Greetings friends!
Good to be back in the world of the living again. I had the splints removed from my nose earlier this week and despite feeling like I am still suffering from a severe case of allergies, I can tell already a tremendous difference. Dr Cohen said that the polyp they removed had likely been there for years – maybe even 8-10 years. Which is incredible, thinking about some of the small nuances and changes in my voice that I’ve noticed over the past 10 years. To think that I may be able to go out with a totally refurbished instrument in another week or so is really exciting.
Talked to two great musical collaborators this week, the first one being one of my teenage heros, Mr John Spinks from The Outfield. It was my first chance to talk directly with John (he’s in the UK), and he is just an amazingly cool, down to earth chap. The prospect of working on an album of new material with John’s input and guidance is really a thrill. The Outfield is one of those rare groups for me that beyond my teenage years and into my adulthood, I’ve always had one of their CDs in my car…The music is timeless, and I’m glad that they are experiencing a bit of a resurgence lately. Tony Lewis, along with Rob Halford, Steve Perry, Terrrence Trent D’arby, and George Michael, was one of the greatest influences on my singing style, especially in terms of developing an emotive and yet powerful delivery. Tony, like Rob, TTD, Mr P, and George, is one of those timeless vocal stylist that is able to pull you into a song with the character and emotion of their delivery, and still maintain a stunning technical mastery of their instrument. It’s the type of voice I’ve worked on developing since my early teens.
I also had the chance to talk in depth with Eric Ragno, a monster keyboardist, songwriter, and all around superstar of a guy. Eric’s been the nucleus of a number of great AOR collaborations over the years, and I’m excited to be working with him as well. We’ve traded a few tracks back and forth, and from what I’ve heard so far, we are completely on the same page, and there will hopefully be some big tracks out there when we finish this project.
News with Frontiers is that the new touring lineup is coming together amazingly well. The practices are really beginning to gel, and the guys are all coming up with some real creative takes on some of the material. I hope to get Kenny to lay down some guitar tracks tonight so I can add some stripped down demos to the new Myspace page later this weekend!
So as I leave you today, I’ll go out with a plug for The Outfield’s third album, Voices Of Babylon (1989). This is probably the group’s creative masterpiece. It came out the summer of my senior high graduation, and was a big hit during Sabrina & I’s first year together….but aside from the sentiment, it’s an all time classic record with strong tracks from top to toe. Give it a listen this weekend… you’ll be an Outfield fan before the night is over…
Cheers!
