I went to see two of my favorite bands, Angel and Starz, at a club/bar in Lakewood, Ohio called The Winchester.
This was the 4th time I had seen Angel, but the first time I saw Starz.
Starz usually do not play anywhere near me, so going to this show was a must for me. To see both bands in one night is a dream bill for me.
Before the show, however, I met Angel for the 3rd time at a paid meet and greet. They signed a few more of my records (they signed more things the last two times I met them so I have a lot of CDs and records signed by them now) and I got my picture taken with them again.
They are all very nice people, and guitarists Punky Meadows and Danny Farrow Anniello called me by name (I’m friends with them on Facebook, along with singer Frank Dimino and classic bassist Felix Robinson.).
I am forever an Angel fan. I love all of their albums and are a great live band. They are currently on a “Farewell Tour”, but they still have a new album coming, as well as a documentary.
I hope this was not the last time I meet Angel (I’d like to get more of my collection signed. Please?!), but if it was, I just want to thank them again for the music and for their kindness. I love you guys. Punky said they love me too, and I’m forever grateful that they care about their fans.
After this, I went to meet original Starz members Richie Ranno (guitar) and Joe X. Dube (drums) at their table. They just meet fans for free!! Both were extremely nice and personable. I brought all the Starz CD booklets and a DVD sleeve, (I bought all of these from Richie on their website.) and when I told them they didn’t have to sign everything if they didn’t want to, Richie said in a very cool and calm way “what else am I gonna do?”
Again, both were extremely kind and signed everything I had and I had my picture taken with both of them.
Like with Angel, I love Starz also and am glad I got this opportunity to meet them too.
Now to the actual concert.
Starz started the night with a really good set of various tunes from their earlier albums.
When they came onstage, Joe gave me another handshake and I told him to have a great show!! And he and the band did.
Like I said, Richie (guitar) and Joe (drums) are the original members.
The rest of the band includes Doug Palmer (vocals, thanks for the fist bump on stage!!), Jason Draven (guitar), and Chris Tristrum on bass.
Richie also told some stories. He talked about how he got a call from KISS’ management Rock Steady about doing an audition for what would become Starz (Fallen Angel at the time). He talked about how one time he and Joe, through another mutual KISS connection Sean Delaney, met Elton John!! Richie said Elton told them he liked their band and had bought their album himself!! Great stuff.
Like Angel, I think Starz should be a HUGE band, but for some reason, they only were ever a cult favorite.
They were signed to KISS’ management, had Aerosmith’s producer Jack Douglas (RIP) produce their first two albums, had great songs, great singing and playing, they had it all.
But regardless, Starz made their mark and luckily still are around.
I hope they will make more music someday because this band still rocks with the best of them.
Richie told me before the show that they were going to make the night feel like a 70s rock show. And they did!!
Starz rules!!
Angel headlined, and as always, they really rocked.
Singer Frank Dimino is as great as ever, Punky Meadows (one of my favorite guitarists ever and such a cool guy) and Danny Farrow Anniello make an awesome guitar team, fill-in bassist Johnny Leigh (Bassist Tommy Caradonna has been sitting out some dates for some personal reasons. All the best.), drummer Billy Orrico is a beast, and keyboardist Charlie Calv is a great talent also.
I hope this was not the last time I saw Angel, but if it was, it was another phenomenal show from one of my favorite bands.
And like I said about Starz, I wish Angel were HUGE. They are to me.
Such a great show all around
And it was sold out too, which was great.
Thank you all for everything.
P.S. I know some of these pictures look pixelated, but trust me, they are not that way. For some reason, they recently started showing up this way on the website. I’m trying to figure out why. Either way, for anyone who sees these posts, I hope this does not take away the fact I love doing this and love documenting these great happenings in my otherwise normally boring and frankly not very exciting life. I make no money doing this and it’s really a passion project for me. But for anyone who sees this post or any of my others and likes it, I thank you.
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