Year : 2022
Style : Melodic Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 123 mb
Bio:
Autograph began in late 1983 originally as a solo project for singer, songwriter & guitarist Steve Plunkett, who had recently left the band Silver Condor. Plunkett then began playing and recording his own material with a group of his musician friends, most of whom had previously played with him in other bands.On lead guitar was Steve Lynch, who had played with Plunkett in the band Looker.Bassist Randy Rand knew Plunkett from their days together in Wolfgang, a prominent club band in Pasadena, California that has been described as a local legend, and of which Kevin Dubrow (lead singer of Quiet Riot) once said, "They smoked us all... they got a better response than us and Van Halen".Keyboardist Steve Isham, who had also earlier played with mutual acquaintance Holly Penfield, was brought in to give the fledgling band a more modern sound.Drummer Keni Richards, an old bandmate with Plunkett from John Doe rounded out the band's lineup. Richards' friendship with Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth was instrumental in leading to Autograph's big break the following year.Quickly, this group of musicians began playing and recording together, taking the form of an actual band. Plunkett chose the name "Autograph" for the band, having been inspired by hearing Def Leppard's similarly titled song, "Photograph," on the radio. They recorded their first rough demos in late 1983, but played them only for a few close friends. One of these friends was Andy Johns, a famous record producer who Steve Plunkett had met while helping singer Joe Cerisano produce Silver Condor's second album Trouble At Home. Johns invited the band to re-record and upgrade those demos at the world-famous Record Plant Studios for free under his guidance. Keni Richards then played the demo for Roth, who subsequently invited the band to open for Van Halen on their 1984 tour. The band rose to prominence opening for Van Halen, ultimately playing 48 shows, an act of distinction for an unsigned band. Due to their rising popularity, Autograph soon signed a contract with RCA Records following a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City in late 1984.The band’s debut album, Sign In Please, was completed and released in October of that year, but did not make an appearance on any record charts until January 1985. The album contains the band’s only major hit and now signature song, "Turn Up the Radio." The song itself was one of the last ones recorded for the album, and the band members were initially very lukewarm toward it. However, the tune would become a top-30 hit, pushing album sales past the gold album mark (500,000 copies sold). The album later went platinum. The song was featured in an episode of "Miami Vice" (entitled "Little Prince") and was also leased out to numerous other films, even further elevating the song's popularity. Lynch's guitar work in "Turn Up The Radio", featuring a distinctive two-handed, fretboard-tapping technique, won him the "Guitar Solo of the Year" award from Guitar Player magazine in 1985."Send Her to Me" was released as a follow-up single, though its success paled in comparison to the massive first hit. Other songs from the Sign in Please album, "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me" and "Deep End," along with "Take No Prisoners," which would soon appear on the band's follow-up album, were featured in the 1985 film Secret Admirer, starring C. Thomas Howell, Kelly Preston, Corey Haim, Lori Loughlin and Casey Siemaszko.The band also recorded a song titled "You Can't Hide From the Beast Inside" for the film Fright Night.A second album, That’s the Stuff, was quickly recorded and released in the fall of 1985, and the group went on tour in support of several other bands, including Mötley Crüe and Heart.Although record sales were disappointing in comparison to their first album, it still achieved near gold status. Supported by the single, "Blondes in Black Cars" and the title track, a minor-hit, it eventually peaked at No. 92 on the Billboard album charts.[2] The band then recorded a song titled "Winning Is Everything" for the film Youngblood.Autograph recorded a third album which took longer to record than the other two combined. Loud and Clear was released in the spring of 1987. The title song featured a music video with Ozzy Osbourne and Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe as extras. The band also made three appearances on "Headbangers Ball" in support of the album. In October, the band made a cameo in the film Like Father, Like Son, starring Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron. The first song featured was "Dance all Night," which played briefly, and then they performed the song "She Never Looked That Good for Me" for the film, appearing in a brief cameo as themselves. Despite all three of these songs being released as singles, the album was not a big success, mostly due to lackluster support from the label.The original members have gotten back together for a reunion. Due to Plunkett not being interested in doing the reunion,they have replaced him with Jailhouse, Flood, 1RKO and solo artist singer/songwriter/guitar player Simon Daniels. The band has been rehearsing and have an interview on YouTube conducted by rock journalist Lucas H Gordon and Guitar World as to what their many plans are for the future.The band played the Monsters of Rock Cruise, M3 Rock Festival, Firefest along with other festivals and Worldwide touring before going to the studio to cut a new Album in 2014.On January 15, 2015 they released their first single from their new album, "You Are Us, We Are You."On April 21st, 2015 they released their 2nd single "I lost my mind in America."Shows and festivals Worldwide are booked solid for 2015 and beyond.
Album:
On January 31, 2022, Frontiers Music Srl made an announcement welcoming the legendary 80s hard rockers Autograph to the label's roster. The band - at the time featuring vocalist Simon Daniels, guitarist Jimi Bell, bassist Randy Rand and drummer Marc Wieland - was close to wrapping up work on the brand new studio album "Beyond", which the label had slated for release later in the year. Just past mid-April 2022, Randy delivered the final masters and artwork for "Beyond" and was sorting out plans for the release with the label when he received some news about his health. And then, shockingly, just a few days later (April 26, 2022) Randy Rand, a founding member of the band, passed away. Before his untimely passing, he shared with his bandmates that if something was to happen to him before the release plans were finalized, he wanted them to release "Beyond", his last recorded work. And so, with bittersweet emotions, Frontiers Music Srl announces the forthcoming release of Autograph's new studio album "Beyond", the last album to feature founding member and bassist Randy Rand.Autograph, whose hit "Turn Up The Radio" was a staple of the hard rock soundtrack of the 80s, disbanded in 1989, but in 2011, founding members bassist Randy Rand and guitarist Steve Lynch decided to meet up at the NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. They rekindled their friendship first before even thinking about a musical reunion. With their personal relationship rebuilt, they made a collective decision to play again. "We approached our original singer Steve Plunkett about a reunion", recalled Rand. "He didn't have the time to join the band again due to his busy schedule. He did give us his blessing to move forward though and that was important. We missed our fans. This is for them."Fully embracing the future, the remaining members began a search for a new singer. They discovered some videos of singer, guitarist & songwriter Simon Daniels (Jailhouse, Flood, 1RKO) on YouTube and instantly, they sensed a connection and knew that he was the right fit for the band. "He was perfect to front Autograph", smiled Rand. "His hard-edged, bluesy voice and massive riffing sharpen our edge. He's given us new energy and he impressed us immediately. We all had a euphoric feeling after the first rehearsal", Rand added.Rand said that during his long-lived career, he had only loved playing with two drummers. One is the great late Randy Castillo and then there is Autograph's new drummer Marc Wieland. As Rand put it: "We're heavier than before. At the same time, the melodic vocals and catchy hooks are still an integral part of our sound."In 2019, Lynch decided to leave the group to pursue different musical styles and was replaced by international monster shredder guitarist Jimi Bell (House Of Lords). The band didn't skip a beat and went on to record a new album, "Beyond", with this line-up before Rand's untimely passing.Autograph, the platinum-selling Southern California hard rock band who gave the world the ubiquitous hit "Turn Up The Radio", has released seminal albums such as "Sign In Please" (1984), "That’s The Stuff" (1985) and "Loud And Clear" (1987). Over the course of their career, they have played shows with everybody from Mötley Crüe and Ronnie James Dio to Van Halen and Aerosmith. Successfully touring again since the beginning of 2014, Autograph has strived and shined at arenas, casinos, major music festivals such as M3, Monsters of Rock Cruise, The Moondance Jam, 80s in the Park, Grand Rock Tember, Cat Club Festival at Irvine Meadows and Firefest UK, among others. In 2017, Autograph released a new album on ex-Megadeth member David Ellefson's EMP Label Group, hitting # 21 on the Billboard Classic Rock Sales Chart, as well as placing two new singles on the top 10 Hard Rock Mediabase Radio Chart. The band will release the new studio album "Beyond" via Frontiers Music Srl in 2022. It is the last album to feature founding member and bassist Randy Rand.
Line-Up:
Simon Daniels - Lead Vocals / Guitar
Jimi Bell - Guitar
Randy Rand - Bass / Vocals
Marc Wieland - Drums
Tracklist:
01. This Ain't The Place I Wanna Be
02. Your Slave Tonight
03. Everything
04. Gotta Getcha
05. Take Me Higher
06. Run For Your Life
07. Beautiful Disaster
08. Love Is A Double Edge Sword
09. Heart Of Stone
10. Feels So Good
11. Flying High
12. To Be Together
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
