CALIFORNIA ROCK NEWS

On April 27, 2016, the music industry’s elite came together on one stage to pay homage to the late music icon Prince during a special edition of SOUNDCHECK Live at Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood. The weekly live music event produced by Steve Ferlazzo (Avril Lavigne, DramaGods) and the resident band, enlisted some of the late artist’s personal friends including guitarist Michael “Fish” Herring and bassist Andrew Gouché to perform covers in honor of his legacy.

Throughout the night the artists’ renditions of Prince’s wide catalog of hits, including those recorded by Prince himself and the many he wrote for others, resonated through the venue as the packed crowd belted out their favorite songs including “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “When Doves Cry,” “Little Red Corvette” and more. At around 11PM, Prince’s bassist Andrew Gouché hit the stage for a highly-anticipated tribute to his friend and former band member including a special rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and “The Bird”. Following Gouché’s performance, the crowd went wild as the entire lineup of musicians packed the stage to perform Prince’s Grammy-nominated song “1999.”

At around 12:30AM, a wave of emotion filled the room as the show closed with a touching rendition of the timeless hit “Purple Rain.” Amazingly, it actually started to rain in Hollywood just before the song began, ending shortly after, almost as if the Purple One himself was watching from above. Moments after the heartfelt moment, Vertical Horizon frontman Matt Scannell gave an encore performance of “I Would Die For You” from Purple Rain to officially end an epic evening of music and remembrance of a true music legend.

Gilby Clarke from Guns N’ Roses and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello were also in attendance to pay their respects and enjoy the music.

☞Matt Scannell – Vertical Horizon

☞Garry Gary Beers – INXS

☞Jeff Scott Soto – Soto, Tso, Yngwie Malmsteen

☞Andrew Gouche – Prince, Chaka Khan

☞Michael “Fish” Herring – Prince

☞Brian Tichy – Dead Daisies, Randy Rhoads Remembered, Bozno Bash

☞Bryan Mantia – GnR, Primus

☞Gabbie Rae

☞Dezmond Meeks – #1 in in UK for Rock (ReverbNation), Multiple Indie Award Winning Artist

☞Al Berry – Avril Lavigne, Colbie Callait, Vaughan Brothers

☞Alex Kane – Little Caesar, Richie Ramone, LSD

☞Toby Rand – Rockstar: Supernova, Juke Cartel

☞Gregg Scott

☞Howie Simon – Alcatrazz, Eric Martin, Nelson

☞Alex Burke – Saving Ferris

☞Robbie Angelucci – CTA, Taylor Danie, All4One, Frankie Valli

☞Robbie Gennet – Everclear, Lisa Marie Presley

☞Spacey T

☞Annette Frank

☞Anthony “Tiny” Biuso – TSOL, Hed PE, Doyle

☞Barry Pointer – Methods of Mayhem

☞Ben White – Magnetico, Mandy Abair, Olivia Fox

☞Brandon Rogers – American Idol Finalist, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Anastacia

☞Brett Farkas – Solomon Burke, Maya Rudolph’s “Princess”, Lord Huron

☞Chad Wright – The Jacksons, Chaka, Teena Marie & Rick James

☞Corinne Olsen – Avery Watts and Lady Low

☞Cristian Sturba – K Michelle

☞Dan Rothchild – Heart and Beck

☞Dani Armstrong-Kapler

☞David Goodstein – Jackson Browne, Ricky Martin and Ivan Neville

☞Dee Lavell

☞Mike Cordone – Usher

☞Eliza James – Paul Anka, Burt Bacharach

☞Fabio Santana – Highland Horns

☞Francesco DiCosmo – Thin Lizzy, Evanescence

☞Jake Hayden – Missing Persons, Ryan Cabrera, Trev Lukather

☞Jay Gore – Michael McDonald, Eddie Money, Glenn Hughes

☞Jean-Paul Barjon – Chrisette Michelle, Glee TV Show

☞Jennifer Oberle – Vertical Horizon, Five For Fighting

☞Jesse Stern – Jordin Sparks, Sly Stone

☞Jim McGorman – Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Rockstar House Band

☞Jimmy Keegan – Spock’s Beard

☞Joey Sykes – The Babys, Solo Recording Artist

☞Jordan Ferreira

☞Jude Crossen – Patti Austin, Phil Perry

☞Kaitlin Wolfberg – Wild Honey Orchestra

☞Karuna Tanahashi

☞Lauren Baba – Miroslav Tadic & Larry Koonse

☞Leo Gallo

☞Lisa D. Foreman – Toddsplanet

☞Lisa Marie Maestas

☞Louis Middleton – Zander Bleck and The Absolute

☞Ludo Louis

☞Luis Mascaro – Foo Fighters, John Paul Jones, Gloria Trevi

☞Mandy Faddis – Highland Horns

☞Marc Slutsky – Splender

☞Mark Castrillon

☞Melissa Sommers – Engelbert Humperdinck, Lilian Garcia, Tahj Mowry

☞Mike Bennett – Richie Kotzen, Hilary Duff, Andra Day

☞Mike Eyia – Rebelution, Thievery Corporation

☞Noriko Ouiling – Chaka, Teena Marie, Gladys Knight

☞Randy Jacobs – Was (Not Was), Bonnie Raitt

☞Winter Rae – Sony Recording Artist

☞Yohel Nakamura – Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan

☞Yolanda Thomas – Yolanda and the Stolen Boys

Hosted by Izzy Presley

 Resident Band:

☞Steve Ferlazzo – Avril Lavigne, DramaGods

☞Randy Cooke – Dave Stewart, Ian Gillan

☞Carl Restivo – Tom Morello, Satellite Party

☞Steve Fekete – Avril Lavigne, Vertical Horizon, Cassadee Pope

☞Derek Frank – Shania Twain