connecting the dots, Marco Minnemann got the gig and then turned it down when he was told he needed to relocate to the other side of America.