What is STARQUAKE?
What is Neo70sRock?
Starquake is a name given to MIKEY’s studio project for the release of the „Times that matter“ album.
After MIKEY’s first solo album A matter of time (2010), that went mostly unnoticed, MIKEY went back to the studio and wrote some more songs.
By 2012 9 tracks were done, completed, mixed and mastered by the great Rich Mouser, known for his work on Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic albums among others, who MIKEY had met on a TA tour.
With an album ready for release MIKEY started looking for a label.
Many CDs and emails were sent out, replies were few, with rejections aplenty.
After two years a reply was received from Stefan @ PureSteel Records, an underground label in Germany.
Stefan suggested MIKEY record two additional songs, offering a 5 year, worldwide record deal.
Of course a bandname had to be found for the project, so after some brainstorming Stefan and MIKEY came up with Starquake, a name that reflects the power of an earthquake and the mystique of the stars and space alike.
Stefan also managed to get Rodney Matthews (known for Asia, Magnum, Diamond Head, Nazareth and others’ album art) to allow one of his paintings to be used as album art.
Times That Matter was released May 29, 2015
Neo 70s Rock is a style of music basically invented by MIKEY. Deeply routed in Classic Rock from the 70s, with love for Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Uriah Heep, the kind of music that MIKEY has been playing with BOXHEAD for many years. With great admiration for the amazing variety of rock found in the music of Queen, the heavy yet melodic style of IRON MAIDEN’s NWOBHM, Starquake's music is seasoned with a little prog rock, that MIKEY soaked up listening to The Beatles (yes, they were one of the first prog-ressive bands), Genesis, and most notably Spock’s Beard and, a little later, Gentle Giant. Thus creating a mix of heavy guitars, huge drums and sophisticated vocals, with quite some Hammond Organ, Mellotron and great arrangements, to take you on an impressive journey through the 70s and 80s with the modern sound of today.
"Weed for the Ears"
German Rock Hard magazine review for TIME SPACE MATTER
Times That Matter (2015)
11 cool tracks, short sweet ballads, heavy rockers, and a 21 minute epic
special guests on Times That Matter:
Sandra Wenzel: additional vocals
Jan "Donkey" van Meerendonk: all drums
Alex Kugler: guitars and solos
Andi Pernpeintner: Hammond solos
Michael "Wopsi" Wopshall: guitars and solos
Joe Wagner: guitars and solos
Corinna Reif: violin
TIME SPACE MATTER (2019)
Concludes the trilogy that was started with MIKEY's solo album A Matter of Time.
a crazy trip, more extravagant than before, with stops in Dallas, in church, in the year 1581, raging about cancer, travelling through time, space and matter.
band on TIME SPACE MATTER:
Jan "Donkey" van Meerendonk: drums
Alex Kugler: many lead, rhythm and solo guitars
Andi Pernpeintner: Hammond and piano
special guests on TIME SPACE MATTER:
Corinna Reif: violin
Sibylle Rupprecht: flute
Cleff Amend: trumpet
Joe Wagner: guitar solos on trax 2 and 3
very special guest:
Soulman as JFK on track 3
At the Circus (2023)
The album that almost didn't get released
and it doesn't really have much to do with the COVID pandemic
if you want to know details ask MIKEY ;-)
At the Circus is a loose concept album,
MIKEY was aiming very high,
like reaching for the stars, trying to write Sgt Pepper meets A Night at the Opera,
of course an undertaking like this is bound to fail, BUT
even though these masterpieces will never be reached, on your way there you create something very special,
an album with reoccurring themes, beautiful melodies n catchy hooks
arguably the best STARQUAKE album so far (yeah, they always say that) ;-)
CIRCUS artists:
MIKEY - all vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards n stuff except:
Jan „Donkey“ van Meerendonk - drums
Andi Pernpeintner - Hammond on 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 17 - Hammond solo on 12, 13, 17
Joe Wagner - guitar solo on 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14,15, 17
Alex Kugler - guitar solo on 2, 5, 7,12, 13, 14, 17 - harp on 10
Reinhold „Oki“ Okon - vocals on 4
Gaby Weihmayer - duett vocals on 7
Michael Ocker - vocals on 12
Niklas Rölz - oboe on 4, 14
Martin Treppesch - bass and baritone guitars on 3
Jochen Schertel - guitar solo on 9
Florian Ebner - guitar solo on 15
string quartet on 6 and 17:
Versilian Studio Chamber Orchestra
arranged n conducted by MIKEY
CD artwork photos of the German Reichstagsgebäude by Jörg Braukmann (front, reworked inside) and Diego Delso (delso.photo)(back)
(taken from Wiki under CC)
...and all STARQUAKE albums are dedicated to the loving memory of Martino Wenzel
