Formed by Jeff Scott Soto and guitarist George Bernhardt (Lee Aaron, Beau Nasty), SLAM struggled in the early Nineties to secured a record deal, and while the band recorded a lot of material the members of Slam would go on to projects with varying degrees of success and a unique band with boundless possibilities would go by the wayside.
However, the few cassettes being shopped seemed to fall into non-industry hands and the Slam demos were shared worldwide becoming an underground phenomenon for the then defunct group.
Thirty years after the recordings, specialty label 20th Century Music, (with cooperation of Soto & Bernhardt who dug up all the digital finals and had them remastered) has unleashed these recordings to the world at large. Sixteen tracks in total, the songs represent Slam’s demo/studio work from 1991 – 1993.
In the early Nineties the the fusion of metal with funk was in full swing with albums from Extreme, Dan Reed Network, Living Colour, Kingofthehill and others seeing solid coverage in the press and airplay everywhere you could possibly look. The combination would prove to a short lived phenomenon that appealed to not only the headbanging nightclub goer but also to those that liked to get their groove on a bit whilst ‘banging their heads’.
These bands had one thing in common: incredible musical chops.
Enter the Los Angeles’ funky, upbeat, musically bone crushing quartet, Slam.
Slam was led by the already highly respected Jeff Scott Soto (who, at this point, had recorded with Yngwie Malmsteen and Eyes and had just begun his journey with the Swedish group Talisman) and lead guitar extraordinaire George Bernhardt, known for his work with Canadians Hanover Fist, Lee Aaron and most recent to that timeline, Beau Nasty.
After a few hit and miss personnel, they found their way over to Slam in short order with bassist Ricky Wolking and drummer Mark Bistany.
Explains Soto, “George and I had the vision, the songs and the intention… finding the right cast of musicians and personalities took a minute but we finally landed on it all sadly just before the demise of the band.”
Hitting the Los Angeles clubs with the subtlety of a hammer to the skull, the band showcased for interested labels, none of which could make a full commitment to the band.
“We knew we had the goods but the music scene was shifting so quickly back then we just seemed to be a little late to the table at the time,” details Bernhardt.
With the Holy Grail out of reach, Slam disbanded.
Now all these unreleased recordings are being put together into this CD. Included amongst the fifteen original numbers is a remarkable cover of the Billboard Top 5 single, “Wildflower” from the Canadian act Skylark.
“George called me one morning saying he heard a song on the radio he loved as a kid and hadn’t heard in ages thinking it would be a great vehicle for my voice if we covered it, I couldn’t agree more!” recounts Soto.
It’s all strong material, very well recorded for being demos, and listening these tracks now one guess why Slam didn’t get a record deal, at least from an indie label. And there’s Jeff Scott Soto at the mic.
"Love Parade"
"Body Language"
"Lonely Shade Of Blue"
"What U Want It"
"Wastin' Our Time"
"Dear God"
"Candy"
"Dance The Body Elektrik"
"Funk Me"
"4 U"
"B-Jam"
"Wildflower"
"People"
"Y U Doggin'"
"Monogamy & Lust"
"EverybodyWantWhatTheyCantHave"
Jeff Scott Soto - Lead vocals
George Bernhardt - Guitars
Ricky Wolking - Bass
Mark Bistany - Drums, percussion
Slam – (Jeff Scott Soto) – Slam 2023
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Thanks so much.