AFTER THE STORM
As we wrapped up Barely Hanging On, James and I kept writing. While the final song was being mixed, we wrote “Deja Vu” and we liked it so much, that it nearly made that first album, but after two years of planning and juggling schedules, I couldn’t justify delaying the release any longer for one more track—plus I liked the idea of saving something strong for album two. So once we committed to another record, I first reached out to Billy Sheehan. He had been a favorite of mine since hearing “Yankee Rose” 35 years earlier, and was thrilled when he said yes. My next call was to Mark Zonder, who had been unavailable the first time around, and suddenly we had a dream rhythm section. In a twist of good fortune, Johan — who I had tried to get for the first record — contacted me to let me know he was available, and soon after Björn from Freak Kitchen joined in as well. With our new Swedish backend duo in place, we needed one more drummer to make it “Seven” Ravens again, so I asked Pete, who had been working closely with us as the mixing engineer for the past couple years, if he wanted to join us as a drummer and he jumped in. With Bormann back on vocals, we were set—until scheduling issues forced Mike to step away. It was disappointing at first, but it opened the door for something new, and when Johan connected me with Mats Levén (who I have loved for 25 years), I couldn’t have been more excited. Needless to say, James and I are very proud of this lineup, and all of the performances they turned in for this record!
After the Storm was released on August 20, 2023.
