Maniac News Room

July 2007 – Ronnie Platt Joins Shooting Star

Shooting Star proudly welcomes new lead singer Ronnie Platt to the band! Ronnie lives in Chicago, Illinois and joined the band in April of this year. Look for more information on him in The Band section of our website.

Ronnie had his first performance with Shooting Star on June 2nd at the Old Shawnee Days Festival in Kansas City where they played for a festival record croud of 12,000 fans. Look in the Store area of our website for a live on demand CD of this show. Besides playing the old Shooting Star favorites and songs from the new Circles CD, the band surprised the croud by playing You've Got Love and Somewhere in Your Heart which they haven't performed live in 20 years.

July 2006 – August 1st Release Date for “Circles”

We are happy to announce that August 1st will be the official North American Release date for the new CD “Circles”. Pre-release reviews are already coming in from the US and Europe with very positive reactions. The band was busy in June shooting a new video for “George’s Song”, Van’s tribute to George Harrison. It’s in the final production stages now so watch for it to be out soon.

The band is currently in rehearsals working up a new show for upcoming tour dates. “We plan to play some new songs, some old favorites…even a few from the past that we haven’t played in years,” said drummer Steve Thomas. Concert dates are being firmed up now so keep an eye on the on the “Concert Info” page for a show near you.

April 2006 - Updated Release Date Information for "Circles"

We are in the process of getting a release date coordinated with Frontiers Records (Italy) for the official North American Release. We are hoping to have that date very soon followed by a tour announcement. In the meantime we are still accepting maniac pre-orders and will ship those as soon as product arrives. The website will be the only place to get the disc until it hits the stores hopefully by summer. We’ll keep you all posted.

We apologize for the difficulties with our online store. It is being worked out and we hope to have it fine-tuned quickly. Rest assured we are tracking activity to be sure that no one is charged in duplicate and that all orders a processed in a timely manner.

Thanks for all the support!

March 2006 - The New Website is up...Welcome Kevin Chalfant

If you are reading this you realize that the site is finally back up. After a year of struggle we finally have made our way back to the web. Keep checking back as we will continually be updating and seek your input. As you poke around be sure to register so that you can post and reply to comments made by other maniacs. We know a lot has happened since we have been off line so we've tried to hit the highlights of the last six months history. Scroll down and get yourself caught up on what's been going on around here.

We want to officially welcome Kevin Chalfant to the family and look forward to rocking' the house. Plans are underway to set up a tour to promote the new CD and get out and play again. "We seemed to do a lot of shows for a while there", said Ron Verlin, "that’s the best part of a new record, we get to go play again". Look for tour announcements around the release date for a show near you.

February 2006 - Kevin Elson Visits the studio / Press Release Hits the Wire

Kevin Elson (producer of III Wishes and Burning) came to the studio to mix four of the ten songs on the new records. Kevin spent Five days in the studio with Van tweaking the new sounds. "We think Kevin enjoyed his stay", Said McLain, "The mixes sound great and except for Joe's car dying on Kevin we had a great time".

Official Press Release February 17, 2006

Rock Band Shooting Star signs Recording Artist Kevin Chalfant to be the New Lead Singer. In an undisclosed location Guitarist/Singer Van McLain met with Kevin Chalfant and agreed to collaborate there Artistic ability and for Kevin to sing on Shooting Stars New Record. Over the last few months of having these two veterans working together, they have just completed a record that will get your attention. Magic chemistry has been formed that will cause you to want not just to buy a download but the record, as you will want each and every song.

Shooting Star will be celebrating their 27Th year as recording artist in the new millennium, with the new release, and a fall tour. The band continues to display its resilience and its love of music. Current line up is Ron Verlin Bass, Van McLain Guitar and vocals, Steve Thomas Drums, Dennis Lafoon Keyboards, Kevin Chalfant Lead Vocals and Shane Micheals Violin.

The needed secrecy was to keep all band member focus on the record without distraction. This allowed Shooting Star the time they needed and as you will hear for yourself, much worthwhile.

Shooting Star New Website is almost complete so keep your eye out for the grand opening with all the latest news and what is in store for all of you Shooting Star Fans.

January 2006 - Shooting Star Signs Kevin Chalfant as New Singer

After a long and dedicated search, Kevin Chalfant (The Storm/707) is going to be the new Shooting Star singer. After reaching an agreement Van traveled to Kevin's studio in Chicago to begin preparations for finishing the new record. Kevin and Van have been friends for a long time and have appeared together in the past including a cancer benefit in Chicago, 1997. "Kevin's voice is amazing", said McLain, "its going to be great collaborating with him". Chalfant is set to begin tracking vocals to be mixed in February.

November 2005 - Shooting Star sends 10,000 CD's to the troups overseas

This month the band teamed up with project Santa, a not for profit organization from IL, and donated 10,000 cd's to put in stocking going to troops abroad unable to spend Christmas at home. Cowtown delivered 10,000 Leap of Faith CD's (includes the single Let's Roll) to project Santa earlier this month. The organization will stuff the discs into stockings that will be delivered in time for Christmas.

September 2006 - Tracking nearly completed....The search for a new singer begins

Basic tracks for the new album have been completed. The songs sound great. Just listening through the new material there is a certain energy that really grabs you. "This project has been an interesting experience and one that is completely different from any other recording project I've been a part of", said McLain, "its like all the parts are just falling into place by themselves and we don't even have a singer".

With tracking nearly completed on the new record, the search for a new lead singer is gearing up. Contact has been made with several front men in hopes that a new singer can be in place in the near future. Inquiries or those seeking auditions should email Cowtown info@cowtowndigital.com

August 2005 - Keith Mitchell Leaves the band

Keith Mitchell has decided to leave the band effective immediately for personal and professional reasons. "With the band in the middle of producing a new record I felt it best to step down now before we were in the middle of promoting a new project...the band needs the opportunity to get a replacement before the new release", Mitchell said. Keith spent 15+ years with the band recorded 3 albums and a DVD and toured and supported the cause 110%. Everyone in the organization wishes Keith the very best in his new ventures and continued success in his career. "Its always hard to loose a band member", says McLain, "we've been doing this for so long now its odd to not be working together." Mitchell , who has been working for Vista Productions is set to peruse writing and producing audio projects for broadcast and presentation.

June 2005 - Warren's Back/Steve Thomas starts tracking/Digital Sales Growing

Warren's back...well not really but Warren Rhodes did assist in getting the new studio up and running in time for tracking to begin on the new CD. Warren now operates Soundstage in Nashville and does custom installations with his tech company Interface Audio. Interface delivered and installed the new SSL console into Cowtown's new Studio. Some things never change...

Steve Thomas is set to begin tracking drums for the new album. "Rehearsals have been underway for the past few weeks and every one seems ready says" McLain, who is set to begin production on his twelfth release since signing to Virgin in 1979. The band is set to record 11 songs and will keep 10 for the master to be release by Frontiers Records overseas and Cowtown domestically.

A special thanks to our on-line digital fans...Our downloads sales are continuing to grow and the trend is expected to continue. The entire catalog is now available on over 80 digital stores around the globe including i-tunes, real media, Sony connect and msn music.

May 2005 - Distribution in re-organization / New Studio gearing up

The band's catalog distribution is going through a bit of a metamorphosis and all for the better. Cowtown is now distributing to all major retail and one stops through TNT Media Group (Tampa/Minneapolis). Over the past months both teams have been working to increase the availability of the product at retail locations. The switch in distributors should have a big effect on our efforts. For wholesale information email Cowtown info@cowtowndigital.com

Cowtown's new studio in Lawrence, KS is nearing completion and set for tracking to begin on the new Shooting Star CD. The new tracking room is set to open at the end of the month and will provide an excellent environment to start the new project.

April 2005 - Frontiers Records (Italy) Licenses new Shooting Star CD

Frontiers Record (Italy) has licensed a new master from Shooting Star for release overseas. The new disc is set to contain 10 tracks of which McLain says will all be new compositions. Cowtown will retain North American, mail order and digital rights. "It’s been almost five years since our last studio album (Leap Of Faith 2000) and it’s going to be great to get back into the studio", Mclain said. The band is set to start recording in June and hope to finish by early fall. More info on the way