ADRIAN SMITH + RICHIE KOTZEN: making of 'Better Days' video
30-11-2021
Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the “Better Days” video from Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen‘s project SMITH/KOTZEN is now released. The clip was filmed at Mates studio in Los Angeles and was directed by Jeff Wolfe, who successfully combined an action career onscreen with an award-winning director’s role behind camera.
Watch the making of the “Better Days” below.
Watch the official video below.
SMITH/KOTZEN Track listing:
01. Taking My Chances
02. Running
03. Scars
04. Some People
05. Glory Road
06. Solar Fire
07. You Don’t Know Me
08. I Wanna Stay
09. ‘Til Tomorrow
Smith is best known as one of IRON MAIDEN‘s principal guitarists, having also enjoyed success as a solo artist. Kotzen is the frontman for THE WINERY DOGS as well as having been the guitarist for both MR. BIG and POISON during his long and acclaimed career, which has to date seen him release more than 20 solo albums. Both artists are also prolific songwriters.
Adrian comments, “I think Richie and I complement each other really well. He’s a virtuoso guitarist but he’s got a great sense of melody — the whole thing just felt very natural.”
Richie adds: “We found common ground in classic and blues-based rock — we both come from that mentality. We’ve been writing and recording together for the past year and I’m ecstatic with the results.”
As the gloriously heavy and brilliantly catchy “Taking My Chances” shows, rock fans around the globe will be delighted at the first taste of this marriage-made-in-guitar-and-vocal heaven.
Stay tuned for more news to come from SMITH/KOTZEN early in 2021.
Kotzen alluded to his project with Smith during a February 2020 interview with the “Another FN Podcast”. At the time, he said: “I don’t like talking about things until they’re finished, but if you look at the photographs on my Instagram and who I’m with, and that sort of thing, you could assume that there may be a collaboration in the works.”
He added: “It’s very surreal, because it’s a band that I grew up with; it was one of my favorite bands forever, and one of my first hard rock concerts. So it’s very surreal. Very cool. I’m very excited.”
Smith is currently promoting his memoir, “Monsters Of River & Rock”, which was released on September 3 via Virgin Books.
This past February, Kotzen released his 22nd solo album, “50 For 50”, via his own custom label, Headroom-Inc. The three-disc collection is just what the title implies: a collection of 50 previously unreleased compositions produced, performed and written by Kotzen in honor of his birthday. It’s the follow-up to his critically acclaimed “Salting Earth” album, which came out in April 2017 via Headroom-Inc.
Social media