#john diteodoro

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Raise Your Fist in the Air by Doro, live at Wacken 2014

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Monday, September 27: Waysted, “Fire Under the Wheels”

R.I.P. Pete Way (1950-2020), Paul “Tonka” Chapman (1954-2020)

Most likely against his better judgment, Pete Way played ball on Save Your Prayers, signing to Capitol, replacing Irish hooligan Fin Muir with New York melodic rocker Danny Vaughn and positioning Waysted as a commercially palatable AOR band.  And in its better moments, the record played like an enjoyable enough JV Survivor, largely thanks to Vaughn’s smooth vocals.  But the sloshed mayhem of Waysted’s first two full-lengths was sorely missed, to say nothing of the ragged charm Way and guitarist Paul Chapman brought to UFO. Indeed, the fact that “Fire Under the Wheels” was relegated to B-side status said it all, as it was one of maybe two tracks from the Save Your Prayers sessions that really worked up a good head of steam: Chapman let loose a rip roaring riff over percussion from John DiTeodoro (aka future Britny Fox and Doro drummer Johnny Dee) that didn’t so much drum as attack.  This was actually a bit heavier than most of Waysted’s earlier material, scanning as more firmly metallic than everything on Vices save for “Night of the Wolf”, and Vaughn struggled to keep up. But a bit more bashing like this would’ve at least given the old fans- small in number though they may have been- something to latch onto alongside the warmed over mainstream rock, even if it would’ve also thrown the album off balance.  Then again, even at his most sozzled Way understood his standing, so he probably knew that this was his last chance to make Waysted a viable entity, so he gave it his best, or at least his best by his standards.  

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Fear of the Dark (Iron Maiden cover) by Doro (featuring Blaze Bayley) from the live album Strong and Proud

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Rock Till Death by Doro (featuring Hansi Kürsch) from the live album Strong and Proud (30 Years Of Rock And Metal)