Baton Rouge (band)
Encyclopedia
Baton Rouge were an American hard rock
band, formed in 1986 in Mississippi
. The band produced two albums and enjoyed limited success during the final part of the hair metal
explosion in the early 1990s, before disbanding. All the band members went on to work with other hard rock recording artists and in particular vocalist and guitarist Kelly Keeling
performed with Michael Schenker Group
and Trans-Siberian Orchestra
.
(guitars and keyboards), Keith Harrison (bass) and Harold Knappenburger (drums). The group began their career under the name Voices, later changed to Cheetah, then to Meridian and finally to Baton Rouge, because of the similar name of the band Melidian.
The band relocated to Los Angeles in 1987, experiencing changes of personnel and roles within the group. Keeling assumed the role of frontman, Bulen passed on guitar, and two new members were recruited, bassist Bryan Scott and drummer Corky McClellan. The band, still under the name Cheetah, signed to MCA Records
and produced a demo and a song with Jack Ponti
, before Scott departed and was replaced by Scott Bender. In 1989, after only six shows in Los Angeles clubs, Atlantic Records
put the band under contract . With the collaboration of the two songwriting members of the band Surgin’, Jack Ponti and Vic Pepe (the first had worked on the first album
of Bon Jovi
), Baton Rouge began rehearsing material for their first album. Meanwhile in 1989, Keeling, Bulen, and Ponti, contributed some songs for the album Point Blank
of the German hard rock band Bonfire
.
The debut album of Baton Rouge, Shake Your Soul , was published in 1990 with the production of Jack Ponti. The album saw the participation of several guest musicians, from drummer Frankie LaRock of Company of Wolves and the band of John Waite
, to Joey Franco, drummer of Good Rats and Twisted Sister
, to Bobby Gordon and Randy Cantor on keyboards. The track "There Was a Time (The Storm)" was co-written with Jaime Kyle. Keyboard player David Cremin, is credited in the album and is pictured on the back cover but he did not participate in the recordings. Shake Your Soul peaked at No. 160 in the U.S. charts.
Baton Rouge underwent a change of label and another change of formation for the recording of their second album, with the addition of former Keel
guitarist Tony Palmucci in place of Cremin. Their second album Lights Out on the Playground was released in 1991 and included the song "Desperate", written by Jack Ponti and also previously recorded by Babylon AD on their album with the same name
. The album did not enter the American charts and was a commercial failure. Keeling was very unsatisfied with the music Baton Rouge had been playing and of the band itself, so when he received the offer to enter in Blue Murder, a group founded by guitarist John Sykes
(Tygers of Pan Tang
, Thin Lizzy
, Whitesnake
), he accepted the proposal. Consequently, Baton Rouge disbanded in 1991.
guitarist John Norum
(1995–1997), Michael Schenker
(1999), Erik Norlander
(2003), Dokken
(2004) and George Lynch
(2004) for both their tours and solo efforts. He also pursues a solo career as musician and vocalist. In 2006 he became the vocalist of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
.
Lance Bulen collaborated with Paul Sabu
and Dave Spitz
, former bassist of White Lion
and Black Sabbath
, in a quartet called Insomnia (1993–1994) and in 1996 founded the band Puzzlegut, with former member of XYZ Patt Fontain. Bulen finally formed the band KingBaby in 2004, where he is the lead vocalist and guitarist. He has also worked as touring and session musician with many rock artists during his career after Baton Rouge dissolution.
Tony Palmucci was a session and touring player for Twisted Sister
's vocalist Dee Snider
solo projects.
In 1997, Jack Ponti returned to record production after a few years hiatus with a new Baton Rouge album based on some old demos and recruited Keeling as vocalist for the project. Ponti played guitars and keyboards on the album, with the help of bassist Pat Schick, keyboard player Guy Daniel and drummer Camus Celli. In September 1997, the German label MTM Music published the album under the title Baton Rouge. Two of the tracks included on the album were written in collaboration with Stan Bush
and "Love's a Loaded Gun" was a cover of the song composed by Ponti, Vic Pepe and Alice Cooper
, which appeared on Cooper’s album Hey Stoopid
of 1991. The reformed Baton Rouge lasted only for the recording the album. In fact, Keeling never considered the group as a reunion of Baton Rouge.
The original line-up of Baton Rouge reunited in 2009 to perform at the Rocklahoma
rock music festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma. A permanent reunion of the band never materialized.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band, formed in 1986 in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The band produced two albums and enjoyed limited success during the final part of the hair metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
explosion in the early 1990s, before disbanding. All the band members went on to work with other hard rock recording artists and in particular vocalist and guitarist Kelly Keeling
Kelly Keeling
Kelly Keeling is an American musician and songwriter. Keeling started playing at the age of 14 and first appeared on the music scene as the lead singer of the American heavy metal band Baton Rouge...
performed with Michael Schenker Group
Michael Schenker Group
The Michael Schenker Group is a guitar-oriented hard rock band formed in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist, Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Schenker Group, which lasted until 1992. After that, the Michael Schenker Group was reformed.The...
and Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
.
History
The group was originally composed by Lance Bulen (vocals), Kelly KeelingKelly Keeling
Kelly Keeling is an American musician and songwriter. Keeling started playing at the age of 14 and first appeared on the music scene as the lead singer of the American heavy metal band Baton Rouge...
(guitars and keyboards), Keith Harrison (bass) and Harold Knappenburger (drums). The group began their career under the name Voices, later changed to Cheetah, then to Meridian and finally to Baton Rouge, because of the similar name of the band Melidian.
The band relocated to Los Angeles in 1987, experiencing changes of personnel and roles within the group. Keeling assumed the role of frontman, Bulen passed on guitar, and two new members were recruited, bassist Bryan Scott and drummer Corky McClellan. The band, still under the name Cheetah, signed to MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
and produced a demo and a song with Jack Ponti
Jack Ponti
Jack Ponti is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, manager, label executive, and consultant.-Career:Jack Ponti is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, manager, label executive, and consultant who started his career in the music business playing guitar in the rock band...
, before Scott departed and was replaced by Scott Bender. In 1989, after only six shows in Los Angeles clubs, Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
put the band under contract . With the collaboration of the two songwriting members of the band Surgin’, Jack Ponti and Vic Pepe (the first had worked on the first album
Bon Jovi (album)
Bon Jovi is the debut album from American rock band Bon Jovi, released January 21, 1984. Produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn, the album is significant for being the only Bon Jovi album on which a song appears that was not written or co-written by members of the band...
of Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
), Baton Rouge began rehearsing material for their first album. Meanwhile in 1989, Keeling, Bulen, and Ponti, contributed some songs for the album Point Blank
Point Blank (Bonfire album)
Point Blank is the third album by the hard rock band Bonfire. It was released in 1989 on the label BMG International. During the recording sessions of this album, Hans Ziller was fired from the band, but the album features 10 songs written by him as well as 3 that feature him playing...
of the German hard rock band Bonfire
Bonfire (band)
Bonfire is a German heavy metal band, founded in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1972. Bonfire has a unique history. Currently there are two bands who have held the name. The original group started out as Cacumen, became Bonfire and ended in 2011 as Charade...
.
The debut album of Baton Rouge, Shake Your Soul , was published in 1990 with the production of Jack Ponti. The album saw the participation of several guest musicians, from drummer Frankie LaRock of Company of Wolves and the band of John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...
, to Joey Franco, drummer of Good Rats and Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, to Bobby Gordon and Randy Cantor on keyboards. The track "There Was a Time (The Storm)" was co-written with Jaime Kyle. Keyboard player David Cremin, is credited in the album and is pictured on the back cover but he did not participate in the recordings. Shake Your Soul peaked at No. 160 in the U.S. charts.
Baton Rouge underwent a change of label and another change of formation for the recording of their second album, with the addition of former Keel
Keel (band)
Keel is an American heavy metal band founded in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. They were known for their rock anthem "The Right to Rock." The band was active until 1989, with a brief reunion in 1998. Keel reunited in 2008 and is currently touring for their 25th anniversary.-History:Keel was...
guitarist Tony Palmucci in place of Cremin. Their second album Lights Out on the Playground was released in 1991 and included the song "Desperate", written by Jack Ponti and also previously recorded by Babylon AD on their album with the same name
Babylon A.D. (album)
Babylon A.D. is the debut album by the American heavy metal band of the same name, released in 1989.The song "The Kid Goes Wild" was used for the film RoboCop 2...
. The album did not enter the American charts and was a commercial failure. Keeling was very unsatisfied with the music Baton Rouge had been playing and of the band itself, so when he received the offer to enter in Blue Murder, a group founded by guitarist John Sykes
John Sykes
John James Sykes , is an English rock guitarist, who has played with Streetfighter, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder, in addition to having a notable solo career....
(Tygers of Pan Tang
Tygers Of Pan Tang
Tygers of Pan Tang are a heavy metal band, formed in 1978 and originating from Whitley Bay, England. They are a notable band of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement...
, Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
, Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
), he accepted the proposal. Consequently, Baton Rouge disbanded in 1991.
After the dissolution
Kelly Keeling performed with Blue Murder until 1994 and then collaborated with former EuropeEurope (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
guitarist John Norum
John Norum
John Norum is a rock music guitarist and founder of the Swedish band Europe . Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a side solo project...
(1995–1997), Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in UFO, in addition to his solo band. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the Scorpions, then achieved fame in the mid 1970s as the lead guitar player for UFO. Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the...
(1999), Erik Norlander
Erik Norlander
Erik Norlander is an American musician who describes himself as a 'keyboardist, composer, producer and engineer'. Norlander has produced albums for Rocket Scientists and his wife, Lana Lane. He also has a progressive rock solo project titled simply Erik Norlander...
(2003), Dokken
Dokken
Dokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
(2004) and George Lynch
George Lynch (musician)
George Lynch is a hard rock/heavy metal guitarist best known as a member of the band Dokken, his own bands Lynch Mob and Souls of We.-Pre Dokken:...
(2004) for both their tours and solo efforts. He also pursues a solo career as musician and vocalist. In 2006 he became the vocalist of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American progressive metal band founded in 1993 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. Since then, TSO sold nearly 8...
.
Lance Bulen collaborated with Paul Sabu
Paul Sabu
-Early life:Born January 2, 1960. Paul is the son of Indian-born film star Sabu and Marilyn Cooper.-Career:Paul Sabu is best known for his work with his band Only Child plus an arsenal of artists such as David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Little Caesar, Lee Aaron, Madonna, Malice, Robbie Neville, Motels,...
and Dave Spitz
Dave Spitz
Dave "The Beast" Spitz is a musician best known for having played bass guitar for the heavy metal group Black Sabbath from 1985 to 1987, appearing on the albums Seventh Star and being credited for The Eternal Idol...
, former bassist of White Lion
White Lion
White Lion is an American/Danish hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, the band achieved double platinum status with their #8 hit "Wait" and #3 hit "When the...
and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, in a quartet called Insomnia (1993–1994) and in 1996 founded the band Puzzlegut, with former member of XYZ Patt Fontain. Bulen finally formed the band KingBaby in 2004, where he is the lead vocalist and guitarist. He has also worked as touring and session musician with many rock artists during his career after Baton Rouge dissolution.
Tony Palmucci was a session and touring player for Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
's vocalist Dee Snider
Dee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
solo projects.
In 1997, Jack Ponti returned to record production after a few years hiatus with a new Baton Rouge album based on some old demos and recruited Keeling as vocalist for the project. Ponti played guitars and keyboards on the album, with the help of bassist Pat Schick, keyboard player Guy Daniel and drummer Camus Celli. In September 1997, the German label MTM Music published the album under the title Baton Rouge. Two of the tracks included on the album were written in collaboration with Stan Bush
Stan Bush
Stan Bush is an American singer-songwriter and musician whose most notable work includes the songs "Dare" and "The Touch" from the soundtrack to the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie, and "She's Got the Power", featured in the American voice dub of the animated series Sailor Moon...
and "Love's a Loaded Gun" was a cover of the song composed by Ponti, Vic Pepe and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, which appeared on Cooper’s album Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid
Hey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by heavy metal singer and shock rock-legend Alice Cooper. It was released on July 2, 1991 with guest appearances from Slash , Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars .After Cooper's smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper...
of 1991. The reformed Baton Rouge lasted only for the recording the album. In fact, Keeling never considered the group as a reunion of Baton Rouge.
The original line-up of Baton Rouge reunited in 2009 to perform at the Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma
Rocklahoma is an annual hard rock music festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma...
rock music festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma. A permanent reunion of the band never materialized.
Band members
- Kelly KeelingKelly KeelingKelly Keeling is an American musician and songwriter. Keeling started playing at the age of 14 and first appeared on the music scene as the lead singer of the American heavy metal band Baton Rouge...
– lead and backing vocals, guitar (1986–1991, 1997, 2009) - Lance Bulen – guitar, lead and backing vocals (1986–1991, 2009)
- Scott Bender - bass, backing vocals (1988–1991, 2009)
- Corky McClellan – drums, backing vocals (1987–1991, 2009)
- David Cremin – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1990–1991, 2009)
- Tony Palmucci – guitar, backing vocals (1991)
Studio albums
- Shake Your Soul (1990)
- Lights Out on the Playground (1991)
- Baton Rouge (1997)