Heart Prove That True Talent Is Timeless

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart are the musical equivalent to a bottle of wine which just gets better with age. A prime example of that would be the band’s new tour entitled the Heartbreaker Tour. It made a stop in Raleigh, North Carolina on June 22. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience is on-board for this tour as the opening act as well as the special guest for the band’s encore.

Jason’s band definitely got the crowd out of their seats and energized as they their way through as energized set of Led Zeppelin hits ranging from “Whole Lotta Love” to “Babe, I’m Leaving You”.  A short change-over took place and Heart soon took to the stage, not losing the momentum already provided to them by Bonham and his crew. You know it’s going to be a special night when a band opens with one of their biggest hits and Heart did just that with a blistering version of “Barracuda”. That definitely got the rest of the crowd out of their seats.

The hits just seemed to be endless as “Heartless” was next and followed by “What About Love” and then “Magic Man”. Nancy took over lead vocals on a beautiful cover of Elton John’s “I Need to Turn to You” as well as a mandolin flavored version of their number one hit “These Dreams”, which was stunning. It was also very nice to hear some newer music from their latest work of art Fanatic performed live. “Alone”, “Even It Up” and “Crazy For You” also made an appearance on this particular night as well. “Walkin’ Good” and “Dear Old America” were included in their set, with the latter providing one of the more powerful and moving points of the night for those who were paying close attention to its content.

The encore saw Jason Bonham and some of his band mates join Heart on stage for a Led Zeppelin tribute. To kick it off, Ann and Nancy came out to center stage and performed an acoustic version of “The Battle of Evermore” which set the bar for what this encore was going to be like. It was beautiful and powerful with their amazing voices accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a mandolin. The rest of the band joined them for the rest of the encore which included a kick-ass version of “Kashmir” as well as an outstanding version of “The Rain Song” which provoked even more goosebumps.

The night closed with what I was hoping would be the closer, which I am sure wasn’t too much of a surprise for many who were there. Nancy plucked the opening chords of “Stairway to Heaven” and you could sense this was going to be something pretty amazing. I am sure lots of us have seen the clip of the Kennedy Center Honors where Heart came out to salute Led Zeppelin and performed one of the most amazing versions of “Stairway to Heaven” that many have ever witnessed. Would they be able to recreate that magic again? Well, they did bring a choir out on stage with them in Raleigh and although Zeppelin wasn’t there, it was as close as you could come to recreating that magic at the Kennedy Center.

It was an amazing night of music and a very powerful performance by all who were involved. For me, it was somewhat spiritual for me as you don’t go to a concert too many times and have church break out. Ann Wilson’s voice has not faltered a bit over the years and it almost sounds stronger than ever. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if I have ever seen the sisters look or sound better. They seem to be so happy and alive on-stage as well. I have seen Heart quite a few times throughout their career and this particular stormy night in Raleigh, NC was hands down the best performance that I have ever by them. As a fan of music and great performers, I feel fortunate to have witnessed something so special that night.

John 5: From KISS to Universal Monsters

John 5 is one of those artists that you don’t know what to expect before your first meeting. He’s obviously an insanely talented guitarist with a resume a mile long. He’s worked with Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, Meatloaf, Paul Stanley of KISS, Saliva, k.d. lang, Salt-N-Pepa and many more. His job for the past few years has been with Rob Zombie and the two of them have something magical going on.

In between touring with Rob Zombie and writing songs for other artists, John 5 even finds time for a solo career. His new solo effort God Told Me To just came out and we had the chance to sit down and talk to him about it.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Hey John, thanks for working us into your busy schedule. I guess this is media day for you. I know you have a lot on your plate today, so let’s jump right into the questions here. Let’s talk a little bit about this new solo album and the new direction that you chose for some of the songs.

John 5: Well, thanks for wanting to talk to me. You know, the whole key to putting out instrumental solo albums is to keep the fans on their toes. I’ve done heavy rock to country and it has gone really well for me. So, I asked myself what I could do to change it up and make it new. That’s where the acoustic stuff came into play.

MIMDOC: Have you been a fan of acoustic music already or was this something that you just wanted to explore?

John 5: I absolutely love electric guitar, but some of my favorite (Led) Zeppelin stuff is their acoustic stuff. It’s absolutely amazing! I love all types of guitar playing. When I put my iPod on shuffle, it has so much diversity, but that’s just who I am.

MIMDOC: Did you work with anyone on this album?

John 5: No, I pretty much did everything on it. I played all the instruments with the exception of drums. My producer Chris Baseford helped me out. Other than that, it’s all me!

MIMDOC: What’s the appeal of going out and doing a solo album after getting off the road with Rob Zombie?

John 5: It’s a great outlet for me and almost therapeutic. Crazy, instrumental guitar music is close to my heart and so very important to me. It allows me a canvas to paint on and to do things I can necessarily do with Rob. He doesn’t want every other bar on his song being a solo.

MIMDOC: Will your fans ever have a chance to hear any of this live?

John 5: I don’t think I will be doing and live dates, but you never know. It’s tough because a lot of my fans are really young and they can’t get into some of these clubs. It’s really late when we go on, sometimes close to midnight and there’s beer everywhere. My younger fans can’t always be a part of that. I will probably go more guitar clinics. They seem to be the best way to go. My younger fans can come to them and I have more time to meet people there and sign autographs.

MIMDOC: I have to ask you about the title of the album. Is there any hidden meaning there?

John 5: I love the title and it can be taken many ways. When I was really young, I would only go to church once or twice a year, like on Christmas Eve, and I would pray for God to make me a successful guitar player. So, in one way, when I’m asked on why I picked up a guitar, it’s because God told me to. On the other hand, I just love it in one of those creepy movies where a guy murders a bunch of people and they ask him why and he says “God told me to”.

MIMDOC: The cover is really cool! So, did you ask Rob to paint it for you or was it something that he offered to do?

John 5: I actually approached him asked him what he thought about painting the cover to the new solo album. He said that he’d love to do it. It’s as simple as that!

MIMDOC: Speaking of Rob, how was it scoring his film The Lords of Salem? Was that your first score?

John 5: That’s the first full length movie that I have scored. I’ve actually done pieces of other movies. It was actually very challenging for me. It’s so different to create music using so many different instruments, but I loved it. It pushed me as an artist.

MIMDOC: That’s a great transition for my next question. Your first solo album called Vertigo came out in 2004. How does the artist who created that album differ from the artist that created God Told Me To?

John 5: Wow, that’s a really good question. I remember when I starting recording Vertigo, I wanted it to be all instrumental, but I was very careful. I held back from doing things at times, but now if I want to put in a crazy solo or two, I will. I think there are some really good songs on Vertigo; very well structured.

MIMDOC: Where did the fascination with horror and the face makeup come from? I know you’re a big KISS fan and especially Ace Frehley.

John 5: Well, I have loved classic monsters since I was really young. You know, Dracula, Frankenstein and stuff. I remember buying KISS’ Love Gun album just because of the cover. That was the first album that I ever bought. It was awesome! That picture reminded me of those monsters that I loved.

MIMDOC: I’m a huge KISS fan too and I wanted to ask how you ended up working on the last Paul Stanley solo album Live to Win?

John 5: I’ve known Paul and Gene for quite a while now, as well as Peter and Ace. Paul was working on his solo album with Desmond Child and I had worked with Desmond when he was recording with Meatloaf. He suggested to Paul that we write something together and we did. KISS has definitely been a major influence on me. When an artist goes on stage to entertain, then they need to go all out and make sure that they entertain the crowd completely. Those guys are just about the best example of how to do that correctly!

MIMDOC: One last question for you John and we’ll wrap this up so that you can get back to work. Do you have any guilty pleasures that may surprise your fans?

John 5: Well, I’m not sure how much it will surprise them, but I do love those old horror movies with Frankenstein and Dracula and all those guys. I always watch about 20 minutes or so of one of those old movies before I go to bed, each and every night.

MIMDOC: That wraps up our time with you John. Thanks again so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to talk with us. We plan on being at Rock on the Range in Columbus this year covering the show, so we will see you there. We also want to remind fans that your new solo album God Told Me To is out and to go buy it!