THE WINERY DOGS, the powerhouse trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen, bassist/vocalist Billy Sheehan and drummer/vocalist Mike Portnoy, have released a music video for the song "Stars". The track is taken from the band's critically acclaimed and aptly named third album, "III", which was released in February on the band's Three Dog Music label (via Burnside Distribution/The Orchard) and is available on all digital formats. The first two videos from "III", "Mad World" and "Xanadu", were filmed in Los Angeles last November.
"During our last West Coast tour leg, we had a few days off in my neighborhood," Kotzen told Consequence, which premiered the "Stars" video. "Mike suggested we film another music video on one of the days off. Our crew brought our gear up to my house, and we set up right on the driveway and used the mountains as our backdrop."
He continued: "I was happy to do a video of the song 'Stars' because I feel like it's one of the songs that really showcases what's special about the band, and that is our ability to improv during solo sections and feed off of each other. Even though it is a studio recording, you can really get a sense of how we interact when we're recording and writing together. It's great to have a visual to go along with our composition."
The second leg of THE WINERY DOGS' "202III World Tour" included sold-out shows throughout Latin America, and it concluded in Monterrey, Mexico. They then headed out for the third leg, West Coast U.S. dates, beginning May 17 in Los Angeles, California at the Regent Theater before hopping over to Europe for two runs in both the summer and fall.
In a recent interview with Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind, Portnoy said that THE WINERY DOGS could not exist without any one of its three members. He explained: "[That's] especially [true] with a trio. I mean, if you have a band of four or five people, maybe you could sub somebody out if somebody's sick or somebody can't do a tour or whatever. But when you're down to only three people, those are usually three distinctive personalities. You look at RUSH, look at ZZ TOP, look at THE POLICE, look at KING'S X — I mean, these power trios… CREAM… You have to have those three personalities to make up that sound and style. And it's the same with THE WINERY DOGS. I don't think we could sub out any of us for a show or for a tour. It has to be Mike, Billy and Richie or it can't be THE WINERY DOGS."
"III" is the follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album "Hot Streak", which was released October 2, 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment).
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)