Hey Aaron, how's it going?

It's going very well JT.  I hope we are talking about the same "it" though! ha ha  Seriously, I'm doing better than I deserve.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hmm.  I grew up in the Midwest, hated school, loved music and the radio.  I ended up going into broadcasting for about 10 years before leaving it all behind for the oh so satisfying job of managing artists and being an indedependent record label mogul.  In my spare time I write songs, produce when given the opportunity and I read alot.  I like long walks on the beach but there isn't a beach within 200 miles, so let's substitute walks in the park.

OK, tell us about your project, "Labour of Love".

It's truly all about people helping people. It ended up turning out great!  18 songs by 18 different artists for one cause!  To shed some light on the who, what, where and why...Ricky (Parent) is a member of the legendary Chicago rock group Enuff Z'nuff.  They have done it all and then some.  MTV, VH1, Letterman, Howard Stern, toured the world 10 times and back again.  Ricky was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and like millions of other Americans, he has no health insurance.  Cancer treatments are so expensive, in fact I was just looking at some of Ricky's bills and it's staggering to see the totals.  I decided to try to help so I started calling and emailing artists to see if they would help me put this together for Ricky.  The response was so encouraging and I believe we have one great album!  Ricky was instrumental in suggesting that a portion of the proceeds from the CD go to the American Cancer Society.  You can buy it now at www.34west.net and it will soon be available through I-Tunes and Rhapsody.

Sounds awesome! So who are some of the artists appearing on the project?

Jamie Rowe from Guardian, Monty Colvin from Galactic Cowboys are two that I was very happy to get on the CD.  I have been a fan of Jamie Rowe since the first Tempest record.  I absolutely hail the Galactic Cowboys, they should have been superstars, just a brilliant band!  There are also some other well known recording artists like Jeff Pilson from Foreigner (ex-Dokken), Enuff Z'nuff, Stuart Smith (ex Rainbow) and Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Russ Parrish (ex-Rob Halford's FIGHT) some of the guys from Journey, Europe and there are some independent artists.  They all were great.  I'm happy with the CD and how it turned out.  I think rock music fans will really like it, at least I hope so! ha ha

is the main concept of the album?

Hmmm...The artwork concept came from a very talented guy by the name of Carl Andre Beckston (MONOWASP).  He's done quite a few CD covers for some big bands (TNT).  He emailed me out of the blue one day and asked if he could do the cover and I of course said yes.  I had already decided that the project would be titled "Labor of Love" so Monowasp just ran with it and blew me away with the cover art work and concept.  I think it challenges you.  When you do a compilation CD I think it's difficult to keep a focus or concept but all the songs were great and each one has a message.  Some are serious, some are light and some are just guys making rock and roll.  I think I'm proud of the fact that the final track listing was very diverse yet it fit together pretty well.  Monowasp talked me into changing the title of the CD into Labour of Love though...it's a more European approach...I couldn't argue with a guy who had just presented me with such an inspiring cover, could I? ha ha

Definitely not! So what was it like, working with such a bunch of great performers?

It was great!  They are normal people.  No one associated with the benefit CD has that "rock star" attitude.  Everyone knew what the project was about and what the project was for before they said yes to being a part of it.  It was all about helping Ricky and helping to educate people about cancer awareness.  A normal CD is about making money period, this CD goes beyond that concept.  Everyone knows someone who has died of cancer.  It's beyond tragic to watch someone you love and care about go through the battle.  When Ricky was diagnosed it woke some people up.  Some were musicians and some were fans.  Cancer doesn't discriminate.  Cancer doesn't care how much money you make or how famous you are.  The artists on the CD get the Labour of Love mission - Do to others as you would want to be done to you.

Anyone who isn't part of this project that you really would have liked to be?

Eric Martin (Mr. Big) owes me one! ha ha  Eric is such a good friend.  He was there for me during one of the most difficult times of my life.  We've talked about the next project and I'm pretty sure he's in!  Jani Lane (Warrant) is another I would really like to sit down with and get to know.  He really is a talented songwriter.  I know he's participating on the next Liberty N Justice record, as well as Eric.  The Kings X guys would be my ultimate catch.  I have such respect for those guys as people and musicians.  If I had to name one person that really would probably surprise people-Ozzy Osbourne.  I would love to sit down and talk with him.  There are just too many people I would have loved to have on this project! ha ha  I do have a list!  We were blessed by those who stepped up and helped us out on Labour of Love.  Get back to me once we start preproduction on our next CD!

So, is this going to be an on-going project of numerous albums and singers?

This is a one time thing.  I would have to say that I'm leaving the numerous albums and singers thing to Justin from Liberty N Justice.  I have several artists that I want to help develop and I think you'll probably see our first "commercial" release sometime later this year.  It's actually more difficult putting a benefit CD together than doing a normal one.  A benefit CD has a lot of strings and red tape just because of the dispersement of funds raised.  A artist doesn't want their name associated with just any cause, you know?  Most if not all the people associated with the Labour of Love CD know Ricky or have played with him.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to continue to support great causes with future releases.  Jason Becker comes to mind, Raven's Heart Foundation is another great charity.  I'm not ruling out another benefit CD, but as far as Ricky is concerned we are going to raise as much as we can and pay what we can to give him some breathing room until he can get back on his feet and able to work full time.  Honestly, we'd have to sell about 500,000 records to really make a dent in some of Ricky's bills.  Cancer isn't cheap.