Metal Sludge — In a rock n’ roll world that is full of, well… rock n’ roll, heavy metal and hard rock, sometimes a change is good.

That change today, is a pop rock cover by a rock n’ roll guy, of the 80’s MTV hit song “99 Luft Balloons”, or as the English version sings, “99 Red Balloons.”

Pete Evick is a name that has been floating around the last 20 years or so and most notably he is recognized as the lead guitarist in the Bret Michaels Band.

But strip away Michaels, and you have a well seasoned professional player, who has shared the stage and studio with a laundry list of players from Van Halen to Def Leppard and Kiss to name a few.

And without a doubt, Pete Evick is one of the nicest guys in the business.

Let us now admit, that being in the Bret Michaels Band opens doors for his members for sure, but… those doors don’t stay open if you don’t belong inside them.

Pete has earned his stripes to be in that circle.

Wait, are we kissing Pete’s ass here?

Actually, we’re not.

However, like usual, we here at Metal Sludge are just being honest, and the fact is, Pete is genuinely a really nice guy.

Almost too nice for rock n’ roll, but not everyone wants to play a badass.

Pete Evick is also talented… and that goes beyond playing the guitar parts for “I Want Action” or “Look What The Cat Dragged In” when performing live with the BMB.

Evick aside from being a student of the Eddie Van Halen guitar game, and not just a student, but an accomplished one who can spill riffs into your ears that are in line with some of the best guitarists from the Metal Edge world… he is a studio guy too.

Now that we’ve over-sold this… kind of but not really… when this track popped into our inbox the other day, it was well… without saying it was shocking, it was… shocking.

“99 Red Balloons” as performed, recorded, produced, engineered, mixed and sang by Pete Evick.

What?

Yup, and it’s actually very solid.

Guitar World Magazine stated in an interview feature with the guitarist from 2019: “In addition to his talents as a player, Evick is also a skilled and experienced studio man, with numerous production and mixing credits to his name.”

And aside from his musical abilities, and not that we have to list it but we will anyway… Pete is also a Father first, fronts his own band Evick, is a published Author, a Store owner and a Candle-Stick maker too.

No, he’s not a Butcher or a Baker or Race Car driver, that we know of… yet?

Anyway…

Talk about stepping outside the box… Evick did exactly this, and has stepped out and stomped it with 5 star results.

And for those asking themselves, “Is that the same… ?”

Yes it is!

Yes, it’s that song by that pretty German girl who fronted NENA, real name Gabriele Kerner that we all watched on MTV and sang along to her global mega-smash back in 1983.

Hard to believe, that a new wave pop song from a German artist could sound so fresh and cool nearly 4 full decades later, but it does.

Check out Pete Evick performing “99 Red Balloons” below, with an accompanied video that has a message about the horrific things taking place in Ukraine.

Pete stands with Ukraine, as do many other rock n’ rollers, and we can’t help but give Evick a huge shout-out for his stance, and this awesome cover of “99 Red Balloons.”

Pete also gives props to Chuck Fanslou for playing drums, Mike Echols on the bass, saxophone player Young Devereux and Norman Voss for helping with the video.

Check it out below…


Pete Evick @ Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Shining Sol – BMB Shows –