RICHIE KOTZEN releases new single 'Cheap Shots'
02-05-2024
Fresh from a 95-date world tour and album release with THE WINERY DOGS in 2023, Richie Kotzen returns with a brand new single and lyric video called “Cheap Shots” released now. A guitar-driven and hard-riffin’ heavy rock, with Kotzen‘s passionate vocals calling out haters and people who take advantage of others, it pulls no punches and delivers knockout hooks throughout.
Watch the lyric video for “Cheap Shots” below.
“I really never know how, when or where inspiration will strike for a song idea,” explains Kotzen. “I never try to force anything because I know ultimately at some point in time life will hand you a situation and for a guy like myself that is the perfect spark. I’m not someone that likes to outwardly go at it with someone if I feel I was wronged but I certainly use my creative outlet as a song writer to exercise that stuff out of me so I never find myself carrying around resentment or bad vibes. So if someone does you wrong, multiple times, then we’re done here. You’re your own worst enemy. I’ve tried to help and now I’m a target? Nope… No thanks… I’m off the bus. My attitude is ‘Get it out! Throw it in the trash where it belongs.’ Move on and forget ’em! That is really where the song is coming from.”
The single, which will be a part of a full-length album to be released later in the year, came together very quickly in March 2024 after a trip back to Kotzen‘s original hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania.
“It has been quite a while since I have released new solo music and I feel very fulfilled to have come to a place where I’ve got new music I believe in,” continues Kotzen. “Although I find myself writing all the time not always do I feel compelled to share the work. When the story for ‘Cheap Shots’ came to me, I knew I had the perfect lead track to follow up where I left off from my previous record.
“Of course I’m thrilled to be able to say I’ve got a new song for you but I’m equally overjoyed to announce the upcoming live dates. In fact, the timing is perfect as we embark on an extensive European tour in June which will end in the U.K. on July 13th at London’s Islington Assembly Hall. And these dates will most likely spill into a North American fall tour as well.”
Richie Kotzen will embark on a European tour this spring/summer.
The 53-year-old guitarist/vocalist, who has been a member of THE WINERY DOGS since 2012, has scheduled the following dates:
June 4 – Batschkapp, Frankfurt, DE (supporting EXTREME)
June 5 – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, DE
June 6 – Rosenhof, Osnabrück, DE
June 8 – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, SE
June 9 – Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, DK
June 11 – Victorie, Alkmaar, NL
June 12 – TurbinenHalle, Oberhausen, DE (supporting EXTREME)
June 13 – Metropool, Hengelo, NL
June 14 – Forum, Vaureal, FR
June 16 – La Riviera, Madrid, ES (supporting EXTREME)
June 17 – La Salamandra, Barcelona, ES
June 20 – Rock Imperium Festival, Cartagena, ES
June 22 – Crossroad, La Rochelle, FR
June 24 – Garage, Saarbrücken, DE
June 25 – Gross Freiheit, Hamburg, DE (supporting EXTREME)
June 26 – F-Haus, Jena, DE
June 28 – Backstage, Munich, DE
June 29 – MMC, Bratislava, SK
June 30 – C-Club, Olomouc, CZ
July 1 – Colosseum, Kosice, SK
July 4 – Durer Kert, Budapest, HU
July 6 – Metal Park Festival, Vicenza, IT
July 7 – Dynamo, Zurich, CH
July 10 – Limelight, Belfast, Northern Ireland
July 11 – Opium, Dublin, IRE
July 13 – Islington Assembly Hall, London, U.K.
Kotzen‘s most recent solo single, “Raise The Cain”, came out in September 2020. The track featured a guest appearance by Kotzen‘s THE WINERY DOGS bandmate, drummer Mike Portnoy.
“Raise The Cain” marked the first new solo music from Kotzen since the release of his 22nd solo album, “50 For 50”, which came out in February 2020 via his own custom label, Headroom-Inc. That three-disc set was just what the title implies: a collection of 50 previously unreleased compositions produced, performed and written by Kotzen in honor of his birthday.
Richie explained his decision to release “Raise The Cain” in a social media post: “So after releasing a 50 song original album at the start of 2020 I had absolutely no intention of releasing any more new music at any point this year. At least after doing some touring to support the ’50 for 50′ release… Well, That didn’t happen…LOL. Suddenly I found myself like all of us locked up wondering what now? As one could have easily predicted I started receiving some new musical inspiration and new ideas from who knows where…
“The nucleus of this song came out of a phone conversation I had with my fellow Winery Dog band mate @MikePortnoy at the start of our Covid quarantine. He mentioned his drums were miked up and that he had been doing some recording. I said ‘hey Mike, I’ve got an idea for you if you’re up for it… Take 4 or 5 different tempos and different grooves and lay down a few song forms. Pretend I’m jamming with you and record as if it were a song. Once you get them sorted send them off to me and I’ll see if I can edit some of your beats and possibly write them into songs.’
“I ended up writing the riff to Mike‘s 7/8 drum groove which then lead me down the road to completing a song which is ‘Raise The Cain’.
“Initially I thought of sitting on the track to include on a full length album down the road but then reality sank back in. Why bother? Why bother sitting on a finished track and letting it sit on a hard drive until who knows when? No good reason to do that so here we are with yet another RK single release featuring some badass drumming from Master @mikeportnoy.”
THE WINERY DOGS were founded after Portnoy and bassist Billy Sheehan — who initially aimed to collaborate with former WHITESNAKE and BLUE MURDER guitarist John Sykes — reached out to Kotzen, who played with Sheehan in MR. BIG from 1997 to 2002. The group has released three albums so far: 2013’s self-titled debut, 2015’s “Hot Streak” and 2023’s “III”.
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