Thanks to everyone who made the 6th annual show at Chicago Street Theater a memorable night. Joining me onstage was Chuck (Tito) Soumar on percussion, vocals and trumpet, Larry Millas on sound and coming up onstage for Ides standards “LA Goodbye” and “Flipside,” Toby Hitchcock of Pride Of Lions singing songs from the POL catalogue (including a knockout duet with sister Tori Hitchcock on “Turnaround” from the Roaring Of Dreams CD.) Thanks to Lisa McClowry who brought down the house with “Skinny Branches” and a killer duet with Toby on “The Search Is Over.” Jeff Boyle for adding his unique signature to not only some songs I wrote but also on his solo songs such as “Lisa And Me” and the brand new premier song “Edison Watched TV” from his upcoming album. The audience is the real star of any CST show- the interaction is always priceless. (And yes Dan Rather was again in the first row!)  Thanks to Paul and Sheri Braun for masterminding the whole concept (best of luck in all your future plans.) Thanks  to the whole staff at CST- Eric, Dennis, Marcia and so many more. Also thanks to Larry Millas on sound and Tom Lounges and Lisa on The Night Rocks Radio Show. Thanks to those who purchased a copy of the live recording of that night. Thank you to Roy and Sharon Ferrer for their amazing PHOTOS, which are used here with this report, and Terry Becker and John Slywka for video taping the event and Acoustic Connection (Michael Mix, John McGuire, Paul Braun) for the live recording, as well as Amy Becker and Emily Meskimen who handled the merchandise.   You all made Valparaiso heaven on earth for me!  Jim

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS
FROM THIS EVENT

Jim Visits Cara's Basement

Click HERE to listen
to a great interview with Cara

JIM PETERIK’S WORLD STAGE 2007
COMES TO ELGIN, ILLINOIS

Unless you’ve been to one, you really can’t describe a WORLD STAGE event. This is the essence of Jim Peterik, where all his roads lead, and where his true purpose begins. Jim is a songwriter, a singer, a guitarist, a bandleader, and a cauldron of creative energy.

There’s only one place to see all sides of this unique artist in one sitting and it happens once a year. Jim rounds up the stars with whom he writes; and his “go-to” crew of musicians and singers that make his songwriting demos legendary, Together, it’s a musical thrill ride that you hope never ends. Hit after hit after hit, it makes your head spin to watch and hear it unfold. Get your tickets now, before it’s too late.

JIM PETERIK’S WORLD STAGE comes to the Hemmens Auditorium in Elgin, Illinois on Friday, May 18th at 8:00 pm. Joining Jim this time will be Kelly Keagy from Night Ranger, Kip Winger from Winger, Rik Emmett of Triumph fame, Kevin Chalfant from the Storm, and bluesman Anthony Gomes. The Ides Of March will perform, and there will be a rare stateside mini-set from Jim’s Pride Of Lions featuring Toby Hitchcock. World Stage favorites Lisa McClowry, Kimi Hayes, Jeff Boyle, and Thom Griffin will be singing in the solo spotlight, and providing the harmonies. A special treat will be the appearance of Lobster Newberg, the group fronted by Jim’s 17 year-old son Colin. The World Stage Band comprises some of the world’s top studio and touring musicians: Mike Aquino and Joel Hoekstra on Guitars, Christian Cullen on Keyboards, Klem Hayes on Bass, and Ed Breckenfeld on Drums.

The HEMMENS AUDITORIUM is located at 45 Symphony Way in Elgin, Illinois, and Tickets ($30-$50) can be purchased at www.tickets.com or by calling the Hemmens box office at (847) 931-5900.

www.hemmens.org

Hi everybody! Sorry it’s taken me so long to do an update. Sometimes we are so busy living it forward that it’s hard to stop and reflect.

A lot has happened since my last update. February saw the release of The Roaring of Dreams- the third album by Pride Of Lions. So far the reviews and airplay reports have been amazing and sales is outstripping the first two CDs. We received Burrn Magazines highest rating for the month- 94 out of 100! It is my favorite POL album so far with Toby Hitchcock rising to new heights vocally and the Pride of Lions band gelling like never before. Pride of Lions will be a part of my World Stage show both here in Elgin on Friday May 18th (along with Anthony Gomes, Jeff Boyle, The Ides of March, Kelly Keagy, Kip Winger, Rik Emmett, Kimi Hayes, Lisa McClowry, Kevin Chalfant, Thom Griffin, the World Stage Band and others TBA) and also in Belgium (with a stripped down roster) on August 6th at the Lokerse Feesten in the town of Lokeren. POL is also considering some tour dates in other parts of Europe as well as Tokyo and Osaka. You can order your copy of The Roaring of Dreams on this site in the near future- trust me- it’s Heaven on Earth!

Can’t wait for the 07 Ides of March season to start. I miss the guys (my brothers for 40 plus years) and the chemistry we have together onstage- they are the gift that keeps giving. We are rehearsing now for our upcoming show at the College of Lake County. We are working out a hot Ides version of Live Life from my solo record- complete with Ides brass chart by our own Dave Stahlberg. It should rock! Hope to see you at one of the Ides summer shows- we’ll have a blast as always.

Oh, by the way, I finally took the plunge and bought the 50’s classic car of my dreams- a 1955 Chevy Bel Aire convertible- gypsy red and India ivory- fully restored and in mint condition. It has a 265 horsepower four barrel v8 and features automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, power windows- it also has a continental kit and fender skirts and front bumper guard. It also has a brand new factory perfect red and white interior.  As soon as I get it I will take some pictures and put them on this site. When I was 4 or 5 years old, my buddies and I, Binky and Johnny (you can’t make up stuff like that) used to sit on the curb at 26th and Wesely Avenue in Berwyn and watch the cars go by. We would call them out by name and year and model- noticed the details- did they have white walls or black walls- wire wheels or hub caps- convertible, hardtop or sedan etc. Our favorites were the Ford Crown Victorias, the Buick Skylarks, the Mercury convertibles (just like Pepperhead drove- in my song it’s a blue Desoto, but actually it was a ’56 chartreuse and black Mercury convertible) and the ’55 Chevy convertibles. I used to draw them in the margins of all my school work- so I am really looking forward to this. I can just see the Ides posed around it for a photo shoot!

I am excited about a new artist that I am helping to develop- his name is Will Floyd and was brought to my attention by J.B. Bracato- an excellent music attorney here in town who is branching out into management. Coincidently, his mother was instrumental in hiring the Ides of March for the ’90 Berwyn Summerfaire which was really the catalyst for getting the group back together. Will is from Bristol Tennessee. He is 23 years old, tall with long hair and sounds like a cross between vintage Robert Plant and his own distinctive sound which is hard to categorize. His writing is very rootsy, bluesy and soulful- I have been helping him complete his songs and just completed a 3 song demo (with Larry Millas at the controls) which his manager will be shopping for a label deal. Stay tuned!

Karen and I just got back from Vail Colorado where we spent 4 days on a working vacation- the main event was a benefit show for United Airlines that raised money for cystic fibrosis. Fergie Fredericksen was the organizer and brought to the stage yours truly, Fergie (ex of Toto and Trillion and Mecca), Alex Ligertwood of Santana, John Cafferty and Tunes (the saxman) of the Beaver Brown Band, Jimi Jamison (ex of Survivor- he and I did I Can’t Hold Back, The Search is Over and Eye of The Tiger together) and a stellar band that regularly play with Fergie on events like these. It was a magic night with the crowd going nuts and women dancing on table tops! There were many great moments- like the final encore “All I Ever Wanted”- the Santana hit- with everyone up on stage including most of the audience!

It was all downhill from there- literally! It was time for some amazing skiing. Karen and I got down the big hill 4 times without any broken bones (I only collided once with a 6 year old boy who was in my way- he was unhurt!). Thanks up to Fergie and United Airlines for their hospitality.

I had a great time opening up for John Waite at Austin’s in Libertyville. John has always been one of my favorite rockers and he’s still got it! The show was unplugged- just me and an acoustic guitar and keyboard. John too just brought an acoustic guitarist with him. But nothing was lost- in fact I think the audience enjoyed the intimacy of a simple show.
I started with a medley of 38 Special hits- Hold on Loosely and Caught Up In You. I then went into I Can’t Hold Back, then Heavy Metal, Is This Love, The Search Is Over, Vehicle and Eye of the Tiger. The audience was so responsive and the demographic was perfect for this era of songs.

Thanks a million to Mark and everyone at Austin’s, to Tom and Lisa and John Perry and Steve Salzman at WIIL ROCK for making this show possible.

I had the pleasure of jamming with Buddy Guy at his Legend’s club back in January. This has become one of the high points of my winter season. Buddy is one of my all time heroes. His club is soon to close so everyone was in a celebratory mood and the place was packed. We did Mustang Sally and and Johnny B Goode (I changed it to Buddy B Goode). Thank you Buddy for all the great years of inspiration- and thanks to Harvey McCarter (Buddy’s right hand man) for giving me this opportunity.

To see some photos from this great night CLICK HERE

Well all for now- stay tuned for some new projects that I am planning. I hope to see you on the concert trail. Thanks for all your support- you are what I do it for!
Keep rocking!
Jim

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