Richie Kotzen has an amazing ability to create projects that awe critics and inspire aspiring musicians, especially guitarists. The rocker has done it again with the release of his new CD, Peace Sign. Richie has been touted as “one of the best guitar players in the world” with a voice on par with some of the greatest rock/soul singers. He has also enjoyed a truly incredible journey in the world of music. Among numerous accomplishments, in 2006 as a solo artist, Kotzen was the opening act for the legendary Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang Tour in Japan. And in addition to writing and being featured on #1 charting albums and tracks, Kotzen has amassed an impressive 25 plus album discography. A true icon of the music world, Kotzen is one of the few artists to be honored by Fender Guitar with not one, but two signature models. The Kotzen Telecaster has repeatedly been the #1 selling signature model guitar for Fender Japan. In 2005 Cornford Amplification honored Kotzen with his own signature series guitar amp, the RK100, which was voted AMP of The Year in the UK. Kotzen just recently designed and programmed his own signature model guitar effect pedal for Zoom/Samson. His latest release, Peace Sign is already showing signs of being considered a critical success as the rave reviews are pouring in: “This type of album doesn't come along every day folks... `What we see here is perhaps the natural progression of Richie's career. Somehow, his voice has gotten even better, and his guitar skills are still up there with the best. He does an excellent job playing bass and drums as well. The result is a solid groove upon which the songs are built. Speaking of songs, they're incredible. "My Messiah" is a straightforward rocker that would be right at home on Richie's "Get Up" CD. "The Best of Times" is perhaps my favorite track of the album, and features a great chorus. "Holding On", "Larger Than Life", "Catch up to Me", comprise the slower parts of the CD, and really showcase Kotzen's incredible voice. "Peace Sign", "Your Entertainer" and "We're all Famous" are very funky, and highlight the groovy rhythm of the album. "Long Way from Home" is another solid rocker. Simply put, this is a must-have for Richie's fans. The songs are very well written, and are backed up not only with breathtaking fretwork, but also the best voice in rock music, period. With 25 plus studio albums under his belt (not counting side-projects), I can only hope that Richie will stay around long enough to pump out 25 more.” – digstation.com Regarding the new project, Richie has a few thoughts. He says “I'm really excited about this new CD. I'm not sure how I did it, but somehow I think it has a really live sound, even though I'm playing all the instruments on all but four songs. I think it is because of the music I grew up on. Bands like Cream, The Stones, and of course Hendrix all had that ‘live -- create it on the spot’ sound so I suppose that is the way I hear music. He continues, “And real music fans should notice that on this recording, there are very few parts where I double the rhythm guitars – maybe only two songs where I went for that vibe. On most of the tracks there is one rhythm guitar and one lead guitar. That has always been my thing --especially under the solos. I rarely lay rhythm guitar tracks under my solos because I figure I can not do both at once when I'm playing live. Plus I don't like the competition between frequencies of the lead and rhythm guitar at once.” Regarding his signature solo work, Richie adds, “All my solos are on the spot solos. I never work out solos. I always go for it in the moment and somehow they write themselves as I go. I do this because vocally, it’s a feel thing for me. There is a certain point usually after singing for about twenty minutes where my voice relaxes and I feel like I can pretty much sing whatever I hear. So much of what I do relies on being inspired by the song. If I’m not feeling the song, then it is impossible for me to do any kind of performance worth listening to.” Kotzen has thoughts on favorite tracks for the album. He says, “My favorite tracks are: Paying Dues, Long Way From Home, Peace Sign, Larger Than Life, and Lie To Me. Actually I pretty much like them all – LOL. I feel strongly that the thing that makes this CD work is the sequencing. I’m especially referring to the European and American version as the Japan version is sequenced differently.” With a style that has developed over the years, Richie comments, “Over the years my style has evolved -- since I was 18 when I made my first CD. On this record, the opener, My Messiah has that late 80's, early 90's sound which is derived from the time when my first cd came out. As the disc plays, it goes from the more rockin’ thing into the more funk influenced stuff. When listening to Songs like Your Entertainer and We're All Famous, you can hear the influence playing with Stanley Clarke has had on me. Then towards the end, the CD mellows out with the slower tunes like Catch Up to Me and Lie to Me.” Richie concludes, “Artistically speaking, I'm fully satisfied with what I performed and accomplished on this release. Then of course -- if I wasn’t happy -- I would never have made it available.”