WINNERS ANNOUNCED! Congratulations to our Lillian Axe Contest Winners!
Our Grand Prize Winner of the Autographed bass guitar And “Waters Rising” CD:
Bob Ellis
Detroit, MI
WRIF
Our 19 “Waters Rising” CD Winners:
Sylvia Belle
Boynton Beach FL
WRUF FM
Robert Bierly
Columbia MO
KCMQ 97.6
Carolyn Danko
Parma OH
WMMS-FM
Amanda Eldred
Jacksonville FL
94.9FM
Marsha Hillier
Grand Bank NL Canada
k-rock975
Martha Homrich
Grand Rapids MI
WKLQ
Nicholas Karpen
Fond du Lac WI
WTCX
Robert Keller
Park Forest IL
WBZG-FM 100.9
Jeffrey Kuebler
Versailles KY
WKYT
Catharine McElwain
George UT
KBER FM 101.1
Robert McGil
Saint Peters MO
KSDK, St. Louis
Robert McGrew
Collinsvile MS
WKZB-FM Meridian, MS
Cathryn Patrick
Corbin KY
98.1
Michael Pomerleau
Litchfield NH
WGIR101.1
Rachel Prieto
San Antonio TX
online
Marisa Savage
Pataskala OH
The Brew 105.7
Anna Titanic
Newburgh NY
WPDH
James Uhlmann
Lincoln NE
z92
Charles Wade
Meridian ID
KIVI
Prizes should arrive within 3 weeks of posted winner names.
Thanks to ALL the HOH and Metal Fans who entered the contest!
– Dee and the House of Hair Team!
Win Lillian Axe CDs and bass guitar Giveaway!
Lillian Axe is back! The House of Hair invites you to enter to win their new CD “Waters Rising” and qualify for the grand prize of an autographed bass guitar! The HOH salutes Lillian Axe and all they’ve done for their hometown of New Orleans.
For more Lilian Axe band information:
Official Lillian Axe website
What do you win?
20 winners receive a copy of the new CD “Waters Rising” from Lillian Axe. From those, one winner will be chosen randomly to win the autographed bass guitar.
New Orleans survivors Lillian Axe have persevered through more than 20 years of sincere music-loving and music-crafting, arriving at the record chief songsmith and guitarist Steve Blaze calls "our most mature record, the truest to the sound of what the band has wanted to achieve since its inception back in 1983."
That’s quite the statement, given the unparalleled reputation Lillian Axe has garnered amongst serious musicologists, despite being lumped in with the hair bands of the day. In fact, the almost unfortunate timing of being big news during those days has helped keep relatively secret the fact that Lillian Axe have been – at least from records like Love + War on – a strident, ambitious, complicated band Zeppelin-esque in spirit and Queen-like of explosive creativity and meticulous execution. And yet magnificently, this time-honored surfeit of talent, passion and work ethic deliberately soared tangentially yet boldly from a base that embraced a certain pristine melodic rock sensibility that is, yes, part and parcel of that early ‘90s metal sound now seen as "corporate."
This astonishing marriage of sensibilities continues – and incredibly intensifies – with the band’s new album, Waters Rising, a record of high yet accessible art, a record where attention has been paid to every detail, an album with a blinding shine.
Ask Steve Blaze about the band’s trademarks, and like the true artist he is, he arrives somewhat at the above assessment through a purity of sincerity that is refreshing in this world of packaged concepts.
"Potential singles on this record are everywhere, with all of the first four tracks getting serious consideration. One of those is "Quarantine," (which, by the way, unintentionally ended up with a chord progression out of "Hotel California!").
And closing out the album? Well, after all the intense and dramatic lyric work that come before, it’s time for an instrumental. "Yes, ‘5’… I wrote that as we recorded it," reveals Steve. "I said I want to write an instrumental and I want to put everything in it, from blues and shredding to clean guitar to orchestrated pieces, to arpeggiated riffs, any effects, flange, wah-wah, octave, anything you can put on there. I don’t want to hear anymore, ‘Steve, when are you going to do an instrumental?’ I have no excuses on this one. It’s full of shredding. We’d do one section, beef it up, and then move to the next and fill it up again."
Waters Rising features a new vocalist in Derrick LeFevre, who is in possession of the same pristine, clear, powerful sound that Ron Taylor had, a necessary trait given the panoramic majesty of these songs, be they dark progressive rockers like "Deep In The Black" or solid gold smash balladry such as "Until The End Of The World."
On the subject of singers, Steve is candid but confident. "People who’ve heard the record are more than happy, because, you know, when you change a singer like Ron Taylor after 15 years, a lot of people think, that’s it, the beginning of the end. And we were fortunate. We were talking about auditioning other guys from other successful bands, but I think it would’ve been the kiss of death to have somebody – even if they’re great singer – who would have no similarities to Ron Taylor. Because there are seven albums of material, and there’s a new voice. Fortunately Derrick is a career cover band singer – this guy covers everybody, from AC/DC to Heart. He can just mimic so well, but his natural voice is so similar to Ron, with even a different kind of richness to it, that it’s astonishing. And he’s been in bands opening for Lillian Axe before we even had our first record deal. But yes, if you weren’t seriously up on the band, you probably wouldn’t even realize we had a new singer."
Serendipity to be sure. The result is an album that is gorgeously appointed yet boldly heavy, Lillian Axe relentlessly bringing out huge monolithic chords often European and even Sabbatherian in weight and then having Derrick temper them with his smoothly crooning pipes. Adding to the heaven and hell dichotomy is recurring layered harmonies and twin leads, plus production that is hi-fidelity in the extreme, fully plush yet pounding.
Quiet simply Waters Rising is arguably this band’s second masterpiece, the first being 1993’s Psychoschizophrenia, a deceptively sweet and smooth record actually way heavier and smarter than folks give credit. Waters Rising is in that realm and deserves serious attention. Amusingly, we don’t have to tell you to give it a chance, it has to be played right through, or it’ll grow on you. Cue it up anywhere. It is obviously and immediately a joy to behold. Whether you’re looking for traditional metal or something lighter, you’ll get it right away. The pay-off of repeated listens will become apparent as you make them, namely the discovery that Blaze has massaged into these pieces all manner of ear candy that can only come from a man and band this obsessive about their craft.
CONTEST CLOSED, ENTRIES NO LONGER ACCEPTED!
Contest Start Date: Monday, October 29th, 2007
Contest End Date:Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at midnight