Year : 1989-1990 (FnA Records Edition 2014)
Style : Melodic Glam Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 130 mb
Bio:
Brunette was a prominent late-1980s US glam hard rock/hair metal band based in Los Angeles, known for their high-energy Sunset Strip performances and the distinctive vocals of Johnny Gioeli. Originally named Killerhit and hailing from Pennsylvania, they relocated to LA in 1987, quickly gaining a following despite never releasing a major label album. Some of the band members would later go on to form the MCA hard rock band Hardline! In the summer of 1988, Brunette came up with a brilliant promotional idea. They hired an airplane to display their name in lights reading "Brunette Rocks" and "Brunette attacks in August" during Van Halen's set at The Monsters of Rock concert in the L.A. Coliseum exposing Brunette to over 90,000 metal fans. This stunt brought Brunette to the attention of Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford Coppola and President of Commercial Pictures. He Chose Brunette to star in his film "Smash Crash and Burn" portraying the fictitious band "Royal Smash" . A heavy metal "Hard Days Night", which chronicles their way to the top after moving to Los Angeles. -The movie was set for release in the summer of 1989. *Note, Due to discrepancies the movie was completed but never released.In 1983, a band called "Killerhit" was formed in Lancaster, PA by lead singer/drummer Johnny Gioeli and his brother Joey Gioeli. Killerhit was formed on the basis of the "ultimate band". Johnny and Joey proceeded to hand-pick members from the Pennsylvania area's most talented acts, Stealing lead quitar wiz Christopher Paul from York PA's "Cry Tough" and taking "wildman on bass" Jay Scott King from Hanover PA's "Backstreet Kids". Killerhit was immediately referred to as an "all-star band" and quickly saw local success. Though their spectacular arena-style stage show and widespread musical appeal, they solidified their reputation and became one of the biggest bands in the Mid-Atlantic area.In the Spring of 1987, Killerhit was ready to go for it all. Following their friend Bret Michaels lead, They packed up their 40 foot touring coach and moved to Los Angeles. Realizing that in their collective 12 1/2 feet of hair, their wasn't a single blonde among them, they changed their name to "Brunette." The bands biggest challenge was soon to come. Although Johnny was an extremely talented drummer, his first love was singing, so he gave up the drums and took his rightful place as frontman. Brunette now had the task of finding a new drummer to fit the mold.After months of searching nationwide, Brunette couldn't find the drummer they were looking for. Suddenly, an impressive package came via mail from Las Vegas drummer Darek Thomas that caught attention. Brunette were friends with Las Vegas native Mark Slaughter (formerly of The Vinnie Vincent Invasion) and asked Mark what he knew about Darek. Mark's recommendation was of high caliber. Johnny and Joey were on a plane. Darek auditioned and got the gig. It was that simple! With the addition of Darek Thomas, Brunette then possesed the right line up moving forward.Right away, Brunette refused to participate in the usual L.A. band routine (ie: hanging around Hollywood, getting a "normal" job, sponging off girlfriends and fans, ect.) while awaiting fame and fortune. Instead, they immediatley began touing the United States, returning for their L.A shows every other month. In doing so, Brunette have laid a widespread fan base and are determined to continue this constant roadwork, as they feel it's the surest way to actively gain notoriety. Joey explains, "If we have to get jobs, we'd rather go out and make money at doing what we do best.Brunette live is an experience of unparalleled energy on any stage. Chris explains, "We always try to portray a 'concert within a club' atmoshpere because we came up in the smaller venues." It's easy to see how much they care about their live show. Jay elaborates, "When we hit the stage, our main goal is to keep the audiences' attention on us. if anybody is out their thinking about what they had for lunch, then we're not doing our job."
Album:
Melodic Hard Rock fans have been asking for years the release of all BRUNETTE material, the band that would become Hardline. Founder / lead singer Johnny Gioeli dig deep in his archives and made this music available for the very first time, and the second Brunette album, released by FnA Records, is titled “Rough Demos“.Gioeli, perhaps best known for fronting Hardline in the early ’90s together with guitarist Neal Schon (Journey) and for being the ‘singing voice’ behind many Sonic the Hedgehog games, got his start playing locally in LA and leaving behind a collection of songs that ultimately never got the proper treatment they deserved.“Brunette Rough Demos” is the second part of two-CD collections of songs by Brunette that capture their complete tenure as a band, enhanced & mastered to get the best sound quality possible.In 1987, The Gioeli brothers had put together a solid powerhouse band that went by the name of Killerhit in Pennsylvania. On the advice of good friend and fellow Pennsylvania native Bret Michaels (Poison), they packed up their bags and headed out to Los Angeles where their cream of the crop craftsmanship could be better noticed.When they got to L.A., they had taken notice that the most successful bans all had a blonde front man. Since they didn’t follow the well-recognized blue print of having a blonde lead singer, let alone a blonde in the entire band, they changed their name to Brunette.Undoubtedly, Brunette was one of Hollywood’s greatest unsigned treasures. Ingenious marketing schemes, standing-room only showcases, and sold-out venues led to the band being courted by every major label big wig in town.From coast to coast (and even overseas), Brunette’s name was ringing louder than that of any other of their unsigned Sunset Strip cohorts.Brunette was surely on a path that would give them the same stardom and worldwide recognition, like many of the bands that came before them, who successfully climbed the MTV-Generation X Express to the top.But internal chaos led to the downfall of the band and what ultimately could be described as one of Melodic Rock’s best kept secrets and untold stories.As its title makes clear, “Rough Demos” are indeed rather unpolished material than the demos appeared in the other FnA Brunette release.There’s some killer melodic hard rockers here such as ‘Aiming for Your Heart’. ‘Lady Love’, the soaring ‘Keeper of My Heart’, the fine ballad ‘Yesterdays Gone’, or the hot ‘Keeper of My Heart’.There’s even a Brunette version of the killer melodic rocker ‘Hot Cherie’ (a Steelheart original) later recorded by Hardline itself, and various bands like Steelhouse Lane, Captive Heart, Danny Spanos, Steve Thomson and who knows else.We have 3 live cuts as well, but barely listenable. I mean, all are pure noise, what’s the point to be included here? To complete the CD space? Anyway, this collection of demos kills.Johnny Gioeli would later go onto sing for Axel Rudi Pell while other members of Brunette went on to work with Vince Neil, Bangaloire Choir, Cinderella and Big House. So here we are, more than 25 years in the making, and the fans are getting what they have long been asking for, Brunette’s complete recordings.The sound quality varies in “Rough Demos”, and while it isn’t that good, it’s a fine collectors piece from a band that shoulda been huge.
Line-Up:
Johnny Gioeli - Lead Vocals, Guitars
Joey Gioeli - Guitars
Christopher Paul - Guitars
Jay Scott King - Bass
Darek Thomas Cava - Drums
Tracklist:
01. Killer In Heels
02. Aiming For Your Heart
03. Yesterdays Gone
04. Cure Of The Heart
05. Lazy Sue
06. Lady Love (version 2)
07. Hot Cherie
08. Keeper Of My Heart
09. Forever Yours
10. Take It Or Leave It
11. I Scream My Heart Out
12. Turn It On (Live)
13. Do Or Die (Live)
14. Blue Eyes (Live)
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