New band and album from former Leatherwolf frontman & guitarist, Michael Olivieri
Michael Olivieri Band’s “Love Is Contagious” available now!
PayPal $10 to:
7tholive@gmail.com
Ships same day.
Thanks for the support!
Release party April 11th at Campus JAX.
If you’re planning on going I’d reserve your seats now…
Buy tickets for Campus JAX show HERE:
Michael Olivieri Band (M.O.B.)
During his three decades with heavy metal luminaries Leatherwolf, Michael Olivieri wrote and recorded several albums; played shows all over the U.S. and Europe with the likes of Queensrÿche, Michael Schenker Group, Ted Nugent, and Ratt; and savored relative success. Away from the band, however, the singer, guitarist, keyboardist, and songwriter continuously endeavored to transcend labels and easy categorization.
Beginning with his 2009 solo effort, Goodbye Rain, Michael revealed a hidden range, tapping into elements of R&B, country, folk, and straight-up, melodic rock and roll. He refined the process on the 2011 follow-up, Michael Olivieri Band aka M.O.B. Surrounding himself with first-rate players — guitarists K.K. Martin, Buzzy James, Dan Lucett, bassist Tom Croucier, drummer Paul Wilson, and harmonicist Eric Von Herzen — Michael was able to expand his musical palette with a more exhilarated, collective feel. Communally, it was all propped up with the sensibility of a Southern rock jam band.
In 2015, he released a solo single called “Barely Alive,” an edgy, power-packed, AC/DC-meets-Aerosmith rocker. Three years later, the singer was back on the road with Leatherwolf, making his final appearance with the band at the annual Bang Your Head!!! music festival in Balingen, Germany. It was announced he was officially out of Leatherwolf in 2019. At the time, he was already writing and recording music with a new configuration of the Michael Olivieri Band.
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For 2020, M.O.B. have completed a new album called “Love Is Contagious,” featuring eight new original tracks. Michael is joined by lead guitarist Buzzy James, bassist Tom Croucier, drummer Ty Dennis, and vocalists Trish Burke Manser and Dawn Saylor. A bona fide, multi-faceted unit, M.O.B. delivers an inimitable blend of blues-based rock infused in soulful and southern flavorings, lifted and shaped by heartfelt, powerful vocals.
Michael Olivieri Band (L to R): Buzzy James, Trish Burke Manser, Michael Olivieri, Dawn Saylor, Ty Dennis and Tom Croucier.
At this point in time, one has to wonder where the drive and ambition to move forward through the torrential waters of the music game comes from. Michael offers up a quick answer. “I just like the creative process and writing songs. I had 30 songs that we whittled down to eight. We just figured we’d focus on this batch and make the best record possible. That was the goal.”
The end product is an amalgamation of resilient melodies, tight arrangements, subtle chemistry, and sonic candy. Buzzy’s take is pretty accurate. “It has that warm, classic analog sound somewhere between Pink Floyd and The Black Crowes.” When the guitarist slides his digits across the strings, it’s almost as if you’ve been transported back to the smoky confines of the Fillmore East in the early 70s. Without the stranglehold of a corporate record label, M.O.B. has the freedom to make gimmick-free music on their own terms.
Michael muses, “This is a group of songs that go together well. It’s a very honest and real record. There’s a running thread about love and loss. Like life, it flows without apologies.”
Kicking off in grand style, “Walk on Wine” takes on all matters of spirituality — questioning entitlement and arrogance in the face of true redemption. Despite a “jab at some do-goodie” acquaintances and their “game of who knows who,” M.O.B.’s gallant delivery melts away any and all traces of cynicism and malaise with melodic flair.
Lightening the theme, the title track, “Love Is Contagious” is a clarion call for universal love that glides in on a cloud and a soothing groove before rounding the corner with a pulsating, infectious chorus. “It’s about putting out the good vibes,” Michael says. “There’s so much negativity in the world, but there’s also a lot of good and caring people. The more love we give, the more that comes back. There’s a fever rising in the street. And now more than ever, it needs to spread.”
The album tugs at the human condition over a number of narratives. There’s “Heart of Stone,” an astonishing combination of crunchy guitar riffs, a punchy undertow, and Michael’s emotive lead vocal sustained by Trish and Dawn’s mellifluous harmonies. “When Love Flies” is perhaps the album’s most personal song; Michael’s ode to his wife, rising from the sublime to a call-and-response epic of gospel-flavored proportions.
“Four Post” is the album’s first single with a video, directed by Anjani Lynn White, that underscores its provenance. Its bluesy framework allows the band to cut loose as Buzzy’s Les Paul traverses the melody, then explodes into a stinger that ebbs and surges around the vocals. “That’s a Buzzy riff,” Michael explains. “The chord progression was always the same, but nothing ever stuck until Buzzy said, ‘How about this?’”
“Change of Heart” represents two different ideas for Michael: parting ways with the past and embracing domestic bliss. “I’ll always treasure my time with Leatherwolf,” he admits, “but I had to leave it behind once and for all, and forge a true path for myself, my family, and my music. That’s where ‘Change of Heart’ comes from.”
The arching, disparate swirl of “All for You” is Michael’s tribute to a higher power, while “Lesson Learned” is a tribute to lost friends. “Every time we go to someone’s funeral, we learn something about that person. It makes you wonder: What are they going to say about me?”
At over seven minutes, “Lesson Learned” is a bluesy crawl that morphs into a raging sea of reflection, bringing the whole platter to a sweeping conclusion. The nine-year gap between M.O.B. records allowed Michael to assess priorities, develop relationships, and plot a course to contentment. None of the members of M.O.B. are driven by prospects of fame or riches. It’s all for the love of the music. And that Love Is Contagious.
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Love Is Contagious tracklist:
1. Walk on Wine
2. Love is Contagious
3. Heart of Stone
4. When Love Flies
5. Four Post
6. Change of Heart
7. All For You
8. Lesson Learned
Category: LRI Press Releases
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