Press release for upcoming Shaw/Blades CD release...

[johnroxx]

FYI:

‘INFLUENCE’ BY SHAW BLADES
SET FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 20, 2007;

U.S. TOUR CURRENTLY IN THE WORKS



November 1, 2006 -- What happens with two of today’s most successful classic rockers
join forces to create an album of songs that have been a source of inspiration for
their respective multi-Platinum careers?

The result is INFLUENCE, the sophomore album by Shaw Blades--led by Styx/Damn
Yankees guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger/Damn Yankees bassist/vocalist
Jack Blades--which is set for release February 20, 2007 on VH1 Classic Records. The
self-produced album was mixed by Noel Golden (Matchbox Twenty, Willie Nelson) and
Great White keyboardist/guitarist Michael Lardie. The first single, “Your Move,”
will be serviced to radio in January.

INFLUENCE is the duo’s first album since their recently re-released 1995 debut,
HALLUCINATION. Like the debut--and unlike their history-carving decades as icons in
the more hard-rock minded Styx, Night Ranger and Damn Yankees--the latest release is
rooted in acoustic guitar and organic production, harvesting a decade of musical
influences into 11 tracks (on which Blades and Shaw played all the music except for
drums and the occasional keyboards). With classics from the ‘60s and ‘70s including
the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s
Worth” and Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” INFLUENCE offers a track-by-track chronology
of the musical era that helped define modern rock.

Whether the songs are delivered in faithful tribute, as is the case with Simon &
Garfunkel’s epic masterpiece “Sounds Of Silence,” or given a modern rock
transfusion, as in the duo’s 1966 folk anthem “I Am A Rock,” the results are the
same, sparkling like a beacon illuminating the mainstream roots of rock and roll’s
formative years.

“I cringe at the thought of Paul Simon hearing our stuff,” laughs Blades, only
half-jokingly. “I honor his spirit so much, and I’m such a huge fan. As far as I’m
concerned, they invented the word genius to go along with him, and we just wanted to
make sure that we did their songs justice. Tommy and I have that special symbiotic
relationship that doesn’t come along a lot. Simon & Garfunkel also had it, we have a
reverence to it, and it was something that we just wanted to dig into.”

“As writers, we’re like two old friends who finish each other’s sentences,” adds
Shaw. “We became best friends as a result of the music and the experiences we’ve had
because of it.”

But INFLUENCE isn’t about the experiences of Shaw Blades, it’s about the inspiration
that helped create the experiences. “This album has been years in the making,”
continues the Styx/Damn Yankees guitarist. “The recording process didn’t take years,
but the concept had been looming in our conversations for a long time. We’d always
sit around with a couple of guitars and play songs we both knew from or younger
days, spontaneous harmonizing and all that, and we slowly eased into the idea of
making this record.”

One of the most prolific duos in the history of hard rock, Shaw and Blades have sold
more than 50 million albums amongst their three bands, scored 12 Top 10 singles on
the Billboard “Hot 100” chart, debuted 16 albums in the Billboard “Top 200” albums
chart, and share joint songwriting credits for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne,
Aerosmith, Cher and Alice Cooper.

Even so, INFLUENCE offered the pair an invigorating musical freedom. “With Shaw
Blades,” offers Blades, “we’re able to take liberties that our respective bands
couldn’t do. We need to be Styx-sounding, we need to fit in that Night Ranger
world, and we even need to think about Damn Yankees, so that’s what’s fun about Shaw
Blades--we get to be our alter-egos when we want to be, yet we can truly be
ourselves. We grew up singing harmonies and songs with massive vocals, so it’s a
wonderful thing to have that freedom here. This was a complete labor of love.”

In touring news, a U.S. trek is currently in the works and Shaw Blades hope to bring
their music to their fans closer to the album release date.

“You can always tell a brilliant song, whether it was written 30 years ago or
yesterday,” says Blades. “Every song we picked is identifiable in its own right, and
they’re all immediately recognizable. What does that tell you? That the songs are
the stars. That’s what we wanted to do on this record, we wanted the songs to be
the stars. I think that’s what we accomplished.”

The complete track listing is as follows:

1. Summer Breeze
2. Time Of The Season
3. Your Move
4. I Am A Rock
5. Lucky Man
6. Sounds Of Silence
7. California Dreamin’
8. On A Carousel
9. Dirty Work
10. For What It’s Worth
11. Dance With Me

www.shawblades.com