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Rich Ward | |
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 Ward performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Park Ward |
| Also known as |
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| Born | January 16, 1969 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Member of |
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| Formerly of |
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| Website | thedukeofmetal |
Richard Park Ward (born January 16, 1969), also known by his stage name The Duke, is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of Stuck Mojo and as lead guitarist of heavy metal band Fozzy.
Ward grew up listening to many indie-style soundtracks as that was all that was available to him. After his parents' divorce, Ward's mother's work schedule was hectic, resulting in her hiring a college student to look after him and his sister.
According to Ward, the student would often bring over heavy metal and hard rock albums from bands such as AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, to name a few. From that point, Ward had a new outlook on music, having found the genre of music that "clicked" with him. Ward has also said in interviews that his favorite band growing up was Journey, and he has also cited bands like Bad Company and Foreigner as influences.
Ward began learning guitar at age 12, borrowing a friend's guitar on weekends, practicing different chords he picked up from his friends. [1]
In 1989, Ward formed Stuck Mojo along with bassist Duane Fowler and front man Bonz. The first six years of the band consisted of touring clubs on the East Coast of the United States. When recalling this time of his life, Ward speaks of sleeping in his rehearsal space to save money.
After finally receiving a recording contract with Century Media Records, Mojo released its debut album Snappin' Necks in 1995. Although the album found little mainstream success, it went on to influence many popular nu metal bands of today, such as Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. In 1996, in preparation for their first overseas tour, the band released the European-only EP, Violated . That same year, Stuck Mojo released its second album, Pigwalk . Even though the band's second full-length album sold in similar numbers as the previous one, many critics and musicians consider this album to be a defining milestone of rap-metal. In 1998, Stuck Mojo released Rising , its commercially most successful release.
From its beginnings, the band went through a number of lineup changes. As time went on, tensions within the group mounted, primarily between Ward and Bonz. Ward has stated in interviews that it once escalated to the point of a physical confrontation between the two while on tour in Europe. At one point, they were not even talking to each other, only having one common goal, the success of the band.
In 2000, Stuck Mojo released Declaration of a Headhunter . The band had slowly been crumbling during the process of recording and releasing the album. Ward recalled, "That album was basically done with duct tape, we didn't even have a working band." The bands' relationship with Century Media, both mutual and business, had also been deteriorating, to the point where Ward disbanded the band a while after releasing the album.
In 1999, Ward formed Sick Speed with singer and guitarist Dale Steele, Mojo bassist Dan Dryden and Mojo drummer Frank "Bud" Fontsere. The same year, Ward met World Wrestling Entertainment (then known as the World Wrestling Federation, or WWF) superstar Chris Jericho backstage at a WWF show. The two bonded over their love of 1980s heavy metal and Ward invited Jericho to join his side band Fozzy Osbourne which would later transform into the "mock rock" band Fozzy. While the band was originally supposed to be just a fun side project, the band was courted by Metal Blade Records and filmed a "mockumentary" that aired on MTV. The show provided a fictional back story about the band, alleging that the members of Fozzy had in fact written many of the more popular 1980s metal songs, but that an unfair contract had forced the band to remain in Japan for the past 20 years, allowing other acts to take credit for the compositions.
Fozzy's first two albums, Fozzy and Happenstance mainly consisted of covers of the songs of 1970s and 1980s metal bands. Their third album, All That Remains , consisted entirely of originals, although two of the songs, "The Test" and "The Way I Am", had been written by Ward during his time with Sick Speed, which disbanded in 2004. The reason for releasing a completely original album was noted by Ward, "Ultimately it came to the time of the third album that we had to decide what we are, we're either a joke or we're a really good joke with good songs".
In early 2005, performing under the stage name "The Duke", Ward released My Kung Fu is Good, his debut solo album with Spitfire Records, which grew from demos he had recorded the previous year and performances at the Atlantis Music Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
The album received positive reviews, with Billboard magazine stating, "Evolution and growth that exceeds most of the rock acts currently cluttering the airwaves."
In 2011, he joined metal supergroup Adrenaline Mob playing rhythm guitar, but he left in early 2012 to focus on other projects.
Ward reformed Stuck Mojo with Bonz and Fontsere in 2005, alongside new bassist Sean Delson. Ward stated that he and Bonz had patched things up over recent years and regained the desire to want to write and release records. Mojo started a tour of Europe and then of the U.S. However, the reunion with Bonz only lasted into early 2006, when the band approached Bonz with an ultimatum; either enter a substance abuse rehabilitation program or he would be forced to leave the group. Substance abuse is attributed to the previously damaged relationship between Ward and Bonz, who often mentioned marijuana in the band's live shows.
Bonz responded with a compromise that he would work on the addiction himself. Ward cited this as too big a risk, fueled by the then-recent deaths of other musicians in metal bands. Bonz left the band and was replaced by his friend, Lord Nelson.
Stuck Mojo today is known most for their 2006 song "Open Season", which sparked controversy in the American media in general.[ citation needed ]
"Open Season" is part of the album that Bonz and Ward had originally collaborated on in the reformation of Stuck Mojo, Southern Born Killers . Due to Bonz' sudden departure from the band, Ward re-recorded the album with vocalist Lord Nelson, guitarist Mike Martin, bassist Sean Delson and drummer Eric Sanders (Frank Fontsere departed in December 2005). In early 2008, Stuck Mojo signed with Napalm Records and re-released Southern Born Killers along with three new tracks. The album was released internationally on February 29, 2008, and on March 4, 2008, in the U.S.
In late 2008, the band released "The Great Revival" overseas, and in the United States, it was released on January 13, 2009. Some critics disliked the direction of the album, and reviews were mixed.
In 2015 Ward stated on his website that he had begun writing demos for a new Stuck Mojo release. In March 2016 via Blabbermouth.Com [2] Stuck Mojo announced the release via PledgeMusic.com [3] of their seventh studio album titled "Here Come The Infidels". Along with the new album Stuck Mojo announced the new band's lineup of Ward, Frank Fontsere and new members, Robby J. and Len Sonnier.
Ward was previously married to professional wrestler Daffney. [4] He has since remarried and he and his wife Julie live in the Atlanta area.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2016) |
Fozzy is an American heavy metal band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1999 by lead singer Chris Jericho, lead guitarist Rich Ward and drummer Frank Fontsere. The band's current lineup consists of Jericho, Ward, second guitarist Billy Grey, bassist P. J. Farley and drummer Grant Brooks. Jericho has characterized the band by saying, "If Metallica and Black Sabbath had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy." As of September 2022, the band has released eight studio albums and one live album. Their first two albums consist of primarily cover songs with some original material, while their albums since have made original material the primary focus.
Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland. They were popular in North America during the 1980s.
Stuck Mojo is an American rap metal band from Atlanta, formed in 1989 by bassist Dwayne Fowler. The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. They have toured alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most successful album, Rising, peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The band disbanded in 2000, reforming five years later. In 2006, their original vocalist, Bonz, was replaced by rapper Lord Nelson. Stuck Mojo released their seventh studio album, Here Come the Infidels, via Pledge Music in 2016. In the press release, the band also announced the addition of two new members, Robby J. Fonts (vocals) and Len Sonnier (bassist). To date, they have released seven studio albums and one live album.
All That Remains is the third studio album from heavy metal group Fozzy. Unlike the band's two previous albums, All That Remains features all original songs as the band had dropped their spoof in favor of becoming a more recognized band rather than a gimmick, with the members using their actual names instead of stage names. It features Alter Bridge members Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti, Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde, rapper Bone Crusher, and Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. A remastered version of All That Remains, entitled All That Remains: Reloaded, was released on March 25, 2008. It is a two-disc set that features the album and a DVD called Live in the UK.
Happenstance is the second studio album by heavy metal band Fozzy. For the album, the band continue with their spoof that they had spent the last 20 years in Japan being megastars and once they returned to America, they realized that many famous artists have ripped off their songs. The album therefore features covers of songs by bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, W.A.S.P., Scorpions and Accept. However, the album also features five original songs by Fozzy.
Switched was an American nu metal band from Cleveland, Ohio.
Segression is an Australian heavy metal band from Wollongong, New South Wales, formed in 1990 under the name Eezee. Their 2000 album "Smile" is still one of the highest selling metal albums released in Australia despite their rocky relationship with the music industry. Their latest album 'Painted in Blood' featured cover art by infamous blood painter Rev Myers, it was released independently late in 2014.
"Enemy" is the lead single from American rock band Fozzy's All That Remains album.
Southern Born Killers is an album by Stuck Mojo. The initial version of the album was released as both a CD and as a free download from the band's website on April 23, 2007. The album was released internationally on March 4, 2008. This is the first album with new vocalist Lord Nelson, who had replaced the departed Bonz.
Pigwalk is the second full-length studio album by rap metal group Stuck Mojo. This album is considered to be a milestone in the rap metal genre. Stuck Mojo performed "(Here Comes) The Monster" and "Mental Meltdown" on MTV's 1996 Headbangers Ball. A music video for "Pigwalk" was also made. Despite this, the album found little mainstream success, much like the previous album, Snappin Necks. In 2006, the album was reissued, adding almost the entire Violated EP, the demo "Hate Must Be A Gift", and two covers of Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild" and Mötley Crüe's "Shout at the Devil".
Declaration of a Headhunter is the fourth studio album by American rap metal group Stuck Mojo. It was also the final studio album from the band before originally disbanding in 2000. Unlike the previous albums, all music and lyrics were written by Rich Ward. This was mainly due to friction that had been brought up between him and lead singer, Bonz. Rich noted, "at the time of Declaration of a Headhunter, Bonz and I weren't even speaking to each other anymore." Due to this, there is a notable difference in the songs. Back-up vocals are heavily emphasized while Bonz takes more of a backseat position. Substance abuse is also attributed to the bad relationship between Rich and Bonz. When it comes to longtime drummer Bud Fonstere, Rich said in an interview, "I always had the drummer Bud with me but he's not a writing drummer, he's the guy that comes in and does the job". Nevertheless, many fans consider this to be the band's finest work and as stated in an interview Rich Ward felt it was their most polished, heaviest, most melodic and dynamic record to date...
Frank Fontsere is an American drummer from Marietta, Georgia. He is known mostly for his work in rap metal group Stuck Mojo (1996–2000) and heavy metal group Fozzy. He has also been a member of Agent Cooper, The Duke (2005), Soundevice (2006), Love Said No (2007) and Primer 55 (2007). He is famous for using drum triggers on his albums and for every live performance.
Chasing the Grail is the fourth studio album from the heavy metal band Fozzy, released on January 26, 2010. It is their first album since the release of All That Remains five years prior, and is their first and only album as a four-piece.
Jeff Rouse is an American musician who is best known as the bassist for the rock bands Alien Crime Syndicate and Duff McKagan's Loaded. In September 2014, it was announced Rouse was the newest member of Fozzy. Previously, Rouse was a member of a number of Seattle-based groups such as Vendetta Red and Sirens Sister while he also has his own solo project titled To the Glorious Lonely and The Gemini Affair.
Corey French Lowery is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and engineer. He is the guitarist and backing vocalist for South African rock band Seether, and a former member of Saint Asonia, Stuck Mojo, Stereomud, Eye Empire, and Dark New Day. He is the brother of Clint Lowery.
Remains Alive is a live album from the heavy metal band Fozzy containing songs from their entire history as a band. It was released by Riot! Entertainment and was recorded in Brisbane, Australia during their "Fozzy in Aussie" tour, in 2005. On July 5, 2011, a special edition was released containing Fozzy's 2010 album, Chasing the Grail.
Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata.
Paul Di Leo is an American bassist who has worked with such bands as Nena, Adrenaline Mob, and Fozzy.
Mike Martin is an American guitarist, composer and producer, also known by his nickname, "2 of 5". He has worked with such bands and artists as Stuck Mojo, The Duke, Fozzy & is currently working on/with: The Mike Martin Band, Agent Cooper and The Nominees.
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