My name is Corey, I’m from Ottawa, Canada and I am a music addict.

It’s my not-so-secret addiction and it probably started before I could even walk, when I’d listen with my father to Hank Williams and other country legends on the family 8-track (I’m dating myself with that reference) after dinner. I can’t think of a time in my life when music wasn’t a big part of it. As a kid, my allowance, and later the money I earned mowing lawns, shovelling snow and babysitting was spent feeding my growing my addiction at the local music store. I was constantly in search of the latest release on cassette, and could be found there after school every Tuesday on “release day.” After making my purchase, I would comb through the store’s music release sheets, which listed the dates when bands were expected to release their upcoming albums. I remember going straight home after, opening up that week’s cassettes, putting one into the tape deck and listening to it on my bed while reading along to the lyrics and scouring the liner notes.

I loved being the first to hear about a new band, and introducing them to my friends. In those days, the best way to find out about new music was by listening to album-oriented rock radio stations. When a DJ would mention a new or unheard of band, I would search their music out at my local music store as soon as I’d earned enough money to go there.

I also LOVED live music. After seeing my first live concert, a Canadian band called Chalk Circle, I was hooked. The energy and direct connection to the music played in that concert setting was both astonishing and soul-stirring for me. It still is. To date, I have seen over 250 concerts.

The very first album I ever bought was Men at Work’s “Cargo.” I purchased my first two rock albums at the same time… Foreigner’s “Four” and Def Leppard’s “High and Dry.” I eventually found my way to harder edge music, with Van Halen being my favourite band (up until I discovered the Dead Daisies, but more on that later) from about 1984. I also found I gravitated to older classic rock bands like The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and The Rolling Stones. Once I started playing guitar, my musical tastes solidified around guitar-driven music.

Today, in Canada, rock radio stations don’t play a lot of new rock music. Classic rock stations typically limit new adds in their rotation, so it’s hard to find great new music on the radio. As a result, I spend a lot of my nights searching on-line for new bands. I haunt many U.S., UK and European music blogger sites and on-line rock radio station blogs. In my opinion, much of the great new music today is coming out of the UK.

I first heard about The Dead Daisies on-line through a UK blogging site talking about this great new band. Initially the name of the band caught my attention, as did the name of their initial lead singer Jon Stevens. I knew about Jon through his association with INXS, and thought he had a great voice. I immediately told myself this was a band I had to check out. As soon as I heard the first notes from “Lock ‘N Load” I was hooked. Listening to that album brought me back in time – to when I was that kid finding a new rock band gem that I just had to tell my friends about. I loved every release The Dead Daisies put out with Jon. I couldn’t imagine their sound getting any better. But things kicked up a notch when John Corabi came on board.

When I heard that John Corabi had joined the band I was immediately excited. I was a huge fan of John’s prior to him joining The Daisies. The Motely Crue album he did was WAY underrated, and easily the best album that band ever put out, and John’s solo album still hasn’t come out of my car’s CD player since I bought it. Revolucion was a total game changer for me. The songs were edgier, lyrics spoke to me and the musicianship was outstanding. You wouldn’t think the music could get any better than this. But then they added one of the best guitar players on the planet!

I definitely had mixed emotions when I heard the rumours about Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed leaving the band for Gun’s ‘n Roses. As soon as I heard that Doug Aldrich had joined as a replacement, any reservations I may have had immediately went away. My love of Doug Aldrich’s playing solidified during his time in Whitesnake. Those Whitesnake albums with Doug are my favourite in their entire catalogue. I couldn’t wait to see what the combination of John, Doug, Brian (who’s a beast), Marco (very underrated), and David Lowy would bring.

“Make Some Noise” is one of my favourite albums of all time. It would be on my list of stranded-on-a-desert-island albums for sure. When that album came out I listened to nothing else for 6 months. Even my kids loved it! My eldest’s favourite is “Join Together,” and my youngest’s favourite is “Long Way to Go.” I couldn’t stop talking about this album and The Dead Daisies to everyone I met. Colleagues, neighbours, my kid’s teachers, strangers on the bus…everyone. Everyone HAD to hear this band. And I couldn’t wait to hear the band live! I had the opportunity to see John Corabi live on his acoustic tour in Ottawa in 2017, and got to meet him after the show. What a great guy! I had a very nice chat with him about “Make Some Noise,” his solo acoustic record, the 2016 and (at that point) upcoming 2017 Woodstock festival shows in Poland. It did nothing but further my desire to see The Dead Daisies live.

Shortly after the launch of “Make Some Noise” I saw the notice on The Dead Daisies website about the opportunity to help the band in a more direct way by joining The Chain Gang. This group would help market the band through social media. Although I was a very active Twitter user for years, I had been reluctant to create a Facebook account. This seemed like the perfect reason to create one. I did so, and sent a message expressing my interest in joining the Chain Gang. It has been a fun and fulfilling experience in carrying out marketing activities on behalf the band. It essentially legitimizes what I had been doing for years with respect to music. I have learned a lot, and feeling connected to the band brings even more enjoyment from their music and tours. I have to say The Chain Gang is a very unique and creative way to engage the fans to help drive awareness and increase the fan base. I very much being associated with such an innovative band marketing and management team.

I finally got to see The Dead Daisies in Toronto this past August (2017). It was probably my favourite concert of all time. I had a great spot (2nd row right in front of Doug), the set list was great, and the crowd and band’s energy was phenomenal. It was also great being able to chat with the guys for a bit as they signed a few things for me during their signing session after the show.

I can honestly say that after decades of being a die-hard Van Halen fan, The Dead Daisies have overtaken them and are now ranked as my favourite band. I can’t wait for a new album and tour, and will continue to help them as much as I can through The Chain Gang!

Rock on everyone!