Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and soul/prog legend Richie Kotzen, released an album last year under the moniker Smith/Kotzen. I had huge expectations for this project but it ended being a collection of drab, boring white boy blues compositions. Fans seemed to grab on to it but honestly, the majority of Iron Maiden fans will take just about anything that the band or it’s members put out and consider it amazing. Anyways, I found the album to a total disappointment and just absolutely forgettable.
This year, Smith/Kotzen announced a string of American shows (all of which are in California) before launching a European tour which kicks off on February 22nd in Manchester, England. The “tour” as they call it kicked off last night (January 21, 2022) in Los Angeles, CA at the legendary Whiskey A Go-Go. Joining Smith and Kotzen as part of their touring band is Richie’s wife, internationally acclaimed bass player Julia Lage, formerly of the Latin Grammy-nominated Brazilian rock band BARRA DE SAIA. With a strong pedigree in rock, Lage has played alongside the likes of Pat Travers, Elliot Easton (THE CARS), Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME) and Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY). In addition, SMITH/KOTZEN has enlisted drummer Bruno Valverde of ANGRA for the U.S. West Coast dates.
Fan footage of Smith/Kotzen’s live debut surfaced early today of the band performing the Iron Maiden classic “Wasted Years.” First, what the fuck were they thinking? It maybe would’ve been cool if they tried doing a blues rendition of the song or something like that but the band attempted it note for note and, in my opinion, fell flat on their collective asses. Smith’s vocals were subpar at best, his guitar playing on the intro sounded drunk and sloppy, and Kotzen sounded as if he had just heard the song for the first day at soundcheck. I’m not sure if they thought this would be a good thing for them but seeing it just solidified the fact that I am not missing anything by not seeing or listening to these dorks.
Smith will be back in the fold with Iron Maiden starting on May 22nd in Zagreb, Croatia where the band will kick off the long awaited postponed leg of their Legacy of the Beast Tour.
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