Credit: Julie BergmanHeart guitarist Nancy Wilson is gearing up for the launch of Roadcase Royale, her new side project with ex-Prince backing singer Liv Warfield.
Wilson tells ABC Radio that the band is planning to hit the road in April for a couple of weeks. She also reveals that the group has amassed about six original songs, while admitting that they haven’t decided exactly how they’ll put them out.
“We’re hoping to…release a song here and a song there kind of gradually, so that it’s not just one big ‘here’s a whole bunch of songs,'” Nancy explains. “We already have an EP’s worth…that we’re finishing, but we could do an album if there’s [label] interest.”
Wilson says the idea for Roadcase Royale came about after Warfield opened for Heart at two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in 2015. Nancy says she was blown away by Liv’s powerful, soulful voice and also hit it off with her as a friend. The two agreed that they’d like to collaborate, so when Ann Wilson decided she wanted to take “a big break” from Heart after its 2016 tour to focus on her solo project, Nancy decided the time was right to contact Warfield about doing their own side gig.
To round out Roadcase Royale’s lineup, Nancy recruited three of her Heart band mates, while Warfield brought in her guitarist, Ryan Waters.
Nancy says as soon as the new band started playing together, “We had collective arm hairs going up.” She describes Roadcase Royale’s sound as heavy “rock R&B.”
Meanwhile, Nancy wants to assure Heart fans that the band is “not over.”
“A break is a healthy thing for somebody who lives in each other’s pockets for 40 years sometimes,” Wilson maintains. “I think we’re not done making a lot of noise quite yet.”
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