country's most impressive legacies. Known for classics like "Sticks And Stones," "Alibis," "Texas

Tornado," "Time Marches On," "Lessons Learned," and “Paint Me A Birmingham” from a catalog that

has produced sixteen No. 1s and at least 20 top 10 hits, Tracy is recognized as one of his

generation's most important artists.

FOR THE LOVE takes him another big step forward. Following in the wake of his Greatest Hits album,

it serves as a potent reminder of his vocal prowess and of his ability to write and select songs with an

eye both to the telling detail and to universal emotion. As always, the result is genuinely heartfelt. "I

feel like this record is a good overview of everything musical and personal about me," he says, "and

given the way things are going, a lot of the content is uplifting."

That sentiment reflects the fact that Tracy's life and career have entered new territory. FOR THE

LOVE is the first release on Tracy's own Rocky Comfort Records, a venture that gives him a welcome

new platform. "I feel like I'm starting fresh," he says. "I have a lot more freedom to do some of the

things I think are important to me, and to build something of substance over the next several years.

My fans will benefit as well. We don’t have the same overhead that major recording companies do, so

we can distribute my music in such a way at retail that I still make a living and my fans can purchase

my music at the best possible price."

As the first step along that new career path, FOR THE LOVE begins on a base firmly planted in

Tracy's love and appreciation for classic country. "I think this record is a little bit more retro," he says.

"There's a lot more traditional country on this record, and some things reflective of my own early

success."

pages, once again show that this is a man who knows his way around the country landscape. From

there, the Arkansas native puts his stamp on a more cutting edge style of country, with the title cut,

“For The Love,” a contemporary gem featuring a guest appearance by the multi-platinum Three Doors

from a man whose own ability to overcome difficulties infuses this with an autobiographical passion

represents the first time Tracy has cut a song he wrote without a co-writer. As a man for whom every

decision, artistic or business, is one to be taken seriously, Tracy was hesitant at first to include it. “As

an artist," he says, "I'm probably more critical of the songs I write than anybody else's, and for me to

put something I wrote myself on this project, it really had to stand up to scrutiny.”

This time around, Tracy was able to bring in his own road band to record two of the project's songs,

a hand to the project. Tracy’s long-time friends Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney took part in a bonus

three of us hit town about the same time. We ate together, hung out together, bar-hopped together,

and even borrowed a couch to crash on from time to time. We remain friends today. The song is really

representative of us." The trio perfectly caps the record's personal touch.

Tracy's road life recently included participation in George Strait's tour as well as dates of his own, and

included, as always, his continued passion for charity work for the Tracy Lawrence Foundation,

raising awareness for Alzheimer’s research in his role on the national advisory board, and the newly

organized annual Tracy Lawrence Mission Possible Thanksgiving turkey fry for the homeless.

This collection of songs points Tracy in a positive and uplifting new direction. "I think overall I've just

learned to be happy," he says, "and this record helps showcase that.” Tracy sees himself more these

days as someone for whom life and career continue to dovetail, and for whom art is increasingly a

means of uplift. “My music is evolving to a place that is more spiritual and reflective of the heart,” he

says. “I can see the transformation over several albums, and I see it continuing to grow. I’m eager to

see where the journey continues to take me.”

Although he’s focusing more of his time on his family, as daughters Skylar JoAnn and Mary Keagan

grow up, Tracy still loves climbing up on that tour bus and taking to the road to entertain country

music fans across the United States. “This is still fun to me. I love creating new music and performing

for my fans on stage as much today as I ever have. My fans are amazingly loyal,” he adds. “They’ve

been with me for a long time, many since the release of my very first record. It’s a friendship and

connection that’s difficult to define. They’re like my extended family. They’ve laughed when I’ve

laughed and hurt when I’ve hurt. As we launch this chapter, I hope they’re as enlightened by listening

to this new record as I was by selecting and recording these songs especially for them.”

###

KC and the Sunshine Band

of last year’s KC’s Boogie Blast: The Ultimate Dance Party continues to prove that a

shows as “Desperate Housewives,” “Ally McBeal,” “American Bandstand’s 50th

America and Australia. KC recorded “Get Down Live,” a concert album that was

Melbourne, Australia. KC’s “The Best of KC and The Sunshine Band” went gold and KC

and The Sunshine Band celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a commemorative double

CD release titled “The 25th Anniversary Collection.” Later, KC released an album of allnew

material entitled “I’ll Be There For You.” Proceeds from the title song, released as a

There are a lot of reasons to celebrate the release of Night Ranger’s “Hole in the Sun,”

notably that it marks the band’s first studio album in a decade and commemorates the

throughout Night Ranger’s heralded career, the best reason to celebrate is the music

itself.

“People will hear this record and recognize our dual blazing guitars and vocals, and big

choruses and melodic verses, because that’s definitely how you can describe this

album,” explains singer/bassist Jack Blades of the new release, the band’s eighth studio

album, and first for VH1 Classic Records. “It’s new Night Ranger, but in a lot of ways it’s

classic Night Ranger.”

“Classic Night Ranger…” Three simple words that could start their own chapter in the

complex history of commercial hard rock, as the core trio of Blades, guitarist Brad Gillis

and drummer/vocalist Kelly Keagy are responsible for penning a handful of the ‘80s

landmark hits, from one of the most defining and immediately recognizable epic power

ballads of all-time in “Sister Christian” and the similarly-slowed tempos of “Sentimental

Street” and “When You Close Your Eyes,” to the guitar-driven radio juggernauts “(You

Can Still) Rock in America” and “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” Night Ranger are a rare

band whose signature sound is more recognizable than their blue collar, every-man

image.

“Even with all of our hits, people knew the band’s name, but they didn’t know the band,”

recalls Gillis. “The lucky thing is, 25 years later, we’re still touring and making records.” A

little luck always helps, but in the case of Night Ranger, the proof remains in the music,

as the band endure as champions of a music-first mentality seldom seen in today’s

image-conscious world. “Songwriting is about experiences,” continues the guitarist, “if

you can write about things that everybody can relate to, it’s those songs that come from

the heart that usually hit the hardest.”

Night Ranger hit hard throughout “Hole in the Sun.”

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Guitars grind and swirl through the unrelenting opener “Tell Your Vision,” delivering a

progressively-fueled crush that sets the tone for the eleven new tracks that follow, from

Keagy’s Jim Morrison-like soft parade of vocals atop the blinding guitars of “Drama

Queen” and the blitzing melodic charge of “You’re Gonna Hear From Me,” through the

enduring depths of the piano-driven power ballad “There is Life,” and back again. “Hole

in the Sun” rings with the vibrancy of vintage Night Ranger, yet echoes with a modern

relevance that endures throughout the album.

“We wanted to sound new, but still keep our roots,” says Keagy of the new release. “We

grew up in the ‘70s, when pop music was really starting to thrive. Sometimes it drove

you crazy because the songs were so poppy that you couldn’t get them out of your head,

but they were still amazing songs. We wanted to portray some of that on this album.”

While there is definitely a pop glisten to “Hole in the Sun,” there’s also a heavy dynamic

that plants the band firmly in the millennium. “Brad brought in a lot of great ideas, some

more modern-sounding things, but we were still able to keep that melodic sense in the

songs. We wanted a lot of songs like ‘Drama Queen,’ great, gritty songs that reestablish

our roots in hard rock,” continues Keagy.

“I love when people tell me that they used to drive around in the summertime with the

windows down and crank Night Ranger, and they love reliving that with our music now,”

the guitarist explains of his band’s enduring fortune. “Those fans continue to come and

see us, but now we’ve also got a whole new audience coming, younger fans who are

just discovering the band now. We’re hoping to make an impact with every fan with this

record.”

Fixtures on the touring circuit since reuniting in 1996, Night Ranger wrote and recorded

‘Hole in the Sun” between tours and individual solo projects, admittedly taking longer to

complete than any of the band’s previous albums. “We’re always touring, so we’d be

going back and forth from the studio to the road and couldn’t really concentrate all of our

time at once and just get dialed in,” explains the drummer. “We started to write the

album in the summer of 2005, really got into it in 2006, and put the finishing touches on it

in 2007. It was really a year-and-a-half in the making.”

“Music is constantly evolving and changing, and people need to keep evolving in life,

spirit, soul and everything, or you might as well pack it in,” notes Blades. “That’s why I’m

so proud of Night Ranger, and that’s why we will continue to evolve. With this new

album, we’re just going to roll with it, have a blast doing it, and keep playing as long as

it’s fun, and as long as people want to come out and hear us play. There are still a lot of

people out there that want to get up and sing, ‘motorin’…’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me You Love

Me,’ ‘You Can Still Rock in America,’ the list goes on and on…”

Says Gillis of the band’s current tour plans: “We started with our classic backline with the

American flag and the Night Ranger logo, and then we built it all up from there – bigger

lights, bigger sound, bigger everything! We’ve got the ramps, the vintage t-shirts, the oldschool

Night Ranger antics, and it’s going to be nothing but fun…”

The message is clear: You can still rock in America.

—Paul Gargano, 01/08

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