Barren Cross announce new vocalist...

From BC's MySpace... the new singer is ... Dean Kohn! (All together now: Who?)

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=431913743&blogId=514594737

Introducing Dean Kohn (bio)

Dean Kohn had his first musical beginnings at a very early age. From playing the trumpet in grade school to Rock-n-Roll in high school, he loved to listen to bands like Cheap Trick and AC/DC.

In 1985, at the age of 20 years old, Dean began singing and excelled quickly to the point where in 1986 he decided to take up singing full-time. Over the next two years he took vocal lessons from Hollywood vocal coach Elizabeth Sabine, who has trained such vocalists as Michael Sweet of Stryper, Don Barnes of 38 Special and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth.

In 1988, Dean was singing lead vocals for the band ATTAKK, when friend and band mate, Hideo Inakuma, introduced him to the Japanese band Loudness. Upon recording and pre-releasing a demo in Japan for the band ATTAKK, the members of Loudness inquired if Dean would be willing to sing on their upcoming CD, Soldiers of Fortune. Munetaki Higuchi, the drummer for Loudness, and Hideo Inakuma contacted Dean and they all agreed to meet and set recording dates. Although Dean began cutting tracks, Executive Producer, Max Norman, determined it would be better to replace Dean with Mike Vescara, whose vocals resembled more the prior singer’s. Disappointed but not discouraged, Dean kept pursuing his career.

In 1989, Dean met with guitarist Mick Zane and bassist Mark Behn, from the band Malice. Dean was invited to join the band as lead vocalist. However, due to Dean’s battle with drugs and alcohol he felt he had to leave the band.

In 1991, Dean was accepted Christ into his life; however, his desire was to still sing and pursue a career in music.

But God kept pursuing Dean and in 1992, he felt that he needed to surrender his whole life to Christ and he entered rehab at Victory Outreach Men’s Home (VOMH). Here Dean was able to get clean and develop and mature in Christ. Upon graduation, from VOMH, Dean laid his musical dream down and began working with the VOMH faculty, helping others discover a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Dean has been serving and helping to build this ministry for over 17 years now.

Dean’s desire to sing has never waned through the years, but as a fully committed Christian he realized that he needed to personally wait on God and His timing. Dean believes this is now the time. He contacted Barren Cross after noticing that they did not have a lead singer listed on the band’s MySpace. Dean initially contacted Ray Parris via email. He then had subsequent phone conversations with both Ray Parris and Steve Whitaker. Finally, Jim LaVerde, Steve, Ray and Dean met and, after much prayer, Dean was asked to become the new lead vocalist for Barren Cross.


...ooookay, so... anybody heard of this guy? Me neither. Pretty cool story about his near-miss with Loudness though. BC just posted on their Facebook page that they will be "coming out with new music" soon.

Interesting...... I guess Vincent Van Volt wasn't available!

ill believe they are doing another album when i see it...

No, cuz then you won't have to believe it, anymore...it'll actually BE there.


I look forward to new stuff from them. Hopefully they'll still be the BC we all know and love.

exact33 wrote:

ill believe they are doing another album when i see it...

I know man. I've been waiting for a new album from them for many years now. Same with Bloodgood. I'll believe it when I see it. Somehow I doubt I ever will though.

Or if we do, I wonder how the quality will really be. Not to sound negative though.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

exact33 wrote:

ill believe they are doing another album when i see it...

I know man. I've been waiting for a new album from them for many years now. Same with Bloodgood. I'll believe it when I see it. Somehow I doubt I ever will though.

Or if we do, I wonder how the quality will really be. Not to sound negative though.

it might be so long the trend will be the 80s metal again so we wont have an alternative sounding release!

Dean Koontz??? The author?

I've been in Elizabeth Sabine's home. She had promo photos all over the walls of those she offered training to. A very nice old lady that made screaming brownies. In my observation and after talking with Mike at Cali-Stone a couple years back. BC is only looking to record if some $ is to be made from it. Once they realize it needs to be done for the love of the music and for the fans, then it will happen.

Here's hoping for new stuff but i'm not holding my breath.

Great news but I hope they keep their formula and don't try to be modern

How do you announce a new vocalist without a new band picture?

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

How do you announce a new vocalist without a new band picture?

It's just bait for some record company to bite. A lil bit of name dropping to establish some sort of pedigree' and hopefully they get a bite.

So whatever happened to Mike Lee? I haven't been following the band and I'm genuinely curious. He was a great vocalist.

JBall_Z wrote:

So whatever happened to Mike Lee? I haven't been following the band and I'm genuinely curious. He was a great vocalist.

I know he reunited with the band a few years back. I was hoping for a reunion album, but it never materialized. I guess they just couldn't work things out.

Mike ended up having theological differences with the other 3 members...couldn't see eye to eye on certain things anymore...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Mike ended up having theological differences with the other 3 members...couldn't see eye to eye on certain things anymore...

That's too bad. I liked Mike, and though, overall, it may not have been there best work, "Rattle Your Cage" had some killer tracks on it, Time For Love, Midnight Son, Here I Am.

Well, it will be interesting to see what the band produces with the new vocalists.

This is kind of a silly announcement. I mean, if they actually had some tracks already cut and up on myspace to sample...then you can kind of "care" about it and think, cool, it's legit. To me, it will never be Barren Cross with out Lee.

But right now....it's kind of like Van Halen announcing the guy from Extreme...yeah sure, great.

T-Roy wrote:

This is kind of a silly announcement. I mean, if they actually had some tracks already cut and up on myspace to sample...then you can kind of "care" about it and think, cool, it's legit. To me, it will never be Barren Cross with out Lee.

But right now....it's kind of like Van Halen announcing the guy from Extreme...yeah sure, great.

I totally agree. I hope it doesn't pan out. I hate when a quality band tarnishes their own legacy.

SpectreFate wrote:

T-Roy wrote:

This is kind of a silly announcement. I mean, if they actually had some tracks already cut and up on myspace to sample...then you can kind of "care" about it and think, cool, it's legit. To me, it will never be Barren Cross with out Lee.

But right now....it's kind of like Van Halen announcing the guy from Extreme...yeah sure, great.

I totally agree. I hope it doesn't pan out. I hate when a quality band tarnishes their own legacy.

EXACTLY! Leave it alone.

T-Roy wrote:

SpectreFate wrote:

T-Roy wrote:

This is kind of a silly announcement. I mean, if they actually had some tracks already cut and up on myspace to sample...then you can kind of "care" about it and think, cool, it's legit. To me, it will never be Barren Cross with out Lee.

But right now....it's kind of like Van Halen announcing the guy from Extreme...yeah sure, great.

I totally agree. I hope it doesn't pan out. I hate when a quality band tarnishes their own legacy.

EXACTLY! Leave it alone.

DING! We have a winner. Whats even worse is to keep promising a new cd and never deliver.

You have to give Kudos to Saint - they at least deliver on new music..

Quote :

DING! We have a winner.

I want to take this phrase, and "Bingo!", and drop them off a high cliff to be impaled on the cold, jagged rocks below...then I want to walk to the bottom of the cliff and set the bloody remains on fire...then I want to take the ashes and cover them in pig $h!t.

Then I would feel better...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Quote :

DING! We have a winner.

I want to take this phrase, and "Bingo!", and drop them off a high cliff to be impaled on the cold, jagged rocks below...then I want to walk to the bottom of the cliff and set the bloody remains on fire...then I want to take the ashes and cover them in pig $h!t.

Then I would feel better...

Do people even really care? These guys haven't done anything in YEARS. I think they should just end it already.

Lurideath wrote:

Do people even really care? These guys haven't done anything in YEARS. I think they should just end it already.

I kind of agree. I mean, since their reformation they've played some festival dates? No new music, no real productivity. At this point, anything they do without Mike Lee is doomed. There'll be some who hang on and like it, but overall there's been too much of a gap and they'll never, ever escape the shadow of the fisrt 3 albums...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

Do people even really care? These guys haven't done anything in YEARS. I think they should just end it already.

.... and they'll never, ever escape the shadow of the fisrt 3 albums...

WORD!!!