BAND CURRENTLY WORKING ON NEW STUDIO ALBUMSET FOR RELEASE IN 2007
July 13, 2006 -- Hot off the presses former McAuley Schenker Group (MSG) frontmanRobin McAuley has replaced Jim Jamison as the new lead vocalist for Survivor.
Jamison first joined the band in 1984 after original lead singer Dave Bickler encounteredvoice problems before a tour supporting the bands CAUGHT IN THE GAME album.
Bickler was a part of the group for their first four albums, SURVIVOR, PREMONITION,EYE OF THE TIGER and CAUGHT IN THE GAME. Survivor experienced their big breakthroughin 1982, when they were asked by Sylvester Stallone to provide the theme song forhis movie "Rocky III. Enter "Eye of the Tiger," which soon turnedinto one of the biggest hits of the bands career. It had an enormous impact onthe Billboard charts, soaring to #1 for seven weeks. The song won the band a Grammy®Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal, was voted "BestNew Song" by the Peoples Choice Awards and received an Academy® Award nomination.Thanks to the songs success and another Top 20 single, "American Heartbeat,"the album EYE OF THE TIGER stormed to #2 on Billboards Top 200 Albums chart. The song remains a cultural phenomenon. It came in at #18 on the Top 100 Singleschart in Billboards 100th Anniversary issue and its well over the 300,000 markon iTunes, where its currently holding strong at #9 on their Top Soundtrack chart.
The bands first album with Jamison, VITAL SIGNS, was another huge success for theband, peaking at #16 on Billboards Top 200 Albums chart thanks to the hits "ICan't Hold Back" (which hit #13 on Billboards Hot 100 Singles chart), "HighOn You" (#8) and "The Search Is Over" (#4). The record made Jamisonan instant favorite and the writing team of Jim Peterik/Frankie Sullivan were solidlyfooted into the business of writing hits. VITAL SIGNS is still praised by fans and critics alike as one of the best AOR albums of all time.
Between 1993-1996 the band re-teamed with Bickler after Jamison left the band topursue a solo career. Fast forward to 2000, when Bickler left the group once againand ultimately resulted in Sullivan re-establishing a partnership with Jamison tohead up Survivor once more. The band continued to retain their popularity, playingconcerts in North America, Europe, and Asia year after year.
The band has crossed paths with McAuley here and there over the years, but now isfinally the right time for them to join forces. As guitarist Frankie Sullivan explains,I first met Robin in 1988 when my good friend and Grammy® Award-winning engineer,Frank Filipetti, felt in his gut that Robin and I would be really comfortable togetherand that meeting would lead to great times and great music. Frank had just completedworking on MSGs ANYTIME album, which included the Top Ten hit Anytime, which Robin wrote. At the same time, Frank was mastering Survivors TOO HOT TO SLEEP.It was some twist of fate, though I will tell you Frank Filipetti has one great gut!
He continues, When we made the decision to replace Jamison, I had no idea what we would do. Then it hit me--Robin McAuley! Is he available? How can he possiblybe available?! Can I be lucky yet again in my career to work with such a talentedsinger? Well, the short answer, he was available, we gave him the songs of a setlist we would perform, he came to the Windy City and blew our socks off! Robin is a pure pleasure to work with and hes such a great person. With Robin, what you see is what you get. And boy do you get it!
This is assured to put the bite back into the tiger and the Survivor camp is readyto break loose from its cage. Im very excited at this opportunity to sing forSurvivor, says McAuley. I can only hope the Survivor fans give me a fighting chance. Frankie and I have worked together in the past I am extremely excited tostart writing with him again and playing with a great bunch of guys. This new Survivorpromises to be full of energy, and with such a stable of awesome tunes to pick from,who knows what each show will bring. Im ready!
Drummer Marc Droubay adds, We have played the same set list for five years. Havinga singer of Robins caliber allows us to change up the set list and give the fansthe opportunity to hear songs live they have asked to hear for years! Songs theyhave never heard live before.
The new and current line-upRobin McAuley (vocals), Frankie Sullivan (guitar), MarcDroubay (drums), Chris Grove (guitar/keyboards) and Billy Ozzello (bass)are hardat work on a new studio album which they hope to release in 2007.
So we embark on a totally new Survivor, says an ecstatic Sullivan. One that for the first time in many years is based on music and performing. Robin loves thefans and is no doubt one of the best front men I have ever known! I guess it's the luck of two Irishmen, McAuley/Sullivan finally taking its place in time and where it belongs, making music and making fans happy!
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:30 (seventeen years ago) link
He continues, “When we made the decision to replace Jamison, I had no idea whatwe would do. Then it hit me--Robin McAuley! Is he available? How can he possiblybe available?! Can I be lucky yet again in my career to work with such a talentedsinger? Well, the short answer, he was available, we gave him the songs of a setlist we would perform, he came to the Windy City and blew our socks off! Robinis a pure pleasure to work with and he’s such a great person. With Robin, whatyou see is what you get. And boy do you get it!”
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:36 (seventeen years ago) link
Drummer Marc Droubay adds, ?gWe have played the same set list for five years. Havinga singer of Robin?fs caliber allows us to change up the set list and give the fansthe opportunity to hear songs live they have asked to hear for years! Songs theyhave never heard live before.?h
YOU FUCKING TWAT
― Matt #2 (Matt #2), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:48 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 14 July 2006 00:52 (seventeen years ago) link
― Matt #2 (Matt #2), Friday, 14 July 2006 01:01 (seventeen years ago) link
I don't wanna fucking live any more
― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Friday, 14 July 2006 01:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 01:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― timmy tannin (pompous), Friday, 14 July 2006 01:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Friday, 14 July 2006 03:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Friday, 14 July 2006 03:41 (seventeen years ago) link
http://www.chord-and-sorcery.com/Graphics/Images/survivor/MiscJimi/jimijamison_portrait.jpeg
― timmy tannin (pompous), Friday, 14 July 2006 03:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― pleased to mitya (mitya), Friday, 14 July 2006 04:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― harvey (harvey1), Friday, 14 July 2006 07:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Friday, 14 July 2006 10:50 (seventeen years ago) link
― dave q (listerine), Friday, 14 July 2006 11:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Friday, 14 July 2006 11:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 14 July 2006 11:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Friday, 14 July 2006 13:43 (seventeen years ago) link
It was totally a chart hit, I remember it as the follow-up to "Eye of the Tiger," god help me.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 14 July 2006 13:49 (seventeen years ago) link
um, really?
― O'Connor (OConnorScribe), Friday, 14 July 2006 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link
Here's their review of the new (!) Survivor album:
SURVIVOR - REACH (2006, FRONTIERS)Jimi Jamison - vocals; Frankie Sullivan - guitars, vocals; Marc Droubay - drums; Barry Dunaway - bass; Chris Grove - keyboards
BackgroundNot counting Jimi Jamison's splendid 'Empires', it's been seventeen years since the release of Survivor's last studio album 'Too Hot To Sleep'. It is unclear whether Jim Peterik left the band at the start of the 90's, amid a legal storm and acrimony towards the surviving members. In any case, 'Reach' seems to have breathed new life into what seemed like a band incapable of patching up its own internal tensions, only to carry on their impressive recorded legacy with dignity and style. Little wonder then that Survivor achieved their goal of putting out a lasting release, as 'Reach' sees two core members in Frankie Sullivan and Marc Droubay back in the fold, a second generation member in Jimi Jamison rejoining them, plus two-excellent-newcomers in bassist Barry Dunaway (previously sighted with the Pat Travers Band, Dokken, Saraya and Yngwie J Malmsteen), plus keyboardist Chris Grove. With a well restored center of balance, 'Reach' doesn't disappoint, and in fact...
The Songs.. there's clearly an aura of magic surrounding the marvellous title track. Marc Droubay's exuberant and incisive drum fills have never sounded so good, Frankie Sullivan's sense of rhythm is as always unmistakable while Jimi Jamison's voice is nearly perfect. The song maintains a very catchy feel from the very start and Frankie Sullivan's solo enhances the emotional factor to the nth power. 'Fire Makes Steel' shows a different tenor. It has been rumoured this song is originally from the recording sessions of an eponymous recording project which remains unreleased to this day. Stylistically, it's very close to the 'Empires' album, with Jamison shining all the way through. 'Nevertheless' is possibly one of the poppier but modern songs on the album, featuring a chorus which has a lot in common with latter-day Night Ranger (refer 'Sign Of The Times' from the 'Seven' album). A welcome surprise for yours truly, but maybe a not so welcome change in the classic Survivor sound for the tout-court traditionalists, nevertheless.. a very good song! 'Gimmie The Word' is another reminder of the 'Empires' glories. A darker, moodier mid-tempo with a stellar performance by Jamison and some seriously scorching riffing by Sullivan. And what about the ballads? 'Seconds Away' and 'One More Chance' will surely stand as reliable indicators of the ups and downs of love circa the beginning of the 21st century and for many years to come!
In SummaryIf Toto have delivered one monster album with 'Falling In Between', then 'Reach' stands only half a step below from that. It is a curious move on Frontiers' part to have two all-time AOR heavyweights on their roster, and I have absolutely no clue as to how much Serafino & Co. have invested on 'Reach'. I wouldn't want to get too political but if Toto have so far benefited from lavish promotion work, then Survivor should deserve an equally big and tasty piece of the pie judging by this effort..
― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Friday, 14 July 2006 14:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 14:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Friday, 14 July 2006 14:52 (seventeen years ago) link
Comedy gold! Thank you for cheering up my work day to the nth power!
― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― M@tt He1geson, Rendolent Ding-Dong (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link
>>a chorus which has a lot in common with latter-day Night Ranger.
I had no clue there IS a latter-day Night Ranger.
― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:20 (seventeen years ago) link
!
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:30 (seventeen years ago) link
― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:33 (seventeen years ago) link
― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Friday, 14 July 2006 15:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 16:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Friday, 14 July 2006 16:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 16:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 14 July 2006 17:03 (seventeen years ago) link
PS: Am I the only person who loves the "Vehicle" follow-up from Ides of March, "L.A. Goodbye"?
― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Friday, 14 July 2006 19:02 (seventeen years ago) link
Yeah, but only when he has a good singer and good material. I suffered through a performance of the McCauley-Schenker Group at the infamous Allentown Airport Music Hall. Everyone had to endure the original crap from the recent album until a couple UFO tunes were unfurled at the very end. There's a world of difference between Survivor material and that. I'd consider it a step up for Robin McCauley. If you're a singer, you really don't want to be in a Michael Schenker-led band.
― Urnst Kouch (Urnst Kouch), Friday, 14 July 2006 19:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― richard wood johnson (rwj), Friday, 14 July 2006 21:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― harvey (harvey1), Friday, 14 July 2006 21:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― richard wood johnson (rwj), Friday, 14 July 2006 22:05 (seventeen years ago) link
Jamison first joined the band in 1984 after original lead singer Dave Bickler encounteredvoice problems before a tour supporting the band’s CAUGHT IN THE GAME album.
Hm. I always wondered what happened to that first lead singer.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:08 (fourteen years ago) link
I just heard Burning Heart on XM Radio's 80s station.
Total 80s MOR rock, and what a study in empty, hit-chasing songwriting. No hooks; everything amped up to compensate for the lack of ideas; big booming gated drums; every lyric a non sequitur or cliché.
I love that song.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:13 (fourteen years ago) link
Dave Bickler is now best known as the guy in those "Real Men of Genius" radio commercials singing the ridiculous "rock dude" zingers behind the announcer. Better than anything he ever did with Survivor!
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Does he still wear that cool beret?
http://www.letras.com/photos/a1855bio_survivor.jpg
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:20 (fourteen years ago) link
Dunno.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x0MbVYVE2A
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:25 (fourteen years ago) link
omg he's that guy? LOL.
"That's right motherf---k . . . Shout it out loud! . . . Reverse psychologyyyy. . . F-U."
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:29 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p28esasA9KU
Honk honk beep beep hooooonk.
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:32 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik6QzSgrqZ4
I'd forgotten they actually did some for tv. "Everywhere a splish splash!"
― Johnny Fever, Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:49 (fourteen years ago) link
Those ads are genius.
― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:52 (fourteen years ago) link
Jun 06, 2011Question:
Loved the show at the Soaring Eagel Casino!! You Rocked the house. Can't wait for you to come back to Michigan!!!-- Heather
Answer:
We can't wait either! The fans were amazing and we had a great time. Hope to be back soon.
http://www.survivormusic.com/index.cfm/pagename/qna
― buzza, Thursday, 7 July 2011 22:50 (twelve years ago) link
oh wow goldmine
Question:When are you coming to the Fraze in Kettering, OH?-- D*vid NaglAnswer:Check the tour portion of the site and it will let you know when and where we will be.Thanks!
― love in a grain elevator (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 7 July 2011 22:53 (twelve years ago) link
I deeply appreciate this NYT story for having a photo of Survivor from 1979 as the lead graphic:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/02/04/arts/SUB-SONG-JP-1/SUB-SONG-JP-1-articleLarge.jpg
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 4 February 2012 18:32 (twelve years ago) link
There you stood, that'll teach yaTo look so good and feel so right
― buzza, Saturday, 4 February 2012 19:22 (twelve years ago) link
In the last month, Mr. Gingrich has been accused twice of violating copyright laws, first for playing “How Do You Like Me Now?” by the Heavy at a rally in Tampa, Fla., and then for using “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor at several political events, going back to 2009.
That is hilarious. What music should Republicans use?
― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว aka Hucci Gucci Pucci (Mount Cleaners) (Mount Cleaners), Sunday, 5 February 2012 02:29 (twelve years ago) link
RIP Jimi Jamison :(
― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 3 September 2014 11:03 (nine years ago) link