White Lion
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- This article is about the band, for the big cats see White lion.
| White Lion | |
|---|---|
 White Lion, 1989. From left to right: James Lomenzo, Greg D'Angelo, Mike Tramp, Vito Bratta. |
|
| Origin | New York City |
| Country | USA |
| Years active | 1983—1991 |
| Genres | Hard Rock Glam Metal |
| Labels | Atlantic Records |
| Members | Mike Tramp Vito Bratta James Lomenzo Greg D'Angelo |
White Lion was a hard rock band active in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish-born vocalist Mike Tramp and guitarist Vito Bratta.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Fighting to survive
After moving from Denmark to New York in 1982, vocalist Mike Tramp (ex-Mabel,ex-Studs) met Brooklyn guitarist Vito Bratta (ex-Dreamer) and decided to form a band. The two recruited drummer Nicki Capozzi and bassist Felix Robinson (formerly of Angel) and named the group White Lion.
White Lion was signed by Elektra records in 1983 and recorded their debut Fight To Survive. However, Elektra was unhappy with the final recording, and after refusing to release the album, terminated their contract.
Both Capozzi and Robinson soon left the band. Nicki Capozzi was replaced by former Anthrax drummer Greg D'Angelo, and Felix Robinson was replaced by bassist Dave Spitz (brother of Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz). Within a month of joining, however, Dave Spitz left to play bass with Black Sabbath and was replaced by James Lomenzo.
The album Fight To Survive was eventually picked up by RCA and released in Japan in 1984. The small US independent label Grand Slamm records finally released Fight To Survive in the US on November 9, 1985. A few months later, Grand Slam records went bankrupt.
In early 1986, White Lion, with a fictitious "female" member, had a brief part in the Tom Hanks/Shelley Long movie The Money Pit.
[edit] The road to success
Early in 1987, the band was signed by Atlantic Records and on June 21, 1987, their breakthrough album, Pride, was released. The first single, "Wait", was released on June 1, 1987, but did not make waves for nearly seven months.
The Pride tour started in July 1987 as White Lion opened for Ace Frehley's 80s band Frehley's Comet. The next year and a half was filled with constant touring, opening for such bands as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Stryper, KISS and in January 1988 White Lion landed the opening slot for AC/DC on their Blow Up Your Video American tour.
While touring with AC/DC, the Pride album and "Wait" single finally charted, due in no small part to MTV airing the "Wait" music video in regular rotation - nearly seven months after the single's release. "Wait" hit #8 on the singles chart, while Pride hit #11 on the album charts. Pride would remain on the top 200 Billboard album charts for a full year.
In August 1988, the album's second single "Tell Me" hit #58. Around the time this single was released, White Lion played at the Ritz club in New York City. Like Guns N' Roses before them, White Lion's show at the Ritz was filmed and later aired on MTV.
The Pride album's third single, a gentle acoustic ballad titled "When The Children Cry", made it all the way to #3 with heavy MTV rotation, making Pride one of about 20 hard rock albums to ever have multiple top 10 hits.
The success of "When the Children Cry" would eventually push sales of Pride over the two million mark. In addition, Vito Bratta was recognized for his instrumental talents by racking up Best New Guitarist awards with both Guitar World magazine and Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine.
In the spring of 1989, the Pride tour finally ended, but rather than take a break, they instead chose to record the next album, a decision the group later came to regret due to the effects of fatigue from heavy touring on the final product.
[edit] Life after MTV
In August 1989, White Lion released their third album, Big Game, a musically eclectic follow-up to Pride that featured the singles "Little Fighter," "Cry For Freedom," and a cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love." The album quickly went gold, but without a hit single, slowly declined, with a peak of #19 on the album charts.
After 2 years of writing and recording, the new album, Mane Attraction, was released in the summer of 1991. More of a "back to basics" album, centering on strong hooks and melodic hard rock, the album was received well by the fans. Unfortunately, the album failed to chart like the last two albums. It received little or no airplay due to the recent Grunge explosion and subsequent backlash on all things "hair metal".
Greg D'Angelo and James Lomenzo left the band soon after the album's release, citing "musical differences", but White Lion carried on with bassist Tommy T-Bone Caradonna and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Suicidal Tendencies, Y&T, Fiona). After briefly touring in support of Mane Attraction, Tramp and Bratta decided to call it a day, their last show being held in Boston at the Channel in September 1991.
[edit] Social issues
Unlike most bands of their genre, White Lion recorded occasional songs that addressed social or political issues such as apartheid ("Cry for Freedom") and the effect of divorce on children ("Broken Home"). The song "Little Fighter" (lyrics and video) was about the Rainbow Warrior, a ship owned by the environmental group Greenpeace that was illegally destroyed by French commandos. This concern for political and social issues was also hinted at in the cover art to their album Big Game, which featured a lion's head hidden in tall grass with the White House in the background.
[edit] After White Lion
Mike Tramp went on to form Freaks of Nature. Freaks of Nature released three albums, Freaks of Nature, Gathering of Freaks, and Outcasts. After Freaks of Nature split up, Mike Tramp went on as a solo artist. He has released five studio albums and one live album so far; Capricorn, Remembering White Lion, Recovering the Wasted Years, More To Life Than This, and Songs I Left Behind as studio efforts, with Rock n' Roll Alive as his sole live album. Today, Tramp continues his solo career, recording and releasing his own music. Through his website, fans can find media from his solo career, as well as White Lion.
James Lomenzo and Greg D'Angelo joined Zakk Wylde's band, Lynyrd Skynhead in the mid 90's which became the band Pride & Glory when Greg D'Angelo was replaced by Brian Tichy. Pride & Glory released one album, then James Lomenzo left the band. James went on to record and tour with ex-Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and toured with Zakk Wylde's band Black Label Society. In February 2006, James joined the legendary thrash band Megadeth on a permanent basis. Greg D'Angelo is now the new drummer for the up and coming band AntiProduct.
Vito Bratta stayed briefly with Atlantic Records to help produce an album for CPR, and later tried to form a new music group that never panned out. Sadly, despite a very dedicated worldwide following of guitar aficionados, Vito has not been seen or heard from publicly since 1994. According to a mention in Guitar World magazine, Vito is said to now be "Out of the music business, working with computers".
[edit] Possible reunion
In October 2003, Mike Tramp announced a White Lion reunion. This statement was quickly denied by the other former members. Later Tramp said that Vito Bratta wanted nothing to do with a reunion. With summer festivals in Europe already booked, Tramp attempted to put together a "new White Lion" featuring former members James Lomenzo, and Jimmy DeGrasso, along with Warren DeMartini of Ratt. Vito Bratta filed suit claiming partial ownership of the name, and the tour was scrapped. Tramp later revealed that despite his willingness, "There will never be an original White Lion reunion".
In 2005, with legal battles finally out of the way, Mike Tramp organized a group of unknown musicians and named the act Tramp's White Lion. 'TWL' played White Lion songs, touring and releasing a double-live CD entitled Tramp's White Lion: Rockin' The USA.According to"melodicrock.com", in November and December 2006, Tramp's White Lion will play several dates in Europe including Turkey, Denmark, Greece and United Kingdom.
[edit] Members
- Vito Bratta - guitars, songwriter
- Mike Tramp - vocals, songwriter
- James Lomenzo - bass
- Greg D'Angelo - drums
[edit] Former members
- Nicki Capozzi - drums
- Felix Robinson - bass
- Dave Spitz - bass
[edit] Touring members
- Tommy T-Bone Caradonna - bass
- Jimmy DeGrasso - drums
[edit] Discography
- Fight to Survive (November 9, 1985)
- Pride (June 21, 1987)
- Big Game (August 10, 1989)
- Mane Attraction (1991)
- The Best Of White Lion a Greatest hits compilation (1992)
- Remembering White Lion: Greatest Hits compilation (2002)
- Rocking the USA (November 8, 2005)
- Anthology 83-89 compilation (2006)
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Pride | The Billboard 200 | 11 |
| 1988 | Fight To Survive (reissue) | The Billboard 200 | 151 |
| 1989 | Big Game | The Billboard 200 | 19 |
| 1991 | Mane Attraction | The Billboard 200 | 61 |
[edit] Videography
- Escape From Brooklyn (1991)
