Hi, You have a great site and truly are a lover of music. Three questions that I would like your opinion on are:

1)  What do you think of Tim Palmer as a producer and mixer?

2)  Do you think that Cinderella would have a more marketable image if they released a song geared toward country radio?  I know they are a rock band but since most country radio isn't to far off from 80's era AOR, it could at least get their foot back in the door.

3)  On this years MTV Video Awards, Duran Duran received a Lifetime Achievement Award that was kind of botched.  The video retrospect didn't work and Kelly Osbourne made no sense,  Avril Lavigne didn't really know who they were, and the audience only half-heartedly clapped because they didn't know what was going on.  I felt a little embarassed for this great band to receive such treatment. What is your opinion?

1. Tim Palmer is a good producer and mixer.  I've never had the opportunity to work with him in past years.

2. As you know, I think Cinderella is a great band and it might be a great idea to make a song geared toward country radio because the rock format and the modern country format are really quite similar.  It just might be the name "Cinderella" that would be a problem for country radio, since they were a huge superstar rock band of the 80's.

3. My opinion of that show is exactly as you put it.  But, I think the executives of the record business were suitably impressed by Duran Duran and remembered how important they were - since then there's been renewed interest in Duran Duran by the major record companies, which wasn't the case before this awards show.

I'm impressed that at your age you know about Duran Duran, Cinderella and Tim Palmer! (*note: poster is 21 years old)

Just curious what your thoughts are on Joe Perry's newly signed band the Porch Ghouls....We saw them at Mount Blue one night, and on the second stage in Mansfield for both Tweeter Center shows, and really liked them. Do you think they are, (groan) "commercially viable" or just a great bar band? Your thoughts please.....

I haven't seen them, so I don't have an informed enough opinion until I see them perform live.

(updated Friday, October 24th, 2003)

Any future plans of doing a Merry Axemas in the future. Steve Vai usually thanks you first in his album covers. How closely have you worked with him?  Thanx, I know your time is precious.

I've done two Merry Axemas CD's for Sony. I love working with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, so that's a good idea.  Maybe at Sanctuary I can gather together a bunch of great guitar players and do a Merry Axemas CD for next year.  Thanks for the question, it's a great idea.

Dear JDK, I am a Cher fan.. rumour has it you may be collaborating on her new CD she is going to record next spring. Is this still Q&A territory to know if you, Desmond and Diane will be part of the project? Best regards from Milan, Italy.

Yes, I am working on Cher's record, to be released on Warner Bros.  It will be recorded next Spring.  I'll definitely be using some Diane Warren songs and hopefully some Desmond Child songs and a bunch of new writers who I definitely think have hits for her.

What is your fondest memory of the WAX days or daze?  I have many, albeit fragmentary.

My fondest memory is when WAX played a show in Fairmont Park, opening for the Byrds.  It was really cool and I felt, at the age of 20, a real part of the music business.  I hope you remember it that way.