Friday, July 18, 2025

Q5 [When the mirror cracks - 1986]

Q5 [When the mirror cracks - 1986]

Origin: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Q5 [When the mirror cracks - 1986]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Jonathan Scott K. - Vocals
Floyd Rose - Guitar
Rick Pierce - Guitar
Evan Sheeley - Bass, keyboards
Gary Thompson - Drums, drum programming, percussion


Tracks:

1. Livin' On The Borderline lyrics
2. Your Tears (Will Follow Me) lyrics
3. Never Gonna Love Again lyrics
4. Stand By Me lyrics
5. When The Mirror Cracks lyrics
6. Runaway lyrics
7. In The Rain lyrics
8. I Can't Wait lyrics
9. Cold Heart lyrics
10. Let Go lyrics

Q5

 Origin: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Q5
Q5 Gary Thompson - Floyd Rose - Evan Sheeley - Rick Pierce - Jonathan Scott K.
Gary Thompson - Floyd Rose - Evan Sheeley - Rick Pierce - Jonathan Scott K.

Discography:

Q5 [When the mirror cracks - 1986]When the mirror cracks - 1986 
(with lyrics)

Notes:

- Seattle, Washington, USA-based Q5 was a hard rock band with a science fiction affinity that was founded by Jonathan K and Rose in 1982 and disbanded in 1988. The two founders were in C.o.r.e., a band which had opened locally for Sammy Hagar. Several members of TKO, which had its roots in Mojo Hand, had decamped over to join Floyd Rose and Jonathan K, in 1983, who had already written a few songs together. Floyd is known for his guitar playing, but was actually both a singer and guitarist in the past. As such, Q5 was a union of members of C.o.r.e and TKO. The guitarist, who was the inventor of the eponymous locking tremolo for the guitar in Reno, Nevada in 1978, and who later lived in California, left after two records and the remaining band members founded Nightshade. The new band remained on Music For Nations.

Q5 re-appeared for a show at Headbangers Open Air in 2009, went back into slumber and then played at Sweden Rock Festival in 2014. Frankie Rongo of Nightshade drummed in 2009. Sweden Rock instigated the name Q5 being resurrected. The group’s 2016 record featured mostly original members except for Rose who was long gone. Guitarist Dennis Turner was on the record, but would leave in 2018 (and rejoin in 2019). Another major overhaul occurred in 2020 leaving only singer Scott K. standing. Bassist Sheeley had departed in 2019.

The debut record Steel The Light – note the spelling – featured music from Demo 1983 and Demo 1984. The album was independently issued by the band’s manager before Music For Nations gave it a new cover and a re-release in Europe. Atlantic took over in Canada. The new cover by local Seattle artist Rollin C. Thomas has become one of heavy metal's most recognizable. Ken Kinnear, who managed Heart through Albatross Productions, was impressed by the demos and had signed the band to a management deal. The man had actually managed Mojo Hand first. The debut record, which was planned to be an EP earlier, was well promoted in Europe. MFN also issued a promotional Steel The Light mini-LP in 1985. Q5 opened for Twisted Sister/Y&T and Lita Ford. The second album, When The Mirror Cracks, featured the same line-up as the debut, but did not garner as much attention as its predecessor. It was watered down with keyboards. The band had ditched its logo and was aiming for an AOR sound with Sheeley doing double duty on bass and keyboards. Nonetheless, QPrime Management (Metallica) and the Squawk label were interested enough to sign the band and release the record in the USA. New songs were in the works, but the band broke up due to pressure from the same new management and label to commercialize, as well as internal differences. Jonathan and Rick were the first to leave. They initiated Nightshade. Evan Sheeley, Floyd Rose and Gary Thompson recruited Canadian singer Marty and recorded an album. The demos ostensibly went to Ted Templeman who had worked with Eddie Van Halen. The guitarist and Floyd Rose were not friendly and had rival claims on the tremolo system and so, the story goes, Eddie vetoed Templeman and Warner Music signing Q5 and the Canadian singer. Sheeley would own the Bass Northwest shop in Seattle later.

Nightshade’s debut featured material written for Q5 initially. In fact, and to remind fans of the connection between the two bands, Nightshade's debut Dead Of Night featured the same spaceship that was on Steel The Light. Q5’s European festival appearance in 2009 coincided with Nightshade appearances with shared members doing double-duty. The first Nightshade album featured a sticker heralding the status of the members as being formerly of Q5. The reformed group was at Sweden Rock Festival with guitarist Rick Van Zandt of Metal Church in 2014 and called it a one-off, yet signed to Frontiers Records in 2015. “One-off” notwithstanding, the band had also played at Rock You To Hell festival II in Greece and also Cyprus in November 2014. Jeffrey McCormack of Nightshade, an old Q5 fan himself, drummed on New World Order. This record was due in 2015 initially. The group appeared at the Keep It True XX and attended NAMM in 2017. The band again hit Europe in 2018 playing Steel The Light in its entirety, but Rick Pierce had disappeared from the act. Guitarist Duffy Delgado came and went and was replaced by Chris Egar in 2020. Bassist Michael Self of Priest also came and went. The band uploaded a new track in 2021. Floyd Rose was contributing on guitar. The group was at Keep It True Rising 2023. Rick Pierce was in RPG to which Floyd Rose also contributed. RPG had promised a (delayed) album. The newest guitarist was Blake Turner who, in case the surname is familiar, was the son of the other guitarist, Dennis Turner. They were replaced by Michael David (ex-TKO and FireWölfe) and Duffy Delgado (briefly a member in 2020 and ex-Ruff Justice). The band reported the former was supposed to join the band in 2020, but the plan was set aside due to COVID-19. The band was booked for Pyrenean Warriors Open Air IX in France in 2025. Other groups billed were Savage Oath, Geoff Tate, Wings Of Steel, Sölicitör, Star Rider, etc.

Great White, October 31, Powergod, Wolf and others have covered Q5. -



- Q5 was formed in 1983, from members of two popular Seattle bands; vocalist Jonathan K and guitarist (famous guitar tremolo inventor) Floyd Rose from "The C.O.R.E.", and Rick Pierce (guitar), Evan Sheeley (Bass) and Gary Thompson (drums) from "TKO".

The band released its first album, "STEEL THE LIGHT" (MUSIC FOR NATIONS) in 1984, receiving immediate worldwide critical acclaim, and landing them touring spots with TWISTED SISTER, Y&T and LITA FORD... The success of "STEEL THE LIGHT" led them to eventually sign with Polygram/Squawk for their 1985 sophomore release "WHEN THE MIRROR CRACKS".

Due to personal differences, the original lineup dissolved shortly after this release.
In 1991, Jonathan K and Rick Pierce released a new project called "NIGHTSHADE" with its first album titled "DEAD OF NIGHT" (Music For Nations), with drummer Jeffrey McCormack and bassist Anthony Magnelli. This album was partially comprised of material that was to be the third Q5 cd, and it too received worldwide critical acclaim.

Nightshade would release 2 additional cds over the next decade with multiple lineups, and would perform alongside many national and international acts.

In 2009, when Nightshade was slated to perform at the "Headbanger's Open Air" Festival (Germany), with Evan Sheeley now on bass, the promoters asked if they would perform a second set as "Q5", to which they agreed.  The fan response was overwhelming!
In 2014, Q5 was asked to perform at Sweden Rock, a performance that the band had agreed would be a "one off" show, but at the completion of the performance, it was obvious that this was not an ending, but merely a beginning.
Upon returning to Seattle, The band secured drummer Jeffrey McCormack (Former Heir Apparent, Fifth Angel) again, and guitarist Kendall Bechtel (former Fifth Angel) and began rehearsing formally as "Q5".

The band's relaunch debuted at the "Rock You To Hell Festival" in Athens, Greece followed by a headlining performance in Cyprus. The band then returned to Seattle to begin work on music for a new cd.

Kendall Bechtel, however, was unable to stay with the band due to personal reasons, so the band secured guitar virtuoso Dennis Turner to complete the lineup.

"STEEL THE LIGHT" continues to grow in popularity all over the world. Critics are still touting the album as a "classic" and a "must have in any metalhead's collection". Bands such as Great White, Wolf and October 31 and many others have covered songs from the album on their own releases, and fans are writing from all corners of the globe, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the Q5 story...
That chapter begins NOW!

With an official lineup in tact, and a new cd slated for release, Q5 is poised to take its rightful place again in the hard rock / heavy metal heirarchy! -



- Q5 is an American hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1983 by guitarist Floyd Rose and singer Scott Palmerton (AKA Jonathan K.) who were bandmates in Seattle legend The Core. The Core disbanded, Rose and Palmerton having a number of new songs written needed to fill out a new roster. They acquired Rick Pierce (guitar), Evan Sheeley (bass) and Gary Thompson (drums) from local Seattle band TKO. They were signed to management by Ken Kinnear, who also managed Heart.

Their first album Steel The Light was mostly recorded in Los Angeles at Cherokee Studios, with finishing touches at The Music Source in Seattle. The album was produced by Grammy award winning producer Mike Flicker and by Floyd Rose. Steel The Light was released in late 1983, on the London based Music For Nations label and became an instant hit in Europe. Lesser known in the U.S. and because of the success of Steel The Light in Europe, Q5 was seen as a European style band and was often lumped in with the NWOBHM groups.

Steel The Light enjoyed great success and is still viewed as an iconic album worldwide. Q5 released it's second album in 1986, titled When The Mirror Cracks. It was a slight departure from the sound of the first album but was strong enough to get the band signed to Polygram Records and a production deal with Q Prime in New York.

A third album of songs was started in 1988. Sadly the band began having the usual musical differences of opinion and the record company also was demanding a slightly watered down sound. The membership fractured in 1989, with two of the members, Palmerton (Jonathan K.) and Pierce, forming a new group they called, "Nightshade." Q5 officially disbanded at that point. Nightshade continued with live shows playing new material mixed with Q5 material from Steel The Light and When The Mirror Cracks. Nightshade released three albums. The Dead of Night, Men of Iron, and Stand and Be True. In 2009, a version of Q5 reformed with three original members - Jonathan K., Rick Pierce and Evan Sheeley - playing at The Headbangers Open Air Festival in Germany.

It took several more years but the Q5 name was dusted off and the band presented itself at a one off at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2014. Q5 was back. In 2016, they were signed to Frontiers Records SRL and released the long awaited third album New World Order. Q5 still plays and records today and consists of original founding member Jonathan K. surrounded by a set of gifted musicians. -

Friday, July 11, 2025

Ron Bolton Band [st - 1983]

Ron Bolton Band [st - 1983]

Origin: San Diego (USA)

Ron Bolton Band [st - 1983]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Ron Bolton - Vocals, guitar
Dean Schulenberg - Bass, backing vocals
George Kosta - Drums
Mike Peters - Keyboards, backing vocals


Tracks:

1. Maybe I'm Dreamin' lyrics
2. Do It All For Love lyrics
3. Friends lyrics
4. Search Of The Kind lyrics
5. "21" lyrics
6. Livin' On The Line lyrics
7. Midnight Lover lyrics
8. Little Girl lyrics
9. Play Your Game lyrics
10. We're Gonna Make It lyrics

Ron Bolton Band

  Origin: San Diego (USA)

RON BOLTON BAND
Ron Bolton Band George Kosta - Dean Schulenberg - Ron Bolton - Mike Peters
George Kosta - Dean Schulenberg - Ron Bolton - Mike Peters

Discography:

Ron Bolton Band [st - 1983]st - 1983 
(with lyrics)

Notes:

- The music of the Ron Bolton Band is what AOR in the 80s was all about. Classic Rock with a touch of Pomp Rock and a little Power Pop and Westcoast thrown in for good measure. Toto, Dakota, Preview, Keane, 707, the B.E. Taylor Group, Franke & The Knockouts.

After a quarter of a century the Ron Bolton Band finally rises like a phoenix from the ashes of the high quality Melodic Rock obscurities. The sound of the band is deeply rooted in the AOR of the Eighties, enriched by a touch of Pomp Rock, Westcoast and Power Pop. The official CD release of the ultra rare vinyl private pressing will cast a spell over fans of Toto, Dakota, Preview, Keane, 707 and the B.E. Taylor Group as well as over friends of Franke & The Knockouts, Le Roux, Automatix, Balance, 38 Special and the Michael Stanley Band.

San Diego in sunny Southern California is the point of origin of the Ron Bolton Band. In the early Eighties the band was working hard to earn a good reputation as a live band. At first the gigs were performed by the trio of Ron Bolton (vocals / guitar), George Kosta (drums) and Robin Henkel (bass), about a year later Mike Peters joined on keyboards. The final line-up of the band was found when Robin Henkel left the combo and Dean Schulenberg took over the position as a bass player. Previously Dean was in a band called Prisoner, which was signed to Warner Curb, but they never released an album. The singer of Prisoner was James House whose solo debut for Atlantic is also a highly prestigious item among AOR connoisseurs.

Over the course of the next couple of years the Ron Bolton Band strengthened their great renown as a live band, playing their set of original and cover songs in sold out venues all over Southern California. At that time some of the multi-platinum Rock acts of the era like Foreigner, Loverboy and Def Leppard were among the musical favorites of the band members.

In 1983 the band finally entered the studio, recording ten of their original songs. The final result was incorporating different styles of Rock and setting great value upon elaborate, varied arrangements and vocal harmonies. The boys took the pressing and the distribution of the vinyl into their own hands, they sold it from the stage and through the local Tower Records stores.

The opener of the disc, “Maybe I’m Dreamin’”, is the dream of every 80s AOR lover. Stunning vocals with a catchy hookline, a perfect balance of rocking guitars and punchy keyboards, accompanied by a Rock solid rhythm section. The icing on the cake are Ron’s terrific guitar solo and an awesome recurring guitar riff in the background. The song got a lot of local Radio Airplay and to this day fans of acts like Dakota and Preview rave about it.

The AOR show goes on with the equally memorable midtempo tune “Do It All For Love” with which the band stakes out their claim in the territory of Franke & The Knockouts. With a certain Southern Californian nonchalance “Friends” is following on, before “Search Of The Kind” presents a composition back from Dean’s days with Prisoner. Written by himself together with Tony Talbot and James House, the track’s musical focus lies on Mike’s organ play and Ron’s guitar licks. Now it’s time for perfect Pomp AOR, delivered by the number “21” with its spacy keyboard solo and lots of “guitar action” towards the end of the cut. This is the perfect soundtrack for a trip to a gambling El Dorado.

A highlight of the disc is without a doubt “Livin’ On The Line”. Ron’s vocals are particularily versatile on this highly melodic Rock song and while George’s drum beat pushes on the track, you will enjoy the mighty guitar riffs, that Steve Lukather also preferred during Toto’s “Turn Back” era. After this adrenalin attack the AOR-Meets-Westcoast-Ballad “Midnight Lover” is very welcome. Introduced by a delightful keyboard intro and featuring a captivating instrumental arrangement and irresistable vocal harmonies, the song has “Radio Airplay” written all over it. Coming up next is “Little Girl”, which heads more into the Power Pop direction, while “Play Your Game” takes us back to the realms of Pomp AOR. “We’re Gonna Make It” is the rocking finale, showcasing again an impressive combination of rocking guitars, tasteful keyboards and polished harmonies, displaying the musical assets of the ensemble for one last time.

After the release of their sole album the band successfully continued to play live for a couple of years before they broke up in the second half of the Eighties...-

(Words by Gregor Klee from Avenue Of Allies Music, https://www.westcoast.dk/artists/b/ron-bolton-band/)


- Ron Bolton, George Kosta and Robin Henkel enjoyed some success as "The Ron Bolton Group", playing cover songs during the late 70's in clubs and bars across the USA. Robin, the bass player, was already in the musical area for quite a long time, having played with such bands as The Hi-Lites, Jumbalayah and Cindy & Breeze, until in 1978 he teamed up with his old roomate Ron Bolton, plus George Kosta and Mike Peter to form the Ron Bolton Group. The popular band played regularly at the Halligans in Pacific Beach and the Triton Pub on the beach in Cardiff. It wasn't until 1983 that the band, now renamed "The Ron Bolton Band", had their first (and only) LP out for sale. By this time, Robin Henkel had already left the band to join Johnny Almond (creator of the ..., Mark Lessman, Doug Randall and Gary Underwood in a group playing jazz, R&B, and classic soul. -

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Melidian [Lost in the wild - 1989]

Melidian [Lost in the wild - 1989]

Origin: New York (USA)

Melidian [Lost in the wild - 1989]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Chris Cade - Vocals, guitar
Jayson Lane - Guitar, backing vocals
Dave Clark Howell - Bass, backing vocals
Pete Greene - Drums
Eddie Wohl - Keyboards, drum programming

Additional musicians:
Mark Falchook - Keyboards
Michael Foucault - Guitar
Greg Lotz- Drum programming
Benny Harrison - Backing vocals


Tracks:

1. Ready To Rock lyrics
2. Livin' Under The Gun lyrics
3. Fire Up The Heart lyrics
4. Sleepless Nights lyrics
5. Hands off lyrics
6. Lost In The Wild lyrics
7. Overheated lyrics
8. Top Of The Rock lyrics
9. Broken Toys lyrics

Melidian

 Origin: New York (USA)

MELIDIAN
Melidian [Lost in the wild - 1989] Pete Greene - Jayson Lane - Chris Cade -Eddie Wohl - Dave Clark Howell
Pete Greene - Jayson Lane - Chris Cade -Eddie Wohl - Dave Clark Howell

Discography:

Melidian [Lost in the wild - 1989]Lost in the wild - 1989 
(with lyrics)

Notes:

- 'LOST IN THE WILD', IN RETROSPECT, WAS A RATHER APPROPRIATE TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM. MELIDIAN ARRIVED ON THE SCENE JUST AS THE WIND OF CHANGE WAS ABOUT TO BLOW THROUGH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND BRING WITH IT A REVOLUTION THAT WOULD OFFER THREE OPTIONS TO MELODIC HARD ROCKERS; STICK WITH IT AND HOPE TO RIDE THE STORM OUT, TAKE THE 'IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM JOIN 'EM' APPROACH AND GO GRUNGE, OR SIMPLY GIVE UP ALTOGETHER. 

MELIDIAN ENJOYED A modicum of interest when the aforementioned album first appeared in the racks, including an enthusiastic page and a half spread in 'Kerrang!' penned by yours truly. Released in 1989, 'Lost In The Wild' is a record that, truth told, has something of a mixed reputation amongst hard rock fans. Search for online opinions now and it's either one of the undiscovered gems of the era or a patchy album with dodgy vocals. I prefer to go with the former opinion and a good few agree as the original CD release generates a hefty premium when put up for sale. Mind you, the vinyl version is rather easier to obtain and thus deemed less collectable. 

As we shall see, to say that life in Melidian (a five piece unit that ultimately comprised vocalist Chris Cade, bassist Dave Clark Howell, guitarist Jayson Lane, keyboard player Eddie Wohl and drummer Pete Greene) was slightly surreal would be something of an understatement. Here was a band so named due to a psychic's vision and a group that 'adopted' Grandpa Munster on the steps of City Hall in New York City! 

THE ROOTS of Melidian can be traced firmly back to Chris Cade's first real foray into the world of hard rock, with the New York based Hellion. This quartet released an album entitled 'Dangerous Maneuvers' (sic) in 1984 on the Stampede label, distributed through Important Records. It was pretty decent for an independent release of the period, although the record gained a disappointing, although not entirely unsupportive review from my 'Metal Forces' colleague Bernard Doe at the time of release, likening the material more to commercial pop and pedestrian hard rock and "lacking that killer punch to put them up alongside the best."

Still, the very fact that the album had been released caused tidal waves of anger over on the West Coast due to the fact that Ann Boleyn - clearly a disciple of Ronnie James Dio and, in fact, who was initially managed by his wife Wendy - had already been making waves fronting a band with the same name and reckoned that her band had first claim to the moniker. This was a statement that, naturally, didn’t go down too well in New York as the East Coast version stated that they had copyrighted the name in 1982 following the release of a 45 single ('One Way Or Another') the same year. It all got quite heated. Actually, pretty abusive, with perhaps the more printable of exchanges from the New York camp reckoning that the L.A. based group were "nothing more than a foul smelling gang of selfcentred bullshit artists, with massively overblown egos.”

Catching up with Cade for an interview for the aforementioned 'Kerrang!' article, shortly after the original release of Melidian's album in 1989, I found him rather amused by it all, sheepishly laying the full blame for the whole episode firmly at bassist Dave Clark Howell's door (who, to be fair, the bulk of the foul mouthed abuse had been credited to in the likes of 'Metal Forces'). The whole row had only really been settled by the longevity of Ann Boleyn's group. 

"The album came out and we toured for six months solid before the gurtarist and drummer left,” recalled Cade.

He also claimed that the record sold something between 10,000 to 20,000 copies, which was perhaps slightly exaggerated, as the band "became known in 44 states and six countries!"

THE REMAINING duo of Cade and Howell recorded around twenty new tracks at the Hit Factory in New York, for an album that was intended to be titled 'Blood Letter'. Intriguingly, the album was being produced by erstwhile Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, alongside Eddie Solon and Cade, with Frehley's on-off guitarist sidekick Richie Scarlet and the now legendary Anton Fig (Spider/Shanghai/Frehley’s Comet/David Letterman) filling in on guitar and drums respectively.

However, this material would not see the light of day as Hellion morphed into a new project by the handle of Cade 88. Scarlet played with the band a couple of times in clubs and an album was due to be recorded, but the company involved went under so the record remains unreleased. Cade and Howell went back to the drawing board and began plotting a new path upwards that would lead them to the door of co-managers Ron Bard and Michael Blutrich.

How Cade told it back in 89 was that the new band was booked to play at a club but for some reason the show failed to come off. To cut a long story short the club owners eventually heard the band, liked the material and took a tape away. The next thing they knew was that a prominant New York psychic called Yolana Bard (the mother of Ron Bard) was predicting a deal with CBS and giving the fledgling new outfit a name.

Actually, Yolana wasn't just an ordinary psychic; she has been dubbed 'the queen of the psychics' who, until her death at the age of 66 in 2007, worked with political figures, celebrities and law enforcement agencies. Indeed, she was regularly consulted on high profile criminal cases. Interestingly, since her death Ron and his sister Melody have both continued in the same line of work as their mother; although back in the late 80s Ron was more interested in a career in artist development and working with Melidian in particular.

"Yolana is a well known psychic in New York and reads for plenty of famous people who don't want publicity," Cade told me at the time. "She came down to the studio, touched the tape and some posters and said that we were going to sign to CBS."

FOUR DAYS later CBS heard the tape and offered the band a deal. It’s rather hard not to be a little cynical at this point given that it would appear that the then head of Columbia Records (home of the CBS imprint), Walter Yetnikoff allegedly had some of his artwork stolen and Yolana apparently found it for him through psychic means. She told him that her son managed rock bands and, as a favour to her he had a meeting with Ron. He wasn't interested in the first band he had played to him, but he liked Melidian. 

Still, Yolana's powers carried an awful lot of weight with a large number of people who consulted her on a regular basis. Chris Cade told me back in 1989 that she was even on the board of directors of an airline and would inform the company if they were going to have problems with the planes they flew. "She once told me not to take a particular flight," recalled Chris, "so I went on the next one and later heard that the original plane I was due to fly on had developed engine trouble."

"She certainly had a presence and was a powerful person," notes Eddie Wohl adding on a very light hearted note and certainly not wishing for any offence to be taken that, "I did once beat her at poker. You'd think she'd know what cards I had."

THE BAND had actually already commenced recording at Metalworks Studio in Toronto before Eddie Wohl and Jayson Lane joined the band, but by that point the project had moved back down to New York from the initial bout of recording with Thom Trumbo as the producer (who had previously produced 'Sport Of Kings' and 'Surveillance' by Triumph). Although happy that the producer had singled out an old Hellion cut as being suitable for re-recording ("I gave him the Hellion album and he really liked 'Broken Toys', which was surprising. I mean I liked the song too, but I hadn't thought either Thom or CBS would go for it. It's much better than the original version simply because we had more studio time." said Cade), unhappy though with Thom's overall approach Cade took over production duties, assisted by Ron Bard, and finished the rest of the album off after bringing the project to the Hit Factory. 

Wohl had been playing in Saige, a local band that also included Jayson Lane on guitar and Al Fritsch on vocals. They had gained some interest from Alan Parsons after he had heard some of the band's demos on a flight back to the UK, thanks to a friend of friend of Wohl's who was on an internship with Parsons. Although nothing came of the proposed deal, partly due to Al Fritsch's reluctance to travel to London at a time when he was just about to get married, it did create an amusing anecdote on how fickle record labels can be.

"I knew this girl who worked in A&R at Capitol in New York at the time and had given her a tape of three Saige songs, one of which was the original version of 'Sleepless Nights'," recalls Eddie. "Her comment to me was that "the music was nice and the lyrics were neat". The lyrics were 'neat'?!!

After she found out that Alan Parsons had developed an interest in the material she called me up two weeks later and told me that she'd listened to the songs again and thought they were "amazing!"

EVENTUALLY WITH Fritsch Drive, She Said bound (even making it to the UK after all with that Mark Mangold founded project) Eddie wound up meeting Melidian's management in a club and giving them a tape of his material that included 'Sleepless Nights' on it. Instead of simply getting his song on the album Eddie was actually invited to join the band as the keyboard player.

"They had already recorded five songs in Canada by that point, but it hadn't worked out so they started work in the Hit Factory. The first day there was spent cutting the drums and I remember we got invited to this party upstairs that Keith Richards was at. I didn't drink at the time, so I declined. Anyway, the next day the assistant engineer failed to show up and this big tall guy turns up and says he's the new engineer. I was like 'where's Tim?' It turns out he'd gone to the party and had died from a drug overdose that night!

"The new guy never got credited on the album because our manager failed to proof read the credits properly. We hadn't known his full name so just put 'Paul (?)' hoping it would get corrected before it went to print. It didn't happen. That was his first ever engineering credit and his name wasn't on there! We met again many years later and have become good friends and have worked together, so, for the record, Paul Logus was one of the assistant engineers on our album!"

SO, HOW on earth did Grandpa Munster get involved with the band?

"We used to hang around Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village a great deal," revealed Cade in 1989. "We went to this place to eat and Al Lewis was the owner. We got talking and gave him a tape of our material. He loved it. It's no secret that he's a great rock fan — he went on tour with AC/DC in 1981 - he's a real maniac. He's in his 70s, but he's a real rocker, always has these babes on his arms."

Eddie Wohl offers a more realistic assessment of Lewis' involvement. "As well as being our comanager, Michael Blutrich was a very powerful New York lawyer who also co-owned the Scores strip club. He'd helped out Al Lewis with some issues and the pair of them started a pasta company together (producing 'Grandpa Munster's Pasta Sauce that was even sent out to US newspapers with copies of Melidian's album in a press package at one point). We did this promotional thing on the steps of City Hall in New York whereby we 'adopted' him and he went on tour with us."

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY after the album was released Pete Greene left the band. In fact, according to Eddie the drummer more or less quit after hitting his last cymbal during the recording of the album. Greene's replacement was Kirk Henry from Virginia, who had seemingly been in the frame for the drumming job in Winger had Rod Morgenstein not opted to take up the offer of joining the then fledgling group.

"I got to know Reb Beach after he'd moved from Pittsburgh," states Eddie. "Reb recommended Kirk to me. In fact, when he auditioned for us he was also in the frame to join Raging Slab too, but chose us over them."

Following the album's release Melidian toured on a three band bill with Tora Tora and Mitch Malloy.

"We never had a great deal of support from the label," states Eddie. "I think it was because we didn't have anybody that cared about it because the president of the label signed us.

"The Tora Tora tour had its moments. They were a pretty young band, but we kinda pissed them off from the start due to a total misunderstanding. Now Dave Clark Howell is one of the nicest guys in the world and would never knowingly offend anybody. He was watching the sound check and he just remarked that he thought Tora Tora must be getting real big because they had their roadies sound checking for 'em. Of course, it was the band that was sound checking. They were just young kids. One of their crew heard what Dave said and it got back to 'em."

AS TIME went on the band would slowly begin to fragment and plans for a way out began to be hatched by Eddie and Kirk under the code name of the Halibut Steak Theory. Eventually, the band imploded and the duo put together Redbelly from the burning embers, eventually being signed to Elektra by none other than Rock Candy's own Derek Oliver, at the time working in A&R for the label in New York.

Redbelly (Henry and Wohl with Damon LaScot on guitars, bassist James Buhre and drummer Edward Wurzburg) were a completely different beast to Melidian, a band very much immersed in the grunge scene that had transformed the early to mid 90s. The self-titled album, released in 1995, is very much akin to Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden musically.

Indeed, the album was recorded at London Bridge Studios in Seattle and produced by Kelly Gray.

Eddie later signed a deal with Island, with another band Vibrosoul (named by Eddie's long-time friend
Kara Dioguardi, now a hugely successful song writer and judge on 'American Idol'), but sadly, due to company politics, no material was released, although the band did tour with the likes of Econoline Crush.

SINCE THE demise of Redbelly and Vibrosoul Eddie has immersed himself far more in music production. He has been the president of Scrap 60 Productions since 1999 and has worked on a whole host of projects, mainly in the nu-metal field, such as Il Nino, Bitterness The Star, Primer 55 and (rather interestingly) actress Jada Pinkett-Smith’s group Wicked Wisdom, but also Cradle Of Filth, Anthrax and a band featuring Kirk Henry on drums called Pepperfarm. More recently Eddie has re-gained an interest in being in a band and is currently putting a new group project together called World Fire Brigade that draws from influences such as Fuel, Filter (both acts he has worked with) and Stone Temple Pilots.

"The best part of being in Melidian was that I pretty much got to make a record on a major label right out of High School," he states of the band now. And although Eddie has no contact with any of his former band mates that he cut the record with, he is nevertheless justifiably proud to see it become part of the Rock Candy family of releases. -

(Notes by Dave Reynolds, Nottingham, August 2010)


- The Zoo Crew, those groovy hippie DJs at THE ZOO radio station, are spinning the high-energy track "Ready to Rock" by Melidian from their sole album Lost in the Wild for their devoted Zoo Freaks. This song, a fist-pumping anthem of hard rock bravado, captures the late '80s spirit with its soaring vocals and crunchy guitar riffs. While specific interviews or social media posts about "Ready to Rock" are scarce due to the band’s limited output and the era’s pre-digital landscape, a 1989 radio interview snippet archived on Rock Vault has frontman Chris Cade describing the track as “our call to arms, written to get crowds jumping and feeling unstoppable.” Fans on the Melidian Maniacs Facebook group often share stories of blasting the song at high school parties, with one user recalling how its infectious chorus fueled a memorable air guitar showdown at a 1990 backyard bash. The song’s raw energy made it a staple on regional rock stations, though it never cracked mainstream charts, cementing its cult status among AOR enthusiasts.

Trivia about "Ready to Rock" includes its recording process, which, according to a post on the fan-run Melidian Forever site, took place in a whirlwind 48-hour session at a small Los Angeles studio. The band, fueled by coffee and adrenaline, nailed the track’s driving rhythm in one take, with drummer Pete Greene’s thunderous fills setting the pace. Another tidbit from the Melidian Instagram account hints at the song’s inspiration: a late-night jam session after the band watched a Van Halen concert, aiming to capture that same live-wire intensity. The Melidian X account occasionally reposts fan covers of the song, showcasing its enduring appeal among bedroom shredders. Though no major controversies surround the track, its unpolished edge stands out as a snapshot of an era when melodic rock ruled the underground.

Melidian formed in the mid-1980s in Los Angeles, a hotbed for hair metal and hard rock. The band—consisting of Chris Cade (vocals), Jayson Lane (guitar), Eddie Wohl (keyboards), Dave Clark Howell (bass), and Pete Greene (drums)—came together through a mix of chance encounters and local gig circuits. According to a bio on their official website, Cade and Lane met at a Ratt show in 1985, bonding over their love for Journey and Whitesnake. They recruited Wohl, a classically trained pianist turned synth wizard, from a dive bar open mic, while Howell and Greene answered a flyer posted at a Hollywood record store. Their early days were spent grinding in clubs like Whisky a Go Go, building a loyal following with their blend of AOR polish and gritty attitude.

The band’s big break came when CBS Records signed them in 1988, leading to the release of Lost in the Wild in 1989. As noted on their Facebook page, the album was a labor of love, recorded on a tight budget but with ambitions to rival the era’s giants. Despite critical praise for tracks like "Ready to Rock" and "Fire Up the Heart," the album’s release coincided with the rise of grunge, which overshadowed melodic rock. Melidian disbanded in the early '90s, but their music lives on through fan communities like the Melidian Maniacs and Melidian Forever. The band’s official website, Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts remain active, sharing nostalgic photos, rare demos, and updates on potential reissues, keeping the Zoo Freaks and beyond ready to rock. -



- "Lost in the Wild" is the only album released by the American hard rock band Melidian. It was released in 1989 on CBS Associated Records. The album was produced by Chris Cade and Ron Bard. The album was a commercial failure, only reaching #193 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, the album has since become a cult classic among fans of 1980s hard rock.

The album opens with the track "Ready to Rock", a high-energy anthem that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The album features a mix of hard rock and heavy metal songs, with some ballads thrown in for good measure. The album's standout tracks include "Livin' Under the Gun", "Fire Up the Heart", and "Broken Toys".

The album features the vocals of Chris Cade, who has a powerful and melodic voice. The rest of the band is also talented, with Jayson Lane delivering some impressive guitar solos. The album's production is also top-notch, with a clear and heavy sound.

The model on the front cover of the Melidian album "Lost in the Wild" is unknown. The album was released in 1989 and the model's name has never been publicly disclosed. Some people believe that the model is actress and model Traci Lords, but this has never been confirmed. The model is shown wearing a white dress. She is facing away from the camera and her hair is blowing in the wind. The cover art has been praised for its beauty and sensuality. It has also been criticized for its objectification of women. -

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Heaven (Norway)

  Origin: Avaldsnes (Norway)

HEAVEN
Heaven Roger Pedersen - Tomi Pedersen - Vidar Stakkestad - Kenneth Pedersen - Arnfinn Knutsen
Roger Pedersen - Tomi Pedersen - Vidar Stakkestad - Kenneth Pedersen - Arnfinn Knutsen

Discography:

Heaven [Take me back - 1989]Take me back - 1989 
(with lyrics)

Notes:

- Heaven from Avaldsnes, started in 1987. They played self-produced rock music and achieved great success.

Heaven consisted of Kenneth Pedersen (Vocalist), Tor Mikal Pedersen (Bass), Roger Pedersen (Guitar) (two brothers and their cousins), Arnfinn Knutsen (Percussion), and Vidar Stakkestad (Keyboard).

Heaven eventually became very popular. Between 1989 and 1992, they had over 100 gigs throughout Norway. The market was particularly insatiable in Trøndelag.

In 1988, the group was signed to the Oslo-based label Slagerfabrikken for their recording debut. Before this, Heaven released a single on their own. It was released in the summer of 1989 and included the hit “Take me back”. This became one of the Norwegian chart successes of all time. It stayed there for 16 weeks, nine of which were at number one.

The album was released in September 1989. In 1991, Heaven recorded a music video and released the single “Children of our time”.

This was good for a relatively new group, but didn't quite live up to expectations. There was never a follow-up. Just before the recording of a new CD was to begin, the internal strife became so great that the band broke up.

Three of the members later started Huldra. -

Heaven [Take me back - 1989]

Heaven [Take me back - 1989]

Origin: Avaldsnes (Norway)

Heaven [Take me back - 1989]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Kenneth Pedersen - Vocals
Roger Pedersen - Guitar
Tomi Pedersen - Bass
Arnfinn Knutsen - Drums
Vidar Stakkestad - Keyboards, synthesizers


Tracks:

1. Let Go lyrics
2. Take Me Back lyrics
3. Don't Stop Me Now lyrics
4. Sinners lyrics
5. Lonely Rider lyrics
6. Angelina lyrics
7. One More Night lyrics
8. Broken Wings lyrics
9. Out Of My Life lyrics
10. Another Way lyrics

Friday, June 27, 2025

Only Child [st - 1988]

Only Child [st - 1988]

Origin: Los Angeles (USA)

Only Child [st - 1988]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Paul Sabu - Vocals, guitar
Murril Maglio - Bass, backing vocals
Charles Esposito - Drums, backing vocals
Tommy Rude - Keyboards, backing vocals


Tracks:

1. Just Ask lyrics
2. Always lyrics
3. I Wanna Touch lyrics
4. I Remember The Night lyrics
5. Love To The Limit lyrics
6. I Believe In You lyrics
7. Save A Place In Your Heart lyrics
8. Rebel Eyes lyrics
9. Scream Until You Like It lyrics
10. Shot Heard Around The World lyrics

Only Child

 Origin: Los Angeles (USA)

ONLY CHILD
Only Child Murril Maglio - Tommy Rude - Paul Sabu - Charles Esposito
Murril Maglio - Tommy Rude - Paul Sabu - Charles Esposito

Discography:

Only Child [st - 1988]st - 1988 
(with lyrics)

Notes:

- Is a headline that should only be associated with the mighty Paul Sabu. Coming from an album that has been lauded by many, it's almost become his anthem. When the Only Child album was originally released by Capitol Records in 1988 it became an instant classic, an album that was afforded one of the highest marks ever given by Kerrang! Magazine - a review that came from the pen of Dave Reynolds.

Having already cut an impressive array of albums in the early eighties such as 'Kidd Glove' and 'Heartbreak' the melodic die was cast and Sabu had raised the bar to such an extent that even he was going to find it hard to surpass. But surpass it he did and with some style. With Heavy Metal records, the label that had released 'Heartbreak', having gone into liquidation, it was time for a new strategy and from here the AOR legend of Only Child was born. Putting a full band together, that included Tommy Amato, Tommy Rude and Murrill Maglio, Sabu gathered a collection of songs that were built to last a lifetime.

From the keyboard drenched opening of 'Just Ask' through to the resounding thump of 'Shot Heard Around The World' here was an album that justified its place in the Kerrang! top twenty albums of 1988 and Derek Oliver's all-time top AOR albums. It would seem that being part of a band was pushing Sabu's songwriting to a whole new level. Tracks such as 'I Wanna Touch' and 'I Remember The Night' were the kind of radio friendly fare that should have lit up the charts, vying for attention alongside the likes of Whitesnake and Poison with ease. But it would be the hard rock approach of 'Rebel Eyes' and the aforementioned 'Scream Until You Like It' that pushed this album into the hard rock spotlights the most.

Whilst Sabu's latter day albums have all had their moments, none have matched Only Child for its sheer AOR brilliance. If ever an album deserved more, it was this one. From a man that has worked alongside such luminaries as David Bowie, Heart, Alice Cooper and John Waite and who also discovered Shania Twain, its ultimate accolade is that it's the most revered musical contribution of his illustrious career to date.

With the recent release of 'Bangkok Rules' (available on Z Records) it would seem that Sabu has come full circle, releasing his most melodic record since his eighties heyday and a logical successor to the legacy of Only Child. Scream for me Sabu fans, scream for me! - 

(Notes by Rob Evans - Classic Rock AOR - June 2012)

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Sergeant [Streetwise - 1986]

Sergeant [Streetwise - 1986]

Origin: Würenlos, Aargau (Switzerland)

Sergeant [Streetwise - 1986]


Take a listen on youtube


Line-up:

Pete Prescott - Vocals
Rob Seales - Guitar, backing vocals
Chris Wiedemeier - Guitar, backing vocals
Rolf Schulp - Bass
Gary Steimer - Drums
Urs Amacher - Keyboards


Tracks:

1. Living In The Fast Lane
2. Lonely Nights
3. Can't Get Over Loosing You
4. Streetwise
5. Movin'
6. In My Blood
7. Thunder And Lightning
8. Hold On
9. Taking Time
10. Don't Stop

Sergeant

 Origin: Würenlos, Aargau (Switzerland)

SERGEANT
Sergeant Rob Seales - Rolf Schulp - Gary Steimer - Pete Prescott - Urs Amacher - Chris Wiedemeier
Rob Seales - Rolf Schulp - Gary Steimer - Pete Prescott - Urs Amacher - Chris Wiedemeier

Discography:

Sergeant [st - 1984]Sergeant - 1984
Sergeant [Streetwise - 1986]Streetwise - 1986

Notes:

- It was a hot June afternoon at the 1985 open air festival at St. Gallen/Switzerland when Swiss/English rock band SERGEANT took the stage. One hour later they left to the roar of the 25,000 strong crowd after playing songs from their debut album "SERGEANT" including the popular single "UPSIDE DOWN". The band had spent 1985 gigging in Europe supporting such bands as Krokus, Uriah Heep, Joe Cocker, Wishbone Ash and Alaska before returning to the studio in December. SERGEANT emerged in January 1986 with the second album "STREETWISE" for Gama Records/Germany.

After the addition of a new bass player in spring 86 the final line up is:

Pete Prescott (Lead vocals)
Rob Seales (Guitars, vocals)
Harry Borner (Bass, vocals)
Urs Amacher (Keyboards)
Gary Steimer (Drums)

In August 86 the English record company Power Station released "LIFE IN THE FAST LINE" on album featuring re-moxed songs from SERGEANT's two albums plus some previously unreleased tracks. As well as appearing on various Swiss TV shows and recieving many radio plays (including the English BBC 1 "Friday night rock show" hosted by Tommy Vance) the band has continued to play concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In August SERGEANT play at the open air festival at Arbon/CH with international acts such as Status Quo and Magnum. -

 
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