Best known for working with the rock bands FIREWIND, TAINTED NATION and HELLOWEEN, and filling in for SCORPIONS at the Grand Prix in Bahrain on 5th April 2014, MARK CROSS, groovy and hard-hitting veteran drummer launches a new adventure.
The line-up is selected from the league of past band mates, a powerful team of world class players to represent Mark’s work; a ‘best of works’ from his collaborations with bands and artists on stage and in the studio, past to present, with a perfect setlist for a spectacular show.
Mark says: “This whole thing is brand new and has already gained great feedback. In brief, after a long pause it is time to get back on stage and play for ya! Playing music live nowadays means much, much more than burning thousands of pounds for recording and throwing a new production on the market that never really reaches the masses.”
He continues: “This show is not only about drumming, of course it plays a major role, but is mainly focused on the music, good playing and performance. Every involved musician?s talent will make this a great sounding and unforgettable experience. It is great to work with top musicians, who have also been involved with all these bands and projects. A very versatile set indeed with many surprises. Soon I will let you all know the line-up and name of the band! Horns and thumbs up boys and girls … “
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to Ex-Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 16 2019 at the Piranha Bar. Uli Spoke about his Triple Anniversary tour and did a deep dive into the making and recording of the classic live Scorpions album Tokyo Tapes. Uli Spoke about Tokyo Tapes set list, the choice of cover songs, adding the audience from Peter Frampton’s famous live album, Frampton Comes Alive. Uli also spoke about archival Super 8 film footage he has in his vault from all his years in the Scorpions whereas 70% of it has not yet been seen.
Watch the interview here:
When asked on why they chose to have cover songs on Tokyo Tapes
“They were just accidents, for me that wasn’t Scorpions. The band came from a Rock and Beatles background and we did used to play Johnny B Goode occasionally but that was because I was a Hendrix fan and we copied the Hendrix version. Why Long Tall Sally and Hound Dog how they made it to the album I’m still not sure and I don’t want to necessarily disown them but somehow maybe these songs should have not been there because we had more suitable ones. One song I do like off the album is taken from the Scorpions debut Lonesome Crow In Search of Peace of Mind, one that Micheal Schneker wrote, it’s is a masterpiece with beautiful lyrics by Klaus Meine, I love that song.”
When asked if there was any fixing of Tokyo Tapes Live album in the studio
“No, in fact there wasn’t enough of it because I was quite upset when I first heard the recordings because there was a mistake. Apparently the Japanese sound engineers recorded all the pre-sets with EQ’s and you don’t do that because after words you don’t get a chance to tweak the sounds as much and I was not happy with the sound of the album. I remember what it sounded like on stage, it sounded phenomenal particularly in that hall but what I heard on the album was a shadow of that. So that is why I never listen to the album. I never listened to the whole album in one go. ”
“I did the playing on the album and there were no overdubs afterwords we just left everything as it was, except for the audience clapping because we forgot to record the audience so we had no audience sound. I don’t know who’s idea it was in the studio, it wasn’t mine there was this massive album Frampton Comes Alive Album at the time, so somebody took the clapping from that recording and they put it on a loop so suddenly Sun Plaza hall becomes Stadium rock. There is your dirty little insight and it’s a true story nobody will deny it. So the audience of Frampton Comes Alive is on Scorpions Tokyo Tapes. We had a great audience but they weren’t recorded.”
When asked about the song if there was any left over material from the recording of Tokyo Tapes
“There were some and I am to blame for a couple of things that got left out. I didn’t think the song Catch your Train was good enough and I didn’t think Hell Cat was good enough. Then when I heard them recently when they did the re-release and I thought what was I thinking they were good enough I should have had them on. I was actually being a bit too critical at the time. But today I am really glad we did the album and we can be proud of.”
When asked if there was any video of his era with the Scorpions
“I loved taking Super 8 Film footage from day 1 with the Scorpions until my final days in 1978 I chronologically have all the footage from all the tours including Japan and some stuff has been released on the Tokyo Tapes revisited DVD but most of it is unreleased. It’s not live footage it’s all on tour behind the scene footage, about 70% is unseen. It’s the only footage that exists from the 70’s.”
To celebrate his upcoming 50th Stage Anniversary, he will perform concerts across North America this spring.
The two hour-plus programme will consist of carefully selected highlights from Uli’s entire musical career The 50th Anniversary set will naturally include the best of that timeless material, including The Sails of Charon, In Trance, Fly to the Rainbow and many other songs.
As a logical continuation of Uli’s journey into his own musical past he will also be reconnecting with the second very important part of his unique musical journey – that of his ground breaking Electric Sun period – during which he took the art of electric guitar playing to a completely new and unprecedented level.
Also a pre-show V.I.P. Uli will play excerpts from his stunning Metamorphosis of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concerto as well as several pieces which feature him on classical, acoustic and flamenco guitar.
Tour Dates
April
16 – Montreal, QC – Piranha
17 – Quebec, QC – L’ Anti
18 – Ottawa, NB – Brass Monkey
19 – Pawling, NY – Daryl’s House
20 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
21 – Hartford, CT – Infinity Music Hall
23 – NYC, NY – Gramercy Theater
24 – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonderbar
25 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater
26 – Syracuse, NY – Sharkey’s
27 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Ballroom
29 – Pittsburgh, PA – Jergels
May
1 – Plymouth, MA – Spire Center for the Performing Arts
3 – Newton, NJ – Newton Theatre
4 – Louisville, KY – Diamond Pub Concert Hall
5 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt
6 – Atlanta, GA – City Winery
9 – Dallas, TX – Trees
10 – San Antonio, TX – Rockbox
The LA Based outfit, A NEW REVENGE, featuring an all star line up will release their debut album, Enemies & Lovers on March 29th, 2019 via Golden Robot Records.
Supergroup is a term that has been diluted over time. Throwing a bunch of people from other bands into a new project doesn’t automatically make them Super, but their bio’s will tell you otherwise. It’s time to seek revenge and reclaim that word!
A NEW REVENGE is the very definition of a supergroup. One who’s members have more than earned their legendary statuses but also remain humble enough to let the music do the talking and not actually rely on the term. So who is out for A New Revenge?
Featuring one of the finest voices in metal of all time, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (who’s voice is all over albums from Judas Priest, Iced Earth and Yngwie Malmsteen), one of the most versatile and name checked guitarists in rock Keri Kelli (Slash’s Snake Pit, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil Band and a hundred more) the most iconic bass player in heavy metal history, Rudy Sarzo (who’s work with Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Whitesnake and many more has earned him an almost revered status in heavy music) and long time Scorpions drummer James Kottak (also from Montrose, Warrant, Kingdom Come & more).
Keri Kelli, the bands guitarist says of A New Revenge coming together; “Beginning the songwriting process we said ‘Let’s get together and come up with three or four original songs.’ Without any pressure, just creating as we went. Finally we got to the eleven songs we were all happy with. ‘Here’s To Us’ was the first song we wrote for this record. It came very fast and was pretty simple to write. Its basically an ode to hard rock fans the planet over”
To further, Kelli comments on the album Enemies & Lovers “It’s been a long time coming but it’s completely finished mixed, mastered and all ready to go. We all really, really excited to finally unleash this on the hard rock community.”
A video for the first single from the albums release ‘The Way’ can be viewed here:
Due to scheduling conflicts, Sarzo was unable to attend the filming of A NEW REVENGE’s videos. The band’s good friend and renowned player Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE, LAST IN LINE) stepped in at the last minute to take his place.
A NEW REVENGE is greater than the sum of its parts, although its parts are pretty damn mind blowing!
A NEW REVENGE will hit the road across the U.S. in support “Enemies & Lovers” throughout 2019 and is looking at locking in a European tour later in the year. The foursome is an explosive combination with every band member’s skillset and battle tested charisma breaking through the bleak wasteland of current day modern heavy metal.
Razor sharp riffs, thunderous drums and those soaring vocals that come charging in from on high to lay waste to the landscape. A New Revenge are forged from the very heart of heavy metal.
Confirmed track listing for Enemies & Lovers
The Distance Between
The Way
Never Let You Go
Glorious
The Eyes
Fallen
Only The Pretty Ones
Enemies & Lovers
Here’s To Us
Scars
Enemies & Lovers will be released on Friday, March 29th, 2019.
Superb heavy blues rockers STRAY TRAIN have released a new single and video for the song “Give it Away”, taken from the latest album “Blues from Hell”(released November 24th, 2017). The video cut and edit by Jaka Curlic, filmed during the band’s shows with NICKELBACK and SCORPIONS. Watch the video here:
Stated the band: “Hi friends and fans in the virtual world, we have a special treat for you. We’re very happy to announce our new single called »Give it Away«. Pay attention to the lyrics and tell us what you think! A lot has happened for us this year. Among other concerts, we also played in Russia with Nickelback and with Scorpions in Slovenia in our hometown. We appreciate every fan we have and since a lot of you weren’t able to see us on those big shows, we decided to put together a video recap, so you can experience what we got to experience. So turn your speakers up, sit down, press play and enjoy!!”
[The Stage-photo @Nickelback show by Miro Majcen]
As previously announced, STRAY TRAIN will join AUDREY HORNE and THE NEW ROSES in France, as the 3rd part of STRAY TRAIN’s “Blues From Hell” tour, kicking off on December 12th in Strasbourg. See the shows and details below.
December 12 – Strasbourg @ Laiterie
December 13 – Lyon @ Bloggg
December 14 – Limoes @ Xmass Festival
December 15 – Paris @ L’Empreinte
Slovenia, Ljubljana based Heavy Blues Rockers STRAY TRAIN was founded by experienced musicians in early 2015 and has since released two albums and toured relentlessly all over Europe, recently (May 2018) in Moscow and St.Petersburg, as main support for NICKELBACK . Their latest album “Blues From Hell – The Legend of the Courageous Five” (released November 24th, 2017) was mixed by the eminent Ronald Prent, who has already participated in mixing albums for bands like Depeche Mode, Rammstein and Queensryche. Recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands, where Queen, U2, Depeche Mode and many others have recorded, “Blues From Hell” contains 12 fresh compositions, with a specific and distinctive blend of blues and rock. The album is available on CD and double vinyl.
It is without a doubt that Uli Jon Roth has certainly earned his legendary status – with a career spanning five decades, Uli is set to celebrate his 50th anniversary of performing on stage, since starting out aged 13 in December 1968. His career has been a colourful journey, from the early days of the SCORPIONS to ELECTRIC SUN and a successful solo career, notably an innovator in the music world. Not forgetting Uli‘s creation of the unique and visionary Sky Guitar!
Uli is about to embark on a special six date UK tour, starting 29th November, celebrating his career by playing many favourites from over the years. Check for more information here. Metal Shock Finland Senior Manager Alison Booth recently spoke to Uli about the forthcoming tour and much more besides, for her Blackdiamond’s Metal Mayhem radio show. The whole show can be heard at this location.
Some excerpts of the in depth chat with Uli can be read below, with the full interview on the audio player.
Discussing the forthcoming 50th anniversary shows, Uli stated:
“I haven’t done such an ambitious programme in many years. I’ve got such a big repertoire from over the years, so I had to think hard about what not to play. There’s certain contenders that are always there like ‘Sails Of Charon’, certain Scorpions tracks, but I haven’t performed any of the Electric Sun stuff in years and that will be very interesting for me because that music is very demanding to play – although it should sound easy when you’re listening to it.
So we’re basically playing a best of Electric Sun, a best of my period with the Scorpions from the seventies, to doing some of my Sky Of Avalon, which is a little bit more adventurous, more melodic symphonic rock I guess. And it’s a long show, it’s a mission, so it’s an evening’s worth. I’m also playing a little acoustic set, just solo on my eight string Flamenco Sky guitar and I’m going to play some new pieces that I’ve written this summer which I love playing. And we’re also playing something that I particularly look forward to – some music of my deceased brother Zeno, who you may know, he died earlier this year unfortunately. He was a great songwriter and great guitar player himself, so we’re going to honour his memory and his legacy by playing two of his best songs.
So that’s basically in a nutshell what we’re going to do.“
Mentioning the fact that there seems to be no sign of Uli slowing down, he remarked:
“No, actually on the contrary. I was just saying to my daughter today that I have so much on my plate sometimes that I wish for longer days! (laughs). I’m a bit of a workaholic and recently it seems to be increasing, don’t ask me why.”
Looking back over his long career, Uli expressed:
“Innovator is probably true because I’m always interested in coming up with new ideas and I prided myself in loving each solo that I’ve recorded on albums, different from the other ones you know – trying to break new ground, technically, musically or whatever. So for me, it’s been largely a journey of discovery and also seeing how far you can push the guitar, unlocking some of those mysteries and there are still so many in the guitar. It feels like sometimes I’ve barely grazed the surface, because each time I pick up a guitar I have new ideas and it feels completely fresh and new, it’s just great.
I think the secret to that is that I play really very rarely, you know, I don’t play very often these days. Lots of the time it’s just on stage so that’s why I guess I don’t get bored and it doesn’t get repetitive to me ever.”
Regarding the future, Uli revealed:
“Next year will be very busy because I’m also working towards some orchestra shows, which is very labour intensive with score writing. We’ll probably have to spend some time in the studio editing the DVD and making that. I have written by now a considerable amount of new music and to my eternal shame and disgrace, I’ve recorded very little in recent years and I know a new album is long overdue.
Having said that, it’s not an easy undertaking for me because I’m not so keen on recording studios, because I don’t like the medium as such. I prefer writing music, maybe even writing it down, that as a score I prefer playing it live. But actually making it so that you have an album, you know the final like pinning down the butterfly once and for all. I’ve always had a problem with that you know, so we’ll see. I’ll do my best to come up with a new album.”
Corporation, Sheffield Thursday 29 November ULU, London Friday 30 November Kasbah, Coventry Saturday 1 December Academy 3, Manchester Sunday 2 December Òran Mór, Glasgow Monday 3 December The Stables, Milton Keynes Wednesday 5 December
Superb heavy blues rockers STRAY TRAIN– who currently are preparing for the shows with NICKEBACK in Russia – will join SCORPIONS on June 8th at Arena Stožice in Ljubljana!
Stated the band: “We’re super excited to announce we’ll be playing with Scorpions in our home town at Arena Stožice! We’re very excited and grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to rock Ljubljana’s biggest arena.”
As previously annouced, next week STRAY TRAIN will share the stage with NICKELBACK, as main support, on their “Feed The Machine tour” in Moscow and St.Petersburg! See the details below:
May 21st – Moscow – Olympissky
May 23rd – St.Petersburg – Ice Ledovy Palace
Just recently STRAY TRAIN released two new videos for the song “Blues From Hell”, as Official Music Video and Director’s cut, watch them below.
“Tour From Hell, Pt.2” shows/festivals:
May 17th – Firchie Think Tank – Novi Sad – Serbia
May 18th – Klub Fest – Beograd – Srbija
May 21st – Moscow – Olympissky – w/ NICKELBACK
May 23rd – St.Petersburg – Ice Ledovy Palace – w/ NICKELBACK
June 02nd – Blaurock Open Air – Ulm – Germany
June 8th – Arena Stožice – Ljubljana, Slovenia – w/ SCORPIONS
July 14th – Pivo In Cvetje – Lasko – Slovenia
July 20-22nd – Cutombike Summer Days – Mannheim – Germany
August 2-4th – Castle Kolpa Music Festival – Fara – Slovenia
August 18th – Motorcity Festival – Sotocje, Tolmin – Slovenia
More dates to be announced soon.
Slovenia, Ljubljana based Heavy Blues Rockers STRAY TRAIN was founded by experienced musicians in early 2015 and has since released two albums and toured relentlessly all over Europe. Their latest album “Blues From Hell – The Legend of the Courageous Five” (released November 24th, 2017) was mixed by the eminent Ronald Prent, who has already participated in mixing albums for bands like Depeche Mode, Rammstein and Queensryche. Recorded at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands, where Queen, U2, Depeche Mode and many others have recorded, “Blues From Hell” contains 12 fresh compositions, with a specific and distinctive blend of blues and rock. The album is available on CD and double vinyl.
Pic By Lee Millward
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