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John Corabi set to rock the Peak

“Rock journeyman” John Corabi, known for stints with various bands, will perform as part of the Live Loud Tour on July 6 at Penn’s Peak, located on Maury Road, Jim Thorpe.

The bill will also feature performances from Cinderella’s Tom Keifer Band, along with Winger. Corabi, marking what he believes to be his first concert at the Peak, has earned a reputation as a go-to frontman and collaborator.

As a child, the singer/guitarist, born in Philadelphia, took an interest in music upon seeing The Beatles on TV. After graduating high school, he worked odd jobs while singing lead for the band Angora. During the height of 1980s metal, he and Angora moved to Los Angeles.

Internal dissension led to Angora’s breakup, with Corabi then forming The Scream with ex-Racer X members Bruce Bouillet and Juan Alderete. The hard-rock act released a sole studio album, 1991’s “Let it Scream,” which included rock-radio hit “Man in the Moon.”

In early 1992, Corabi replaced Vince Neil as the heavy metal band’s lead singer. With Corabi on vocals, the 1994 “Mötley Crüe” album - though it debuted in the Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 - fared poorly. In the wake of grunge’s success and fans not embracing Corabi, Neil returned to the lineup.

Corabi, after exiting Mötley Crüe, recorded and played with bands such as Union - with ex-Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick - The Eric Singer Project, Ratt and the short-lived Twenty 4 Seven. He released his solo debut, “Unplugged,” in 2012.

In 2015, Corabi joined Australian musician David Lowy’s supergroup, The Dead Daisies. Corabi sang lead on “Revolución,” the band’s second album, plus follow-ups “Make Some Noise” and “Burn it Down.” The group released its first live set, “Live & Louder,“ in 2017.

Corabi, who left The Dead Daisies in 2019 and returned earlier this year, released the solo singles “Cosi Bella (So Beautiful)” in 2021. “Your Own Worst Enemy” followed in 2022, the same year Corabi released the autobiography “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.”

In August, The Dead Daisies will release “Best Of,” a compilation celebrating the band’s 10 years making music.

Before the show at the Peak, Corabi - a resident of Nashville, Tennessee, since 2006- took time to discuss his career and plans for new music.

Q: Aside from The Beatles, who were some of your musical favorites?

A: Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Aerosmith. Most of the great ’70s-era bands.

Q: Was Angora the only band with which you played before The Scream?

A: It was my first original-music band, but there were a bunch of cover bands I was in back in Philadelphia before my big move to L.A.

Q: How did you come to join Mötley Crüe, and how do you look back at that experience?

A: Nikki Six had done an interview where he raved about The Scream. I read the interview and called Motley’s manager to leave a “thank you” for Nikki. He immediately called me back and asked me to come jam with him and the band. The rest is as they say, history.

I’m proud of the music I created during my tenure with the band, and I found my time to be chaotic and insane, but, all in all, a lot of fun.

Q: Do you consciously try to adhere to the “rock journeyman” ideology?

A: Not really trying to be a journeyman. It’s just the way my career played out. I wish I was talking to you about the new Scream record, but life had a different plan for me.

Q: In your autobiography, you write of your parents’ divorce, family’s history of abuse, etc. Was it therapeutic to revisit some of those darker experiences, and did those and other challenging times help shape you?

A: It was difficult to go back and rehash that stuff. At times I would get sick to my stomach, but so far the response has been great. I think my life has been filled with a lot of positives and negatives. But, the negatives have definitely helped keep me grounded, and appreciative of my career.

Q: Do you plan to release more singles, and perhaps an album, either solo or with The Dead Daisies?

A: Actually hoping to do both. I have a new solo song coming out soon, and I’ve been recording bits and pieces of new music. I’ll submit my ideas first to The Dead Daisies and hopefully they’ll like them and want to record. Whatever they don’t want, I’ll use myself.

Q: What would you consider the highlights of your career thus far?

A: I would have to say getting my first record deal with The Scream, as it solidified all the hard work and sacrifice it took to get the brass ring. And, probably playing The Woodstock (Poland) music festival with The Dead Daisies. We got to headline with a 60-piece orchestra in front of about 250,000 people. Pretty (expletive) awesome.

John Corabi will perform at Penn's Peak on July 6. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO