Tag: Stephen Pearcy

All Star Jam featuring Joel Hoekstra, Terry Ilous, Steve Unger, Patrick Johansson, and more at The Barn in Sanford, FL on 8/1/26 Words By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

For as long as its existed, rock n’ roll has always provided plenty of examples of tenacity, a D.I.Y. from many of those involved, willing to go above and beyond so that the show can go on. This was on full display all-around at the show held at The Barn in Sanford, FL this past Saturday, August 1, which was fully organized thanks to an idea that developed in the mind of Karen Lazer of Lazer Focused Talent Agency after a conversation with local musician/singer Leo Lee Rocks.

Thanks to this, a first of its kind, once-in-a-blue-moon type of concert was put on by top notch musicians lead by Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake and Trans-Siberian Orchestra (and currently Stephen Pearcy/formerly Night Ranger, among many others), who Rewind It Magazine readers may recall we last caught up with in Cassleberry back in late 2024 as part of Hoekstra/Gibbs. Joined by XYZ/former Great White singer Terry Ilous, former Metal Church/Autograph bassist Steve Unger, drummer Patrick Johansson (who has served time on stage with W.A.S.P. on more than one occasion), and at times the previously-mentioned Lee, the act didn’t even have a chance to fully practice their set together beforehand aside from the usual soundcheck.

It was also encouraging hearing that most of these guys were running on fumes that night, each having to catch their own early morning flights to make it on the stage that night. (I myself was feeling the same levels of exhaustion after having been up at 4:00am the day of, I’ll just say thanks to the actions of others.) But it is seldom not worth it to not push through it all to make it still happen, and I’m glad that all those involved could still make the memories we now all share from the experience.

Local cover act After 5 primed the crowd appropriately, opening with “Boys of Summer” by The Eagles, Blondie’s “One Way or Another,” and The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine.” But by the time the band had gotten to Foreigner’s “Jukebox Hero,” Def Leppard’s “Too Late,” and Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell,” they were definitely speaking more of my language.

After 5 primes the crowd at The Barn this past Saturday, August 1. (Photo by Brooke Striewski)

But the real highlight came in the form of their version of “Detroit Rock City,” a personal favorite KISS track that showcased the talent of the rhythm section here for sure. More covers of AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” and “Hell’s Bells,” The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” followed, yet none topped the aforementioned KISS song in my book. (I may just be a tad bias here though if I’m being honest.)

And finally, the previously-mentioned all-star lineup took the stage just after 8:00pm on Saturday night, opening with a trio of Whitesnake classics in the form of “Slide It In,” “Fool For Your Loving,” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger” prior to launching into their version of the David Coverdale-era Deep Purple hit, “Stormbringer.”

Next up, Ilous gave a heartfelt dedication to his late predecessor in Great White, Jack Russell, prior to going into the anthem “Rock Me,” one of the absolute highlights of the night. Terry’s other well-know act XYZ was represented next with “Inside Out” before Joel took over on vocals for Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love.”

“Break on Through (to the Other Side)” by The Doors was up next before Leo Lee joined the band for a round of songs that included Deep Purple’s “Burn” and “Perfect Strangers,” as well as yet another cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Johansson then briefly stepped into the spotlight for a drum solo before AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” could be heard, followed by an extended (and I do mean extended!) version of Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” complete with a Slayer riff or two thrown in for good measure.

As if that was not all enough, the full band then regrouped on stage for Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” and “Still of the Night,” as well as Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock n’Roll” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” at this point with both Terry and Lee sharing lead vocals, as well as one of Hoekstra’s own guitar students, Juan (apologies I did not catch the last name), came out to take over on some leads.

XYZ/former Great White frontman Terry Ilous shares a moment with Hoekstra protege Juan on stage at The Barn this past Saturday, August 1. (Photo by Brooke Striewski)

But perhaps the most unexpected moment of them all came at the very last hour as bassist Steve Unger took over the lead vocal position for a cover of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” which everyone joined in for in true sing-a-long fashion. It was a fitting, epic ending, to an otherwise already epic evening.

Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini Performing Ratt, Trixter, Enuff Z’Nuff and Pretty Boy Floyd at Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10/17/25 By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

I really hadn’t planned on taking two back-to-back weekend trips to the Tampa/St. Pete area after having just traveled with the fam to the west coast the weekend prior for the Megadeth-spinoff band Kings of Thrash. But literally just two nights prior to the show, the wife and kid surprised me when they said they had won tickets from local rock station WJRR for the Stephen Pearcy/Warren DeMartini of Ratt fame show at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on Friday, October 17. And hence, another Rewind It Magazine road show was born.

While initially hesitant about making the drive down there again so soon, it turned out to be a much better experience than the last show, with Pretty Boy Floyd – who Rewind It have covered two shows for now (one as far back as 2018, and another as recent as just two months ago this past August) were the first band we were fully able to catch (we arrived just as the first opening act, Permacrush, were finishing up, and I cannot give an honest assessment of them), and while I’ll try not to dwell on my medical issues here again, but will just say I was beyond relieved to see we had actual seats for the show (and the venue was a noticeable upgrade in comparison to some of the more recent ones we’ve visited as well).

My always reliable (and beautiful) wife/photographer Brooke instantly sprung into action while I hung back with our son (and sometimes secondary photographer) Jacob who, for the first time ever, had his girlfriend Em along for the ride with us this time as well. And with legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley having just passed the day prior, there were plenty images of the late musician’s face adorning many a fans’ t-shirts that night (yours truly included), and of course some mentions of him from some of the bands that night, too.

Pretty Boy Floyd performing at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

But I digress, Pretty Boy Floyd took the stage with a fury as always, with “Your Mama Won’t Know” paving way for more classics like their cover of Motley Crue’s “Toast of the Town,” “48 Hours,” and “Rock n’ Roll Outlaws.” At one point frontman Steve Summers – always the showman – teased a cover of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” with the rest of the band before announcing “We don’t do that one!,” before ending their set with the one-two punch of “I Wanna Be with You” and “Rock n’ Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire).”

I’ve known of the next act, Enuff Z’ Nuff, for as long as I can remember, though I cannot say I was ever much of a fan (their sound has always been a bit too “out there” and soft for my taste to be honest). But alas, we watched as Chip Z’Nuff and company went through tracks like “The World is a Gutter,” “Baby Loves You,” “Heavy Metal,” “Jet” (Paul McCartney cover), “Fly High Michelle,” and “New Thing.” After their set, I can say I could at least understand their like-ability a bit more than I had beforehand.

Enuff Z’Nuff performing at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

It was at this point that the story really gets interesting. Thinking we had some time in between acts to make it back before Trixter hit the stage, Brooke and I wandered off for a bit. In our travels we briefly ran into Enuff Z’ Nuff co-founder/bassist/vocalist Chip Z’Nuff, and Pretty Boy Floyd’s Steve Summers and Jake Curtis Allard (always great seeing them!). But it was what came next that really took us both by surprise.

The thought did not even occur to me that local St. Pete rocker Todd La Torre of Queensryche might be on hand that night. But alas, a chance encounter found us briefly chatting with the lead singer/former drummer right then and there, and neither of us could believe it (It should be noted, Brooke and I had previously reviewed/photographed a Queensryche show for Rewind It back in 2019, as well as gone to see them at our first major show together when we were still just starting to date in early 2013, so the history is definitely there for us).

Rewind It’s Jesse Striewski (left) with Queensryche frontman Todd La Torre at Ferg’s in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

By the time we got back to our seats, we saw members of Trixter still on stage, which we thought were still just setting up their equipment. It turns out though, they were actually breaking it down – our adventures mingling actually caused us to miss their set entirely. While disappointing at first, in the end, it was worth it to have the experiences that we did in the interim (we were also informed after the fact that Trixter’s set was also apparently cut short, which no doubt contributed to this).

And finally, the band everyone had come to see above all else – which features core Ratt members Stephen Pearcy (vocals) and Warren DeMartini (guitar), as well as alumni Carlos Cavazo (guitar/also former Quiet Riot) and Matt Thorne (early Ratt bassist from ’81-’82 and also former Rough Cutt), and ex-Slaughter drummer Blas Elias rounding things out – finally took the stage (not before some Spinal Tap-esque issues with the sound causing them to be a few minutes late at first), coming out swinging with their signature opener, “Wanted Man.”

A cover of “Walkin’ the Dog” followed before “I Want a Woman,” “Slip of the Lip,” “Body Talk,” “Lovin’ You’s a Dirty Job,” “I’m Insane,” “Nobody Rides For Free,” “Way Cool, Jr.,” “Lack of Communication,” and “Lay It Down” all kept the momentum going.

Stephen Pearcy performing at Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

Somewhere along the way, Pearcy teased doing “a love song that they don’t play very often,” alluding to their oft-forgotten 1990 minor hit “Givin’ Yourself Away,” which I would’ve loved to have actually heard them perform (the two times I saw Ratt previously they shy-ed away from doing it then as well). But in typical Ratt fashion, the song was nixed, with Pearcy proclaiming “Here’s your love song!” at the start of “You’re In Love.”

By that point, there really was not much left to do other than unleash the big guns with “Back For More” and “”Round and Round,” which of course drew the biggest responses from the crowd. While Pearcy’s chops might not be what they once were, the band on stage that night was undoubtedly tighter than any other lineup of theirs I had seen previously, noticeably improving since the last time the Mrs. and I caught them in Orlando back in 2017. Is it perfect? Of course not…but that’s just rock n’ roll baby!