Credit: Loud & Proud RecordsNancy Wilson’s rock and roll heart is still beating, but with a soulful twist.
Wilson, founding member and guitarist for Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famers Heart, has teamed up with R&B singer Liv Warfield, a former member of Prince’s New Power Generation, to form Roadcase Royale. The band’s debut album, the aptly-named First Things First, comes out today.
Roadcase Royale also features lead guitarist and Prince protégé Ryan Waters and three other Heart members: keyboardist Chris Joyner, drummer Ben Smith, and bassist Dan Rothchild, the latter of whom produced the album.
Wilson tells ABC Radio the members all have a “similar ethic on how want to sound and how to make it work” and it came together quickly, “sort of like we just got married in Vegas.”
As for the name Roadcase Royale, it comes from life on the road. Wilson says, “It was an interesting symbol to me since the big heavy-duty road cases that our amps drums and guitars travel in are much like the musicians they accompany…Strong and regal looking yet all scuffed up and dented, covered in funny stickers that tell the story of a crazy traveling circus.”
Their first single is “Get Loud.” Another track, “The Dragon,” was written for late Alice In Chains frontman and fellow Seattle musician Layne Staley before his death.
As for when Wilson will reunite with her sister, Heart co-founder Ann Wilson, that’s still unknown. A rift between the two prompted an indefinite hiatus. Nancy tells ABC News she’s waiting for when “me and my sister can actually have a discussion,” adding, “I’ve kind of reached out, but she hasn’t been ready to reach out.”
Wilson and company have lined up some headlining dates and will be special guests on the Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s Silver Bullet Tour.
Here are Roadcase Royale’s headlining dates:
9/24 — Milwaukee, WI, The Pabst Theater
9/26 — State College, PA, The State Theatre
10/1 — Charlotte, NC, Neighborhood Theatre
10/4 — Knoxville, TN, Bijou Theatre
10/8 — Nashville, TN, City Winery
10/15 — Oklahoma City, OK, Tower Theatre
10/17 — New Orleans, LA, Joy Theater
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