RICHIE KOTZEN On THE WINERY DOGS: 'If I Was Betting, I Would Say There's Gonna Be A Third Album In The Foreseeable Future'

April 1, 2020

In a recent interview with "Tunestiles" podcast, guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen was asked about the status of THE WINERY DOGS, his power trio with drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, TALAS, DAVID LEE ROTH). He said (hear audio below): "We talked about [making a third studio album]. Obviously, right now [Mike and Billy are] touring with their band [SONS OF APOLLO] on a new record, and I just released a new record ['50 For 50'] a month ago, so needless to say, my focus is on what I'm doing with my music now. But the idea of making a record is something we discussed on that last [WINERY DOGS] tour in May [2019]. And the approach that I suggested was let's get together once in a while and throw around some ideas. And then once we know we have four or five songs that are at the level they need to be, then we can look at doing a full record and then we can decide on a release date. So it's all very casual, very relaxed, which I think is the best environment for creativity. But the intent is there. So if I was betting, I would say, yeah, there's gonna be a third album in the foreseeable future."

This past January, Portnoy told Sonic Perspectives that THE WINERY DOGS' 2019 tour was done "just for the fun of it — just for no other reason than to play together again, because it had been a few years. I think it reignited our love for each other, and I think it showed us that there's still so many fans out there that love this band," he explained. "It reignited our desire to make another record, so I think as soon as we can, we will."

Kotzen's 22nd solo album, "50 For 50" is now available via his own custom label, Headroom-Inc. The three-disc collection is just what the title implies: a collection of 50 previously unreleased compositions produced, performed and written by Kotzen in honor of his birthday. It's the follow-up to his critically acclaimed "Salting Earth" album, which was released April 14, 2017 via Headroom-Inc.

Portnoy and Sheehan spent much of the first three months of 2020 on the road with SONS OF APOLLO, whose world tour in support of "MMXX" kicked off January 23 in Sacramento, California.

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