Missing You: Spending Time With John Waite

Advertisements

Last night, John Waite put on an incredible show at Penn’s Peak. It was my first rock concert since seeing KISS at MSG in December 2023 and my first time seeing John in far too long.

Continue reading

STYX Announces Terry Gowan As New Bass Player

Advertisements

Legendary group STYX begins its tour in the Maritimes and Quebec this evening and will play shows in Moncton (5/17), Summerside (5/18), Halifax (5/19), Laval (5/21), Trois-Rivières Rivières (5/22), Alma (5/24) and Quebec City (5/25). Tickets are available HERE. Juno Award winner and bilingual artist from Fredericton David Myles, heir to Johnny Cash, JJ Cale and Buddy Holly will open for all shows.

Continue reading

Styx, Foreigner, and John Waite Announce “Renegades & Juke Box Heroes” Tour

Advertisements

Ten years is a long enough wait for two powerhouse and legendary classic rockers to hit the road together again! STYX and FOREIGNER (who continue with the next leg of their two-year Farewell Tour) team up this summer for the “Renegades & Juke Box Heroes” co-headlining trek, produced by Live Nation. Legendary British rocker, John Waite, will bring his #1 songs, “Missing You” and “When I See You Smile” to the party, rounding out a great night of hits.

Continue reading

Movie Review — John Waite: The Hard Way

Advertisements

The documentary John Waite: The Hard Way came out today, and it takes an intimate and nuanced look at the career of John Waite, the man behind the microphone, and the passion that drives him forward. Read on for my review of this documentary.

Continue reading

Nashville Music City

Advertisements

Behind the keyboard featured in Journey’s “Separate Ways” music video. Below it is the piano that Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry wrote “Faithfully” on.

In September, my wife and I went to Nashville to celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary. We chose Nashville because we wanted to go someplace that felt new but didn’t require a ridiculous amount of travel time or money. Also, everyone I’ve spoken with that’s been to Nashville has enjoyed their time there. In addition to eating an insane amount of fried food and meat, our trip was punctuated by several music-related excursions, which I detail below.

Continue reading

Journey’s Neal Schon Discusses Def Leppard Tour, New Solo Album And Steve Perry

Advertisements

Neal Schon is the founding member and lead guitarist for Journey, one of the most successful and beloved rock bands of all time. In addition to his amazing work with Journey, Neal is a former member of Santana and Bad English, and he’s had a prolific career as a solo artist as well. Journey is touring this summer with Def Leppard, and, following the tour, Neal is releasing a new solo album: Universe.

Continue reading

A Conversation With Tony Brock

Advertisements

Photo: Song Seven Photography

Rod Stewart is the first concert I ever attended and I’m a big fan of The Babys, so it was a pleasure to speak with Tony Brock. He is a founding member of The Babys and the band’s drummer, and he spent 12 years drumming for Rod Stewart, starting with the 1981 album Tonight I’m Yours.

The Babys have a new album coming out, Timeless: Anthology II, and you can be a part of it. Check out the band’s Pledge campaign for all of the great reward and benefits you can get by support this effort. It’s going to be a fantastic record, and I highly recommend that all music fans check it out.

Continue reading

Four By Fate’s Relentless Debut

Advertisements

Four By Fate, the killer new hard rock band started by Tod Howarth and John Regan of Frehley’s Comet, is releasing its debut album, Relentless, on June 3. Howarth and Regan are steeped in rock and roll history. These two rock veterans have worked with some of the biggest names in the business over the past 30 years, including Ace Frehley, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Cheap Trick, John Waite, Billy Idol, and Davide Lee Roth, just to name a few. The group is rounded out by Patrick James Gasperini (Pound, Flywheel) and former Skid Row drummer Rob Affuso. Other contributors include Stet Howland (drummer for WASP), Sean Kelly (guitarist for Helix and Nelly Furtado) and celebrated Twisted Sister drummer AJ Pero, who recorded six tracks on the album before his untimely passing in 2015. The drum tracks that Pero recorded for Relentless are thought to be his last recordings.

Continue reading

John Waite Kicks Off Acoustic Tour in New Hope

Advertisements

This past Tuesday night John Waite kicked off his acoustic “Wooden Heart” tour in New Hope, PA and I was fortunate enough to be front row for the show. As with the three previous times I saw John live, this concert was excellent. However, it being an acoustic performance made for a much different atmosphere. This time around the performance was more intimate and the softer guitars placed John’s voice front and center, which is a good thing because the first time he sang a note it blew my mind how good he still sounds. The man is 63, yet his voice barely sounds any different than it did back in the 1980s. His tone is perfect and he emotes in a way few of his peers can. It’s really something to marvel. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.

Continue reading

A Conversation With Neal “Vortex” Schon

Advertisements

Neal Schon is my favorite guitarist and, in my opinion, the greatest melodic rock guitarist of all time. He’s written classic songs, played legendary riffs and had a prolific solo career that is unparalleled in the music industry.

On the heels of the release of his latest solo album, Vortex, which is terrific, Neal took the time to grant me an interview. Speaking with him was an absolute honor, and we covered a lot of ground in our discussion. We spoke about everything, including his thoughts on working with Steve Perry, John Waite and Deen Castronovo, as well as how his latest masterpiece, Vortex, came to fruition.

I hope you enjoy the interview. And don’t forget to pick up a copy of Vortex. If you’re a classic rock fan, or just someone who appreciates inspired instrumental music, you’ll love it.

Continue reading