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Songwriter/Guitarist Aldo Leopardi Announces Villains & Heroes EP Release Date, iPad Giveaway Promotion!
Proceeds from the EP’s sale will benefit Paulina’s Promise, which raises funds to support the Cardiac Unit at The Children’s Hospital in Denver Colorado
(Denver, Colo. – August 11, 2011) – Backslash Records has announced that the sophomore release of Denver-based modern rock guitarist/singer-songwriter Aldo Leopardi will be available in stores on August 16. The Villains & Heroes EP features five original songs by Aldo Leopardi and his band, and was recorded at Backbone Studio in Loveland, Colo. and The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colo. The EP was produced by Lee Miles, known for his work with Oh My Stars, Rise Against, Puddle of Mudd and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
Proceeds from the sale of the EP will benefit Paulina’s Promise, a Colorado-based charity that raises funds to support the Cardiac Unit at The Children’s Hospital in Denver. Go to Aldo Leopardi official site to learn more about the contest!
For Aldo Leopardi the Villains & Heroes EP represents his growth as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. The EP also shows the maturation of his increasingly distinctive modern guitar rock sound.
“My last record was, in many ways, a tribute to the classic rock musicians that I’ve always idolized,” said Leopardi, who cites AC/DC, The Angels (aka Angel City), Led Zeppelin and Van Halen among his early influences. “But with this latest EP, I’m taking it a step beyond that.”
Villains & Heroes contributes to the evolution of modern rock, a genre which has already been influenced by contemporaries like Foo Fighters, Powderfinger and Linkin Park. “In theory, guitar-driven rock songs are all pretty similar. But in practice, these bands have proven that there’s a depth of nuance and originality to explore,” said Leopardi. “With this record, I’m out to prove that once again.”
An innovative mix of alternative and contemporary rock music, Villains & Heroes serves as an artistic vehicle for the angst, inspiration and revelations that Leopardi has experienced in his real life. The recording also captures the high energy and intensity that Aldo Leopardi is known for in his live performances. True to the hard rock party vibe of his concerts, the songs on Villains & Heroes meld sing-along pop sensibility with the intricacies and aggression of high testosterone guitar rock.
Promotion and iPad Giveaway
To promote the record, Backslash Records is hosting a contest where fans are invited to submit a video clip for the EP’s first single, “My Parade.” To enter, contestants create a music video for the song “My Parade,” and then upload it to YouTube. The YouTube video link must then be posted on facebook.com/AldoLeopardiMusic by October 16, 2011 for consideration.
Clips from the best entries will be combined to create the official video for the song. In addition, two Grand Prize winners will each receive an iPad2 as a prize. Aldo and his band will judge the top five most viewed videos and choose a Grand Prize winner. A second Grand Prize winner will be handpicked by Aldo based on originality and creativity.
Fans can receive a free download of the song “Love” from the new Villains and Heroes EP by signing up for the mailing list at Aldo’s website.
About Aldo Leopardi, B.D.S., D.D.S., M.S.
While respected in the Denver area as a musician, Aldo Leopardi is also well-known internationally for his work in cosmetic dentistry. In addition to seeing patients at his private practice in Greenwood Village, Dr. Leopardi speaks and publishes as an authority on prosthodontics. His careers in music and dentistry both stemmed from a passion for artistry that was kindled during his youth in Australia.
“I’ve always lived a not-so-secret double life. In dental school, I was a bright student with a dark attitude, sitting in the back of the class sporting a black AC/DC muscle t-shirt and a crazed haircut,” said Leopardi, who gigged and recorded his own music concurrently to his studies. “Today, I’ve toned down the attitude and the haircut a bit, but I’m still absolutely dedicated to my music.”
Dr. Leopardi eventually moved to the United States, where his music and dental career continued to thrive side-by-side. In 2006, he released his self-titled debut album and collaborated with producer Mark Vargas and director Jordan Horowitz (MTV’s Viva La Bam and Newlyweds) to shoot a video for his single “Always Be.” Meanwhile, he was making substantial contributions to the field of dentistry and prosthodontics. Dr. Leopardi continues to lecture nationwide and is the founder of the Denver Implant Study Club and Knowledge Factory.
“One way that my success as a prosthodontist benefits my music career is that I can unequivocally say that I am not in this for the money,” explained Leopardi. As previously stated, proceeds from the Villains and Heroes EP will benefit Paulina’s Promise. The organization was started by the family of Paulina Radz who was born in 2002 with a congenital heart disease. The only home Paulina ever knew was the Cardiac Unit at the Children’s Hospital of Denver. During her 37 day stay there, the Radz family watched miracles being performed daily and made a promise to themselves, and to Paulina, that they would do everything possible to help this facility and children born with congenital heart problems. It was their promise to Paulina. The charity’s hope is that the new Heart Institute in Denver will become one of the best pediatric cardiac facilities in the United States. As a friend and colleague of Paulina’s parents, Dr. Gary and Nora Radz, Aldo has been a champion of the cause since its inception in 2005 and currently sits on the Board of Directors.
After living on two continents, achieving success as a student and as a prosthodontist, lecturing nationwide and founding two educational institutions for dentistry, Aldo remains true to his dream and the desire to create music on his own terms. The fruition of Aldo’s labor can be found on Villains & Heroes, which serves to remind us all that you should never give up on your dreams.
