Focus on Metal

So much for wrapping up this project this in 2016. But speaking of wrapping, just in time for the holidays we bring you the sixth installment on Little Mountain Sound featuring none other than our bud James Kottak.

We actually did this interview back in August of 2014 and was one of the first we did for the project, so if some of the things James talks about sound dated that would be why.

Find out what James is up to these days (besides the mighty Scorpions) at jameskottak.com

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

This week our guest is vocalist Robin McAuley RobinMcAuley.com/ . Most metal fans know Robin from his work with Michael Schenker, but he's done much more besides that and he continues to bring the rock to audiences weekly through his shows with Raiding The Rock Vault RaidingTheRockVault.com/.

Robin also just released a rerecorded version of the MSG single Anytime and it's available on iTunes. We had a great chat with Robin and I think it should be an enjoyable episode for all.

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Visit FocusonMetal.net for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

Night Ranger, T.S.O., Whitesnake and now a killer new solo album guitarist Joel Hoekstra ( http://www.joelhoekstra.com/ ) continues to notch up some impressive career credits. This week Joel hooks up with Focus on Metal to talk about hie new album "Dying to Live". Which also has a solid rhythm section in the form of Vinny Appice and Tony Franklin and some vocals courtesy of Jeff Scott Soto and Russell Allen. Of course while we had him on the line Richie couldn't help throwing out some Whitesnake questions too. Also this week we feature a track of the week from Frontiers artist Voodoo Hill ( http://www.dariomollo.com/ ) which has the not too shabby Glenn Hughes on board. We round it off with a special treat from our friends in A Sound of Thunder ( http://www.asoundofthunderband.com/ ). They gave us the green light to roll another track from "Tales of The Deadside" for you. All in all, a pretty packed episode this week.

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

It's already October and we are only up to the fifth installment in our Little Mountain Sound series. I think we might be a bit behind schedule. Anyways, this week we bring you great talk we had with Bob Brooks back in October of 2014. Bob was initially the manager at LMS and eventually along with his wife was the owner of the studio. Bob, in my mind, is the architect of the modern era of Little Mountain sound. Bob is still in the recording business and you can out what he's up to and read his whole history at https://www.brookssound.com/

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Finally, after who knows how many requests and delays we have managed to put together the fourth installment of our Saxon album series. This time we look at Unleash The Beast, Metalhead, and Killing Ground. Hopefully it won't be another two year gap until the next installment. Find all things Saxon at http://www.saxon747.com/ and be on the lookout for their upcoming release "Battering Ram" in stores October 16th.

Track of the week is from Massacre Records artist Stormhammer. This one comes off their latest, "Echoes of a Lost Paradise". Catch them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stormhammerband or hit up their shop at http://www.stormhammershop.de/

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

We decided to celebrate our 250th episode with a career retrospective of bassist and producer Jeff Pilson. Jeff's been a great friend to the show and I can't think of a better way to celebrate this milestone. In this one we'll go through Jeff's entire career and he as usual regales us with some great stories.

Take in Jeff's blog at https://jeffpilson.wordpress.com/ or his page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJeffPilson/ and last but not least http://www.foreigneronline.com/

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

At long last the wait is over (damn release schedules), Veronica Freeman (aka The V) has finally released her first solo outing "Now or Never". As long time listeners know we are heavy duty supporters of Benedictum here on FoM and part of that is due to the vocal firepower of Veronica. This week we are pleased to have The V making her third appearance back on FoM. Don't miss this one folks as the always outspoken Veronica didn't disappoint and of course you'll also get to her some samples of what to expect on "Now or Never". So sit back and enjoy a healthy dose of vitamin V.

Find The V at her new site http://veronicafreeman.com/ , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/veronicafreemanofficial or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/therealvfreeman

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

This week we bring you the fourth installment in our Little Mountain Sound Studio series. Our guest this week is none other than bassist and all around cool guy, Tony Franklin. Tony has played with an impressive list of artists including Gary Hoey, Marty Freidman, Ripper Owens, Doug Aldrich, and Whitesnake. Did I mention the guy has also played with Jimmy Page in The Firm? Jimmy Freaking Page! Of course he was also a big part of Blue Murder with John Sykes and Carmine Appice. So yeah, I think this guy knows his way around a studio so he's a perfect guy to talk about his time at LMS. These days when he's not enjoying his Ninja blender Tony is playing with Rated X and Heart of Storm with Doug Aldrich.

Find Tony online at http://www.tonyfranklin.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tony-Franklin-The-Fretless-Monster/161475073743 and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fretlessmonster

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

This week we bring you the third installment in our Little Mountain Sound project. Our guests this week are engineers Roger Monk And Mike Plotnikoff. Roger was chief engineer at Little Mountain for 17 years. You can now find him at Dick and Rogers Sound Studio on the web at http://www.dickandrogers.com. Mike started at Little Mountain as a runner and has gone on to engineer and produce some of the most well known artists including Aerosmith, Saxon, and Scorpions.

No music on this episode but there's plenty of great insight from two great guests about what made Little Mountain what it was.

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

So this week we continue with our Little Mountain Sound project. This time we swing the mic over to someone with an artists view, John Corabi.

John recorded the self titled Motley Crue album at Little Mountain with Bob Rock. John has some great memories of that album and his time and Little Mountain.

Catch up with John Corabi online at : http://www.johncorabimusic.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/JohnCorabiMusic

Also be sure to grab a copy of his latest release "Unplugged" on Rat Pak Records at : http://www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com/john-corabi

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.