BIOGRAPHY DRAGON FORCE the HARDROCK MUSIC

Prepare yourself for a gripping, exhilarating ride on January 9th, 2006. On that date, DragonForce release their hotly awaited third album, ‘Inhuman Rampage’. The title is an apt summation of a devastating musical journey, an unstoppable force that the six-man group’s forthcoming tour of duty will leave devastated cities in its wake. Combing the primal force of power metal with hard-earned musical proficiency, old-school thrash and generous quantities of muscular melody in a unique style that they call ‘extreme power metal’, DragonForce have established themselves as THE heavy metal band of the past year.

The summer of 2005 saw them sharing festival stages with Iron Maiden, a sell-out headlining tour of the UK generating scenes of pandemonium. Intensive bouts of touring to accompany the band’s two albums to date – ‘Valley Of The Damned’ in January 2003 and the following year’s ‘Sonic Firestorm’ – has seen their fan-base escalate in quite dramatic terms. Meanwhile, the European metal press have swamped the band with almost universal reams of adulation. “DragonForce are getting bigger. Prepare for the onslaught,” Kerrang! warned. "DragonForce are as metal as f**k,” roared the UK’s Metal Hammer, “They’ll be enormous.” Writers and magazines from France, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Holland, Japan and many more wasted little time in falling under the band’s spell. Perhaps the best summation of all these accolades was Rock Hard (Germany)’s prediction that: “DragonForce could become the first British metal band in ages to reap respect from all over the world.”

Against all the odds, DragonForce have single-handedly revitalised power metal in their homeland of the UK, awarding credibility to a genre that till their arrival was regarded was little more than a joke.
Clearly, plenty rides on ‘Inhuman Rampage’. However, instead of resorting to panic and watering down the style of music that secured such a position of prominence, DragonForce have gone further over the top than ever before. The new album is faster, bolder and heavier – yet still as boldly stirring and distinctly hummable – as anything they’ve attempted so far.

“We’ve come up with the ultimate formula,” proudly declares Herman Li, one half of the band’s unstoppable guitar army. “Combining intensity, chaos and melody, with all the DragonForce trademarks, it’s something that’s never been done before. “For us, this is the next evolution in the DragonForce sound,” he continues. “I’ve never heard an album that sounds like ‘Inhuman Rampage’ – the title says it all! It's seriously gonna blow some heads off around the world during the next year.”

The eight-song album was recorded at Thin Ice Studios in Surrey and guitarist Herman Li's own studio in West London, some of its guitar sections recorded in hotel rooms while the band wound up the tour for ‘Sonic Firestorm’.
Track titles like ‘Through The Fire And Flames’, ‘Operation Ground And Pound’, ‘Revolution Deathsquad’ and ‘Storming The Burning Fields’ leave the listener in no doubt of DragonForce’s malicious intent, and more importantly their aversion to climbing the ladder of popularity by selling out. Winner of the Dimebag Darrell Best Young Guitarist award at Metal Hammer UK’s Golden Gods, Li and his six-string partner in crime Sam Totman have never sounded hungrier nor eager to prove their worth. From the start of each song to its exhausted finish, notes fly from all angles.
The album ends with its sole ballad, ‘The Trail Of Broken Hearts’, though as Totman quite rightly points out: “We still managed to squeeze three separate guitar solos in.”However, shredding for shredding’s sake has never been among the band’s intentions.Although keen to squeeze as many notes as possible into certain songs, this time the pair has experimented with various new textures and sounds.

“We wanted to keep things interesting, and there are sections of certain songs that will remind you of video games,” grins Hong Kong-born Li. “Many people will hear them and assume they were made by keyboards. That’s completely wrong. All those parts are done on the guitar.”

Which isn’t intended to under-value the superlative contribution of Vadim Pruzhanov, who co-wrote several of the album’s songs (including ‘Body Breakdown’), is credited along with Li and Totman as a co-producer and whose dazzling keyboard runs are as daring and provocative as anything performed on guitar frets. A Ukrainian by birth, Pruzhanov is fast becoming known for lengthy and insane solo excursions during the band’s live shows and has really come into his own on ‘Inhuman Rampage’. On the other hand, vocalist ZP Theart is already regarded as the glimmering pearl in DragonForce’s crown. Far too many European power metal acts are faced up by singers with the merest grasp of English diction. South African-born, Theart is the real deal – a stomping, roaring, beer-swilling frontman who fronts the band with passion and wit.

Alongside Li and Totman, Theart was a co-founder of DragonForce. The trio met in London in September 1999, using the name DragonHeart for their initial two years of existence. Quick to realise the possibilities of the internet, the band posted a set of demos at their website (www.dragonforce.com) and were rewarded not only by half a million downloads, but the interest of Sanctuary/Noise Records.

Early support UK spots with Halford and Stratovarius, plus the timely recruitment of a superior rhythm section moulded a professionalism to match their commitment, and before too long the group were placed on the launching pad of international success. The sextet toured Europe, South East Asia and the Far East to promote the debut album, and before too long, critics were queuing up to praise DragonForce’s fusion of modern melodic power metal, the energy of speed metal and the confident, in-your-face delivery of bands twice their age.

From day one, the band’s goal was to establish an identifiable style all of their own. To an outsider, the lyrics may seem to tell otherworldly tales of sword-wielding warriors occupying distant battlefield plains, but strip away the fantasy imagery and a message of modern-day positivity is right there beneath your nose. But most of all, DragonForce’s success is attributable to playing ability and perhaps their most under-played asset of all – a skill for composing ultra-memorable, rabble-rousing heavy metal anthems. ‘Inhuman Rampage’ offers indisputable proof.

DragonForce Line-up
ZP Theart – Lead and backing vocals
Herman Li – Lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Sam Totman – Lead and rhythm electric guitars, backing vocals
Vadim Pruzhanov – Keyboards, Piano, backing vocals
Dave Mackintosh – Drums, backing vocals

BON JOVI BIOGRAPHY

The Bon Jovi story began in Sayreville, New Jersey. Where Jon and his brothers Matt and Tony were raised by they parents Carol and John Bongiovi (Jon later changed his name). By his early teens, Jon was hanging out at local clubs, convinced that one day he would be a rock star.

The area's local music scene was rocking then and there, with the music of rising stars Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes leading the pack. "Just like Seattle is hot right now, 20 years ago it was Asbury Park, New Jersey", Jon told writer Rick Petreycik. "That was so close to my backyard, and when you're 13 or 14, or 15 years old, you can't help but hear about it and have it affect you. When you went down to Asbury Park, what was the crummy boardwalk became Americana. What was splintered wood became sacred ground, and you went, 'Ooh, aah'. And those things romanticized the idea, The myth became the legend, and one thing led to another, and I think blind faith is what got me here." That, and a little help from his friends.

By the time he was 16, Jon was playing clubs. It was not long before he hooked up with keyboardist David Bryan (real name: David Brian Rashbaum), who played with him in a ten-piece rhythm and blues band called Atlantic City Expressway. Jon also performed with bands called The Rest, The Lechers and John Bongiovi and the Wild Ones.

Meanwhile, Richie Sambora was also performing locally with a funk and fusion outfit called Extremes, before hooking up with Alec John Such in the band The Message. After The Message broke up, Alec played with Tico Torres in Phantom's Opera.

The members of Bon Jovi hade crossed paths in these early days, but the current lineup didn't come together until March of 1983 after th first Bon Jovi single, "Runaway," had become a minor hit.

In one of those right place/right time/right person scenarios, Jon managed to get a job sweeping floors at a recording studio through a relative. His second cousin, Tony Bongiovi, was a co-owner of the power station in New York City. Jon had written "Runaway," and in 1980, he recorded a demo of the song at his cousin's studio, with back-up by studio musicians whom Tony had hired, including Frankie La Roca, Tim Pierce, Hugh McDonald and Roy Bittan.

A local radio station included "Runaway" on a compilation tape, and the song started getting some serious airplay. The success of "Runaway" got Jon noticed, and he realized that he'd need more than session players if he wanted to capitalize on his success by touring the New York clubs to support the single.

Jon gave Dave a call, who in turn tapped Alec and Tico. A succession of guitarists (including Dave "The Snake" Sabo, who went on to form Skid Row) followed, until finally Richie signed on, and the band came together as a whole. They began gigging around New York in earnest.

At one show, where they opened for Scandal, the band caught the attention of record exec Derek Shulman, who signed them to PolyGram. "With Jon, I felt he had an unbelievable desire to be a star", recalls Shulman. "he had a burning desire to be huge".

PolyGram toyed with the name, throwing out monikers like "Victor" then "Johnny Lightening", before Shulman anglicized John Bongiovi's name to Bon Jovi.

Their self-titled debut came out January 21, 1984. Filled with the group's now-signature power ballads and hooked-filled tunes underscored by soaring guitar riffs and well-crafted melodies, the album went gold (sales of over 500,000).

The album was a rugged soulful collection of songs about how tough it is being a teenager. Buoeyed by the renewed sucess of "Runaway", and backed by the follow-up single "She Don't Know Me".

Bon Jovi releasead their follow-up album, 7800 Farenheit, in April 1985 wich included the hit singles "Only Lonely" and "Silent Night", it sold equally to its predecesor.

Tours opening for the Scorpions, Kiss and Judas Priest had helped Bon jovi build up a considerable fan base which appreciated the band's anthemic songs and powerful stage presence. Clearly, Bon Jovi was poised on the edge of greatness.

Slippery When Wet, the band's third album, provided the break-trough. Powered by songs like "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive", the LP went gold and platinum simultaneously within six weeks of its six weeks of its release. By April of 1987, Slippery When Wet had sold seven million copies.

The world ate and slept Bon Jovi, they won the American Music Award and People's Choice Awards as Band Of The Year, MTV gave Bon Jovi a Best Performance Award for the video "Livin' on a Prayer".

Jon was asked what all this astronomical success meant, to which he answered, "Everything is bigger, and it moves twice as fast. You're recognized twice as often. This is bigger, the whole world gets bigger. You have to sell more records, be huger. You get smarter and you understand the business a little more, so it's more responsability. You understand it now, and you want to make sure everything goes right".

Instead of traveling by bus, Bon Jovi went from gig to gig in a luxuriously converted Grumman G-I jet. By the time the Slippery Tour finished in Hawaii on October 17, 1987, the album had sold in excess of 14 million copies, putting it in the same league af astronomical successes as Thriller by Michael Jackson.

Vanessa-Mae Instrumen Violin

Born Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn on October 27, 1978, in Singapore; daughter of Pamela Soei Luang (Tan) Nicholson; adopted daughter of Graham Nicholson. Education: studied with Lin Yao Ji of Beijing, in the Yankelevich violin method.

Prodigious violinist Vanessa-Mae Nicholson performed with the London Philharmonic at age ten before attending the Royal College of Music in London. By age 14, she had released three CDs and signed a contract with a major recording company. Even as an adolescent she was uniquely adept in her ability to alternate between performing classical selections on an eighteenth-century acoustical violin and playing modern music on a high-tech electric jazz model violin. Vanessa-Mae has called her musical style "techno-acoustic fusion."

Vanessa-Mae was born Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn in Singapore on October 27, 1978, and growing up took inspiration from the fact that she shared the same birth date as Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini, though born 196 years after the famed musician. Although her parentsdivorced when she was very young, her mother remarried soon after, to Graham Nicholson, anattorney and a member of England's distinguished Freshfields law firm. Graham Nicholson adopted the budding violinist as his own daughter, and moved the family to England whenVanessa-Mae was four years old. She grew up in London, and it was Great Britain that provided her a national identity.

Vanessa-Mae played the piano as a toddler and began to study the violin at age five. She was only eight years old when she traveled to Beijing to study with Lin Yao Ji in the Yankelevich violin method. Vanessa-Mae finished the Yankelevich course, a two-year curriculum, in a brief six months. By the time she returned home she had made a decision to play the violin professionally. As Vanessa-Mae embarked on her quest, she was encouraged and assisted by he rmother, Pamela Soei Luang (Tan) Nicholson, the owner of a private recording label and music agency. A musician in her own right, Pamela Nicholson was a semi-professional concert pianist,who on occasion accompanied her daughter's violin playing.

Young Vanessa-Mae made a formal concert debut as a soloist with the London Philharmonic at age ten, but it was not until one year after her concert debut that she enrolled at the Royal College of Music in London, where she studied with Felix Andrievsky. Vanessa-Mae attended Francis Holland girls' school for a liberal education, but soon dropped out of the school in order to devote more time to her musical studies and her career. Vanessa-Mae by that time was already a veteran of the recording studio, having released three albums on her mother's personal record label. Vanessa-Mae distinguished herself with her very first recordings, renditions of violin concertos by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. She was the youngest artist to ever record those compositions. By age 14, she was an accomplished professional, having completed her first international tour as a featured soloist with the London Mozart Players. She then signed a recording contract with EMI Records. During those years, despite the demands of her career, she continued her traditional school curriculum under the guidance of private tutors.

Vanessa-Mae, who loved classical music as a child, was nevertheless enthralled by Michael Jackson and other popular artists of her generation. When she signed with EMI she retained the right to control her performance content, in order to accommodate her diverse musical interests. She refused to limit her selections to classical compositions exclusively. Instead she embarked on a career of crossover techno-fusion musical styles. At that time, under the artistic direction of producer Mel Bush, she emerged with a new visual image as an ingenue more mature, and in abject contrast from the little girl persona of her earlier public performances. She then set out on her first tour of the United Kingdom, performing in her own style: Shostakovich in tandem with popular music, including selections by The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. She also appeared as a solo artist at the Royal Festival Hall that year. Vanessa-Mae released her first EMI album, The Violin Player, at age 16. The album it hit number eleven on the British charts and sold over two million copies. One selection from the album, "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," became a hit single for Vanessa-Mae and remained on the top 40 charts for several weeks.

As a teen-ager performing in a grown-up arena, Vanessa-Mae's talent was frequently overshadowed by her youthful, seemingly suggestive wardrobe, as well as by certain choreography that she performed while playing her violin during her performances and in rock-video style recordings. The visual images of Vanessa-Mae's performances, in fact, generated considerable controversy and raised eyebrows. Many critics labeled her style assexually aggressive. Cries of exploitation accompanied the release of her now-famous wet T-shirt video that was made when the violinist was 15 years old. In the controversial video,Vanessa-Mae emerged from the Mediterranean Sea in a soaking wet white sheath gown, so lightweight that it was barely visible. Some observers suggested that the performance approached being pornographic. Vanessa-Mae responded to the critics and assured the public that she had complete artistic control over her own image. She defended her video to the press with cool articulation. She reiterated that she maintained a presence in the cutting room when the tape was finalized, and that she had total control over the images that were released in the finished product. She further asserted that she enjoyed creating the video and noted that classical divas traditionally perform in provocative gowns. Vanessa-Mae was quoted by Scot Duncan of the Orange Country Register as saying, "Let's face it, I go into the classical department of record stores and I see a lot of grown women in low-cut gowns and flaunty dresses."

Vanessa-Mae celebrated the release of her first album on the EMI label with a promotionaldebut tour of the United States. Among her many tour stops was an appearance on the Tonight Show, as well as stops at Chicago's Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park during the 1995 World Series play offs to perform the national anthem. Vanessa-Mae's style is unusual and unpredictable, and for many of her fans, the highlight of her 1995 tour was a memorable concert at New York City's Times Square. During the finale of the concert, Vanessa-Mae leaped onto the roof of a taxicab without missing a note on her violin. On another occasion early in 1997,Vanessa-Mae performed at St. Moritz, where she arrived in a hang-glider.

Musically Vanessa-Mae is equally unpredictable, often juxtaposing incongruous styles. When she performed a unique arrangement of the Scottish air, "I'm a Doun for Lack of Johnny,"she featured African drums in the background. Her recording of that particular composition, under the title "Scottish Fantasy," came to typify the eclectic quality that characterized many of her selections. Vanessa-Mae's versatile style made it necessary for her to learn to perform on more than one instrument. For purely classical selections, she bows on a Guadagnini violin thatdates back to 1761, a gift that she received when she was ten years old. For her unique techno-fusion adaptations of classic and popular compositions, she employs a MIDI configuration on an angular white electric violin. Her repertoire varies from Brahms, Paganini, Kreisler and Ravel, to syncopated upbeat rhythms.

Vanessa-Mae made her first formal concert tour of the United States in 1996 at age 18. Her mother provided piano accompaniment for some of the performances. Later that summer, Vanessa-Mae performed at a reunification concert in Hong Kong, where she offered a rendition of "Happy Valley the Reunification Overture," a composition of her own creation. She performed at a conference of economic ministers in France that same year, and in 1998 she performed at Buckingham Palace, to an assembly of heads of state who were in attendance at an Asia-Europe Meeting. Her performance at the Royal Albert Hall was well received.

Vanessa-Mae enjoys entertaining, and she embellished her 1998 album Storm with her own singing. She contemplates the possibility of a second career as a supermodel. Indeed she is easy to recognize and possesses striking, exotic features inherited from her Chinese mother and Thai father. She loves to read and plans to attend a university; she has a number of interests that she hopes to pursue academically. Until she finalizes her future plans, Vanessa-Mae hopes to maintain a busy schedule, perform continually, and tour often. She tenaciously guards her privacy when dealing with the press.

Vanessa-Mae's Career

Released three CDs on her mother's private recording label; performed with the London Philharmonic at age ten; international tour as a featured soloist with the London Mozart Players at age eleven; signed with EMI Records at age 14; released first album with EMI in 1995; promotional tour of U.S. in 1996; concert tour 1998.