Movie Mainline Spotlight: A “Rapid Fire” Take On ‘Hardline’

We’re just several episodes in on Movie Mainline, and one of our goals is to spotlight people who are simply doing good work in their respective business and craft (and basically life in general). Co-host Eric Holmes talked about his appreciation for the rock band Hardline, and I threw in an ignorant jab at the outfit. I stand corrected because, as their Facebook account pointedly states, Hardline Rocks!

Hardline started back in 1992 with the release of their debut album Double Eclipse. Brothers Johnny and Joey Gioeli formed the band and were joined by guitarist Neal Schon (Journey), bassist Todd Jensen and drummer Dean Castronovo. Double Eclipse’s “I’ll Be There” and “Can’t Find My Way” were featured in the Brandon Lee feature Rapid Fire.

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Reposted from @frontiersmusicsrl Hardline's "Life Live" album & video is out now! Captured at Frontiers Rock Festival 2019, this performance was, any record label hype aside, one of a kind. The band not only performed a superb show, but also saw none other than original drummer Deen Castronovo jump behind the kit to play on selected tracks from the band’s debut album. Buy the CD/DVD or stream the audio version of the album HERE: https://radi.al/LifeLive Tracklisting: 1. Place To Call Home 2. Takin' Me Down 3. Dr. Love 4. Where Will We Go From Here 5. Page Of Your Life 6. Life's A Bitch 7. In The Hands Of Time 8. Take You Home 9. Everything 10. Hot Cherie 11. Fever Dreams 12. Rhythm From A Red Car Line-up: Johnny Gioeli – Vocals Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards, vocals Mario Percudani – Guitars, backing vocals Anna Portalupi – Bass Marco Di Salvia – Drums @hardlinerocks @johnnygioeli @alessandro.del.vecchio @mariopercudani @anna_portalupi @marcodisalvia @deenjcastronovo #frontiersmusicsrl #hardline #lifelive #rockaintdead #longlivemetal #rock #metal – #regrann

A post shared by Hardline (band) (@hardlinerocks) on Feb 14, 2020 at 5:14am PST

As their AllMusic biography expresses, soaring melodies coupled with solid, straight ahead rock musicianship are continuing trademarks of Hardline, and one wonders why the band did not have a bigger following stateside after Double Eclipse (the album still holds up as “Life’s a Bitch,” the aforementioned Rapid Fire tracks, “Dr. Love” and the closer “In The Hands of Time” are on my regular playlist).

Hardline continues to survive and thrive with original member Johnny Gioeli as the mainstay, and in 2019 the group came out with the band Life. My favorite Hardline song is actually a new one as “Page of Your Life” features a reflective Johnny Gioeli either looking in the mirror or being inspired by someone close to his heart. Maybe it’s a universal song about taking account of one’s life, but the bottom line is “Page of Your Life” simply kicks the living s**t out of me every time I hear it.

I’m also looking forward to, along with doing a deeper dive on all of Hardline’s albums, taking a look at Gioeli’s work with Crush 40 (this may lead to a few Sonic the Hedgehog video game purchases!) and Axel Rudi Pell. Lately though I’ve been simply hooked on listening to Hardline in concert via their Life Live album, and if you have any doubts about Johnny Gioeli’s vocal chops after almost 30 years, give “Song of Hope” a shot:

In the latest Movie Mainline episode, I briefly discuss my growing love for Hardline’s music. Of course, we also cover a bunch of movies on the show (including The Painter and the Thief, VFW, and The Death of Dick Long), but for now here are some final thoughts on Johnny Gioeli and Hardline: