 |
Paul Crook | |
|---|---|
 Crook in 2007 with his Brian May signature guitar | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Matthew Crook |
| Born | February 12, 1966 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Paul Crook (born February 12, 1966) is an American guitarist known for his work recording and performing with Meat Loaf. He has also recorded and toured with Anthrax, Sebastian Bach and Marya Roxx.
Growing up in Green Brook Township, New Jersey, he started playing guitar at the age of 10 when his parents (Dennis & Carol) bought him a basic acoustic as a Christmas gift. [1] Crook took to the guitar quickly and found himself practicing hours-on-end. His father, after seeing this for a few years, then bought him his first "real" guitar: a black Gibson Les Paul Custom .
Years later Crook teamed up with Jack Secret (aka Tony Geranios), the keyboard tech for Rush. They wrote and recorded several songs together. Some of which were Produced by Alex Lifeson at Electric Lady Studios, in New York City. Secret introduced Crook to the members of Blue Öyster Cult (BOC), who took Crook out on the road in 1986 as a keyboard/guitar tech.
While in Germany with BOC, Crook met Bernie Marsden of Whitesnake fame. The two began to work together, writing and recording in the United Kingdom.
In 1989 Crook met Anthrax through Rick Downey. Crook became guitar tech for Dan Spitz, and, in 1995, replaced Spitz (although not an official member). Crook toured with Anthrax for the rest of the decade and performed on two records, Stomp 442 and Volume 8: The Threat Is Real , which he also co-produced and engineered.
In 1999, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row fame asked Crook to join his band. They did shows together, touring around the world until 2004. Their only recording was "Rock Bottom", on a KISS tribute record.
In 1999 Crook teamed up with Glenn Hughes. Together, they composed the ballad "Feels Like Home" for Glenn's solo record Building The Machine .
In 2000 Crook teamed up with Scott Metaxas from Prophet and Nuclear Assault fame. The two of them Co-produced Billy Milano's M.O.D. record The Rebel You Love to Hate .
In 2003 Kasim Sulton asked Crook to join Meat Loaf's Neverland Express. Crook appeared in the music video "Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself" and then hit the road for a long world tour including television appearances.
A live DVD was filmed at the end of the tour (in Australia): Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra .
In 2004 Crook auditioned for the musical We Will Rock You , featuring the music of Queen. He had to audition for Brian May, one of his main influences. May trained Crook personally for the position. Crook relocated to Las Vegas to perform his favorite Queen songs. After a 16-month run the show moved to Toronto, Canada. To this day Crook remains in Las Vegas and still calls it his home.
In 2006 Crook hit the studio with Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express to record Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose . The album was produced by Desmond Child.
While touring Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose a camera crew was called in to record every move the band made. This footage later became known as the documentary film: Meat Loaf In Search Of Paradise.
In 2007 (while on a tour break) Crook received a text message from famed producer Kevin Shirley, who asked Crook to play on a heavy metal record for Marya Roxx. Shirley assembled a solid band: Crook (guitars), Scott Metaxas (bass), Derek Sherinian (keyboards) and Brian Tichy (drums). They re-wrote and recorded 12 songs in 10 days at The Document Room in Malibu, California.
2008 brought Crook out on the road for Meat Loaf's Casa De Carne tour.
2009 was a very busy year. After a tour of Europe with Marya Roxx, Crook jumped back in the studio with Meat Loaf. This time Rob Cavallo was called in to produce. They began recording on June 1 in Calabasas, California. Many stellar musicians were brought in to create the massive sound. Sharing guitar duties alongside Crook were Brian May, Steve Vai, Justin Hawkins, Randy Flowers and Tim Pierce.
While recording Meat Loaf's Hang Cool, Teddy Bear album Crook was asked by Rob Cavallo to record on a song with Adam Lambert from American Idol fame. The song was "Time for Miracles". It was released and went to #9 on iTunes. "Time for Miracles" was a part of the motion picture soundtrack for 2012 .
In 2010 Meat Loaf asked Crook to produce the album Hell In A Handbasket . The album was released on September 30, 2011.
Crook spent most of 2011/2012 on the road with Meat Loaf.
Meat Loaf asked Crook to mix the Guilty Pleasure Tour, Live From Sydney.
In early 2013 Meat Loaf and Crook began song editing and video creation for the Last At Bat Tour. All of the video media used in the show was put together by the two of them. The tour mounted in April 2013 and took them through the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.
After the Last At Bat Tour, Crook began working with Meat Loaf on song arrangements and video production for a Las Vegas residency... Rocktellz And Cocktails had a successful 26-week run at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Summer 2014, Crook began production work on Meat Loaf's upcoming album Braver Than We Are .
While on break from recording Braver Than We Are, Crook began production for Frank DiMino's album Old Habits Die Hard. It was released on Frontiers Records in July 2015.
July 2015 Crook found himself back in the studio with Meat Loaf, recording vocals on Braver Than We Are. A majority of the work was done during an 11-week period in a rental house just outside of Nashville. Vocal overdubs and mixing were completed in Las Vegas (December 2015 - February 2016). Release date is slated for September 2016.
Michael Lee Aday, known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is one of the best selling music artists in history. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy—Bat Out of Hell (1977), Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993), and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)—has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, as of 2016 still sold an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of bestselling albums.
James Richard Steinman was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He wrote songs for Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf, including Bat Out of Hell, and also wrote and produced Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and Tyler's Faster Than the Speed of Night.
Bat Out of Hell is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from a musical, Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan, which Steinman wrote for a workshop in 1974. It was recorded during 1975–1976 at various studios, including Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released in October 1977 by Cleveland International/Epic Records. Bat Out of Hell spawned two Meat Loaf sequel albums: Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993) and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006).
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by American musicians Meat Loaf and Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has become a staple of classic rock radio and has been described as the "greatest rock duet".
Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell is the sixth studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and the second one in the Bat Out of Hell trilogy, which was written and produced by Jim Steinman. It was released on September 14, 1993, sixteen years after Meat Loaf's first solo album Bat Out of Hell. The album reached number 1 in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Five tracks were released as singles, including "I'd Do Anything for Love ", which reached number 1 in 28 countries.
Marya Roxx is an Estonian hard rock/metal singer-songwriter residing in Los Angeles. She is a former member of the Estonian girl band Vanilla Ninja.
Patrick Eric Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album New Day in 1972.
Couldn't Have Said It Better is the eighth studio album by Meat Loaf, released in the UK on April 21, 2003. For only the third time in his career, he released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman. Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since Bat Out of Hell".
Bat out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is a live album released by singer Meat Loaf in 2004 on the Mercury and Sanctuary labels.
Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose is the ninth studio album by Meat Loaf, and the third and final album in the Bat Out of Hell trilogy. It was released in Ireland on October 20, 2006, 29 years after Bat Out of Hell (1977), and 13 years after Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993). It was released in the UK on October 23, 2006, and in the US on October 31, 2006.
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights, and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. The Sunday Times posits that "Steinman protects his songs as if they were his children". Meat Loaf, who had collaborated with Steinman on most of his hit songs, had wanted to record the song for years, but Steinman refused, saying he saw it as a "woman's song". Steinman won a court case, which prevented Meat Loaf from recording it. Girl group Pandora's Box went on to record it, and it was subsequently made famous through a cover by Celine Dion, which upset Meat Loaf because he was going to use it for a planned album with the working title Bat Out of Hell III.
John Miceli is the drummer for Meat Loaf's backing band, the Neverland Express. He formerly played with Rainbow.
VH1: Storytellers is a live album by Meat Loaf, released in 1999. Meat Loaf told humorous stories of his career as a singer and how he unfolded into rock stardom. The DVD version has two additional songs. Some songs on the CD are taken from Meat Loaf's Hard Rock Live performance. Others were taken from the pre-show soundcheck. The album peaked at No. 129 on the Billboard 200, making it his lowest charting album in the United States.
3 Bats Live is a music DVD by rock singer Meat Loaf. Recorded on March 18, 2007 at London, Ontario during his "Seize the Night" tour, it mainly features songs from the Bat Out of Hell trilogy. The DVD was released in the UK on October 15, 2007, and in the UK on November 20, 2007.
Hang Cool Teddy Bear is the tenth studio album by Meat Loaf. It was released on 19 April 2010 by Mercury Records in the UK and by Loud & Proud Records in the US on 11 May 2010, with global distribution handled by Universal Music Group.
Hell in a Handbasket is the eleventh studio album by Meat Loaf, released September 30, 2011, in Australia and New Zealand, through Legacy Recordings. A wider global release followed in early 2012. It features guest appearances from Lil Jon, Mark McGrath, Trace Adkins, John Rich, and Chuck D, as well as Meat Loaf’s regular collabortors Paul Crook and Patti Russo.
Guilty Pleasure Tour is a concert tour by American rock musician Meat Loaf in support of his 2011 album Hell in a Handbasket. The tour only visited Australia and New Zealand; more dates were expected to be announced for mainland Europe and North America, but did not eventuate. The show in Sydney was filmed for DVD release. Meat Loaf has said that the tour's name came from a poll, which named him the number one "guilty pleasure". During the concerts, Meat Loaf announced to his fans that these concerts would be the "last he ever performed in Australia and New Zealand" and added a thank you to the fans for "38 years of support" for the duration of his career.
The Mad, Mad World Tour was a concert tour by American singer Meat Loaf that started on June 22, 2012 in Austin, Texas and concluded on October 19, 2012 in Uncasville, Connecticut. The tour was in support of his Hell in a Handbasket album.
Braver Than We Are is the twelfth and final studio album by American singer Meat Loaf, released in Europe on September 9, 2016, by Caroline International S&D and released in the United States on September 16, 2016 by 429 Records.
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Live albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Compilations | |
| Songs | |
| Video albums | |
| Related articles | |
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
