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Chris Tsangarides: The Passing Of Briar Rose's Second Producer (Reprinted From Randy Blake II's Facebook Post 01/07/2018

1/10/2018

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I want to tell you about my friend and Producer Chris Tsangarides.

To say what I need to say here, I have to go back to 1981 and a band I was a part of before BRIAR ROSE existed. It was a rehearsal and we were doing the things bands do at rehearsals such as learning new songs, working on the regular set and talking about ideas that we had. After playing, we’d sit around talking about music, other bands, records we bought and records we wanted and basically whatever was current in popular culture at the time. We did this with the radio on and at that time, the station that was playing what we wanted to hear was in Boston, Massachusetts called WBCN.

I forget the DJ’s name but he said something to the effect that after the break he’d be coming back with some brand new music from Thin Lizzy. I thought, wow nobody plays Thin Lizzy around here and that statement was true. All you hear from the only other rock based station in the area was “The Boys Are Back In Town” which there is nothing wrong with that at all but Thin Lizzy had made so much music since then and 1981 but absolutely no radio station played it here. So I was indeed interested to hear what this new Thin Lizzy music as I’m a big Lizzy head. The song began…
What I heard was very much in Thin Lizzy’s style but was very, very, different in their overall sound. It was deeper and fuller than they had ever sounded to me. Someone had updated them and brought them into the new studio technology and they were wearing it very, very well. They sounded amazing. The song in question was called “Angel Of Death”. It is the first song on their album “Renegade”. I went right out and found the album, bought it and it lived on my turntable. I learned then that it was produced by a man who’s name that for many years I pronounced incorrectly. His name was Chris Tsangarides.

I was unaware of who Chris was and what he had produced which is kind of weird because once I learned more about him, I realized I had been listening to his work on one album for years prior as he had worked on Judas Priest’s “Sad Wings Of Destiny” album. I got more albums that I discovered as I got them that he had produced them. Tygers Of Pan Tang, Anvil, Mama’s Boys, Gary Moore, Anthem, Black Sabbath, Rock Goddess, Y & T… The list was growing and I loved they sound he brought to those band’s records. I told myself that one day I’d work with him. He had a sound I loved and wanted so much on the music I made with the band. That band unfortunately was not to continue. As it often happen with your early bands.

I formed some other bands with friends in different styles of music but at my heart, I’m metal and those band’s albums I mentioned above we never far from me on my stereo. One night in a great band I was in called BRIDESHEAD, all that metal came back out on stage. The very next day, BRIAR ROSE was born. We performed, recorded, toured, did TV, released two studio albums with my late friend and Producer Joe Moody but all the time in the studio, Joe kept asking me what kind of production I was looking for and I constantly brought him records produced by Chris Tsangarides. I knew what I wanted and Joe gave us as close as he could and while I love what Joe did, I still knew I wanted a touch that I was only going to get from CT. And then life got in the way…

I had to put the band on a bit of a hiatus as I took care of my parents in their final days. To keep in touch with what was going on in the genre, I started a fanzine for collectors and spotlighted new bands called VAULT. One of the bands that came to my attention was called GLYDER. I kept reading that they had a sound similar to classic Thin Lizzy and I said “No Way. Nobody sounds like Thin Lizzy”. I asked for a copy of the CD and Brian from the band sent me one. They did sound very Lizzy-ish. Who produced this?? The man was… Chris Tsangarides. I told Brian or “Bat” as he was know about how I’d always wanted to work with Chris and that I was ready to bring the band back out. Bat asked if I’d like Chris’ contact info and I did not hesitate.

I have been asked a million times how I got Chris Tsangarides to produce our album and believe it or not, the 100% answer to that question is and I quote: “I Asked Him”. I told him, doing my best not to sound like a fanboy about the band, what we had done, and what I was looking for the band to do now. He asked me to send him four mp3’s so I sent four from the second album we did and he said to give him a month to get to it and then contact him on it. That was one of the most anxious months I have ever lived. The time came to check in. I asked him if he had listened to the tracks yet and he said: “I’m rocking out to them now, man!! Get over here, we need to make an album!!”. Egad… I was speechless. This was actually going to happen!! I waited so long and it was going to happen!!

Arrangements were made and we were off to Kent to record what would be our third studio album after a long absence , “Roses Are Rare, Violence Is True”. The day came to meet Chris and I was full on nervous as hell. He came into the room and we got on right away trading scenes from classic British comedy and bad one-liners. When we got to recording, I could hear it. That sound. That “Tsangarides” sound. I was sitting there watching it come to life and he did it with such ease. Nothing affected this man when he was working. No studio problem became a problem to him for very long. He was a sorcerer in the studio and everything he did was magic!! Happy does not begin to describe how I felt. BRIAR ROSE finally sounded they way I always thought they should. Yes!!

I went back to Massachusetts a happy, happy man. For weeks I played only two CDs. Our new album and ANVIL’s “This Is Thirteen”. Both produced by CT. A Happy man I was indeed. I ended up losing my job because my boss became jealous as she was no longer the talk of the workplace. It happens. I let Chris now what had happened and he Skype’d with me for an hour talking about what bastards they were for doing that to me. Wow… totally surprised but grateful for the talk and he checked in with me over the weeks to see how I was and how we were doing. This man did not have to do this but he did. We kept in pretty regular contact through e-mail, Facebook, Skype all the way to where we were ready to fly back over and record what was to be at that time the yet to be titled next album.

Recording with Chris this time would be more difficult as we had a band member who for strictly being kind here, was not ready for the experience and did not conduct himself in a very professional manner , in the studio, on stage or socially. None of this phased Chris in the least. It is safe to assume that the man had seen it all in his many years in this business and knew the best way to get around any issue and I base that on the incredible tales and stories he related to us while we trying to get the album done. He did so much additional work on that album that we, in an unceremonious ceremony in his studio’s front room, made him an official member of BRIAR ROSE. Why not?? He’s all over that album!! He even gave us a support slot for the band he was in, MORE’s performance in the town of Deal where we also met the awesome lads of Wretched Soul.

Through Chris’ dedication and sheer magic we were close to having the album finished when we had to return to Massachusetts but Chris promised us he would finish up the album, master it and send it on. It still needed a name. Before we left, we sat with him and told him the album would be called “Dark Lord”. After all the help he gave us and the additional work he put in, there was no other name it could be called. Our benchmark album had always been our second album. That status now belonged to “Dark Lord” and it will be very tough to beat. Because of the genius of The Dark Lord himself, the amazing Chris Tsangarides. Never enough thanks.

Again he remained in regular contact with me and the band. Always checking in on what we were doing and writing. He was making suggestions for stage ideas and of course his birthday greetings that could be quite interesting. I ended up in Hospital and came close to leaving this mortal coil but obviously pulled through but every few days while recuperating, there in my Facebook messages was a note from Chris seeing how I was. Again, this man did not have to do this but he did. We set back to work on writing the next album and would touch base with him on ideas from time to time. We sent a few demos and he said he liked what he was hearing and where the songs were going. Right up to my birthday in December and Christmas we were in touch. He was asking for more demos. I was happy as before as we were doing preliminary recording here and he’d soon have working demos. The year rolled over to 2018…

Today I learned that Chris Tsangarides, a truly great man, an incredible friend and amazing talent is no longer with us. The world just stopped. This was impossible. I just spoke to him. This is one of those hoax things that people do. But it wasn’t. Chris Tsangarides is gone, may he rest in peace.

It is easy to recall memories and the events that lead up to meeting someone you’ve always wanted to work with but it is not so easy to look to the future and see that a great man that you love and respect will no longer be there do gather advice and bounce ideas off of. All the time we recorded with him, I sat quietly by him at his computer while the band was in the studio and Chris was at his controls. I had a guitar player say to me. “Are you paying attention to what is going on??”. I did not look up but said the following “Do you see that record award for Judas Priest’s “Painkiller” album and the Grammy Nomination right next to it for it?? I have nothing to worry about. The album is in the best hands it could ever be in”. That was all I had to say.

Chris Tsangarides is not someone you can just replace both professionally or in your personal life. His knowledge and compassion was genuine. I trusted him with my music but I could trust him with personal matters and with all the work he did, he took time to listen and offer advice. He did not have to do that but he did. There are not enough thanks in the world that I could give him. I do not know what my next step is here. Our next album was to be our third with Chris. I have to collect everything I have ever learned from this great man and try to follow in the path he set us upon. This will not be easy, he can’t ever be replaced. Working with him brought me incredible happiness. His passing will leave a sadness in my heart that I can’t be described but I will try to build into a memory that will live strong in me for the rest of my life.

He told me once while showing me the white cliffs of Dover, “You see those cliffs?? They have to paint them every day, don’t they…”. I’ll take that as “Never Stop, Keep Going”.

Thank You Chris Tsangarides, The Dark Lord Himself. And a bloody great man as well.

Randy Blake II
​BRIAR ROSE

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Joe McDonald: A Q & A Session

5/18/2016

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​So, recently I had some of our fans email me with some questions about me and the band. With that being done, it made me actually solicit questions from some of our fans. And this is what I got.
Several people asked what my musical influences were and what my motivation was to get into music? Well, I guess my motivation would be to fit in with my classmates in Eighth Grade, who all seemed to see me as a nerd. Based on what I listened to at that point, mostly pop music and my parents’ collection of Easy Listening and Jazz, and the way that I dressed, they were probably right. To be “hip” or “cool”, you had to look the part and no matter how I tried, that wasn’t happening. In an era of long hair and cool clothes, cool clothes alone did not make the man! I wanted to play guitar and thought that might make a difference. My grandmother bought me a $20 acoustic guitar from a music shop up the street from her and off I went. The only problem was I couldn’t get the hang of it, no matter how much I looked at the lesson book. Plus, it hurt my fingers, not understanding the concept of building up calluses. 
My failure on the six-string sent me back to the piano. Piano players were not as cool as guitar players were and that was a fact. Nine out of ten of my fellow Eighth Grade students in knew who Jimi was but most had no clue who Rick Wakeman was. I realized I wouldn’t get to be one of the cool kids and decided to expose my self to the music and the publications of the time to learn more than my classmates did about the music world. My closest friends soon nicknamed me “Doc Rock” because of my encyclopedic knowledge of even the most obscure bands. It was a moniker that stuck with me throughout high school and college and was my handle…still is…from my radio work on WBIM Bridgewater. While it didn’t get me any points to being one of those cigarette smoking, leather jacket wearing, bell bottom styling cool kids, it did put a lot of great music into my ears.
My biggest regret is that I never took my grandmother’s offer to pay for piano lessons. As a pre-teen, I couldn’t see myself taking time away from being a kid and actually have to add music homework to my other homework. I never received the formal training and that leaves me as someone who can play adequately, but nowhere near as well as I could have. Again-a lesson in life that I wish I could go back and correct. Randy Blake once played me the greatest compliment by saying that I always managed to find a way to play something that he challenged me to play. I also wished I could have learned not only the guitar, but taken a shot at the saxophone. Guitar players still are the epitome of cool and there is just something so special about the sound of a saxophone when slipped into a tight band. 
I didn’t get into the music business until 1985, when Randy and I became friends at work and I offered my services to help him cut a demo of his newest material. He gave me a three-song acapela recording, I wrote the music for them, and the rest, as they say, is history. Between 1985 and 1987, The Hellfire Club recorded 21 tracks, before morphing into Brideshead and recording the BEGGARS AND BUSINESSMEN album in 1987/88
When it comes to influences to my writing style, I always cite four bands/performers. First, I have to credit Grand Funk Railroad. My cousin turned me on to them around the time that the PHOENIX album came out and, by Christmas, I had a complete collection. My first concert was the SHININ’ ON tour in April of 1974. I should have been on the main floor with my cousins, but the story I was sold was that there was a limit on tickets. So I was relegated to the side stage with my childhood friend Mike, my 44-year-old dad and my 50-year-old next door neighbor. The thrill of seeing a live band made me truly want to feel that energy from the stage instead of the audience. I honestly feel that rush every time I take the stage.
My second influence is Emerson, Lake and Palmer. While reading an article about the band’s soon to be released BRAIN SALAD SURGERY, I read more into the themes of the record than I should have. It was probably the best mistake I ever made, leading to a lifelong love of Progressive Rock. I have had the honor of seeing the band members five times, in a number of different incarnations, but my greatest joy was knowing that one of Emerson’s famous knife scarred Hammond B-3’s is in the custody of our producer Chris Tsangaredies.
Influence number three would be Marillion and I can thank Randy for this one. The song “Kayleigh” had gotten some FM airplay in the spring of 1985, but never got higher than the bottom third of the Billboard Hot 100. Randy turned me on to the bands’ earlier works, illustrating a tight musical engine and complex lyrics that inspired me to be a better writer. When it came time to slip from the relatively simple songs of The Hellfire Club to the more complex work that Brideshead needed, I dipped into Marillion mode and turned out half of what became the BEGGARS AND BUSINESSMEN album.
Going hand in hand with Marillion was Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention. With the release of the WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES box set in 1985, this troubled singer, who I only knew as the other voice on Led Zeppelin’s “Battle of Evermore”, was thrust into the musical forefront. That collection not only exposed me to her words and music, but the bands she enjoyed a modicum of fame with. Celtic infused British folk showed me that a folk band could play some of the hardest licks around. Long have Randy and I discussed covering the classic “Tam Lin” in a classic hard rock style and hopefully we will someday soon.
Someone asked about the new record and when it was going to be in the hands of the fans. Well, I have to admit something: Briar Rose has a big problem. One of the problems is that some illnesses and a horrible run of bad weather plagued us in 2015 that caused us to lose almost three full months of writing time. But the real problem is that we have so much material in rough form, semi-completed form, and finished demos that we don’t quite know when to stop. We literally have CDs filled with material and that translates into what could conceivably be a 10 CD box set if we let the monster run wild! That’s not an overestimated bit of hype on my part-it’s the truth! Over the last year and a half, we have worked with those demos and, at the same time, have messed around with other licks. While half of the band is messing around with one piece, the other half comes up with a riff, a lick, or a chord progression and that leads to a new place.
What that means for us is that the five of us are swimming into the deep end of a creativity pool like we never had before. This record is going to truly make people sit up and take notice more than ever before. Have no fear: it will be as hard as anything we have ever done. But, at the same time, it will be the most complex thing we have attempted. ENCHIRIDION is going to make you the fans smile and I cannot wait for all of you to hear it. It’s gonna be amazing!
Along those lines, one of our long time and long distance fans asked if I could play in any other band besides this one, which would it be? To be honest, as corny as it might sound, I don’t think there is another band out there that I would want to play in. Being in a band, a real band, is like being in a family. We love each other, hate each other, and fight with each other. We play nice together and we play rough together. But, in the end, it is all about family. And in this family, you have to trust the person to your immediate left or right. And we do, plain and simple. So there is no other band I would want to play in other than this one. If this band rolled up its’ tent tomorrow, I would too. I have no urge to join another group.
Now the list of musicians that I would want to play with, JUST ONCE, if I had the raw talent, is lengthy and covers all genres. But, if I had to pick one current artist in music today, one person I could play with on a one-off show, it would probably be Neil Young. Here is a chameleon that has lent his talents to everything from folk and country to electronic, alternative and hard rock. I would just love to be a part of that band, especially if it was Crazy Horse, and jam…just once.
What kind of music would you like to make, besides Briar Rose? I think I still have a Prog concept album or two in my soul. Back in the Brideshead days, Randy and I had actually mapped out a series of concept albums. Some of those songs actually morphed and found their way into the Briar Rose repertoire. Long forgotten, I recently came across my original notebook with all sorts of lyrics, music, and promotional stuff from those days and, lo and behold the list of those planned albums. So, it would be nice to put one of those projects together someday…just not with another band. I would like to see any one of those as a Briar Rose project. That would certainly blow some minds!
I was asked if my kids shared my passion for music and if I would support them if they joined a band.  My oldest daughter is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, ukulele, and flute. She has a beautiful singing voice and developed quite a following on-line for her talents. Do I think she’ll follow in my footsteps? She’s 15 going on 30-who knows! My littlest one likes to sing and she has composed on the piano. But for now, she just thinks it’s fun to “make stuff up”. And if either one joined a band, I’d be the guy fighting for a backstage pass and photo credentials. 
I was asked what about my favorite bands and albums were. That could fill up multiple pages of this web site. It is probably easier to touch on the genres I like and even that would take some time. It’s easiest to discuss genres I do not like. I don’t particularly care for Country or Western, especially the concept of “new Country”. But I have developed a great love over the last few years for Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams and even Glen Campbell, but I can’t warm up to more than that.  I am not a big fan of most modern Hip-Hop, although I do like those that came before this current crop of rappers. The way was paved by George Clinton, De la Soul, the Ohio Players, Osibisa, and more. Most of what currently passes for electronic music leaves me cold too. Skrillex and Daft Punk is not my kind of music-Kraftwerk was! However, I can listen to Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Crystal Method and Fat Boy Slim.
My favorite artists and albums change with my mood and I own far too many albums, both as CDs and actual LPs to pull a list of favorites. And just because I’m old doesn’t mean my favorites are relegated to the Golden Oldies I grew up with. I have been on a major Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones binge lately.. I have taken to the habit of combing through my local chain and independent record outlets looking for deals, especially on used CDs. FYE (yeah…I’ll name drop here) runs a BUY 2 GET 1 FREE promotion about every 6 weeks. That’s a great time to dive into stuff, especially older stuff that someone has pilfered out of their older sibling’s CD collection for some quick coin.
At the same time, there were a lot music released in 2015 and so far in 2016 that made it into my collection. Among those were the following: Marilyn Manson, Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, Fall Out Boy, Sleater Kinney, Diana Krall, Fifth Harmony, Jacob Whitesides, Bea Miller, All That Remains, Kendrick Lamar, Brian Wilson, Halestorm, Alabama Shakes, Faith No More, Twenty-One Pilots, Wilco, Lamb of God, Joss Stone, Bullet for my Valentine, Ghost, The Sword, Motorhead, Butcher Babies, Disturbed, Miley Cyrus, Five Finger Death Punch, Iron Maiden, Prince, Duran Duran, The Hollywood Vampires, Ann Wilson, Slayer, Keith Richards, The Dead Weather, New Order, Children of Bodom, Elvis Costello, Coheed and Cambria, ELO, Coldplay, David Bowie, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Elton John, Sia, The Cult, and Lucinda Williams. And that doesn’t include the Black Sabbath remasters, the Led Zeppelin remasters and the expanded CONCERT BY THE SEA. That’s a pretty eclectic batch of music if I do say so myself.
10 essential albums to take with me on a desert island? THE BEATLES WHITE ALBUM, BELAFONTE AT CARNEGIE HALL, BRAIN SALAD SURGERY, CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, CONCERT BY THE SEA, GOOD APOLLO, I’M BURNING STAR IV, VOLUME 1, GRAND FUNK LIVE ALBUM, JOE’S GARAGE, LET IT BLEED, and LIEGE AND LIEF
I was asked to talk about my involvement with the various comic cons and events that I photograph and was there any special person or celebrity I'd like to photograph? For those who may not know, I spend a lot of my free time shooting independent wrestling shows and Comic Cons across the area. I have been blessed with making a lot of friends on both sides of the “velvet rope” and have some really cool memories and stories regarding them…far too many for publishing here. Perhaps on my own Blogger site. But, as far as what celebrity would I like to photograph, I don’t really have an answer. While there are a lot I would welcome the chance to meet and shoot, the concept of celebrity doesn’t blow me away anymore. When you stand next to famous rock star and exchange pleasantries at a urinal, it takes the mystery out of the fame game. Besides, I have gotten to meet Linda Blair, Cherie Currie and Lita Ford-the rest pale in comparison after that!
The last question I got was a fun one that asked what character from Frank L. Baum’s The Wizard of Oz represented me and why? I had to dwell on this for a bit, as there are so many unusual personalities in the book. In the end, I think I am most like Dorothy. In the book, she has these great adventures and rejoices when she finally gets home to her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Despite that, she goes off on another thirteen adventures, eventually living in Oz and being made a Princess of Oz. Throughout it all, she realizes that friends and family is the most important things to have in your life. That is certainly how I feel. We are on this plane for a short time and when we are gone, the world continues to go on. It lived before us and will live on after we’re dead. All we can hope for is to make a difference while we are here. Fill your life with good times and good people and hope to leave them better when you are gone.
So that’s that. I hope I didn’t bore you too much and all. Stay tuned for more insanity from the Briar Rose camp in 2016 and beyond. This band has been doing what it does for 28 years and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Keep rocking. And thanks for all your support over the years.
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Joe Moody: The Passing Of Briar Rose's First Producer (Reprinted From Randy Blake II's Facebook Post 3/17/2016

4/27/2016

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I want to tell you about my friend Joe Moody who just passed away…

Yes, he was the first Briar Rose producer. He did our first three records. Joe was more than that however. He gave me my first cool job at Midland Records in the Swansea Mall because I was able to tell him what hot new hard and heavy records people were talking about and he’d order them up. He went to see me do stand-up comedy at Periwinkles in The Arcade in Providence Rhode Island. He recorded all the recordings of a band I was part of called Mephisto Waltz and after an all night session at Normandy Sound while telling us how we did, he looked at me and said “And you, you son of a bitch, you can sing!!”. If Joe Moody said so, it was fine with me. Might not be true but Joe said so…

He recorded our rather popish songs for our band The Hellfire Club and accused me of letting my inner Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson out and he was right. He had fun with those songs.

He recorded our double concept, neo-prog band Brideshead’s only album and thought I was crazy because no band at that time was doing anything remotely close to a prog concept album, at least not in the U.S. at that time…

…and then came Briar Rose. The first EP was done with a mobile recording unit hauled into the same ALH hall we do our “Haunted Homecoming” show at. He thought musically I was getting back to where I belonged. He then recorded our first full length album at his new recording studio in Providence and thought we had made another step forward. Then came our third record and second full length and through everything that we endured to get that album done he looked me in the eye and said “This is the strongest material I’ve ever heard from you. This is good stuff, this is where it starts. You gotta build on this”.

Time passes and roads are taken. Sometimes those roads come back round. In April of 2014, bassist Chris Landoch and I went to see Anvil perform in Providence. Joe Moody was there. He was showing support for a band he was working with who had gotten on the bill. It was great to see each other after such a long time. He asked if we were on the bill and I said we did not get a slot to which he replied “That sucks, you guys should be on here, your perfect for it!!”. I thanked him for that and then he asked how we got to work with current producer Chris Tsangarides. I told him “I asked.” And he busted out laughing. “That’s you!!” he said. “I knew you’d get what you want. Congrats man, you always fought your way through. Nice job.”

…and that’s the last time I saw Joe Moody…

A couple of things here and there on Facebook but I never got to see him again.

You will be sincerely missed my friend. To have supported and encouraged my crazy ideas over the years and setting me on many different roads, I can never Thank You enough. You will always be loved, remembered and respected.

….and Joe…. Thank You for believing in me. Rest In Peace My Friend.
​
Randy Blake II
Briar Rose
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A Message From Joe McDonald (Keyboardist)

6/19/2015

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Joe here and I’m throwing in my two cents worth with a quick blog. 

During a recent You Now broadcast, because I do those too, I had someone ask me how I got involved with the band. For that answer, I have to jump into the WAY BACK MACHINE and go to the year 1985. I was four years out of college and my best friend all through college had recently gotten married, joined the Army, got shipped to Colorado and had a child. I was working part-time at a job that would end up being my career until earlier this year when I retired. I was single, living at home and pretty much had no real life outside of working, watching TV, listening to music and reading. Oh yeah: I was also working on my second novel as it grew into a thousand-page beast. In between all of this, I would occasionally go downstairs and plunk away at the piano, just to keep my chops active. I also was experimenting with my new portable keyboard: an early digital Yamaha with built-in drum machine that lovingly became known as the “Portadink”.

Then one day, I got into a conversation with this new guy at work. He was a singer in a rock and roll band (Moody Blues reference) called Mephisto Waltz, and his name was Randy Blake. We hit it off and I mentioned that I was a musician and, even though he was coming from the world of metal, I had a keyboard and if the band ever needed a keyboard player for a recording, I was there. Randy told me the band had just come out of studio and keyboards really weren’t in the plan, but thanks anyway. Either way, we ended up as friends, talking movies, music and whatever else came to mind.

Not long after, Randy told me how Waltz had split up and he was looking to work on some different, non-Metal music. Over in England, Metal was going into a dormant state and Pop music was the place to be. He had some lyrics with a rough idea of what he wanted in the form of some songs and asked if I would want to try to write some music. He also told me he thought he sounded a bit like Elvis Costello, which was a far cry from where he was sonically in Waltz. A few days later, he handed me a cassette with three songs, sung a cappella with a pencil tapping the cassette case as his click track. I went home, gave it a listen, and then headed to the piano where I wrote the music for these first three songs: The Way Things Are, Grand Hotel, and Mistaken Claims. As I later told him: “a LITTLE like Costello?”
This was the start of a 30-year musical and personal friendship. 

By the spring of 1986, former Mephisto Waltz and future Briar Rose guitarist Marcus Lorde had been drafted into the mix. What started as a showcasing solo project for Randy grew into a loose amalgamation of a band that became known as The Hellfire Club, after the band of evil mutants in the X-MEN comic. Before the year was through, seven of us went into the studio with producer Joe Moody to record those three songs. In July of that year, as Randy and I watched Til Tuesday perform as the opening act for The Moody Blues, Randy convinced me that this hack of a keyboard player (my words…not his) COULD perform live and not just be a studio player. By the time we performed our debut gig in March of 1987, we had recorded 13 tracks, including the lawsuit inducing SANTA CLAUS IS DEAD. That first gig, with a group now consisting of eight members, featured 11 of those songs and killer covers of VEHICLE, YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG, and BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU. It also featured the weirdest and possibly worst version of MY GENERATION ever unleashed on human ears!!!

In August, we played our second gig known as the SUMMER OF LOVE PT. II. One new member had been added and we debuted three new songs. This essentially put an end to The Hellfire Club as Randy, Marcus and I were already working on a new project: a Progressive rock band known as Brideshead. Over the next six months and inspired by two of our favorite bands, Jethro Tull and Marillion, we recorded a concept album called BEGGARS AND BUSINESSMEN in Moody’s THE WALL inspired studio space. That room, along with “stinky cheese pizza” from Towne Pizza, provided a vibe that allowed us to fully use the limited technology we had available to create the best work we could. By the time summer rolled around, we were looking at track listings and song ideas for a staggering three additional albums while actively trying to shop around this one.

But I also had decided that my time in the group was short, as I grew tired of working two nights a week and working on band projects for the other five. I was getting older and felt the need to seek out a life companion and a different life for me. So, on June 4th, 1988, a week after playing our first gig at a backyard graduation party (surrounded by the smell of cow dung and flies), Brideshead played it’s UNVEILING OF THE BRIDE gig, it’s final gig, to a packed house. Within the month, the foundation of what became Briar Rose began work on the songs that would make up the out of print BRIAR ROSE EP (out of print until Hostorious Mythos came out-GET YOURS WHILE THEY LAST!).

The band pursued their dreams and I pursued mine. In February of the following year, I met my future wife, got a promotion, a full-time position, got married, bought a house, and got to see the arrival of our first child. Randy and I had stayed in touch over the years as Briar Rose toured England, recorded two more studio albums, a live disc before eventually falling silent as Metal’s U.S. popularity faded. In 2007, Randy reformed the band and, in June of that year, they performed at the Music For Middlesex 5. Shortly thereafter, work began on the record that became ROSES ARE RARE, VIOLENCE IS TRUE, which was recorded in Kent with legendary producer Chris Tsangarides in November of 2008. Upon the band’s return, Randy put out a message to his friends asking if anyone knew how to work with Adobe InDesign or Pagemaker. 

Immediately, my hand went up and we spent the next few months designing the album package.
Over the course of the summer, I went to band rehearsals and shot a ton of promotional photographs to coincide with the release of the record. As the Christmas season approached, we looked to record a one off Holiday track. The track never got recorded, but the band decided it was time to put me where Randy had always felt I belonged: in the band. As we began the New Year, I was now hard pressed to learn the entire Briar Rose catalog for future performances. Oh yeah: we were also knee-deep in writing the songs for what would eventually become DARK LORD.

So, here we are, in the middle of 2015, and I find myself retired, still married, with a teenage daughter and a soon to be Second Grader, working on songs for the new album, ENCHIRIDION. I get to hang out, work with my best friends, and look forward to putting this record to bed and performing it live for all our fans worldwide. It’s been a wild ride thus far with the best yet to come.
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A Message From Jason Vanderpool (Drummer)

4/2/2015

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Just a quick note to let everyone know... Hey , we're still here ! We've had a few small setbacks with health issues and the ever annoying snowfall that threatens us at every turn. Even with all of these , ahem, problems, we're still polishing up songs for the new album. We , like all other artists, create. Anyone who paints, writes, films, makes anything from their hearts and souls knows what this means. We obsess over every little detail. We need to make it as close to the vision we have of it as possible. This can be very taxing. We sometimes lose sight of what goes on around us. I spent the other day reviewing pedalboard heights! That kept me occupied for over an hour. We won't even talk about how often I look at changing snare drums for each song, as that is a battle still being fought in my head as we speak ! The songs are coming out fantastic, if I do say so myself, and they'll soon be ready to demo. Just wanted to give a quick shout to everybody to say thanks for listening! 
\m/ \m/

Jason Vanderpool
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The Rosa Mystica, Vol.2, No.2 "The Winter Of Our Discontent"

3/11/2015

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GREETINGS ALL!!


Randy Blake II here to give you an update as to what is going on in the wild world of BRIAR ROSE!! 


Well we came back from our time off for the Holidays in January and unfortunately our rehearsal time has been kept to a minimum. The reason for this is we have been averaging almost two snowstorms a week in our area just about every single week!! EGAD!! Huge mountains of snow all over the place and with that comes driving and parking bans, so we can't even get together if we tried, never mind the shoveling out we have to do at our homes. Life in New England!! As I write this today, a bit of a thaw is on and the temperature should be in the low 50's.


Turning from the weather, we are still writing and demoing songs for the next album "ENCHIRIDION"!! We pretty much know what songs are going to be on the album but we are looking at everything. We come up with so many ideas from so many situations, its hard at times keep them all in order!! Chris, Joe, Jay, Jeff & I keep throwing them out there and we've been able to come up with some tracks we are really excited about and can't wait to finally record!!


You may have heard some of the titles mentioned before but here is some of the songs we are looking at and working with: "ARMCHAIR CASTRO", FLIES DON'T DECOMPOSE", "THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO", "MUERTO", "SELFIE", "DIE HEXENWAFFE", "THE ABYSS STARES BACK", "KARDIAKK" and of course "ENCHIRIDION". There may be a few surprise bonus tracks recorded as well..... Hmmmm......


So that is what is going on song wise but there are some other things as well.


We have a campaign going on over at GOFUNDME to help with the final recording of the album to take place in England with the great producer, THE DARK LORD, CHRIS TSANGARIDES. Anything you can do to help out would be greatly appreciated and there are some very cool incentives there for you!! Here is the address: http://www.gofundme.com/new-briar-rose-album


We are also letting you vote on the potential cover for the new album!! Just go back to the front page of the website and cast your vote for the cover ideas you like the best!! While you are at it, you can vote for the songs you'd like to hear at  THE HAUNTED HOMECOMING IV this coming October!! Lots more to come!!! Stay tuned!!


Hasty Banana!!


RANDY BLAKE II
BRIAR ROSE
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Testing... one... two... three... check... check....

3/4/2015

2 Comments

 
Just giving this a check to see if it works. :)

Randy
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