Where Are They Now? /Paul Laine

So Bop The Blogger and Aaron asked around who wanted to do a Whatever Happened To Blog on various artists! I kinda kicked around the idea about doing one and well guess what? I joined the ranks and  after you read my stuff take some time and check out my fellow friends and their throwback artists! Here are the links….
https://keepsmealive.wordpress.com
http://mikeladano.com
https://nauticazinger.wordpress.com
https://1001albumsin10years.wordpress.com

Paul Laine is the dude I chose to yammer about! Surprise surprise he’s a Rock guy kinda…. Lemme tell ya’s all about it….

Paul Laine came out of Vancouver and released a real solid slab of AOR Hard Rock with his debut album called Stick It In Your Ear(released 1990)! Ha! Great title for a blog  also right? Right!

My interest in Laine came about by reading about his album in the now defunct Canadian Magazine titled M.E.A.T!  In the article the thing that jacked up my curiosity level was the fact that Laine scooped the Late Great Bruce Fairbairn to produce! Fairbairn man he produced all the biggie early 80s albums(Loverboy) mid 80s classics (Bon Jovi) late 80s masterpieces (Aerosmith) even into the 90s Rock  (Van Halen and Kiss). Fairbairn sadly passed away in 1999 but he left quite the catalogue of work behind and this being the reason I took a gamble on the Laine album as I knew if anything the production would be top-notch!

Laine even with Fairbairn in his back pocket still delivered a pretty decent bit of rock with the songs! Stick It In Your Ear  stands up on its own merit with the songs like We Are The Young,Dorianna, Break Down The Barricades and Is It Love amongst tracks from the 13 song debut.

When you watch the top video posted of Is It Love you will see the suits and ties of Laines record company tried to market him as a 1990 Bon Jovi and it kinda failed not due to the material mind you but the climate of music as right below Vancouver was Seattle and its filthy dirge grunge bubbling underneath ready to explode and Bam did it ever!

Is It Love and no it’s not that sap drip dry Is it Love version by C#*kSnake Er I mean Whitesnake this is power pomp rock done to a T! The money shot is the chorus and that is due not only by Laine as the writer but by Fairbairn weaving his magic at the recording console! You want hit…I will try to give you a hit kid!

Back to the video and its a hoot to watch check out the storyline and editing of it! Cut to band …cut to Dude and Hooker Chick,Hooker Chick hangs out with Boss Hog but Chick likes  Dude,Cut to Band, Cut to Boss Hog don’t like Dude,Boss Hog catches Chick And Dude  and now theirs trouble,Hooker Chick shoots Boss Hog and splits with Dude and Laine shows up at the end on the street after  Hooker Chick and Dude flea! Bandana Micheals and Poison would have slopped up over this concept back in 1990 but they made the Unskinny Bop Video instead…hahaha..

After 1990 Laine kinda disappeared for a bit  but in the early 90s he joined that cheese-mo American Act Danger Danger  and  stayed with them for 11 years! Atta boy Paul still doing what you’re doing …

Laine has even dabbled recently in a country rock outfit called Darkhorse and even has something brewin over at Frontier Records (home of all things AOR). Good on him man not giving up and ploughing forward and doing what he wants to do!

The second video posted is Laine recently in Australia playing some Melodic Rock Festival doing some of those tunes from Stick It In Your Ear and the fella looks and sounds good as his voice is still there! Trainwreck does not need apply here folks!

Thanks for reading!

Now scroll back to the top and click those links and enjoy some fine reads and writes from some Great Bloggers!