Friday
Aug142015
The Winery Dogs Announce New Album
Friday, August 14, 2015 at 12:01AM I received this press release about The Winery Dogs that I wanted to share. Here's hoping for some more great music.
August 13, 2015 – The HOT STREAK will continue this fall for THE WINERY DOGS (Richie Kotzen-lead vocals/guitar, Mike Portnoy-drums, Billy Sheehan-bass). Their second appropriately titled, self-produced studio album, HOT STREAK, is set for release October 2 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) and in the rest of the world via earMUSIC. It will be preceded by the first single, “Oblivion,” set for release August 25 at radio. A double vinyl edition of the new album is also in the works and is due out in early November.
After playing over 100 shows in support of their self-titled debut album, THE WINERY DOGS are eager to head back out on the road to get behind HOT STREAK. Their first round of U.S. headlining tour dates will kick off October 3 in Ridgefield, CT at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Shows around the globe are already being planned for 2016.
HOT STREAK shows the powerfully pedigreed trio’s initial burst of collective chemistry was no accident, from the strum and headbang of “Captain Love” to the propulsive uplifting vibe of “The Bridge” to the introspective acoustic harmonic convergence of “Fire.” If these three Dogs thought they captured lightning in a supper dish the first time around, HOT STREAK barks ups the aural ante into exciting new territory.
“I feel we’ve taken the band to another level,” explains Richie Kotzen. “The compositions are stronger on this album. I feel more connected lyrically and musically to what I did on this record than on the last one. We’ve widened the musical scope of the band on this record and moved it forward."
Mike Portnoy continues, “Everything on this album was more of a collaboration than on the first album. There’s just a natural chemistry. The three of us really mesh very, very well, both musically and personally. The mission of this band is to write catchy songs, and not have the musicianship overpower that.”
“I’m glad we’re not playing it safe and just doing songs that automatically fit in the category of what we did on the first record,” Billy Sheehan concludes. “Some of them are a little different, and we definitely took chances. And you have to do that — otherwise, you don’t grow."
Here’s the complete track listing for HOT STREAK:
1. Oblivion
2. Captain Love
3. Hot Streak
4. How Long
5. Empire
6. Fire
7. Ghost Town
8. The Bridge
9. War Machine
10. Spiral
11. Devil You Know
12. Think It Over
13. The Lamb
Reader Comments (8)
What gets me, though, are these press releases. They are so filled with bloat quotes you could choke.
“I feel we’ve taken the band to another level,” explains Richie Kotzen. Really? Not content to rest on the same level. I mean, how far can these guys go next? Two levels? Three??
Mike Portnoy continues, “. . . [t]he mission of this band is to write catchy songs, and not have the musicianship overpower that.” Hum-able prog, something akin to Yes Leppard (picture it: "Closer to the Edge of High n' Dry")? So long as his drums don't beat the lyrics to death, for Xenu's sake!
“I’m glad we’re not playing it safe . . .” Billy Sheehan concludes. So, in contrast to the description above, this is going to be opera mixed with folk and just a pinch of trance? Not to mention, it is on another level. So that must mean . . . something.
All of this certainly does portent that "HOT STREAK barks ups the aural ante into exciting new territory," even if the title sounds like something that happens after eating truck-stop Thai food.
I am no scribe, and certainly no wordsmith. But I wish bands--talented, well-received, and so on--would hire someone who could escape the maw of cliche and recycled prose. At this point, all all those words amount to is this: they have a new album coming out. Buy it and go to their concerts.
The PR is a well-established format. But well-established does not necessary translate into hoary. Not just a WD issue. It is widespread.
Enough ranting. Sorry I hijacked a post before it even started.
More from me later but right now, I have to head into work to generate a bunch of PR crap for my company.
But, believe it or not, it won't sound nearly as corny, arrogant, self important or hacked as this dispatch from what I suspect is a slave over at Scientology headquarters, given Sheehan's high ranking within the organized cult.
But hey, enjoy it. It was most likely generated with your tax dollars.
p.s. I watched "Going Clear" on HBO upon your recommendation, HIM. They really should have interviewed Sheehan for it. I wonder if they even thought to as he's such a small footnote in Rock history. Thing is, apparently, he ranks nearly as high as Tom Cruise within the "organization". Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they're bankrolling the whole thing right down to the cheesy album cover of their first outing.
Too bad he got so derailed after Arthur's Museum and his real shot at Rock & Roll Stardom with Poison, which in itself, was a bit of a misfire, unfortunately for both Kotzen and his guitar hero worshipping fans.
Side note: Anyone discussing new W.A.S.P.? or did I miss this post? HOT GLAM, i love it!
Hope y'all have a good weekend!
First, I proved my own point regarding my writing prowess: "portend," not "portent." Geesh.
Second (and here comes a dinner table no-no), I tend to take W. James's "Varieties of Religious Experience" stance on spiritual matters. I know and admire too many good people, deeply religious people, to be comfortable painting my criticisms with too wide a brush. But religious is not a taboo topic, off limits to some joking. Yes, as Metalboy! notes and as I suggested, the HBO doc is a pretty stinging criticism of Scientology. But membership in Scientology, and the various ways in which people involve themselves therein, is more complicated than that doc suggested.
Sheehan strikes me as a nice and humble musician. He happens to be a Scientologist. As it goes, he will answer for that as, and if, he chooses. Same goes for any other number of belief systems--of which I include modern atheism--to which people subscribe. More simply, good people adopt bad positions; bad people adopt good positions. At the point that any position or belief is off limits to humor or criticism, that strikes me as bad for everyone.
Third, and somewhat tangentially related, I am also looking forward to the new WASP album Kari. The first single isn't that bad. Here's to hoping it is somewhat of a return to older form in terms of style. Lawless can be his own worst enemy. But when he is on, he is on.
Dream Big, indeed!
Gotta sleep now but let's catch up soon! I will hit you back on the RADAR, ASAP!