Gasoline, Only .35 cents a gallon! Ages ago in some other galaxy you say? Actually, it was the 70’s and 80’s, and for guitarist David Vaccaro the galaxy was ”The Hub of The Universe” which, (as anyone from the area knows) is the city of Boston.
The Cars, The J Geils Band, Aerosmith, Till Tuesday, The Jon Butcher Axis, The Neighborhoods, Beaver Brown, The WBCN Rock’n Roll Rumble/Battle of the Bands …to say it was a good time to be in a band and playing live around Boston simply does not paint the picture of just how exciting the Boston music scene was.
Blues-fueled Melodic Rock for the 21st Century featuring Platinum Recording Artist Robin McAuley.
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Biography - David Vaccaro
It is this era that you would have found Vaccaro “paying his dues” and honing his musical chops in Boston area clubs, schools, and colleges in his former bands of Oz, and Capital Gain (the drummer and 2nd guitar player were both accountants!).
By the late 80’s Vaccaro’s live gigs and sharp sounding demo tapes (including original demos of V-Project with Jon Butcher Axis drummer Derek Blevins) had begun to solidify his reputation for playing melodic Arena Rock style music. It was soon evident however that the west coast music scene was more in tune with Vaccaro’s guitar-oriented AOR style of writing than the New Wave alternative sound so prominent in Boston, so a move to Los Angeles was in order.
Quickly joining forces with Arthur Micheev, the former lead vocalist of the Russian rock band Avtograph, a new band called SIBERIA was formed. A hard rockin outfit similar in style to the Scorpions.
Playing clubs in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, Siberia with its unique and memorable Russian frontman Micheev, had just begun to build momentum when without warning the tsunami that was the Seattle movement hit the L.A. music scene and Siberia, along with legions of other 80’s influenced bands, was washed away.
With Siberia disbanded and the L.A. club scene a shadow of its former self, it was time for Vaccaro to reawaken
his studio band V-Project. Having been introduced to former MSG vocalist Robin McAuley by a mutual friend, Vaccaro and McAuley began recording a series of home demo tapes that would eventually make up the majority of tracks on V-Project’s first CD release titled Lost Demos.
The well received Lost Demos, raised a few eyebrows not only for the guest appearances of two platinum selling vocalists, Robin McAuley and House Of Lords frontman James Christian, but also for the depth of songwriting and musicianship from an artist virtually unknown.
One chord that is echoed by many Lost Demos reviews is how Vaccaro’s songwriting and playing seems to come from the heart, is authentic, the real deal. To quote Majestic Magazine’s on-line review; “With songs melodic to the core, Vaccaro takes you back to an era when Rock wasn't about making a quick buck, but about songs written and performed from the heart.” And that is what David Vaccaro and V-Project is all about.
On V-Project’s new release, aptly titled New Machine, Vaccaro breaks from the acoustic vibe of Lost Demos and powers up the Marshall amps to bring us radio ready sing along anthems like Somebody Like You and Back To My Baby. And for those looking for the deep AOR tracks, New Machine ventures off-road to explore exotic tracks like You Don’t Care or the Southwestern accented Desert Run.
But enough of the bio already, it’s time to power up the New Machine, so grab your owners manual, strap yourself in,
and start rockin!
Biography – Robin McAuley
If there ever was a word that could best describe Irish-born vocalist Robin McAuley it would have to be believable. There are others that apply like, solid, melodic, truly talented, (okay that was two words) but believable is the one that may work best.
McAuley can move from style to style: Rock, Heavy Metal, Acoustic, even a little Gospel flavored R & B, and with every genre McAuley’s performance is always “believable”.
From his early days with Grand Prix, his platinum selling remake of Stairway To Heaven with TOTO frontman Bobby Kimball, and into his hit making years with McAuley Schenker Group, Robin has turned out consistent and memorable hit tracks like Love Is Not A Game, Anytime, and When I’m Gone.
After McAuley’s MSG years Robin began a move into more R & B and acoustic oriented material. The outstanding R & B flavored Business As Usual and hauntingly beautiful acoustic driven tracks Only Friend, I’m Feeling It Now, and The Good Times from
V-Project’s own Lost Demos CD, demonstrate McAuley’s ability to gracefully move from style to style.
After numerous guest appearances on various tribute CDs (even a Buick commercial covering The Edgar Winter Group’s hit, Free Ride) McAuley one again finds himself back in the Rock driver’s seat as front man for the ever-popular Survivor.
In between singing Survivor’s monster hit-radio tracks like the iconic Eye of the Tiger, or the feel good vibe of High On You (#8 on Billboard’s “Hot 100 singles” chart) McAuley has put together and released an EP of his own by way of his Hardcore Metal band called Bleed.
Lending his vocal and songwriting talents to V-Project for the New Machine CD Robin has hammered out 4 slammin new tracks. Like the many projects he’s worked on Robin gives each of his four tracks just what they need to make them unique and memorable.
All hype aside, what is really impressive is that (and those who have followed McAuley’s career already know this) when listening to the various bands that Robin has worked with, regardless of the project you’re listening to, McAuley’s performance comes across as totally genuine. Or as mentioned above, believable. It’s as if the only band he has ever worked with was the band whose music you were listening to. That’s not easy to do. But for a singer with the experience of McAuley it’s a standard we’ve come to expect from this talented vocalist.
