Tom Keifer

MetalGuy71 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

So, I just read about this on sleazeroxx and one of the comments was about the "Portrait" deal from the mid 1990's. Anyone know what that's all about?

If I recall, famed A&R guy John Kalodner signed Cinderella (and some other 80's hair bands) to Portrait Records (an off-shoot of Columbia Sony records) in the early/mid 90's when no other label would touch glam bands with a 10-foot can of Aquanet. The label eventually went-under, but Cinderella was still under contract and can't release music under the Cinderella name for some reason.

I don't know how all the legal stuff works in that regard though. It's seems to me if the label doesn't exist anymore, the contract would be null & void and the band would be free to do what they want, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

Portrait may not exist, but their parent Sony still does and they still own the rights to release the next Cinderella album, apparently. That Portrait deal was in the late 90s I believe. That's all the same deal where the self titled Ratt album from 99, and Great White's Can't Get There From Here album came from. They were all under the John Kalodner umbrella.

What I don't understand is how both Ratt and Great White have since moved-on yet the Cinder-fellas can't seem to escape the legal red-tape. Why not release music under the Sony label? It must be one helluva sh*tty deal on their end if they refuse to record and release new music.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

What I don't understand is how both Ratt and Great White have since moved-on yet the Cinder-fellas can't seem to escape the legal red-tape. Why not release music under the Sony label? It must be one helluva sh*tty deal on their end if they refuse to record and release new music.

I would assume it's because Ratt and Great White fulfilled the contract by delivering an album, whereas Cinderella delivered nothing. I'd imagine Cinderella was paid an advance and Sony wants to recoup that. Obviously, neither Sony nor Cinderella expect to make any money on a new album, but the contract still exists and Cinderella is bound by it.

Yea, that's what I'm saying. The deal must be so bad that Cinderella would rather do nothing rather than give into Sony.

It's a shame. All those old Night Songs-era demos floating around on the web. If only they could give some of them a little spit and polish, they could float that out there. Even if it was to fulfill a contract commitment. It wouldn't make much money in this day and age, but I know lots of fans, myself included, would snap that up in a heartbeat.

I'm sure there's much more to it and we're over-simplifying the process. Sucks all the same though.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Yea, that's what I'm saying. The deal must be so bad that Cinderella would rather do nothing rather than give into Sony.

It's a shame. All those old Night Songs-era demos floating around on the web. If only they could give some of them a little spit and polish, they could float that out there. Even if it was to fulfill a contract commitment. It wouldn't make much money in this day and age, but I know lots of fans, myself included, would snap that up in a heartbeat.

I'm sure there's much more to it and we're over-simplifying the process. Sucks all the same though.

Agreed. Night Songs demos would be great!

I met Tom a couple of years ago at a local record signing I could tell.he was interested in my Vektor "Black Future " shirt. As long as you bought his solo cd, Tom would sign anything.Well, while standing in line ,I spotted a "Cinderella " storybook. After I gave Tom Night Songs and the solo cd to sign, I whipped from behind my back the aforementioned storybook, and asked him to sign it.He looked at me quizzically for a second,then I showed him the title. "See? Cinderella! He gave out a little chuckle,and signed my book.

Witchfinder wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

the sentinel wrote:

So, I just read about this on sleazeroxx and one of the comments was about the "Portrait" deal from the mid 1990's. Anyone know what that's all about?

If I recall, famed A&R guy John Kalodner signed Cinderella (and some other 80's hair bands) to Portrait Records (an off-shoot of Columbia Sony records) in the early/mid 90's when no other label would touch glam bands with a 10-foot can of Aquanet. The label eventually went-under, but Cinderella was still under contract and can't release music under the Cinderella name for some reason.

I don't know how all the legal stuff works in that regard though. It's seems to me if the label doesn't exist anymore, the contract would be null & void and the band would be free to do what they want, but I guess it doesn't work that way.

Portrait may not exist, but their parent Sony still does and they still own the rights to release the next Cinderella album, apparently. That Portrait deal was in the late 90s I believe.  That's all the same deal where the self titled Ratt album from 99, and Great White's Can't Get There From Here album came from.  They were all under the John Kalodner umbrella.  

Thank you, guys. My next question is "why can't they (Cinderella) release an album as "Cinderella" for Sony or an offshoot thus putting out new music and fulfilling the contract?

My guess is that from Cinderella's perspective, the contract deal is so bad they would rather do nothing. Who knows?

Details on Tom Keifer's re-issue of The Way Life Goes: Deluxe Edition...



Disc 1: CD

01. Solid Ground
02. A Different Light
03. It's Not Enough
04. Cold Day In Hell
05. Thick And Thin
06. Ask Me Yesterday
07. Fool's Paradise
08. The Flower Song
09. Mood Elevator
10. Welcome To My Mind
11. You Showed Me
12. Ain't That A Bitch
13. The Way Life Goes
14. Babylon

Bonus Tracks

15. Nobody's Fool (feat. Lzzy Hale)
16. With A Little Help From My Friends
17. Nobody's Fool (Piano Version)

Disc 2: DVD

Chapter 1. The Way Life's Goin' (Documentary)
Chapter 2. Solid Ground (Music video)
Chapter 3. The Flower Song (Music video)
Chapter 4. It's Not Enough (Music video)
Chapter 5. It's Not Enough (Lyric video)
Chapter 6. Album Promo
Chapter 7. Cathouse Live
Chapter 8. Count Vamp'd Las Vegas
Chapter 9. Farm Rock Chicago

3 extra tunes and a dvd ain't enticing me enough to repurchase the same album. Sorry Tom.

I never got around to buying Tom's album when it first came out, so this sooper deluxe thingy is OK by me

Fat Freddy wrote:

I never got around to buying Tom's album when it first came out, so this sooper deluxe thingy is OK by me

I just revisited the original not too long ago and it still holds up. If you liked Cinderella's Heartbreak Station or Still Climbing, you'll probably dig this. It's the closest you're gonna get to any Cinderella in the foreseeable future.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I never got around to buying Tom's album when it first came out, so this sooper deluxe thingy is OK by me

Yeah, I'm with you. I might get this.

He's got a unique voice, and I'm not expecting the best album ever. Just something fun and nostalgic as a Cinderella fan. That doesn't totally suck. Now I understand some (like my wife) will see that as an oxymoron, but I personally love Cinderella and can't and won't deny it.

Some of these songs were actually written for planned fifth Cinderella album in the mid-1990s ("Welcome to My Mind," for example). Others were written much later, such as "Thick and Thin," which dates to 2002.

I was hoping that there were going to be several new tracks on this deluxe edition. I'll buy it because I'm a huge Cinderella fan, but one cover song and two remakes of "Nobody's Fool" is not very exciting. It's also too bad they are not putting the Japanese bonus track "Gettin' Even" on this.

Apparently the recording for the next album is not slated to begin until Fall 2018, so I don't expect any new music from Tom until at least 2019, unfortunately.

Also, I hope that cover is a joke. If not, who actually thought that was a good idea?!

Awful cover.

Witchfinder wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

What I don't understand is how both Ratt and Great White have since moved-on yet the Cinder-fellas can't seem to escape the legal red-tape. Why not release music under the Sony label? It must be one helluva sh*tty deal on their end if they refuse to record and release new music.

I would assume it's because Ratt and Great White fulfilled the contract by delivering an album, whereas Cinderella delivered nothing.  I'd imagine Cinderella was paid an advance and Sony wants to recoup that.  Obviously, neither Sony nor Cinderella expect to make any money on a new album, but the contract still exists and Cinderella is bound by it.  

It was mentioned that Cinderella were planning on working on a fifth album in the late 1990s, but nothing really came of it. However, as others mentioned, some songs deviated into songs for Tom Keifer's solo album.

As Fat Freddy had in his signature a while back, another member of Cinderella joked in an interview on why they still tour but don't record new music, "We'd love to be lumped in with those other 1980s bands who continue to record new music and no one buys." I thought that quote was pretty funny.

They're not even touring anymore. Jeff LaBar is all messed up with drugs/alcohol and has no desire to quit. He has even said as much. =(

Eyesore wrote:

They're not even touring anymore. Jeff LaBar is all messed up with drugs/alcohol and has no desire to quit. He has even said as much. =(

Man that's sad. That leads to a short life span. And when you get older your body can't handle all that stuff.

Eyesore wrote:

They're not even touring anymore. Jeff LaBar is all messed up with drugs/alcohol and has no desire to quit. He has even said as much. =(

This is from 2016, but it sums everything up pretty well. Labar basically sez "Yup, it's all my fault"
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jeff-labar-says-his-drinking-problem-is-to-blame-for-cinderella-inactivity/

Required Fields wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

What I don't understand is how both Ratt and Great White have since moved-on yet the Cinder-fellas can't seem to escape the legal red-tape. Why not release music under the Sony label? It must be one helluva sh*tty deal on their end if they refuse to record and release new music.

I would assume it's because Ratt and Great White fulfilled the contract by delivering an album, whereas Cinderella delivered nothing.  I'd imagine Cinderella was paid an advance and Sony wants to recoup that.  Obviously, neither Sony nor Cinderella expect to make any money on a new album, but the contract still exists and Cinderella is bound by it.  

It was mentioned that Cinderella were planning on working on a fifth album in the late 1990s, but nothing really came of it. However, as others mentioned, some songs deviated into songs for Tom Keifer's solo album.

As Fat Freddy had in his signature a while back, another member of Cinderella joked in an interview on why they still tour but don't record new music, "We'd love to be lumped in with those other 1980s bands who continue to record new music and no one buys." I thought that quote was pretty funny.

Yeah, RF, I remember Freddy having that Jeff Labar quote in his sig line. I know we still buy new releases from old bands (JL has a point as it's not in the giant numbers like back in the day) but I wonder if with the vinyl resurgence of the last half decade or so if they wouldn't sell pretty well being a multi platinum group from the 80's?