Mad Margritt and Departure

Mad Margritt is an explosive, high energy rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia. The band released their debut cd COLD SWEAT in October 1997. Several radio stations across the United States and Europe began playing tracks from COLD SWEAT and before long it caught the attention of Delinquent Records who offered the band a recording contract.

In July 1999, Mad Margritt released the cd IN THE NAME OF ROCK on Delinquent Records. It was followed by the bands first US tour. During the 1999-2001 tour, Mad Margritt opened up shows for several noted acts including Ratt, Cinderella, Great White, Warrant, Slaughter, Quiet Riot, Skid Row, The Bullet Boys, Tesla, Every Mothers Nightmare and Pretty Boy Floyd. They were also featured in several national publications including Metal Edge and Spin Magazine. Among some of their other accomplishments, they were voted “Best Rock Band” at the Atlanta Rock Awards and nominated for two awards at the South Florida Rock Awards.

While performing at the Ultra-Sound Music Conference in Las Vegas Nevada, Mad Margritt caught the eye of Perris Records president Tom Mathers. Tom offered the band a deal to release their next cd on Perris and added Mad Margritt to an already impressive roster. Perris Records has released and distributed cd’s by Warrant, LA Guns, Enuff Z Nuff, Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy, Pretty Boy Floyd, Helix, Love/Hate, Every Mothers Nightmare, Roxx Gang and several others.

In June 2002, Mad Margritt was featured on the Perris Records compilation BON APPETITE: A TRIBUTE TO THE BON SCOTT YEARS OF AC/DC. The cd also featured members of Guns N Roses, Ted Nugent, Britny Fox, Dangerous Toys, Tyketto, Every Mothers Nightmare and original AC/DC vocalist Dave Evans. Later that year the band released their next full-length cd entitled NEW SENSATION and then embarked on another US tour that included shows with Kiss, Poison, Whitesnake, Warrant, Slaughter, Great White, Bret Michaels and Winger.

In July 2004, Mad Margritt was featured on the Perris Records compilation HOLLYWOOD HAIRSPRAY VOLUME 3. The cd also featured members of Kix, Pretty Boy Floyd, Tigertailz and Crashdiet. In January 2005, the band released a “best of” cd entitled STRIAGHT THROUGH THE HEART. During the 2005 Straight Through The Heart Tour, Mad Margritt performed shows with Poison, Ratt, Cinderella and Ratt’s Stephan Pearcy.

The bands next cd was entitled ANIMAL. It was released September 25, 2007 on Perris Records and was distributed in the USA by Select-O-Hits, The UK by Plastic Head Music, Italy by Andromeda, Greece by Soundforge Music Group, Spain by Border, The Netherlands by Bertus, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium by ZYX Music.

The cd got airplay on several radio stations across the United States and Europe and was featured on XM Radio’s hard rock channel The Boneyard. The bands video for the song LOADED GUN got airplay on several television shows across the country and was named “2008 Video Of The Year” on the show Rocknation TV.

During the 2008 Animal Tour, Mad Margritt performed shows with Queensryche, Dokken, Skid Row, Tesla, The Bullet Boys, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat, Bang Tango and Helix. The highlight of the tour was performing in front of 30,000 people at the South Texas Rock Festival. The following year the band performed at several other festivals including the Muscle Racing Festival in Sarasota, Florida, the SA Rocking Summer Fest in San Antonio, Texas and Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma.

After 10 years together, DEPARTURE has become the most respected Journey tribute band in the nation. DEPARTURE replicates the look, sound and feel of the original 80’s rock super group. The five band members are the original line up and have developed an amazing on-stage chemistry. These veteran musicians pride themselves on giving their audience an incredible high-energy, qualitative stage show from start to finish. Featured lead vocalist, Brian Williams, has an amazing singing voice flawlessly matching Steve Perry’s vocal range and movements, exactly. DEPARTURE also highlights the early Journey years, when Gregg Rolie was lead singer, featuring Joel Hayes on keys and lead vocals. In 2009, Joel was named “Best Keyboardist in Atlanta” for his work representing Jonathan Cain and Gregg Rolie. DEPARTURE performs over two hours with no break, highlighting all the hit songs that everyone knows and loves, to give the audience the true concert experience. Their performance is professional and highly engaging for their audience. Everything heard during their performance is live with no pre-recorded tracks used. DEPARTURE was voted “Best Local Entertainer” for 2011 and 2012 by Gwinnett Magazine. Performing approximately one-hundred shows annually, DEPARTURE brings the very best of Journey to audiences of all ages.