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b'\\u201cI started playing in bands when I was 13 years old, and that\\u2019s when I decided that music would be my life,\\u201d states Ivan Julian. \\u201cIt\\u2019s always been important to me to be what I do, and not leave it behind at 5 o\\u2019clock.\\u201dAlthough his new release\\xa0The Naked Flame\\xa0is his first album under his own name, Ivan Julian has been one of rock\\u2019s most celebrated players and most in-demand collaborators for more than three decades.\\xa0\\xa0The album, Julian\\u2019s first collection of his own songs in more than 20 years, finds the veteran guitarist/singer/songwriter/producer effortlessly stepping back into the role of frontman/bandleader.\\n\\n\\u201cI look at this record as a harvest of everything that has come before,\\u201d Julian says.\\xa0\\xa0\\u201cAll of us are the sum of our experiences, and these songs are the product of mine.\\u201d \\xa0The Naked Flame\\xa0features a dozen compelling new songs that benefit from Julian\\u2019s commanding performances as well as his seasoned studio skills, which give the tracks a timeless warmth and immediacy. \\u201cI\\u2019ve had my share of triumph and heartbreak,\\u201dhe concludes. \\xa0\\u201cEveryone goes through that, no one escapes. \\xa0It\\u2019s all about how you ride it. \\xa0And I think that if you\\u2019re a musician, it\\u2019s your obligation to put the joy, the sorrow, the laughs and the tears into the writing and playing. \\xa0You have to take it all. \\xa0And one day you realize: this what I do and this is who I am. \\xa0That\\u2019s when the ride starts to make sense, and you just relax and do it.\\u201d'