Episode 62: Jesse Damon of Silent Rage

Silent Rage formed in 1985 with founding members EJ Curse, Jesse Damon and Mark Hawkins. The band is known for their signature songwriting style of blending melody with hard-driving rock. Silent Rage remains unique from other 80’s bands by having Jesse Damon share the lead vocal duties with Hawkins and Curse.

In 1987 they teamed up with producer/artist Paul Sabu for their first critically acclaimed CD, “Shattered Hearts” and were signed to Chameleon / Capitol Records by industry veteran Steve Brownlee. In 1988, Gene Simmons signed them to Simmons Records/RCA and drummer Brian James Fox (White Tiger) joined the band. For Silent Rage’s 2nd release, Paul Sabu and Gene Simmons were chosen to lend their production skills. In 1989 they released “Don't Touch Me There”. That too reached #1 on European import charts. The song “Rebel with a Cause” was released as a single and its video debuted on MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball “. Next, the band toured with Black Sabbath for the “Headless Cross” tour. In the early 90’s Silent Rage continued touring and writing. They also wrote and performed with other projects: EJ with Doro Pesch and Jesse with Gene Simmons and Kiss. Unfortunately, the grunge scene eventually forced them into a hiatus. In 2000 Silent Rage re-united to sign a new record deal and added Rodney Pino on drums and released their third new CD, “Still Alive” in 2002. “Still Alive” was produced by Bob Ezrin (Kiss, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) and co-produced by Kevin Beamish (R.E.O. Speedwagon, Y&T) and Silent Rage. They made their 1st UK appearance at the Z Rock Festival. In 2007 Silent Rage signed a new record deal with Frontiers Records for their 4th CD, “Four Letter Word”. It was released in 2008 and produced by Gilby Clarke . The material continued to mesh melody with metal and big memorable choruses. It also featured special guest performances by Bruce Kulick (KISS), Bobby Blotzer (Ratt), Gilby Clarke (Guns N Roses), Dilana (Rockstar Supernova) and even former drummer Brian James Fox.

Singer & guitarist, Jesse Damon, who we talk with on this episode has also had a storied solo career, releasing no less than seven solo records to date plus a new compilation album, aptly titled “Anthology”.