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Lec Zorn debut album

Lec Zorn's quarter century love affair with melodic rock has culminated with the release of his debut album, "It Began in the Underground." 12 years in the making, the album is the fulfillment of a teenage ambition for Lec after many years of setbacks and hardships.

Lec was born on December 14, 1970 in Madison, Indiana, a small Ohio River town about 300 miles (about 480 km) southeast of Chicago. He came from a long line of musicians and his mother, a very successful classical piano teacher, began teaching him piano when he was six years old. Lacking interest in the music he was taught, Lec had trouble finding motivation to play.

But that changed dramatically in the early '80s when he discovered melodic rock. Influenced by such legends as Kansas, Survivor, Styx, Boston, Queen, Pink Floyd, Shooting Star, Asia and Genesis, Lec's passion for that style of music quickly turned into an extreme obsession that continues to this day. He remained fiercely loyal to melodic rock even during the grunge/alternative invasion of the early '90s, during which he feared that he was the only melodic rock fan left in the world.

But the adversity brought out the best in him. In 1995, he decided to finally begin working on the album he had long dreamed about. His relentless determination paid off as he created a new melodic rock classic for the third millennium.

Featuring a new melodic rock generation dream team, "It Began in the Underground" has all the ingredients that melodic rock die-hards have sorely missed during the grunge/alternative era. And Lec's songs are enhanced by the dream team of melodic rock talent that he assembled to perform them - Lec performs bass guitar and synthesizer and is joined by vocalists Tracy White (Intruder, Shotgun Symphony), Lars S"�fsund (Work of Art), Phil Vincent, Pierre Wensberg (Prisoner) and Chris Demming, guitarist/organist Mike Walsh (Departure), guitarists Tommy Denander (Radioactive, Prisoner) and Michael Riesenbeck, synthesizerist Eric Ragno (Takara, Vox Tempus, China Blue) and drummers Eli Hludzik (Dakota, Ray's Music Exchange, Our After) and Ivan Arnold.

The presence of those musicians brought "It Began in the Underground" heavy advance publicity, especially for a debut album. Lec has been featured on MelodicRock.com, opened for the legendary supergroup Asia and been on CD samplers with such melodic rock icons as Jim Peterik (Survivor, Ides of March, Pride of Lions), Vivan Campbell (Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Shadow King), Neal Schon (Journey, Santana), Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English) Mike Tramp (White Lion), Matt Sorum (Guns n' Roses, The Cult), Gary Moon (Night Ranger), James Christian (House of Lords) and Henry Lee Summer.

Lec's songs encompass a wide range of styles and emotions from the scorching rocker "Fighting Chance" to the progressive edged instrumental "Perseverance" to the power ballad "Eternal Flame" to the infectious and exhilarating "Second Chance" (from the movie "Downhill") to the adrenaline pumping anthem "Going the Distance." The melodies are passionate, the guitars are blazing, the vocals are dynamic and the keyboards, bass guitar and drums give the music a strong musical backing. And the lyrics, while diverse, are unified by the timeless message of faith, hope and love, which is a welcome contrast to the depression, anger and despair that have dominated the grunge/alternative scene for the past 15 years.

And the album is even sweeter considering the numerous personal problems that Lec overcame to finish it.

"It Began in the Underground" is not only a great melodic rock album but also an awesome testament to the power of dreams and the triumph of the common man.

For Immediate Release: 01/05/09

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