#Alan Gratzer

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Round Two

Ratt

Defeated opponents: A Flock Of Seagulls

Formed in: 1976

Genres: Glam metal, heavy metal, hard rock

Lineup: Stephen Pearcy- vocals

Robbin Crosby- guitar

Warren DeMartini- guitar

Bobby Blotzer- drums, percussion

Juan Croucier- bass

Albums from the 80s:

Out of the Cellar (1984)

Invasion of Your Privacy (1985)

Dancing Undercover (1986)

Reach for the Sky (1988)

Propaganda: 

REO Speedwagon 

Defeated opponents: The Professionals

Formed in: 1967

Genres: Rock, pop rock, hard rock, arena rock

Lineup: Kevin Cronin- vocals, guitar

Gary Richrath- guitar

Neal Doughty- keyboards

Bruce Hall- bass

Alan Gratzer- drums

Albums from the 80s:

Hi Infidelity (1989)

Good Trouble (1982)

Wheels Are Turnin’ (1984)

Life as We Know It (1987)

Propaganda: 

[northwestofinsanity]

[longliverockback]

REO Speedwagon Lost in a Dream 1974 Epic ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Give Me a Ride (Roller Coaster) 02. Throw the Chains Away 03. Sky Blues 04. You Can Fly 05. Lost in a Dream 06. Down by the Dam 07. Do Your Best 08. Wild as the Western Wind 09. They’re on the Road 10. I’m Feeling Good —————————————————

Neal Doughty

Alan Gratzer

Mike Murphy

Gregg Philbin

Gary Richrath

* Long Live Rock Archive

[myvinylplaylist]

Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project (1983)

2023 Vinyl Reissue

Universal Music

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

Brian May says he wouldn't have released the upcoming Star Fleet Project reissue featuring Eddie Van Halen without Alex Van Halen's support.

In a new interview with Cleveland.com, May said he thought about releasing the newly expanded and remastered box set shortly after Eddie's passing in October 2020 but decided the time wasn't right. Here's an excerpt from Gary Graff's interview:

DO YOU VIEW THE BOX SET AS ALSO A TRIBUTE TO EDDIE IN A WAY?

MAY: “Yes, it is but I did hesitate. At the time when I was starting to think about it, it was just about the time Ed passed away and I just couldn't do it. I just didn't feel right about it. Then a few years passed and I got to talking to Alex Van Halen, who's a great inspiration and also a wonderful musician. Alex has become a trusted friend and I have enormous admiration for him. He's been through such a terrible time because, of course, the two brothers were completely inseparable. For Alex, it's like losing half of himself. So, I wanted Alex's blessing to do this 'cause I didn't want to do anything that felt distasteful.”

Earlier, May explained how Eddie became a part of the project:

IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HEAR MORE EDDIE VAN HALEN PLAYING. HOW DID HE BECOME PART OF THIS?

MAY: “Ed I knew as a friend but l'd very seldom had a chance to hang out with him; l got very drunk with him one night, very ill-advisedy...but that's another story. (laughs) With Ed, I set him up. I wanted to hear what happened when you put Ed as a firework on a stage and lit the blue-touch paper and stood back to see what happens. I gave him that stage in the middle of the ("Star Fleet") song; that to me was the climax of the whole song, the bit where Ed steps forward and does his own thing, unfettered by anything. He steps in and it comes out completely out of his head—that's not an overdub, he just does it. Every time he does it, it's different, 'cause his brain's constantly creating new stuff, which to me is one of the great joys of the (box set). love to hear the different version of what he came up with. What an extraordinary, extraordinary player he was, just incredible.”

Brian May and Eddie Van Halen's Legendary 1983 SUPER SESSIONS are IN STOCK and shipping now at VanHalenStore.com! (Release date is July 14th)

ALL NEW MIXES of the ENTIRE 2-Day SESSIONS from the original multi-track recordings are now available in the COMPLETE BOXED SET of EVERYTHING RECORDED!

Star Fleet Project, the near-mythical, long-out-of-print mini- album recorded by Brian May and Eddie Van Halen, is finally reissued!

Recorded in 1983 with an all-star band that included session bass guitar ace Phil Chen, keyboardist Fred Mandel and then-REO Speedwagon drummer Alan Gratzer, the set has been fully remastered by Brian May, and will be reissued in full July 14th with a multitude of previously unreleased jams and outtakes. NOW SHIPPING!

[drspacepoodle]

Bri day - Star Fleet launch day

[plainxte]

💓 Happy birthday Bri! And happy Star Fleet launch!

✨Happy Briday, again ✨

Quite a lot of talk about the sessions!

Brian & Phil Chen

Emotional, too, at several points 🥲

Brian, Simon Lupton interviewing, Alan Gratzer, and Fred Mandel on the top right

Trouble with the sound - oh Zoom conferences, how I love you and miss you (not)

And then there were some special guests! An early birthday surprise for Bri!

[the80srewinders]

An REO Speedwagon spam post because why not! : )

Back of the Hi Infidelity album cover

Is that Alan Gratzer inside a washing machine? Lmao I'd turn it on with him in it (JK)

When I first saw this I thought Kevin was on a stripper pole 💀💀💀

Gary's shirt slays

This is just aesthetic teehee

Pre Kevin Cronin and Bruce Hall era. Also aesthetic tehee

[larryneilson37]

The rock band REO Speedwagon was formed in 1968 on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The founding members were drummer Alan Gratzer and keyboard player Neal Doughty, who remained the core of the band through numerous lineup changes over the years.

[northwestofinsanity]

Very low-quality pictures of the most forgotten REO album era

[jedivoodoochile]

Tal vez muchos no recuerden esta serie, porque de hecho estuvo disponible muy limitadamente en Latinoamérica. "Star Fleet", como fue bautizada en Reino Unido, era una serie de televisión de 1980 del tipo de "marionetas", muy similar a las obras de de Gerry Anderson (Capitán Marte, Capitán Escarlata, Thunderbirds etc.). Pero en este caso, estaba producido en Japón y fue creada por el artista de manga Go Nagai. Fue producida Cosmo Productions y Jin Productions. Su nombre verdadero en Japón fue X Bomber (Ｘボンバー, Ekkusu Bonbā).

La gran curiosidad fue que en la versión adaptada en el Reino Unido, el tema musical de la serie era interpretado por Brian May y Eddie Van Halen. De hecho, la canción formó parte del "Star Fleet Project", un proyecto de Brian May que resultó en un álbum con el mismo nombre, lanzado como el trabajo de "Brian May + Friends", compuesto por May, el guitarrista Eddie Van Halen, el baterista Alan Gratzer (de REO Speedwagon), Phil Chen (bajista de sesión que tocó con Jeff Beck y Rod Stewart) y Fred. Mandel (teclista de sesión que también jugó como teclista adicional en Queen's Hot Space World Tour y The Works). Roger Taylor, el baterista de Queen, proporcionó coros para la canción principal.

[chorusfm]

Brian May + Friends – Star Fleet Project

When Queen first took a break in the early part of 1983, Brian May decided to use this extra time in his hands to get some of his closest rock band friends for what would become the Star Fleet Project. This mini-album features Edward Van Halen (guitar), Alan Gratzer (drums), Phil Chen (bass) and Fred Mandel (keyboards), with May taking the reins of lead vocals and guitar for a crowd-pleasing set of three songs that have been reissued on a remastered vinyl collection released today. In addition to the vinyl single, the box set includes a thrilling 23-track CD filled with previously unreleased material. Brian May shared, “It’s all here. ALL of it. Every note we played on those two days is right here, on show for the first time. I will take you behind the scenes into that studio with us for two unforgettably exhilarating days.” This dedication to the project that took place on April 21-22, 1983 is remastered in pain-staking detail and care, and pulls back the curtain on one of the most beloved classic rock recordings of all time. The record launches off with “Star Fleet,” that has a sound somewhere between the classic rock sheen of Boston, paired with the memorable guitar riffing from May. Brian May’s vocals sound as brilliant as they’ve ever been on this remastered mix and it really makes the music shine out of the gate. The other song on the A-side, called “Let Me Out,” is a bluesy rock song that is sure to make even the most skeptical music fan a believer in the chemistry May had with these legendary musicians. Not to be outdone by their early work, the back half features a gargantuan, 13-minute blues rock song on the aptly titled “Blues Breaker,” that further highlights the impressive back and forth wailing between Van Halen and May. Even without any vocals on the instrumental closing song, it remains a captivating listening experience that was meant to be played on a turntable in all its glory. The Star Fleet Sessions is getting another worthy moment in the sun, and I think we’re all better off because of this. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/reviews/brian-may-friends-star-fleet-project/

[sarkos]

What was your inspiration to create Star Fleet Project [reissued this month], together with other incredible musicians like Eddie Van Halen? LucyOR98 There were two. One was the song, which was a theme tune for a children’s TV series called Star Fleet. It was a science fiction Japanese adventure story, done with robots. I used to get up on Saturday mornings to watch it with my little boy, who was four or five at the time. The other inspiration was: I’m in LA, and I’m sort of separated from Queen because we needed some space. I just got up one morning and thought: “I could phone anyone – I could go and play”. I don’t think it would have happened in London. I feel more free in Los Angeles, strangely enough – it kind of opens up my social nerve. I called my neighbour Alan Gratzer, the drummer from REO Speedwagon, and asked him if he thought the idea would work. Then I called Ed Van Halen, a friend who I didn’t see that much of and an extraordinary musician, and he went: “Tell me where and when, I’ll be there.” Then I phoned up all the other guys: Phil Chen, then of Rod Stewart’s band, and Fred Mandel. Everybody said yes. It was amazing.

Brian May: ‘Nothing could ever top playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace with no safety net’ | Music | The Guardian

[journeyman-jack-in-ecuador]

(1973) Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment'Ridin' the Storm Out' · REO Speedwagon- Released on: 1973-11-09, Engineer, Producer: Bill Halverson, Vocal: Mike MurphyGuitar, Composer, Lyricist: Gary RichrathPercussion: Guille Garcia, Percussion: Gene EstesDrums: Alan Gratzer, Keyboards, Synthesizer: Neal DoughtyBass: Gregg Philbin- https://youtu.be/L6_Sm4b5HX8