Listen to Duane Morano’s “Manhattan,” Featuring Nita Strauss

Songwriter and guitarist Duane Morano has unveiled a new song, “Manhattan,” boasting a guest solo from Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss. You can check out the track, which also features Morano on guitar, Extreme’s Pat Badger on bass, Firehouse drummer Michael Foster and vocalist Dan Michaels, above.

“I was super excited to be a part of this track alongside Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Dan Michaels and Michael Foster,” Strauss says. “I love to see people that have regular day jobs, regular normal lives, taking off that accountant hat for a day, putting on the rock-star hat and making such a kick-ass song.”

Explains Morano of the song, “Back in 1991 Dan Michaels and I were in a band together called Shattered Image. We were in the studio recording a four-song demo to submit to labels when one of the tracks, ‘Manhattan,’ became a favorite of local Tampa Bay radio DJ Austin Keys after hearing us play the song at a local club. We gave him the demo and he put the song into rotation on 98 Rock. From there, it spiraled to several other stations in the Southeast, but the face of music changed less than a year later and so were the hopes to release a record.”

“Manhattan” comes off Morano’s debut album, Incognito. The effort features a slew of guests, among them Strauss, Foster, Badger, Extreme drummer Kevin Figueiredo, the Firm/Blue Murder’s Tony Franklin, Firehouse’s Bill Leverty, XYZ’s Terry Ilous and Tyketto’s Danny Vaughn.

Regarding how the album came together, Morano says, “I had known Bill Leverty for a great many years so he was in from the beginning. Back in 2016, I was having dinner with Bill and was asked if I was ever going to unshelve a CD I started working on years ago. After some thought, I finished a few of the tracks in my studio and sent them to Bill to be mixed. As we listened to the mixes, it became clear to both of us I needed to get rid of the programmed drums, find a bass player instead of a guitar player trying to play bass, and get someone that could sing what I was struggling to attempt. Changes needed to be made. That was when Bill suggested his drummer Michael Foster, so I gave him a shout.”

Discussing some of the album’s highlights, Morano says: “Nita Strauss' solo on ‘Manhattan’ was a pick up your jaw off the floor moment. Bryan Cole’s vocals on ‘Don’t Believe You’ grabs elements of rock and blues with a touch of soul, and delivers one of the best performances I’ve ever heard him do. The way Michael Foster and Pat Badger really cement and play with the groove on ‘Kid Gloves’ is really cool.”

Morano also says that he’s hoping to bring Incognito to the stage. “Shows could happen if we can get schedules coordinated. That's always the hardest part when trying to get people from several different active bands together in the same place at the same time. There is talk of a live version, and something Bryan, Danny, Terry, and I think could be a lot of fun.”

Incognito is available now. For more information, head here.