The Prime Rockers

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About The Prime Rockers

Musicians Joke 1 THE PRIME ROCKERS Are ...

Steven Madden: Lead & Backing Vocals / Lead & Rhythm Guitars / Grand Piano on The Ballad of Dorian Grey.
Zsolt Henczeley: Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals
Dean John Nichols: Drums / Percussion

Steven Madden formed The Prime Rockers in 1999. His vision is to take the songwriting structures of melody, power and blatant precision & weave them into a molten metal Rock-pop mosaic of timeless magic. There are minute forays into Classical, Blues, R & B, and Jazz, but for the most part... The Prime Rockers R O C K!!

Zsolt Henczeley’s blitzkrieg of blisterin’ bohemoth bass riffs and expertise are essential toThe Prime Rockers zsound. His early Classical, Rock, Hard Rock and Metal early influences have added a new dimension to the band's unique dynamic. Dean John Nichols’ scintillating slaughter of cerebral percussion patterns shall leave an edible stomp on the world of drums as we know it!! This dynamic duo rhythm section along with the mastermind “Maddman” of Rock formulates the Ultimate Power Trio for yer listenin’ pleasure. So TRY IT ON!!

A Little History

STEVEN MADDEN - SINGER, GUITARIST, SONG WRITER AND ROCK ’N’ ROLL MADMAN. Back in the late 1970s when disco was mercifully starting to pass into history there was a Canadian band called Reckless that opened a lot of ears around the world. The music was fresh, heavy and dynamic. Sharing international stages with heavy weights of the day and rubbing elbows with the stars their hip early 70s British Hard Rock image was ahead of the pack, both visually and musically. The driving force behind it all was Steven Madden.

THE ORIGINAL LINEUP FEATURED Steven Madden Lead & Backing Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars plus Drums on early demos. Leo Mendoca played Bass, and Jan Melanson originally sang Backing Vocals and some Lead Vocals. These demos were instrumental in securing a deal with Saga’s management in 1978 after Steven had returned from a New York audition with Rick Derringer (of Rock ’n’ Roll Hoochie Koo fame. Derringer dug Steven’s musical prowess but wanted a background Rhythm Guitarist rather then a Frontman/Guitarist to join Derringer.)

PRESSURE FROM MANAGEMENT to market Jan’s image with Steven’s songwriting ability turned the band in a new direction. The new line-up in the band consisted of Steven Madden Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals and some Lead Vocals. Gene Stout on Bass Guitar, Keyboards, and Backing Vocals (from The White and Over the Garden Wall). Gil Roberts and Lloyd Walker on Drums. Jan Melanson Lead & Backing Vocals. The addition of the dynamic Danny Bilan on drums (from Moxy and Wild T and the Spirit) crystallized Madden’s original vision of Reckless.

RECKLESS’ FIRST LP called "Reckless" was recorded in 1979 at Phase One Studios in Toronto. Produced by Steven Madden & Paul Gross of SAGA fame. Phase One’s Legendary clientele included early Triumph, Surrender, Alfie Zappacosta, and Max Webster albums. Released worldwide in 1979 on the prestigious Harvest/EMI/Capitol label it received serious accolades from many European Rock/Metal magazines such as Kerrang, Sounds Magazine, New Musical Express and Bravo. Many heavy metal connoisseurs still feel this was the definitve Reckless album. So much so that U.K. record company Rock Candy Records re-released that album in early 2008. And from time to time on eBay you’ll find copies of the original album going for outrageous $$ - its a frackin’ collectors item!! Twelve unreleased Monster Trax were recorded between 1979-81 and are hidden in the “VAULT’S OF MADDEN” where they and await with baited breath to be released on the unsuspecting public in the near future.

Did you know Reckless 1 is included in Martin Popoff’s The Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal Volume 2 : The Eighties

THE 80s BROUGHT A NEW LINEUP Between 1981-1983 a melodic and power-house version of Reckless emerged featuring Danny Vee (Lead & Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar), Louie Lamanna (Drums), Paul Nufrio (Lead & Rhythm Guitars), Bob Angelo (Keyboards & Vocals) and Steven Madden (Lead & Backing Vocals / Lead & Rhythm Guitars). In 1983 a cut called The Wheels of Love from the Q107 Homegrown Volume V album was a melodic reminder of that line-up. Interested record collectors should check out this lil’ ditty since it finished 2nd to Honeymoon Suite’s cut New Girl Now.

IN 1984 THE LINEUP CHANGED AGAIN with Doug Adams as the new Vocalist. Enter Heavy Metal America Records who took 'em on with the release of Heart Of Steel and once again Reckless was climbing the charts in Europe. The “Powermadd” cut Hot ’n’ Ready became an underground cult classic and the video was played on Much Music’s Power Hour and several heavy Rock and Metal video shows from 1984-1987. Other scintillating studio and Live cuts written by Steven Madden included: Need You Next to Me, Drivin’ You Mad, Only After Dark, Don't Walk Away, Feel the Fire, and Heart of Steel. These lucky 7 cuts culminated in the heart and soul of Reckless at that time for live shows/video airplay/radio airplay and of course the album itself.

Did you know Reckless has a question in the Rock N Roll Triva Pursuit Game?

STARS SHINE, STARS FADE and after a few album releases the business end of things claimed another victim. So by the late 1980s Reckless was no more, but not before establishing Steven as a serious talent on the international stage. But the story takes a turn here ’cause now the Canadian music scene was a much more happening thing and dreams of international fame got put on the back burner. It was time for a new act with an even heavier sound and Marshal Law was born to go out and haunt the Great White North.

BIG HAIR, SOME LEATHER AND A LITTLE FLASH THROWN IN added to the screaming guitar sound of Marshal Law. Between playing the likes of famous venues like The Gasworks the band found time to record an album. There wasn’t a record company involved but band member Sean Keith owned the (in)famous Demo Factory where a lot of the tracks were laid down. This was around the time I first met Steve. Now mind you I'd heard of the man and his reputation but it was my first chance to really hear his talents. Crap I was blown away! Here was an unreleased album with at least half a dozen solid hits that other acts could only have wet dreams of writing. So being a video type guy I was asked to shoot footage for a track called Sixteen & Excited which got some play on Much Music.

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE, trends change and things evolve, ya can't hold back the river. Great songs don't always mean you'll make it, especially when the new sound was all about clean cut dance beat music without big noisy guitars. It wasn't for lack of trying but Marshal Law couldn't get a release for their album Read ’Em ’N’ Weep so Steve put it out as an indie under his own label. Unfortunately it never did very well selling only at gigs or by word of mouth. But the story doesn't end quite there ’cause if ya wait long enough all things old become new again. And by that I mean there's recently been a call in film and television for unreleased classic big hair rock. To which I can somewhat proudly say I've had a hand in helping get placements for some of the tracks through our L.A. agent for both American and Canadian projects. There's still some life in the old corpse, who knows what the future will bring.

A NEW MILLENIUM AND A NEW BAND called Prime Rockers with Steve firmly at the creative helm. And once again another set of recordings in anticipation of a release. The music is only slightly tamer than the previous projects but the sense of hooks and melody remains the same. Of course by now we're in the era where only prepubecent boys and girls are getting attention from major labels. So as ya might've guessed it was once again a case of releasing as an indie. This time there's a little help from the great internet sea so if ya want to take a Listen to some tracks follow the link. The band currently plays the southern Ontario region so if you're in the neighbourhood and get the chance you should catch ’em.

ITS THE HERE AND NOW BUT THE STORY AIN'T OVER for our man Madden. Steve got his chops from the era of heavy sounds and big guitars but he’s always had a better sense of melody and hooks than most of his counterparts. Sometimes life’s a crap shoot and the dice don't fall your way which is something that could certainly be said in this case. So what do you do when you're an older long hair with four decades of experience under your belt? Well you take some of that talent and start writing for other projects and players. And that's where your humble scribe comes into the picture. Besides the video and web stuff, I've been playing for about as long as Steve but never went down the road he travelled. I always figured I needed to link up with someone of his musical caliber and after hearing him figured a little bit of my business sense would make a good match. It took some time and a lot of phones calls but we finally have managed to link up and get our creative juices flowing. We still write material for ourselves and found common ground doing some blues which has evolved into The Delta Drivers but being the old dogs we are we're keeping an eye out for money. I'd mentioned that we’ve got an agent in L.A. to shop music for film and television and we're developing new contacts to shop to Country and Pop artists. Don’t know where the road will take us but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let a bona fide talent exit the scene without a heap of cash, hopefully taking yours truly along in his wake. The Steve Madden story continues...