AOR

AOR PRESENTS L.A. SUSPICION

Interview by Ken Morton

L.A. Suspicion, Frédéric Slama’s brand new AOR album is now available from Perris Records. The CD features an incredible line up such as Tommy Denander (Alice Cooper, Steve Walsh), Steve Overland (FM, The Ladder), Paul Sabu (Only Child, John Waite), Robbie LaBlanc (Blanc Faces, Find Me), Steph Honde (Hollywood Monsters, Scream Taker), and more - celebrating the timeless genre of AOR! Highwire Daze recently caught up the mastermind Frédéric Slama to find out more about the current happenings of AOR, and the musicians behind the auditory world of L.A. Suspicion. Read on...

Is there any overall story or concept behind the new AOR album title L.A. Suspicion?

As you may know, all my 21 previous albums have the word “L.A.” in it since the first of the AOR series in 2000 was called “L.A. Concession.” Except for a couple of compilations without the word “L.A.”, one out of two albums starts with “L.A.” (“L.A Concession”, “L.A Attraction” etc..) and the other one ends with “L.A.” (“Dreaming Of L.A.”, “Journey To L.A.” etc…). So after “The Ghost Of L.A.” it was time for “L.A. Suspicion,” who’s main theme (but not the only one) revolves around people who have a suspicious nature. The cool way of life of the 70’s & 80’s have left its place to a tougher world where people look at the other as a potential enemy, not anymore as a friend. So several songs, but not all, talk a little bit about these changes.

Who did the cover art for L.A. Suspicion and how much input did you have on it?

As for all the previous covers since album number 1, I did the artwork myself. I like to be in control of my music and what I release. That’s why I do all the artwork, the booklet and everything else, so the release is perfect to my eyes. (If there are any mistakes it will be my fault). This perfectionism drove crazy some labels and I’m sure several CEO’s are locked down in mental health institutes after working with me ha! ha! Luckily Perris Records still hold out, that’s why we did more than 10 releases together. But it’s not excluded that you will find Tom Mathers, the head of Perris Records, in a madhouse in a few years from now ha! ha!

What has it been like working with Steve Overland of FM over the years and what is the background behind the track Stronger Than Desire?

I met Steve 15 years ago and we hit it off right away. Strangely his band is called FM, and mine is AOR, so we had a lot in common ha! ha! Steve Overland is someone I really admired as a singer since the 80’s, so I was overwhelmed when he accepted to sing for the first time in my 2009 album “Journey To L.A.” (that by the way will be re-released in May by Perris Records in a brand new edition with different tracks and artwork, fully revised). Then after 2009 I had the honor to have Mr. Overland on several other albums and he was the perfect choice for the song “Stronger Than Desire”. This song is about the hardness of a breakup and the indecision in a relationship. The girl wants to move on, but her past is still grasping her by the arm, so the desicions are tough.

Robbie LaBlanc of Find Me has such an amazing distinctive voice. What has it been like working him and what is the background behind the song Cold Logic?

For me Robbie LaBlanc is before all from the band “Fury” and of course “Blanc Faces”. He is such a nice guy and such a talented singer. I always admired him and I thought about him for this song when Tommy Denander talked to me about him. It’s someone I’ve always wanted to work with, but I don’t know why it never happened . I must admit that I have more than 200 guests in my 21 previous AOR albums, so I can’t invite the whole world to sing and play. Concerning the song “Cold Logic,” it comes from a girlfriend who told me that I was right about many things analysing it with some kinda “Cold Logic.” So I wrote the song around that theme, and it seems it has a lot of success. The lyrics combined with the incredible vocals of Robbie are a match made in heaven. It’s true that the video showing L.A. and hot girls helped a lot too ha! ha!

Paul Sabu has been on a lot of your albums, included a recent compilation that was all him. How did you initially meet Paul Sabu and talk about the new song Street Of Illusions?

I met Paul during the recording of the 1st Chasing Violets albums I wrote and produced in 2012. I really wanted to have him as a guest with the 2 sisters who were the lead vocalists of the project, so we talked several times on the phone. And I don’t know by what miracle we became good friends right away, like if we knew each other since childhood. Then from this day Paul sang on most of my albums that led to the compilation with new tracks called: AOR “The Best Of Paul Sabu”. I always admired Paul Sabu since the early 80’s, and mostly with his 1983 classic album released under the “Kidd Glove” name. In the 90’s I was a big fan of his “Only Child” project. So when I wrote “Street Of Illusions,” I had him in mind to sing this track in the vein of his previous work. And people were blown away with the result, mostly due to Sabu’s incredible vocal range and power. He made this song the perfect Melodic Rock song reminiscent a little bit of bands such as Van Halen, Def Leppard or Journey.

Steph Honde is quite a find and is featured on three L.A. Suspicion tracks. What is the background on Steph and the tracks from L.A. Suspicion?

Steph is a French singer who worked with some of the best American bands among others and with Carmine Appice (Rod Stewart, King Kobra). Tommy Denander introduced me to him in 2021 and that meeting led that he sang two songs on my 2021 album, “The Ghost Of L.A.”. For this new album I wanted to have him again cause I knew he would fit perfectly on the 3 songs I had in mind for him. He sounds a little bit like a young David Coverdale, so it adds power to these songs, and sounds a bit like Foreigner, Journey or Survivor. Steph opens the album with “A Smile In My Heart” a powerful melodic tune, then he is back in the middle of the CD with “Arrow Thru’ My Heart” a Foreigner influenced song. Then he ends the album with the beautiful “A Broken Heart In Tokyo.” 3 great performances he can be proud of!

Tommy Denander is almost like your AOR co-conspirator. How did you initially meet Tommy and what has it been like working with him?

Tommy contacted me 20 years ago after the release of my 2 first AOR albums, “L.A. Concession” and “Next Stop L.A.”. He wanted to participate on my 3rd album “L.A. Reflection” and we became friends right away. We had the same taste in music and incredibly we lived in the same small street in West Hollywood a few years apart. We went to the same Ralph’s supermarket and at the same places within a 2 or 3 years time difference. Tommy helped me a lot with my 3rd album, and then was part of at least 20 more albums of mine. When I saw he could do in 5 minutes what I used to do in days (I’m a very slow worker), I thought it would be good to leave my ego out the door, and have a fantastic guitar player such as him playing many parts!

What is your latest book in the AOR series and tell us a little about that volume?

I wrote 18 music books called the AOR Bible and the Westcoast Bible(s), all exclusively available at Amazon worldwide. They are reference guides about the best and rarest albums in that style. I’m a big music collector with a collection of more than 16000 CD’s & LP’s in that style. I was also a music journalist in the 70’s & 80’s in France’s biggest magazines, and I brought this style of music to my native country through thousands of reviews and interviews of the biggest stars in the genre. But at the time I also interviewed hundreds of rock stars like Pink Floyd, Queen, The Rolling Stones,

Status Quo, Rod Stewart, The Eagles, Toto, Genesis, Dio, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Deep Purple and hundreds of others. So all that to tell you that AOR music is my passion, my life, that it’s the blood that runs through my veins. The latest book is about Japanese AOR music (volume 3) - it features many U.S. musicians and artists we love playing and singing alongside Japanese artists. The next book for will be The AOR Bible 2 with more Melodic Rock gems and AOR rarities. Expect it for summer.

What do you hope the rest of 2022 brings for you and AOR?

First in May, there will be a fabulous AOR reissue! “Journey To L.A.” my classic album from 2009 has been remastered and revised, with a couple of different songs and new artwork and a new booklet. It’s the release the way it should have been in 2009 and even a secret track (well not so secret now that I tell you ha! ha!) has been added. This is a release not to be missed featuring vocals by Fergie Frederiksen, Steve Overland, Bill Champlin, Philip Bardowell and others. I’m also starting to record the next AOR album for 2023. It’s going to take time to make it better and bigger than this one that many fans already consider as my best CD so far. As a songwriter I’m also working on songs for different people in various countries such as Japan or France. And many other projects I can’t talk about now, cause it’s still a big secret, and if I told you, I would have to kill you, and that would be a shame since you’re a really good journalist ha ha!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

Thank you for your great questions! Keep on rocking!

http://www.slama101.fr http://www.perrisrecords.com

“MADMAN’S LULLABY”

NOCTURNAL OVERDRIVE PART 2

#35596 Nocturnal Overdrive Inlay.indd 1 21/3/2022 10:22 am

Now Available...www.mrrecords.com.au