One of the most prolific and successful American rock songwriters, Jim Peterik returns with the second album in his superlatively crafted, collaborative melodic rock project World Stage – Winds of Change.
The album, the second under the Jim Peterik World Stage banner since the debut record in 2001, was released April 26 on Frontiers Music s.r.l. worldwide, and sees the long-time member of Survivor teaming up with a bevy of musical pals including Dennis DeYoung (ex-Styx), Matthew and Gunnar Nelson (Nelson), Jason Scheff (ex-Chicago), Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Danny Vaughn of Tyketto, Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger, Canada’s Mike Reno (Loverboy) and Toby Hitchcock (of Peterik’s other project, Pride of Lions) and more.
“When I first left Survivor in 1996, I had the grand scheme of creating this World Stage project. The first concert wasn’t until 1999 and that was an amazing show and was a benefit for the Rainbow Foundation held at a club, but the place was packed. And I had Don Barnes [38 Special] and Kelly Keagy and Kevin Cronin and it was just an incredible show. Word got around of how powerful the synergy was between artists and with me as kind of the head guy, and from that point on, we would do at least a couple of shows, all these from 2000 to now. Each time, World Stage has been growing and the shows sell out instantly. Every concert is a little different. The core is The Ides of March, my first group [who topped the charts back in 1970 with the song Vehicle] because they’re my home boys, and we rock the place. And we have a lot of guests repeat their appearances. People like Kelly Keagy and Don Barnes, and Kevin Cronin when he can. Mike Reno has been a part of the last five and my pal Toby Hitchcock from Pride of Lions is always an evergreen. It’s a really close-knit group and kind of an evolving group,” Peterik explained.
“Finally, Serafino [Perugino] from Frontiers said it was time for another World Stage album. He said he wanted me to bring that feeling back together like we did for the first album, which we recorded in 2000. And I was also ready, so I started making calls. And every artist you hear on this album instantly said yes. I have made a lot of friends through the years and this album is kind of the result.
“Almost every song is a collaboration, which has kind of been my specialty through the years. I can write a song all by my lonesome, and I have done it many times, with Vehicle probably the first million seller that I wrote on my own, when I was 19. But since then, my biggest successes have been with collaborations, whether it was with Frankie Sullivan in Survivor [including Eye of the Tiger, High On You, I Can’t Hold Back], Don Barnes and Jeff Carlisi in 38 Special [i.e. Hold On Loosely, Caught Up In You, Fantasy Girl] and Sammy Hagar [Heavy Metal]. There is something about getting two people in a room, or three people even, that’s just different. There’s more depth to it because you bring these other personalities to the table.”
One of the most spectacular of the collaborations on Winds of Change is with former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung on the song Proof of Heaven. It marks the extension of a friendship and working relationship that has seen Peterik working alongside his fellow Chicago native on his new solo album.
“To me, that was the cherry on top. I thought I was done with the album, but I was working with Dennis on his solo album. He literally lives two blocks from me. He moved here about five years ago and we have really become closer than ever because we’re practically neighbours, and our wives are friends and we go out to dinner with each other and stuff. We started making his record after I badgered him enough saying, ‘Dennis it’s time for a new record.’ And he didn’t think it was going to sell, but I said, ‘no, the fans need a Dennis DeYoung album.’ So in in the midst of this I was making my World Stage album and I told Dennis I would really love for him to be on the album. He said, ‘oh Jim, I am really focused on my solo album. Thanks, but no thanks.’ I said, okay fine,” said Peterik.
“When I finished the World Stage album, I played it for him and he flipped out and he said, ‘Jim, I want to be part of this record.’ And that was really flattering that he liked the album so much that he wanted to be a part of it. So, I called Serafino from Frontiers and I asked if I could get an extension on the deadline so I could get Dennis DeYoung to contribute a track. And he laughed and said, ‘maestro, take all the time you need.’
“We extended the deadline for like a month and a half and we created Proof of Heaven, which I think is a major track and we did a music video for it. It’s also just so nice to hear Dennis writing songs, or co-writing songs in this case, that hearken back to his rich history with Styx. Part of the reason this song Proof of Heaven sounds so reminiscent of Styx is because he wants to go back to that sound. And I think I was partially responsible for coercing him into that by saying, ‘Dennis, you were a huge part of that trademark Styx sound, why don’t you reclaim it?’ And this new album of his, man, I tell you, it’s very Styx in the same kind of grandiose, Grand Illusion, Come Sail Away vibe that be brought to the party. And that voice – there are very few singers where you can hear four notes and know exactly who it is, and Dennis is one of those singers.”
Another wonderful surprise for fans of Survivor in particular Is the incorporation of previously recorded vocal tracks by former frontman, the late Jimi Jamison, who died in 2014, for the song Love You All Over the World, the 12th and final track on Winds of Change.
“In about 2008, Jimi called me and said, ‘Jim, I’ve always wanted to do a country record. Would you do one with me? I said, ‘Jimi, if you’re singing it, I will do it. I don’t care if its Cha-Cha or meringue, if you’re singing, I am in,’ because I loved his voice so much. So, I crafted about eight songs in the sort of New Country mold. He came to Chicago and we did a whole album of these wonderful, meaningful songs, with acoustic guitars and dobroes and mandolins. And nobody has heard any of it, because very soon after we finished it, we didn’t have a label for it or anything like that, and I knew Serafino wasn’t going to sign a country album by Jimi Jamison,” Peterik explained.
“Oddly enough, right around that time, Serafino called me and said he wanted me to produce a new rock album by Jimi Jamison and I said of course and jumped at it because that had been my dream since I left Survivor again to work with that person and that voice. And we shifted gears back to melodic rock and that was the Crossroads Moment album that came out in late 2008, and we just sort of abandoned the country thing.
“But from those sessions there was one song that really stuck with me and it’s called Love You All Over the World and I talked to his family and his heirs and asked if could have their blessing and take that track, strip out all the instrumentals, isolating Jimi’s voice and cutting a whole new track around it, more in keeping with the music that Jimi is most famous for, which is good anthemic melodic rock. And they said ‘absolutely.’ I called in my ‘A’ players into the studio and it was an unbelievable experience sliding up that one fader on the mixing board with Jimi Jamison’s voice and hearing that sound again fill the room. We all had tears in our eyes because it was like he was a hologram back with us and playing with the band. The result is what you hear, a reinvention of what started out being a country song almost 10 years ago.”
For Canadian rock fans, it’s great to hear that Peterik is pals with Reno, and the Loverboy frontman sounds as good as ever on the song Without A Bullet Being Fired.
“Mike Reno played a show with me and I asked if he could stay three or four more days because I wanted to write a song with him for the record. And he said no problem. Mike is the most easy going, cool guy in life. And so, we got into the studio and I said, ‘let’s just start jamming,’ and he is singing these melodies and I am playing a guitar riff and I told him I wanted him to get into the mindset of Loverboy circa 1982. I said, ‘you’re on a bill with Survivor, the girls are in the front row going crazy, you’re in your red leather pants and your bandana, you’re singing Working for the Weekend. I want you to get into that mindset and I want to write a f***ing ferocious rocker.’ By the end of that day we had the song and cut it in the studio the next day. That’s the kind of album this was, very spontaneous,” Peterik said.
As for touring, Peterik is hoping to get some of his World Stage collaborators together at some point.
“We have a European booker now who works with Frontiers who is trying to line up a couple of shows in Germany and Italy, so I am waiting with bated breath on that. We are also working on a huge American show, probably in Chicago, probably in the fall, and that’s being lined up as we speak. I am trying to get as many of the artists, including Dennis DeYoung knock on wood, to be part of the show,” he said, adding that with such an all-star lineup, they would play songs from each of those artists’ own repertoire.
“I already have commitments from the Nelsons and Kevin Chalfant [ex-The Storm] and a possibility from Kevin Cronin, but we’re just formulating that right now. So, if Kelly Keagy comes in, we’re going to do Sister Christian, we’re going to do Don’t Tell Me You Love Me, we’re going to do Sentimental Street, and then a couple of songs from his solo album that I co-wrote for him. And that’s really the format with all the artists in the live show. With Mike Reno we will do a couple of his biggest hits as well as Without A Bullet Bring Fired.”
Peterik said he would love to bring the show to Canada, as he has a lot of fond memories of touring there with Survivor and also with The Ides of March in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“Vehicle was a number one record in 1970 and we toured a lot of America, but we also toured a lot in Canada. And I remember when we were playing Thunder Bay and a very young Paul Shaffer [of David Letterman fame] was in the audience, and I met him after the show. And then we opened up for Led Zeppelin in Winnipeg and just tore the place down, getting these great reviews the next day. If I could think of one show that puts me into a good mood, it’s the headline the next day saying, ‘Ides of March Steal the Show from Led Zeppelin.’ Now that’s a headline. It was one of those nights. We could do no wrong and got a standing ovation after every number,” he said.
“Randy Bachman was in the audience and I ran into him a few years ago and he said, ‘yeah, I was at that Winnipeg show.’ And I asked him, ‘Randy, were we really as good as I remember?’ And he said, ‘you were, and Zeppelin sucked that night.’ And then there was the time in Calgary where we opened for Janis Joplin. And there is a famous story in my autobiography [Through the Eye of the Tiger, published in 2013] where after the show she was really drunk after swigging Southern Comfort after every song. It was an amazing show, and we had a brass section and she just rocked. But afterwards she was basically staggering down the street and she didn’t know where she was going. I knew she was staying at our hotel, so I took her arm and led her back to the hotel. And she was so sweet, and we just talked a little bit. It was just one of those memories you will never forget.”
What is also unforgettable are the dozen melodic rock masterpieces on Winds of Change. For more information on Peterik, World Stage and possible tour dates, visit http://jimpeterik.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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