Krescendo Records re-released Roxanne‘s 1988 album in 2008 with a digital remastering. Geoff Workman produced it and had a lot to do with developing our ‘sound’ from that day forward.” “Roxanne’s debut record was released in 1988. Roxanne was also released in Japan as “Burning Through the Night” with a different cover and a slightly different track listing, including two songs unheard in the US: “ Burning Through the Night” and “ My Way”. In 1988, Roxanne appeared on The Late Show performing “Play That Funky Music” and “Cherry Bay” to a live studio audience. The album was filled with mainly party rockers, and highlights such as the ballads “ Over You”, “ Not The Same”, “ Cherry Bay” and “ Can’t Stop Thinking”. Having released their debut album Roxanne in February 1988, the band had moderate success with the single “ Cherry Bay” at AOR radio and simultaneously rose to number 63 on the Billboard singles charts with their cover of Wild Cherry’s “ Play That Funky Music“, where they received the most attention on the radio. By 1987, they had risen to the top of the heap in the LA music scene and landed a deal with Scotti Brothers Records. 26 on Rat Pak Records) is an unadulterated sonic confirmation that good things do indeed come to those who wait Roxanne’s new album, “Radio Silence,” (released Oct.Roxannewas formed in Riverside, California in 1986 by vocalist Jamie Brown and bassist Joe Infante and are joined by guitarist John Butler and drummer Dave Landry. It’s been a few years (30, to be exact) since frontman Jamie Brown and bandmates Joe Infante (bass), John Butler (guitar) and Dave Landry (drums) delivered their self-titled debut album to an eager listening public at the apex of Sunset Strip-era hard rock. But the cracks in an already-overcrowded scene were beginning to show. “There were things popping up, and you could see on the horizon that it was going to be over for Sunset Strip metal.” “Our record came out in ’88, and it was on the chopping block by then,” said Brown of the West Coast music scene in a phone interview. He was right, and soon thereafter Roxanne went into a self-imposed 30-year slumber exactly one record in.īrown kept himself and his bandmates busy, however, by putting together his Perfect World Entertainment company, a world leader in the production of musical-era tributes. Roxanne was sleeping, but she wasn’t dead.Īnd now, three decades later, the time is right for a reawakening. The band’s brand of blues-based music, with its no-frills muscle and Queen-esque vocal harmonies is not only still there on “Radio Silence,” it’s there in spades, aged like a fine wine as is evidenced by the album’s uber-catchy “Someone To Kill” and “Broken Chandeliers,” as well as the closer, “First Mistake,” a winding 7-minute montage of 4-part vocal harmonies set amongst a classic Bad Company/Aerosmith-tinged riff before breaking into a beautiful acoustic guitar part and outro. With “Radio Silence,” it truly is better late than never. ListenIowa caught up with Brown recently to discuss the new album, and the long road that led to “Radio Silence” and the harmonies that lie within.ĭid you grow up wanting to front a rock band? I have two older brothers, and my whole family was into music and singing and playing it was always around the house. But I actually got into filmmaking, and I was supposed to go to college for that. I was also playing in bands, though, so I had to choose more school or more rock n’ roll, and I took the rock n’ roll route. (laughs)Īnything in particular that tilted you in that direction? Females and laziness. What was it about filmmaking that intrigued you? I don’t know. I got interested in it as a kid, we made little movies, and any money I could scrape together, I would buy better camera equipment. I actually had a full scholarship to the Pasadena College or Art and Design that I bailed on to do music instead. How did Roxanne get rolling initially? Joe and I were in the market for a new guitar player and drummer, and there was a local Battle of the Bands in Riverside, California. We were on the judging panel, and we liked one of the bands. So they won - thanks to us - and then they joined our band. We wrote some songs, found a manager who lived in L.A., did a few showcases, and signed a deal with Scotti Brothers. Our name made it sound like we were (part of the Strip scene), but we were desert rats. We almost had a punk rock attitude during our shows. You put out the self-titled debut in 1988.
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