Babylon A.D.

Formed in Oakland California as the Persuaders, Derek Davis (vocals), Ron Freschi (guitar) Jamey Pacheco (drums) Danny De La Rosa (guitar) and Robb Reid (bass) were in childhood and rival bands until they eventually evolved into Babylon A.D (www.babylonad.com). Later as a band, they caught the attention of Arista Records president and industry music mogul Clive Davis who signed them at a showcase in Los Angeles thanks to their impressive three-song demo, home made video and consistent sold out performances in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Babylon A.D. recorded two critically acclaimed CDs; the self titled, Babylon A.D. produced by Simon Hanhart (Waysted, Killer Dwarfs, Yngwie Malmsteen) and Nothing Sacred, produced by Tom Werman (Motley Crue, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugget, LA Guns) scored three number one songs at Metal radio and reached gold on their first release. Constant touring throughout the 1990s and several MTV videos made them one of hard rock fans favorites. After being shook down by their record company to go in a WANK musical direction and then refusing to sell out, Babylon A.D. were dropped by Arista in late 1993. The timing was a blessing in disguise, the new Seattle "Grunge" Genre had a strangle hold on Retail, Radio and MTV forcing the market for hard rock and metal to be just about over. Disillusioned by the industry BULLSHIT, the band took a five-year break and never officially broke up. In 1998, a recharged Babylon A.D. reformed minus Reid, who no longer wanted to tour. Jamey's younger brother Eric Pacheco was brought in as the new bassist. The band released two more CDs on Apocalypse Records: Live in your Face in 1999, a compilation of live tracks from their US Tours and American Blitzkrieg in 2002, both produced by Derek Davis, were well received by their fans. They cite Led Zeppelin, UFO, Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Montrose as influences. Davis, Eric and Jamey Pacheco are currently in the band American Blues Box (www.americanbluesbox.com), but Babylon A.D. will likely resurface every now and again. Ron is currently working with singer Jeffrey Winslow in the band Syrym (www.syrym.com), and their debut album will be released in Summer 2008.