CD/DVD Releases: Michael Schenker ''Temple Of Rock'' New Album And US Tour
To Be Released On CD and LP October 11, 2011 Via MVD Entertainment GroupUS Tour Dates With Uli Jon Roth And Leslie West Set For October
Michael Schenker, a true purveyor first-class hard guitar rock, is set to release the aptly titled Temple Of Rock on October 11 on CD, digital formats, and vinyl. He will also be touring with Uli Jon Roth and Leslie West on the 3 Guitar Heroes tour (complete schedule below).
The list of Schenker's successes is extensive... As a young man he lent his very special sound, together with his brother Rudolf, to the Scorpions, which later made the band one of the first real international hard rock stars from Germany. In the 70s, he similarly helped the British rock legends U.F.O. to their definitive breakthrough, turning songs like "Rock Bottom" or "Doctor, Doctor" into hits everyone knows.
In 1980, it was time for him to form the first band of his own... The Michael Schenker Group, or MSG for short. Some of the world's best musicians were asembled, cavorting with founding members such as Gary Barden, Don Airey or Simon Phillips. Not forgetting that no one less than Roger Glover from Deep Purple manned the production console for the first record. Since then, the three letters MSG have become a synonym for honest, hand-crafted and impelling premium hard rock.
Now, after extensive touring, and following a well-earned rest, Schenker has returned with his group to add a new jewel to his creative work. Names such as Pete Way, Wayne Findlay, Neil Murray and Chris Slade still represent the highest of standards and get aficionados' heartbeats racing. One of the biggest treats is his collaboration with the former Scorpions drummer, Herman "the German" Rarebell, as well as his beloved brother Rudolf. And yet the list is even longer with Doogie White* (former member of the Rainbows), Super drummer Carmine Appice and Elliott Tichy. However the one name missing in 2011 is Gary Barden. Michael Voss, the new vocalist, is more than "just" a replacement. The experienced producer and singer showed just what he is capable of during the last MSG tour.
Schenker says: "The Temple Of Rock is within me where I create since I was introduced to the amazing invention of the distorted guitar which is for me the most enjoyable and the best possible way to express myself. The rock guitar sound that I fell in love with, mostly expressed as lead break, is what I have nurtured and treasured all of my life. Combined with the infinite spring from within and the amazing musicians around me I keep expressing an ongoing development of my Art(Being). With Temple Of Rock I am entering a new stage of my life, a new level of existence enjoying life more than ever, reaping the joy of all sorts of developments from the past.
"Also, it seems to me that collectively, with true expressive makers of Rock music, we have been building the external Temple Of Rock for many years and have now come to the point of putting on the roofing and celebrating the almost completion of the Temple. All generations of this period are meeting all over the world on one stage it seems celebrating an era of 'Hand Made Rock' which will never be the same again due to invention of new technology but of course New Temples and New Wonders will arise to enjoy expressions in new ways."
Tracklist:
Intro
How Long
Fallen Angel
Hanging On
The End Of An Era
Miss Claustrophobia
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Storming In
Scene Of Crime
Lover's Sinfony
How Long (3 Generations Guitar Battle Version)
Check out the single "Miss Claustrophobia" here
Pre-order here (CD) | Pre-order here (LP)
Schenker will be joining Uli Jon Roth and Leslie West** on the 3 Guitar Heroes tour. Upcoming dates for 2011 in the USA include:
October 6 - Norfolk - CT - Infinity Music Hall & Bistro
October 7 - Albany - NY - The Egg
October 8 - Ridgefield - CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse
October 9 - Plymouth - NH - The Flying Monkey
October 12 - Foxborough - MA - Showcase Live
October 13 - Asbury Park - NJ - Stone Pony
October 14 - New York - NY - Irving Plaza
October 15 - Philadelphia - PA - Theatre of Living Arts
October 16 - Westbury - NY - NYCB Theatre At Westbury
October 18 - Silver Spring - MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring
October 19 - Baltimore - MD - Sound Stage
October 20 - Cleveland - OH - House of Blues
October 21 - Cincinnati - OH - Bogart's
October 22 - Indianapolis - IN - Egyptian Room
October 26 - Milwaukee - WI - The Pabst Theater
October 27 - Chicago - IL - House of Blues
November 4 - Dallas - TX - House of Blues
November 5 - Houston - TX - House of Blues
November 11 - Las Vegas - NV - Boulder Station Hotel & Casino
*Speaking of Doogie White, as previously announced Metal Mind Productions will release Doogie White’s debut solo release this autumn. The album called As Yet Untitled is a collection of 10 dramatic and hard hitting rock songs co-written by White and some good friends he has made over the years on the rock scene. Track “Time Machine” promotes the album and is now available to stream on this site.
Doogie White: "'Time Machine' was written by Paul Logue and myself. I was having my Dr Who moment. If you could go back what would you change? I try not to have dirt on the back of my shoes or dwell on the past, but I guess we all have moments when we think 'What if?' Bridges get burned, some get rebuilt and some just get carried by the river to the sea and float away never to be seen again. But if you could relive that moment, that secret special moment, just for one day, how magical it might be?"
**Speaking of Leslie West: Legendary guitarist and Mountain founder Leslie West will release a brand new solo album entitled Unusual Suspects on Monday September 19th 2011. The album is his first since 2006’s Blue Me.
Released by Provogue Records, the album, Unusual Suspects features West alongside a hand-picked line-up of the finest guitar players alive today including Slash, blues-rock guitar superstar Joe Bonamassa, Black Label Society front man and ex-Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Toto’s Steve Lukather.
"These guys don’t just show up to play on everybody’s albums,” says West on his special guests and the album’s title. “They’re all stars in their own right, and fantastic players -- everyone with their own sound and style, about as far from ‘the usual suspects’ as it gets.”
Leslie West has long been a popular personality on the Howard Stern Radio Show in America. It was Stern whom he gave an interview in late June 2011, from his hospital bed, mere days after undertaking life-saving surgery which saw his leg amputated above the knee.
On June 17th, West (a long-time sufferer of type 2 Diabetes) was aboard a long-haul flight to Mississippi to perform at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, when the limb began to swell. He was rushed to the emergency room and lost consciousness. The decision to proceed with the operation was made by his wife, Jenni, who remarks "It was his leg or his life."
Such a life-changing ordeal would surely deter other artists, but West is already looking firmly forward, insisting that Unusual Suspects' release date was not altered because of his condition. "Now I’ve got to figure out how to play the guitar [whilst standing] on one leg," he states, under no illusions regarding the size of the task ahead. "The prosthetic ones they have these days are really good, but of course I’m used to balancing my weight on two feet. I’m going to have to retrain myself."
[Source: MVD Entertainment; White item: Metal Mind; West item: Noble PR]
