Stephen Pearcy recruits former Arcade guitarist Frankie Wilsey for his solo band
Stephen Pearcy recruits former Arcade guitarist Frankie Wilsey for his solo band
Former Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy has recruited former Arcade bandmate Frankie Wilsey to be the second guitarist in his solo band joining drummer Greg D’Angelo, lead guitarist Erik Ferentinos and bassist Matt Thorne. Pearcy‘s fourth solo album entitled Smash is scheduled for release via Frontiers Music Srl on January 27, 2017.
Wikipedia states the following (with slight edits) about the Sea Hags which had Wilsey in their line-up at one point:
“Sea Hags formed in San Francisco in 1985 by frontman Ron Yocom, and bassist Chris Schlosshardt. During the three years before they had the chance to record a major label debut album, they often worked two jobs to keep their dreams of a music career alive. During the band’s early years they played gigs with bands such as Dead Kennedys, Motörhead, the Ramones, and The Cramps. They were signed to Chrysalis Records in December 1987.
Kirk Hammett, the guitarist of Metallica, co-produced their first demos with Sylvia Massy, who went on to produce two releases by progressive rock band Tool. Ian Astbury of The Cult offered to produce their debut. Finally Mike Clink, who had just finished producing Guns N’ Roses‘ Appetite for Destruction was enlisted by the group as producer. Guitarist Frank Wilsey, who had recently left the San Francisco band Head On, joined in November 1988, shortly before the band started to record their eponymous debut for Chrysalis with Clink. Drummer Greg Langston also gave way during this period to Adam Maples. Kevin Russell, a musician who had performed on Ted Nugent‘s Penetrator, contributed additional guitar to the recording. Before finishing the album, the band wrote the track “Under The Night Stars” for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
The band toured Britain in June 1989, opening for The Georgia Satellites. This stint in the UK also gave them the opportunity to do a very short headline club tour including Bristol Bierkeller. In October 1989, Frank Wilsey quit the group.
The band disbanded in February 1990, apparently because of drug abuse and poor management. After the dissolution, Adam Maples became the drummer for Guns N’ Roses for a short period in 1990 before Matt Sorum took over the slot. Chris Schlosshardt died of pneumonia on February 1, 1991, officially ending the band’s existence. Frank Wilsey changed his name to Wilcox (and then Wilsex) and joined Arcade, a band started by former Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy. He also played with Pearcy‘s band Nitronic. Ron Yocom went homeless, then went on to team up with industrial goth rocker Sarine Voltage, forming The Power of 3, a “Now Wave” project that he currently co-fronts.
The Sea Hags re-existed for a short time in 2007 under the management of Wendee Key with Ron Yocom as the frontman. The band shortly decayed due to unexplained issues between management and band members.”
Sleaze Roxx stated the following in its review of Arcade‘s self-titled debut album: “The debut effort from this talented quintet featured members from such big names as Ratt, Cinderella and Sea Hags. Songs such as “Nothin’ To Lose”, “Calm Before The Storm” and “All Shook Up” really jam! Plus there are also two good ballads in “Cry No More” and “So Good…So Bad…”, as well as a nice acoustical number “Mother Blues” and the instrumental “Sons And Daughters”.
Of course, with Stephen Pearcy on vocals you just know this is going to sound a lot like Ratt, and it does. The musicianship throughout is top-notch, but unluckily for the group the music scene had changed completely by the time of this release (although it did manage to break into the charts). Arcade gets two thumbs for this album!”