When I rolled into the jam packed parking lot of Ottawa’s Obsession Live Lounge, something told me this was not going to be your average, ordinary Wednesday night. Jake E. Lee, and his newest endeavour, Red Dragon Cartel, shook the walls of this intimate 450 seat live music venue with their highly charged brand of melodic metal rock.
Formed earlier this year, Red Dragon Cartel is the brainchild of ex-Ozzy Osbourne and Badlands guitarist, Jake E. Lee, and his long time friend, producer, and bassist Ron Mancuso (Beggars & Thieves). Along with producer, Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch), the idea to pull out and develop some of Jake E. Lee’s songs and riffs he’d stockpiled over the years, turned into a serious musical enterprise. After decades of laying low, songwriting, and sporadic involvement in various musical projects, a series of events would ignite the desire to once again take the reins and re-emerge back into the recording and performing world.
Red Dragon Cartel: From left to right: Ron Mancuso (bass), Darren (D.J.) Smith (lead vocals), Jake E. Lee (guitar), and Jonas Fairley (drums).
As funny as it sounds, it was a fall from an unsuccessful attempt to run after an ice cream truck that started the ball rolling. Forced into immobility from a shattered heel, and nothing but time on his hands, Lee turned to the one thing that had always been at the forefront of his life…his music. Shortly after his recovery, his friend, Ron Mancuso, asked Lee if he would make a cameo appearance to perform a solo in a music video for his band, Beggars & Thieves. The video was posted on YouTube, and a floodgate of supportive comments came pouring in, leaving him rather surprised at how many diehard Jake E. Lee fans were still out there. He’d stuck his toe back in the water…and he decided he was ready.
Ten songs were pulled out of the Jake E. Lee archives, ranging from as far back as one he wrote when he was only 15, a piano instrumental called Exquisite Tenderness, to one he wrote just earlier this year, Deceived. The next idea was to bring in various musicians to participate on the album, such as Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Paul Di’Anno (former vocalist for Iron Maiden), Sass Jordan, Maria Brink (In This Moment), to name a few.
Drummer Jonas Fairley, and singer D.J. Smith, switch roles for Rock ‘n Roll Rebel.
After listening to the final mix of Feeder, a song featuring Robin Zander on vocals, Lee was so pleased, he decided to fully commit himself to the project. Plans to put a band together were now underway, choosing the name Red Dragon Cartel in ode to Lee’s Japanese heritage, and creating a Facebook page to seek out a vocalist and a drummer. After screening the multitude of applicants, they settled on vocalist, D.J. Smith of Canadian metal band Warmachine, and drummer Jonas Fairley of Vancouver based hard rock band, Black Betty. A North American tour began last month, including three Ontario dates, and is expected to continue throughout Europe and possibly Japan.
The crowd was treated to an hour and a half set of Jake E. Lee’s compositions from his past and present, beginning and ending the night with a song from each of the two albums he co-wrote during his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne (Bark At The Moon, and Ultimate Sin). From the second that Jonas Fairley hit the skins on the set opener, Ultimate Sin, I knew we were in for a night of explosive, powerhouse rock. And later, he showed us his vocal chops when he and lead singer, Darren (D.J.) Smith switched roles for another Ozzy classic, Rock ‘n Roll Rebel.
Added to the repertoire, were a few that Lee plucked from his Badlands days…High Wire, Sun Red Sun, the soulful, In A Dream, and one of my personal favorites, Shine On…with Smith’s rounder-edged, powerful vocals lending a refreshing new life to the song. I especially loved the thunderous, slow driving bass to another Badlands classic, Rumblin’ Train, with Mancuso laying down the bottom end in his subdued and steady groove. Songs from Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel album included, Deceived, Shout It Out, Feeder, and the track, War Machine, which had the wonderfully unmistakeable flavours of Sabbath present. The show ended as it began…with more Ozzy…and the song that blasted Jake E. Lee into the spotlight, turning him into a rock guitar god… Bark At The Moon.
Jake E. Lee giving out guitar picks to eager fans at the end of the show.
Jake E. Lee has a distinctive playing style…intense, driven to the edge, full of energy, and absolutely masterful. Constantly moving across the stage in his twists and spins, he demonstrated his signature fierce and fearless crunchy guitar tones, long soaring neck bends, and alternating overhand pick slides.
He played his famous “White Pearl” Charvel guitar, a 70’s Fender Stratocaster he acquired in his teens and later modified to his specifications. The audience, comprised mainly of longtime Jake E. Lee fans, were right up in front of the stage, lapping up every lick, and showing their love with shouts of praise and outstretched arms. And in return, he reciprocated with handshakes from the stage, tossing out guitar picks, and happily immersing himself in his fans during a meet-and-greet after the show.
Obsession Live Lounge offered the perfect intimate setting for an up-close-and-personal experience to see and hear musicians of this calibre, let alone meet a guitar legend like Jake E. Lee. A very approachable man, he and the band provided autographs and photographs after the show. It was clear that he felt at home with the closeness of his appreciative fans, who fervently welcomed him back with open arms.
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