Chris Iorio already has a song for sale on iTunes and a spot in a band with a major-label record deal, so it stands to reason the 17-year-old guitarist is just asking for cash this holiday season.
The Las Vegas Academy junior recently teamed with five other teens to record “Money in a Card,” a Christmas rock song written by ex-.38 Special guitarist Jeff Carlisi, longtime Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto and sometime Ted Nugent cohort Derek St. Holmes. The track is currently available for 99 cents through iTunes, with part of the proceeds benefiting youth music charity Little Kids Rock.
“We rehearsed the song for a week, and then we went into the studio and put our own twists and our own solos on it and morphed it into a piece we all had something to do with,” says Iorio, selected for the project through his affiliation with Carlisi’s 4-year-old Camp Jam, a rock ’n’ roll summer program for aspiring young musicians. “We [kids] had never met each other before, but as soon as we did we all just jelled. It was a lot of work, but it turned out really good.”
Iorio, who spent a year with local heavy-rock outfit Conflict of Interest, recently joined Adelitas Way, a Vegas-based band with an Interscope Records contract and a sound suited for mainstream rock radio. Over the past month, the group played with Panic! At the Disco at Guitar Center and opened for Hinder at House of Blues. “It’s a great opportunity for me,” says Iorio, who intends to finish high school online so he can join the band for a tour next year. “I’m like their little brother, so they’re kind of preparing me for life on the road.”