Billy Sheehan (Sons of Apollo, The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big), who emerged from the upstate New York music scene in the late 1970s with the band Talas, has signed a deal with Metal Blade Records for the release of a new studio album, their first formal album ever. Talas earned its reputation performing gigs in the Buffalo and Rochester scenes. Although Talas started out by playing covers, it eventually introduced originals to its setlist. Sheehan later was well known as a studio musician before joining David Lee Roth’s late 1980s solo band, and later chart-topping stardom with Mr. Big (‘To Be With You’). The news of TALAS’s new record deal was broken by Sheehan’s longtime manager Michael Faley, a former roadie with Talas who also works for Metal Blade. On Friday (January 17), Faley posted a photo of Sheehan signing the contract with Metal Blade and included the following caption: “Billy Sheehan signing contract for a new TALAS studio album with Metal Blade Records. The 4 piece TALAS never recorded a studio album and there is soooo much material to pick from.”