Bad Penny – ‘Lose Myself’ (feat. Steve Augeri)

It would be entirely justifiable to refer to Bad Penny as a bit of a hard rock ‘supergroup’, such is the quality of musicianship in the ranks of the band. Conceived and masterminded by New York based guitarist/songwriter Mike Holtzman to “write and release original songs in a variety of genres – from classic rock to metal to power ballads”, the band also consists of Danny Miranda (Queen + Paul Rodgers) on bass and Jules Radino (Blue Oyster Cult) on drums. The first two singles released by Bad Penny featured Queensryche vocalist Todd LaTorre, with debut ‘Voices in my Head’ reaching number 39 on the US MediaBase Charts and ‘The Mirror Lies’ described as a homage to Eddie Van Halen. Both of those tracks were good going rock tracks (albeit very different!), so now it’s time for the release of a power ballad, the latest single ‘Lose Myself’… and if you’re going to release a power ballad, who better to feature on vocals than Tall Stories and ex-Journey singer (and all-round good guy!) Steve Augeri.

Starting with some beautiful lone piano before being joined by the unmistakeable, pitch-perfect vocals of Steve Augeri, the opening lyrics “I’d lose myself to find you. I would give up all I had” sets the emotional tone of this track from the outset. As the verse progresses, some strings can be heard, leading the way for the introduction of acoustic guitar, bass and tom-tom hits by Radino to build anticipation towards the chorus. There’s a real passion to Augeri’s vocals as he sings “I would cut myself to heal you. Numb myself to feel you”, certainly suggesting the muse to this song is a special person indeed and their love is worth fighting for!

With the lyrical content and slow burn of the music in the verse, it’s absolutely no surprise that when the chorus comes, it’s a big one worthy of any power ballad. As Augeri’s vocals soar, singing of eventually finding his love (“and it don’t matter now when you’re finally here”) the powerful rhythm section kicks in, with Radino’s drums driving the song along with Miranda’s bass. It would’ve been easy to include big power chords here instead of the more minimal clean guitar heard in the mix… but it would’ve completely overpowered the feel of the brilliant chorus. Sometimes less truly is more!

The second verse mirrors the first but this time including bass, drums and guitar from the outset. Jules Radino’s drums are truly remarkable, as where many drummers would’ve chosen a simple beat throughout, he opted for what appears to me (a non-drummer!) to be a more complicated rhythm with more use of the toms, really adding interest and continuing that build to the big power ballad chorus. Augeri’s vocals continue to be unsurprisingly top-notch as he sings of holding on to the love he yearned for; “when I held it all in the palm of my hand, how could I let it go?”

Mike Holtzman plays some simple but effective guitar work in the bridge section as the rhythms of Radino and Miranda and some great piano parts takes the listener back to the chorus again. But it’s when the song is coming to an end during the outro that it takes a really special turn for me, with Holtzman seizing the chance for a moment to shine with an emotion-filled guitar solo, ably accompanied by Radino and Miranda as Steve Augeri sings “I lost myself, I lost myself in you’ in the background. Truly majestic stuff!!

For those who know me, it’s well known that despite my preference for driving hard rock, I’m really a big softy at heart and a sucker for a power ballad! There’s something about those sugary-sweet tracks that somehow manage to draw me in with ease and I often find myself caught in the story told in the lyrics and the generally softer, more emotional aspect of the musical accompaniment. But with pretty much every hard rock band having a go at such a ballad at some point in their career, there’s a plethora to choose from with mixed success. But to me ‘Lose Myself’ has it all; the flawless vocals, the soaring chorus, the outstanding songwriting and musicianship… and well, that magical outro! Another benchmark for me is whether my power-ballad loving wife Kirsteen likes a track… and I think it’s fair to say, Mrs Griffiths approves of this one!

In Bad Penny, egos appear to be left at the studio door. Despite their experience and obvious talent, the musicians don’t appear to try to outplay one another. It’s all about the music and that’s the mark of a great band that can write, record and produce great tracks such as ‘Lose Myself’. A music video for the song is available for your viewing pleasure (directed by Foad Farid of Lady Gaga video fame!) and is well worth checking out along with the band’s previous singles.

Let’s hope this is one Bad Penny that will keep coming back… preferably with an album at some point in the future.