Band(s) : Dirty Looks/Iain Ashley Hersey/Pleasure Maker/Lizhard/Winter Parade/XYZ
Album title(s) : California Free Ride / Nomad / Lizhard / Twisted Desire / Two / The Best Of XYZ
Label : Perris Records
Distributor : (none)
Release date : See below
Release : CD

We asked American label Perris Records for promo copies for their releases, and all they would send us (quite understandable, because they have no distributor for their stuff over here – Belgium, that is) was an mp3-sample CD (no related info, except the individual internet addresses of the bands), with all of the above mentioned six CDs compressed together (just imagine, 4 hours and 12 minutes onto óne disc...which I can only play on the computer or a compatible disc reader, and not even copy to the mp3-player for mobile listening sessions – something very important for a review freak like myself who does most of his travelling by bicycle, you know), so I thought I’d also compress the reviews for the individual albums together in one article...just to return the favour, see? So, sorry if I don’t give each album as much attention as I would’ve in normal circumstances! Although the albums were put on the disc in different order, I though I’d give you the reviews in an alphabetical one.  Here we go!

Originating from San Fransisco’s Bay Area, Dirty Looks have been active since 1985. After independently releasing an EP on Sticky Records, they landed a management/ production deal and recorded their self-titled debut album released through French label Axe Killer. Due to lack of interest in their hometown, the band split and reformed in Harrisburg, PA. Since then they’ve released a number of records (In Your Face, 1986, Mirror Records; I Want More, simultaneously released on Axe Killer; Cool From The Wire, 1988, Atlantic; Turn Of The Screw, 1989, Atlantic; Bootlegs – a compilation of b-sides, 1991, Roadrunner; Five Easy Pieces, 1992, Sony/ Columbia; Chewing On The Bit, 1994, Sony/ Columbia; One Bad Leg, 1994, Sony/ Columbia) before being cut down from the major label rosters they’d come to...thanks to the ever-growing influence of Grunge music on the US music industry. After a return to Mirror Records for the 1996 mini-album Rip It Out, the band still issued one more album (Slave To The Machine) through Sony with very moderate sales that same year, realizing that their type of music was out of the market altogether. So the members split up to pursue individual projects.
The band was reformed by frontman (vocals & guitar) Henrik Oostergaard in 2007 (I’m afraid I’ve no idea whom else is in the band right now, because there’s been some movements in the line-up with people comin’ an’ goin’...but on the record the music was apparently played by drummer Ed Collins and guitarist Eric Brewer, with Oostergaard not only playing second guitar but also taking most bass duties for his account – an exception was made for one track where original DL bassist Jack Pyers jumped in), and immediatelly released Gasoline on their own Sticky Records, followed up early this year by Superdeluxe. Obviously on a roll, the band now comes with their third album in less than two years. California Free Ride was issued through Perris on October 7, and shows a band which is nicely stuck in their past, playing the kind of Glam Rock/ Metal other bands like Motley Crüe became famous for. When compared to the older material by the band (which was occasionally more remeniscent to AC/DC than anything else) I happen to have in my possession (and I’m afraid that’s only Cool From The Wire, One Bad Leg, and Rip It Out) I have to say the material comes out even more energized, both musically and vocally. Oostergaard squeals at the top of his voice, which is actually pretty nice in the highly andrenalized confines of the music the band now brings. The actual album only lists 10 tracks, but there’s actually 11 with a live recorded track following a truly weird and evil studio track (wacky vocals, that)! For your listening session I will for once nót direct you to the band’s possible MySpace page, but to their own website dirtylooksmusic.com! Why? Because there you can listen to each and évery song the band ever made!!! Check it out...individual rating: 88/100

Before receiving this (mp3) CD, I’d never even heard of Iain Ashley Hersey at all! As it turns out, this is already the guitarist’s third album after 2005’s The Holy Grail (released on Lion Music and featuring none less than singer Graham Bonnet on three tracks) and a “worldwide acclaimed” 2000 debut Fallen Angel (with half of its material vocalised by Mike Stone of Eden, Clover and the Peter Criss band repute, it was issued through Frontiers in Europe and Avex in Japan). Originally influenced by the heavier British Blues Rock tunes from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Deep Purple, and guitarists like Jeff Beck, Richie Blackmore and Hendrix, the New England raised guitarist then sought to develop his muscal abilities and studied at the renowned Berklee College Of Music in Boston to expand his capacities to the world of Jazz improvisation. Relocating to Los Angeles, he enrolled as a student at Musician’s Institute as an excuse to get a feel of the city: in stead of following the main courses (which he knew already from Boston) he hung out and jammed with Joe Diorio, Frank Gamballe, and Scott Henderson...and at the end of the year he was invited to join the school as instructor, which he did for the next six years!
But eventually the guitarist would return to his roots. Of course, sóme of his new abilities would creep in his music, and in his own words, “It’s kind of a Heavy Bluesey Classic Rock with a hint of Fusion overtones”, played with a vintage 50’s Fender Stratocaster guitar on late ‘60s Marshall amps, and it should therefore not be surprising that remeniscences to Deep Purple and Rainbow come through! If I’ve got my facts right, he’s done each album with different musicians, this time around with keyboardist Holger Seeger, bassist Jochen Mayer, and drummer Frank Kraus, with Carsten ‘Lizard’ Schulz singing on 3 tracks (“Sacrifice The Sun”, “Vintage Love”, and “We’ve Lost The Rhythm”). No idea who sang the rest! Oh yeah, album released on October 7 again, and 3 tracks off the album (as well as 3 off The Holy Grail, tow of which with Bonnet) can be listened to at myspace.com/iainashleyhersey. At the moment the guitarist is looking for a good bassist and suitable singer (see detail at MySpace blog, or possibly even iainashleyhersey.com – which I haven’t had the time to check) from the Los Angeles neighborhood for live appearances! Individual rating: 92/100

First thing that went through my mind when first listening to Lizhard’s material on this mp3-disc was “They from Germany, or what?”. “What” turned out to be Italy...which would’ve been my second thought, goin’ on singer Luke Marsilio’s somewhat typical vocal deflections (ain’t thàt a complicated way of explaining that the man’s geographical origins come through in his voice?)! Formed in 1995 in a small town near Milano by bassist Luca ‘Ze’ Moroni and drummer Ricky Lecchini under the name Lego, the band changed its name a couple of years after. Marsilio had apparently already joined them by then. For many years, the band continued their covers band status playing plenty of gigs in Northern Italy and Switzerland, but eventually they decided to write their own music...a first result of which comes (thanks to some Italian label contacts of their then guitarist Alberto Colombo) with the 2005 released 5-track EP Sexy Lolita, which was completely sung in Italian. But the material isn’t really the original three-piece’s thing, and when guitarist Paul Mainetti joins the band returns to their old passion for the Hard Rock sound of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Working on their material, the band gets the chance to open for Eric Martin & Twin Dragons in early 2008, and get a warm response from both the audience and media. A couple of months later they ink a deal with Perris for a release of their upcoming album on October 7, and the recordings (co-produced, mixed and mastered by the renowned Alessandro Del Vecchio – worked with the likes of Edge Of Forever, Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, Jeff Scott Soto and many others) are finished in June.
Not ever song on this album is an original song though, because “Life In The Fast Lane” was originally a song by The Eagles! With their simple line-up, each and every instrument is important, but each gets its moment to shine (of course the guitarist comes to the fore a little more due to his solos)! Luckily, Marsilio’s lead is well backed in harmonic way by the other guys, which makes me tone dosn my previous remark about his somewhat heady and accented vocal style. To listen to 30-second samples from each and every song on the album (plus three off the EP), surf to the media section of the band’s own website lizhard.com; for full-length version of five out of the 10 songs (plus the title track of the EP) go to myspace.com/lizhardband. At the end of the day, the lead vocals dó cost the band points in the rating in my book…but I’m sure the album will do well in both Italy and Switzerland…and why not Germany as well. Individual rating: 83/100

Hum...weird! When looking up info on this Rio de Janeiro based Brazilian quintet I found out that a certain info source of mine, which has proven itself to be quite reliable in the past, gave different info than the band’s own website and page at MySpace, so I’ll have to asume that Pleasure Maker was indeed formed in the year 2001 from the ashes of Bon Jovi cover band New Jersey, initiated by guitarist/ backing singer and producer Alex Meister (a veteran of Thoten, a band which had two records out on Italian label Scarlet and played at Italy’s Gods Of Metal 2003 festival). Along for the ride from the beginning were singer C. Marshall (who’d also released two albums with Fugitivos de Toquio, then participated in the Trucco Classic Rock band for 3 years as drummer and singer; today he also sings for Analfa, known in Brazil as one of the best cover bands) and bassist Mark Sant’Anna (renowned for having played in several Rock/ Pop acts in Rio de Janeiro). Their intent was to make a good melodic Hard Rock with an updated ‘80s sound, starting with influences taken from the likes of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Winger, and Danger Danger. In other words, music with interesting guitar parts and mucho harmonic backing vocals! Along the way, the band installed Adriano Moreis on the drum stool, and in Dec. 2004 the band saw the release of their debut full-length Love On The Rocks in Brazil. During the following May the album was released in Germany through Target and in September Perris signed on for the distribution of the album in North America and the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, the album’s song “Just thinkin’ About You” gets a 2005 nomination for “Song Of The Year” at melodicrock.com, and in May 2006 the guys sign with Japanese imprint Spiritual Beast, where the album is issued during June in revitalized version (with new artwork, a new mastering, and of course a bonus track). By October 2006 the band waas able to announce that they had already been working on 8 new tracks for an upcoming album...but a year later the track-list still wasn’t completed. As it turns out, the bassist was replaced by new man Andy Starr, and the guys added a keyboardist with Sandro Rossi (sorry about not adding more detailed info about when exactly that happened, but the info in the English section of the band’s own website pleasuremaker.com is missing, and my Portuguese ain’t good enough for me to even try and take out the time to check)...they also did quite a bit of gigs around Brazil during 2007 to integrate the new guys.
By February the boys were able to announce that they were in the studio recording with hopes to see the album released in July, and along the way they would put up songs at myspace.com/pleasuremakerband as a prelude to the full-length album’s release! I’m not sure just when this album was released, as I’ve found no info on it on either the band’s MySpace page (myspace.com/pleasuremakerrocks) or own webpage (pleasuremaker.com), nor at label’s website (which apparently only serves as an on-line order gate). In their own words, the band evolved from the previous album to bring more mature and “in your face” songs, with nevertheless a great emphasis on the chorusses and backing vocals! What I hear is flashy guitars with keyboards which only come to the fore during the balladesque opening of “Remember”, and a singer with a very nice nasal high pitch. It all comes together to give the band’s Hard Rock a positive flair of Sleeze. Check out a couple of songs off the album (and videos) at the websites mentioned above! Individual rating: 88/100

The people at Perris are obviously unbiased when it comes to artists’ nationalities when signing ‘em. You need only look at the albums above: Pleasure Maker’s from Brazil, Lizhard’s from Italy, and now you’ve got a Norwegian band with Winter Parade. One with a rather weird history too! The band started out somewheere in the ‘80s, gigging in their hometown area of Tynset and were then awarded studio time at the same place that had hosted Stage Dolls, Tindrum and TNT in their demmo stages. The recorded demo however got no results and the band split up due to jobs and studies. But the members remained in contact, and decided to give things another try at the beginning of the ‘90s...only to find that the market for music had thoroughly moved away from their Melodic Rock style! Bassist PB Riise (also the lyricist of the band) again contacted his former bandmates in 1999. After a meeting during which they (actually, the only one that showed up was guitarist/ drummer/ computer programmer Dice Jacobsen) exchanged musical ideas, they eventually wrote a threesome of songs that needed a good singer. And then then see this guy called Bjorn Westum bringing a powerful rendition of “Wanted Dead Or Alive” on national tv-show Starsearch. 2000 was spent writing new songs and gigging, and two songs ended up being used in the feature film American Dreamer: The White Diamond Story. The band eventually released their debut full-length Midnight In Paradise during 2002 through MTM (at least in Europe).
After a long hiatus the threesome got back together and started writing new material. Then they won a $2,000 prize from the Norwegian recording association Gramart, and used the money hiring the acclaimed Beau Hill to produce the album...songs of which were already posted as early as May 2007. Released in the US & Europe on October 7, and on Nov. 11 in Japan (again on Spiritual Beast – see also above), the music is a keyboard-driven (with nevertheless an emphasis on the splashing guitar work) Hard Rock with nice medium-high pitch lead and backing vocals. Check it out for yourself at myspace.com/winterparade, where you’ll find one song off the 2002 album posted alongside three off the new one!  You may find the keyboards somewhat outdated (and very remeniscent of mid ‘80s bands in the genre) but give it a chance to grow on you and you may well start to like it, indeed! Individual rating: 85/100

Last but not least, a compilation album issued through IF Records with distribution by Perris, with material from the Terry Ilous fronted Los Angeles’ XYZ. Interesting enough, because besides containing two songs off 1991 sophomore album Hungry, and 4 off the 1989 self-titled debut, there’s also the live favourite (but never released on studio album, except on the 2005 Rainy Days album - a collection of demos recorded for an album intended to appear on Atlantic in 1984, the band’s formative year) “Off To The Sun” (díd appear in a live version on the 1995 Take What You Can...Live album), “When I Find Love” (apparently a radio favourite, but I couldn’t find it on the track-list of any of the band’s albums!) and the previously unreleased “Falling In You”. A short bit of history: formed in the early ‘80s when Don Dokken sound-alike singer Ilous (of French extraction) and bassist Patt Fontaine joined forces with guitarist Bobby Pieper and drummer Joey Pafumi. In 1984 the band cut demos for Atlantic for a proposed debut to be titled Rainy Days, but the deal fell through. The self-titled debut (by then guitarist Mark Diglio and drummer Paul Monroe had been exchanged for theeir former counterparts) would eventually come produced by Don Dokken, and reached the Billboard 100 at the #99 position, partly thanks to radio hits “Inside Out” and ballad “After The Rain”, and videos for “Inside Out” and “What Keeps Me Loving You” getting resonable airplay. On top of which, the single “Maggie” was used in the Dolph Lundgren starred movie I Come In Peace.1991’s Hungry had another radio hit with the guitar driven “Face Down In The Gutter”, but overall the album did less good than the debut. Diglio and Munroe left, where replaced by Tony Burnett and Joey Shapiro respectively, but after finishing the next tour the band folded.
They reformed in various incarnations several times since then, and issued new studio album A Letter To God (released in Europe on MTM with new versions of “Inside Out” and “What Keeps Me Loving You” as bonus tracks)in 2003, original members Ilous, Diglio and Fontaine being joined in the studio by J.K. Northrup. With Paul Monroe joining in 2003, and with bassist Jerry Scott (ex-Molly Hatchet and Brian Howe) the band went on the Revived In ’05 tour during 2005, but the tour was cut short when Northrup broke his hand in a flightcase accident. Ilous went into his vaults, and found an amount of demo recordings which were subsequently released as 2005’s Forbidden Demos. Original XYZ guitarist Bobby Pieper issued the 1984 Rainy Days on his own label that same year. XYZ apparently still exists, the band having played at the 2008 Rocklhoma Festival! To listen to some XYZmusic, surf to myspace.com/terryiloiusxyz. Individual rating: none, since this is a ‘best of’!

Tony.