Tag: Tony Harnell
0 TONY HARNELL – THE HARD ROCK HIDEOUT INTERVIEW!
TONY HARNELL – Rock ‘N’ Roll has never ceased to evolve, neither has Tony Harnell, the lead vocalist for his very own and hand picked band – Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train. Tony’s Rock ‘N’ Roll history skyrocketed back in 1984, while being the vocalist for Norway’s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band TNT. Being the lead vocalist for TNT and signed to a major label is what Rock ‘N’ Roll dreams are about. With nine studio albums and two live albums while with TNT, (from 1984 to 2006), some could argue that Tony Harnell had a stake in an impressive chunk of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal history.
In 1998, Tony Harnell formed the Hard Rock band – Westworld. A band that many critics and untold fans over the years consider as yet another shining Rock ‘N’ Roll star on Tony’s music resume. Short lived, Westworld still released three studio albums and one live release between 1999 and 2002. Tony Harnell formed Starbreaker, a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band that was a side project for him while his career with TNT was coming to a close. Signed to Frontiers records, Starbreaker released two critically acclaimed studio albums, their self-titled debut in 2005 and “Love’s Dying Wish” in 2008.
Now that the Tony Harnell Hard Rock and Heavy Metal history has come to a close, a new chapter in his life has begun, as he so expresses in the following interview. “Round Trip”, released on July 2, in Europe and July 27, 2010, in the U.S., on Frontiers Records, is the debut album from Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train. A studio album which contains 14 songs that span the career of Tony Harnell, while with TNT and Starbreaker included. These are songs that Tony Harnell can justifiably call his own, stripped down and beaming with an Acoustic Rock revival that becomes more of an audio delicacy, the more times you listen.
Reflecting on the past, while not living in it and staying focused on the now… is exactly how Tony Harnell comes across. There are music influences that have shaped this vocalist into what he once was and is at this moment in time. Evolving within his own world of Rock ‘N’ Roll, Tony has cultivated The Mercury Train to roll in and create the sound that he wants representing him and his songs in 2010. Here is what Tony had to say:
HRH: Where did the name Mercury Train come from?
Tony: I was going through cool band names and I also had this list of weird names. Derek Mead, the designer of our album cover, did a really fantastic job on that. The orange shades on the cover he created I love, the digipak really shows how great it looks. He was coming up with a bunch of logo’s and band names, he is really talented at that. Derek kept sending me ideas, he came up with that one. I saw this Mercury Train name and said that’s it! That’s the one! The Mercury Train was a high speed train project dating back to the 1930’s. It was supposed to run between Long Island and Upstate New York, only it never moved forward. Derek really came up with a great band name.
HRH: What was the initial inspiration to revisit and rework songs from your past?
Tony: The funny thing about it, it was a very natural and organic process. These guys in the band are friends and it made it easy. I wanted strip down songs from my past to play in Manhattan clubs and I wondered would these songs sound strong or silly? Would these songs translate well? We were seen through shows by Frontiers Records. Frontiers approached me and asked if I would be interested in doing a live or an acoustic record. A cool, stripped down record is what I wanted to represent us, I wanted to make it very original.
HRH: How did you find yourself amongst musicians that are not Heavy Metal or Hard Rock players?
Tony: These are the people I mostly hang out with. I live in New York City, these are the musicians that live here and most aren’t Metal musicians. If I lived in L.A., I would have more friends that are Metal musicians than in New York City. It’s hard to find Metal guys that live in New York City.
HRH: Wow, Tony, that is hard to believe!
Tony: Even going back to the heyday of ’80’s Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands, there weren’t many here in this New York City area. There was White Lion, Danger Danger and Bon Jovi in New Jersey. In the 80’s there really wasn’t a lot of successful Metal bands in New York. Back in the ’80’s, there were so many Metal bands in L.A., you could times it by a thousand, ten times, compared to New York. As time moves on, I lose contact with Metal people and the clubs we used to play or they are out of the music business completely as well.
HRH: So the direction of your music for this album was already clear?
Tony: As we got into recording, this album took on a life of it’s own and it evolved. I was seeing my vision through. I told the band to take it as far as they want and they did. Some of the songs you will hear show that the drum beat, keyboards, and background vocals are much different. We gave the songs a totally new treatment, this was the catalyst and reason for my doing this. This album makes me appreciate the songs more. I didn’t want to compete with the original songs, instead I wanted to exploit the melodies and bring out the more obscure songs and give them attention. With this album, I’ve closed the door to a chapter of my life. Saying I’m done with ’80’s Hard Rock may upset a lot of people.
HRH: “Round Trip” could easily been a more mellow album or perhaps heavier? How did you and the other musicians find that perfect in-between?
Tony: It’s all about the song choices and I was very conscientious of that. This could easily have been a ballad album. I had to choose key songs while keeping the record upbeat. “Lonely Nights” and “Satellite” are upbeat songs. These upbeat songs are scattered across the record in order to keep the album from being too boring. This album is vocal and melody driven.
HRH: “Anywhere But Here” has a Beatlesque quality about it, am I off base by saying this?
Tony: Probably not. Brandon Wilde (bass guitarist) wrote this song with me. Brandon is an incredible songwriter. The press release stated this song was written special for this album and that’s just not the case. “Anywhere But Here” was written and demoed three years ago. Brandon had mentioned to me that we have this song and I said yeah! The rest of the band is not on this track due to it being a demo from three years ago. Brandon and I will be doing the bulk of writing on our next album. “Anywhere But Here” doesn’t represent where I’m going in life, none of my songs represent per se where I’m going in my life.
HRH: Chris Foley on electric guitar really gives these songs on “Round Trip” that ’70’s Classic Rock tone and vibe. Is this what you were aiming for?
Tony: That is the music I grew up with. My heart lies in ’80’s bands and we were all in our early twenties in 1984 when we (TNT) were signed. We were taking that ’70’s music with us though. My heart also lies in the ’70’s music. Chris has that awesome, electric moody vibe in his playing. I did not want us to show one iota of TNT, not try to do anything like TNT, except chord structures and we even changed some of those.
HRH: Amy Harnell, what a voice! Where has she been hiding?
Tony: She’s my wife! The question really is, where have I been hiding her!
HRH: (Laughs)
Tony: (Laughs)
Tony: Amy was singing shows with me, doing background vocals. She is a natural and became a part of this project. Her maiden name is Amy Anderson and she was a world class ballet dancer. When we first got together, I happened to go visit her in Germany to see her performing, then I heard her sing, we have been together nine years since. Amy sung on TNT stuff, like “Song 4 Dianne” on the “My Religion” album from 2004. Amy also played the flute on this song. “Ready To Fly” on “Round Trip” really showcases her tone. Amy had the opportunity to do a video for us, “Northern Lights”, it was a thrilling opportunity, to really put her out there. Fans should check out our “Northern Lights” video. She has the voice and presence on stage that’s incredible!
HRH: Reworking these TNT and Westworld songs must have taken you down memory lane. What’s your greatest moment that happened to you thus far in your life?
Tony: For something non-music related, meeting my wife was a great moment in my life! Musically, there are many, many different moments. Making this record, “Round Trip”, was during a time of great adversity for me. Making a simple record equaled to a spiritual experience for me. This album represents a new chapter and a new beginning in my life. Receiving a worldwide record deal with TNT was something else, it was something my other friends were not able to do. For us to have done it as TNT was an achievement.
HRH: Do you see Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train as a representation of your fantasy band that couldn’t be pulled off 20 years ago?
Tony: No, it couldn’t be pulled off then. Twenty years ago I would have had a different idea of what I wanted in a band, a band with shredding guitar players! This is a very special project and still it’s not the end all and be all of where I’m moving forward. Brandon Wilde is not just a great bass player, he is an incredible songwriter, he has helped put this band together and he is a catalyst. “Round Trip” really represents what I wanted to do with these songs. A solo record is probably going to happen. There will be co-writers for the solo record and it will be recorded in different parts of the world. “Round Trip” will let these musicians in Mercury Train show what they can do and it’s not Heavy Metal. Led Zeppelin and the Beatles covers are in the realm of their ability though. I just did not want “Round Trip” to be a solo album, I wanted to separate the two.
HRH: Do you stay in touch with Magnus Karlsson?
Tony: Occasionally, yeah. We have not spoken recently though. We are great friends.
HRH Note: Magnus Karlsson was the guitarist and keyboardist for Tony Harnell’s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band – Starbreaker, from 2005 to 2008. Magnus is currently a guitarist with the Power Metal giant – Primal Fear.
HRH: I have always and still consider you a premier vocalist. Who has been your vocal influences throughout your career?
Tony: There are a lot of obvious ones. I’m sure people won’t flinch when I say Rob Halford. I was obsessed with early ’70’s Priest and early ’80’s music. I’m a ’70’s Priest fan. “Stained Class” personally, is my most favorite and it’s the most interesting and artistic record I’ve ever listened to. “Stained Class” had very overlooked production up to that point in time, maybe not as good as later records by Judas Priest. “Hell Bent For Leather” is a Priest album that is very close to me, very influential in my early years. “Hell Bent For Leather” and “Stained Class” are my dual all time favorite! Going backwards, there was Folk, Country and a lot of Beatles played in my house as a kid. My mom was an opera singer! There was Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and John Denver came later for me.
HRH: That’s some diversified exposure, which is great.
Tony: There was so much cool 60’s music being played when I was a kid. Crosby, Still and Nash, I absorbed all that stuff! When I started to buy records, it was David Bowie, Elton John and Led Zeppelin. Today, it’s the ’60’s and ’70’s music that influence me. Ironically, as I got older, Rob Halford isn’t as strong an influence as say, twenty years ago for me.
HRH: You’ve changed artistically, Tony.
Tony: I don’t want to belittle Heavy Metal music, it’s just that I could not continue on with a band that has just cult status. Yet, if you are a successful Heavy Metal band, that’s great. If it’s Heavy Metal, it’s not in my heart anymore, there’s no living in it for me.
HRH: Tony, you will always have some Metalhead in you, won’t you?
Tony: Of course I will.
0 TONY HARNELL & THE MERCURY TRAIN To Release Retrospective Album Via Frontiers Records!
Frontiers Records will release on July 2nd in Europe and July 27th in the USA “Round Trip”, the debut album from Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train. This is a very special record: a stripped down, reinvented retrospective of Tony Harnell’s past classics originally recorded with his previous bands TNT, Westworld and Starbreaker, with one brand new song “Anywhere But Here” recorded especially for this release.
The idea of re-recording some repertoire classics came about after Tony performed some low key shows in New York in late 2008, with some talented and accomplished musicians that were not part of the Metal/Hard Rock scene. The desire was to breathe new life into the songs with new arrangements, key changes and added parts, it’s like listening to songs you know in a whole new way.
Frontiers Records President, Serafino Perugino liked the concept and in Harnell’s own words “The idea was originally based on it being the usual cliché “acoustic” album. Well, for us hard rockers that usually means simply playing the songs pretty much as they were but with acoustic guitars. That’s not exactly what I had in mind. If I was going to do this I was going to have some fun. I wanted to strip things down and see what would happen when musicians outside the hard rock community played my songs. That intrigued me. So, I gave all the guys the original album versions and then pretty much gave them carte blanche to reinterpret the songs. That meant key changes (cause you can’t sing like a banshee when you strip things down, sounds silly), chord changes and even arrangement changes if the mood hit. I also wanted a semi-live vibe. What we ended up with is an album that honors the original songs with a little added spice, color, and above all…fun”.
At the end of 2008 Tony and the other musicians entered the studio for a marathon two-day recording session that was supposed to lead into a whirlwind mixing session and an immediate release. But immediately after the session Tony hit some rather intense personal bumps in the road and production stopped. Months later the album was quickly completed.
“Recording this album was an extremely cathartic experience, allowing me to gently close the door to the past with love and gratitude and regain the pride I rightly deserve to have for these songs and for the years of my life I gave to the various periods when they were written” continues Tony. “This is in no way meant to erase, dismiss or compete with the incredible original recordings of these songs. This is just a little fun reinvention, a way to leave the past behind on my own terms. These are your songs as much as they are mine, some of you, like me, have all kinds of memories attached to them. My lyrics were, are and always will be filled with my experiences, struggles, hopes and dreams and my observations of the world around me. Hopefully you’ll listen to these songs in a new way and hear them with new ears. I know I have”.
“Round Trip” final tracklisting includes:
Somebody Told You; Intuition; Month Of Sundays; Lonely Nights; Shame; Northern Lights; Down To The River To Pray; Satellite; 10K Lovers; Uninvited; Ready To Fly; When I’m Away*; Song For Dianne; Anywhere But Here.
* Bonus track
The Mercury Train:
Jason Hagen – Acoustic guitar and ukulele
Chris Foley – Electric guitar
Brandon Wilde – Bass and vocals
Brad Gunyon – Drums and percussion
Amy Harnell – Vocals and descant recorder
Special guest: Sandi Saraya on “Shame”
Weblinks: www.tonyharnell.com / www.myspace.com/tonyharnellonline
www.frontiers.it / www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords
For live bookings of Tony Harnell contact:dovetonemusic@yahoo.com
3 Check out the Band Lineup for Firefest V
The United States isn’t the only country with great music festival. Firefest V, will soon be taking place in the Rock City club in Nottingham, UK.
Check out this two day lineup:
This show takes place on Saturday October 25th, and Sunday October 26th. For ticket information, check out the Firefest Website at this location.
The following are videos from Firefest IV:
Jorn Lande performing Duke of Love
Harem Scarem – If There Was A Time
Tyketto – Forever Young
Jaded Heart – Hero
0 Starbreaker – Love’s Dying Wish Audio Samples
Starbreaker’s self-titled debut album caused a stir in the Hard Rock world, upon its release in spring 2005. Featuring world renowned musicians such as singer Tony Harnell (TNT, Westworld, Morning Wood), guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Allen / Lande, Primal Fear), bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi (Glenn Hughes) and John Macaluso (Malmsteen, TNT, Ark) on drums, the record garnered enormous acclaim and was featured as the cover story on the prestigious “Rock It” magazine in Germany, with fantastic reviews World wide.
Following Harnell’s departure from TNT in 2006, the band recorded in 2007 / 2008 the highly anticipated brand new CD entitled “Love’s Dying Wish”: a true Hard Rock/Metal masterpiece. The album was written and produced by Harnell and Karlsson and was mixed by respected producer Tommy Hansen (TNT, Jorn, Pretty Maids, Helloween).
New bassist Jonni Lightfoot (a touring and recording veteran with extensive credits to his name) has been added to the line up.
“Love’s Dying Wish” is a very special album that progresses from where the Starbreaker debut left off. With a fresh diversity that spans from pounding metal, to deep moody passages wrapped in a dark and beautifully melodic package. “Love’s Dying Wish” is going to blow away both old and new fans.
– Sound samples in mp3 (click on the song title to listen to a 90 sec. mp3 sample):
– My Space page:
1 Preview New Songs By Starbreaker
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated STARBREAKER second album “Love’s Dying Wish” on August 1st 2008.
Starbreaker’s self-titled debut album caused a stir in the Hard Rock world, upon its release in spring 2005. Featuring world renowned musicians such as singer Tony Harnell (TNT, Westworld, Morning Wood), guitaristMagnus Karlsson (Allen / Lande, Primal Fear), bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi(Glenn Hughes, House of Lords) andJohn Macaluso (Malmsteen, TNT, Ark) on drums, the record garnered enormous acclaim and was featured as the cover story on the prestigious “Rock It” magazine in Germany, with fantastic reviews World wide.
Following Harnell’s departure from TNT in 2006, Tony took a little time off the business to spend time with his family and write songs. In late 2007 he flew to Sweden to write the bulk of the songs for the new album with Karlsson and started the recording of the new songs at the end of the year. The highly anticipated brand new CD is entitled “Love’s Dying Wish” and is a true Hard Rock/Metal masterpiece. The album was written and produced by Harnell and Karlsson and was mixed by respected producer Tommy Hansen(TNT, Jorn, Pretty Maids, Helloween).
New bassist Jonni Lightfoot (a touring and recording veteran with extensive credits to his name) replaced Grossi in the line up. He has added a tasteful but aggressive touch to this magnificent piece of work and compliments Macaluso’s flashy drumming perfectly.
“Love’s Dying Wish” is a very special album that progresses from where the Starbreaker debut left off. With a fresh diversity that spans from pounding metal, to deep moody passages wrapped in a dark and beautifully melodic package. The stunning talents of Harnell and Karlsson are on display in spades with electrifying performances and stellar song writing. These two have truly developed a unique and timeless sound together. Simply brilliant, “Love’s Dying Wish” is going to blow away both old and new fans.
“Love’s Dying Wish” final tracklisting will include: End Of Alone (which can be streamed in its entirety on www.myspace.com/tonyharnellonline); Evaporate; Love’s Dying Wish; Unknown Superstar; Hide; Building A Wall; Beautiful Disaster; Live Your Life; Hello, Are You Listening?; Changes Me; The Day Belongs To Us; This Close.
1 New Starbreaker CD on the Way!
Tony Harnell (TNT, Westworld, Morning Wood), Magnus Karlsson (ALLEN / LANDE and PRIMAL FEAR) and John Macaluso (Malmsteen, TNT, Ark) have wrapped up recording for the much-anticipated new Starbreaker CD entitled “Love’s Dying Wish“.
Written and produced by Harnell and Karlsson, the tracks have now been handed over to respected producer Tommy Hansen (TNT, Jorn) for mixing. Some of the titles include “Unknown Superstar”, “End Of Alone”, “Love’s Dying Wish”, “Evaporate” and “Beautiful Disaster”.
New bassist Jonni Lightfoot (a touring and recording veteran with extensive credits to his name) has added a tasteful aggressive touch to this magnificent piece of work and compliments Macaluso’s flashy drumming perfectly. This is a very special album that leaps forward from where the Starbreaker debut left off. With a fresh diversity that spans from pounding metal, to deep moody passages wrapped in a dark and beautifully melodic package. The stunning talents of Harnell and Karlsson are on display here in spades with electrifying performances and stellar song writing. These two have truly developed a unique and timeless sound together. Release expected this fall.
