Happy New Year 2023!

That one time, when Winger played live on MTV for their 1989 New Year's Eve countdown show. Hopefully 2023 will rock as hard as the performance below!

'Who's The One'

I've been on a real Winger kick here lately. Honestly, Winger is about the only thing I have listened to in the past three weeks, except for some KIX to get ready for the show last Friday. I've always thought Winger's Pull was a beautiful and completely underrated album and I feel even stronger about it today. In many ways, the album was way ahead of its time.

Beyond "Down Incognito" I think the strongest track on Pull is "Who's The One." In fact, it just might be one of the best Winger songs, period. Even the video - with its themes and news clips - could have been made today and been considered "current."

Pull has a rich sound and I attribute that to producer Mike Shipley. He worked on so many albums I love including Def Leppard's Hysteria (as an engineer), Aerosmith's Just Push Play and Nickelback's All The Right Reasons. He won a Grammy for his work on Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss and Union Station - another one of my favorites.

When most people think of Winger, they probably conjure up images of the "Seventeen" video. For me, it's the clip below.

Misunderstood.

That's how I feel about Winger. I don't understand why the band was so mocked, especially when their lyrics and musical arrangements were typically better than other glam bands of the 80s era.

Was it the band members good looks, or their catchy lyrics that make you want to dance?

Was it because Kip Winger formed the band in New York City, and not in the warmth of the sunset strip? Let's cut the guy some slack. He was back-up guitars for Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper is the godfather of glam.

If you enjoy Winger, there's some good news. Kip is currently on tour, and he's making a stop in the Buckeye State.

He'll play the Alrosa Villa in Columbus on February 16. Show starts at 8.

Side note: Happy Anniversary, Eric.