Jeff Slate - founder of NYC indie-rockers The Badge - has a new album due in 2012. "Birds of Paradox", due this Summer, featues an all-star cast of players, including Holley and former Wings bandmate Laurence Juber, Gary Van Scyoc and Adam Ippolito (John Lennon's Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band), Jimmy "Mack" McElligott (Gene Cornish, Tommy James), Gene Parsons (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Bros.), Simon Townshend (The Who, Roger Daltrey), Josh Phillips (Procol Harum), Susie Collins (ELO, Ace Frehley), Wayne Cobham (Stevie Wonder, The Temptations) and Alex Alexander (Prince, Dido).
His latest single, "Dreamtime", featured former Bowie/Lennon guitarists Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar playing together for the first time since 1983.
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Jeff Slate
Jeff Slate
Birds of Paradox
www.jeffslate.net
FIRST SOLO ALBUM FROM THE FOUNDER OF INDIE DARLINGS THE BADGE DUE THIS SUMMER
Album features an all-star cast, including members of Wings, The Byrds, The Who, the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band and more
On tour this Summer
"The best Tom Petty album since 'Wildflowers'" - Dennis Mitchell, DJ, Las Vegas, NV
February 17, 2012 (New York, NY) - "It began with an act of charity," Jeff Slate says in the liner notes to his new album "Birds of Paradox", due this Summer. "I was the musical director for a charity event and Steve Holley, who used to be the drummer in Wings, was one of the guest performers. We hit it off and I asked him to drum on some songs of mine in the studio a few weeks later. When we got in there it was exciting. The songs sounded better than I could have ever dreamed. After 15 years making records and playing live with The Badge a new door had opened and I was excited again about making music."
Those initial sessions led to an album's worth of songs with an all-star cast of players, including Holley and former Wings bandmate Laurence Juber, Gary Van Scyoc and Adam Ippolito (John Lennon's Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band), Jimmy "Mack" McElligott (Gene Cornish, Tommy James), Gene Parsons (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Bros.), Simon Townshend (The Who, Roger Daltrey), Josh Phillips (Procol Harum), Susie Collins (ELO, Ace Frehley), Wayne Cobham (Stevie Wonder, The Temptations) and Alex Alexander (Prince, Dido).
In support of the release of "Birds of Paradox" - which derives its name from the fact that May Pang, whom John Lennon wrote the song "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)" about, introduced the core band of Slate, McElligott, Van Scyoc, Ippolito and Holley - Slate will be playing a release party in New York City in Spring, as well as dates around the Northeast throughout the Summer and Fall of 2012.
With a setlist of songs from "Birds of Paradox", crowd favorites from Slate's tenure with The Badge, and classics that Van Scyoc, Ippolito and Holley performed live with Lennon and McCartney, as well as hits by Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison and other giants of the last 50 years of popular music, upcoming live shows are sure to bring the house down.
"We've been rehearsing at the old Hit Factory, which is now the New York headquarters of Gibson Guitars," said Slate. "It sounds fantastic. And it's such a thrill to play these songs with these musicians. It's intimidating to think the last time Gary and Adam played 'Come Together' was with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden, but even more than that it's exciting."
Jeff Slate (vocals, guitar) is a singer/songwriter from New York City. He co-founded the 1980's mod/punk band the Mindless Thinkers, who were mainstays on the Northeast college circuit. In the mid-90's he released "The Townshend Tapes", on which The Who's Pete Townshend acted as Executive Producer, and opened for Sheryl Crow on her "Tuesday Night Music Club" tour. In 1997 he founded the band The Badge, who released four albums and countless singles, EPs and live "bootleg" sets and went on to become darlings of the UK/European "mod" scene in the 2000's. In 2010 Jeff released the single "Dreamtime", which featured Earl Slick (Lennon, Bowie) and Carlos Alomar (Bowie, Lennon). "Birds of Paradox" is his first solo album of original material. Jeff has appeared on television and radio numerous times and his songs have appeared in network television shows and major motion pictures. Jeff proudly endorses Gibson/Epiphone guitars and Vox amps.
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