2023 will not be the year to let sleeping dogs lie. Not when it comes to THE WINERY DOGS, who are kicking off the new year with more new music from their forthcoming and aptly named third album III.
Set for release February 3 on the band’s Three Dog Music label (via Burnside Distribution/The Orchard), III follows in the paw steps of their first two albums, once again being self-produced by the band—Richie Kotzen, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan—and mixed by longtime band associate Jay Ruston.
The album’s second song release, “Mad World,” can be seen and heard now on the band’s official YouTube page with the Vicente Cordero-directed video shot in Los Angeles last November.
The first song to be released from III, “Xanadu,” made its world premiere on December 8, 2022 during Eddie Trunk’s “Trunk Nation” show on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. It’s now available on digital formats here. Fans wanting to pre-order the album and enter to win a custom Fender Richie Kotzen Telecaster guitar can go here. The Vicente Cordero-directed video can be seen on the band’s official YouTube page. A vinyl edition of III will also be forthcoming in just a few months.
About “Mad World,” Eddie Trunk declares, “On first listen, ‘Mad World’ was one of my favorite tracks on the coming new Winery Dogs album. Just a great classic sounding rock track with top notch musicianship, but above all a great song! I had tremendous response to my world premiere of the lead track, ‘Xanadu,’ and I expect fans of the band will not be disappointed with ‘Mad World’ and the killer entire new album IIIwhen they get to hear it soon!”
“’Get on the bus, go do the exercise’ is the opening line of the song and it really sets the tone,” explains singer/guitarist Richie Kotzen. “The song is dealing with a certain attitude or way of thinking forced on individuals regardless of your own life experience or unique individuality. I remember a time where opposing opinions and viewpoints were more accepted. A good old healthy debate was a great thing back then. This song is really shining a light on how there may be certain consequences to pay if you don’t think a certain way. It’s also reflected in the lyric, ‘You’d better bite your tongue so you sound the same.’ It also offers a glimmer of hope in its chorus with the line ‘Turn from a scar into a pearl.’ So it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s always a chance to turn things around.”
In addition to the new music, fans will also be excited to hear that the trio is hitting the worldwide concert trail starting February 15 in Greensburg, PA at the Palace Theatre for their “202III World Tour.” Ticket and VIP package info can be found on the band’s official website.
III is the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album, HOT STREAK, which was released October 2, 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment). After landing in the Top Five on many of Amazon’s pre-order charts, including #1 on the Amazon BestSellers/Hard Rock chart and #1 on the Amazon Pre-Orders/Hard Rock Albums charts, it sold 30% more than their 2013 self-titled debut, landing them on various Billboard album charts including #2 on “Top Current Alternative Albums,” #5 on “Top Current Hard Music” and “Top Hard Music Albums,” #6 on “Top Current Rock Albums” and “Album Core / Genre Rock,” #15 “Top Current Physical Albums,” #16 “Top Current Albums,” and #30 on the “Top 200 Albums” chart.
Check out THE WINERY DOGS at any of the following tour stops:
THE WINERY DOGS ON TOUR IN 2023:
Wed 2/15 Greensburg, PA Palace Theatre
Thu 2/16 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn’s Peak
Fri 2/17 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
Sat 2/18 Patchogue, NY Patchogue Theatre
Tue 2/21 New York, NY Sony Hall
Wed 2/22 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live!
Thu 2/23 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
Sat 2/25 Ridgefield, CT The Ridgefield Playhouse
Sun 2/26 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
Wed 3/1 Columbus, OH The King of Clubs
Thu 3/2 Cleveland, OH The Agora Theatre
Fri 3/3 Wabash, IN Eagles Theatre
Sun 3/5 Green Bay, WI Epic Event Center
Mon 3/6 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café
Thu 3/9 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
Fri 3/10 St. Charles, IL The Arcada Theatre
Sat 3/11 Westland, MI Token Lounge
Mon 3/13 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall
Tues 3/14 Harrison, OH Blue Note
Fri 3/17 Dallas, TX Amplified
Sat 3/18 Cedar Park, TX The Haute Spot
Sun 3/19 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Ballroom
Tue 3/21 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Wed 3/22 Birmingham, AL Iron City
Fri 3/24 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Live
Sat 3/25 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
Sun 3/26 Orlando, FL The Plaza Live
Thu 3/30 Virginia Beach, VA Elevation 27
Fri 3/31 Hopewell, VA The Beacon Theatre
Sat 4/1 Leesburg, VA Tally Ho Theater
Sun 4/2 Charlotte, NC The Underground
Tue 4/4 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Wed 4/5 Knoxville, TN The Mill & Mine
Thu 4/6 Nashville, TN Brooklyn Bowl
Thu 4/27 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Vivo Rio (with Stone Temple Pilots)
Fri 4/28 Curitiba, Brazil Tork n Roll (with Skid Row)
Sun 4/3 São Paulo, Brazil Summer Breeze Festival
Mon 6/12 Hamburg, Germany Markthalle
Tue 6/13 Zoetermeer, Netherlands Boerderij
Thu 6/15 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Festival
Fri 6/16 Wolverhampton, England KK’s Steelmill
Sat 6/17 Nottingham, England Rock City
Sun 6/18 London, England Shepherds Bush Empire
Tue 6/20 Cologne, Germany Kantine
Wed 6/21 Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp
Thu 6/22 Milan, Italy Alcatrazz
Sun 6/25 Cartagena, Spain Rock Imperium Festival
Tue 6/27 La Rochelle, France Crossroads
