Lillian Axe is an American hard rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, US, best known for its major label albums, Lillian Axe, Love + War, Poetic Justice and Psychoschizophrenia. Originally formed in 1983, the group is still active, though only the guitarist Steve Blaze and bassist Michael Max Darby remain from the original line-up.
The band's origins are based in the New Orleans based band Oz which guitarist Steve Blaze joined in the early 1980s, which included Rick Bohrer on vocals, Orlando "Ace" Palacio on guitar, Michael "Maxx" Darby on bass guitar, and Jeff Savelle on drums. When Palacio quit, the band told Blaze that he was the new lead guitarist. The band played gigs under the Oz moniker until Blaze came up with the name Lillian Axe driving home from seeing the movie Creepshow. Blaze was inspired by a scene in the movie where a skeleton in a bridesmaid dress was floating in a window. The name "Lillian" came to mind as a "creepy sounding, old lady name" along with the word Axe to complete the name. Blaze noted, “So, it’s like a skeleton with a veil, and it inspired me. What would that apparition’s name be? Some creepy old lady’s name, so the name Lillian came to mind. I was sitting at the red light on the corner of Houma Boulevard and Veterans when I immediately thought ‘Lillian Axe.’”
Bohrer and Cavalier left the band and were replaced by Johnny Vines and Danny King, respectively. For the next four years, Lillian Axe toured extensively opening for bands such as Ratt, Poison and Queensryche. In 1987 at a show in Dallas, the band caught the eye of MCA Records and Marshall Berle (nephew of Milton Berle) who at the time was managing the band Ratt. MCA wanted to sign Steve, since he wrote the songs and owned the name. At the time, the band was experiencing some tensions due to addictions. Blaze recalled, “Quite honestly the way things were going at the time, some of the things had gotten so out of hand that I thought that we wouldn’t wind up lasting much longer in that capacity. It was chaotic at that time, a few of the guys had addiction issues and I had to make a decision to move forward.”
During this time, Blaze considered several singers including Jani Lane of Warrant. Marshal Berle mentioned Lane to Blaze and suggested the two meet even though Warrant was already under negotiations with Columbia Records. Jani flew down to New Orleans and spent four days with Blaze, attending Lillian Axe shows and hanging out with Blaze. While the two had a strong mutual respect for one another, it became clear that each of them were the leaders and chief songwriters of their respective bands.
The classic line-up came together when former Stiff members, Ron Taylor (lead vocals), Jon Ster (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Rob Stratton (bass guitar), teamed up with Lillian Axe members Steve Blaze (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Danny King (drums) in 1987. The band caught the attention of Ratt's management which led to a record deal with MCA and Ratt's Robbin Crosby producing the band's first album, Lillian Axe.
Track list:
- Dream Of A Lifetime 5:18
- Inside Out 3:57
- Vision In The Night 3:20
- Picture Perfect 4:00
- The More That You Get 3:05
- Misery Loves Company 3:27
- Nobody Knows 4:19
- Hard Luck 4:51
- Waiting In The Dark 4:28
- Laughing In Your Face 3:51
Art Direction, Design – Hugh Syme
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Nate Winger, Paul Winger
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Rob Stratton
Drums – Danny King
Engineer [Additional Recording] – Mike Bosley
Keyboards [Additional] – Michael Dorian
Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – Stevie Blaze
Lead Vocals – Ron Taylor
Mastered By – Greg Fulginiti
Photography By – Jay Buchsbaum
Producer – Robbin Crosby
Recorded By – Paul Winger
Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Jon Ster
