{"id":4708,"date":"2014-10-24T07:49:25","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skylight.gr\/administrator_wordpress\/index.php\/2014\/10\/24\/us-70s-proto-metal-power-trio-bang-to-tour-first-time-in-40-years\/"},"modified":"2014-10-24T07:49:25","modified_gmt":"2014-10-24T07:49:25","slug":"us-70s-proto-metal-power-trio-bang-to-tour-first-time-in-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2014\/10\/24\/us-70s-proto-metal-power-trio-bang-to-tour-first-time-in-40-years\/","title":{"rendered":"US 70\u2019s Proto-Metal Power Trio BANG To Tour First Time In 40 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Often called America\u2019s answer to Black Sabbath, one of the most unsung bands in the history of US hard rock music, BANG, is back! With the heaviness of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, coupled with the groove of Grand Funk Railroad, BANG released three critically acclaimed albums on Capitol Records in the early 1970s before disappearing into obscurity for a number of years. Says original drummer and founding member Tony Diorio, \u201cBasically we\u2019re back to finish what was started a long time ago and cut short by forces out of our control.\u201d<\/div>\n

BANG will be embarking on the band’s first tour in over 40 years!
Tour Dates:
Oct 23 Reggies Rock Club – Chicago, IL
Oct 24 Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 25 The Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI
Oct 27 House of Blues – Cleveland, OH
Oct 28 Mr. Smalls Theatre – Millvale, PA
Oct 29 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Oct 30 Johnny Brendas w\/ Pentagram – Philadelphia, PA
Oct 31 ArtsRiot – Burlington, VT
Nov 01 Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Nov 02 The Met – Pawtucket, RI
The 1971 self-titled debut album \u2018BANG\u2019 is considered an important forerunner to the early Doom Metal genre. Undoubtedly one of America\u2019s heaviest \u2018proto-metal\u2019 bands from the period, BANG also had a strong sense of melodic power. The band\u2019s versatility and songwriting skills are second to none. Highly regarded as a cult act by many for years, it\u2019s now time for this truly amazing rock band to be enjoyed by a new audience worldwide!
Back in the spring of 1972, BANG was shaping up to be the proverbial \u2018next big thing\u2019. Signed a few months earlier to Capitol Records, the band\u2019s first single \u201cQuestions\u201d was taking off in the Billboard Hot 100. With the enthusiastic support of their record label, the trio\u2019s self-titled debut album was also climbing in the charts. The group\u2019s management had them opening shows for just about every major band of the era. Moreover, BANG had recently opened for their all time favorite band Black Sabbath, and by common consensus of opinion, stole the show! With two band members, guitarist Frank Gilcken and lead singer\/bassist Frank Ferrara, still in their teens, and drummer\/lyricist Tony Diorio, BANG seemed to be unstoppable!<\/p>\n

Somehow, though, it didn\u2019t quite work out. Even as \u201cQuestions\u201d was charting, a corporate shakeup at Capitol saw the band\u2019s supporters moving on and replaced by A&R men who had their own signings to promote. With the band\u2019s producer, Michael Sunday, also leaving the label, BANG\u2019s support system was crumbling. Their new producer engineered a change in personnel that led to drummer\/lyricist Tony Diorio\u2019s departure. Meanwhile, the label insisted that BANG develop a more mainstream, pop oriented sound. Trying to keep the dream alive, they changed management companies, only to discover that they were being blacklisted, making gigs scarce. With a much more commercial approach, the group released a 3rd album, \u2018BANG Music\u2019 in 1973, which, although did contain some great songs and performances, failed to chart. By 1974, just a couple of years after their initial success, a tired and disillusioned BANG had lost their direction, momentum and self-belief. They went their separate ways.<\/p>\n

Despite the relative briefness of their career, BANG left behind a powerful recorded legacy: four albums, including their unreleased 1971 concept album \u2018Death Of A Country\u2019, as well as a trio of non-album tracks that were recorded as singles when their deal with Capitol was about to expire. In 1996, much to everyone\u2019s surprise, BANG reunited! The band recorded and released in 1998 a new album titled \u2018Return To Zero\u2019, with the more metal-oriented album titled \u2018The Maze\u2019 (featuring new versions of old favorites \u201cLove Sonnet\u201d and \u201cBow To The King\u201d) following in 2004, proving once again that the band still had the magic that made them great back in the early 70\u2019s!<\/p>\n

And now, much to the excitement of their fans, BANG is preparing to play live in 2014-15!\u00a0 Frank Ferrara adds, \u201cThe three of us realized that BANG was still a musical force. And even though a lot of years have passed, we were writing songs as if it were yesterday. The dream is alive, and with renewed thirst and love of the music, we are resuming our quest.\u201d With drummer Jake Leger, and the Franks, the band will remain a three piece, sounding just like the records!<\/p>\n

BANG is making available free ringtones! Free Frank Gilcken guitar solos for iPhones and Androids! http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com\/ringtones\/ Also, all BANG songs are now available for 99 cents mp3 downloads http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com\/shop\/mp3s\/ BANG\u2019s complete recorded catalog is available as well through their website, which includes the band\u2019s latest CD releases \u2018Return To Zero\u2019 and \u2018The Maze\u2019. To purchase BANG CD\u2019s, Vinyl and Digital Album Downloads http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com\/shop\/cds-and-vinyl\/ Also the website contains never seen videos of BANG! http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com\/videos\/ as well as the BANG story \u2013 a must read and see! http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com\/bangstory\/<\/p>\n

Sources:
http:\/\/www.bangmusic.com
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Bangtheband<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Often called America\u2019s answer to Black Sabbath, one of the most unsung bands in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}