JON OLIVA'S PAIN The Studio:

JON OLIVA'S PAIN Check In From The Studio: "Expect A Spring Tour Almost Immediately After The Release In April"


Picture by Carl Begai

JON OLIVA'S PAIN drummer Christopher Kinder has checked in with the following studio update:

"Coming 'atcha with another round of JOP studio antics!

....and trust me, it's never a dull moment with this band.

We took sometime this week to really reflect on what Greg 'Super G' Marchak meant to all of us and our music. I have a picture of him right over the Pro-tools rig to constantly remind ourselves of what he will always mean to us.....and we are always looking to him for inspiration and guidance. How we miss you G!

Onto the recording sessions: Monday was an awesome day at Morrisound. Kevin had 2 weeks prior to review his initial performance and some of the changes Matt 'the musical note police' Laporte inflicted on these new songs. Kevin was of course very prepared and his new vintage Ampeg bass rig, along with a new fretless bass, allowed him to lay down some of the best performances he has done to date. His bass tone is without description and will be a feature highlight on the new CD. It's f*cking thunderous. Nice job Sir Rothney!

Oliva rounded out the day by completing his final guitar rythym tracks and his grand piano performances. The rest of the key tracks will be done here at our studio, now properly named Shabbey Road Studios. Pretty cool, huh?

Tues-Weds were just me and Laporte continuing to lay down his massive amount of lead guitar work. I have to say that nothing amazes me about Matt anymore....he just comes to the table with the most unpredictable idea's and a real talent for distorted melody. He makes everything, even the most basic of riff's sound exciting and most of all...memorable. He has completed about 6 songs worth of leads....just 8 more to go!

Oliva was here on Friday and will be back today to continue on the journey of keyboard, string, and special effects. His ability to create unlimited counter melodies within every song is awe inspiring. He plays violin and cello like a real player would, and while we will have some live string players on this CD.....no one will be able to tell the difference between the actual player and his expert keyboard string tracks.

We should begin vocals in the next week or so. Oliva's voice is once again in perfect shape and the amount of backing vocals that we have to record will make us all dizzy before it is done. But god-damn is it cool! Zahner will be coming in at the end to add all the bells, whistles, B3 organ and whatever else we need.

So it's back to the grind. Touring news will be available very soon. Expect a spring tour almost immediately after the release in April!"

Cheers and beers to you all.

..m/

BW&BK Exclusive: JON OLIVA - “I’m Going To Phase Out A Lot Of The SAVATAGE Standards People Have Heard Me Play For The Last 20 Years"





In a recent interview with BW&BK, JON OLIVA'S PAIN / SAVATAGE frontman Jon Oliva discussed the planned setlist for the upcoming tour in support of the new JOP album, Global Warning:

“I’m going to phase out a lot of the Savatage standards that people have heard me play for the last 20 years," Oliva reveals. "I’m not going to phase out the amount of Savatage material being played, but I’m going to do more obscure material and the more interesting stuff. We’re going to do ‘Chance’ in its entirety this year, for example, we’re going to do ‘Twisted Little Sister’ which I haven’t done since the early ‘80s. We’re doing ‘When The Crowds Are Gone’ this year instead of ‘Believe’. I think we’re doing six songs off the new album, a couple off the last one (Maniacal Renderings), and the rest of the set is going to be made up of obscure Savatage songs. There are songs I have to play, like ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’, but I’m going to mix it up a bit. We’re even goinng to do a Doctor Butcher song on stage this year.”

The Doctor Butcher song in question is 'Don't Talk To Me', featured on the band's debut.

Watch for the complete interview in BW&BK #111.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN Release Global Warning Tomorrow

Locomotive Records will unleash an important Global Warning by JON OLIVA'S PAIN on May 6th.

Oliva - singer/songwriter/guitarist/bassist/drummer/keyboardist - contents himself by just singing and adding some keyboard flourishes on this, the band’s third album. The band - drummer Christopher Kinder, bassist Kevin Rothney, guitarist Matt LaPorte and keyboardist John Zahner - smokes through 13 toxic cuts of metallic Hard Rock, sure to please fans of DOCTOR BUTCHER, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, CIRCLE II CIRCLE, Jon Oliva’s Pain and SAVATAGE (the bands Oliva’s played in during the course of his legendary career).

He’s been warming down in Florida writing this material and fine-tuning it, overcoming an obstacle that would have withered mere mortals: the death of engineer/co-producer Greg “Super G” Marchak. Oliva, who had already survived the 1993 death of his guitarist brother Criss (with whom he formed Savatage) marched on, teaming up with engineers Tom and Jim Morris from Morrisound Studios in Tampa.

As with the last album, Maniacal Renderings, several of the new songs are from tapes that Jon’s wife found in an old shoebox. “The new album is like a buffet,” says Jon. “There will be something for everyone.”

'No More Saturday Nights' was originally supposed to be a Savatage song. Now, it’s a bonus track for the limited edition of this CD.

Much of the material hearkens back to his Gutter Ballet and Streets eras. From the distorted vocals of 'Master' to the complexity of the breathtaking 'Firefly', Oliva, on Global Warning, has fashioned a Metal gem, one you would only expect from the man known as “The Mountain King” himself!

Tracks:
'Global Warning',
'Look At The World',
'Adding The Cost',
'Before I Hang',
'Firefly',
'Master',
'The Ride',
'O To G',
'Walk Upon Water',
'Stories',
'Open Your Eyes',
'You Never Know',
'Someone/Souls'.