We all know who Ronnie James Dio is! This legendary metal singer had a stellar career with his time in Rainbow, Black Sabbath (and Heaven & Hell) as well as a solo artist. In this episode, Tom & Mark along with guest host TJ Coyne dive deep into our Top 20 songs of Ronnie's career! We talk about Ronnie's long career as well as each run down our Top 20 for all to enjoy... and debate! We'll post our choices on our Facebbok page and we encourage you join in and let us know your top Dio songs too! Enjoy!

Danny Vaughn is an American singer that has performed with Waysted, Tyketto and Vaughn and now performs and releases under his own name as well.Danny Vaughn is a product of Steiner education. At lower school, he was placed into a choir. “My first public performance was singing Pie Jesu in soprano. I remember the audience craning their necks to see who the little kid who sang the solo was. My best-loved experience, during those days, was singing in harmony. It stayed with me ever since.” His schooling taught Vaughn to read and enjoy classical music, though his teenage years were filled with a love for the pop classics, especially Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel: anything that provided harmonizing, folk-rock, edged with the baroque.After leaving school, Danny played in several local cover bands, many of them playing classic covers in rock-joints around Rockland County New York. “One day I got a message that the Welsh rock guitarist Paul Chapman (Skid Row, UFO) was looking for me. I brushed it aside, but my curiosity got the better of me and I called the number. I was invited to do an audition down in Florida, for Paul's new project: DOA, and recorded a demo with him that he took to the UK to shop with the record companies there. But that went by the wayside when Pete Way invited Paul to join Waysted instead. Of course they'd already found themselves a talented vocalist in Fin Muir. So that was that!” “But in 1985, they had a falling out with Fin and I was invited to learn a bunch of Waysted and UFO songs just days before a huge show at Ramat Gan football stadium, in Tel Aviv. I endured. It was my trial-by fire-audition for a band I continued to play with till 1987.” 1987 Vaughn formed Tyketto, a band he was in until 1994 when he was replaced by future Journey singer Steve Augeri. Tyketto split up in 1996, but have played mini-tours with Vaughn and other original members at various times since 2004. The reunited Tyketto also released two albums Dig In Deep (2012) and Reach (2016), The band has started a new chapter with a couple new members joining recently and 2023 will see the band return to live concert action.Danny talks about all that and more on episode #51 of podcast right here!

Neil Carter is an English musician who has worked in diverse genres throughout his career. Classically trained, he became a professional rock musician at the age of 17 and initially had his first "mainstream" experience with singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. He subsequently played guitar and keyboard for the hard rock bands Wild Horses, UFO, and guitarist Gary Moore. He is credited for co-writing a number of Gary Moore's songs including the worldwide hit "Empty Rooms". At the age of 30 he left the rock world behind and developed a different career as both teacher of woodwind instruments (saxophone and clarinet) and as an ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) examiner. 2010 saw an unexpected return to rock with Gary Moore, playing festivals across Europe and a tour of Ukraine and Russia. Future tours and a Celtic rock album were to follow but this was curtailed by the death of Gary Moore in February 2011. On 30 April 2019, Neil would return to UFO for their 'Last Orders' tour, following the death of Paul Raymond. The tour began in June 2019 in Germany and continued into 2022 after being postponed from 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The future of UFO is to been determined but for now please enjoy our conversation with Neil Carter!

Sword is a Canadian heavy metal band from Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, that was formed in 1981 and is still active to this day. To date, they have released three studio albums, one compilation and one live albumIn 1981, Rick (vocals) and Dan Hughes (drums) formed the band and they were joined by guitarist Mike Plant and bassist Mike Larocque in the first lineup of the band. They signed their first recording contract in 1984 with Aquarius Records and released two albums for the label in the late 1980s; the debut album Metalized in 1986 and its follow-up Sweet Dreams in 1988.They toured in the support slots for Motörhead and Alice Cooper, and the group also opened for Metallica on their Master of Puppets tour in 1986.Rick Hughes also went on to form Saints & Sinners and released a self-titled album with them in 1992, which is still revered by many hard rock fans worldwide.Throughout their career, Sword sold in excess of 180,000 albums and the band has been more active since 2011 when they reunited for a show and they have since played various festivals in Canada and Germany. In 2016, they released Live Hammersmith, recorded while they were on tour supporting Motörhead in 1987.Sword's third studio album (their first in 34 years!) titled III was released on November 25, 2022. So check out our interview with Rick Hughes to hear about all things Sword (as well as Saints & Sinners!).

Steve Mann was born and raised in London, England. After college he took up classical guitar, studying at the John Williams School in London he joined his first professional band Liar in 1977. They released two albums.He then formed Lionheart with Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden) and Rocky Newton (MSG, etc.). Hailed by Sounds magazine as "the first NWOBHM Supergroup", Lionheart toured extensively before securing a record deal with CBS in 1984. At various times Lionheart counted amongst its ranks luminaries such as Frank Noon (Def Leppard), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Les Binks (Judas Priest), Clive Edwards (UFO) and Phil Lanzon (Uriah Heep). In 1986 Steve joined Michael Schenker to form The McAuley Schenker Group and recorded two albums (Perfect Timing & Save Yourself). The former was recorded in 1986 at PUK Studios in Denmark with overdubs at Rudolf Schenker's Scorpion Sound Studio, and the record was produced by the late Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin). Frank Fillipetti took the production chair for Save Yourself, recording in LA. This album bore the hit single Anytime, a ballad penned by Mann and Robin McAuley and the track reached #6 on the US Billboard charts.While playing with Schenker he was guesting with The Sweet, becoming a permanent member after leaving MSG in 1991. Then around 1994 Mann guested with Eloy, a progressive rock band from Germany who achieved fame during the 1970's. His guest appearances for the band, both live and on record, continued till 2012. In 2016 he received a call from Michael Schenker asking if he was interested in forming a new version of the band called Michael Schenker Fest which was to include his 3 original singers, Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet (Rainbow) and Robin McAuley along with the rhythm section of Ted McKenna and Chris Glen (ex-Rainbow singer Doogie White would also join in 2017). Needless to say he jumped at the chance and the band has been on the road ever since.In 2016, Lionheart also had the opportunity to reunite with original members Dennis Stratton, Rocky Newton, Clive Edwards along with Lee Small on vocals. In 2017 the band went into my studio to record a new album called Second Nature, which was critically acclaimed, A 3rd Lionheart album was released in 2020 and titled The Reality of Miracles and Mann also joined forces with British singer Chris Ousey for the debut Ousey/Mann album Is Anybody Listening in 2022.Steve Mann continues to tour with Michael Schenker as well as writing for a new Lionheart and even his own solo album. Keep up to date with all his happenings at www.stevemann.net where you can link to all his social sites as well!

We all know of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang, Def Leppard and Heavy Pettin' but these bands all put out some seriously melodic arena rock & AOR-styled albums in the '80s. It was a sign of the times and even though some early hardcore fans of these bands may discount those albums that those bands released there is no denying there were some great, albeit slightly "fluffy", moments from these normally rough and tough NWOBHM bands. Tom & Mark dive into a number of these bands and those melodic, keyboard-heavy records that had those bands shooting for the USA arena rock landscape, so hear it all on episode# 47 and be sure to let us know your thoughts on bands that didn’t make it into the discussion. Heck, we might need to do a part two to further discus this great phenomenon!

Guitarist ROB MATH has been playing since he’s six years old and today he has a storied career that goes from his hometown Long Island NY beginnings to 80s US metal band LEATHERWOLF to 70s soft-rocker Peter Beckett and his band Player! Rob also handles guitar duties in the band SOUL SIGN along with bassist Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio Disciples, etc.), Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring of Fire, etc.) and drummer Mike Cancino (Lynch Mob). That band has their eye on releasing its debut album sometime in 2023 so be sure to keep an eye out for that one. Leatherwolf just released its latest album back in November of 2022 and we get the low down from Rob on the recording of the album with its latest incarnation, which has been a big part of since 2011. So check out this latest episode and keep up date with Leatherwolf at www.leatherwolfmetal.com and Rob’s other activities at www.robmathmusic.com!

Robert Berry is an American singer, bassist and all-around multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known for his work with Hush, 3 with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, Ambrosia, and Alliance. He was previously with The Greg Kihn Band, and as of 2022, he is with progressive band Six By Six, a super group composed of musicians Ian Crichton from Saga and Nigel Glockler of Saxon.Berry came into the spotlight in 1988, when he teamed with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame) and formed the band 3. Their only album, To the Power of Three saw the group gain some commercial success with the 1st single “Talkin’ Bout” as it reached #9 on the Billboard rock charts that year. 3 disbanded in 1989 after a successful tour supporting the album. Berry also has contributed songs to a number of film soundtracks, including the Anthony Michael Hall film Out of Bounds. In 1999, Berry produced and performed on The Wheel of Time, an album billed as a soundtrack to the Robert Jordan fantasy series The Wheel of Time. He also works as a record producer and owns a state-of-the-art recording studio in northern CA.In 2015, Berry and Emerson signed with Frontiers Music and began working on a follow-up to To the Power of Three as 3.2. The project was shelved following Emerson's death in March 2016, but Berry would finish the project himself and release it in 2018 under the 3.2 moniker as The Rules Have Changed and then followed that up with “Third Impression” in 2021.Since then, Berry’s focus has been on Six By Six as the band had world-wide success with their debut and are currently writing album #2 for release in 2023. Berry is also in the planning stages of a new Alliance album too so while we wait for those new records please enjoy Robert’s conversation with The Jersey Guys!

In this episode Tom & Mark go over some of their favorite albums released in 2022. We had fun with this one and hope we can turn you onto something you may not have been aware of in the world of hard rock, heavy metal & AOR in this past year!

Toto is an American rock band formed in 1977 in Los Angeles, CA and are known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.David Paich and Jeff Porcaro had played together as session musicians on several albums and decided to form a band; David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, and Bobby Kimball were recruited before the release of the band's eponymous debut album in 1978. Led by the Top 5 single "Hold the Line", the album brought the band to mainstream attention but it was their fourth album Toto IV (1982) which brought them global attention. "Africa" topped the Billboard Hot 100, while "Rosanna" reached number 2, helping Toto become one of the best-selling music groups of their era.The Jersey Guys take a trip through the bands studio efforts and history so we hope you will enjoy this episode as much as we did making it for you!

Rob Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released four studio albums as a solo artist, and performed with a number of other notable artists, including M.A.R.S., Joshua, Angelica, Axel Rudi Pell and Warrior to name a few. Rob Rock's early music career consisted of stints with several local cover bands as a drummer and vocalist including Tangram, The Robert Allen Band and Vice which also included future band mate, Chris Impellitteri. They released a demo and were together until 1985. In 1986, he joined musicians Tony MacAlpine (guitar), Tommy Aldridge (drums), and Rudy Sarzo (bass guitar) in a project called M.A.R.S. The group released a lone album entitled Project: Driver in 1986, which received much critical praise, but the next year each member went their separate ways. Rock then reunited with friend Chris Impellitteri and recorded the self-titled debut EP (1987) of the latter's band Impellitteri. However, he was also committed to another band named Joshua, so he could not continue with the band at the time. Rock recorded the Intense Defense album with Joshua, which was characterized by the editor of HM Magazine as being "probably the best melodic metal album in the universe." He also worked on other projects (Dennis Cameron's Angelica & Driver) which gave him knowledge of international musicians that would serve him well later. After leaving Joshua in 1988, Rock formed M.A.R.S. offshoot Driver with two other former Joshua members, bassist Emil Lech-Brando and keyboardist Greg Shultz, former Jag Panzer drummer Reynold 'Butch' Carlson, and guitarist Roy Z; Z, Carlson and Lech-Brando had previously played together in Gypsy Moreno. Driver would release a 5-song cassette-only EP in 1990 but broke up the following year when Rock got a call from Chris Impellitteri and decided to once again join his band. Rock would stay on as lead singer until 2000 during which time Impellitteri released five successful albums. In 2000, Rock decided to pursue his own solo career and parted ways with Impellitteri amicably. That same year, he released his first solo album called Rage of Creation. The album received critical praise and Rock has gone on, releasing three more albums (Eyes of Eternity, Holy Hell, Garden of Chaos). Rock's first solo disc 'Rage of Creation' was recorded at Joe Floyd's Silver Cloud studio. As a result of that collaboration, Floyd asked Rock if he would provide vocals for a revamped lineup of the legendary US metal band Warrior. They released 'The Code of Life' in 2001. It is arguably some of the heaviest music Rock has ever performed and received critical acclaim in Europe and Asia. Eventually, Rock would reform Driver with Roy Z and Reynold Carlson and release the Sons of Thunder album in 2008, which consisted of re-recordings of their 1990 EP along with other unreleased songs written at the time. A second Driver album, Countdown, was released in 2012. In May 2008 it was announced that Rock reunited once more with Impellitteri. Their new album, Wicked Maiden, was released in April 2009 and since then they have gone onto release two more studio albums along with the newly released “Wake The Beast-The Impellitteri Anthology”, which is a 3 CD set of the bands favorite tracks from throughout their career. The band will hopefully see a new studio release in 2023 and Rock has some other projects in the works as well so until those all see the light of day please have a listen to the brand new podcast interview with the legendary Rob Rock!

Killer Dwarfs is a Canadian hard rock band that formed in late 1981 in Oshawa, Ontario, and enjoyed success in their native Canada in the 1980s. The band is known for its offbeat sense of humour and was nominated for two Juno Awards during its career. Killer Dwarfs were sometimes compared to NWOBHM acts such as Iron Maiden and Saxon.Before The Killer Dwarfs formed, the band consisted of Darrell Millar, Bryce Trewin, and Ange Fodero in a group called Sphinx. After Sphinx, Russ Graham entered the picture and they became the Killer Dwarfs. The original line-up consisted of Russ Graham (vocals) and Darrell Millar (drums), along with Bryce Trewin (guitar) and Ange Fodero (bass).Trewin and Fodero left the band shortly afterward and were replaced by guitarist Mike Hall and bassist Ron Mayer. This line-up released the band's breakthrough 1986 album Stand Tall, followed by Big Deal in 1988 and Dirty Weapons in 1990. The band received much recognition in Canada and the United States during the 80's, and its videos were in regular rotation at MuchMusic & MTV. Gerry Finn replaced Hall in 1992, and the album Method to the Madness was released later that year.The band toured for several years but then parted ways. During the mid-to-late 1990s, the band members pursued other projects. Graham formed a band called Penny Black, and Hall and Finn both became members of the Canadian metal band Helix. Millar went on to drum for the southern rock band Laidlaw before forming his own Bon Scott era AC/DC tribute band Autobon, which went on to become Automan.ca, which provided Millar with a vehicle for recording original material. Mayer became a businessman and moved to the U.S. In 2001, however, the line-up of Graham, Millar, Hall and Mayer reunited to tour across North America. Recordings from these shows make up the live album Reunion of Scribes: Live 2001.'. The band again went on hiatus until 2013, when Graham, Millar, Finn and Mayer released the album Start @ One which had been previously recorded in 1993. Also in 2013.The band has been touring since then, playing high profile festival as well as club and casino gigs and are working on new material which will hopefully culminate in a new album sometime in 2023. Darrell Millar is also an author with two books currently under his resume and part two of his autobiography is due in 2023 as well.

In this episode The Jersey Guys talk with professional rock photographer Frank White and veteran metal singer Alan Tecchio, who have just co-authored a brand new book titled JERSEY METAL – A History of the Garden State’s Heavy Metal Scene – Volume One (1969-1986). In Jersey Metal, Frank and Alan team up to offer a unique, autobiographical perspective on NJ’s Heavy Metal music history through photos, ads, interviews and band bios. Jersey Metal Volume One 1969 to 1986 covers the early years to the mid 1980's of the formation of Heavy Metal here in New Jersey and how it became such an important part of the music scene in the Garden State. The book covers the Metal scene when bands started out as cover bands that rose to worldwide successful acts to local cover Metal bands, Metal tribute bands, original local Metal bands, and Metal bands that toured throughout the state over the years. There is also respect paid to the venues these groups frequented, the radio stations, record companies, stores and the Jersey shore that all helped grow New Jersey’s wild Heavy Metal scene. In Frank’s words, “Jersey Metal is for all fans of the metal scene from the Garden State and beyond.” Adds Alan, “Putting this book together brought back so many great memories for me and Frank. It is our hope that the same reaction will trigger interest in the book from all the people (fans and artists alike) who were a part of NJ’s Metal scene in one way or another. Even if someone was not directly a part of it, this book should still be an interesting look at a vibrant scene that spawned some amazing careers.”

Joshua is a Christian hard rock/AOR band that formed in 1980 and is centered on guitarist Joshua Perahia. Despite being based in Los Angeles, CA they are probably best known outside of the United States.The band's first release was entitled The Hand Is Quicker Than the Eye, which referred to Perahia's guitar skills and songwriting ability, was released by Enigma Records in 1983. The single "November Is Going Away" was the band's biggest hit, achieving No. 1 status in Japan. Perahia had a religious experience at a Hal Lindsey–lead Bible study in 1983, and converted to Protestant Christianity from his Greek Orthodox upbringing.Perahia put together a new band for his 2nd album, Surrender, which included singer Jeff Fenholt. Surrender was released in 1985. Lyrically, the album marked a change in the band's style to lyrics which were evangelical in nature. Rob Rock was involved with their third album on RCA Records, Intense Defense. In 1988, Intense Defense, which was recorded at Dierks Studios and produced initially by Eddie Kramer and then Dieter Dierks (Scorpions fame) was characterized by the editor of HM Magazine as being "probably the best AOR melodic metal album in the universe." It sold well worldwide, but not in the United States. In 1995, the group re-formed and they released one album under the name M Pire, Chapter One, though it was never released in the US. The band then expanded its name back to Joshua Perahia. The addition of Joshua's last name was to avoid confusion as so many bands were using the name Joshua at the time. The band lacked a permanent vocalist and hired Alex Ligertwood of Santana to fill the spot on the follow-up Something to Say in 2001. However, while in production, the band recruited Jerry Gabriel and re-recorded the vocals. As a result, the album (except four tracks) contains Gabriel's lead vocals, and Ligertwood's vocals are available on a re-release. One song, "The First and the Last", appeared in the Larry Buchanan–directed movie The Copper Scroll of Mary Magdalene in 2004.2012 saw the release of the band’s latest work, entitled “Resurrection” and featured vocals from Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring of Fire, Shining Black, etc.). While Joshua still writes music today for a possible future release he has shifted his focus to his son and their passion for vintage muscle cars and exotic cars as well. It’s a passion that was ignited when Joshua was just 13 years old. The fact that Joshua still writes music means that fans can be hopeful of seeing a new recording in the future but for now please enjoy this episode of The Jersey Guys Podcast!

Jeff Martin is an American musician, singer and drummer who has sung for the bands Racer X, Bad Dog, Surgical Steel and St. Michael and has played drums for the bands Badlands, the Michael Schenker Group, Blindside Blues Band, Red Sea, St. Michael and The Electric Fence, a side project with Paul Gilbert and Russ Parrish (aka Satchel from Steel Panther). Jeff played drums om albums and tours for UFO, Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, and Dokken. He played drums in Surgical Steel before switching to lead vocals and was the drummer/lead vocalist for St. Michael, both Phoenix, AZ-based bands that at one time featured future Badlands cohort Greg Chaisson. Martin also released a solo album in 2006, The Fool, featuring the guitar talents of Paul Gilbert and Michael Schenker and has also sung backing vocals for Judas Priest and The Scream and he appeared in the 1985 movie Thunder Alley, starring Leif Garrett, with his band Surgical Steel. Badlands, of course, featured the talents of ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee and was signed to Atlantic Records. Jeff played drums of the bands 2nd and eventual 3rd releases while also touring on with them on the “Voodoo Highway” tour. Jeff has some of the best rock n’ roll stories, many of which could have been compared to Spinal Tap! So check out episode# 38 for some of those great stories and his career!

Vain started out as a glam metal band from the San Francisco, CA area. After recording a demo, Davy Vain founded the band in 1986, adding Dylana Nova Scott (aka Jamie Scott), Danny West, Ashley Mitchell and drummer Tom Rickard to the lineup. They signed with Island Records in 1988, before releasing their debut album the following year, titled No Respect, which peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200.Though they recorded a second album, Vain were released by Island in 1991, with West and Rickard departing the same year. Following the addition of both Shawn Rorie and former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, Vain renamed themselves Road Crew. However, they also disbanded in 1991. Vain reformed in 1993 and went through a number of lineup changes for the release of their next two studio albums. By 2005, Scott and West had returned to the band, while Rickard would rejoin them in 2009.To date, Vain have released seven studio albums; No Respect (1989); All Those Strangers (1991); Move On It (1993); Fade (1995); On The Line (2005); Enough Rope (2011), and Rolling With The Punches (2017) along with a Davy Vain solo album that featured the core of the Vain band also.Ashley Mitchell, the bassist on every Vain album, including that Davy Vain solo album, talks with The Jersey Guys for this episode and he shares some great stories about the bands history and what they are currently up so be sure to check this episode out!

Louis St. August of MASS was born in Medford, MA and his love for music all started at the very early age of four while watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. From there on, the love for all music began from Motown to Heavy Metal! At the age of ten, his family moved to Revere, Massachusetts. Already playing the drums and singing, Louis recruited his new neighbor Gene D'Itria. Gene wanted to play the drums too but Louis said, “No, you’re going to play guitar.” Heck, he needed a guitarist, right? So Gene took the confirmation money he had just received and bought himself an electric guitar; and so it began. Louis and Gene have now been performing and writing songs for over 40 years. At the age of 15, Louis left the drums and decided to become the frontman for his band called Axes in 1978. By 1981, the band added drummer Joey "Vee" Vadala and changed the name to MASS. Now having recorded over eight studio albums, and releasing singles and Christmas EP's on major labels such as A&M Records, RCA Records, Enigma Records, and Escape Music the band has officially sold over half a million records worldwide. Louis has also lent his voice to other projects and bands such as the "Liberty & Justice" project and has also appeared as a special guest singer on the band Boston’s 2013 release, “Life, Love & Hope", singing on the opening track "Heaven and Earth". In 2012, Louis won the "Best Male Vocalist Of The Year" award presented by Limelight Magazine. Now having performed over a thousand shows all across America and having the opportunity to work with legendary producers such like Tom Allom (Judas Preist) Tony Platt (Led Zeppelin) and John Rollo (Joe Cocker), to name a few, it has been a lifelong dream come true for Louis. Since the early '80s, MASS has continued performing and releasing new music all along the way with their latest acclaimed release “When 2 Worlds Collide" on Escape Music (2018). MASS is in the beginning stages of creating new music that will hopefully see the light of day in the not too distant future but for now check out episode # 36 of The Jersey Guys Podcast with Louis St. August of MASS and check out www.massrocks.com to keep to date on the band’s happenings!

Holy Soldier was a Christian hard rock/metal band from Los Angeles, CA.The band was originally formed in early 1985 by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer. They gained a strong local following before signing to A&M Records in 1989. Holy Soldier was initially noted for their strong evangelical focus, although they regularly played to secular audiences. For a time they held one of the largest attendance records at Gazzarri's, a notable nightclub on the Hollywood circuit. In 1989 they signed to Myrrh Records, an imprint of Word/A&M, as that label's first hard rock act. Their self-titled debut, produced by David Zaffiro, was released in 1990 to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success. The band garnered two Dove Awards in 1991, in the hard rock song and album of the year categories. After heavy touring the band lost two members – lead vocalist Steven Patrick, and guitarist Michael Cutting.They replaced the departing members with Eric Wayne and Scott Soderstrom respectively while continuing to tour. Wayne exited when Steven Patrick returned in 1991, but would again rejoin the group in 1995. Two years later, the band followed up their debut with “Last Train”. While praised, it was not a commercial success. Although “Last Train” charted, peaking at the No. 10 slot on Billboard's CCM chart, the album did not meet the sales expectations of the label unfortunately.The band experienced personnel changes when Steven Patrick again departed. They again replaced him with Seattle-based vocalist Eric Wayne, who helped move the band into the current grunge sound seen in the marketplace at that time. Wayne's lower vocal register caused Holy Soldier to be compared in the alternative hard rock and grunge market with the likes of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Temple of the Dog, and Soundgarden. After Holy Soldier's reinvention and extensive touring, the band was signed to ForeFront Records in 1994. Once again recruiting the production skills of David Zaffiro, they released “Promise Man” in 1995 and it returned the band to critical acclaim within the Christian music circuit. Despite the success of “Promise Man”, In 1997, after a short hiatus, bassist Andy Robbins independently produced on his own boutique label (Spaceport Records) and a live retrospective album featuring both current frontman Eric Wayne and original vocalist Steven Patrick was released. After the release of “Encore”.In 2005, the original Holy Soldier lineup reunited briefly. But again, Steven Patrick's reunion with the band was extremely brief. The band played only a handful of shows and the rest was history. Jamie Cramer is currently working again with David Zaffiro and looking forward to releasing new music in 2023 so keep an eye out!

In this episode of The Jersey Guys Podcast we welcome back special co-host TJ Coyne as we each share our Top 25 albums of all time! Tom, Mark & TJ let everyone in on the albums that mean the most to them so take a listen and see what you think. Maybe some of ours will also be some of yours! In addition to each listing our Top 25, we also throw in some honorable mentions and then have a general discussion on some choices that may have surprised the hosts. It was a fun episode so be sure to check it out!

Ronnie Mancuso is not only a guitarist and songwriter for the band Beggars & Thieves but is also COO of the Bootlegger Italian Bistro, a staple on the Las Vegas scene for many years, the owner of a recording studio, a live concert venue and a writer of jingles and music for the Fox TV network amongst others. He’s a man of many talents and endeavors without a doubt. Having wrote and recorded a total of four Beggars & Thieves albums (and one EP) to date with longtime bandmate and singer Louie Merlino, Ronnie has also toured with Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel and worked with former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley too, so episode # 33 is a good one packed with lots of great stories from Ronnie about his career and life.Mancuso is always writing songs so there may even be new Beggars & Thieves music on the horizon but for now check out episode 33 of The Jersey Guys Podcast!