Interviewed by Mark Balogh
Date: December 2008

Mark Balogh: Eric thanks for taking the time to talk with us again here at Rockeyez. I guess let’s get right into the interview, as always, with your busy schedule there is a lot to cover! With your involvement in so many melodic rock albums over the last few years you’ve become somewhat of a melodic rock “go-to-guy”. How do you feel about that?

Eric Ragno: Hey Mark, thanks! As you say, things have really stepped up lately. As for being the go-to-guy, I’ve worked pretty hard lately to be that guy! I grew up with this music and I have a decent grasp of what rock fans want to hear. It feels good to get those calls, especially from artists that I’ve looked up to – there is no greater validation. It also keeps me busy, so I constantly have to keep my game up!

Mark Balogh: It seems the followers of this genre are always talking of its demise but I think 2008 has been a great year for this kind of music with some truly exceptional releases (and some more to surely come). What are your thoughts on the current melodic rock scene these days?

Eric Ragno: We’ve seen lot of GREAT releases lately, and I credit much of that to Frontiers Records, who have been at the heart of some of the better albums we have seen this year. They know their market and what the fans want to hear, and they continue to deliver. But in general there is definitely a real resurgence. The media has been using more 80’s music in their marketing plans for commercials, video games and of course the cross-promotions at Wal-Mart. As the style comes back around, you see the new generation digging the music, and more of these classic bands are reuniting to catch the wave. With the Internet & iTunes, it is easier than ever for diehard AOR fans to follow their favorite artists and find music from new acts, which they would never have heard about. So we’ve got the tools in place, but to keep it going we all have to do our part! We need people to put the time in, guys like you who write about it and post sound clips. We need the fans to keep buying the music instead of stealing it. And the musicians need to keep making the best albums that we can! Once you let it go as a community, the genre starts to slip and one day you wake up and find everyone is now swing dancing, you know?

Mark Balogh: Tell us about your influences personally from BOTH a keyboard and song writing point.

Eric Ragno: Being a lifelong rock fan, I try to write the kind of songs that I like to hear. I try to include those classic elements - power chords, big harmonies and things that fans listen for. I don’t listen to the radio much; I live in these rock genres and I try to keep it fresh. As a keyboard player, I’ve been heavily influenced by the piano styling of Jonathan Cain (JOURNEY), the synth work of Geoff Downes (ASIA) and the soloing of Kevin Moore (DREAM THEATER). Those three guys really defined the role of keyboards in AOR for me, and I try to emulate that. But I do check out radio from time to time. There are a lot of 80’s elements in today’s music, and by the same token I sometimes use some modern elements for the classic artists for flavor.

Mark Balogh: You’re a real champion of the whole melodic rock and AOR scene as evidenced by your appearance on so many great albums the last few years and also getting to know you personally it seems you are such a fan of this genre. Can you tell me a little bit about some of your favorite projects you’ve worked on over the years?

Eric Ragno: Man that’s a tough one…I don’t want to slight anybody! But Ted Poley’s record was a real blast, I always admired his work and we became fast friends. That went quickly and he pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Same with the Steve Grimmett record – we had a blast in England last year and I’m working on the follow-up as I write this. Working with TAKARA & Jeff Scott Soto was pivotal for me; they are a great bunch of guys and I learned a lot from Jeff. But my favorite would have to be the new CHINA BLUE record, which arrives December 5th. I assembled some of my friends from over the years and put together a killer AOR record for them to stretch their legs on. It’s my own pet project so to see it finally reach fruition has been incredibly rewarding.

Mark Balogh: What are some of your all time favorites of this genre? Not necessarily stuff you’ve worked on but albums that have influenced you.

Eric Ragno: I love those landmark 80’s albums – early SURVIVOR, FOREIGNER, STYX, anything by JOURNEY…and of course classics like LED ZEPPELIN, RAINBOW, etc. Pretty much anything that has keyboards on it – so not so much with the power metal! I recently got into THE WHO… I watch a lot of VH1 Classic now so I am rediscovering bands that I might have blown-off the first time around. There are timeless elements in this music and you can always discover something new when you revisit the past.

Mark Balogh: Seems like you are always working on so many projects. One of those more recent projects was the FROM THE INSIDE album with Danny Vaughn amongst others. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got involved with that?

Eric Ragno: My friend and frequent producer/collaborator Fabrizio Grossi recruited me for that one. Frontiers asked for a follow-up record from Danny and Fab wanted it to be a band-effort, not one of those “project” type albums where the players submit random bits and have never spoken to one another! Danny had just finished opening the European leg of the JOURNEY tour with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, and was interested in doing what could be described as a JOURNEY-type record. My friend Peter Lobo played drums and we all spent a lot of time in the room to make this one gel. Fab, Danny & I wrote about half the album together, and a lot of folks seem to like it.

Mark Balogh: You’ve another project named VOX TEMPUS that was originally released a few years back but is now getting a new lease on life with Angelmilk Records in England. Can you tell us a little about that and also how you became involved with Angelmilk?

Eric Ragno: I joined VOX TEMPUS shortly after Jeff Scott Soto left TAKARA and the band went on hiatus. I wanted a more technical avenue to showcase my playing. VOX TEMPUS was built from the ashes of EQUINOX, who had a Top 20 album in Japan and elsewhere overseas. We put a lot of time and money into that record but it received virtually no distribution, especially outside of the U.S. Amazingly it developed this cult following that has finally prompted a proper worldwide release, which Angelmilk has slated for December 1st. They have talked to us about a follow-up record, so we’re anxious to see how it goes.

Mark Balogh: Earlier this year you did a European tour with the legendary Graham Bonnet of RAINBOW. Can you tell us a little bit about how that tour went and how it was to play with Graham?

Eric Ragno: Graham is a really great guy, he has seen and done it all and he’s very down to earth – a very funny guy! We lived together for over a month and he is very easy to get on with. The tour wasn’t put together very well, and the band that organized it was not very respectful to Graham or me. They left us on our own a lot, they withheld money from us and even released a DVD of the tour without our permission! Graham & I became close, we explored the big cities on foot and we were always the first ones up on the bus. We’d talk for hours over breakfast about Steve Vai, Yngwie, Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker… it was a really moving experience for me, and playing those classic RAINBOW & MSG songs to packed clubs of diehard Graham Bonnet fans is something I will never forget.

Mark Balogh: This past summer you played a one-off special acoustic show w/ both Ted Poley (DANGER DANGER) and Eric Martin (MR. BIG). How did that show go and how’d you get involved in playing it.

Eric Ragno: Ted invited me to do an acoustic in the park show with his new band, which included my friends Vic Rivera, Doug Odell & Eddie Campbell from CRUNCH/ADRIANGALE. This show gave me the opportunity to spend the summer on the East Coast and play a cool outdoor show with good friends. I flew brought the family along from LA so my kids could finally see what daddy does when he’s away. We had 5 cars of family & friends caravan to Pennsylvania for the show. Eric Martin’s backing band (The Regan Years) needed a fill-in keyboard player, and their singer Michael Leigh invited me to play Eric’s set. It was a LOT of cramming – Jay Druszba from AMERICAN ANGEL loaned me a Yamaha Motif, which I brought to Seaside Heights (NJ) to practice with while the kids went to the water slides. It was a really fun show, and I hadn’t seen Eric Martin since the Melodic Rock Fest in 2007. He came to the hotel bar after and we laughed until closing! I look forward to doing more with Eric in the future. It was all about hanging out with old friends and playing a laid-back show, and the You Tube videos reflect that vibe.

Mark Balogh: You were recently named the “Melodicrock.com Keyboard Player Of The Year”. Tell us how it feels to be recognized by Andrew McNeice for your contributions to the scene.

Eric Ragno: It’s always rewarding to receive validation from the rock community. I love Andrew; he’s done so much for us in this genre. I’m thrilled that he values my contributions also. And to see the company that I am in – I mean Jack Blades was named “Bassist of the Year”, all these amazing guys were recognized for their achievements and my name was right up there with theirs – that’s something you dream about as a kid.

Mark Balogh: Of all the projects and CD’s you’ve had a hand in over the last few years you are finally getting to work on something that is truly your baby; that being the CHINA BLUE “Twilight Of Destiny” record. It finally has a release date of early December ’08 on Frontiers Records. Tell us all about the record.

Eric Ragno: It’s a mix of songs I have worked on over the course of my career. Some are pieces I wrote in the late 80’s, some were earmarked for other albums and just never made it. Several were ideas for the VOX TEMPUS follow-up; one was a song I sent to Jeff Scott Soto that didn’t fit where his record was going. I was left with a backlog of songs, and my friend Michael Riesenbeck suggested that we streamline the songs and put out an indie-type album, just the two of us, and revive the name CHINA BLUE. He knew that name carried a big legacy for me; it was a concept I dreamt of long ago. And now we had a mission.

Mark Balogh: As I mentioned earlier the CHINA BLUE record is very much your project. As I have come to learn the whole CHINA BLUE project dates back to the 80’s. Can you fill us in on the whole history of the band and everything you’ve had to do with it?

Eric Ragno: I started this journey with my friend Tom Gasbarro after the breakup of our band CRUCIBLE. We turned our back on the hair metal and retreated to my basement studio to focus on songwriting. We had brought our closest friends into the band, and they weren’t always the best musicians you know? But it was a communal thing, very old school. Friends would come up and every rehearsal became a party – people would rock out, get drunk and fall in love. We had some label interest from a friend at Columbia Records who really liked the songs. Tommy fell in love with a good friend of ours along the way, which the ultimate conclusion of that incarnation of the band. I moved to LA soon after, but CHINA BLUE became this theme I’d always return to when the industry failed me, or when a band would fall apart. I’d go back to songwriting just for me, and include my friends. If it’s fun and it means something to you, people will catch on and want to be a part of it. With this latest incarnation things really built momentum, it finally boiled over and I saw it was time to seek professional help! LOL

Mark Balogh: Tell us about the musicians that will be with you on the CHINA BLUE record.

Eric Ragno: I wanted to use friends for this release - but as with most friends, sometimes people move on. This eventually happened with Michael, and sadly a few others. I worked on other people’s material to pay my bills, and my profile started to rise a bit. When things went bad, I would go back to making this record for inspiration.

I first approached Joey Fiamingo from XENON to sing on this record. You’re a big XENON fan like I am Mark, so you can appreciate how badly I wanted a XENON element on this record. Sadly Joey didn’t pan out. I spoke to several singers until Andrew McNiece approached us about Tony Mills (SHY). We spoke a lot on the phone and I spent a weekend with Tony’s family in England. We became fast friends and would speak for hours at a time – my phone bill was pretty screwed! Tony took a keen interest in our demos, and did an amazing job on the initial tracks. He’s got a great sense of vocal and harmony placement, so it’s no wonder that TNT brought him on board while making this record. Their touring schedule started tying him up, so Phil Vincent came on to finish the lyrics and vocal melodies for Tony to sing. Phil’s got a great ear and without his help I doubt we would have finished the album on time.

And now we reached a turning point. Tony gave this music a powerful voice, and people were paying attention. We really had to bring it. My friend Fabrizio Grossi produced four of the strongest songs, and found that many of the guitar and bass tracks were unusable! The original guys were no longer available, and I had to find new guys quickly.

I had just recorded with Josh Ramos (THE STORM, HARDLINE), and our chemistry gave me goose bumps - I hadn’t felt that spark since writing with Tommy back in the 80’s. I invited Josh over for the holidays and he laid down some blistering solos! But I also wanted the rhythm guitars to be extra special and layered – you could say XENON-like. I didn’t just want crunch chords over the changes. One day I finally called Ronny Smith from the band and said, “look, I know we’ve only jammed a few times, but I really want your attitude on this record”. He must have thought I was crazy, and asked if I was looking for Bob Specht (XENON’s lead guitarist). But Ronny brought those amazing rhythm layers that make XENON’s live shows great, and it added this extra layer that other records don’t have. He brought Bob (Specht) in to help with some few extra leads on “Crimes”, but Ronny’s biggest contribution was in helping me re-write some of the songs that needed help in the guitar department. I’m a keyboard player and I can only go so far on my own, you know?

On bass we have Doug Odell, another east coast guy who has played with TNA, CRUNCH/ADRIANGALE and now Ted Poley. Doug and I played together at the Melodic Rock Fest in Indiana; we roomed together in England at Firefest and played with Ted Poley in Pennsylvania. The guy is a bro and a solid player that really came through. On drums we started with Zane Petersen (Solna), a longtime friend who was looking to come out of retirement and pound the hell out of these songs. Zane eventually got tied up with his own Solna project, so I brought in my Pete Newdeck from England. Pete & I met during the Steve Grimmett album and shows; we’re very close and we’re doing the Grimmett follow-up right now.

Sorry, that was a very longwinded answer! But these guys have done a lot for me and deserve their due. We have real friendships, and I used this record as an excuse to do something musical with them. Some people use their friends’ names to hype their album. I use this album to hype my friends!

Mark Balogh: Let’s talk a little about some of the songs on “Twilight Of Destiny”. You mentioned in one of your answers earlier that Kevin Moore (ex-DREAM THEATER) is one of your influences. When I heard the track “Changing Ways “ I thought your keys sounded reminiscent of Moore’s. Can you talk a little about the origins of this song and your influence in writing it?

Eric Ragno: Hey thanks man! My friend Michael Riesenbeck wrote the initial ideas for “Changing Ways” and “Lost”, as well as “Selena” (a bonus track for the Melodic Rock.com compilation CD). We collaborated on his tracks and I used keyboards to prop up the arrangements in certain places to keep it moving. This was an epic song and Tony faced the daunting task of breaking down where the verse, chorus and solo sections would go. So I introduced a lot of keyboard themes to break that down. I also took my only keyboard solo on this song as it needed something there, and it was reminiscent of my work with VOX TEMPUS – very Kevin Moore-like! I probably could easily have shredded through the whole album and no one would have stopped me! But this was truly a band effort, and you have to do what is right for the song. Josh plays a great solo later in the track which I love; he opens with this feel-good theme that’s like a breath of fresh air, and solos right through the song! Our drummer Zane Petersen added a nice pacing to the track, playing a Separate Ways-type drum beat that really builds up the verse parts. Tony Mills wrote the lyrics on this one, and the chorus really smokes!

This song was a prime example of stepping back and allowing everyone else’s ideas to dictate where the song would go. I defend this album as being from a band and not some session-type pairing. Why would you bring in great players and not utilize their creativity? Everyone was secure in their freedom to try out their ideas and see what worked best.

Mark Balogh: A lot of the releases you’ve played on over the last few years, I’ve always thought you played very much for the song or even the album itself. But at times I’ve thought your keys have gotten lost in the mix and I’ve even mentioned it in a couple of my reviews. Will the CHINA BLUE project finally rectify that and bring the keys more to the forefront?

Eric Ragno: HAHAHA YES! And I’ve always appreciated your support in this area Mark! I’ve been a bit of a utility guy, but sadly many engineers don’t realize how important keyboards are to the fans, or they get pushed in different directions. And I have little say in the final product. But I had full control on this one, and I worked closely with J.K. Northrup to achieve that balance. I loved how he mixed my keyboards on Ted Poley’s “Smile” album; we had also worked on Solna together and had a great rapport. He came through like a bro and delivered exactly what I wanted. I reviewed the last few mixes from my Moto cell phone in Germany, and could hear everything clearly over the phone! J.K. has a great talent of producing what you want to hear, without you having to ask for it. We need more guys like that. I was also blessed to find Ron Vining, who came in late in the game to help manage the project and secure a deal through Frontiers. Without Ron, this record would still be taking up space on my hard drive.

Mark Balogh: I know it may be hard to say, as all the songs on “Twilight” are close to you, but are there any that stand out in your mind and have a special meaning to you?

Eric Ragno: There is a ballad on the record called “Don’t Be a Stranger” that is based on a song I wrote in 1991 in the initial incarnation of CHINA BLUE. Our old Crucible singer Tom Gasbarro wrote the original lyrics about retracing your steps back to a love gone wrong. At the time The Storm’s first album had just come out, and I wrote the ending part as a throwback to what Josh Ramos did with “Show Me the Way”. I was living in New Jersey and would not meet Josh for many years.

A decade or so later and my career is doing pretty well, and it felt like time to revisit the CHINA BLUE material. I sent Tony a re-recorded version of the song without lyrics, and he returned with a similar lyrical theme! I guess the song has that feel of nostalgia and fixing something from the past. Josh eventually joined our lineup, and we camped out at my house over the holidays to record his parts. We discussed each track before recording it, and I explained how I’d built this one several years ago around what he had done at the time. He came back with this heartfelt fire in his solos, and I became very emotional! I needed time to regroup. This album is something I dreamed about 20 years ago in my parents’ basement. And now I’ve got good friends like Josh Ramos sitting next to me, recording the parts that were always meant for him anyway. The song continues to be about revisiting the past and making things right. It took good friends like these to help me accomplish that.

Mark Balogh: You’ve got yet another project due for release very soon called RAMOS/HUGO, which features Josh Ramos of THE STORM and singer Hugo (Valenti) of VALENTINE/OPEN SKYZ fame. Tell us how you got involved with that.

Eric Ragno: Josh and I have a mutual friend, a drummer named Demi Solario. I was a big fan of Josh’s work with THE STORM and their song “Show Me The Way”, and I wrote the end of “Don’t Be a Stranger” as a tribute to what he did there. I never dreamed he would play on it one day! Demi hooked us up while Josh was writing for his new solo record, I gave Josh a few demos while he in LA to see Ross Valory at the JOURNEY shows with Jeff Scott Soto. Josh and I did a five-hour drive to Marin two weeks later, he told me all these great stories about his days with THE STORM opening for Bryan Adams, about rock and roll in San Francisco and what it was like when JOURNEY was rehearsing to do “Raised on Radio”. He would point and say, “this is where Greg (Rolie) and I used to get coffee each day”, or “this is where Bill Graham died”, etc. We went to a local music store for cables and Sammy Hagar’s keyboard player owned and ran the place! It was a surreal experience, and we did it again a few months later.

We handed the finished music to a hard rock singer who never really fit the material. I met Hugo backstage at a show in New York, and tried to persuade him to get back into original music. Frontiers Records was unaware of this, but oddly enough they called soon after suggesting that we find Hugo and get him involved! It was totally independent, it was an amazing coincidence or maybe it was just time for us all to work together. The album came out in October and a lot of people like it.

Mark Balogh: When I last spoke you told about a new project you are involved in named SAVAGE PARADISE, which features some great names including former BLACK SABBATH vocalist Tony Martin. Can you tell us about that project?

Eric Ragno: SAVAGE PARADISE is entirely the brainchild of guitarist Mario Parga, a mutual friend of Graham Bonnet. Tim Luce (bass) also plays with Graham in ALCATRAZZ. We started talking around the time of that illegal Graham DVD debacle I mentioned earlier. But Mario has been on the scene forever; he’s worked with Graham & Cozy Powell and all the greats from that era. He’s assembled this killer lineup that also features Kevin Valentine (KISS/CINDERELLA/SHADOW KING) on drums, and of course Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH). We start work at the end of the year, and I’m very excited! It’s the heaviest stuff I’ve worked on to date.

Mark Balogh: You also recently mentioned another project you’ve been working on called PUSHKING, which you said would feature a lot of great singers. Can you tell us a little about that and who is involved?

Eric Ragno: I was unfamiliar with this band at first; they’re a Russian group that has had a lot of success in their part of the world, and have previously recorded collaborations with some famous players. I was invited to be a part of their new record "Duets," which features well-known artists covering their greatest hits. It’s a double-album and I appear on a lot of it, alongside Graham Bonnet, Fabrizio, Eric Martin, Steve Lukather, Jeff Scott Soto and others. If you can’t do this stuff with your friends then what fun is it, right? It is very much in progress and will appear sometime in 2009.

Mark Balogh: I read you are also involved in yet another project (does anyone see a pattern developing here? (LOL) called LOS ANGELES, which features vocalist Michele Luppi (VISION DIVINE). This will be the 2nd release from this project. How did you get on board for this record?

Eric Ragno: Fabrizio brought me in for this one, hot off the heels of the From the Inside disc with Danny Vaughn. I contributed a song for the record, as did George Lynch, Richard Marx and others. It really sounds great, I love Michele’s voice and there is a lot of piano on this record! There is still some work to be done and I wouldn’t expect it until mid-2009. But for AOR fanatics like myself, this is going to be one fun record!

Mark Balogh: As 2008 comes to a close we have the aforementioned CHINA BLUE project to be released, as we said, in early December. Is there anything else you are working on that you can share with us at the moment that we didn’t already touch on?

Eric Ragno: Dude, I seriously think you have covered it all! We are writing the next Steve Grimmett record, and I’m also writing tracks for David Readman’s (PINK CREAM 69) new solo record. But right now I am doing interviews and promotion for the stuff I’ve got coming out this season…the Ramos/Hugo, VOX TEMPUS and of course CHINA BLUE. I want to make sure people know about these records and hopefully check out the soundclips.

Mark Balogh: A couple fun questions here…

The 1st album you bought or owned?

Eric Ragno: I can do the first three: JOURNEY “Escape”, FOREIGNER “4” and the BEE GEES Greatest Hits! Uhm, don’t laugh, I learned a lot about vocal harmonies from that last one. Just don’t ask me what order I bought them in, ok?

Mark Balogh: The 1st concert you attended?

Eric Ragno: (HAHAHA) again, the FOREIGNER “4” tour with DUKE JUPITER opening whatever happened to them?( Editor: www.dukejupiter.com!). The next was the JOURNEY “Frontiers” tour with Bryan Adams opening…what a killer show. Both concerts were at the Meadowlands Arena in NJ, or whatever it is called now.

Mark Balogh: 5 CD’s getting regular play in your CD changer (house or car)

Eric Ragno: Keep in mind I don’t get to listen to a lot of music recreationally…I usually listen to works-in-progress or tracks by my friends. So right now I’m listening to the new VALENTINE record (“Soul Salvation” (with Hugo on vocals), the Poley/Rivera, the new Steve Grimmett demos and Jeff Scott Soto’s “Beautiful Mess”. For fun I also picked up THIN LIZZY’s Greatest Hits, and Paul McCartney’s “Wingspan” collection. I missed out on their music the first time around and it’s a blast to dive into it now.

Mark Balogh: If you assembled a dream band whom would you pick to play keyboards if it couldn’t be you?

Eric Ragno: Oh come on! What would be the point then? LOL. I might ask Michael T. Ross (ANGEL, HARDLINE) to do it, he’s a great guy and we swap out gigs from time to time. We went to dinner with Josh last year and Mike played piano at the bar…what a cool cat.

Mark Balogh: A CD in your collection that no one would expect you to own?

Eric Ragno: Did I mention the BEE GEES? (HAHAHA ) I used to tour with Dawn Robinson from EN VOGUE so I have her catalog on my shelf, along with some DEBUSSY CD’s…I studied him in college and was fascinated by his use of parallel chords. Sound geeky enough? Also my wife was hooked on Taylor Hicks from American Idol, so yeah those are there too. Never saw so many old ladies and children at a rock venue before that.

Mark Balogh: If you weren’t a musician what you be doing?

Eric Ragno: Wow…I’d like to think I’d be doing what you are doing man. I love this music too much to sit on the sidelines, I’d want to be out there promoting it or DJ’ing or doing interviews, anything to participate and get the word out! If you believe in this music like we do, you can’t help but get involved in some way.

Mark Balogh: What is it with you and the “Clean House” cable TV program???

Eric Ragno: Again, I’ll blame this one on the wife…! This is LA and anywhere you go there are people filming something there. She loves yard sales and they were filming Clean House when I bought my baby grand piano to rehearse for the AMERICAN ANGEL shows. I had never heard of the program, yet I’ve gotten more press from that yard sale than the actual shows! And a few months ago I was looking for a used laptop to use on stage, for an upcoming tour that I can’t talk about just yet…and sure enough, there they were filming at the yard sale. I got this killer deal on a powerful laptop, and was shocked that the crew remembered me! You can see it all on an upcoming episode in the next few weeks…check out my website at www.keyboardplayer.net for updates.

Mark Balogh: You are contributing to a track on a new Rick Springfield tribute CD called “Working Class Dogs”. Tell us a little about your involvement with that and what track you’ll be playing on.

Eric Ragno: Okay, I haven’t really talked about this much so you’ll get the exclusive! It was shortly after the acoustic show with Ted Poley, Vic Rivera, Eric Martin & company, and I was trying to get Vic going on a side project that ultimately ran out of steam. Vic is a great writer who is just insanely busy; I can never nail him down. This time he was working on the track for the Rick Springfield tribute, I believe it was “Souls”. Eric Martin was planning to do the vocals, he had just written me a note that he was leaving for Italy. It was a short deadline, so Vic gave me 48 hours to do my thing on it if I was interested. I’ve known quite Rick Springfield fangirls, so I know the catalog pretty well…and I’m very familiar with the keyboard sounds that players like Brett Tuggle used on those classic radio anthems. We sent in our parts and I haven’t heard anything since. It’s coming out through Angelmilk, who have their hands pretty full these days. So I’m looking forward to hearing how it all went.

Mark Balogh: Well Eric, I guess that is all for now. Thanks as always for taking the time to talk with us. It is truly an honor to call you a friend. I think you are truly an important player in this scene. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Eric Ragno: Thanks man! RockEyez is an important part of this scene too and I’m glad to have you as friends! Please check out the new CHINA BLUE record at www.chinabluemusic.com. I love this music and I do it for you guys, so tell all your friends. And visit my website at www.keyboardplayer to read the latest…there’s always something exciting going on.