Forgotten Door Celebrate UNLOCKED CD Release at Clarion's Wolf Theatre, Now thru 8/11

This summer, hundreds of thousands of music fanatics will flock again to Las Vegas to see legends and those impersonating legends satisfy their thirst for the way pop music used to be. From "Jersey Boys" and "Rock of Ages" to Elton John, Rod Stewart, even Donny and Marie, everyone wants to experience what we've all been missing on pop radio for far too long: songs with stories, lyrics of substance, strong lead vocals and soul-stirring, multi-layer harmonies.

But why settle for nostalgia when a Vegas-based band that's in love with the classic pop/rock of the '70s and '80s is right up the road, performing songs so fresh and new yet so familiar in style that a whole new phrase ("New Classic Rock") had to be coined to capture the way they work their magic on the fans?

Johndale Stanley, co-founder, keyboardist and one of the lead vocalists of the six-piece Forgotten Door (www.officialforgottendoor.com), explains the origins of their unique name: "We want to communicate that there is still good music out there that has heart and soul like the great pop/rock we grew up with. The 'forgotten door' is a passage back into the things people loved and got excited about then. Our fans tell us they love songs like 'Hotel California,' 'Long Train Runnin' and'Rhiannon,' but they've heard them a million times. They want new music created in that vein that they can feel passionate about. They're emotionally thirsty to hear something fresh."

Unlike most groups that long to tour the U.S. and world, Forgotten Door is excited about staying in town, performing for residents, tourists, conventioneers, etc. Celebrating the upcoming release of their highly anticipated, appropriately titled debut album Unlocked, the eclectic band-whose lineup includes co-founder, vocalist and guitarist Lonnie Danley, lead vocalist Melody Ritz, lead and slide guitarist, and vocalist Michael Seal, bassist Karl Gottmann and drummer Kevin Brennan-is starting an unprecedented six month weekend residency in July in the Wolf Theatre at the Clarion Hotel & Casino (305 Convention Circle Drive, Las Vegas 89109).

Prior to the official opening night of Friday, August 16, the group will do open to the public previews the weekends of today, July 26-28, August 2-4, and August 9-11. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. for the 7 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays- a slot that is perfect for fans to launch a night of fun on the town (and the nearby Strip). On Sundays, the show will start at 9 p.m. Ticket prices are $47.97 General Admission - $57.97 VIP, and booths for four are available for $195.

Forgotten Door, whose members are all veteran musicians and entertainers, have created a powerful audio-visual experience complete with dramatic lighting designed to bring out the textures and nuance of each song. Many fans and critics have compared the male-female and creative dynamics of the band to that of whatFleetwood Mac became after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined in the mid-'70s. The nine songs on Unlocked showcase the group's depth, anchored by the versatile songwriting and production skills of Stanley and Danley, the band's creative core. Michael is also a contributing songwriter and Melody is a lead vocalist on several tracks, including the first single to be released, the mid-tempo pop rocker "Masquerade." When Johndale is singing lead, Lonnie, Melody and Michael do harmony vocals. When Melody is out front, Johndale, Lonnie and Michael take the harmonies.

Stanley sees his overriding task as "taking all the songs the members bring to the table and forging them into a collective Forgotten Door sound. In essence, what we are doing is drawing from our great array of classic influences and creating music that has our own unique signature on it. We're working hard on bringing something genuine and that moves people to the contemporary musical landscape."

Earlier versions of songs on Unlocked have already made a happy commotion onVradio.com, a popular internet radio station with some four million listeners, owned and operated by Big Poppa G. "Masquerade" spent 27 weeks on his chart and "Puerto Penasco" went 24, hitting #1-meaning that it snagged 40,000 requests by internet and phone. In all, four Forgotten Door songs charted on the station as part of a test marketing effort-an achievement all the more remarkable since the website's main consumers are R&B and rap fans.

Considering how their last names rhyme, perhaps it was musical destiny when bride and groom called Stanley and Danley, respectively, to sing for a wedding back in 1994. Their perfect blend of lead and vocal harmonies led to a long lasting musical partnership, which skyrocketed when melody Ritz joined the group. The three enjoyed performing as a popular local cover band for a handful of years, but in time they decided the only way to move forward was to write and perform original material.

"When Lonnie first told me he wanted to write originals, I was skeptical, but then I heard his song 'Far Far Away' and I realized this was no joke, that we could actually do this," says Stanley. "We started retooling in 2007-8 and within a year of that song being written, I had also penned my first tune, a personal and emotional song called 'Gypsy Woman.' As our vibe developed and people started responding to it, we realized people really wanted to hear something fresh, that sounds familiar even when they're hearing it for the first time. That's what the Forgotten Door aesthetic is all about."

Over the years, when they were a cover band, they performed gigs and corporate events at numerous venues in Las Vegas, including the Hard Rock, Stratosphere, Las Vegas Hilton, Club Madrid (at Sunset Station) to name a few. A few years ago, classic rock station 96.3 KKLZ held a battle of the bands at South Point hotel as part of the annual Junefest. Forgotten Door won the showroom event, which gave them the opportunity to open for Terri Nunn andBerlin, Steppenwolf and Sly and the Family Stone. Justin Chase from the radio station later hooked them up to perform in the Neon Garage at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Truck Series event in 2010.

Like every great emerging band, Forgotten Door has a colorful back story that involves haggles with outside producers and what Stanley calls "raging storms during the making of this album." The band has endured many trying times that have solidified their creative and personal relationship and given rise to a fierce member to member loyalty and a rich authenticity that translates to a powerhouse recording debut and a dynamic stage show.

"We're most looking forward to showing the world that there's a band out there that's filling the gap and playing new music in that classic vein," Stanley adds. "I've heard it said that music is emotion hung on a note, and our goal is always to move people in such a way that they are motivated to buy our album as a souvenir of our live musical experience, which has also given them joyful memories they can take with them. Looking forward to our residency at the Clarion, we want longtime fans to be excited about our new venture and hope that newcomers who decide to take a chance and check us out will leave thinking that something very cool and exciting is going on here."

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