Kat Harlton
Photos: David Pear
Renowned rock band The Dead Daisies are celebrating over a decade of rock with their upcoming North American tour and forthcoming album release.
The tour will kick off in Toronto, ON at El Mocambo on August 25th and includes stops across Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
The tour coincides with the news that The Dead Daisies will also be releasing their highly-anticipated new album Best Of on August 18th. The album consists of a collection of songs from six of the band’s previous studio albums and two previously unreleased tracks from their last recording session.
Returning to the line-up for the upcoming tour is the incomparable front man, John Corabi, (Scream/Motley Crue), along with his mates Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake/Dio), David Lowy (Red Phoenix/Mink), Brian Tichy (Ozzy Osbourne/Foreigner), and renowned Bass player Michael Devin (Whitesnake) joining the band for the first time. Toronto-based, JUNO Nominated rock band Harm and Ease will also be joining the band as direct support on all the Canadian tour stops except Vancouver.
I had the opportunity to chat with Doug Aldrich from The Dead Dasies about his musical journey so far, The Dead Dasies upcoming tour, album release and what’s next.
Kat: Can you tell us a bit about The Dead Daisies and your music journey so far?
Doug: The Dead Daisies were formed in 2012 by David Lowy as kind of a Musical Collective with an open door to create and tour together. Straight up Rock…Over the last 7 years that I have been in the band there have been so many highlights for me. I’m very proud of what we have done musically. The band is all about teamwork. We have a great line-up on stage as well as behind the scenes moving forward together. The new line-up is great with the return of John Corabi and the addition of Michael Devin from Whitesnake on bass and vocals who is a badass!
Kat: The Dead Daisies is celebrating over a decade of rock and marking the milestone with an upcoming tour and album release. How does it feel to be celebrating over a decade as a band and returning to stages across Canada this summer?
Doug: This is going to be an amazing tour and we are super excited to be coming through to Canada! It’s been some time since we visited some of these cities so we can’t wait to come play again. 10 years is a long time and a nice anniversary for a Rock band. We plan on making the most of it this year and pulling out all the stops to celebrate with our friends and fans around the world.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your upcoming album “Best Of” and what fans can expect?
Doug: We wanted to make this album a great mix of tracks that the fans loved on record as well as on stage. I think the flow of the album is really cool as it shows the natural progression of the band with various band members. The fans also will get two never released songs that we composed for our last album Radiance! “Let it Set You Free” is a beautiful song that I think will resonate with people these days. “The Healer” is a dark heavy track that conjures up some cool mental images.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
Doug: There have been so many! I’ve been blessed to work with some of the greatest singers of all time with Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale and now John Corabi. Creating new music with those guys is the major personal highlight. You can never take composing music for granted as it really is a gift. Of course, playing some famous shows or venues around the world has been cool too. One of them was playing The Budokan in Tokyo with Whitesnake or when The Dead Daisies played the Woodstock festival in Poland with a 60-piece orchestra was insane!
Kat: What else are you currently working on now, and what can fans expect from you for the balance of 2023?
Doug: Right at the moment I have been doing a bunch of songwriting. I always get ideas for things when I’m at home in my studio. The band has been rehearsing a bit to prepare for the upcoming tour. Once we start up in August, we will be rolling til mid-December. Can’t wait to rock out with everyone on the Best Of Tour!!
The Dead Daisies recently partnered up with the leading manufacturer of guitar amplifiers, Blackstar Amplification, to blast out their best for all their upcoming live shows in 2023!
Full tour dates and information can be found at: thedeaddaisies.com/tour-2023/
The Dead Daisies Tour Dates:
August 25 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo
August 26 – London, ON – London Music Hall
August 27 – Kitchener, ON – The Hub
August 29 – Hamilton, ON – Studio @ FirstOntario Concert Hall
August 30 – Montreal, QC – Théâtre Fairmount
August 31 – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey
September 2 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theatre
Instagram: @thedeaddaisies
Facebook: /TheDeadDaisies
Twitter: @TheDeadDaisies
Website: https://thedeaddaisies.com/