HIGHWAY CHILE

Highway Chile, one of the first Dutch heavyrock bands is on stage again.....
Today a lot of (inter)national bands have reunited and are touring again with the energy as if they have never been away.

Highway Chile members of the first hour, guitar player Martin Mens and drummer Ernst van Ee (Helloise, Lana Lane, Vengeance, Ayreon, Ian Parry a.o.) felt the urge to do the same. Both guys are very anxious to play the popular Highway Chile material that was a guarantee for overcrowded venues in the eighties again (and again).
The band, determined to built on new flashing material, is completed by musicians well known in the national heavy rock scene; Edwin den Haag - bassguitar (Blind Justice) Gert Nijboer - guitars (Mischief) and Stan Verbraak - lead vocals (well known from Helloïse).
Yesterday
Highway Chile operated between 1980 - 1985 and released several popular records such as Storybook Heroes (1983) and Fever (1984). In those years they toured a lot and they shared the stage with big acts like Motörhead, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker, Accept en Y&T a.o.. One of the closest fans of Highway Chile was Alfred Lagarde (Rock In Peace bro...), a famous DJ, who also produced the record Storybook Heroes. Highway Chile was together with Picture, Helloïse, Bodine, Vengeance and Vandenberg one of the top acts of the Dutch national heavy rock scene in the eighties.
In 1984 the original Highway Chile line-up split up. Jan Koster and Eric Karreman continued Highway Chile (to form some years later the stunning well known Sleaze rock act Sleeze Beez). Ernst van Ee and Ben Blaauw formed the succesfull formula Helloïse. Highway Chile held on for one year with some new members but became too much AOR oriented for the orginal fans. Helloïse, as we know now, became famous for several years but split up in 1989 (in 1996 they, however, reunited again and made and are still making (!!) great music).
Today
In 2002 the band toured all over Holland again and made a live-recording that is now for sale with the appropriate title "On the road again". On this cd you can hear the voice of Robert Soeterboek and the guitarsound of Attila Szabo (both replaced in 2003). The reactions on this tour were so overwhelming that the band decided to go on and to work on new songs.
The material Highway Chile performs on stage covers a lot of songs from the most succesfull period meaning offcourse songs from Storybook Heroes. Songs like f.i. Highway Chile is coming to get ya, Headbangers, Jesse James and Carol... They are played with an energy as if they were written today. The setlist also contains songs from Helloïse and they also play coversongs from f.i. Y&T, Whitesnake. And of course they play the new material!
At the moment the band has completed a brand new studio album called "Keeper of the Earth" (first studio album since the 80’s). This album can be referred to as the legitimate successor of STORYBOOK HEROES and will be released through MAUSOLEUM Records in september 2008!