Poison Offers Latest Antidote Guitarist Kotzen Adds to Matured Sound by BRIAN O
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Artists & Music Poison Offers Latest Antidote Guitarist Kotzen Adds To Matured Sound BY BRIAN O. NEWCOMB The album is the first to feature Ri-. lous with this project, especially in set- chie Kotzen, who replaced original gui- ting it up from top to bottom. It's really ST. LOUIS -In what may be a bit of tarist C.C. DeVille. a very simple campaign; we're focusing an understatement, Poison front man "What we wanted was someone who on the music. It has a lot of the Bret Michaels says, "Poison's never was a virtuoso who was known, but who strength that they had in the past, but been that critically accepted. Without could also make the band grow musi- combined with Richie Kotzen's work, that, we've had to work really hard, not cally, and be able to go in different di- Poison is a much more mature band." only making the album but constantly rections," Michaels says. "But more Capitol and the band have set up the trying to prove ourselves." importantly, we wanted someone who release with the zeal of a new group For Michaels, what it ultimately was a team player and a good song- pushing its debut album. comes down to is "making music that writer. I have known about Richie, be- 'We wanted to thwart any precon- we honestly feel good about." Such is cause he was also from Pennsylvania." ceptions, so we brought people down to the case with its new Capitol release, The 22- year -old Kotzen has already the studio as they were making it-the "Native Tongue." proven himself on three solo instru- media, rock critics, people from MTV, mental outings. But Michaels says etc.," Hammond says. 'We had the 'In Golden Eden. The members of 10,000 Maniacs celebrate their latest release, chemistry was as important as techni- Concert' people down in October to do "Our Time In Eden," going gold with representatives from Elektra Entertainment. cal know -how. 'We decided to just find a piece that was on ABC in November. Seated, from left, are 10,000 Maniacs' Natalie Merchant and Nancy Jeffries, senior a guitarist that we would feel great 'We've had Brett Michaels out on VP of A &R, Elektra. Standing, from left, are Steve Gustafson about, but also someone who we can the road, visiting radio and key retail. and Dennis Drew, both of 10,000 Maniacs; Elektra senior VP /GM David Bither; open up and try new things with. That Again on a one -on-one basis, Brett's Peter Leak, band manager; and 10,000 Maniacs' Rob Buck and Jerome Augustyniak. way it would make it exciting for us (Continued on page 19) again. "In Poison, we split everything four ways, no matter who brings in a song," he says. 'We all throw in our ideas and that's the way it goes. It blew Richie's Dead mind that he could bring in a song and Sting Set On Opening Tour Slot; we'd have it on the record. You're go- ing to hear those differences, because Kaplan A he's very involved in the songwriting. Principle Player; Bachus Bow With the new stuff, obviously his guitar sound is going to dictate what happens DEADLY STING: "I want to see this Deadhead phenom- thing," he says. 'We used to do one-off singles like Hot- in the songs. Richie is more of an or- enon. I want to see it firsthand," says Sting. But instead house Flowers and An Emotional Fish, who then went ganic player, with more earthy tones." of merely attending a show or two, Sting has told Billboard off and got their own deals. The A&R focus has hitherto The importance of Poison and "Na- exclusively that he is opening for the Grateful Dead on been out of Ireland and now it will shift to Britain as well. POISON: Richie Kotzen, Rikki Rockett, tive Tongue" at Capitol is underscored several stadium dates later this year in between dates on The idea is to take what we learned in management and Bret Michaels, and Bobby Dall. by Jeremy Hammond, VP of artist de- his own headlining tour. "I've never supported anyone in apply it to running a record company." McGuinness says. velopment: 'We've been very meticu- my career. It's so off the wall, such a crazy idea. Hell, let's do it," Sting says. The singer, whose new album, "Ten LABEL LAUNCH II: Dave Stewart is preparing to Summoner's Tales," comes out on A&M March 9, will play launch a new label with composer/conductor Michael Ka- some warm up dates in Miami at the end of this month be- men. Slated to run through Stewart's Anxious Records, Yothu Yindi Front Man fore heading to Europe for six the label, cleverly titled Bachus weeks. Sting starts a full- fledged Records, will acquire master re- North American shed and theater cordings of classical pieces as well as Named Australian Of Year tour April 26 in Vancouver. His first record new solo classical artists. The dates with the Dead are May 14 -16 first release will be a Bach cantata BY GLENN A. BAKER gree, he currently is on leave as the at Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Ve- that originally appeared on the principal of the 300 -pupil Yirrkala gas. Subsequent stops are East Rut- Erato label. Kamen will pick the SYDNEY -"This award can only help Community School (known as Both herford, N.J.'s Giants Stadium, June music, while "David will make it toward building unity in Australia," de- Ways School), where up to 13 dialects 5-6; Buckeye Lake, Columbus, Ohio, something everyone will want to clared Prime Minister Paul Keating as are spoken. Starting as a teaching as- June 11; Rich Stadium, Buffalo, hear," Kamen says. he bestowed upon Yothu Yindi lead sistant in 1975, Yunupingu an N.Y., forged June 13; Soldier Field, Chi- by Melinda Newman singer Mandaway Yunupingu the inventive cross -cultural approach to- cago, June 18-19, and RFK Stadium, IT'S ALL THE RAGE: Rod honor of being named the 1993 Austra- ward aboriginal education, which is be- Washington, June 25-26. Sting mod- Stewart is the latest artist to plan to lian of the Year. ing imitated all over the huge Northern estly suggests that he thinks his band and the Dead will release his taping of MTV's acoustic music concert series This is not the first occasion that the Territory. prove "an interesting combination because we'd be playing "Unplugged" as an album. Stewart, who was slated to tape preeminent Australian honor has gone Yunupingu sees his nonmilitant ac- to a large audience who probably never heard of me and the show Monday (8), will perform songs spanning his en- to a popular music performer. In 1988, tivities as teacher and musician as a I think we can only benefit from that." tire career, accompanied by his Faces compadre Ron John Farnham received the accolade. way of "saying this is how we think According to the Grateful Dead's spokesman, Dennis Wood. MTV will air the program in April; Warner Bros. Although the selection of an aborigi- about life, how we see the way Austra- McNally, adding Sting to the bill was "the easiest decision will release it in May. All of this leaves us wondering what nal figure was not entirely unexpected lia should be; informing others without the Grateful Dead have made in a while. I never heard a has happened to the new Stewart studio album, "Once In in the Year of Indigenous People, Aus- resorting to the forceful indoctrination shorter discussion among the band. Word reached our ears A Blue Moon," that we've been hearing about for months. tralia Day Council chairman Phillip that some white people practiced on us. that he was available and the guys said 'Great!' We don't According to a WB spokesperson, "Blue Moon" is still Adams revealed that the choice was the We'd like to have our art, our inde- think of him as our opening act; he's a touring partner." slated to be released, but no date in 1993 has been set. easiest and swiftest the 10- member pendence, and solidarity recognized, No word yet whether Sting and the Dead will jam together. board had made in many years, and and be seen as people who have objec- STUDIO UPDATE: The Scorpions are in the studio in that Yunupingu was chosen not only in tives to achieve." A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE: Keryn Kaplan has been Vancouver working with Bruce Fairbairn on their new al- the spirit of reconciliation but because As with the Farnham selection five upped to director of U2's U.S. company, Principle Man- bum; the first with new bass player Ralph Rieckermann. he outshone every other nomination. years ago, the announcement was not agement Inc. USA, now that Ellen Darst has moved to Mercury is slated to release the record, which reportedly "He's an extraordinary bloke," de- met with universal approval. Alan Elektra Entertainment. (Billboard, Jan. 16) U2's Dublin - is very, very hard, in early summer, with a world tour to clared Adams. Jones, Sydney's highest-rated radio based manager, Paul McGuinness, says in addition to the follow. The band hits the States in the fall. Even without the international rec- personality, sparked a furor when he U.S. office continuing to oversee the band's North Ameri- ognition that Yunupingu has recently accused the Australia Day Council of can activities, it will serve as the initial U.S.