After a self-imposed exile from the music industry and the public eye, heralded guitarist Jake E. Lee returned with a fresh new band, Red Dragon Cartel in 2014. Now, Jake and RDC are back with their new album Patina, out now. He recently guested on the NI Rocks Show, which can be heard here. Following are a few excerpts from the chat.

NI Rocks: The band line-up features Darren James Smith on vocals along with drummer Phil Varone and bass player Anthony Esposito. What was it like working with this new team?

Jake: "It was great. They’re both really solid, groove-oriented players, so I knew we had that nailed. But I like to get a little weird in my songs. I like to take songs off in different directions that you wouldn’t normally expect. I like surprises, even in my songs; I like to surprise myself in songs. They both adapted really well to that. I would like to think that both Anthony and Phil did their best playing on this record. They really expanded beyond the usual meat and potatoes kind of playing that they are well known for. This band, it really felt good during the writing and during the recording and I’m really looking forward to going out on the road and doing these songs live. I think these songs are going to be a lot of fun to play and they really kick you in the face more when they’re live. Especially 'Havana', which sounds great on record, but when we play it together in a room it just has so much more impact. It’s just such a fun song to play. I’m really looking forward to being able to do these live."

NI Rocks: Your label has quite a reputation for bringing different artists together on musical projects. Like Michael Sweet and George Lynch for example. Is that something you’d be interested in and is there anyone you’d really like to work with on such a project?

Jake: "Not really. I’m not that kind of guy. I live here in Vegas, and Vegas has a whole influx of musicians from my era who have moved to Vegas for whatever reason. It’s like an old musicans graveyard now (laughs). But I’m constantly being asked, because I know the people and I know the clubs, if I want to jam or how about if I do this, or get this kind of band going to make money. That’s not... I would do something like that if I thought it was musically... if something special would blossom out of it. I would never do it for money. I just feel that doing shit for money is a very ignoble pursuit, and I’ve always thought that way. George Lynch played here in town recently, well not recently, it was a couple of years ago. I went to see him and he said would you come up and jam with me on stage and I said 'No.' And he said why not and I said because I just don’t that; it makes me uncomfortable and I just don’t want to do it. Then he said, 'What if I give you money?' I said that doesn’t make any difference, and I established this for myself a long time ago. Either I want to do something, or I don’t want to do something, and money will never enter into it if I don’t want to do it. It makes choices a lot easier for me. I don’t ever base my decisions on how much money is involved, and a lot of people don’t believe that. My friends know that it is true, but it makes life much simpler. I don’t have to sit there and wonder where the line is. Will I do something if they give me this much money? I think it makes life easier and better; more honest. If I want to do something, then we can negotiate price (laughs), but if I don’t then I don’t care how much money you offer me. I’m just not going to do it."

Order Patina on CD/LP/Digital here, and watch a video for the album track "Bitter" below.

Tracklisting:

"Speedbag"
"Havana"
"Crooked Man"
"The Luxury Of Breathing"
"Bitter"
"Chasing Ghosts"
"A Painted Heart"
"Punchclown" (Bonus Track)
"My Beautiful Mess"
"Ink & Water"

"Bitter" video:

"Crooked Man" lyric video:

"Havana" video:

Jake E. Lee and Red Dragon Cartel have announced a 2019 North American tour. Catch the band on one of the dates listed below. Ticket links and VIP packages available here.

February
23 - Reno, NV - Nugget Casino Resort
24 - Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon Club
26 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Whisky

March
1 - Santa Ana, CA - Malones
2 - Las Vegas, NV - Vamp’d
3 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee
5 - Denver, CO - Herman’s Hideaway
7 - Dallas, TX - Trees
8 - San Antonio, TX - The Rock Box
9 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
11 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East
13 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
14 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Pierre’s
15 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge
16 - Toronto, ON - The Rockpile
18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Crafthouse
21 - Buford, GA - 37 Main
22 - Greenville, SC - Firmament
23 - Hopewell, VA - Beacon Theater
25 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater
26 - New York, NY - Iridium
27 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
29 - Teaneck, NJ - Debonair Music Hall
30 - Patchogue, NY - 89 North
31 - New Bedford, MA - The Vault at Greasy Luck

April
2 - Queens, NY - Blackthorn 51