John Mamone is this week’s Band Of The Week.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, John Mamone has been active in the professional music scene since 1988. Since then, he has performed on stage in thousands of live performances, appeared on numerous recordings which have received regular radio airplay, spawned a video on MUCH MUSIC, and licensing deals on MTV in the United States for various television programs.
John plays all of the essential instruments used in today’s popular music with proficiency and has an incredible singing voice. Mamone’s solo recordings feature him playing most of the instruments and singing all the vocal parts. John’s main writing styles are hard rock, metal, and progressive-rock. He has been compared to Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Alice in Chains. John has been the frontman and principal songwriter for many groups. Most notably, from 2003-2011, John was a founding member of the award-winning Canadian hard-rock band VOLUME WATER.
During a session with world-renowned producer JACK RICHARDSON (THE GUESS WHO, ALICE COOPER), Mamone was told by Jack, “I wished I had you working with me on the album KILLER by Alice Cooper. Those guys were a mess”.
John has opened up for BIG SUGAR and for PETE BEST – the original drummer of THE BEATLES. John has also performed live with members of I MOTHER EARTH and FINGER ELEVEN.
ORDER AND CHAOS is Mamone’s solo debut hard-rock/heavy metal album. Mamone played all of the rhythm guitars, bass and keyboards, and performed all of the lead and harmony vocal parts by himself. To give the recordings the edge he was looking for, he recruited the best metal musicians from his hometown. Mike Cotton, the extraordinary drummer from DEATHMARCH, played all the drum parts, while session guitarists Kelly Kereliuk and Lee Nedich played all of the guitar solos on the album. ORDER AND CHAOS is now available on compact disc and iTunes.
MER: How did you come up with the band name?
John: The band name is my name, JOHN MAMONE…I’m a solo act…I almost named the album under the name MAMONE, like Van Halen or Dio or Halford……..nah. That ain’t me.
MER: What are 3 bands that you feel were most influential to your band, and why?
John: The 3 bands that were most influential to the sound and songwriting styles of this particular record were Alice in Chains, Iron Maiden and Deep Purple.
MER: What are the 5 best Metal/Hard Rock albums of all times, and why?
John: 1. Powerslave – Iron Maiden –this is Maiden at their finest….every track on this record is played with precision, the songwriting craftsmanship is amazing and , well, Steve Harris…yeah, Steve Harris…need I say more???
2. Led Zeppelin 3 – wait…did he say 3? Why not Zeppelin 2 or 4? …..3? Really?
Aaaaahhhaaaaaaa-aaah! (Immigrant Song chant) Nuff said. Great balance of heavy and acoustic on Zep 3.
3. Overkill – Motorhead – NOT ACE OF SPADES! This is the original lineup of Motorhead at it’s tightest….and it’s a fantastic album from beginning to end.
4. Vol.4 – Black Sabbath – Tony Iommi’s guitar is just so freakin’ wizard-like and thick on this record.
5. Warp Riders – The Sword – …I just dig this record and I can’t get enough of it. Heavy riffs, hooks, killer drumming….I really dig this record.
MER: What is the best concert you’ve ever attended, and why?
John: THE WHO – Copps Coliseum, 2008 My favourite all –time rock band in my hometown.
MER: What was the most memorable gig your band ever played, and why?
John: When I was in a band called Volume Water we played a show in our hometown at Gage Park. We signed autographs for over an hour following the show. That was awesome.
MER: What is the craziest thing any member of your band has ever done for the sake of Metal/Hard Rock?
John: My drummer put hot-sauce in my harmonica at a gig. I put the harmonica to my mouth shortly before the song started and whammo! HOT! HOT! HOTTER THAN HELL! Needless to say I couldn’t use the harmonica for the rest of the night…extremely funny practical joke.
MER: If your band was appointed Rulers of the Metal World, what is the first law you’d make?
John: Abolish American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The Voice and all those other rubbish Contest-like spin-offs of “Never-paid-yer-dues” programs. Art should not be put into ANY kind of competition.
MER: If you could tour with any band, who would that be, and why?
John: Rush….great musicians, with amazing professionalism …..down to earth guys, where the music is the priority…and they’re Canadian J
MER: What do you think your fans and the music industry will say about your band in 10 years?
John: Hopefully, that I was responsible for making some great music.
MER: If you could have any wish fulfilled for the band, what would it be?
John: Realistically, I wish that I could make my music available to more people more easily.
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