Haven by Haven

Now and Then/Frontiers Records is the market leader in Italy in the distribution of Classic Hard Rock and Melodic Rock labels. The label has the best distribution throughout Europe and Asia. The artist roster includes such noteable artists as Kip Winger (Winger), Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) Giant (Dan

Huff), Asia and Jimi Jamison (Survivor).

Haven is the first female fronted act to be signed to the label in 5 years and is only the third in total, following Jaime Kyle and Dante Fox. This shows just how much potential NOW & THEN/FRONTIERS believes Haven has within the band.

Here is what Now and Then/Fontiers has to say about HAVEN:

Songs range from Power Rock Ballads to Mid and uptempo Rock, with sultry acoustic guitar and piano ballads mixed in. Pamme the singer has an amazing voice which has been compared to Ann Wilson (Heart), Lita Ford, Vixen, and even Celine Dion on the ballad "Face The Day". Special guest players include Matt Sorum on drums, (Guns n' Roses and The Cult), Robin McAuley, background vocals, (MSG-McAuley Schenker Group), and Jimmy Hotz, Hotz Midi Translator, (Worked with Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Dave Mason, Gary Wright, and others). Haven explores and provides a solid offering of lifegiving lyrics and introspection, woven amidst a melodic storm of high powered vocals and guitar work. The band says, "We write from the heart, based not upon calculated efforts to clone the latest trend, but to use our music as a vehicle to uplift, heal and entertain, never forgetting why we started making music in the first place... We love it!"

The band has many diverse musical influences. Pamme the Lead Vocalist and Lyricist was inspired by Kansas, Heart and Journey. She was inspired by these bands because of Steve Walsh, Ann Wilson and Steve Perry; three great singers and performers.

Michael the Bass and Keyboard player was inspired by Paul McCartney, The Beatles, Kiss, Rush, Sting, and various Pop bands.

John the guitar player was inspired by UFO (Michael Schenker), Black Sabbath, Rush, Deep Purple, Robin Trower, The Beatles, and classical music. Mix all that together and you have a pretty wide influence of musical styles which all add up to... Haven!

Hear are some reviews of the Cd!

"You gotta check this band out! They are great... loud... Whoever snags this band, you better be ready to sell some records. They were featured on Regional Riffs and The Heavy Bloc, and the phones are still ringing!" - Terrie Richards DJ, KXBS.********

This review is from Melodicrock.com, the biggest site for Melodic and AOR rock music. ******** Haven is fronted by lead vocalist Pamme - quite a revelation indeed! She has quite a presence on this material and as a vocalist in general is one of the best female leads I have heard in a long time. She has that touch that turns a straight ahead rock song into a more gut wrenching emotional experience and I shudder to think how much better she will become!

Haven recorded and released this album independently and a copy made it to the desk of Now & Then Productions chief Mark Ashton. He also saw the potential in these guys and signed them up, with this debut release now featuring new artwork and packaging, but the same song line up as the indie release. What I expect Mark will do gives me great cause for excitement.

This is one of the best female fronted AOR albums in a very long time. As good as this album is for fans of sultry female vocal lead melodic rock, under the guidance of Now &Then they are bound to get even better. Scary fact that!

Haven is Pamme, Michael Brody (Bass, Guitars) and John Vanselow (Guitars). Joining them on the album is melodic rock heavy weights Matt Sorum (drums) and Robin McAuley (backing vocals).

The band plays a mix of mid tempo rockers with sultry heartbreaking ballads. The vocal power of Pamme is something to get AOR fans excited. The sound of the band and of Pamme herself most closely resembles fellow melodic AOR rockers Fiona and Robin Beck - with even more guts and raw emotion! Comparisons can also be made to Heart - especially with the musical direction and vocally also to the very cool Carol Decker of T'Pau. Any music fan with albums from these ladies in their collection needs to add Haven. I doubt you will be disappointed. The harmonies and backing vocals and song arrangements keep the listener interested and entertained throughout. I rate these guys above Dante Fox and Robin Beck.

There is a little room for further improvement in the production quality, but that will come with an expanded production budget. The delivery and passion of the songs far out weights any minor point there.

BOTTOM LINE: This is a great album of emotion filled rock, with a great new discovery leading the way on vocals. The album has a varied pace - from melodic rockers to sultry pop to powerful emotion filled power ballads - all with a very AOR twist. For fans of female fronted melodic rock, there is a new Queen in town.

SONGS: 93% VIBE: 85% ATTITUDE: 90%

ESSENTIAL FOR: All fans of powerful, female fronted AOR tinged melodic rock. Fans of Fiona, T'Pau & Robin Beck.

This review is from Gabor Kleinbloesem, Editor of Strutter'zine. HAVEN-HAVEN (SLICE OF REALITY RECORDS) "The latest Female Fronted AOR sensation comes out of Thousand Oaks, California and is called HAVEN. This three piece band has released a terrific debut CD that will appeal to everyone who likes the sound of PRIVATE LIFE, WITNESS, HEART, RADAR & HELLIP. The band consists of lead singer Pamme, bassist/guitarist/keyboardist Michael Brody and lead guitarist John Vanselow. Additional musicians include drummer MATT SORUM (THECULT/GUNS'N'ROSES) and singer ROBIN MCAULEY (MSG). The production of Michael Brody and John Vanselow is excellent and so are the 12 AOR/Melodic Rocksongs on the album. The CD starts with "The curtain", a great semi melodic rockballad like HEART meets PRIVATE LIFE. Next up is "Can you hear us", a fantastic semi AOR/Melodic Rockballad. The lovely AOR ballad "All I ever need" follows. Things slow down with the acoustic ballad "Halfway home" (a la CHALLENGE). The first real rocker is "Strange premonition", a nice uptempo melodic rocker with a catchy hookline and a sound comparable to WITNESS. The calmer piano led AOR ballad "Face the day" is up next. Then comes the fantastic classy uptempo AOR/Melodic Rocker "Show them" that combines HEART, TONE NORUM (first two albums) and WITNESS, so a must for fans of that typical female AOR sound. In the same style is "Hold on" that also sounds a lot like the wonderful debut of PRIVATE LIFE. In between these two songs is the acoustic ballad "The road". "Someday soon" is maybe the best song of the whole CD, because this song is a superb AOR ballad. Next track "Be the one" is a nice calmer AOR/Poprocker, a bit like ELLEN FOLEY and RACHEL SWEET. The CD closes very nicely with the uptempo melodic rocker "Forgiveness". HAVEN is really a big recommendation to every fan of female fronted AOR/Melodic rock, especially if you liked RADAR, then you're gonna love this one too! More info at: http://www.mp3.com/haven and e-mail them at: pammeland@earthlink.net. Look for an interview on our site soon. (Points: 9.0 out of 10)

*******Haven - HavenRock Reunion Webzine Review http://www.heim-e.uni-sb.de/~rage/havenreview.htm

Haven is a threepiece consisting of singer Pamme, Michael Brody (bass, keyboards and guitars) and John Vanselow (lead guitars). You can see it's a mere studio project. And that's a shame! Haven should perform in big stadiums packed with screaming chicks (and boys, since the singer is a girl). Ok, this ain't the 80s anymore. But ten years back, Haven would have got a major deal in a second. On their self titled debut, they play over-the-top melodic pop rock in the vein of the early Vixen albums. Anyone remeber the four chicks playing songs written by Richard Marx, Jeff Paris, Fee Waybill etc? And Haven singer Pamme exactly sounds like Vixen singer Janet Gardner. That's a compliment, because I really dig the hyper-melodic first and second Vixen CDs. If you also like them, then you should definitely check out Haven! Oh, before I forget it: there are two guest stars on the album: Ex-Guns N'Roses / Cult drummer Matt Sorum and ex-MSG singer Robin McAuley. Unfortunately the latter is only doing backing vocals on two tracks. Would have been really nice to hear him in a duet with Pamme. But her voice is strong enough to make this CD a masterpiece. With a decent record deal, Haven should be huge! I don't mention any tracks, because they're all on the same high level, mostly midtempo rockers with great guitar playing and fantastic harmonies. The best melodic rock album with female vocals since the Vixen debut! Contact: www.mp3.com/Haven. Rating: 9 Review by: Rage******* This review is from Bruno Van de Velde editor of Angelfire 'zine. HAVEN-Haven Through the years I heard some great singers female and male. My favorite rock singer has always been Ann Wilson (Heart). Since I received this I have a new name on the top of my list. Pamme does not only look awesome, she has also an amazing voice. On the CD I received are twelve songs. She got the help from Matt Sorum (Guns n' Roses & The Cult) on drums. Robin McAuley (MSG) did some backing vocals and Jimmy Hotz who worked with Yes and Fleetwood Mac helped out on the Hotz Midi Translator. The CD starts with "The Curtain" a mid tempo song which showcases the powerful and emotional voice of Pamme. The next eleven songs vary from ballads to harder rock songs. All songs also feature the excellent guitar work of John Vanselow. I'm really amazed that this band is unsigned. Haven may not be the heaviest band in the world but what they do is from a very high level. Just listen to songs like "All I Ever Need", "Strange Premonition" or the amazing ballad "Face The Day". E-mail (9 out of 10)******* This review is from Andrea Bertamino of Flash Magazine. HAVEN "Haven" (Slice Of Reality Records) Rating:85 Coming from California, Haven is made of Pamme (vc), Michael Brody (bs, keys, gt) and John Vanselow (gt), but they have guests like Matt Sorum (dr - The Cult, Guns N'Roses)and the singer Robin McAuley (Grand Prix, MSG).The fans of female fronted bands cannot ignore this band that courageously puts four ballads at the begininng of the cd, that are "The curtain" (a passionate song with influences of Heart and Private Life), "Can you hear us" and "All I ever need"(even more evident the presence of the Wilson sisters in songwriting), and the acoustic "Halfway home", graced by a magnificent guitar work of Brody and Vanselow. The first real rockers are "Strange premonition" (among Deep Purple and Witness), and "Show them", with hints of Heart and Witness. After the dreamy and seducing slow "The road", we have more AOR songs like "Hold on" and "Someday soon", a mighty semi ballad performed with great class."Forgiveness" is a melodic hard rock uptempo, not so original in the instrumental department, but will easily find lovers. Haven is a good band worth the interest of some serious label.

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