CINDERELLA's TOM KEIFER Says Touring Aspect Of Music Industry Hasn't Changed Much In Last 40 Years

In a new interview with the WHMH FM Rockin' 101 radio station, CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer, who is currently on the road with his solo band, #KEIFERBAND, was asked how the touring aspect of the music industry has changed in the 40 years since he formed the veteran rock act. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "People ask me that a lot, and, of course, the music industry has changed, but from a touring standpoint, it hasn't much. We get the band on the bus and we head out and we do shows, and from that standpoint, it feels very much the same."

He continued: "I feel incredibly grateful to be able to still go out and have all the fans turn out; they sing all the songs. Touring is my favorite part of the business anyway — playing live and getting that kind of in-the-moment reaction and exchange with the crowd. So that part hasn't changed as much as other parts of the industry. And fortunately, that's always been my favorite part, so…"

#KEIFERBAND recently launched the "Live/Loud" 2023 tour with WINGER and John Corabi.

#KEIFERBAND — which is rounded out by Savannah Keifer, Tony Higbee, Billy Mercer, Kendra Chantelle, Jarred Pope and Kory Myers — has released two critically acclaimed solo albums so far, 2013's "The Way Life Goes" and 2019's "Rise".

During an appearance on a recent episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Tom was asked if he has commenced work on the follow-up to "Rise". He responded: "I haven't recorded anything [new]. Some song ideas are starting to bubble.

"The pandemic kind of threw a wrench in everything, obviously," he explained. "We were in the middle of working 'Rise'; we were on the second single, 'Hype', and were about to go out on that 'Big Rock Summer Tour' [with RATT, SKID ROW and SLAUGHTER]. And 'Hype' was kind of moving up the charts, and then everything got shut down. All the creative juices, all the energy during that couple of years just kind of… I know some people got creative; some people didn't. I didn't. [Laughs] So, it's starting to come back now. I think getting back out on the road last year kind of ignited that spark again. But, yeah, we definitely wanna do a follow-up to it.

"I would say records come in their time; I don't like to rush them," Keifer added. "But, yeah, there will for sure be a follow-up. And that antenna is starting to go up and song ideas are starting to kind of come in. Yeah, it's coming."

According to Tom, the pandemic-related break from touring came just at the right time. "I kind of needed it," he said. "We toured so much with this band leading right up to the last tour, right before the pandemic. We were actually out early that year, in 2020, 'cause the 'Rise' tour was still kind of continuing; we were still working the record. So it was 10 years straight for me — or not quite 10 years at that point. But there were three CINDERELLA tours prior to that. So I'd been on the road, like, 12 years straight. So I was crispy by the time that pandemic hit. None of us wanted that forced on us, obviously, but I guess it forced me to take a break, which I probably needed."

Although CINDERELLA hasn't released a new studio album since 1994's "Still Climbing", the band started playing sporadic shows again in 2010 but has been largely inactive for the last few years while Keifer focused on his solo career.

In March 2022, Keifer said that he was "not prepared" for the 2021 passing of CINDERELLA guitarist Jeff LaBar. Jeff was found dead by his wife in July 2021 inside his apartment in Nashville. He was 58 years old.