John Payne unveils new Asia featuring John Payne line-up featuring Francis Dunnery and Ryo Okumoto
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Asia featuring John Payne have unveiled a new-look line-up that features It Bites frontman Francis Dunnery and Spock's Beard keyboard player Ryo Okumoto.
The band, who also feature Canadian drummer Aaron Olson, are currently working on a new studio album, Aviana, and will tour the US from August with UK dates slated for November.
"We welcome esteemed guitarist and vocalist Francis Dunnery to the band," says Payne. "Currently, we are in the studio working on the new album Aviana. Francis is well known for his incredible work with It Bites and Robert Plant.
"I have been a long-term follower of his works with It Bites from day one. He's a superlative musician and his chemistry fits the band so well. We all welcome Frank on board."
The news comes as the Asia line-up featuring original keyboard player Geoff Downes, with Lonely Robot’s John Mitchell, Planet X drummer Virgil Donati and singer Harry Whitley, recently performed the band's first three albums at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex and have signed to the Frontiers label to record a new studio album.
Payne explains why there are two versions of the band: “John Payne was the lead singer with Asia for 14 years, touring the world and recording eight albums. In 2006 John Wetton returned to the band for a reunion it was contractually mutually agreed that Payne would continue as Asia Featuring John Payne and Howe, Wetton, Palmer and Downes would proceed as Original Asia. The music of Asia, old and new, has been John Payne's main drive for 36 years and will continue to be so.”
(Source: www.loudersound.com)
