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PAUL SHORTINO
Veteran hard rocker Paul Shortino, best known for his high-profile work fronting Rough Cutt and Quiet Riot. Today, when not writing and recording new material for his solo project, Shortino is developing and producing new artists for MusicWorks Entertainment (and its new label Rock Quarry Records), the firm he co-founded in 1997 with fellow musician and close friend J.T. Garrett.
Shortino is renowned for a quite different—but related—performance. In the early days of Rough Cutt, a casting company rep caught them at L.A.’s famed Troubadour nightclub. Paul was called in to audition, decked out in a fly white leather suit. “Oh, yeah,” he remembers them saying when they took in his rock-star splendor--and before you could shout ‘crank it to 11,’ Shortino was cast in the cult classic rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. As the notorious Duke Fame, he’s seen en route to his own sold-out “Enormodome” concert, strutting past Spinal Tap in a Memphis hotel.
During the late ’70s and early ’80s, Shortino became a fixture in the scene’s ground zero, the Sunset Strip. It was here that the nucleus of Rough Cutt came together, originally featuring guitarists Jake E. Lee, who went on to fame with Ozzy Osbourne, and Craig Goldy, who did likewise with Giuffria and Dio.
Following inclusion on a KLOS-FM compilation of L.A.’s hottest unsigned bands, and concerts across the U.S. and in Europe and Japan, Rough Cutt was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1984. Comprised of Shortino on vocals, Amir Derakh & Chris Hager on guitar, David Alford on drums, and Matt Thorne on bass, their self-titled debut was released the following year. Produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest, Def Leppard, The Strawbs), Rough Cutt exploded with the band’s hook-heavy, blues-inflected metal roar—lead by Shortino’s potent vocals--and delivered acclaimed rockers including “Take Her” and “Cut Your Heart Out.”
Wants You! followed in ’86, produced by the legendary Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, etc.). “It was amazing working with him,” says Shortino, adding, “he shared with me about how Steven Tyler wrote, and it helped me develop my own songwriting, especially in how to best draw from personal experiences.” Less metal-skewed and more a straight-ahead hard rock onslaught—in the vein of contemporaries Motley Crue and Bon Jovi—Rough Cutt’s second outing again drew raves from rock fans). They also spent many months traversing the U.S. and circling the globe on major arena tours, including Dio’s 1986 “Sacred Heart” jaunt, one of the highest grossing of the era.
It was during a Rough Cutt tour of Japan that Paul made the decision to part ways with the band because of internal differences about the musical direction. Quiet Riot happened to be touring Japan at the same time, and had recently let go their longtime vocalist, Kevin DuBrow. Rough Cutt’s then-manager Wendy Dio introduced Shortino to Quiet Riot, and engineered a deal for him to step in as their new lead singer. In addition to his vocal mastery on Quiet Riot’s 1989 album QR, Shortino co-wrote every one of the disc’s 11 tracks, three of which—“The Joker,” “Stay With Me Tonight,” and “Callin’ The Shots”-- made it onto the band’s 1996 Greatest Hits compilation.
Going forward, Paul opted to develop projects on his own, often mixing it up with a veritable hard rock “who’s who” of virtuoso players, as well as with his own Germany-based Shortino projects. Venturing into a diverse array of endeavors suited Shortino, and it’s the career model he’s stayed with up to the present. In 1989, just after Quiet Riot, Paul recorded sessions for a blues-heavy rock project under the name Badd Boyz, also featuring bassist Sean McNabb (Great White, Quiet Riot), and guitar ace Mitch Perry, released in 1994. Recorded later, but out prior to it—in ’93—was Back On Track, Paul’s first collaboration with guitarist JK Northrup, which MusicWorks/Rock Quarry released as a limited edition 10th anniversary reissue. Still in sync after all these years, the duo’s second joint venture is 2004’s Afterlife.
With his own band—who toured extensively in Europe throughout the ‘90s—Shortino released 1997’s It’s About Time—featuring his son Pauly on vocals on the moving track “Love Of My Life”—and the 1999 live CD Booked, Toured…Released! Then, with longtime friend J.T. Garrett, Shortino pooled their talents for the blues-rock album Stand Or Fall, by Paul Shortino & The Rhythm Junkies, released in 1999. Paul and J.T. wrote or co-wrote over half of the tracks, which feature a host of Shortino’s past compatriots, including Rough Cutt alumnae David Alford, Amir Derakh and Matt Thorne.
The making of Stand Or Fall convinced Shortino that learning to produce records was essential for the creative visions he had in mind, and he immersed himself in becoming a ProTools expert. Soon after, he and Garrett invested in their own studio, and MusicWorks/Rock Quarry was born. Completely on his own terms, Shortino devoted his heart and soul to the recording of Sacred Place, a spiritually-infused hard rock manifesto whose sound Shortino has compared to “Plant & Page meet Soundgarden meet Aerosmith.” The disc does indeed spotlight ex-Aerosmith ace Jimmy Crespo on guitar, along with all-stars including Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot), Chuck Wright (House Of Lords), and Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers). Shortino originally envisioned the project as a potential Rough Cutt reunion, which never came to be. What did materialize was a set that Shortino believes is his finest work to date, released in 2002 as Paul Shortino’s The CUTT, Sacred Place and the hit rocker “Freedom,”.
Currently, Shortino is finalizing his newest collaboration with world reknown producer
Michael Voss (Scorpions, Michael Shcenker). Shortino adds, “The new tracks are amazing. I have a renewed inspiration to write and record music that comes from within. I am looking forward to touring and performing the new material for all the fans. We have a smokin’ hot band that can really deliver and put on a show. Quite honestly, I can’t wait.”
