Legendary Runaways rocker Lita Ford plays with FireHouse at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on April 6
From a press release:
It was announced today that the legendary “Queen of Metal” Lita Ford will perform with ’90s glam metal hitmakers FireHouse at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on Friday, April 6, 2018 at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $31 in advance or $36 the day of the show, go on sale this Friday, Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. and will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Penn’s Peak box office (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe), and Roadies Restaurant and Bar (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe). Penn’s Peak box office and Roadies Restaurant ticket sales are walk-up only; no phone orders.
To Lita Ford, the title of 2012 new solo album “Living Like a Runaway” has two deep and distinct meanings: The first refers to her first band The Runaways, which she was a member of between 1975 and 1980, achieving her international breakthrough. The second reason is much more personal.
“There have been days in my life when I ran away, when I was unhappy and had to get out of my previous life,” Ford confesses. “It‘s like walking through fire and being able to come through the other side unscathed.”
She continues, “I wanted to write an album which gives people courage, inspires them, and gives them new power – in other words, the power of music. As it has done for me on difficult days, I want this music to help people to get through tough times while remembering their happy times as well. It’s happened to me plenty of times: fans come up to me and tell me how my songs have helped them in difficult situations. In a way, it is almost like a soundtrack to their lives.”
Ford teamed up with producer Gary Hoey and lyricist Michael Dan Ehmig to work on “Living Like a Runaway.” Together, the team invested a lot of time and effort into this kickass project. “We worked on the lyrics intensively to really give the songs a lot of meaning and that special emotional depth. I think that these are some of the best lyrics ever, period,” she says. Ford is referring to numbers such as “Devil in My Head,” “Hate,” and “The Asylum,” which see her bare her soul in a way that she has never done before.
In addition to lead vocals, Ford and Hoey arranged beautiful and melodic guitar harmonies rather than just rattling off a bunch of notes. Nikki Sixx also contributed to the album, writing “A Song to Slit Your Wrist By,” which was taken by Ford and completely transformed into a nasty industrial-style track with attitude. On the track “Bad Neighborhood,” guitarist Doug Aldrich provided the riff, which Ford says, “is a high energy guitar riff that carries the song.” Elton John also gave his blessing to her to do a cover of his classic “The Bitch is Back,” featuring special guests The Uptown Horns.
Unlike many albums today, “Living Like a Runaway” is an album that truly must be heard in its entirety from start to finish. “Listeners shouldn’t pick out individual tracks but listen to the full album,” Ford explains. “It’s a fascinating musical journey inspired by Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ I had seen a documentary about ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and it really motivated me to focus on ‘Living Like a Runaway’ as a whole journey rather just an individual song.”
A British-born rocker who grew up on the streets of Los Angeles, Ford is considered one of the most important female representatives of the rock genre. She was a founding member of The Runaways, one of the first girl groups who unexpectedly broke down barriers in the punk era as well as the male-dominated world of rock music, causing a stir with their six rebellious releases.
Following the demise of The Runaways, Ford concentrated on her own career and now looks back on many memorable hits, including the chart-topping duet with Ozzy Osbourne “Close Your Eyes Forever,” “What Do You Know About Love,” “Shot of Poison,” “Larger Than Life,” and “Kiss Me Deadly.” Her latest release is “Time Capsule,” a collection of “lost” recordings featuring Billy Sheehan playing bass and Rodger Carter on drums, Dave Navarro playing a mandolin, Jeff Scott Soto singing a duet with Ford, Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick singing backing vocals, and KISS’ Gene Simmons ripping the bass.
Ford was dubbed “The First Lady of Rock Guitar” in 2017 by Guitar Player magazine and was given the Icon Award along with the late great Jim Marshall himself. Ford and her ass-kicking band are rolling thunder on stage, with their hard-rocking sound coming from entertaining and talented musicians. Together, they will melt your face.
FireHouse has been rocking since 1989. Their music, which includes the hit singles “Reach for the Sky,” “Don’t Treat Me Bad,” and “All She Wrote,” as well as their signature power ballads “I Live My Life for You,” “Love of a Lifetime,” and “When I Look into Your Eyes,” has taken them all over the world and has produced gold, platinum, and multi-platinum records in the United States and countries abroad.
