Hey everybody,
Mike here. With the release of Mach II, we’ve been drawing comparisons to a lot of bands. Some expected (Winger, Europe, Tyketto) and some? Well, not so much (Judas Priest, Queensryche). With this happening, it gave us the idea to create a weekly series, “Behind the Song.” We’ll create a post each Monday to share with y’all and give you some behind the scenes insight as to how the songs were molded into what you hear on Mach II. First up, Hearts On Fire. As many may know, I took a long hiatus from playing guitar (15 years) and only returned to the stage in 2018 for the first time in 30 years. The live bug definitely bit me the night of that first New England Rock Fest. The relationship between the family of friends in the audience and the band was undeniable, which resulted in the lyrics you hear on this song. This song is about YOU and of the privilege we have to play music for you. Hopefully, the video with pictures of our rock n roll family drove that point home. The overall vibe of the song is something that would be reminiscent of late 80’s Europe albums, with solos paying homage to both Kee Marcello and John Norum. The rhythm section of Jason Cornwell and BJ Zampa truly brought the song to life, with Roy Cathey sending it over the top. Tony Stahl’s keys gave it the exact feel we were going for, tying it together quite nicely. Some cool facts: this song is a co-write with Roy. He called me and in his cool, Southern drawl, said, “Mike, I’m not feeling the lyrics in verse two. I’d like to rewrite that...maybe the chorus, as well.” SteelCity is all about creativity and I wasn’t about to stand in Roy’s way. He crafted a killer second verse and gave the chorus a better flow. We were also fortunate that Ty Sims brought Erik Johnson on board to help us with the backing vocals. Erik has an ear for this genre and those cool Boston backing vocals in the chorus? Totally his idea. So there you have it, Hearts on Fire. Don’t forget that the album and some killer merch bundles are available at www.shopsteelcityband.com. Thanks for supporting the band, peeps!
