Song is second from forthcoming third studio album
The Winery Dogs featuring Richie Kotzen, Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan have released “Mad World,” the second single from their forthcoming album, III. The band also shares the official video, directed by Vicente Cordero, which was shot in Los Angeles in November and can be seen below.
III is set for release on February 3rd via the band’s Three Dog Music label with distribution by Burnside Distribution/The Orchard. Following in the footsteps of their first two albums, III was once again self-produced by The Winery Dogs and mixed by longtime band associate Jay Ruston. The album’s first single and video, “Xanadu,” was released last month and is available with all digital preorders.
The first song to be released from III, “Xanadu,” made its world premiere on December 8th during Eddie Trunk’s Trunk Nation show on SiriusXM. It’s now available on digital formats. Fans can pre-order the album and enter to win a custom Fender Richie Kotzen Telecaster guitar via the group’s website. A vinyl edition of III will also be forthcoming in just a few months.
About “Mad World,” Eddie Trunk declares, “On first listen, ‘Mad World’ was one of my favorite tracks on the coming new Winery Dogs album. Just a great classic sounding rock track with top notch musicianship, but above all a great song! I had tremendous response to my world premiere of the lead track, ‘Xanadu,’ and I expect fans of the band will not be disappointed with ‘Mad World’ and the killer entire new album III when they get to hear it soon!”
“’Get on the bus, go do the exercise’ is the opening line of the song and it really sets the tone,” explains singer/guitarist Richie Kotzen. “The song is dealing with a certain attitude or way of thinking forced on individuals regardless of your own life experience or unique individuality. I remember a time where opposing opinions and viewpoints were more accepted. A good old healthy debate was a great thing back then. This song is really shining a light on how there may be certain consequences to pay if you don’t think a certain way. It’s also reflected in the lyric, ‘You’d better bite your tongue so you sound the same.’ It also offers a glimmer of hope in its chorus with the line ‘Turn from a scar into a pearl.’ So it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s always a chance to turn things around.”
In addition to the new music, fans will also be excited to hear that the trio is hitting the worldwide concert trail starting February 15th in Greensburg, PA at the Palace Theatre for their 202III World Tour. Ticket and VIP package info can be found on the band’s official website.
III is the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album, Hot Streak, which was released October 2, 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. After landing in the top five on many of Amazon’s pre-order charts, including No. 1 on the Amazon BestSellers/Hard Rock chart and No. 1 on the Amazon Pre-Orders/Hard Rock Albums charts, it sold 30% more than their 2013 self-titled debut, landing them on various Billboard album charts including No. 2 on Top Current Alternative Albums, No. 5 on Top Current Hard Music and Top Hard Music Albums, No. 6 on Top Current Rock Albums and Album Core/Genre Rock,” No. 15 Top Current Physical Albums, No. 16 Top Current Albums, and No. 30 on the Top 200 Albums chart.
