Welcome to another Rockpit – A Rock and Roll Life episode, and today we’re catching up with someone I first met exactly ten years ago in Melbourne. Back in 2016, Paul Laine was in Australia for the Melodic Rock Festival, and I remember it as one of those great weekends where musicians and fans simply came together through a shared love of music.
A lot has happened since then, but today Paul and I finally get the chance to pick up that conversation. And the timing couldn’t be better, because on September 25th Paul releases his brand-new solo album, The Long Road Back, through Frontiers Music. It’s a wonderfully appropriate title because, incredibly, this is the record Paul sees as the long-awaited follow-up to his classic debut solo album Stick It In Your Ear.
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In the decades between, of course, that road has taken him through Danger Danger, Darkhorse, Shugaazer, Jetset Junkies and The Defiants, with plenty of incredible music along the way. But Paul says that somewhere in the back of his mind he always knew the road would eventually lead him home – back to being that kid with a guitar trying to make sense of love, life, loss and hope through songs. And that’s exactly what The Long Road Back is about.
So today we’re going to talk about the new album and why now was finally the right time to make it. We’ll look back at Stick It In Your Ear, those years with Danger Danger, the wonderful music he’s made with The Defiants, and some of the other roads he’s travelled along the way.
We’ll also talk about another connection that goes all the way back to Melbourne ten years ago – a very young Cassidy Paris, who was there that weekend and who Paul has since watched grow into an international recording artist, as well as becoming a collaborator and mentor along the way.
And with Paul already promising he’ll be back out on the road in 2027, we’ll find out what comes next. It’s been ten years since we last caught up, so there’s an awful lot to talk about. This is Paul Laine – A Rock and Roll Life.
