Jimmy Waldo - Keyboardist - Alcatrazz, Warrior, New England

Tonight's Episode

Keyboardist Jimmy Waldo of legendary band Alcatrazz joins Non-Stop Rock Talk to discuss many things in terms of the bands latest release entitled 'Prior Convictions' on BraveWords Records, working with amazing guitarists like Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Steve Vai on the bands prior work and of course current guitarist Joe Stump.

There is so much conversation that touches on so many great musicians of the era. For Tyson to discuss these things with Jimmy is such an honor. Jimmy talks of his love for guitarists like Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie Van Halen.

The segment goes into Jimmy discussing his work with Vinnie Vincent on 'Warrior: The Complete Sessions'. These sessions are quite a great listen as many of the songs ended up on later Vinnie Vincent Invasion albums. Songs like "That Time of Year", "Back on the Streets" and "Boys Are Gonna Rock" are all included in this package. "Tears" which was recorded by John Waite is in these recordings. There are also unreleased songs like "Gypsy In Her Eyes" and "It's Not Pretty (Being Easy)" that all come up in discussion.

Jimmy and Tyson both agree that Vinnie is a brilliant songwriter who could have been in a class with Desmond Child, Jack Ponti and Holly Knight.

As a singer, Vinnie has a brilliant voice. He could have fronted the Vinnie Vincent Invasion but chose Robert Fleishman and Mark Slaughter to emulate all his great songs as Vinnie wanted a singer who sang in a higher register. There is a feeling that Vinnie didn't need to hire a singer.

The discussion also touches on Vinnie as a guitar player and how we both feel that he didn't need to puke all over the songs with his intense playing. It was the 80's and it seems that Vinnie felt pressure to keep up with the likes of Yngwie, Vai and Van Halen.

There is so much respect for Vinnie Vincent as a musician. There is just a feeling that maybe he got in his own head too much that lead to his leaving the business for many years.

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