Review & photos by Joe Dolan
March 19th, 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA: John Corabi made his trek westward in 1983 from Philadelphia with the single notion of getting his music heard. As a songwriter, a front man, a guitar player and a hard rock soul – is there any other course of action? From the theoretical small town USA to becoming the face of one of hard rock’s most legendary bands, Motley Crue – John Corabi has conquered feats nearly every rock artist on the planet aspires to challenge; launching his latest tour at the Whisky on this Wednesday night, Corabi showed patrons that the proof of what a musical artist’s worth is comes from the songs themselves. Appearing almost on the same night that he last appeared at the Whisky 20 years earlier for the release of Motley Crue’s Self Titled CD listening party, John gave his all with an acoustic guitar to grand fanfare.
He stated on stage that his first west coast effort, (titled Angora), never recorded. Since online music trading became the popular norm, fans found out that the band did in fact record, and those Angora demos circulated fast throughout the collector world. The song “Shake Shake,” is all over YouTube featuring band members Jimmy Marchiano (Heaven’s Edge) and Frank Scimeca and Robert Lezzi from Graveyard Train. Those early demos showed the burgeoning 80’s hard rock industry that Corabi was bringing a top-level skill set to the scene and with shows booked across the landscape at So-Cal hotspots like The Troubadour, The Whisky and the Chuck Landis Country Club – John Corabi was fast becoming a well respected household name.
By 1991, Corabi made his landmark effort with the album Let it Scream by his original band The Scream. Formed with Racer X stars Bruce Bouillet, John Alderete and Scott Travis (though Travis was replaced by Shark Island founding drummer Walt Woodward – RIP) – the album featured backing vocals with former Racer X member Jeff Martin and Badlands front man Ray Gillen. Though the album was considered a stellar recording for the standards of music circa 1991 – the inevitable change of genres in the grunge explosion pushed the potential of The Scream to the back burner for new MTV generation.
Due to his prolific skills in songwriting and his obvious ability to lead a rock and metal band – Corabi was hand selected by Nikki Sixx and the members of Motley Crue to replace floundering lead vocalist Vince Neil. This led to the release of Motley Crue’s Self-Titled 1994 CD; an album that did not fare as well to the previous model of the band, but held up in sales volumes that are higher than any album the band has released since without Corabi. Again, the shift in popular music trends weighed heavily against the potential of even a band with Motley Crue’s history, to make the charts. With an EP release that followed, Corabi moved on to other projects within just a short few years.
1998 saw Corabi surface in dual roles, both with the Eric Singer Project and the band Union. Adding to his repertoire of releases, Corabi, by the time the new millennium rolled around, had released and been featured on as many albums as any of the bands or band members he’d played alongside during the past 20 years. Still, getting a solo deal and the finances he deserved to produce his next big effort was not in the cards. The industry held more promise for the legends of hard rock music than the potential of “new acts” – and regardless of Corabi’s history, getting on tour with what was considered ‘the majors’ would not happen; where bands like Poison and Cinderella were considered 80’s Retro Rockstars – Union was thought of as a “new band” and was consistently overlooked for tour support. With that, Corabi would spend more than half a decade performing and touring with RATT.
Now, this is where the truth in songwriting has its shining moment in the spotlight. John Corabi took 2012 to re-introduce himself to fans as a songwriter. Without the aid of mega-talents to blast away alongside him on stage, featuring the songs fans know and love – sans the electric solos, and in more personal and intimate settings – which means smaller venues and direct contact with fans, Corabi released Unplugged, an acoustic review of songs made famous during his previous band experiences, as well as 5 new songs; all recorded with just the meat and bones that song structure is made from.
On tour now, with this first show launching from the Whisky, Corabi performed stripped down and honest – just a man with his guitar, and it was phenomenal! The night began like this:
An electric and an acoustic opener performed when John arrived upstairs. He was early and made time to talk to friends and fans, some he’s known for well over a decade, and some who came for the change to see him perform, and got more than they’d hoped for.
Taking a stool to the middle of the stage and sitting in front of a microphone, John opened with the song “Love (I don’t need It),” followed by “If I never get to say goodbye.” His voice was as powerful and stellar as if he was in front of an all-electric band, with an added bit of soul that came through over the solo acoustic ring.
Outside, before the show, I found four Australian fans that had come to the states to celebrate a birthday; each was wearing a shirt that read “Aussies on a Hooligan’s Holiday” – which means this show was pre-meditated. I brought them over to meet John and he couldn’t have been happier. As you’ll see in the third song of the video provided, when he plays Hooligan’s Holiday, he invites the four on stage to be part of the show; a treat they couldn’t have expected, but that they will take home with pride.
During the 40 minutes of performing that he did on stage, the set list included two original Scream songs – “Man in the Moon” and “Mother, Father Son.” It didn’t seem planned, more off the cuff and play as you go, but it was a well rehearsed and displayed as any show Corabi has performed in his career. Just his songs, for his fans on stage with just his acoustic guitar. Still, there is just one more piece of news that ices this cake. He’s already working on the next electric and full band album!
Now on tour with singer/songwriter and legendary rock and roll front man Mike Tramp, the duo will appear on stage, performing acoustic shows through May, 2014 – including a string of performances on the Monster’s of Rock Cruise.
View more photos from the show below (view them here if you’re on a non-Flash device):
Visit John Corabi on the web:
JohnCorabiMusic.com
facebook.com/JohnCorabiMusic
twitter.com/CrabLegs59
Visit the Whisky-A-Go-Go on the web:
WhiskyAGoGo.com
facebook.com/theWhiskyAGoGo
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