Pride of Lions is ready to unleash their 8th studio album which is appropriately entitled “Unbridled”. Naturally, we wouldn’t miss the chance of getting in touch with Jim Peterik who was as gracious as ever while he kept a small surprise for us in the end…
Interview: Sakis Nikas
Rockpages.gr: Hey Jim…always with a guitar on your hand. That’s priceless.
Jim Peterik: Yeah. You know what? I gotta have that guitar with me. In fact, I gotta get my pick.
Rockpages.gr: The last time that we did an interview together, you played for us “Hold On Loosely”, a song that you wrote for 38 Special.
Jim Peterik: That’s one of my favorite songs that I wrote with Don Barnes.
Rockpages.gr: Jim, I gotta be honest with you, my friend. I follow your career since the mid-eighties. When you first started Pride of Lions back in 2003, I thought that it would be just a project. I thought that it would not be a regular band. You know what I mean? And then 23 years later, you’re still going strong. Did you expect that it would last so long?
Jim Peterik: You know, you can’t predict anything. You just take it a day at a time. An album at a time. You know, we had no master plan. But we loved working with each other. Toby and me. There was definitely the right vibe. And we kept it going. And Frontiers (Records) has been so supportive and Serafino (Perugino) would call me and say: “Maestro, it’s time for another Pride of Lions record. And one by one, suddenly, I don’t know. This is like our eighth album, I believe.
Rockpages.gr: Yes, it’s actually the eighth studio album. And if you just think about it, it’s the same number of studio albums that Survivor released…which is crazy!
Jim Peterik: Yeah, we’re going to keep going. Toby and I, we talk all the time, and he always delivers the goods with his voice. You know, when Jimi Jamison passed away, I never thought I’d be able to be inspired by a voice again. I mean, no one can touch Jimi. I mean, he was the best singer I’ve ever worked with. But Toby came along and he filled that gap. You know, the guy can reach any note that I write. And you know me, I love those soaring high melodies.
Rockpages.gr: I know! The new Pride of Lions record follows the same pattern, the same style, if you wish. Which I really enjoy. Is it a case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Jim Peterik: Well, kinda…you’re right. But you got to realize they’re songs that come right from the heart. And, you know, I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. I’m trying to please myself and please all the people that have followed Pride of Lions…try to be true to that vision. That’s my goal.
Rockpages.gr: Let me say, though, that maybe you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with Pride of Lions, but you helped inventing the wheel of the melodic rock genre back in the late 70s and early 80s.
Jim Peterik: Well yeah I mean that’s a whole different story. But, you know, it started with the Ides of March. And the Ides of March are still going strong. But then, when I left the Ides of March, I did a solo album in 1976 and toured with Boston and then I decided that it was time to put together another band. I had just seen Frankie Sullivan on stage playing with a group called Mariah, which I wrote songs for, and suddenly it was me and Frankie, Dave Bickler, Dennis Johnson and Gary Smith, and that evolved from there. But, you know, Survivor is very important in my whole lifetime.
Rockpages.gr: I’m getting back to the record. My personal highlight, my favorite cut on the album is the song “Edge of Forever”, especially from a lyrical standpoint. I know that you’re always an optimistic songwriter. But, Jim, do you really believe that the world can become a better place? Look at the world. Look at the world leaders, the presidents, the wars all around the globe. Maybe it’s the worst time in history, I don’t know.
Jim Peterik: It takes a lot for me to write a song that isn’t all sunshine and light but I couldn’t hold my tongue. You know, standing at the edge of forever. We got to do some changes and it’s not going to happen overnight. And it’s not going to happen without our participation. We got to change the world. We need to make some changes. That’s it really…and that’s what the song “Edge of Forever” is all about.
Rockpages.gr: Also, Jim, the recording team, which is very, very important to me, for the new Pride of Lions record remains almost the same. Larry Millas has done a splendid work in the overall sonic department. Tell me all about it.
Jim Peterik: You are absolutely right. Well, I’ve known Larry since third grade. He was always the guy with a Sony tape recorder and he would be recording everything. I am talking about the Ides of March rehearsals back in the day. He has developed into an amazing producer and songwriter. He’s my right hand and, we’re a great team together.
Rockpages.gr: I know that your schedule is full but are you going to do maybe select shows for the promotion of the album?
Jim Peterik: Definitely. I think we’re. Serafino just asked us to come to play in Milan, and, they can’t announce that, but that’s that’s going to happen. We’re planning that. So he just asked me for another project where he wants to kind of get me back together with certain former members of Survivor and do a whole album of Survivor songs, which, it’s very interesting. I just got that note from Serafino.
Rockpages.gr: Getting back with former members of Survivor for an album…You know, of course, that I have to ask more about it…
Jim Peterik (laughs): Well, I can’t give you that because I don’t have a concrete answer yet. I haven’t even called them yet. But it’s on the back burner. It’s going to happen.
Rockpages.gr: Fair enough. Jim, you are one of the last of a dying breed, really. I’d say one of the last songwriters that captures that nostalgic feeling…you know that optimistic feeling. Have you noticed any new talent in the music business nowadays?
Jim Peterik: Have you?
Rockpages.gr: No, not really.
Jim Peterik: Exactly. I didn’t want to be the first to say. Not really. I’m not sure either, but I’ll tell you what. It sounds self-serving, but my son Colin Peterik is just about to release a new album, and, I’ve watched him grow up, you know, from an embryo. Now he’s 36 and doing amazing music. So keep your eyes open for Colin because he taps into a lot of what I do and then modernizes a little bit. He just got signed to a record deal. So I’m very excited.
Rockpages.gr: I will definitely keep an eye on him. Jim, you have worked with so many artists throughout the decades. If you had to point down the best one, one of the highlights of your career which one would that be. Oh yeah, Jimi Jamison is excluded, by the way!
Jim Peterik: (laughs): I would have to say Don Barnes from 38 Special. I remember the first time that we wrote together…it was like a blind date really. We’re sitting in my studio at my other house. It was a kitchen, really. You know, there’s something about writing sessions with people that you just met, and it’s like, kind of like a blind date, you know? And, it’s really funny how it started. I suppose. Anybody got any titles? And Don goes: “well, I got one… “Hold on loosely”! That was amazing because I was dating a girl named Karen who ultimately became my wife for 53 years, but I was getting a little too, pushy and she said, back off, you know. So that kind of formed that idea. I leave the room and I started putting those elements together. I came back and I presented the bones of “Hold on Loosely”.
Rockpages.gr: Jim, I will mention a name, and you have to use one word. Just one word to characterize that person. All right. Simple enough.
Jim Peterik: Alright…let’s go.
Rockpages.gr: Toby Hitchcock.
Jim Peterik: Vibrant.
Rockpages.gr: Larry Millas.
Jim Peterik: Calm and collective. That’s two words.
Rockpages.gr: No worries…Sylvester Stallone.
Jim Peterik: My hero.
Rockpages.gr: Jimi Jamison.
Jim Peterik: Best voice…ever!
Rockpages.gr: Last, but certainly not least. Would you change anything, anything at all regarding your career and the decisions that you made throughout the years?
Jim Peterik: Well, I’m kind of a believer that things happen for a reason. When I left The Ides of March, it was kind of a bold move, and sometimes I regretted it. But I knew that there were other horizons that I wanted to reach for. That’s when I did my solo album and that didn’t do so well. I wanted to redo that with other musicians, and that’s when I got together with Frankie and Dave and formed Survivor. We had something really special, the music was there and that was the main thing. So…I wouldn’t change a single thing.
