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Chrome Daddy on CD

CHROME DADDY Formed from the visionary talents of Shawn Mars (Mars Needs Women) and Keith Roth, Chrome Daddy was a band that surfaced out of friendship and blasted into the stratosphere of the Jersey hard rock universe. Enlisting the ever capable drumming skills of Damian Cordisco and the six-string talents of Skid Row's Scotti Hill, Mars and Roth seized downtime opportunity to blaze rock-and-roll trails of Marshall fueled brilliance, melding influential commonalities from bands such as Sweet, Bowie, T Rex, Cheap Trick, and KISS and their love for all things 1970s into some of the decade's most underrated rock-and-roll to date. This rare release is a detailed story of that passionate effort. A musical journey comprised of standout individuals that teamed up to lay down a lifetime of skill in the briefest of timelines. The music you'll hear was birthed from the raw intensity of demos that came from the soul before growing and evolving into an even larger body of work for the consideration of one of rock-and-roll's biggest managers. In a time when the music business was shifting from the sound of the Sunset Strip to the grungy feedback drenched cries of the great Northwest, this foursome saw an extremely original opportunity to head down new and inspiring paths of direction. "A call to join the band showed up at my side door written on the back of a pizza box," says guitarist Scotti Hill. "Only my closest friends would know to leave me a message at the side door. But to put the information on the back of a pizza box was genius! We were from New Jersey. Pizza is a way of life. The message read (in dried up Sharpie) something to the effect of 'Scotti!!! Come join Big Top!! What time are you going out later? Keith and Shawn.'" If Hill was integral in the visibility of Chrome Daddy, Shawn Mars was the ringleader that got the ball rolling with his concept of all things carnival. "We started writing songs and for some reason I loved the name Big Top... I guess because it had that whole circus vibe to it. Two things happened pretty quickly. We convinced Scotti Hill to join us, and then he changed the band name to a song I wrote called, "Chrome Daddy." As far as drummers, we didn't have to think too hard... Damian was our first pick... he was a killer player and a great all around dude." When talking about Damian, who left us way too suddenly last year, one thing radiates through in the conversations. He was one-of-a-kind. Damian's playing style was created through countless hours emulating childhood heroes and perfected from years on the original scene and unfathomable days in the studio. I was around to witness his style as both early band mates and musical aficionado, and the fact that he was part of this punkish, hard rock outfit always made perfect sense to me. When you listen to the passion and thunder of the tracks offered on this project, it brings you back to a musical decade of risk taking merit, a time where these four band members had something compelling to say and the right vehicle to get there in. Keith Roth reminded me of his meeting with the Chrome Daddy drummer. "I first met Damian at DAC Studios (Damian's recording location) and after introductions I came to find that Damian and I had so much in common, both musically as well as our love for the same films. We were both throwbacks. We felt we had known each other for years. Even after Damian moved on from the public studio business and we got into other groups, we always stayed in touch. When he and Rachel [Bolan from Skid Row] put The Barflies together, they brought me onboard and that's when I got to really lock in with Cordisco as a player. I'm really glad I got to re-connect with him during the last few months of his life." It's ironic, as I'm sitting here composing this summary of a much bigger story, I start to think about each surviving player's enduring industry contributions and continued artistic pathways. Hill is still touring and recording in Skid Row, Mars has a successful rock-and-roll solo career and Roth enjoys his own musical vocation as singer/guitarist of Frankenstein 3000, bassist with The David Johansen Group and host of the critically acclaimed Electric Ballroom Radio Show as well as a regular onair disc jockey for Sirius XM on a variety of rock channels. Regardless of where they've ended up, the one thing I still get from each and every one of them is the excitement that flashes when discussing this band, the songs and Damian's good-hearted presence. This group of songs is dedicated to that enduring spirit and energy of a good friend and band mate who still had much left to say, and the triumphant rally for everyday music fans that still feel that rock-and roll will eternally be as good as it ever gets. John Pfeiffer