Jeff Scott Soto (USA)
Born November 4, 1965, in Brooklyn, New York, Jeff Scott Soto relocated to the San Fernando Valley in California at the age of eight. During his formative years, while his friends were drawn to the likes of Kiss, Jeff’s musical tastes leaned more toward bands like Queen, Journey and Motown artists like the Jackson 5. Following graduation from high school in 1983, Jeff and his older brother Joey formed a series of dead-end metal bands. Restless, pretty well broke and undecided as to what to do next, Jeff visited a high school friend in Colorado – where he ended up staying for almost a year.
1992 brought Jeff together with German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell for the first time on ‘Eternal Prisoner’. Pell modeled himself after Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore. His songwriting was rooted firmly in European-style metal. Although the music was faster and heavier than anything Jeff had released to date, Pell showed his softer side when he released ‘The Ballads’ in 1993, featuring Soto’s version of the worldwide pop hit “Forever Young”. 1993 also saw the release of four other albums to feature Jeff’s vocal work: Talisman’s sophomore release ‘Genesis’, the Eyes demo album ‘Windows of the Soul’, the soundtrack to the cartoon film ‘Biker Mice from Mars’ and ‘Eternal Faith’ by Takara. Takara was the pride and joy of guitarist Neal Grusky. While Neal made headway with the band to some extent, it was only with the aid of Jeff Scott Soto that they were able to land a recording contract. No sooner had the ink dried than Jeff was busy writing, recording and producing Takara’s debut album. For those keeping count, this would mean that Jeff was splitting time as a member of three different bands. Soto maintains he was never officially a member of Takara; rather, he was helping out a friend. That may be splitting hairs to some – Jeff went on to write and record two more albums with Takara, 1995’s ‘Taste of Heaven’ and 1998’s ‘Blind in Paradise’. As it became harder to separate himself from Takara’s identity, Soto decided to wish Grusky and the band the best, and he broke off the relationship. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
1994 was a banner year for Talisman. They released ‘Five Out of Five Live’, recorded on their successful debut Japanese tour. While they busied themselves writing the next studio album, ‘Humanimal’, Jeff recorded ‘Between the Walls’ with Axel Rudi Pell. The band took to the road, and recorded what would be released the following year as ‘Live in Germany’. Meanwhile, Talisman decided to make their most ambitious album project yet into a two-part release. The twin release featured influences as varied as Motown, hip-hop, funk, pop and metal. While the combination could very well have come across as schizophrenic in the worst of scenarios, instead ‘Humanimal’ was greeted with wild enthusiasm. It remains to this day one of the most satisfying recordings in the Talisman catalog, and remains a favorite of many a fan and band member. Soto also reunited with Takara’s Gary Schutt for Schutt’s ‘Sentimetal’ solo disc. The two promoted the album at a special acoustic performance in Germany (also featuring Neal Grusky) released the following year as ‘Alive N Kissing’. The promo-only release showcased Takara & Schutt, and covers of songs by Journey and Prince served as a sneak preview of what could be expected from Soto’s solo debut ‘Love Parade’.
‘Love Parade’ was Soto’s surprise of 1995. It was a most funky affair, owing more to Prince and Queen than to any other influences. Songs like “Dragon Attack”, “4U” and “Funk Sandwich” showed Soto to be a risk-taker, offering up music as far removed from what he was known for as he could get. Talisman’s ‘Life’ saw a premature release, much to the Japanese record label’s pleasure and the band’s chagrin. A slightly different mix was released a short time later for the rest of the world. At this point, Talisman took an open-ended hiatus. While they decided what to do next, Marcel and Jeff recorded the first of two albums as Human Clay. The music might appropriately be described as “Talisman Jr.”. Former taskmaster Yngwie Malmsteen appeared on the track “Jealousy”, repaying Jacob and Soto’s contributions on Malmsteen’s ‘Inspiration’ album. Rounding out 1996, Jeff recorded a third studio album with Axel Rudi Pell, ‘Black Moon Pyramid’, and paid tribute to his beloved Queen on the album ‘Dragon Attack’. As if that wasn’t enough, two Talisman best-of compilations also appeared that year, ‘Besterious’ and ‘Best of Talisman’.
Striking while the iron was hot, Jeff Scott Soto began 2004 with the writing and recording of his third solo album, titled ‘Lost in the Translation’. In addition, Jeff announced some exciting news. A hastily-arranged performance at the January, 2004 NAMM show with Journey guitarist Neal Schon blossomed into a new project called Soul SirkUS. It would seem that Neal was quite taken with Jeff’s singing; in the weeks following NAMM, Jeff and Neal began writing and recording the songs which would become the Soul SirkUS debut ‘World Play’ (*the black version). Initially available through only through Warner Brothers Online, the debut became a relative rarity soon after its release, when drummer Deen Castronovo bowed out for personal reasons. In the meantime, Jeff released ‘Lost in the Translation’ – which also featured Soul SirkUS band mate Neal Schon - to widespread acclaim. Soto effectively brought 2004 to a close with a return to stages in the United States, Europe and South America in support of ‘Lost in the Translation’, and he extended his reach around the globe with a two-week solo tour of Australia.
1992 brought Jeff together with German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell for the first time on ‘Eternal Prisoner’. Pell modeled himself after Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore. His songwriting was rooted firmly in European-style metal. Although the music was faster and heavier than anything Jeff had released to date, Pell showed his softer side when he released ‘The Ballads’ in 1993, featuring Soto’s version of the worldwide pop hit “Forever Young”. 1993 also saw the release of four other albums to feature Jeff’s vocal work: Talisman’s sophomore release ‘Genesis’, the Eyes demo album ‘Windows of the Soul’, the soundtrack to the cartoon film ‘Biker Mice from Mars’ and ‘Eternal Faith’ by Takara. Takara was the pride and joy of guitarist Neal Grusky. While Neal made headway with the band to some extent, it was only with the aid of Jeff Scott Soto that they were able to land a recording contract. No sooner had the ink dried than Jeff was busy writing, recording and producing Takara’s debut album. For those keeping count, this would mean that Jeff was splitting time as a member of three different bands. Soto maintains he was never officially a member of Takara; rather, he was helping out a friend. That may be splitting hairs to some – Jeff went on to write and record two more albums with Takara, 1995’s ‘Taste of Heaven’ and 1998’s ‘Blind in Paradise’. As it became harder to separate himself from Takara’s identity, Soto decided to wish Grusky and the band the best, and he broke off the relationship. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
1994 was a banner year for Talisman. They released ‘Five Out of Five Live’, recorded on their successful debut Japanese tour. While they busied themselves writing the next studio album, ‘Humanimal’, Jeff recorded ‘Between the Walls’ with Axel Rudi Pell. The band took to the road, and recorded what would be released the following year as ‘Live in Germany’. Meanwhile, Talisman decided to make their most ambitious album project yet into a two-part release. The twin release featured influences as varied as Motown, hip-hop, funk, pop and metal. While the combination could very well have come across as schizophrenic in the worst of scenarios, instead ‘Humanimal’ was greeted with wild enthusiasm. It remains to this day one of the most satisfying recordings in the Talisman catalog, and remains a favorite of many a fan and band member. Soto also reunited with Takara’s Gary Schutt for Schutt’s ‘Sentimetal’ solo disc. The two promoted the album at a special acoustic performance in Germany (also featuring Neal Grusky) released the following year as ‘Alive N Kissing’. The promo-only release showcased Takara & Schutt, and covers of songs by Journey and Prince served as a sneak preview of what could be expected from Soto’s solo debut ‘Love Parade’.
‘Love Parade’ was Soto’s surprise of 1995. It was a most funky affair, owing more to Prince and Queen than to any other influences. Songs like “Dragon Attack”, “4U” and “Funk Sandwich” showed Soto to be a risk-taker, offering up music as far removed from what he was known for as he could get. Talisman’s ‘Life’ saw a premature release, much to the Japanese record label’s pleasure and the band’s chagrin. A slightly different mix was released a short time later for the rest of the world. At this point, Talisman took an open-ended hiatus. While they decided what to do next, Marcel and Jeff recorded the first of two albums as Human Clay. The music might appropriately be described as “Talisman Jr.”. Former taskmaster Yngwie Malmsteen appeared on the track “Jealousy”, repaying Jacob and Soto’s contributions on Malmsteen’s ‘Inspiration’ album. Rounding out 1996, Jeff recorded a third studio album with Axel Rudi Pell, ‘Black Moon Pyramid’, and paid tribute to his beloved Queen on the album ‘Dragon Attack’. As if that wasn’t enough, two Talisman best-of compilations also appeared that year, ‘Besterious’ and ‘Best of Talisman’.
Striking while the iron was hot, Jeff Scott Soto began 2004 with the writing and recording of his third solo album, titled ‘Lost in the Translation’. In addition, Jeff announced some exciting news. A hastily-arranged performance at the January, 2004 NAMM show with Journey guitarist Neal Schon blossomed into a new project called Soul SirkUS. It would seem that Neal was quite taken with Jeff’s singing; in the weeks following NAMM, Jeff and Neal began writing and recording the songs which would become the Soul SirkUS debut ‘World Play’ (*the black version). Initially available through only through Warner Brothers Online, the debut became a relative rarity soon after its release, when drummer Deen Castronovo bowed out for personal reasons. In the meantime, Jeff released ‘Lost in the Translation’ – which also featured Soul SirkUS band mate Neal Schon - to widespread acclaim. Soto effectively brought 2004 to a close with a return to stages in the United States, Europe and South America in support of ‘Lost in the Translation’, and he extended his reach around the globe with a two-week solo tour of Australia.