Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "End of Earth," the new song and music video by Richie Kotzen.
It's the opening track and first single from Kotzen's new solo album, Salting Earth, which will be released April 14 via his own label, Headroom Inc. Kotzen also has announced a spring U.S. tour, and you can check out all the dates below.
When working on Salting Earth, his 21st solo effort, the Winery Dogs guitarist tossed convention on its ear by taking one step back in order to move two steps forward.
“It’s something I really needed to do in order to reset myself,” he says. His “charge to recharge” was put into play following the success of the 2015–16 tour behind the Winery Dogs’ sophomore effort, Hot Streak. And the guitarist’s reset manifesto wound up hitting all the right buttons; the proof is on display on Salting Earth and, for that matter, on "End of Earth."
“It’s really not deliberate when the record is finished and suddenly I’m the only performer on it,” Kotzen says. “It actually comes out of my process of writing and documenting my ideas. It started back in the late Eighties when I had a makeshift studio in my parents’ barn. I grew up fairly isolated, and I soon realized in order to get this music out of my head and onto a format where I could listen to it, I’d have to figure out how to do it alone.”
“My real outlet is touring—playing live as much as I can, wherever I can, whenever I can,” Kotzen says. “It’s one of the few things you can’t copy, steal or download. It’s an engaging human experience that’s a give-and-take between both the performer and the audience, and there is nothing else like it on this earth.”
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Fri 4/21 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club Sat 4/22 Pasadena, CA The Rose Sun 4/23 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House Wed 4/26 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick Fri 4/28 Las Vegas, NV Vamp’d Sat 4/29 Scottsdale, AZ BLK Live Mon 5/1 Denver, CO Oriental Theatre Wed 5/3 Moline, IA Rascal’s Live Thu 5/4 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre Fri 5/5 Westland, MI The Token Lounge Sun 5/7 Whitesburg, KY Appalshop Theater Tue 5/9 Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar Thu 5/11 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club & Grill Sat 5/13 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage Sun 5/14 New Hope, PA Havana New Hope Wed 5/17 Bethlehem, PA Musikfest CaféSalting Earth Track List 1. End of Earth 2. Thunder 3. Divine Power 4. I’ve Got You 5. My Rock 6. This Is Life 7. Make It Easy 8. Meds 9. Cannon Ball 10. Grammy
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
