With the release of Valhalla’s first album “VALHALLA”, the band toured extensively around the country hitting the cities where the local radio stations were giving their music the heaviest rotation.
Some of these stations (382 in all) and cities include: KNAC Los Angeles, WFIT New York City, WZMB Greenville, NC., WRKC Wilkes Barre, PA. WQAQ Hamden, CT. KEOL La Grande, OR. along with many overseas stations. Germany and the Netherlands in particular were including Valhalla into their top 10 rotation with the album staying at #1 for several weeks at a time.
After close to a year of touring the band contacted Ronnie Montrose again, and were ready to go back into the studio to produce 10 brand new songs. The new material was literally written by the boy’s while out on the road. Montrose, earlier that year, had already produced a three song demo for them which had garnered quite a bit of attention from several indie labels, and Ronnie had asked the band for about 40 songs from which he could choose 10 of what he considered the best.
In the middle of recording their second album Ronnie had suggested a name change for the band citing that the name Valhalla, although a wonderfully powerful name, sounded too close to Van Halen.
The boy’s were in agreement with Ronnie on this and when Mr. Montrose came back into the studio with them a few nights later he suggested the name: FORGE, a powerful sounding name itself meaning: to Forge ahead or to Forge Metal into a shape.
Ronnie also came in with a really smokin’ guitar riff that Chuck, Jon, Michael and Ronnie himself penned, that day, into the highly acclaimed song “Freedom Fighter,” which also saw quite a bit of airplay before the record was even released.
Thus from the marbled halls of old VALHALLA and its successful 3 year run, was re-born the band FORGE!
The “boy’s,” Jon E. Hampton, T. Michael Riddle and Charles David Ware, still to this day continue to “Forge” ahead in the music industry with several solo ventures and extensive collaborative projects to their credit.
View Past Articles featuring Valhalla >
Valhalla in the Past
With the release of Valhalla’s first album “VALHALLA”, the band toured extensively around the country hitting the cities where the local radio stations were giving their music the heaviest rotation.
Some of these stations (382 in all) and cities include: KNAC Los Angeles, WFIT New York City, WZMB Greenville, NC., WRKC Wilkes Barre, PA. WQAQ Hamden, CT. KEOL La Grande, OR. along with many overseas stations. Germany and the Netherlands in particular were including Valhalla into their top 10 rotation with the album staying at #1 for several weeks at a time.
After close to a year of touring the band contacted Ronnie Montrose again, and were ready to go back into the studio to produce 10 brand new songs. The new material was literally written by the boy’s while out on the road. Montrose, earlier that year, had already produced a three song demo for them which had garnered quite a bit of attention from several indie labels, and Ronnie had asked the band for about 40 songs from which he could choose 10 of what he considered the best.
In the middle of recording their second album Ronnie had suggested a name change for the band citing that the name Valhalla, although a wonderfully powerful name, sounded too close to Van Halen.
The boy’s were in agreement with Ronnie on this and when Mr. Montrose came back into the studio with them a few nights later he suggested the name: FORGE, a powerful sounding name itself meaning: to Forge ahead or to Forge Metal into a shape.
Ronnie also came in with a really smokin’ guitar riff that Chuck, Jon, Michael and Ronnie himself penned, that day, into the highly acclaimed song “Freedom Fighter,” which also saw quite a bit of airplay before the record was even released.
Thus from the marbled halls of old VALHALLA and its successful 3 year run, was re-born the band FORGE!
The “boy’s,” Jon E. Hampton, T. Michael Riddle and Charles David Ware, still to this day continue to “Forge” ahead in the music industry with several solo ventures and extensive collaborative projects to their credit.
View Past Articles featuring Valhalla >
