Music is my drug of choice......

Halestorm Teases With Hello, It's Mz. Hyde EP

2012-01-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

Halestorm seemed to come out of nowhere in 2009 with their song ultra sexy song and video for “I Get Off”. Led by lead singer Lzzy Hale, who was a deadly combination of leather and lace, the band was called an overnight sensation by many. What many did not know was that the band had been together for a long time and paying their dues. They released an EP in 2005 entitled “One and Done” and became road warriors, playing just about anywhere and everywhere.

Their self-titled full length album spawned numerous hits including “I Get Off”, “Familiar Taste of Poison” and more. Here we are three years and hundreds of shows later and the pressure is on as all eyes are on these childhood friends from PA. Will they rise to the challenge or suffer the dreaded “sophomore slump”? Well, for now, we are getting a 4 song EP entitled Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde to serve as a teaser for what’s to come.

The EP is a digital download only, but that’s familiar ground for the band. They released a covers EP last year entitled ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP as a digital download only. For anyone who is familiar with the band, they know that they have been infamous for doing killer cover songs for years now and that EP was no exception.

The first track and single, and maybe even song title of the year, is “Love Bites (So Do I)” and it shows off a bit of an aggressive edge for the band that brings to mind Skid Row’s “Slave To The Grind”. Lzzy vocals are diverse on here and effective to bringing true emotion to the lyrics. Joe Hottinger offers some tasty guitar work in this song. Lzzy’s brother Arejay also is a beast on the drums on this track

The band showed us on their last album that they definitely know how to create a catchy song that will get stuck in our heads. “Rock Show” is another example of one of those songs that you will immediately be singing the chorus after only one listen. This is one of those songs that all fans and music lovers can relate to. As Lzzy sings, ‘At the rock show, you’ll be right in the front row’, you just start rocking your head in agreement. Josh Smith also lays down a solid bassline that carries this song from beginning to end.

“Daughters of Darkness” is a great track with Halestorm doing what they do best. The chorus screams for audience participation and would fit in great at a live show. The last track, “Here’s To Us”, shifts gears and shows that Lzzy and the boys are no strangers to the old school power ballads from the eighties. The acoustic intro sets a great tone as the boys slowly join in on this track and establish a great melody. Lzzy’s reflective lyrics are sure to strike a chord with everyone who listens as I am sure we can all relate.

A mere four song teaser and I am so hungry for more. We have been served an appetizer and now we must wait until April for the main course. This EP is everything that we would expect from Halestorm, but they raised the bar. Anyone who has seen this band live knows that they are diverse and rich with talent. This EP taps into that a little more than their debut album did. Lzzy’s vocals are stronger than ever and even more convincing in her lyrical deliver. You actually feel what she is singing. Joe, Arejay and Josh sound tighter than ever and have really pushed themselves. Man, April needs to get here as soon as possible!

OTHERWISE Sign With Century Media Records

2012-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

It seems as if every now and then that the music industry gets it right. Well, I do believe that this is one of those times. Century media Records announced on January, 12, 2012 that they had just signed the band OTHERWISE to a recording deal. Now, I know that many of you out there may not have a clue as to who this band is, but you are about to; mark my words.

The band was formed in 2005 by brothers Adrian and Ryan Patrick. The road up to this point in their careers has not been a bed of roses, as there were a few thorns experienced along the way. Adrian garnered quite a bit of national exposure when he was featured on "The Promise" singing with Maria Brink and In This Moment. The song received mainstream airplay and a video was also shot for the song. Adrian joined In This Moment on the 2010 Mayhem Festival and performed the song with the band. After the tour, he returned home with a new found hunger to make it to the big leagues, but it a setback. A major shakeup in band personnel happened and what might have ended other bands, just made Adrian and Ryan that much more determined.

The guys found the remaining pieces of the puzzle in bassist Flavio Ivan, drummer Corky Gainsford and guitarist Vassilio Metropoulos. The band was labeled by FOX News as the "#1 Unsigned Act in America" and by Xtreme Rock Radio 107.5 as the "#1 Unsigned Band in Las Vegas". Well, those two labels are a thing of the past thanks to the announcement on 01/12/12. The band are currently in the studio with Jay Baumgardner (Bush, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Incubus) recording their debut album.

This article is just a little intro for all of you who may not be familiar with the band. The first video included here is "The Promise" by In This Moment. The second video is for "Soldiers" by OTHERWISE. Check out their Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/otherwiseofficial#!/otherwiseofficial?sk=wall, and learn more about this band who will definitely be making a major noise in 2012.

Melissa Bel Proves She's Going The Distance

2012-01-04T05:47:00.000-08:00

I think everyone has dreams when they are really young. One day you want to be a cowboy, one day a firefighter, the next day a doctor, but Melissa Bell was a little different. At the young age of six, she decided that she wanted to be a singer. If anyone doubted her back then, she is quickly proving them wrong. She just released her brand new album entitled Distance and this Canadian dynamo is creating quite a buzz.

The album opens with the title track “Distance”, which is a remixed and remastered version from her Brave album. There was not a huge promotional push for that album in Canada, but Melissa and her producer Tom Treumuth both believed it deserved another shot. Melissa also believed she could do a better job vocally, being a few years older and more experienced, so she re-cut her vocals. The efforts have paid off as the song sounds fresh and new. Melissa’s new vocals add a richer, more emotional layer to the song. Guitarist Sean Ashby adds some wicked fretwork and a very unique sound to the song with his playing.

“Joyride” is a funky little number complete with an added horn section. Melissa’s sassy side comes out in this number of a love gone wrong. I think we can all relate to this song of being taken on a joyride by someone we were in a relationship with. The diagnosis by the doctor on “Lovesick” is one that he cannot offer a prescription for and she’s ok with that because she’s willing to endure this feeling.

Melissa does an amazing cover of the Bill Wither’s classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” on which she even shows off some of her guitar skills. She wraps herself around this song and delivers a powerful and convincing vocal performance. The album closes with “He’ll Never Be You” and is another song that I am sure that many will relate to. You know how it is, you are in a relationship with someone new, but they just don’t compare to that one person that you’re not quite over.

This EP shows a lot of growth by Melissa on many levels. She had more input on this release and more creative control. She had no experience going into recording her last album, so she relied on her producer and her musicians. This time, she had the confidence to run the entire recording sessions. That new found confidence shines in the end result as this EP is pretty awesome. It’s funky, bluesy, and emotional and it rocks. Melissa’s vocals are so powerful and passionate they pack an emotional punch that is well beyond her years.

Distance is leading up to a full album release in March of 2012. She has already won many awards in her homeland of Canada, including Artist of the Year in 2008 and Best Pop Album. Canada’s rising star is poised to share her gift with the US and the rest of the world. Check out her new EP and hear for yourself as the buzz she is creating will soon become a roar.

Attack Attack! Return With This Means War

2012-01-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

Attack Attack! has been through quite a lot in their short career. The band released their debut EP in 2008 entitled If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords and were quickly signed to Rise Records. Their major label debut, Someday Came Suddenly, was released in 2008 to mainly negative reviews. Their second album, which was self-titled, was released in 2010 to better reviews. Along this short ride, the band lost more singers than Spinal Tap did drummers; not to mention other personnel changes also earlier on.

The band is now poised to release their new album entitled This Means War. I am not sure if that title is a message to the many critics who have constantly slammed these guys, but they are more focused than ever on this release. In a genre known for its breakdowns, let us “breakdown” this album and see what it’s all about.
The album, which was produced by lead singer and keyboardist Caleb Shomo in his home studio, opens with “The Revolution” and what a great opener to set the tone of the album. Caleb Shomo is quite impressive with his mix of clean and unclean vocals. Lead guitarist Andrew Whiting delivers some crushing rips that chug right along throughout the song. This song is an excellent choice to begin this latest chapter in the band’s story.

“The Wretched” is another great example of the growth of this band. Caleb’s keyboards and synthesizers add so much to this song and many others. They add an interesting layer to what would could easily be just another metal core song and elevate it to another level. The conventional “breakdown” now sounds fresh and original because of that.

“The Motivation” is a song that will catch you off guard more than once. It opens with a rather slow and tranquil keyboard before Andrew’s guitars erupt in a wall of sound. The rhythm section of John Holgado on bass and Andrew Wetzel are on their A game on this selection. A song about staying focused and never giving up should become a theme for these guys as a band and overcoming their critics.

Over all, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this new album. It definitely shows growth by the band in many areas. Caleb seems to have found his comfort zone vocally. His non clean vocals show a lot of improvement and his clean vocals, used mainly on the choruses, make them catchy and infectious. Andrew also gives a solid performance on guitar turning in some pretty amazing solos while managing to keep his breakdowns from just becoming a chug-a-thon.

The guys have announced dates on the “This Means War Tour” with The Ghost Inside, Sleeping with Sirens and others. It should be interesting to see how the new material translates into the live show. Pick up a copy of This Means War when it’s officially released on January 17, 2012 and listen for yourself. It definitely lives up its title.

Rammstein: Flame Thrower Sold Separately

2012-01-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

There is no denying the impact that Germany’s Rammstein has had on the metal/industrial scene since they released their debut album Herzeleid in 1995. They quickly caught the attention of Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and he gave the band some major exposure here in the US by including two of their songs for the David Lynch film Lost Highway. Their breakthrough album Sehnsucht was released in 1997 and their worldwide hit “Du hast”.

Over the span of sixteen years, Rammstein have become huge superstars in their native land of Germany releasing platinum album after platinum album. Their live shows are the stuff that legends are made of. The over the top theatrics including tons of fire, guitars that shoot sparks and gloves that shoot fireworks have attracted a huge following. With a show like that, there’s no wonder their shows here in the US constantly sellout even with limited “commercial” success here.

So, here we are sixteen years after their debut and a career retrospective is finally being issued by their label. It’s entitled Made in Germany 1995-2011 and it is being released in three forms. There’s the single disc containing sixteen tracks, the deluxe disc containing an extra disc of seventeen remixes and a super deluxe edition with discs plus all the band’s music videos and a 240 page book all encased in a steel box.

The main disc contains an interesting mix of songs. Whenever a “best of” collection is issued on a band that has been around as long as Rammstein has, then there will be those who complain that certain songs are missing. First, let’s look at the obvious choices that did make it to the disc. “Du hust” is here as well as “Amerika” and “Mein Teil”. So, what about the fan favorites that were excluded? Well, “Benzin” and “Mann Gegen Mann” and Das Modell” are missing. One of the most puzzling omissions is the song “Feuer Frei” which was featured in the movie xXx starring Vin Diesel in which the band was shown performing live.

The remixes on disc two include efforts from Faith No More on “Du Riechst So Gut 98”, the Pet Shop Boys on “Mein Teil”, Devin Townsend Project on “Rammlied” and Meshuggah on “Benzin”. Some of the remixes do not stray too far from the originals feel while others, the Devin Townsend Project, are comical. I am usually not a fan of remixes, but I will have to admit that a few really caught my ear. Laibach’s remix of “Ohne Dich” and the Sono remix of “Mutter” as very interesting efforts.

Rammstein is one of those bands that has to be seen live to truly appreciate the power and energy that their songs empower. Lead singer Till Lindemann was born to front this band. His voice is so powerful and unique and brings so much to the songs that he writes. Who cares if almost all the lyrics are in German? It’s so easy to get swept away by the music and energy that you almost forget that you can’t sing along to them!

Overall, this retrospective is really good and especially for the casual fan who wants a compilation that spans their career. As far as the die-hard fans, well it may come up a little short for them. I think most of those fans have everything included here. Well, unless they want to fork over the big bucks for the super deluxe version; flamethrower is not included.

Dead Throne Elevates The Devil Wears Prada To A New Level

2012-01-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

There must have been something in the water last year when The Devil Wears Prada recorded their Zombie EP. It’s as if someone or something took control of the band and steered them in a direction that was unfamiliar territory for them. The music and songwriting was taken to another level and the fans were caught off guard, but in a good way. It also left fans wondering if this was just an experimental phase because of the EP or was this something wet their appetites as they awaited the new album.

Well, the wait is over and it is proving to me well worth it. The band just recently released their fourth studio album entitled Dead Throne with very favorable results from both critics and fans. The band is sounded more focused and heavier than ever. The songs on the album, for the most part, were written by guitarist Chris Rubey. Maybe having just a single person focus on the songwriting is going to be the formula that TDWP needs to push them to the next level. It definitely seems to be leaning in that direction on this new album.

I do have to admit that I was buying into this new found direction during the first few tracks on this new album. The band seems to be warming up on the first four tracks and then it happens. I got kicked in the groin when “R.I.T.” began. It’s as if the case of Redbull didn’t kick in until then. Oh, but wait; it doesn’t end there. The rest of the album is just insane! The riffs are much heavier and the musicianship is tighter than ever. The trade off of vocal styles between singer Mike Hranica and guitarist Jeremy DePoyster is taken to a whole new level too.

“Born to Lose”, “Constance” and “Hold Fast” are standouts for so many reasons. Of course, the above mentioned reasons are ever apparent on these selections, but the balance between being heavy while still being catchy on these songs is just unbelievable. The band has also included a synth element with James Baney doing those duties. It really adds a layer to the music while still allowing the songs to take on that heavier sound.

The new album was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage. I think he definitely needs to be credited, at least in part, for helping the band find this new comfort zone which helps them to grow as a group. This is definitely a different TDWP and they show that they have grown by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time. I don’t know, maybe Adam helped them unlock their own personal Pandora’s Box? There is even an instrumental on the album entitled “Kansas” that showcases just how much the band has grown as musicians since the early days of their debut.

The rhythm section of a band is like the glue that holds them together, but doesn’t always get the praise that they deserve. Well, I think bassist Andy Trick and drummer Daniel Williams need to be given a co-MVP award on this album. The fill-ins that Daniel provides are top-notch and that double-kick of his is in rare form. It’s almost exhausting listening to him on this album!

So, is this the best that TDWP has unleashed on us? Well, I would have to say a major YES to that question. It seems as if almost every aspect of the band has been given steroids, with the exception of writing. It’s pretty much in line with past efforts, but this time it just seems to click better with their new sense of heaviness. The only thing that really doesn’t work for me would have to be Mike Hranica’s high-end screams/vocals, which seem to be a little weak when compared to his low end. His low register has quite a bit of depth to it and is very effective.

I really hope that TDWP will take this new found focus and build on it. Change and evolution is good for a band and is also very necessary for staying power. It’s tough to be a one trick pony in this industry now and not fade away quickly. The guys seem to have woken up to this fact and seemed determined to become a staying power and not just another footnote. This is definitely one of the best releases of 2011 and it also sets the bar high for many bands from this genre looking to release a new album in 2012.

The Force Is Strong For The Empire Shall Fall's New Release

2012-01-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

Every now and then an album is released that just demands to be heard by the masses. Now, that’s a pretty bold statement to make, but I do believe that this is one of those albums. The Empire Shall Fall is not a Star Wars reference, but a fairly new metal core band founded by former Killswitch Engage lead singer Jesse Leach. They released their debut album Awaken in 2008 and garnered quite a bit of attention for their non-conventional sound. It was a hybrid of jazz, punk and metal core and definitely caught quite a few people’s attention.

Their new release is entitled Volume 1: Solar Plexus and is being released on 180 gram vinyl and digitally only for the time being. It is the first of three EPs to be released and all three will have a theme that ties them all together. The band has stated in an interview that the album is about “picking up the pieces of your life and starting over.” Once all three of the EPs are released, the band will release an actual CD with all three combined into one. An interesting and bold concept, so let’s take a look at Volume 1.

The album consists of a total of seven tracks with four being complete songs and three being instrumentals. “The Genesis of These Scars” open this journey that the listener is about to take off on and it goes from 0 to 60 in about 2 seconds! Jesse mixes clean vocals and screams in a very effective way. The arrangement on this song is also amazing in the way it mixes up alternating from metal core to a more melodic styling.

“Narrow the Path I Walk Part 1” and “As the City Sleeps” are great songs and show the versatility of the band. On their debut album, the guys really did break down the stereotypical walls established by a genre. They brought so many different elements into the mix and made their sound fresh and new and not just “traditional” metal core. These two songs bring even more of that to the table.

My favorite song on this album is the closing track, “The Final Redemption” which clocks in at an impressive 7:48. The beginning is very slow and has a jazz feel to it, but it builds. It really hits its groove at the 38 second mark. I think this is the bands’ shining moment on this track. It’s heavy, it’s melodic, it’s progressive, and it’s djent and more all rolled up into one. Jesse vocal delivery is stellar on this as well as some amazing guitar work by Jake Davenport and Marcus de Lisle.

The only problem that I have with this album is that it is way too short! I know it’s just an EP, but you just don’t want it to end. The instrumental tracks really work great to connect the songs together and they don’t just seem like throwaway tracks. The guys really have put together something special here and I cannot wait for part 2 to be released. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up and give it a listen. In a genre of so many sound-alike’s, The Empire Shall Fall are carving a niche out for themselves that is going to propel them to the font of this genre. With the way that these guys are going, they may even create an entirely new genre on their own.

Steel Panther Go Balls Out On New Album

2012-01-04T05:04:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen; something this awesome can’t stay an underground sensation for too long. The new masters of cockrock are back in a big way. How dare you ask who! I’m talking about LA’s Steel Panther and their sophomore album Balls Out is exactly what you want from these guys and then some. The narrow minded and easily offended need to stop reading right here because this just won’t be your cup of tea.

The guys from Steel Panther have been paying their dues for some time now under different band names including Danger Kitty and Metal Skool before officially becoming Steel Panther in 2008. If they look familiar, it may be because you saw them as the house band on the Gene Simmons roast or on his show Family Jewels. These guys have an impressive fan base including Paul Stanley of KISS, Green Day, Scott Ian of Anthrax and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

Their new CD Balls Out is trademark Steel Panther. It’s funny, it’s raunchy, it’s catchy and it kicks some major metal ass. It’s deep in 80s influences such as Def Leppard and especially Motley Crue. One listen will have you wishing the days of 80s metal was back to stay.

“In The Future” opens the album, based in the year 6969, sounding eerily familiar to Motley Crue’s “In the Beginning” and features comedian Dane Cook. “Supersonic Sex machine” then gets the party truly rocking. The combination of Steel Panther and a song with a title of “Just like Tiger Woods” just screams instant classic. This is definitely old school 80s and is so catchy that you almost start singing along on the first listen. It also contains the line of the year, tongue in cheek of course: “Three holes are better than a hole in one”.

“If You Really Really Love Me” starts off acoustically, but then slips into true Panther territory and will have you laughing until it hurts. The lyrically content has you shaking your head sometimes as if “Did I just really hear that?”! “It Won’t Suck Itself” contains cameos by none other than Nuno “Where Have I Been Hiding For The Last 20 years” Bettencourt of Extreme and Chad Kroger of “the band that seemingly sells millions of records yet nobody seems to like” Nickelback. I don’t think I have to go into the lyrical content of the song given a title like that.

“Tomorrow Night” is probably my favorite track on the album. It’s straight up Motley Crue Shout at the Devil era influenced and is infectious as hooker with an STD. What other band can put together a song as epic as this and name drop Charlie Sheen, Britney Spears and Christopher Walken at the same time?

80s metal and power ballads are as synonymous as Lindsey Lohan and court appearances and Steel Panther deliver a great one entitled “Why Can’t You Trust Me”. To quote a line from this song,” you better treat me with a little respect, before I go Chris Brown and punch you in the neck.”

There’s nothing better than a song that rocks and helps you with your spelling. A, B, C is as easy as 1, 2, 3 when you have Steel Panther cranking out classics such as “Gold Digging Whore”. You have to love those sing-a-long choruses! “I Like Drugs” is like a 4 ½ minute dinner theater metal style complete with Michael getting pulled over by a cop. It’s hilarious!

Is anyone craving some cowbell? Then “Let me Come In” is for you, but not if you’re bashful. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the lyrical content given a title like that! The album closes with yet another Crue inspired song ala “Home Sweet Home”, well at least musically it is. “Weenie Ride” is a piano ballad, but don’t let that brief description fool you. It’s pure Panther baby complete with the big guitar solo.

Wow, what a ride a Steel Panther album is. The guys are serious about their metal, but I don’t think they always take themselves seriously. It’s almost as if they are a caricature of themselves, yet they live out these characters 24/7. It is a fun album, a raunchy album, a rocking album and one of the catchiest that I have heard this year. If you’re not embarrassed or offended by the lyrics, then you will soon be converted over to a huge fan of Steel Panther. Balls Out will go down, no pun intended, as one of the best of 2011.

Daughtry: If It Ain't Broke, Yada Yada Yada

2012-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

America’s favorite poster child for not winning American Idol and still coming out ahead of the actual winner is back. Daughtry has just released a new album entitled Break the Spell and it follows the “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it” formula fans expect from the band. That’s not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.

Daughtry first burst onto the scene as a contestant on American Idol in 2006. He was one of, if not the, first contestant who had a true passion for rock. Many fans of the show remember his shocking elimination from the final four on the show. You have to YouTube the clip and just look at the expression on his face and eventual runner-up Katharine McPhee. Chris went on to almost make a joke out of the show by selling more than all of the contestants combined from that season. His debut album sold over four million copies and produced numerous hits and his follow-up Leave This Town was also a hit. He has proven that he is not a flavor of the week and that he is serious about his music career.

The band brought in Howard Benson again to produce for them. He has also produced Daughtry’s first two albums. A producer can bring a lot to the playing field for a band. A great producer will push a band and force them to think outside of the musical box. I have to admit than I am a fan of Daughtry and they have a formula that works for them. They do manage to break out of the “relationships on the brink of disaster” formula a few times on this album, but for the most part it’s sticking to that tried and true formula that sells millions for them. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, I guess it’s open for debate with both sides holding valid points, but time will truly tell.

“Renegade” kicks off the album with a big rock number. No, it’s not a cover of the Styx classic, but it definitely has an edge to it that they would be envious of. Next up is “Crawling Back to You”, which is the first video and single and textbook Daughtry. “Outta My Head” is another catchy, rocking number with a hint of Bon Jovi .
“Start of Something New” is a mid-tempo, acoustic flavored ballad that will most certainly draw comparisons to “Home”, but it’s still one of the strongest songs on the album. An artist always wants to connect with the listener and make them feel what they are singing. “Gone Too Soon” is an excellent example of one of those songs. A powerful and emotional song of a lost child and the grief the parents are going through as they think “what if”. This is one song that will definitely tug on the heart strings of the listener.

Chris dabbles a little bit in the field of falsetto on the song “Rescue Me” and pulls it off like a pro. What’s the lyrical content of this one? You guessed it, another wounded relationship song. “Spaceship” closes out the regular edition of the album; a standout track on the album about love and a romantic escape and proving that even adults who rock and roll for a living can still daydream.

I think Break the Spell is a really good album with a few standout tracks that show the band branching out. Is it a great album? Well, I am sure most diehard Daughtry fans will give a big “HELL YEAH” to that question. I just wish there was more growth or experimentation from the band, whether in lyrical content or musical direction. That is needed from any band to be able to make their career in the industry a marathon rather than a sprint.

M Lazar And Her Unique Artistic Vision

2012-01-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

“We’re not here to take over the world. We’re the band that will create a new world for you to come join us in and escape,” M Lazar, September Mourning.

Enigma. Webster defines it as an inscrutable or mysterious person; something hard to understand or explain. Enter stage left one Emily Lazar; a multi-layered artist whose talents including being a writer, singer and model. She has modeled for and/or endorsed such companies as Draven, Coffin Case, Samson Microphones, Sourpuss Clothing, Lip Service and many more. She fronts an art project, not a band, called September Mourning. The story of M and her vision is one filled with ambition, hard work, strong women and comics. I recently sat down for a long and interesting chat with M about what ignites the creative beast inside of her.

Johnny: Hey M, it’s great to finally catch up with you. I know that you have been really busy as of late with September Mourning, but before we get into all of that, can you give the readers a brief introduction to who M Lazar is?

M/September Mourning: Who knows? I’m not even sure if I do! Well, I am a performer and I have been one since I started walking. I stepped on the stage for the first time at the age of 4 and I haven’t come off since. I have always been involved in the arts in some way. I have always been singing, dancing and modeling. I usually come up with the concepts of the shoots that I do too, such as with Draven shoes. I just love to put my own stamp on it.

Johnny: So, tell us about your project September Mourning.

M/September Mourning: Well, it’s definitely more than just a band, so I like to refer to it as my art project. It started out as a story of a girl who has her own alter bridge to cross. She is a strong female who is not always taken seriously, but she will punch your face off if she is pushed to it. I wanted to integrate music into the story since I am a musician. I hooked up with Marc Silvestri of Top Cow Comics about 4 ½ years ago and told him my idea. I picked Marc because when he describes female characters, they are empowered and strong, such as his character Witchblade. He loved the idea and asked if I had a band to provide the soundtrack to the story, so at that time I started putting one together.

Johnny: When you were piecing the band together, what kind of sound did you want to create?

M/September Mourning: I got in touch with Chris Egert who was an industrial kid that I had great chemistry with. I knew I wanted an industrial sound with a rock edge to it, but I really hate to put our sound in a box. I also worked with James Duran and Carley Coma and we cut some demos.

Johnny: Your sound has changed somewhat since those early demos; as well as your band mates. Was the musical change a conscious decision?

M/September Mourning: I believe that you have to grow as a group. The minute that you stop changing or morphing as an artist is a sign for you to break up or just stop because there is nothing left to do. Our current sound is popcore with a little electronic thrown in, but it’s still changing along with our band members and our look. We will definitely have all of those changes defined by next year. Our sound did change a bit from those first songs, which were more industrial. We didn’t release them, but we are going to go ahead and do so because a lot of fans discovered us back then because of them. O

Johnny: Those fans got a taste of those songs when you went out on tour with Marilyn Manson. How crazy of an opportunity was that for you?

M/September Mourning: It was like being blasted out of a cannon! We got that touring spot just 6 months after becoming a band. I think we did really well and it was definitely a blast. Manson is such an amazing artist both musically and visually and I learned so much from him.

Johnny: So, this project has been in the works for a few years now. You had a pretty major announcement at the San Diego ComiCon this year. Can you tell us more about that?

M/September Mourning: I am so excited about our project with MTV. We are putting together live action/animation webisodes that will depict the storyline of September Mourning. Each webisode will link together and they will contain our original music. They will be very interactive and the fans will drive the storyline. MTV Geek is just amazing and they really understand where we are coming from. They are very forward thinking and they get our vision and that really helps. Ultimately, this project is my life, it’s my child. My little goth/metal child.

Johnny: You just recently released a teaser video for a new song entitled “Children of Fate”. What a great song and a bit of a different direction for you. Also, on a visual level, it is quite striking. Can you elaborate a little bit on the whole package?

M/September Mourning: Well thank you! The reaction to it has been really great so far. First off, I am a huge Annie Lennox (Eurythmics) fan and I love watching 80s videos. I especially love her video for the song “Why”. I was inspired by that one and I wanted to show how our look and sound has evolved in the video. My look is more specific now and the video shows me evolving.

Johnny: When you write a song, such as “Children of Fate”, where does your inspiration come from?

M/September Mourning: I write alot of songs and I try to write one everyday; whether it’s just a verse or a hook or a complete song. I draw my inspiration from everything in life. I draw it from the guy I am dating and the way he smiles at me in the morning. I’m inspired by movies or seeing an artist perform and the crowd’s response or the taste of a chocolate chip cookie on my tongue. I have my dark periods too and I think that was because I was surrounded by so much death and trauma when I was little. My dad worked in an ER when I was 7 and I saw a lot of things that I shouldn’t have at that age.

Johnny: So, on a lighter note, do you have any guilty pleasures that would surprise your fans?

M/September Mourning: Well, I am a Scorpio, so I am an intense, sensual person; so some of those things can’t make it to print. Hmmmm, a guilty pleasure that’s printable? Well, I love science and quantum physics. I guess that makes me a nerd huh? I’m also a gamer and I love the new Batman Arkham City game. There’s also a new game coming out called Darkness 2 and I played a demo of it at ComiCon. The first one was banned in Singapore because it was so violent. It’s an all out gore fest and I love it!

Johnny: I would use many words to describe you, but nerd is definitely not one of them. You are such an active person and you definitely prove that there is a lot of brain there to compliment all of your beauty. I know at times your body must be exhausted, but your brain is still running at mach speed. How do you finally come down long enough to sleep?

M/September Mourning: It’s very hard to and that’s why I am usually an insomniac! I just recently learned how to shut it off thanks to meditation. I use to think that stuff was for “sandal wearing, granola crunching people” and not for me, but boy was I wrong! The very first time that I tried it, I was so chill that night. I do it now to help me stay centered, plus I have also learned how to just let things go too.

Johnny: Speaking of letting things go, as much as I hate to, I guess I should let you get back to the studio. I, for one, can’t wait to hear the new CD. I know you are shooting for the first quarter of 2012 for a release. Please keep us posted on your progress with that and thanks again for taking time out of your crazy schedule to talk with us. Is there anything that you would like to add in closing?

M/September Mourning: You’re quite welcome and thank you for wanting to talk to me. I do want to thank all of our fans, both old and new ones, who have stayed with us all this time and for passing us on to new listeners. We are a product of what you make us. Keep spreading the word and keep letting us know on Facebook what you think.

Carnifex Proves They're Are Not For The Meek

2012-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

California based Carnifex is back with a new offering on Victory Records entitled Until I Feel Nothing. It’s a beast of an album following in the footsteps of their 2010 praised release Hell Chose Me. That release saw the guys move closer towards the fore front of the death core/death metal scene as their praises were seen all over such magazines as Metal Edge, AP, Metal Hammer and many more.

Until I Feel Nothing may not break any new ground for the band, but it does showcase the band offering up more songs of intensity and brutality. The album opens with “Deathwish” and basically that song is an instrumental (minus a couple words) that starts off with a creepy horror movie feel to it. It builds in anticipation before unleashing a blast of energy that leads into the next track “We Spoke of Lies”.

For me, the album starts off a bit slow before settling into a good rhythm. It wasn’t until track four, “Dead but Dreaming”, before it really started getting interesting. That was when my face truly started to melt. Then, “Creation Defaced” made me a true believer. This song shows growth within the band musically. It’s a great arrangement that starts intense, but the breakdown towards the middle takes the listener is an unexpected direction. The screaming guitars disappear and the songs takes a dark, almost apocalyptic sounding direction. A minute or so later, the guitars return as the listener gets kicked in the face with a blast of rage. I am sure that some may hate it this risky move, but I found it to be very interesting and I think it really adds another layer to the song. I also think this song also showcases lead singer Scott Lewis’ guttural growls the best.

“Until I Feel Nothing” and “Curse My Name” are two more stellar tracks worthy of being heard. The rest of the album is some of the most extreme music that I have heard in this genre. I put Carnifex right up there and inching closer to the level that The Black Dahlia Murder is on. Time, as well as continued focus by the band, will tell if they make it to that next level.

The death metal label is quickly becoming oversaturated with bands and you really have to find your niche to standout for any kind of long term success. The band seems to be focused on unleashing the most brutal sound that they can. Producer Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying) was a good choice. He definitely allowed the band to find that comfort zone again that was found during the recording of Hell Chose Me. I’m not sure it was a step forward for them, but it was definitely not a step backwards.

As far as the band goes, the dual guitar attack of Ryan Gudmunds and Cory Arford is bombastic on the album. The shredding just peels away the skin when listened to at maximum volume. The rhythm section of Fred Calderon on bass and Shawn Cameron on drums are more than worthy of supplying the glue that holds this arsenal together. Just listen to Shawn’s drumming and tell me that he doesn’t exhaust you with his playing just a few songs in! As for Scott, he definitely has some of the most insane growls and guttural vocals in the industry. As for his high end, it’s better than in the past, but at times sounds like so many in that field.

Overall, I think it’s a really good album. If you’re a pansy and want you metal all sweet and corporate, then you need to stay away. If you’re looking for something intense and crushing in its delivery, then Carnifex is definitely the band for you. Grab a copy, crank it up and prepare to be assaulted!

Five Finger Death Company Prove They're No Fluke With American Capitalist

2012-01-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

Ivan Moody and the guys from 5 Finger Death Punch have a sound that is two parts testosterone driven rock with one part aggression. The band burst on the scene in 2007 with their debut The Way of the Fist. Ivan’s distinctive vocals and the band’s take no prisoners approach to their live show quickly established them a solid following in the world of metal.

Their second album, War is the Answer, was released in 2009 propelled the band to a whole new level. This album saw the band fine tuning their sound and the results were heard all over the radio. The album was deep in singles, six to be exact, with their cover of Bad Company’s song “Bad Company” exposing the band to a whole new audience.

That brings us to one of 2011’s most anticipated releases: American Capitalist. Producer Kevin Churko was called in to produce again and the results are nothing short of amazing. The album opens with the title track and quickly lets you know that the 5FDP sound is alive and well. The twin guitar arsenal of Zoltan Bathory and Jason Hook quickly begin to lay down the solos that are inspiring a whole new generation of guitar hero wannabes.

“Under and Over It” is the first single released and it blew up big everywhere upon its release back in July. Ivan’s signature growls mixed with clean vocals on the chorus are heard loud and clear on this track. It’s definitely a very catchy track and a great choice as a leadoff single for all outlets.

Track three is one that has been met with a great deal of opposition from fans and critics alike. The song is called “The Pride” and it’s been butchered for its “cheesy” or “fluffy” lyrics, which to many make no sense. Basically, it’s three minutes of Ivan naming off numerous staples from our pop culture. He then states “I’m not selling out, I’m buying it! Only the strong survive, I will not be forgotten.” Lyrics are always open to interpretation, but I think it’s all tongue in cheek and Ivan’s drive to be part of those iconic nuggets of pop culture.

5FDP also explore their softer side that was unleashed on their last album. “Coming Down” is a great example of the band being willing to show that side of themselves without coming across as wimpy. Ivan’s clean vocals combined with some very dark lyrics make this a powerful song. The other entry would be one of the best songs on the album entitled “I Remember Everything”. This song is today’s version of the big power ballad from the 80s, complete with the big guitar solo in the middle. It’s a song which serves as a letter home to Ivan’s family telling them that he’s sorry for all of his shortcomings. It’s a very powerful and emotional song with a great chorus made for being included in their live show. This song will blow up big when released as a single; mark my words.

To compliment the softer side of the band, there are plenty of heavy tracks too. “Menace” and “Wicked Ways” are standout tracks for those craving the harder side of the band. Ivan’s vocals are dead on and there is plenty of shredding on both tracks. Let me add that Jeremy Spencer is a juggernaut on the drums and takes that double kick to a whole new level. The man is insane!

It’s really hard to say that an album is perfect, but this one is pretty darn close. “The Pride” is a take it or leave it track for most, but other than that, this album is solid all the way through. Ivan’s vocals are stronger and even more distinct than ever. The rhythm section of Spencer on drums and new addition Chris Kael on bass have already formed a solid foundation for the band to play off of. I have already praised the one/two assault of Hook and Bathory on guitar.

I think this album will propel the band to that next level, but time will have to tell. The initial week’s sales were a strong indicator as it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200. In today’s turbulent music industry, it’s not a sprint, but a marathon, so we will have to wait and see.

This Is Hell Unleashes Black Mass

2012-01-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

There’s a new addition to my ever growing “music to get a speeding ticket to” collection. This Is Hell has just unleashed a new album entitled Black Mass and it is definitely worthy of being added to that collection. It’s a full-on assault of the senses that just crawls underneath your skin and spreads all over your body.

The guys released Weight of the World in 2010 and it was their first album since leaving Trustkill for Rise Records. If that album was a step in the right direction for the band, then this new album is a huge leap for them. The band seems to be tighter and more focused than ever. One may even say that they are hungry and feel as if they have something to prove.

The first track on the album, “Acid Rain”, definitely sets the tone of the album and that tone is intensity and aggression. This takes me back to the early days of thrash with Slayer and Anthrax. The riffs are so insane on here that it should come with a “no responsible for spontaneous acts of air guitar” disclaimer!

They don’t even give you a chance to catch your breath as “Black Rain” and, my personal favorite; “Salt the Earth” continue the onslaught. The two guitar assault of Rick Jimenez and Chris Mazella is something of sheer power and brutality. There will be many a horn thrown in honor of these shredders throughout the world upon listening to this album.

Next up is the title track and for a mere 13 seconds, the band lets up on you with a slow, acoustic intro, but don’t be fooled. The pedal is then pressed to the floor and the thrash onslaught continues. Mike “I’m Gonna Beat the Living Hell Outta My Drum kit” Sciulara is a beast beyond control on here. He puts in a solid performance on every track, but this one left me exhausted.

“The Outlaw” has one of those infectious guitar riff intros that enter the ear and nests in your brain causing an instant mosh pit in your head. “Demons” then pushes the gas to the floor again and takes off at top speed. The level of intensity on this album just makes you shake your head in amazement.

I have to admit that I was totally floored by this album musically and exhausted by the end of it. It’s a non-stop joy ride on the hardcore highway. The guys sound tighter than ever and more focused. I love the old school thrash tone to the album too. This may just be the bands’ best offering since they debuted in 2006. Put this one on, crank up loud and sweat a few pounds off in the process.

Evanescence May Have Been Gone, But Their Fans Did Not Forget

2012-01-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am sure that Amy Lee from Evanescence was pondering that saying as she sat in her recording studio piecing together the bands’ third studio album. Would the teenage goth girls who looked up to her be all grown up now and out of that phase of their life? Would the industry welcome her back with open arms? A lot has changed since their last album; just look at Hot Topic!

Evanescence seemed to be an overnight sensation back in 2003 with their debut Fallen. Their songs were all over MTV, Amy was in almost every music magazine that you picked up and the band even won two Grammy Awards. Their follow-up in 2006, The Open Door, was also a huge seller for the band. Then, they just seemed to disappear. There have been many rumors floating around and dates of a new release were teased for quite some time. Early 2011 saw the first true signs of a new album forthcoming and the anticipation begin to grow among the fans.

The fans wishes were granted in October as the new self-titled album from Evanescence hit the stores. If the initial response to the first single “What You Want” was an indication of whether the fans missed the band, then they had nothing to worry about. The single blew up in a major way and has been all over MTV, the Sixx Sense Sideshow Countdown, radio and more!

The album is a good mix of styles that we expect from the band with each one woven around the incredible voice of Lee. There are several rock oriented songs on the album such as “Never Go Back” and “End of the Dream”. Each has that signature crunching guitar sound that you associate with the bands’ trademark sound.
“The Change” is a great song that shows exactly how Amy can start a song out slow and build on it with her powerful vocals. She just wraps her voice around it and cradles it until it’s ready to be unleashed at its full fury. “My Heart Is Broken” is another example, but this time she includes a beautiful piano intro to build off of.

There are two key tracks on the album that stand out for totally different reasons; other than the fact that they are both exceptional tracks. “Swimming Home” shows Amy dabbling in the electronica field on this very smooth and relaxing track that sounds unlike anything I have heard the band do before. The other track is the beautiful “Lost in Paradise”. Again, Amy’s piano skills are featured here and they compliment her emotional vocal delivery to the utmost. There is a soft, angelic like quality to her vocals that helps to accentuate the emotion in the lyrics. The addition of the string section on this song is almost brilliant and takes it to another level. The sheer beauty and emotion in the vocal delivery is enough to give you goosebumps.

This album was well worth the wait and it presents the band in a different light both musically and lyrically. The sound is more reminiscent of Fallen than of The Open Door, but they still manage to branch out and grow their sound. The lyrics are also a big surprise as they are not as dark as in the past. We all know that Amy wrote the last album from a darker point in her life, but this new album seems to be almost a total opposite as far as the writing goes.

A new band, a new album that debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart and a new tour has Evanescence feeling a huge wave of love from their fans. Don’t fret though, there’s still some goth left in her, it’s just matured and channeled in a different creative way.

White Chapel Recorrupts The Masses

2012-01-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Whitechapel have been carving out a name for themselves in the genre of death/extreme metal since their debut The Somatic Defilement was released in 2007. The guys from Knoxville, Tennessee have been perfecting their hardcore sound and clawing their way up the hardcore scene. 2010’s A New Era of Corruption was a success on multiple levels and left fans in high anticipation of its follow-up. Well, the guys just released an EP entitled Recorrupted to tide the fans over until that full length album is completed.

Recorrupted is comprised of five tracks: one new song, one cover, two remixes and one acoustic. “Section 8” is the lone new track and it is Whitechapel delivering what they do best. It’s extreme and intense with crushing guitars and is a good indicator of where that next album might just take us. Vocalist Phil Bozeman is in rare form on this one and his guttural delivery is close to perfection.

Up next is the cover of Pantera’s “Strength Beyond Strength”. I have to admit that is a great spin on the song and it takes the song to a very dark place. Again, Phil’s vocals play a huge part in the dark edge that this cover has. The acoustic track, “End of Flesh”, is a reworking of the song originally found on their A New Era of Corruption album. Now, I know that an acoustic song from such a heavy band may automatically have fans pressing the next button and skipping over this track. I really hope that they take the time to listen to it because it’s an amazing stripped down version of the song. It shows that the guys are versatile and that their sound shouldn’t necessarily be put in a box and labeled.

The first remix is for “Breeding Violence”, from A New Era of Corruption, and it was done by Big Chocolate and has a dubstep sound to it. The remix for “This is Exile”, from the same titled album, by Ben Weindman of the Dillinger Escape Plan is really interesting. It is creepy and eerie at times and almost sounds like it would be at home on FX’s American Horror Story as its soundtrack. It even has a bit of a Trent Reznor feel to it.

This EP is really cool and I think that the fans will really like it. I am not sure on the remix of “Bleeding Violence”, but I think they will be pleased with the rest of it. The triple guitar attack of Ben Savage, Alex Wade and Zach Householder is an arsenal of sound just waiting to unleash on the listener. This EP also shows that the guys have a few tricks up their sleeves. If it’s an indicator of where they may be heading with the new album, then fans have a lot to look forward to. I encourage fans of the band and even fans of this genre to pick up the EP and give it an honest chance. I do believe that you will be happy if you do and you certainly will be rocking.

As I Lay Dying: A Decade of Intensity

2012-01-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing how quickly ten years can just fly by. It seems like just yesterday when we were reading about this new band called As I Lay Dying and their debut album Beneath the Encasing of Ashes that had just been released. The band quickly won over fans and respect from the critics and other artists. They were a part of Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Soundwave Festival and many other huge shows. They also toured with such heavyweights as Disturbed, Slipknot and Lamb of God.

Now, here we are 10 years and 4 more studio albums later and As I Lay Dying are celebrating. To commemorate their anniversary, the band has released a new album to say thanks to their loyal fans. Decas consists of 3 new songs, 4 covers, 1 re-recorded medley and 4 remixes. It’s a mixed bag of tricks that is sure to satisfy all levels of As I Lay Dying fans. The album opens with “Paralyzed”, which is in the same vein of where the band was on their last album Powerless Rise. This song will definitely wet the appetites of fans who are anxiously awaiting a new studio album and tour. “Moving Forward” is cut from that same musical cloth and will not disappoint the listener.

Cover songs; some people like a band to put their own spin on them while others like for the band to stay true to the original. The band covers Slayer’s “War Ensemble” and totally, no pun intended, slays it. Tim’s vocals on this song fit just like a glove. Next, the band attacks “Hellion” and “Electric Eye” by Judas Priest and produce a result that even the rock icon Rob Halford would give a horns high salute to. The last cover is a 35 second insane spin on the Descendents’ “Coffee Mug”. The medley, “Beneath the Encasing”, contains parts of several songs from their debut Beneath the Encasing of Ashes.

As for the remixes, the band takes one song from each of their releases since Frail Worlds Collapse and I have to admit that there is some very bizarre territory being explored there. They seem a bit bizarre to me for some reason. I’m just not feeling them at all and I don’t think that they bring much to the table. It’s nice for a band to explore new territory and try to expand their horizons, but I am not sold on these remixes. In a world of the ever growing dubstep craze, I think this is a step backwards for the band. I’m just glad it’s for this special album and not a new musical direction for the guys.

Decas is a really solid album, minus the remixes, from the band. The musicianship on the new songs and covers is tighter than the band has ever sounded. Tim Lambesis’ growls are more aggressive than ever and very dark at times. Josh Gilbert’s clean vocals offer a great balance and contrast to Tim’s. This album is something for the fans and is not meant to take the place of a new studio album. If the three new songs are any indication of where the band is headed, then their follow-up to 2010’s Powerless Rise is going to be one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2011

2011-12-31T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hello there fellow music lovers. We are closing the chapter of our lives known as 2011 and beginning a new one with 2012. It seems as if everyone comes up with some sort of “Best of” or “Worst” list for the year and yes, I am no exception. Here are my Top 10 Favorite Albums that were released in 2011. It’s not based on popularity or overall sales or any kind of survey. This is just a list of what moved me in 2011 and let me tell you, it was hard narrowing it down to 10.

10. Peter Gabriel – New Blood: This album contains orchestral re-workings of songs spanning Peter’s career. The songs really take on a whole new life with this rich production and help to re-emphasize how prolific of a songwriter Gabriel really is.

9. Five Finger Death Punch – American Capitalist: Ivan and the boys returned with a huge album this year as it entered the Billboard Top 200 in the Top 10. Of course, there with many who cried “sell-out” when this album was released and it appealed to the masses. I think there is still plenty of aggression there on many tracks just like in earlier releases. Maybe it’s the fact that there are two songs that would fall under the “ballad” label. Regardless, these guys have worked very hard to get to the level that they are at right now and deserve the success they are experiencing.

8. The Foo Fighters – Wasting Light: What a huge year for the Foos! A huge album, a successful tour that included playing alongside many of their idols including Alice Cooper, Roger Taylor of Queen, Joan Jett and John Paul Jones, just to name a few. They received 6 Grammy nominations too! Earlier in the year, they were the musical guests on SNL and Dave even appeared in one of their skits.

7. Sixx A.M. – This Is Gonna Hurt: Nikki’s “side project” just seems to keep getting bigger and bigger. The follow-up to the hugely successful Heroin Diaries came blazing out of the starter’s gate and hasn’t slowed up. “Lies of the Beautiful People” was a huge hit and got the fans clamoring for a tour, even though Nikki has stated that the band is not suppose to be a touring band. I guess time will tell!

6. Anthrax – Worship Music: 1/4th of the Big 4 and one of the pioneers of thrash metal who have been an active force in music for almost 30 years. 2011 saw them release what many have called their defining album. Worship Music saw the return of Joey Belladonna and a return to more of their trademark, classic sound. The band sounds fresh and refocused and their album was met with raving reviews from fans and critics alike. They also played 2 US dates with the Big 4 including a show at Yankee Stadium. The band then ventured out on a very successful headlining tour with Testament as support.

5. Shinedown – Somewhere In the Stratosphere: The band released this as a 2CD/DVD combo with one CD/DVD being an all electric show and the other CD/DVD being an all acoustic show. It was also released in a single CD/DVD combo so the customer could choose which show they would rather have. I love both shows, but the acoustic show is just something magical. Lead singer Brent Smith introduces each song and tells the origins of how the song came about. To take these songs and to strip them down acoustically just shows how special these guys truly are. The music is amazing, but this allows the storyteller side of Brent to truly shine.

4. Adele – 21: Although radio overplayed “Rolling in the Deep” to the point of over toleration, I am still a huge fan of this album. I was sold on Adele with her first album 19 and this just made me an even bigger fan. Her cover of the Cure’s “Lovesong” is just incredible. She appeared on the David Letterman show earlier this year and I was totally blown away with how powerful her voice was live. It was a bit alarming when I heard that she was undergoing throat surgery this year. I mean she is just in her twenties and shouldn’t be having such problems at an early age. All that smoking must have really taken its toll on her! She ended the year by releasing a CD/DVD combo Live at the Royal Albert Hall that really showcased just how special this talented singer truly is.

3. Warrant – Rockaholic: The “down boys” returned in a major way with their first album since Born Again in 2006 and with a new vocalist too. Former Lynch Mob vocalist Robert Mason took over vocal duties on this one and it was a great fit for everyone. The album was reminiscent of that old 80s sound, complete with power ballads, but it still managed to sound current. The first single “Life’s a Song” got the attention of quite a few fans, both young and old. The band didn’t commit to a full tour in 2011, but they did play quite a few live dates.

2. Kopek – White Collar Lies: This Irish trio came out of nowhere in 2011 and created a major buzz. Their debut album White Collar Lies is good, ole fashioned rock and roll and blues with catchy riffs and choruses and meaningful lyrics that show this band is far beyond typical or predictable. They released videos for the title track and “Love is Dead” that were soon all over the internet and other video outlets. They secured the opening spot on the Hinder/Saving Abel/My Darkest Days tour early in the year. Even though they played to venues that were only half full at the most given their early slot, they won crowds over on each stop of the tour.

1. Duran Duran – All You Need is Now: The Wild Boys, minus Andy, returned with an album that saw them return to their old school sound thanks to the production efforts of Mark Ronson. He has been a fan of Duran for a very long time and wanted them to record the “Son of Rio”. The album definitely had that classic Duran vibe to it with John Taylor’s trademark bass providing the backbeat and Nick Rhodes’ countless layers of synth melodies. The band released it exclusively on iTunes for a few months before releasing a physical copy to the retail stores and online. The album debuted at number one on the iTunes charts all around the world. The band went out on a successful tour only to be cut short when Simon suffered from a throat ailment. The band later returned to make up the dates that were cancelled. They even performed a highly viewed concert broadcast on VEVO that was directed by the renowned David Lynch. The second single and video released, “Girl Panic”, caused a bit of a media sensation as it starred several iconic female supermodels that each portrayed a different member of the band. The video was even banned in certain markets for being “too sexy” if you can believe that! The guys have proven that they still have plenty of creativity in them after 30 years of creating countless classics.

So, there you have it! My personal Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2011. You may agree with some and you may disagree too. If you haven’t heard any of these, then I encourage you to take a little time out of your busy schedule and stop and listen to them. Who knows, you may actually get turned onto something that at first you thought you would never like. I hope to see you back here in 2012 to see what that year brought us in music!

Papa Roach Pledges Their Rock Allegiance

2011-10-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

The Rock Allegiance Tour is a new tour package this year featuring a bunch of old
friends and touring mates. It also features quite a bit of familiar “radio
hits” for a rock show. Papa Roach is one band responsible many of them. Jacoby
and the boys are co-headlining the tour with Buckcherry. I was fortunate to
catch lead guitarist Jerry Horton in between a meet and greet with fans and
dinner at a show in Winston Salem, NC recently. Jerry caught me up to speed
with the goings on in the world of Papa Roach.

Hey Jerry, thanks again for taking the time this afternoon to talk to us. I know things have been a little hectic with the meet and greet and sound check and
everything. I am sure that not every day on the tour is this hectic. How have
things been so far?

Yeah, today has been a little hectic! I just met someone at the meet and greet who is coming to see us seven shows in a row. That’s amazing! The tour has been going really well and we have been playing to about 5000-6000 fans each night. We’re good
friends with all the bands on the tour and it’s been a lot of fun. This is the
first time that we have actually been able to have a set on stage too. The
feedback is that overall; it’s a really good show.

You guys are still touring off of Time for Annihilation. Have you begun to look forward to the next album?

Oh yeah,this is the last tour for this record cycle and we are going to take a month
off and start writing for the new record. We will probably take about six
months to write and record this time. We usually take about three months for
the entire process, but we’re going to take our time and make sure everything
is right.

Do you have a time frame that you are shooting for as far as a release goes?

We are hoping to have it out by fall of next year. That’s what we are shooting for.

This tour is a new package deal this year. Do you have any say so on a package like this or do you just go where the suits tell you to?

We have a little say so on something like this. There are the people who own the rights to the name of the tour and they did approach us and asked for our input on who should be on it. I think this tour is an amazing package; there are a ton of
radio hits up and down the entire package.

You guys are alternating with Buckcherry on closing the show each night, so you guys both get an hour. How tough is it to pick a set list when you only have that short of an amount of time?

It’s basically all of the radio songs; that’s what it ends up being with a short set
like that. Obviously, it’s a lot better when we have time to do a full set, but
it is what it is.

You guys tour like crazy when you release an album and you seem to stay on the road forever. What are the best and worst parts of being on the road?

The best part is the show and the worst part is being away from family.

What about the food? You guys seem to be in great shape and that has to be tough with eating on the road.

Yeah, the food can be quite treacherous at times. You have to try and be choosey, but
it’s not always an easy thing to do. I have a weakness for cheesecake and
Reeses peanut butter cookies. I definitely need to stay away from the dessert
table!

You have been out with Buckcherry several times in the past and there seems to be a great family type atmosphere to things. What’s it like being out with those guys?

We’re all really good friends and get along great. It’s funny because we keep saying that we all wouldn’t mind not seeing each other for a while. We do love being on the
road with them, but it would be nice to tour with someone else (laughs) for a
while.

I have a few questions that the fans sent me to ask you. What’s your favorite 80s metal/rock album?

That’s a really tough one. I would probably have to go with Metallica And Justice for All. That’s the album that got me into playing guitar.

Favorite guitarist?

I can’t name just one. If I had to pick a couple it would have to be James Hetfield and Jimi Hendrix.

Favorite drummer?

I would have to go with Abe (Cunningham) from the Deftones.

Most underrated band of any era?

Kings X, without a doubt. I have a funny story about Doug (Pinnick) from Kings X. We played at this place called Warehouse Live in Houston and our tour manager was outside where everyone was lined up. He did like a double take and saw Doug in line for the show. They know each other and he yelled at him and asked him what he was doing and Doug said, ‘I’m going to a rock show!’ Then our manager jerked him out of line and let him in. He was just going to buy a ticket like an average Joe and see us play. That was a huge honor for us!

What about any guilty pleasures that you can share?

I am obsessed with cars to the point that it’s like porn for me. I can tell you just
about anything about the. I’m a gear head because my dad did drag racing when I
was younger and it just worked its way into my brain.

If the band gave you the chance to cover any song on the next album, what would you choose to do?

We have talked about this before. We have tossed around the idea of covering “Thunder
and Lightning” by Thin Lizzy. I think I need to learn that solo in order for
that to happen. John Sykes is a force to be reckoned with.

Wow, that would definitely be awesome to hear. I hope you get that solo nailed so that it sees the light of day. I guess we should wrap this up now so that you guys can get ready. Thanks again for your time Jerry. I can’t wait to see you guys tear it up tonight!

Josh Todd of Buckcherry Talks Rock and Roll and Fried Chicken

2011-10-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

The Rock Allegiance Tour rolled out onto America recently with a lineup worthy of a very long night of maximum rock. Buckcherry is co-headlining the tour with Papa
Roach. The tatted bad boys from L.A. have been bringing their style of slick
and sometimes raunchy rock each and every night and exciting crowds across the
US on this tour. I caught up with front man Josh Todd before their set in
Winston Salem, NC recently. We talked about AC/DC, opening for KISS and fried
chicken.

Hey man, I want to start off by saying thanks for taking the time to do this interview. The Rock Allegiance tour is a new package this year. How have things been so far?

It’s been going great! We’ve been touring for our record All Night Long since July of last year, so this is just a small leg of our tour for that album. We’re about 200shows deep. We’re a little tired, but other than that, the shows have been going awesome.

You guys are like a touring machine after you put an album out. You seem to have that old school mentality of hitting the road and staying on it seemingly forever after you have a new album drop.

Yeah, that’s how we built our fan base and our reputation off of the live show. That’s how real rock bands do it; you go out and play live.

So, after this tour end, you guys will be taking part in the Ship Rocked cruise. What can you tell us about that?

We’re doing like three shows or maybe more. I really don’t know that much about it other than it goes on annually and they have been doing it for a while now. They have
been after us to participate, but this is the first time that it actually
worked out with our schedule. It’s going to be a mess; people just hammered
24-7.

How did signing with 11-7 Music change you guys? Did it free you up and give you more creative control? What was behind the decision to go with them?

11-7 was actually created for Buckcherry. We were the first band to be on it so that we could put an album out. Our manager created it because at the time, nobody
would sign our record 15, which was our highest selling record of all that we have put out. It’s a great story because since we couldn’t get a proper record deal in the states, he started a record label for us. We were the first record and the rest is history. Now, there are all sorts of great bands on the label. It’s just so good to be independent. Basically, a major record label is really just a bank. If you are just starting out and don’t really have a fan base built up yet, a major label can get you on a bill and get tour support. Once you’ve established that base, the way to go is independent. You have more control over everything.

You mentioned All Night Long, which came out in 2010. Are you guys writing or working on any new material yet? With all of your touring, have you even had any time to do so?

We’re thinking about doing a concept record, so we have some ideas in the works.
We’ve been writing some songs, but we have to see how it’s all going to come
out. I think it’s going to be really cool.

Wow, a concept record? That definitely has my curiosity peaked. I can’t wait to hear that. Speaking of curious, I wanted to ask how it was opening up for KISS back in 2009.

It was amazing! That was actually the second KISS tour that we got to go on. We got to open up for them in Europe on our first record. We did a whole tour with them,
24 dates, when they decided to put their makeup back on. We were a brand new
band, we had never been on arena stages and we had never been to Europe. It was
very intimidating, but we had such a good time on that tour. KISS is really
cool because they support real rock and roll bands and they were very cool to
us. They took us under their wing back then and we really appreciated it. Then,
we got the privilege to do it again on here in the States.

I know you guys caught a lot grief for the language that you use during your shows on that tour. I mean, it’s a Buckcherry show and it’s expected. You guys stayed true to yourselves and didn’t change.

Yeah, we did have a lot of problems with the profanity issue on that tour. I mean, I get it because a KISS show now is a family affair. We did our best to clean it up
some, but some of our songs do have profanity in them. I guess it’s just not
acceptable for us to be using it.

You have an hour to play tonight. How tough is it to trim your set list down to fit that time frame?

It is pretty tough because we just finished up doing headlining shows in July and August. Now, we have to condense it down quite a bit because we can’t play as long as
we would like to. The first week or so it takes some getting used to, but now
we’re having a blast out there.

A fan sent me a question to ask you. Are you listening to anything music that may surprise your fans?

I listen to all sorts of stuff. I just like good songs. I like music that
will motivate me. I like Neil Diamond. I just went through a major 70s Bruce
Springsteen phase. I am addicted to his song “Rosalita” right now. I’m really
into Rival Suns. They have two or three records out and they sound like a young
Led Zeppelin and they are awesome.

Here are a few other questions for the fans; best 80s metal/rock album?

AC/DC’s Back in Black; that album changed my life!

Most underrated band?

Do you mean right now or ever? There was a band that came out called Love/Hate and they were amazing, but they never really got a shot. They put out a record called Blackout in the Red Room. For me that record is right up there with Back in
Black and Appetite for Destruction for me. That’s one if you really love rock, then you should really visit that record. They deliver that stuff live perfectly. Jizzy Pearl, the singer, was such an influence on me early on. I would go to LA and see shows when I was like 16 and I had never seen a rock band. I mean, I never really go the glam bands like Poison and all those kind of glammy hair bands I never really got. Then, I saw Love/Hate and I thought this stuff is amazing. Jizzy was rad and he
still is.

Favorite food while you’re out on the road?

I really love fried chicken and I know that it’s probably going to kill me at some
point, but if I can find some good fried chicken, I’m going to go get it. I ate
at Bojangles because it was close to here and I just had to do it. After I’m
done, I’m like man I shouldn’t have done that.

Favorite drink?

Jack and coke.

I can’t think of a better way to wrap up this interview than with a great drink! Thanks for the chance to talk with you and I can’t wait to see you guys out on the stage tonight putting on a show like only Buckcherry can do.

80s Metal Goddess Still Throwing Horns After 25 Years

2011-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

The 80s saw metal explode into the mainstream and take over the radio airwaves and MTV. It was a period dominated heavily by androgynous men and very few women. The few women who did venture in this genre were seen more as eye candy or a novelty act. It was hard for a woman to be taken seriously as a musician during this time.
Germany brought us a heavy metal band by the name of Warlock and was fronted by a blonde warrior by the name of Doro Pesch. Although she was a beautiful woman, she also had a very strong and aggressive nature to her that has allowed her to endure for over 25 years.

Due to legal reasons, the band changed its name in 1989 and released its fifth album as Doro. She received a great deal of exposure on MTV and many of the metal magazines of that era including Metal Edge, Circus and Kerrang. Her album that was produced by Gene Simmons of KISS also garnered quite a bit of attention. Over the last two decades, Doro has continued to record and tour and has even ventured into acting.

This month sees the release of a special 2DVD/CD package entitled 25 Years in Rock. It’s a commemorative package of Doro’s 25th anniversary show from 2008 when she played the ISS Dome in her hometown of Dusseldorf, Germany. It was the 2500th show in her career and a very special day to all of those involved in her career. We recently caught up with Doro who told us all about the new release and reflected on her long career.

Doro, it’s awesome to be able to sit down and talk to you. Your must be very excited about your new album that’s about to come out. Can you give us some details?

Thank you for wanting to talk to me! I am so proud of this album that is coming out. The show is 3 ½ hours long and there are so many guests on there. Klaus and Rudolph from the Scorpions were there and Jean Beauvoir. We also have a lot of the great ladies of metal including Liv Jagrell, Jackie Chambers and more. The show is huge and it took 10 months just to build the stage. It is a visual treat; it’s the home of Warlock. You know how Iron Maiden had Eddie? Well, we had a huge warlock built that rose up behind the drum set. It had lights and smoke coming out of it and it actually scared some people.

I also read that you were going to be doing a few dates here in the states for the release?

Yes, there are two dates with one being 9/9 in New York City and one on 9/11 in Chicago. Those are two of our favorite places to play and we’ve always done really well there. Hopefully, we will be doing many more dates in the US after the new album comes out.

Your career is in its third decade. You have to have a lot of great memories along this crazy metal ride that you have been on?

Wow, there are so many of them. Where do I start? One would be playing with Megadeth in 1986 on the Monsters of Rock. Touring with (Judas) Priest in 86 is another and our 1987 tour with DIO. Then there was our first tour of the US with Megadeth. I loved recording my album in 1990 that Gene Simmons of KISS produced. He has been the best producer that I have ever had. He was a great motivator and he pushed me to achieve more. Did you know that Tommy Thayer, who is in the band now, was my co-producer on there? He also played a lot of the solos too. Gene brought me a demo of a song called “Unholy Love” that he was singing on and told me that he really wanted me to record it.

There weren’t too many women in metal when you started. The few who were seemed to be more eye candy or seen as a novelty act. Do you think you may have broken down a few doors for some of the women in the field today?

I really don’t know if I knocked down any doors, but I may have taught them how to always be a fighter. My fans have always said that my heart beats for metal. The people out there know I love doing this. The truth has always been in my music and it shows. Nowadays, there are so many more great women out there making music and it has brought more of a balance to the field.

You are and definitely always have been the real deal. How else would you still be doing this after over 25 years? How do you stay inspired? What keeps you motivated?

The fans always have and always will motivate me. I have a great fan base and I live for them. That’s one reason that I have never been married because of how important they are to me. I always have them in my heart and in the back of my mind.

Speaking of your fans, when can they expect some new material from you?

I am hoping, fingers crossed, to have my new studio album out next year. We already have been performing one song from it called “Raise Your Fists” which we opened Waken in Germany with it and the fans loved it. We have been writing for it and it’s going to have all the ingredients; heavy, hardcore, speed and lots of anthems. We will then be here in the states touring as much as we can and hitting as many markets as possible.

That sounds awesome and we can’t wait! Doro, thanks again for taking the time to chat with us. Here’s to 25 more years and a 50th anniversary DVD to come out in the future.

Talking Music With John Corabi

2011-10-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

John Corabi is one of those guys that everyone has heard of, yet nobody knows who he is. Well, don’t take that quite literally! John had been in numerous bands and projects, such as The Angora and The Scream, before landing his biggest mainstream gig as lead singer in Motley Crue. His stint with the Crue back in 1994 is still a controversial subject amongst the ranks of Crue fans.

John went on to form Union with Bruce Kulick, former KISS guitarist and also be a part of ESP: The Eric Singer Project which also included Kulick. John has been busy this year touring with Cinderella and performing a one-man acoustic show. This is to coincide with the recording of and eventual release of his first acoustic album. I had the chance to catch John’s acoustic set in Charlotte, NC and I got the opportunity to speak with him backstage afterwards about all things Corabi.

Hey John, it’s great to see you man. That was one amazing set that you just performed out there. You are one of those rare exceptions where a singer’s voice is actually better live than on the album. It has that rough edge to it, but is full of raw emotion. A very interesting set list too.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. Yeah, the set list is ever changing. I have so much that I can choose from. I want to throw in a Scream song and something from Union and of course the Crue. I also try to do a song or two from my upcoming acoustic album as well and some covers of songs I love.

Can you tell us more about the acoustic album that you’re working on?

Definitely! I am having a blast putting it together. It’s going to include acoustic versions of my old stuff and there will be about 5 or 6 new songs on there too. I was hoping to have it to sell on the tour, but it may not happen. I am doing this one by myself including releasing it because I have no label right now. The industry is going through such a crazy period right now that this seemed the best way of doing it.

What do you have lined up after the acoustic album comes out?

After I get the acoustic album finished in Nashville, I am going to work on putting out a regular, electric album with the band I am using. I have to work on that between my gigs this summer and hopefully have it out early next year.

I had the opportunity to interview Bruce Kulick at his BK3 release party at the KISS Coffeehouse. We talked about your collaboration on “No Friend of Mine” and the possibility of a full scale Union reunion.

I would love for us to get together and do something. It’s just tough to get all four of us free at the same time. I’m doing mine thing right now and Bruce is busy with Grand Funk Railroad. Jaime and Brent are busy guys too, but I am open to it.

Union put out some amazing music. Do you think the timing was wrong because of what was going on in the industry?

Maybe so because Union seems to have taken on a life all its own. I have had so many people come up to me and tell me how much they loved us. It seems to have grown over the years, almost like becoming a cult favorite. Maybe the market just wasn’t right for what we brought to it.

Almost like the album that you recorded with the Crue! There seems to be a line drawn in the sand when it comes to that album. You have one side saying it was the worst album that they ever recorded, yet the other side stands by it as their best album ever. Personally, I love it and think it’s some of the best material that they ever recorded and definitely some of the best songwriting.

Thanks man! It’s good to hear that from the fans because it seems as if Nikki just wants to forget that album even happened. It’s like they are sweeping it under the rug like there’s this big cover up. They don’t even include it on some of the greatest hits compilations that they put out.

I have to ask you John; you looked like you were having a blast up on that stage tonight. There you were with just the mic, your barstool and your acoustic guitar. You are so vulnerable up there in that type of situation. A few songs into your set and you had the crowd eating out of the palm of your hand. Was it as much fun for you as it appeared to us in the crowd?

Oh hell yeah! That’s what I love, that’s what I live for. I don’t think I could do a normal 9 to 5 job!

I think I can speak on behalf of all of the fans and tell you that we’re all glad that you don’t work 9 to 5.

Cinderella and John Corabi Deliver An Awesome Night Of Music

2011-10-05T05:36:00.000-07:00

There was something special in the air that night in Charlotte. You could just tell it was going to be a magical night. The Cinderella tour had pulled into town and the line outside started forming early in the afternoon. The small club was a far cry from “back in the day” when stadiums and huge arenas were being packed. Cinderella is celebrating their 25th anniversary on this tour and they prove that they haven’t missed a step.

The show started with John Corabi (Union, The Scream, Motley Crue) opening up for the band and getting the crowd warmed up. That’s a tough thing to do when all you have is a mic, a barstool and an acoustic guitar. Well, that an amazing passion for the art that you create. Corabi opened with “Love (I Don’t Need It Anymore)” from his former band Union which included former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick. He also included a couple of Scream songs including the amazing “Father, Mother, Son” which received a huge response.

“Hooligan’s Holiday” was next from his much underrated and sometimes missing in action album that he recorded as lead vocalist of Motley Crue. He also included a very of the Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” that was so heartfelt and full of emotion that it was truly moving. Corabi’s set was just that; it was real and genuine and from the heart. He shared great stories with us and brought the entire club together for his short set.

Cinderella stormed the stage next and ripped into “Once Around The Ride” from their debut album Night Songs”. This was the first time that I had seen the band since lead singer Tom Keifer’s throat surgery. His voice did seem a little strained at first; as if he didn’t take the time to warm up, but all that soon changed. “Shake Me” was next and the crowd’s reaction was as if gas had been poured on a once small fire. Their biggest hit being played two songs into their set has to speak volumes. Everyone knew at that point why there was something special in the air that night. We were about to be blown away by a band whose decade is seen as one full of bad songs and bad fashion choices.

The set list for the remainder of the night read like a Cinderella’s greatest Hits album. “Somebody Save” me brought back memories of watching MTV to see the great music videos that Cinderella always made. I have to add that the songs did not sound dated; they had a very fresh sound to them and the boys delivered a solid performance on each and every one. Tom commanded that center stage and kept the banter to a minimum, but the rock and roll output to a maximum.

The stage went dark and the roadies rolled out a beautiful piano and the lighters went up in the air. Yes, a few cell phones did too, but it doesn’t compare to a sea of lighters. The crowd knew that Cinderella’s power ballad “Don’t Know What You Got (Til It’s Gone)” was next and it was such a great moment when Tom sat down at that piano and began the song. The band left the stage, but returned a short time later to the roar of the frenzied crowd. “Long Cold Winter” and “Shelter Me” were the encore song choices and the band then did a bow to the crowd and thanked them for 25 years of good times.

What we saw on this special night was not a band just going through the motions. They seemed hungrier than I remember when I saw them open for Bon Jovi back in 1987. It was a show heavy in substance and light in style. One problem with so many bands from that era was that they were just the opposite. Cinderella did have a great lightshow that night, but there were no props used that night. It was a night of pure musicianship and talent.

There are a lot of bands out on the road these days who act as if we, the fans, owe them something. They stand on the stage like mannequins and they seem like they are bored. These are both young bands and bands who have been around long enough to know better. Today’s economy stinks and for some of these people to fork out money for a concert ticket and not get their money’s worth is downright disrespectful. With that being said, I feel like I owe John Corabi and Cinderella more than what the ticket sold for because that was a steal!

L.A. Guns: Still Sleazy After All These Years

2011-09-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

L.A. Guns burst upon the metal scene in 1988 with their self titled debut album. There were plenty of pretty boy metal bands around, but L.A. Guns were different. They were cocky and sleazy and didn’t want to fit the mold of the bands who were garnering plenty of airplay. That debut, featuring the video hits “Sex Action” and “One More Reason”, was certified gold with sales of 500,000 copies and the band had made an impact on the music scene.

1988 saw the follow up Cocked and Loaded released and it went on to be certified platinum with sales of one million copies. It also featured the bands only Top 40 hit “The Ballad of Jayne”. Their third album, Hollywood Vampires, was released in 1991 and then things started to turn sour.

Grunge started to infect the industry and that movement became the new “favorite” and it seemed as if that was the prime focus of the industry. Internal problems saw numerous personnel changes and soon the band split into two separate entities, but both using the name L.A. Guns. One version featuring founder Tracii Guns and another featuring lead singer Phil Lewis continued to tour abroad.

I was fortunate to talk to lead singer Phil Lewis before his version of L.A. Guns took the stage in Winston Salem, NC before a packed house of rabid fans.

Hey Phil, it’s awesome to be able to finally talk to you. You guys are out playing dates and showing a whole new generation of kids why you guys were the masters of sleaze rock. How’s this tour going so far?

Well, this is not really like a tour; at least not by the conventional definition of preconceived notion of what a tour is. I mean, we don’t all pack up on a bus and travel the road going from city to city. We mostly play Thursday through the weekend and then we fly back home and sleep in our own beds. I think we have become the poster boys for South Western Airlines! It’s really hard to find a decent show during the weekdays, so we focus on the weekend. With that being said, we have been having a blast. Detroit was awesome and so was Chicago, but there were a few shows in Dakota that weren’t very good. We’ve always done really well in Virginia and North Carolina, so we are glad to be coming back to play. It’s definitely been a while since we played here.

There certainly seems to be a lot of young people at your shows. I think some may be kids of parents who grew up on you guys, but a lot of them just absolutely love that era.

Oh, absolutely! That era, the 80s, was such a fun time. We were all playing dress up and guys really wanted to be in a band and the girls wanted to be with those guys! Then, grunge came along and killed it all. I mean, who still listens to grunge anymore? The young people out there don’t want to hear about all that doom and gloom. They want to have a good time!

Ok, let’s just jump right into this. I have been seeing a lot of posts when L.A. Guns dates are posted. It seems one of the first questions is ‘Which version is it? Is it Phil’s or Tracii’s?’ I have to ask because so many fans want me to ask you. Where do things stand with Tracii?

Tracii walked out on us, he quit, during a photo shoot for Waking the Dead. He left because of his side project, Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. Tracii seemed to think that was going to lead him to becoming the Crue’s lead singer. We decided to move forward. We recorded three more records and toured for them. The whole thing has worked for us in a way because it has created a sort of curiosity factor. We don’t want Tracii back, we are doing just fine doing things our way. I do wish him well and I wish that he would do something. His last version of the band was playing a lot of covers of Hendrix and Zeppelin material. We tend to play all L.A. Guns material; we primarily focus on the first four albums.

I have read the message boards online when it comes to you guys and the fans do prefer “Phil’s version” as they tend to call it. Your current lineup with Scott (Griffin), Stacey (Blades) and Steve (Riley) have such great chemistry together. Is there any chance of new material from you guys in the near future?

The industry is so different right now and it’s in such a state of change. There has been so much irreparable damage done and it’s ongoing. I really don’t see us putting out a new album anytime soon because it just costs so much. There’s very little money being made by selling CDs these days. It’s very hard as an artist to pour your heart and soul into making your music and then have it leak out early and people get it for free. After it does come out, you can download it for a buck or two, which is crazy. I see these bands selling a song for 89 cents and to me that comes across as a little needy and desperate. The money these days is on touring and that’s what we will focus on until the market picks up. Don’t get me wrong, we would love to release some new material, but we just can’t justify it at the moment. I am hoping that vinyl makes a re-emerge and it looks like it slowly is. There is a whole generation who has missed out on that. Vinyl was such an experience.

I can totally relate to that! There was a smell to vinyl and to have that big piece of art in your hands. It was not uncommon to spend hours in a great record store discovering things.

Exactly! That is lost on the youth of today. They can download an album to an MP3 and there is no cover, no liner notes, no artwork, nothing but the music. They are missing the total experience.

So, with all of these changes in the industry, how do you keep motivated and focused after doing this for over 20 years?

Well, all I know is that we have a great band right now and we’re having a blast. The audience loves it and the turnout at our shows keeps growing. That’s inspiring to us. We are seeing two generations and sometimes even three at our shows! I love traveling with these guys too. You can call it what you want. Call it hair metal, sleaze rock, cock rock, whatever, but you have to have a sense of humor about it. I mean, we’re not trying to be Phish out there. The day that it stops being fun, that’s when I will call it quits.

I have two quick questions from the fans if you don’t mind. The first pertains to your classic power ballad and one of my all time favorite songs ‘The Ballad of Jayne’. If you look it up online and research it to see who it is about, on sites such as Songfacts.com, you will see that most people say it’s about Jayne Mansfield. I don’t think it is at all. Can you clear this up?

That’s silly; it’s not about her at all. It’s about a fictitious character, but I based it on so many of these young girls who leave their small towns and go out to LA to become a star. I went into a coffee shop and up on the wall were all of these 8x10 headshots of people who you have no idea who they are. They all came in there with their bags packed and a dream of making it big. For most of them, it didn’t work out. That’s what the song is really about. I did re-write the lyrics a bit after our friend Jani Lane passed away and played it at a few shows in his honor. I called it ‘The Ballad of Lane’.

One last question, do you have any guilty pleasures that would surprise even you most hardcore fans?

Well, I guess it would be that I like going to cat shows. I just recently rode my bike down to Santa Monica and went to one. There are all sorts of types of cats there and cat toys. The people there are pretty great too. I had a great time there.

So, when it’s all said and done, what do you want people to look back and remember you for?

I was a working class kid who came from nothing and made it. I had no musical background and I made something of myself in the music business. I don’t have a big mansion or a fancy car because I don’t care about all of that. I’m the real deal.

Bulletboys Refuse To Phone It In

2011-09-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

The Bulletboys emerged on the metal scene in 1988 in a sea that was oversaturated with bands. The guys did stand out from the crowd. They did have the hair and the attitude, but the makeup was minimal. They also had a sound that stood out from the rest and a charismatic lead singer who would start drawing some unwanted comparisons.

The band’s debut self-titled album was released in 1988 and came out of the gates blazing. It contained two huge MTV hits (yes, back when you actually could see music videos on the channel) “For the Love of Money” and “Smooth Up in Ya”. The combination of being produced by Ted Templeman of Van Halen fame and the on-stage comparisons of lead singer Marq Torien to David Lee Roth lead to an unfair stigma. The band was quickly labeled as a Van Halen clone and that seemed to follow them wherever they went.

The band saw many lineup changes throughout the 90s, but Marq was determined to keep the band going and he kept marching on. The band has continued to record and tour throughout the years. Now, with a new generation hungry for the sound and feel of the 80s, the Bulletboys are gaining a whole new audience. I had the privilege of sitting down to talk with lead singer Marq Torien after a hot and sweaty show in Roanoke, Virginia recently.

Hey Marq, how’s it going man? That show tonight was just amazing. You guys looked like you were having a blast up there on stage and it was very infectious to us in the crowd.

Thanks man! We were having fun up there; that was genuine. There are too many bands out on the road today who just “phone it in”. They either try to fake it on stage or they stand up there with a major attitude and act like you owe them something. That’s just not us man. I am doing this for my kids, so I can leave some type of legacy for them. It’s been pretty tough her of late with Jani (Lane) passing away and all. That really hurt, it hit me pretty bad. I mean, we’re all getting a little older and you look up and see that one of your fellow rockers has passed away. Amy (Winehouse) passed away too and she was such a good gal. She loved my voice. We had a couple of really cool chats. These artists get ridiculed all the time now. We use to revere our artists and that’s not happening anymore.

There seems to have been a lot of greats in the industry who have left us too soon in the last few years. How do you keep it together and keep marching on?

I feel very fortunate and very blessed. God has blessed me and people can say what they want, but he has enabled me to carry on with what I love doing. I’m a musician man and I think that if you are able to bring something musically that’s relevant and people want to hear it, then you keep going. I love our audience and it’s not a fan thing anymore because these people are our family. I get a chance to see people that I have been seeing for years and I have seen them grow up and get married and have kids and now their kids are fans too. We’ve always been a kind of underground hard rock band. I mean, we’ve sold millions of albums, but we never made it to that next level. We didn’t follow trends. We were never a ballad band even though it seemed like every band from that era was doing ballads. That was purposely done on our part because we were against those bands that did those just to get signed.

Let’s talk about those early days because I have always wanted to ask you about this. The whole “Van Halen Junior” label or clone or whatever you want to call it. How unfair was that?

Well, it was great working with Ted. That cat had worked with the Doobie Brothers and Van Halen and Van Morrison and he taught us so much stuff. I mean, we were young teenagers and out of control and he just kind of let us do out thing. The Van Halen comparisons were really appreciated and we threw our arms around it and loved it, but it was a double edge sword for us because we were not that. We were this aggressive, piss and vinegar rock band that hated the Sunset Strip. We wanted nothing to do with that! We played the Troubadour and that was our home. We were a different band. We were a mix of a lot of things. Here is this R&B, hard rock soul singer and surfer/skater type guy with Lonnie, here’s Nick who loves metal, but can also write a pop song and here’s Jimmy who is hardcore. You mix all of that up and we had a unique sound. We were way less of a hair band and more like this weird cartoon character coming to life.

I agree with you because your sound did have a different edge to you that was unlike anything out there. Your voice was very distinct.

Thanks man! I wasn’t that typical rock and roll screamer guy. I have a Motown base to my sound. I worked, at an early age, with a Benny Medina and Kerry Ashby Gordy, who was Berry Gordy’s son. I met some amazing people and worked with some great people in the Motown family and not too many people in my genre can say that. They taught me to be humble with my talent and I wish I would have done that more in my early career.

You had copies of your 10cent Billionaire CD here tonight. That thing seems to be taking on a second life. I think it’s one of your best and definitely much underrated.

Thanks man! It’s a bizarre story behind it. I was signed with the label and when the recession hit the poor guy’s company went down and he couldn’t get behind it and push it. The record basically went away. We are resurrecting this record, with help from friends and family, and people seem to be loving it. People are just starting to hear it now. It’s been out for over a year and a half and got shuffled to the side. We had some people who were coming out to the last tour who were practically begging us to play some material from it. So, we did and people were singing along with it and actually knew all of the words. The reaction was so strong and we looked at each other and especially Lonnie was like ‘We need to go out and do this record. Let’s forget the old and move forward.’ So, that’s what we did. Even the response tonight was great to the songs we played off of it. We’re basically dusting it off and making people more aware of it again.

There seems to be a hunger for the 80s and the music from it. It was such a fun period that gets raked over the coals, but here we are 25 years later and a lot of these bands are finally getting some props. Have you noticed that while out on the road?

Yeah, I think a lot of times people think of our genre with a lot of contempt. I look at it as something that will never, ever happen again. Everybody was their own person. You had Axl Rose, Sebastian Bach, Mark Torien, Taime Down, Phil Lewis. We all had our own vocal style. That small bit of time carries on until this day and a lot of people still are into that music. People really want to hear rock; real people singing it and playing it. I think you notice that in popular music too. Lady Gaga, a brilliant lady who is so full of love and her music is just amazing. She has guitar players ripping real solos up there and that’s rock and roll. She doesn’t use tapes, she is a real artist. People don’t want to hear tapes and pre-recorded stuff, they want the real deal. That’s what we were and continue to be to this day. Yeah, I may miss a note every now and then and somebody may ask me why I didn’t tune up. I mean, did Keith Richards tune up? Hell no! That’s rock and roll man! Don’t phone it in man. Like tonight, my guitar strap completely fell off! Nowadays, kids panic on-stage when that happens, but you have to roll with it. If it’s too real and polished, then it’s not real rock and roll.

So, what’s next for you guys?

We are going to be doing more shows here in the states and then over to Australia by the end of the year. I’m excited because I have never been there. I hope it works out because there are a lot of fans over there with a lot of love in their hearts for us. I am also looking at making some additions to the band. I may add some back-up singers and maybe a keyboardist. You have to constantly re-invent yourself.

I have to tell you Marq, the show was awesome and this interview has been a blast. I can’t wait to see and hear what you guys have lined up for us next. Is there anything you to say to your fans to wrap this up?

I feel great that the fans give me a chance to be out here still doing what it is that I love to do. It’s been a wild ride and I am glad it’s not ending. We’re out driving 10-12 hour drives between cities to these shows, but I love it. There are a lot of people out there who want to see the band and I want to reach them all. Thank you for wanting to see us after all of these years.

UPDATE: There have been a few major things that have happened in the world of the Bulletboys since this interview. The band lost a former band mate and friend in August when former drummer Johnny G. was killed in a car accident.
On a lighter note, the Bulletboys just released a covers CD entitled Rocked and Ripped.

In This Moment: Closing The Chapter On The Star Crossed Wasteland Tour

2011-08-31T09:43:00.001-07:00

In This Moment is a band that doesn’t just sit back and relax after releasing an album. They have that old school mentality of proving yourselves life. Each release sees the band hit the road and tour endlessly. The have played everywhere from the Garden in New York City to quite a few “dumps” as they pursue their dream.

The band has played festivals such as Ozzfest and Mayhem that you would easily associate them with. In 2009, the band decided to try a different approach to touring and signed on board for the Vans Warped Tour. A brave mood on their part considering that they stood out like a snowflake in the summertime compared to the majority of the bands there. It was a smart move and gave them major exposure to a lot of people who may not have listened to them before or even those who had no clue as to who they were.

Well, the summer of 2011 saw the band take that same approach as they geared up for the first All-Stars Tour. One look at the roster and many were thinking the inclusion of In This Moment was a typo. Their style of music is a far cry from the “breakdown, breakdown, scream, scream, breakdown” style of many of those on the bill. Yet, it was another similar opportunity to expose their music to a new audience. We caught up with Chris Howorth and Travis Johnson on their stop in Charlotte, NC to talk to them about the tour and what’s ahead for In This Moment.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: The tour has been going on for a few weeks now. I guess you’re about 2/3 of the way through it. What are your thoughts so far?

In This Moment: This tour seems to have been going on for a long time. It’s 36, 37 days; it’s like a mini Warped Tour. There are a lot bands, a lot of activity, a lot of disorganization and stuff. It’s definitely been hectic for us, but it’s also the ending of the tour cycle too, so we want to give it the best we can. Richmond (Virginia) was a great show, probably one of the better shows. The East coast has been ruling over the West coast on this tour. Well, we haven’t actually hit the West coast but the mid west and Texas and places like that are usually good for In This Moment. With this tour, it’s a different lineup of bands and we really don’t fit in that much with them. We’re really the odd ball on the whole tour, but we noticed that on the East coast that doesn’t matter at all. We’re being very well received by all the people there.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: What about Detroit the other day? Doesn’t seem like there was a lot of love in the house for you guys at that show. Do you want to talk about that?

In This Moment: No, it’s cool. We can talk about it. Like I said before, we’re definitely the odd ball band on this tour and it’s a “scene” type of tour where by “scene” I mean these kids are really young and they like what their friends like. If you’re not the bands that they like with the breakdowns, then they don’t want to support the show. They don’t want to give you applause or anything. They just want to stand there and be mean until the band that they want to hear comes on. Detroit was one particular show where Maria got particularly fed up with it and told the whole place to “F” off. It does get annoying and we do apologize to our fans because we have our fans that come out to all of the shows. Some of these places it seems like our fans are dwarfed by the scene kids. Now, she’s giving a speech every night now about supporting the whole tour. We come from the hard rock, heavy metal world and those people come out and support the entire show and even if the band isn’t their favorite band, they won’t be rude to them.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: You guys get roughly 30 minutes to play, which averages out to about 5 songs. How hard is it to narrow it down to just 5?

In This Moment: It can really be a pain in the butt sometimes because everyone has what they think will be the best for this particular type of audience. Throughout the history of the band, what I think and what Maria thinks has been two clashing things. We also play a few shows and see if we need to make any modifications to the list also, but we’ve pretty much had the same set list on this entire tour.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: What can you tell me about the new CD that you’re working on?

In This Moment: We’re just writing and doing little demos here and there. We got into the studio in January. We’re just preparing as much stuff as we can now before we go in. Kevin Churko is locked in again and we’re just looking at sticking to the same formula that we have been using, but we still want to grow so that it’s not the same record again. We’re shooting for a summer release in conjunction with the Mayhem Festival. We’re putting it out there pretty strongly because we really want to do that again.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: I saw online that Soundwave is cancelled. I guess that frees you guys up. What’s on your agenda?

In This Moment: Yeah, I was really bummed that it got cancelled. All of our Australia and Japanese plans are out the window now. All it really means for us is that we are really going to focus on the new record and make sure it has the best songs possible. The only other thing we have lined u is the Shiprock cruise in November.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: So Chris, are you going through gaming withdrawal on this tour?

In This Moment: I usually get some gaming time while we’re out on the road. The last three tours that we did I had my X-box with me and we had a different crew on those tours too. They were some of my gaming buddies and some of them aren’t here anymore. I could have brought my X-box with me this time, but I just chose not to. I love it though; I’m just going to wait until I get home. We can’t get online on the bus and I like to do the on line gaming more than the regular kinds, so I’m not going through withdrawals too bad.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Is there anything else that you want to throw out there for the fans?

In This Moment: We’re just looking forward to going back into the studio in January and start recording. We will probably be doing some touring in the spring before it comes out and then hooking up on a big, juicy tour like Mayhem hopefully. We loved doing it last year and we had a great experience. It’s definitely our audience!

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: That would be great to see you guys on there again. We will definitely put the word out there and keep our fingers crossed that it works out!

Earth Crisis Proving They Still Have A Great Deal Of Thrashing To Do

2011-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Earth Crisis have been around and creating music on the hardcore scene for many years now. There are a lot of members of bands on the scene now who were still wearing training pants when these guys started creating music. Earth Crisis have been very influential to a lot of new bands, even while not obtaining the broad commercial success and acceptance of a band such as Hatebreed.

The guys emerged in the early 90s and their 1995 debut album Destroy the Machines put them on the map. They gained some mainstream attention for their vegan, straight edge life style along and views, with theses beliefs being spread through their music. The band were creating a buzz and gaining a loyal following with such killer releases as the epic Slither before disappearing in 2001. The guys reunited in 2007 and released their comeback album To the Death in 2009. The sound had evolved quite a bit from the early days in the 90s, but it was still Earth Crisis.

This brings us to their new album Neutralize the Threat and the current state of Earth Crisis. The song writing on this release takes a bit of a different approach for the band. The theme seems to be less of the vegan, straightedge vain and more about vigilantism with such pop culture figures as Bernard Goetz and Black Panther Flores Forbes being referenced. The album kicks off with “Raise”, although short in length at well under two minutes, its chugging bass line hooks you immediately.

Karl Buechner brings his “A game” to the table on this album. This guy is relentless on each and every track with his brutal, guttural growls. Speaking of brutality, even though it is here in abundance, the band seems to have maybe toned it down just a slight bit as heard on their 2009’s To the Death. This not necessarily a bad thing as it does help to keep the songs sounding fresh. The title track and “Total War” are excellent examples of this.

Erick Edwards and Scott Crouse definitely show no signs of rust after all this time. The riffs that they provide are in no short supply as they chug along from track to track, yet not sounding repetitious. Don’t you just hate when some of your favorite guitar slingers start to do that after playing for so many years? It’s not like the fans won’t notice that the riff on track two sounds just like the riff on track four.

The standout tracks on this album far outweigh the ones that fall short of knocking it out of the park. “Askari” may be the strongest track on here. The brutality and intensity is there along with the songwriting. The riffs are jarring and fresh. This track may get stuck on repeat until intensity splits your skull, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

There are so many bands around today who owe a lot of what they are doing to bands like Earth Crisis. A band should give credit where credit is due and in way too many instances it doesn’t happen. We learn from our past and we are influenced in many ways by our past. This band has deserved such props for some time now and hopefully Neutralize the Threat will help them get that respect. If it’s aggressive, skull crashing, intense hardcore that you want, I think you will be pleased by this new album. I am sure there will be some “old school” Earth Crisis fans that will yearn for the “good old days”, but bands learn and grow and mature with the times. Check it out and let the skull crushing begin!

Arch Enemy Unleashes Chaos On It's Fans

2011-08-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

There are many one word labels that come to mind when discussing Swedish death metal veterans Arch Enemy: aggression, brutality, extreme. One word that pops into my mind would be “consistency”. The band has released nine studio albums beginning with their debt in 1996 Black Earth, and has consistently delivered to their fans impressive bodies of work. They have evolved and grown as a band, yet remaining true to a sound that converted many listeners into fans.

Their newest studio album Khaos Legions definitely ranks up there with the best work that they have created to date. The album kicks off with a short instrumental, the first of three, but really gets things charged up with the second track and first video “Yesterday is dead and gone”. An adrenaline charged assault of aggression on which the Amott duo shines. These guys pack a one, two punch of shredding wizardry that commands the listener to bow in their epicness.

Fans of Arch Enemy are expectant of the delivery of aggression from the band and this album is no exception to that rule. That element of the band shines through on songs such as “Vengeance is Mine” and “Cult of Chaos”. They remain true to the trademark sound of Arch Enemy, yet they manage to raise the bar with the technical riffs and hooks on both of these. A band has to continue to grow in order to thrive in this tumultuous industry and Arch Enemy proves that on this album.

There are two standout tracks in my opinion on this release. I absolutely love “Cruelty without Beauty” in all of its glory. Sharlee is a beast on this track and brings his drumming to a new level. The Amott’s are shred worthy gods on this one. These guys are not afraid to flat out wail away on the guitar. I also love the addition of the synthesizers on this track as they raise the bar and add a rich layer to this song. They are very effective, yet without becoming overkill. “Through the Eyes of a Raven” is similar in ways to “Cruelty” as it is an adventuresome song with many layers to it. The aggression is still there in full force and the hooks definitely pull you in and refuse to let go. The shredding is even bigger than the hooks on this one. A complex song that is full throttle from beginning until the acoustic conclusion, which definitely catches you off guard.

There has been a lot said as far as the vocals of Angela Gossow. I have read on fan boards that she is a “one-trick pony” and that the band relies on her too much to get attention. I am sure that most female fronted bands have gone through this, especially in the “metal” genre. I think her screams can be as fierce as any man in this genre, if not more. Is the complaint a fair one in this genre? I don’t think I have heard of a male singer who is told he needs to “scream it down a little” and show some versatility.

Overall, this new album was well worth the four wait. The band sounds tighter than ever and the song writing is top notch. The three instrumental tracks on here really don’t do much for me, but maybe other fans will like how they tie the songs together. Angela proves on her that she is not just “eye candy” and that she is a strong front woman and deserves some credit. I think her growls are gut wrenching and brutal.

I don’t know if you consider them extreme metal or melodic death metal, but the band are bringing their sound to the stage in the states for a series of dates. I encourage you to check out their new album Khaos Legions and try to catch their live show and see how this band can truly melt your faces live.

The Air I Breathe Come Out Swinging On Debut

2011-08-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

The music industry has always been a breeding ground for below par bands to jump on the coat tails of a popular genre and bleed it for all its creative worth until everyone is sick of hearing it. It happened in the 70s with disco. It happened in the 80s with hair bands. Now, the metal core scene needs to be aware of how history is prone to repeating itself. Yet, once in a while, a glimmer seems to shine through the sea of mediocrity.

A group of guys from New Jersey calling themselves The Air I Breathe have recently unleashed their debut album Great Faith in Fools onto the metal core scene. They have definitely created some waves in this somewhat stagnant pool of imitators. While not necessarily recreating the genre, TAIB show signs of uniqueness and creativity that are needed to keep the metal core scene thriving and fresh.

The opening track “The Inevitable” is a short track whose intro is an odd subway conjuring sound. The only line in this song pretty much sets the tone for the album, ‘When the world turns its back on you, turn your back on the f’n world”. That leads into “Take This to Heart” which begins with Tony Dougard’s guttural growls and the one-two guitar punch of Jesse Butler and Cam Baptisa. This song grabs you by the jugular and refuses to let go.

There are plenty of the quote unquote “traditional” elements of metal core throughout the album. The riffs are heavy and there are plenty of breakdowns to be found so as not to disappoint the enthusiasts. Yet, Cam’s blistering finger work is refreshing to the ear and a style that will surely elevate him to a higher level of guitar hero worthiness.

There are quite a few standout tracks on here. “The Life I Promised” and “Here’s To Letting Go” are two great examples of how this band is much stronger than what you usually get from a group’s debut effort. The guitar work is insanely solid and Tony does a great job mixing in clean vocals on the chorus to compliment the aggressiveness of his growls. “XIII” is a song that proves size doesn’t matter. It clocks in at less than three minutes, but it proves to be a song small in quantity, yet heavy in quality. If this doesn’t get you head banging, then there is not much hope for you and maybe you need to get back to your Top 40 fluffy songs.

Great Faith in Fools is a very strong album by TAIB and is much stronger than the label “debut” usually implies. Is there room for improvement? I would have to make note of the song writing and hope for a little meatier content next time. I’m not asking to reinvent the wheel, but give me something with a little more substance.
The Air I Breathe is a band to get excited about. A young band that puts out a debut this strong is one to keep an eye on. I do highly recommend it and I hope people who may grown bored with the metal core genre will give it an honest listen. It may just kick start your hunger for this flavor that you’ve grown tired of.

Iwrestledabearonce Continue To Defy The Word Genre

2011-08-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Iwrestledabearonce, also known to their fans as IWABO, is one of those bands that come along every so often that you listen to and scratch your head in disbelief. You question yourself, “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?” The five members of this Louisiana based band have taken the word genre and ripped it into shreds, while laughing hysterically the entire time. With an EP and one full length CD, they have managed to make people completely fall to their knees and worship them. Yet, they have made others rank them right up there with a visit to the dentist and visiting the DMV as things that they hate the most.

Their newest release is entitled Ruining It for Everybody and it seems as if the band that people either love or hate are not straying too far from their formula of intention. The band seems to be a bit more focused on this effort as compared to their full length debut entitled It’s All Happening. That album saw the band involve everything including the kitchen sink to create a cluster genre arrangement that almost defied description.

Ruining It for Everybody is definitely a progression for the band in some ways. I don’t really want to say that the band has “matured” on this release because their trademark sense of humor shows up in full force on here. Titles such as “You Know That Ain’t Them Dogs’ Real Voice” and “Karate Nipples” are an indicator that their sense of humor is still intact.

There are several surprises on the album. First and foremost would be the performance of lead singer Krysta Cameron. Her screams and growls that fans have come to know and love are still there, but her clean vocals will truly amaze you. Her singing voice is such a contrast to the aggressive nature of her normal vocal delivery. It is somewhat relaxing and goes to show that this girls chops, not karate but vocal, have really come a long way.

On “Deodorant Can’t Fix Ugly”, the band has branched out and included a gospel type choir on the song and believe it or not, it really works on this song. For a complete 180, “Karate Nipples” has a disco/techno breakdown in it too! “This Head Music Makes My Eyes Rain” is probably the one track that will baffle the true IWABO fans. It is quite somber and could be categorized by some as a ballad. I don’t think this will settle well with most fans even though it really showcases Krystal’s singing voice.

I do believe that IWABO has stepped their game up somewhat on this new album. Everything that fans have come to love about them is still left intact, but some aspects are only in moderation. There are still plenty of breakdowns, growls, random noises and humorous interjections. There are a few songs on here that are very short in length and do feel a little bit like filler material. Overall, I think the fans will love this new album. With its new found focus, some of the previous “haters” may actually switch sides and become fans of this unique band.

Devin Townsend Project Completes His Quadrilogy Journey

2011-07-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Canada’s Robert Townsend was like many other teenage metal heads in Canada. One day, he wanted to be on that stage rocking the masses. Well, here we are some twenty odd years later and not only is Robert rocking the masses; he has become one of the most respected musicians in the industry today. A man of diverse styles and tastes with one thing in common: maximum rock.

Robert’s early days included being the front man and creative mind for The Strapping Young Lads, then getting the opportunity to sing with axe legend Steve Via and also playing guitar in the UK band The Wildhearts. Over his twenty year career, he has released a catalog that runs the gauntlet in styles and is always far from being boring.

His much heralded quadrilogy has finally been completed with the release of two new CDs; Deconstruction and Ghost. They follow up the first two installments which include 2009’s Ki and Addicted. Those two releases saw Devin run the gauntlet in styles and make major steps in his career. These two new releases seem to be keeping in that vain. Devin set out on this emotionally therapeutic ride after giving up drinking and smoking four years and realizing how he was restraining himself creatively.

Part three is entitled Deconstruction and it is a thunderous assault of metal and the insanity that comes along with a Devin at his finest. The all-star loaded “who’s who” list of guests include Oderus Urungus (GWAR), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me), Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah), Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan) and others.

Devin always loves to include his sense of humor in his recordings and the title track is one example of such. It starts out with the sound of someone straining and then followed by the sound of a fart, yes a fart. That is followed up by the chanting of “cheeseburger” and you can hear that he is in rare form. Let that not take away from the sheer epicness of this track. The riffs on this track are heavy and intense and the drums follow them up and add to the intensity. Urungus from GWAR has a great appearance on this track vocally that just fits like a glove.

One track that seems to be getting plenty of initial reaction is the almost seventeen minute monstrosity called “The Might Masturbator”. Devin does provide vocals on this one, along with Puciato from The Dillinger Escape Plan. There are so many twists and turns on this song, both musically and vocally. It is one of the more interesting songs on the album and one that only Devin could pull off.

Overall, the album is aggressive and does vault from one style to another, but the main, consistent element is that Devin ties it all together and it is intense. It has everything from a full orchestra to an all-star list of guests to a choir to Devi supplying some of his best guitar work to date.

So, let us now look at the fourth and final installment in the quadrilogy. It is entitled Ghost and it is the complete opposite of Deconstruction in style, yet remaining just as complex and ballsy. It seems as if the madman style is gone and the softer side of Devin has made its way to surface. The outrageous lyrics and screaming vocals are gone and in their place are a calming sense of tone and vocal delivery.

The album could be best described as a venture in new age or relaxation music. It is a beautiful recording, but the brutality of Deconstruction is nowhere to be found. The thrashing electric guitar licks have been replaced with flutes, acoustic guitars and there is even a banjo on one track. This would be a hard sell to most metal heads, but I have to admit that it is just as good as anything Devin has ever done.
Devin mentioned in a press release for the two new albums that there were four key emotional pieces to his growth after giving up smoking and drinking and this album may represent the calmer, softer aspect of those emotions.

The songs are somewhat epic in length as several clock in around eight minutes in length. The songs showcase a delicate side of Devin that is just as metal in one sense as anything else he has ever done. His guitar work sets a tone of calmness and it seems to flow that way from track to track. A few songs such as the title track seem to pick up the pace just a bit, but the album is somewhat uniform in style.

So, how can the Devin Townsend Project release two albums on the same day that are such complete opposites of each other? If the listener would take the time to give both of these an honest listen, they would be able to tell that they are very similar in many ways. Most diehard Devin fans will listen to both, but the sad thing is that the average metal head will probably ditch Ghost for Deconstruction. It’s a shame because both albums are equally amazing and worthy of being heard.

The Black Dahlia Murder Unleash Ritual

2011-07-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Detroit’s The Black Dahlia Murder first assaulted our senses back in 2003 with their debut album Unhallowed. The band began crafting and soon established their uncompromising style of melodic death metal with that release. The band is set to release their fifth full length album Ritual and to also take their game of melodic brutality to a whole new level.

The band lost longtime guitarist John Kempainen before the recording of 2009’s Deflorate and saw Ryan Knight join the ranks. While that album was an epic release for the band, I don’t think Ryan’s full impact has been felt until now. A respected musician in his own right, Ryan has pushed the band and gave them a sense of comfort to try some new things that have been mere thoughts and ideas up until this point.

Admit it, if you are a long time fan of The Black Dahlia Murder, did you ever think that you would hear a string section or a piano on one of their albums? Well, unless they were blowing it up or torturing it? The opening seconds of the lead off track “A Shrine to Madness” will have you thinking you popped the wrong CD into your player. It opens with a dark and somber string section that erupts into the brutality we have come to know and love. The second track “Moonlight Equilibrium” jumps back into more of the classic sound that the band has established for themselves.

“Conspiring with the Damned” is somewhat of an interesting track. It’s a bit more melodic for the band, especially with the breakdown midway through. “Carbonized in Cruciform” shows experimenting again and this time it’s with a piano intro. It is short and a bit odd, but it works. Don’t worry though; I think they destroyed the piano shortly after this intro for it is not heard anywhere else on the album.
My personal favorite track on the album is one that shows a lot of growth for the band and really opens the door for continued expansion. The song is “Malenchanments of the Necros” and it may be the most complex and progressive piece that the band has ever attempted up to this point. A melodic change of pace with some very interesting guitar work, yet it still remains true to the aggressive nature of their sound.

“Blood in the Ink” closes the album and it is another complex number. I think this is another standout number for the band in which they stretch and go just outside the box a bit without alienating their longtime fans. The string section, found in the opener “A Shine to Madness”, is back, but used in a different way. The strings are interwoven throughout the song and are beneficial to the song in a major way. It adds depth to the song and helps to transcend it to a new level and shows that the band is more than just one dimensional.

Is there anything that I can say negative about this album? Well, I am sure that there will be some hardcore fans who do not take to the introduction of a piano or a string section. I applaud the band for trying something new and I also think that it really adds to the songs. The dueling guitars of Ryan Knight and Brian Eschbach are tighter than ever and sound refreshingly hungry on this album. Drummer Shannon Lucas has stepped up his game big time and sounds better than ever. The underrated bass playing of Ryan Williams is just as solid as ever and Trevor Strnad’s vocals have not lost a step in their brutal onslaught.

Ryan Knight has definitely brought something to the band that has re-energized them, not that they needed it, and pushed them to a new level. It is more apparent on this release then 2009’s Deflorate and that may be because the band has been together longer in this formation and become tighter as a unit. Lead singer Trevor Strnad said in a press release that this album was “the most focused Black Dahlia Murder strike of all time” and one listen should prove that sentiment to all of the fans.

Jaime St. James of Black N Blue: It May Not Be The 80s, But The Attitude Is Still The Same

2011-06-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

The 80s were known as the decade of excess. It seemed as if everything was over the top; the fashion, the music and the attitude. Jaime St. James could have been the poster child for that decade. He and his band Black N Blue seemed to have it all together. They blazed out of the gate strong with their self titled debut in 1984 and seemed destined for greatness. Their next three releases seemed to falter and soon they were lost in the oversaturation of “hair bands” that were popping up everywhere.

The band went on hiatus and ventured into different projects. Jaime actually took over the lead singer role in Warrant and recorded “Born Again” with them in 2006, but left in 2008. The fans knew that there was unfinished business with Black N Blue and had been craving new material from them for years. Their prayers were answered in 2011 when Black N Blue reunited, minus Tommy Thayer, to finish recording Hell Yeah. I had the privilege to talk to Jaime about this crazy rock and roll road that he has been travelling for close to 30 years.

I have to tell you what a privilege it is to sit down and talk to you. Black N Blue are back and stronger than ever and I have to say that Hell Yeah is an amazing CD.

Jaime: Thanks man! The reaction to the new album has been amazing. We have been getting input on my website and my Facebook page, plus the band’s page. It has just been over the top positive. I would say 80% to 90% of the feedback has been favorable. 10% have been ridiculously positive saying it should be album of the year!

This album has been a longtime in the making. Can you catch us up to speed on how it all went down?

Well, first I got a solo deal and I started writing material. I wrote “Hell yeah” and “So Long”, which both ended up on this new album. Then, I joined Warrant and it all got put on hold. The Warrant gig lasted a few years and I left and decided to finish my project. Well, it actually turned into a Black N Blue deal. It took eight years from start to finish, but there were four years that we didn’t do anything with it. The actual recording part of it only took a couple of months. We never lost sight and the end product is how we really wanted it to sound.

This album in my opinion, along with many of your fans, should have been released back in the day. I think it would have pushed you guys to that next level. I have to ask you a question, on behalf of the fans. How much did the “suits” have to do with your sound being more polished and commercial after your first album was released? You guys seemed to lose your rawness on your second album. It was a great album, but it wasn’t true Black N Blue.

We chose to work with Bob Rock and Bruce Fairbairn on our second album. They seemed to be taking us in a different direction. We had some other material like “Swing Time” and “Blame It on the Neighborhood”, but they didn’t want it on there. I guess we were being steered by the people that we paid a lot of money to in order to tell us what we already knew in our own minds. You and the fans are right; this IS the album that we should have released back then.

Do you think that your new label Frontiers may have underestimated how this was going to sell in its first week? I read many comments online on the release date that said people were having a hard time actually finding it in the stores.

Oh, absolutely! Amazon sold out of it by 8:00 AM on the day it was released! I heard from many fans saying that they got the last copy at the store they went to. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Frontiers is a great label, but I think they underestimated our fans.

Can you tell me about Shawn (Sonnenschen), your new guitarist? How did you guys get together?

It’s funny because Shawn has been with us for eight years and he is still considered the new guy! Whoop (Jeff Warner) and Patrick (Young) knew him and Patrick had actually played with him. They told me that he would be a great fit for us and that he could do the job and I trusted the guys. It looks like they were right.

I read on your website that you actually played drums on some of the tracks?

That’s right; I did play drums on the basic tracks. Pete (Holmes) loved it and told me to keep it on there. I told him that he could rerecord it if he wanted to, but he told me that he would play them the same way. That was a huge compliment for me! I was a drummer up until Black N Blue; that’s when I decided to be out front and be a lead singer. I love drumming, but lead singers get laid more!

Do you have any personal favorites on the album? Is there anything that you are exceptionally proud of?

I pretty much love everything on there. I think “Monkey” is an excellent opener and it really kicks ass. There are also a few surprises in there. The guys really wanted to include stuff like “Jaime’s Got the Beer” and I was ok with that. I really do like the lyrics in “Falling Down”; I think they’re really killer. We opened M3 with “C’mon” and the crowd loved it. I think “Hail Hail” will be added to the live show eventually.

You brought it up before I could. I wanted to ask how M3 went.

It was pretty amazing! The crowd started chanting our name before we even hit the stage, so we knew it was going to be good. We could feel their energy and they were glad to see us. It was a 45 minute set and it felt really good. We sold out of the new CD in 20 minutes!

What are your plans for a first video from the album and touring in support of it?

There really hasn’t been talk of a video just yet; we’re just seeing how things go. Frontiers may decide that they want to do one, but for now we are going to let the album do its work. There have been some radio stations that have added “Hell Yeah”, but we will have to wait and see. We have some live plans that we can’t mention just yet. We are up to touring, but we’re not going to pile up in a van and play dirty little clubs.

The industry has changed so much since you guys started back in the 80s. What are your thoughts on the state of the industry today?

Well, people are going to continue to download for free and it makes it tough on us. That’s just what happens, but it’s not going to stop us. It’s 2011 and that’s the reality of it. I was talking to Juan from Ratt the other day and he told me that our new album will never sell what it could sell and he’s right.

So, when it’s all said and done and you have done your last encore and it’s time to call it a day, what do you want the legacy of Jaime St. James to be?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I guess I would want people to remember that I never gave up. I kept chugging right along and never quit. Our band has always been the underdog, but we never gave up.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today Jaime. We can’t wait to see you guys tearing it up live. Do you have any last words for all of your fans?

I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming response to the new album. If you don’t have it, go out and get it. Call your radio stations and request us too. The stronger the record gets, the more opportunities it creates.

Mostly Autumn Says Goodbye To A Family Member

2011-06-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mostly Autumn has been making a name for themselves since their debut album was released in 1998. The progressive rock band, influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd and Genesis, was blessed with the unmistakable voice of Heather Findlay who sang lead on many of their songs. Her voice, to many around the world, was Mostly Autumn. It came as somewhat of a surprise when she announced that she would be leaving the band to focus on a solo career. The band decided that a proper final show was in order for Heather and for her fans.

This brings us to the release of the live, double CD That Night in Leamington, Heather’s final performance with the band. It captures the April 2, 2010 show at the Leamington Spa; her final farewell. The CD spans their catalog with all studio albums being represented at this performance. One could say that it is almost a greatest hits show. The show opens with “Fading Colours” from their Passengers release. This may seem familiar to fans of the group as they used it to open most shows over the last few years.

Newer selections such as “Flowers for Guns” and standout track “Unoriginal Sin” follow. “The Spirit of Autumn Past” really allows the band to soar. There are quite a few songs that the band is playing for the last time. “Shrinking Violet” is one of those examples. She mentions that it is a very special song that has reached out and touched s many people. The connection between the artist and song is just too intense to let another singer take over the mic and start performing. It’s understandable, yet at the same time it is a shame because “Shrinking Violet” is one of the best songs that the band has ever recorded.

Disc two starts off with “Carpe Diem” from the Storms over Still Water release. It begins with a haunting, yet beautiful piano intro that continues until midway through the song. I think the second disc contains songs of a different nature as they tap into the emotional quality that Heather brought to the songs that will be sorely missed. It also features many of the older staples from the bands repertoire such as the epic 17:36 song “Mother Nature”, “Half the Mountain” and “Nowhere to Hide”.

The final three tracks close the set with, in my opinion, the best of the best. “Above the Blue” is a beautiful song and a very personal one for Heather about losing some of the people in her life that she was close to. This one, along with “Shrinking Violet” will not be played live again. It’s a song simple in arrangement, yet deep and complex in emotion. Two older songs, “Heroes Never Die” and “Evergreen”, finish us out and bring to a close a journey that started well over ten years ago.

Olivia Sparnenn, former backing vocalist for the band, has stepped up to fill the big shoes left empty by Heather’s departure. She is a very talented lady, but time will tell how well she is at filling such a big void being created by Heather’s solo venture.

This album is such a great farewell for her and for the fans. It creates a scrapbook of songs that hold great memories for all of the fans. The recording aspect of this album is top notch. The harmonies really reach out to the listener and help to breach that gap created sometimes between the band and the listener at home on a live recording. This is a great souvenir to all of the fans to capture a truly talented woman’s footprints in the world of music.

In Flames: Proving Themselves Still Vital After 20 Yeas

2011-06-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hunger breeds creativity. Young bands who are struggling to get signed are often a great example of this. What happens to a lot of these bands a few years into their careers is that they tend to get comfortable and they lose that hunger. Their sound ceases to progress and every release sounds the same. To be in the business for twenty years and to constantly push the envelope and sound fresh, that is a rarity.

In Flames, one of the founding bands in the melodic death metal genre, has constantly been on the cutting edge in their field. Never one to rest on their laurels, the band always has critics and fans anxiously awaiting each new release on the horizon. Their latest album, Sounds of a Playground Fading, follows in that path.

The band was thrown a major curve ball prior to beginning the writing for the new album. Founding member and songwriter Jesper Stromblad announced unexpectedly that he was leaving the band. This left guitarist Bjorn Gelotte to start the new chapter in the legacy of In Flames and he definitely hit the ground running.

The album opens somewhat somberly with the title track, but a minute into the song the listener is greeted with the dueling guitars of Gelotte and former stand-in, now band mate Niclas Engelin and you know it’s about to get interesting. Up next is the leadoff single and video “Deliver Us”, which is a solid track that gives us a glance of how Anders has really been crafting his voice. He executes a great vocal delivery by him on this track. I also love the solo on this one. If you haven’t seen it yet, please check out the bands’ very cool video for this song. Metal, fireworks and a ferris wheel; what’s not to love?

This album is quite a mix of styles as it seems there is something for all fans of every era of this bands’ career. For those wanting something a little harder and faster in the vein of their early work, then there are tracks such as “The Puzzle” and “Enter Tragedy”. Their venture into an industrial groove sound, as in 2002’s Reroute to Remain, is sampled again in tracks such as “Darker Times” and “Where the Dead Ships Dwell”.

“Liberation” is one of the more melodic and solid tracks on the album. It really showcases so many of the elements that make In Flames a great band. It combines great vocals, a great solo, a catchy hook and solid song writing all into one. “A New Dawn” is yet another stand out track that combines all of these elements, but features Anders’ less clean vocal approach. This track is so epic that it even includes a string section in it that really takes it to another level.

Overall, In Flames has delivered another great album. It does encompass several of the sounds that they have delved into throughout their long career, but at the same time it shows growth in the band. The songwriting has gotten more solid and Anders’ has really crafted his voice. It seems as if he has really learned how to mix it up between clean vocals and his intense growls to a point that it actually helps to bring more emotion to his delivery.

Will it please every faction of the bands’ 20 plus year run? Probably not, there will always be those who are opposed to change and want them to deliver a Clayman with each and every release. In Flames has spawned so many copycat bands over their career, but they have always proven that the music industry is a marathon and not a sprint.

August Burns Red Unleashes Leveler On The World

2011-06-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

August Burns Red made a giant leap to the forefront of their metal core genre with their 2009 release Constellations. That album opened a lot of doors for the band and literally took them places that they had never been before. Two years and countless dates out on the road later and it’s 2011 and the guys are preparing to release the follow-up to that landmark album.

Vocalist Jake Luhrs and the guys could have chosen the safe route and recreated the magic that happened with Constellations, but that just wouldn’t be the August Burns Red that we have come to love. They have pushed the envelope and created another soon to be epic release entitled Leveler.

“Empire” kicks off the new album with an intensity that long time fans of August Burns Red will love. The dueling guitar work of JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler is stellar on this track. Wait, don’t get too comfortable with that because the next track, “Internal Cannon”, is about to take you on an adventure. This is definitely one in which the proverbial envelope is being pushed. Midway through the song, there is a salsa inspired breakdown that will have you shaking your head and wondering if what you just heard actually happened. This is one of the cooler and more original tracks on the album, but it may not be for everyone.

“Carpe Diem” is also a very interesting track, especially surrounding the slide guitar work. “Pangaea” is another great track that shows how Jake is really pushing himself with his screams. It’s one thing to just go out and scream every single word, but when you can do it and put feeling and emotion behind it, then you’re touching on something pretty special. I say hats off to Jake and to producer Jason Suecof for the progression that has been made in that area.

August Burns Red had tried a lot of new things on this album as well as expanding on others. The incorporation of more “gang singing” is a plus as well as using bassist Dustin Davidson more on backing vocals. There are fewer breakdowns on this album as opposed to what we heard on Constellations and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The album, even with all of the changes and experimentation, seems to be a bit heavier to me. It is a bit more reminiscent of the Messengers release in that aspect.

I think the band made a great choice in using producer Jason Suecof again. He is not the type of producer that is going to sit back and watch a bunch of talented guys just go through the motions. He challenges them and pushes them to be better. A major tip of the hat needs to go to drummer Matt Greiner for some of the most intense and chest rattling drumming that he has ever done in this band. I am not sure what motivated or inspired him, but his game on this album was stepped up quite a few notches. Principal songwriter and guitarist JB Brubaker also gets major props for not only his guitar work, but especially the songwriting on here as well.

You have to respect a band like August Burns Red who continually want to push the envelope and grow as a band. There are quite a few new things on this album that, hopefully, the fans will like. It may not be for everyone, but yet I don’t think the hardcore fans will feel alienated. The band will be on the main stage for the entire Vans Warped Tour this summer, so go check them out when they hit your city.

August Burns Red's Guitarist Talks About Their New Album

2011-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Following up a breakthrough album is tough to do. August Burns Red was launched to the forefront of the metal core scene with their 2009 album Constellations. They seemed poised to follow it up with an album just as strong, if not even stronger. Mark your calendars and prepare to have your senses assaulted. August Burns Red is about to unleash their latest assault on the world of metal core on June 21 entitled Leveler.

I was lucky enough to catch up with guitarist and principle songwriter JB Brubaker and talk to him about the new album.

JP: Hey JB, thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to talk to us. We want to tell your fans about your new CD Leveler that comes out June 21. Can you give us a sneak peek? Tell us about it.

JB Brubaker: Leveler is our most diverse album to date. We incorporated some new sounds into the sound you’ve come to expect from us. This includes some gang singing, slide guitar, wah effects, way more backing vocals from our bass player Dustin, expanded clean guitar sections, full blown guitar solos, etc. While we’ve incorporated a lot of new elements, the songs are still heavy and fast. We have plenty of odd time signature breakdowns and crazy drum parts. I think Matt did a phenomenal job drumming on Leveler; his best performance to date, in my opinion.

JP: Your last album Constellations really seemed to push you guys to a new level of popularity. Did you feel any pressure going into recording the album because of this?

Brubaker: Not anymore than usual. We always push ourselves as a band to make an album better than our previous releases and that goal remained the same while we wrote Leveler. We wanted to write an album that pushed the genre a bit and broke some of the general ‘rules of metal core’ and I feel like we succeeded in doing that.

JP: Constellations……Leveler…..Compare and contrast the two albums.

Brubaker: Constellations is less diverse than Leveler. We introduced some new elements to ABR’s sound on Constellations (clean guitar, solos, more melody, etc.) and on Leveler we took some of the new things we tried on Constellations and ran with them. Leveler, while having maybe less overall breakdowns than Constellations, does a better job using dynamics. For that reason I think that Leveler is heavier than Constellations. I also think the song writing is much better. That’s simply a result of practicing and growing up.

JP: You worked with producer Jason Suecof again, who also produced your Constellations album. Why did you choose him again?

Brubaker: We knew Jason would make our album sound awesome sonically and we knew he would have lots of good ideas and tweaks to take the songs to better places. We get along with Jason and he’s pretty much a musical genius so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.

JP: Are there any surprises on the new album….banjo, bagpipes…that might shock the fans? Did you push the envelope any?

Brubaker: Yes, we pushed the envelope a good amount as far as traditional metal core goes. There aren’t any banjos or bagpipes, but there are plenty of random percussion sounds we’ve never used before as well as some sounds that aren’t close to what we’ve ever done before stylistically. I think people who have been hoping we’d push the envelope a bit on this record will be quite pleased upon hearing the entire album.

JP: Is there a particular track that you might be extra proud of or one that really stands out?

Brubaker: I’m most proud of the song ‘Internal Cannon’, it is possibly the most diverse and different song on the album. There are some parts in it that are really going to surprise people the first time they hear it. There’s a big section that has some tasty Mexican flavor complete with a huge saucy solo. It’s a fun positive song that is a real rollercoaster. I love it and can’t wait to play it live.

JP: We have seen a video for ‘Empire’ and your Facebook page mentioned that you have shot one for ‘Internal Cannon’ and the album isn’t even out yet. That’s a pretty aggressive marketing approach. Is that the label’s doing or you guys or a combo of both?

Brubaker: Well the “video” for ‘Empire’ is just basically the song streaming on YouTube with the lyrics so people can read along with the song. We did shoot one for ‘Internal Cannon’. We’re hoping to have it ready to go around the same time the album hits. We just want to have lots of content ready to rock when Leveler comes out. The label and the band are very much in tune with the approach we want to take in terms of marketing. We just want to make sure everyone knows about the album. We want people to be excited for it.

JP: You guys are going out on the Warped Tour this year. Are you doing the entire tour?

Brubaker: Yes, we’ll be doing the entire tour on the main stage. This is our first time doing the whole thing and we’re psyched! We did two weeks in 2008 and it was so much fun we didn’t want to come home. We are honored to share the stage with some awesome bands and some close friends. We all have high hopes for the tour and I think we couldn’t be luckier to have a new album coming out right as the tour starts.

JP: I have seen in the press that sometimes you guys get double categorized as a ‘metal core’ band and also as a ‘Christian rock’ band. Does that ever present a problem with having to feel like you have to represent both?

Brubaker: Well we obviously aren’t a rock band. Whoever says that is misinformed, ha-ha. I don’t feel like we have to represent both. We’ve always just done our thing. We don’t analyze the Christian vs. Secular thing. We’re here to play good music and that’s always been our goal.

JP: That leads into this question. You were nominated last year for Best Rock Album ay the Dove Awards. How was it to get recognized for the work that you created?

Brubaker: It was a nomination and I’m not sure who we lost to, but it really doesn’t matter. It was nice to be nominated. I think it’d be a lot more exciting to be nominated for a Grammy. The Dove Awards are cool, but it’s just limited to Christian music and it’d be a little more special to get nominated for an award that isn’t limited to a religion.

JP: Last question: Do you have a message that you would like to send to all of your great fans out there?

Brubaker: Thank you for the years of continued support. We can’t wait to get Leveler into everyone’s hands. It’s my favorite record we’ve ever written and I hope you feel the same.

Sister Sin: Sweden's Metal Export to America

2011-06-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

The word Sweden brings to mind different things to different people. One may think Volvo or Swedish meatballs or even Dolph Lundgren, but one usually doesn’t think of metal. There’s a group from Gothenburg that are on their way to being the first thing that comes to mind when hear Sweden and they are kicking it old school metal style.

Sister Sin emerged on the scene in October of 2008 with their debut album Switchblade Serenades. The band gained a great deal of US exposure by touring with Motorhead and OTEP. Their follow up entitled True Sound of the Underground was released in 2010 and they have been tearing up the road in a major way here in the US. We were lucky to catch up with Sister Sin’s dynamic front woman Liv Jagrell recently to see how life on the road was going.

JP: Hey Liv, it’s great to talk with you today. I see you guys have just finished up the Revolver Hell Hath No Fury Tour with In This Moment, Straight Line Stitch and System Divide. How was it?

Liv: It was an amazing tour with amazing bands. We all had a lot of fun and we found friends for life, which always makes a tour so much better. We already miss all of those bands and their crews! I’m so happy to have been on a tour with such great females, it’s nice to have some women around you too, ha-ha.

JP: Do you have any memorable road stories, either good or bad, from the tour?

Liv: We have been very lucky most of the time on the tour except for some bad luck with the police pulling us over for nothing, four times in four days! Otherwise, this tour has gone smooth without major problems. Oh wait; we almost got stuck in the swamp close to Mississippi. The roads were all drowned in water and it was the middle of the night and suddenly, the road just disappeared and there was only water and fish jumping around. Very strange!

JP: How has your fan base here in the US changed since your last tour supporting your debut album?

Liv: We see new fans every time we tour here, so it’s getting better and better. We also have our “comebacks” that come to every tour that we do and that is so amazing. A band is nothing without its fans.

JP: Speaking of touring, you just started a tour with OTEP, Blackguard, Destrophy and One Eyed Doll. Tell us about that awesome tour package.

Liv: We have been out with OTEP once before, so that’s going to be fun. The rest of the bands seem like nice bands, so I think we are going to have a good time together. As for the music, I think it’s a good variety between all the bands and it should be a good crowd.

JP: You guys seem to constantly be on the road. What would you say are the good points and bad points of being out on the road?

Liv: I would say the best is being able to play live in front of new and old fans, that’s what we are living for. Nothing beats the feeling that you get on stage: nothing! The worst part is that you don’t get enough sleep, you eat bad food and you don’t have time to do stuff. I mean, you see a lot from the window of a van, but not so much more than that. Sometimes it would be fun to actually go out and enjoy the amazing nature or cities that we drive through.

JP: Ok Liv, that leads into my next question for you. How in the world do you manage to stay in such great shape when out on the road?

Liv: Thank you! Yeah, that’s one of the harder parts and one thing that I really miss being away from home is being able to work out. I try to hit the hotel’s fitness room pr swimming pool as often as I can on tour, but sometimes there’s just no time. I’m use to working out five days a week, so I get pretty cranky and start climbing the walls! I do manage to get a lot of energy out on stage; I’m not still for very long.

JP: If you do get any downtime, other than what you just mentioned, what do you guys try to do?

Liv: On the last tour, there was almost none, but hopefully on this new tour we will get some downtime. It would be fun to hit a movie or go out to a really nice dinner and for me, I would like to be dropped off at a mall; it’s much more fun to shop in the US! We are also talking about getting new tattoos and maybe going to a wrestling show.

JP: All of that time on the road can lead to mischief. Who is the practical jokester in the band?

Liv: I have three of them and believe me; they are not as funny as they will think! I still love them and I just shut my ears and let them have their fun. If I am tired, then I’ll be the bitch and yell to them to shut up!

JP: What’s next for Sister Sin?

Liv: This year we will mostly focus on touring. We would like to hit Europe for a longer tour also, but we have been planning to start to write new material and hopefully release a new album early next year.

JP: Liv, we appreciate the time that you took to speak with me and we encourage everyone to check you guys out on the current OTEP tour and your newest album True Sounds of the Underground.

Black N Blue Raises A Little Hell Yeah!

2011-05-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

I don’t care what anyone says, the 80s gave us a lot of great music. The second half of the decade saw the emergence of “hair bands” and it seemed like they were popping up everywhere. There were quite a few “one hit wonders” and even more “no hit wonders”. The market became oversaturated with them and some of the deserving seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

Black N Blue was one of those bands. You might even say that they were the Rodney Dangerfield’s of metal. They released four albums between 1984-1988 and had a few MTV hits. They even had the great Gene Simmons of KISS produce their last two albums, but they never seemed to get that proverbial “break” that pushed them to the next level. It’s a shame because this band had it all together. They had the look, the sound and the attitude.

Fast forward twenty three years and you find them back together and about to unleash the album that would have catapulted them to that next level. The original band is back: Jaime St. James on vocals, Jeff Warner on guitar, Patrick Young on bass, Pete Holmes on drums and Shawn Sonnenschein takes over the guitar reigns from Tommy Thayer. They have just released Hell Yeah! And it’s enough to make you want to break out your acid washed jeans and tease your hair high!

This is what Black N Blue is supposed to sound like right here. I am not sure if the band got caught up in the corporate machine after their debut album or what, but this is the raw, dirty sound that is Black and Blue. The nasty bass line from Patrick at the beginning of the leadoff track “Monkey” hooks the listener in and then the crunching guitar of Shawn grabs you by the neck and demands your attention. This is one of the best tracks on the album.

“Hail Hail” is a song that I really hope they add to their live show. I can envision the crowd with their fists pumping in the air and chanting along with that chorus. Also, Shawn has some insane guitar work on this song. The solo that he lays down is blistering. The title track is also another rocker that is similar in vain as it showcases Shawn’s fretwork.

There are two songs that may be considered rock/ballads. “Falling Down” and “Fools Bleed” are slower numbers, but they still pack that rock intensity. I also think they show how another side of the bands’ songwriting and that they do have a serious side. On the other hand, the 54 second “Jaime’s Got the Beer” seems like an out take meant for the cutting room for. I am still pondering on the meaning of the last track, “A Tribute to Hawking”. I know it is about Stephen Hawking, but I am just not sure of the point. Maybe it’s a little tongue in check, I just don’t get it.

Overall, Hell Yeah! simply ROCKS! Who knows, maybe if it would have been released back in the late 80s, then maybe Black N Blue could have joined the ranks of a Bon Jovi or Motley Crue. They certainly did deserve the attention and accolades that those guys were getting. I have to tip my hat to Jaime St. James also. His voice is superb on this release. It has a sense of maturity to it and a little bit of a rough edge that adds to the songs.

I highly recommend Hell Yeah! to old school fans from the 80s and even modern fans of metal. I think up and coming bands should listen to this as they prepare to record their debut album so that they can see what real rock and roll should sound like. It’s not an old school 80s sound recycled by the band, but rather they embrace that old school mentality of how to rock. I just hope we don’t have to wait 23 years for the follow up to this one.

Taddy Porter: Old School Rock and Roll 101

2011-05-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Good old rock and roll never truly dies. It just finds a new vessel to inhabit every five to ten years to allow it to reach out and possess a whole new generation. For example, let’s take a closer look at one of those bands. Taddy Porter is a quartet of fine young gentlemen from Oklahoma who just so happen to be one of the brightest up and coming bands in years.

The band was formed by drummer Doug Jones and lead singer/guitarist Andy Brewer in 2007. The formula was completed with the addition of Doug’s brother Kevin on bass and Joe Selby on guitar. Legend has it that the name Taddy Porter was actually spotted by Andy on a beer list in a bar that they were frequenting. The boys recorded an EP in 2007 entitled Monocle and the ride had officially begun.

The boys’ roots seem to weigh in heavily on older rock with a certain flair to the southern side. Their songwriting is a style that is easy to relate to. They don’t go off on tangents about the government or politics. They tend to sing about life and love and who can’t relate to that?

Their debut self titled CD was released to rave reviews from fans and critics. You may think that you have never heard their music before, but quite a few of their songs have been featured on television. Their first single “Shake Me” was on ABC’s Cougar Town, NBC’s The Chase and on Monday Night Football. Another song that received exposure was “King Louie”, which was featured on HBO’s Entourage and the John Cena movie Legendary. More recently, “I Got to Love” is being featured on ABC Family’s Make It of Break It. So, there is a very good chance that you have heard them before!

Their album is a great mix of ballads and rockers. “Big Enough” starts the album off with crashing guitars and Andy’s unique voice definitely grabs your attention. “Fire in the Streets” is a standout track that rocks hard without getting too heavy for the listener. It also features some great guitar work by Joe Selby, who lays down a blistering solo.

“In The Morning” is a really good ballad that highlights Andy’s vocals. It will have you raising your lighter in the air in no time! I also love “Railroad Queen”, which is a bluesy number that presses the pedal to the floor and rocks at full speed as you get into it. Kevin and Doug do a stellar job here as the rhythm section that always holds a great song together.

The two gems on this release may be complete opposites in style, but that is one of the amazing things about this band. They are so diverse and confident in their sound that they can pull it off. “Gotta Get You Back” is a funky, rocking little number about losing the one you love and then trying so hard to get them back. If you listen to this one and don’t feel the rhythm and start tapping your foot, then call 911 because there is a serious problem.

The other gem would be the powerful ballad “Long Slow Drag”. The guitars take the backseat to a haunting piano melody throughout most of the song. I am not sure if this is autobiographical or not, but Andy’s vocals on this song are so full of emotion and conviction. This song should get lots of airplay for it is so richly deserving of it.

In an industry full of flavors of the week, these guys stand out like a sore thumb. Andy and Joe make a great team, like many who have come before them in the history of great rock and roll. I highly recommend this CD to lovers of classic rock and of southern rock. These guys take those sounds and mix them up and put a fresh spin on it and make it sound relevant to today’s music scene. These guys are worthy of going to the next level. Jump on board now before the Taddy Porter bandwagon fills up!

Warrant Return Strong With Rockaholic

2011-05-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

The 80s were a time of big hair and big fun. No band epitomized that better in the latter part of that decade than Warrant. They seemed to have it all. They made us rock with their anthems and we made out to their power ballads. Grunge came along like a huge meteor and wiped out “hair metal” as we knew it. Still, many bands marched on. Warrant had more than their share of bad luck with tours being canceled for various reasons and so many personnel changes that they almost had to wear name badges.

Well my fellow head bangers, Warrant is back stronger than ever and seemed poised to let a whole new generation discover the “down boys”. It’s been five years since their last release Born Again. In that time, we saw the lead singer of that album (Jaime St. James, Black-n-Blue) leave, former lead singer Jani Lane return and then exit and current lead singer Robert Mason enter the picture. They were just a few drumsticks short of having a Spinal Tap moment.

Their new release entitled Rockaholic has taken all the great elements that we expect from Warrant and seasoned them with a certain level of maturity. Don’t fret though, even though the “down boys” have become somewhat settled down boys, they still have their raunchy, bad boy side. Take a listen to “Sex Ain’t Love” and “Cocaine Freight Train” and tell me that their horns aren’t showing.

It just wouldn’t be a Warrant album if there weren’t any power ballads on it. One listen of the beautiful ballad “Home” and you will be waiving your lighters high in the air. This song just oozes 80s from beginning to end. I almost thought it was a lost demo from the Cherry Pie sessions. “Tears in the City” is another great ballad, but with more of a modern feel to it than an 80s feel.

“Dusty’s Revenge” is a standout track with a bluesy feel to it in the vain of early Cinderella. On my first listen, I almost felt like it was the accompanying music to a trailer for a western movie. “Life’s a Song” is a great choice for a leadoff single and video. It has that trademark Warrant sound, but it sounds fresh and current. It’s a great song, with great lyrics and a stellar performance by Robert. Oh yeah, it is also complete with a guitar solo. YES! Thank you for bringing back the solo!

Another favorite track of mine is “What Love Can Do”. I think that this song is going to be one that takes on its own life. It’s another great example of being a complete song with great musicianship, great lyrics and a catchy chorus that hooks you in. This may just become a big hit for them, especially if the fans embrace it.

So I hear you asking me, “Hey Johnny, we know they have ballads, but can Warrant still rock with the big boys?” Well ladies and gentlemen of the jury; let me present exhibits A, B and C. I have previously mentioned “Sex Ain’t Love” and “Cocaine Freight Train”; both of which showcase the boys in rare form of maximum rock. I would like to add “The Last Straw” to that list and raise my horns high to them for a kick-ass performance that blew me away.

I have been a fan of this band from the start, but I have also been an objective fan too. I believe the band has put out some stellar material and some not so great material in the past. I was cautiously optimistic when I approached this new release. I knew of Robert Mason, but how was his vocal style going to mesh with the sound we expect from the band. Well, I tip my hat to you Mr. Mason for a job well done. Let’s forget about filing someone else’s shoes because you my friend have brought your own new pair of shoes to mark their place in this bands legacy.

The rest of the band is playing with a hunger that hasn’t been heard in quite a few years. They seemed to be more focused and driven than ever. I can’t say for certain if the addition of Robert has brought this band closer and tighter together or not, but something has them recharged.

This CD is solid from beginning to end and that is what a band is being forced to do these days with the state that the music industry is in. There has been no “traditional” toured announced yet, but there are spotty dates announced so far with Poison for the summer, plus M3 and Rocklahoma. I cannot wait to hear this new material performed live. There is no cure for being a Rockaholic, but you can point the finger of blame at Warrant for causing it. Let me be the first to say, thank you boys.

Erik Turner of Warrant: Officially Diagnosed As A Rockaholic

2011-05-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Spandex, acid washed jeans, eye liner, earrings, teased hair with lots of aqua net. The 80s were a fun decade us guys! Most critics write off the 80s as a decade of fads and that includes fashion and music. I will admit that a lot of bands that were around during that era just seemed to disappear into oblivion. The true talent did manage to rise to the top and withstood the test of time.

Take Warrant for instance. Warrant burst onto the scene in 1988 with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich and became an overnight sensation. Five good looking and talented guys gave us such power ballads as “Heaven” and “Sometimes She Cries” and took MTV plus the “hair band” world by storm. They followed that up with an even bigger album Cherry Pie and seemed to be on top of the world.

Oh yeah, then that thing called “grunge” came along and the industry turned their back on the “hair bands” and developed a love affair for Seattle’s latest import. Warrant went through a lot of personnel and label changes, but they kept right on doing what they loved: rocking hard.

Fast forward to 2011 and a rejuvenated and hungry Warrant are back with what may well be their best CD since the days of "Cherry Pie". Rockaholic marks a new chapter in the continuing saga of this band who once rode the top of Billboard’s album and singles charts and the top of MTV’s video countdown. They have a new lead singer, a new record label and a new found focus that can certainly be heard in their music. I recently got the chance to speak with the band’s founder and guitarist Erik Turner about all the crazy happenings in land of Warrant.

Hey Erik, thanks again for taking the time to speak with me. There’s a good buzz being generated by the anticipation of your new CD Rockaholic. Can you tell me a little bit about the recording of it?

Well, it was about two years ago when we demoed our first song which was “Dusty’s Revenge” and it went really well. So, we decided to keep writing and build on that. At that time, Jerry was really spearheading the writing of the material and Robert would fly down to work on vocals. It was a slow, two year process, but it was really seeming to come together. Then, Robert suggested working with (producer) Keith Olsen who had done the second Lynch Mob CD. We had a couple of meetings with Keith and hashed everything out and worked our deal out with him. Then, we had to finish working out our deal with our new label Frontiers. We’re really happy with how the album turned out and the initial reactions that we are hearing. I mean, that’s our baby; you don’t want anyone telling you that your baby is ugly!

Speaking of Robert, how did you guys end up getting him in the band?

Well, Robert actually went out on the road with us on the Dog Eat Dog tour when he was in Lynch Mob. We became friends and through the years we would run into him here and there. Joey ran into him a couple years back at Rocklahoma and things just kind of happened from there. We talked to him about joining the band and we all got together to practice. We were in a small 20x20 rehearsal hall and the first song we did with him was “Down Boys” and we couldn’t hear him. Then, we did “I Saw Red” and of course it is a softer song and we weren’t playing as loud and his voice just rang out and I got goose bumps. I thought, WOW! There was a vibe or some sort of chemical reaction or whatever, but we knew he was the one.

The new CD is really diverse in its format. You have some songs like “Sex Ain’t Love” that has that traditional Warrant sound, “The Last Straw” which flat out rocks hard and “Home” which is like a lost 80s power ballad. It’s diverse, but it all fits together really well. Is there anything on it that really stands out to you? Is there a song or two that you are particularly proud of?

Well, I personally spearheaded the effort to get “Life’s a Song” released as the first single and video. I just thought that it was a really strong song and that it would be an awesome token of appreciation to all those fans that have followed us throughout the years. It’s like looking back through a scrapbook. I think we really captured some magic on this song. It sounds like it could have been an out take from Cherry Pie. It’s like a blast from the past.

You started Warrant back in 1984 and Jerry (Dixon) and you have been on this crazy ride for its entire twenty seven year run. How do you guys manage to keep it going?

I guess have always looked forward. You know, if we stepped in a pile of dog crap then we just wiped our shoes off and ask ourselves what the best solution is. That regardless of whether it is about a song, a band mate or a manager. Yesterday’s gone and we have to do what we have to do today. We’ve been pretty lucky though, it has been mostly good times for us along the way.

What’s your proudest Warrant moment…..so far?

Wow, there have been so many of them. I mean, although we never got to the superstar level of a Bon Jovi or a Motley Crue, but there have been so many great times and experiences. The funny thing is half of them I don’t even remember!

Warrant is known for some of the biggest power ballads of the 80s and this new album has a few great ones on it too. How do you feel about that term today?

I fell pretty lucky to have them. It’s great because they break up the set and changes the rhythm of where you’re going. A lot of guys may not admit to liking them, but when they are in the backseat of their car with a hot chick, they LOVE power ballads!

Are there any plans on putting out a Warrant box set with unreleased tracks and demos?

I don’t know, maybe somewhere down the road. We have a lot of that stuff and when they labels remastered the early CDs, they stuck a few unreleased songs and demos on there. Right now, we are really focusing on the future and this new album. We are hoping to release a live DVD next year with videos, concert footage and backstage stuff.

So, after all these years and all the changes I have to ask you, have the down boys turned into the settled down boys?

Well, somewhat. I mean we still rock as hard as we use to and we still like to party and have a good time, but we just manage to keep our clothes on now!

Well Erik, this has been a treat for me and I appreciate you taking the time to do this. The new CD Rockaholic is amazing and I look forward to seeing you guys out on the road promoting it.

Hey, I appreciate you wanting to interview us. Thanks for all of your support in promoting the new album too. We hope that all the fans go out and buy the new album and come out and see us.

Otep Shamaya Shares Her Artistic Vision

2011-05-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Artistic expression comes in many forms. Some channel their inner message and express it on a canvas with paint, while others may choose to put pen to paper. Otep Shamaya is an artist that assaults all of the senses when she expresses herself. Her latest creation is Otep’s thought provoking release Atavist. I had the privilege of catching up with Otep as she prepared for the release of her latest masterpiece.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: There seems to have been a really good buzz generating about your new CD before its release. It’s been on many “Most Anticipated CDs of 2011” lists. How does that make you feel when you see and hear that?

Otep: It makes me feel very proud. I have had this record inside of me for over a year and couldn’t wait to let it out. We worked on it for a little over two and a half months and now it’s time to see if the people believe like I do.

Did you approach making this album any differently than in the past?

Well, I didn’t have a band for this one. I also worked with some very talented song writers. It’s very exciting for me to be able to write songs that I have always wanted to write. “Drunk (On the Blood of Saints)” has such a powerful groove to it. There is a special musical feel that you just can’t teach when it come to writing music. It was so awesome to work with Tony Campos from Static X. He is a very technical guitar player.

The first video from the CD is for the song “Fists Fall”. How much involvement did you have with it?

The concept of the video was my idea. I worked with Robby Starbuck and he did a great job of bringing my vision to life. It is a song about bullying, but it’s also about fighting for what you believe in. I asked myself who I would like to fight and I also ask the listener. It really doesn’t matter, just as long as you do fight for what is important.

You cover “Not to Touch the Earth” by the Doors. I can see a lot of similarities between yourself and Jim Morrison. How did this cover come about?

I have always been a big fan of Jim and of the Doors. They are one of the most innovative bands of all time. I was asked to record a cover for this album and this song really spoke to me. I wanted it to be as sterile as possible and still be very exciting to the overall album.

Your first album was recorded in 2002. How do you think you have grown since that debut?

Creatively, in the past, I didn’t know much about the industry or about creating records. I was at the mercy of my inner emotions, but I wanted to master them. Over time, I think I have achieved that. I feel that I am closer to those emotions, but the malices are still there. I do feel that I am a stronger writer and performer. We all have to evolve in order to survive.

You are such a creative person that I wanted to pose to you this rather different type of question. If I was deaf and you were given a blank canvas to illustrate your sound to me, how would you create that image?

It would be similar to a Jackson Pollock painting. I would take the canvass and put it over a large speaker. I would press play and start dropping paint on it as the music played. I would do this and let it paint itself.

Are you anxious to get back out on the road?

I love performing for my fans. Everything is being organized right now. The suits and agents are lining everything up. We are looking at the end of May or early June to hit the road. I appreciate all the support from the fans and can’t wait to see them.

Since this went to press, tour plans have been announced with Otep headlining with support from Sister Sin, Destrophy, Blackguard and One-Eyed Doll. This is a show not to be missed!

OTEP Delivers Strong On Atavist

2011-05-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

If Otep Shamaya was a box of crayolas, then she would not be the small 8 count box. She would be the massive economy pack of 150. Her visions push the envelope of normalcy and she challenges you to think way outside of the box. She is a poet and a lyricist who is strong, opinionated, outspoken and a breath of fresh air from the divas dominating the radio.

OTEP is Otep Shamaya’s musical baby and one of her outlets for her strong, impressionistic visions. Her latest CD is entitled Atavist and there was a huge buzz growing over the months in anticipation of this release. It was included on numerous “Most Anticipated Releases of 2011”.

The second track, “Atom to Adam” really sets the tone for the CD. The intensity level on this song is off the charts both musically and lyrically. The inclusion of a Moby Dick reference really got me to thinking about the songs meaning of mind games and control. This song is similar in tone to “Warhead”.

“We Dream like Lions” is a slower, acoustic style song that really stands apart from the other tracks. It’s a beautiful song and its symbolism really helps to paint a picture in the listener’s mind. “Drunk on the Blood of Saints” has Otep reciting the verses in spoken form until the chorus on which she unleashes her growls. This song also contains one of the nastiest bass lines that I have ever heard.

“Fists Fall” is an epic track with an epic video to accompany it. An anti-bullying song that also doubles as a fight for what you believe in anthem. It doesn’t matter if you win the fight or if you lose it, just as long as you do fight for it. If this song doesn’t get you fired up and ready to go, then Red Bull just won’t do the trick.

“Baby’s Breath” is a track that is either a hit or miss; it’s not going to be for everyone. It’s one of two spoken word tracks in which Otep really reaches deep into a dark side that exists in some people. It’s a seven minute journey in voyeurism and violence with a twisted smile. Listening to this track in a dimly lit room with headphones on actually was a bit creepy for me.

“I Alone” is a standout track both musically and lyrically. You can almost feel the pain in the lyrics of being an individual and not wanting to fit in too what society deems as the “norm” This will hit home with a lot of Otep fans as she has always been a leader in the right to be who you are and not compromising. The final track is the cover of the Door’s “Not to Touch the Earth”. This is another that is either hit or miss. I really like their take on it and I think that Jim would be proud of it, but I can see where some fans of the original are just not going to get it.

Overall, I think it is a really good CD. There are some songs that are quite diverse from others on it. I like that it mixes things up instead of giving you twelve tracks of monotony. Otep switches back and forth on some tracks with her screams and clean vocals, but her growls are just as intense as ever. I really liked it upon the first listen, but with each subsequent listen, it makes an even deeper impact on me.

I would recommend spending the few extra dollars and getting the deluxe edition. It comes with a DVD that includes music videos, a film called “Baby’s Breath”, a segment where Otep talks about recording the CD and about each song and even more stuff. Otep and Victory Records really went all out on this deluxe version. This is way better than some CD/DVD sets that many established artists have tried to put out and came up short. Either way, this is a solid CD with some of the most intense imagery that I have come across in a very long time. Check it out, give it a couple of listens and expand your mind…..if you dare.

Funeral For A Friend: Refocused and Armageddon Bound!

2011-05-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Welsh quintet Funeral for a Friend is back with a new found sense of direction and a return to their roots. There has been a great deal of things going on in their camp since the release of their debut CD Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation in 2003. Several roster changes and some experimentation found fans of their debut scratching their heads. What happened to their hardcore heroes that blew them on that epic release? Although their last release Memory and Humanity showed signs of returning to form, it was not a consistent effort.

Their new CD, Welcome Home Armageddon, finds them more focused than they have been in a few years. In part, this should be attributed to Gavin Burrough switching from bass to guitar and Richard Boucher replacing Gareth Davies on bass. Combine that with a new found hunger by guitarist Kris Coombs-Roberts who seems to have found his comfort zone on this release. I think some of his best work to date can be found on here.

The CD starts out with an instrumental track entitled “This Side of Brightness” that rips directly into “Old Hymns”. It really picks up with the third track “Front Row Seats to the End of the World”, which features drummer Ryan Richard’s trademark screams. This is an added element that the band doesn’t overuse hence losing its effect.

Kris really shines on “Broken Foundation” and on the standout track “Medicated”. I am not sure who unleashed him during the recording process, but his new found comfort zone excels on this CD. It just seems like all the separate elements have come together on this release to make a very cohesive unit. Let’s not fail to mention that Richard’s drumming is some of the best that we have heard from him. His double bass attack helps to bring back that aggressive edge that has been lacking in the band.

The band still does mix it up a bit on here, but at least this time it seems genuine and it flows much better than in the past few releases. Aggression, lyrically and in musicianship, plus emotion equals a return to sound for the guys. Longtime fans will welcome this and maybe some lost fans will actually jump back on board. Let’s hope this new found unity transcends into their live show. That will be the true test for these guys. Here’s to the next chapter in their hardcore saga.

Tesseract Brings Progressive Metal To The Forefront

2011-05-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

Labeling music has always been a tricky thing to do. There have been some many new genres created that the choices can be as mind blowing as the infinite number of boxes on the cereal aisle in the grocery store. A new band has definitely stood out from the pack of wannabes and is making a name for themselves. Tesseract, hailing from the UK, is winning over fans and critics alike and for all the right reasons.

Formed in 2007 by brainchild and guitarist Acle Kahney, the band started to put together a sound that was very uncommon at the time. Aided by Jay Postones on drums, James Monteith on guitar and Amos Williams on bass, the band was slowly finding their sound. The addition of Dan Tompkins on vocals was the icing on the cake. His diverse range was a perfect fit to the multi layered sound being created. The band are at the forefront of a new era of progressive metal that is blowing away everyone who is experiencing it.

The band just recently released their full length debut CD entitled One to high praise from music critics worldwide as well as fans. They hit the road in support of the CD along with Maylene and The Sons of Disaster and Protest the Hero. I was fortunate to catch up with drummer Jay Postones and guitarist James Monteith before a recent show in North Carolina.

Music is my drug of choice: Well guys, you have been out on the road for a month or so now promoting the new CD, how has that been going for you? Any shows stand out?

Tesseract: The tour has been going really well. We’ve had a few fails along the way so far. We have a rubbish van that breaks down a lot and we actually had to miss one show because of it. The Orlando, Florida show was really good. It was sold out and the stage was really tight and the sound was great. There was also a lot of energy in the room that night and that’s great because you feed off of the energy of the crowd. The Dallas, Texas show was especially awesome. It was one of the bigger venues with a capacity of over 1000. As far as bad shows, Las Vegas was probably the worst gig we’ve ever done in our lives. The problem with Vegas is that it’s only good for two things: losing money and partying and we didn’t get to do the latter. Unfortunately, we did lose money. The venues screw you over and you only get half of your fee and then they take more merch money and a cut of your CD sales; which is actually illegal if you don’t own the copywrite to it……so screw Vegas!

How different is it to tour here in the States as opposed to the UK?

It’s about the same except for the distances. In the UK, it takes one day to go from one end to the other whereas here, it takes a day to sometimes go through just one state. Also, the food is a big difference. Our intestines are clogged from all the greasy, fried foods. I don’t think we can eat another McDonald’s again. The first place we stopped in New Jersey had hamburgers that were like $350 and they were massive. You can never truly eat a burger of that size, that was crazy!

The CD has been out for a couple of months now and the reaction has been very positive. How satisfying is that to you as an artist?

We’ve been very pleased and also relieved quite a bit. It’s a nerve racking experience creating something that you are very proud of, but you have no idea what people are going to think of it. One real worry was that people criticized us about having a lot of the material being available on the internet beforehand, but we haven’t heard much more about it. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with the reaction from the press and especially from the fans.

What do you guys do for fun while out on the road? Who is the practical jokester?

We’re fairly calm, but if I (Dan) see an opportunity for danger, I generally jump on it. We released a DVD with our new album and on hat, there is a clip of me dancing along the edge of the Grand Canyon like a little monkey and we also did that on an iceberg on this tour. Overall, we’re pretty layed back and boring people. There is the occasional, spontaneous meat slap! We were touring Russia and the standard food over there is meat, cheese and bread. We found this big slab of dirty, sweaty meat in the leftovers from our gig. We were on a train ride and Acle was asleep in the top bunk. James gets the slab of meat and slaps it right on Acle’s face. He didn’t wake up immediately, it was couple of seconds, but it gave the meat time to mold to his face. It was so funny! There’s also food fights, but we’re all responsible for those.

I have to ask you about the name of the band and its origin. Anyone dare to explain it?

Well, we could lie to you and say that there is this really deep meaning behind the name, but unfortunately there isn’t. When Acle first formed the band in 2003, he was writing all these cool riffs and he watched a film called Hypercube and heard the word tesseract and thought it was a cool name. It’s as simple as that, but it’s actually a very fitting name for us. Our music is quite complex and if you read into the whole fourth dimension thing, it is kind of mathematical and scientific.

You guys really do have a unique sound. Who would you cite as your influences?

Well, everything from Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Meshuggah to electronica, Slayer and early Metallica. In between shows, we tend not to listen to a great deal of metal. The last thing you want to do when you get in the van after a show is crank even more metal.

I saw that you guys are up for Best New Band at the 2011 Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. How awesome is that?

It was totally out of the blue for us. We received an email telling us that we had been nominated. Metal Hammer has been really kind to us over the last few years. It was really amazing to be even nominated. We hope all of our fans will go over to www. goldengods.metalhammer.co.uk and vote for us.

Can you tell us what we can expect from you guys in the near future?

We are already working on album number two. We have a few songs that are almost finished and Dan is writing the vocals to them. We have another tour that we are going to be doing here in the states later in the year too. Other than that, we will be travelling and busy on the road.

Well guys, thanks for taking the time to talk to us and we can’t wait to see you perform on this amazing bill with Protest the Hero. Keep knocking them dead out there and stealing the show each night.

Indestructible Noise Command: Still Angry After All These Years

2011-04-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

The year was 1985 and MTV was still just a baby. They were actually showing videos 24/7 back then, unlike today. Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Wham and similar acts dominated the airwaves, but what were the youth of that time to do if that wasn’t their cup of tea? Well, for Dennis Gergely and Erik Barath, they took channeled their disgust of fluffy pop stars into a style of music that was almost unheard of at the time. It was aggressive and angry and even a bit intimidating for some. A new artistic form of expression was upon on and thrash metal had a new voice. This was the birth of Indestructible Noise Command.

The band recorded a demo in 1986 and started to catch the attention of many in the industry. They shared the stage with bands such as Megadeth and King Diamond and were really shaking things up. Five angst driven guys, who had just graduated from high school 6 short months earlier, were being signed to Giant Records. Things were looking really good for the boys.

1987 saw the release of their debut album Razorback and the follow-up The Visitor was released in 1988. People were showing up in the masses to see them live and they were gaining the respect of many of their peers. They even had Pantera opening up for them back in the day! Well, the label started to falter and the band decided to take a timeout rather than let a label do a mediocre job with their futures. I.N.C. was going to do this on their own terms.

Fast forward to 2010 and we see the band back together and releasing an EP entitled Bleed the Line and creating the same type of buzz that they created in 1986. This brings us up to speed as they are about to unleash their first full length album in over twenty years entitled Heaven Sent, Hellbound. The band, comprised of Dennis Gergely on vocals, Erik Barath on guitar, Anthony Fabrizi on guitar, Samuel Roon on bass and Dennis Leeflang on drums are back to show why they were so ahead of their time.

Producer Frederik Nordstrom has managed to capture what propelled these guys to the forefront of the trash metal genre 25 years ago. The album opens with the instrumental “Jackboot Thugbots” which is an apocalyptic sounding sound that sounds as if the masses are marching to go into battle. You have to love that title too!

The guys then press the pedal to the floor with “It’s Coming” and set the tone for the rest of the album. “Murder’s just a state of mind until a life is taken….tick tock, tick tock, this is it.” Dennis’ vocals are amazing and still harbor that rough, aggressive edge. Erik and Anthony lay down some blistering riffs that hook you in immediately. “If I Were President” starts off with a Pantera-ish start to it, but the middle of the song lunges forward at a speed sure to get the pit moshing.

“Fueled by Regret” is another assault on the senses. Dennis is a beast on the double kick drum on this song. Mid way through the song, the double guitar assault is so intense that it sounds like a swarm of bees on the warpath. “Fist of Fascista”, my early on favorite song on here, is one that I really hope the boys bring to their live show.

“God Loves Violence”, the first video released, is classic I.N.C., yet with a certain maturity that comes with 25 years of life under their belts. There are actually two versions of this video. The first one is pretty violent with intense imagery. The second is a tamer performance piece from the guys. “The Good Bones Stay Down” combines intense lyrics that bring about fierce imagery of a love gone bad. We all have experienced a love like this. “Poison slowly choking the soul, love turned hate, I’ve lost all control.” The song churns along at a great pace that would translate very well into their live show.

This new album is a triumphant return for the guys who have never truly gotten the credit that they deserve for being pioneers in this genre. It’s a very solid recording from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to thrash fans and to just about any metal head out there who can appreciate the intensity that Indestructible Noise Command bring, both musically and lyrically. The only fault that I have to it is that I had to wait 23 years to crank this!

Erick Baker: Poetry Set To Music

2011-04-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how sometimes in the darkest of moments; a person truly discovers who they are and what they are made of. Heartbreak is an emotion that almost all of us have experienced, but each of us deals with it in our own personal way. For Erick Baker, heartache was a key that unlocked a gift that he has been harvesting inside of him, untapped and waiting to express itself.

After graduating from college with a degree in Public Relations, Erick turned to his proud parents and told them that this was not what he wanted to do with his life. “I was lost; I didn’t know what to do. I felt like a blank canvas,” stated Baker. “I decided to do some travel and I also decided to teach myself to play the guitar, it was something that I had always wanted to do.”

Enter the girl who unleashed the artist. Erick had dated her for several years and was in love with her. Then, out of nowhere……she broke his heart. “I had never been in love. I don’t throw that word around lightly,” stated Erick. “My heartache led me to start writing my own songs. Suddenly, the stars started to realign and I started to feel better.” He started back to doing open mic nights and even went back to school to get his masters in English so that he could teach.

One night while performing at one of those open mic nights, a promoter from Nashville was watching. He approached Baker after his set and asked him if he wanted to open for John Legend. “I was really surprised. At that time, which was around May of 2007, I had nothing recorded yet,” said Erick. “Suddenly, I went from playing for 15 people to an audience of 1500.”

The date was finally upon him and Erick performed a 45 minute set for the crowd. Now, Erick’s voice had developed from him performing in bars and trying to sing over talking people. This crowd was a bit different. “They sat there and listened intently to what I had to say,” said Erick. “They got it and at the end of my show, they gave me a huge ovation. At that precise moment, I thought to myself I can do this.” That was a night that changed Erick’s life forever.

In February of 2008, his EP It’s Getting Too Late to Say It’s Early was released. A release party was announced and Erick sold out the venue and turned people away. Three days later, he opened up for James Blunt. The crowd was blown away by his passionate and emotional lyrics and gave him a standing ovation. He also sold every copy of his EP that night.

Erick’s shows continued to draw big crowds. 2010 proved to be a busy year for Erick as he released his full length CD entitled Holding the Pieces in Place as well as a CD/DVD entitled Live at the Bijou Theatre. In the summer of 2010, he was asked to open one show for the legendary band Heart and he impressed the Wilson sisters so much that they asked him to finish out the tour with them. “That was really special for me. They allowed me to bring my family out on tour on their bus. That meant so much to me because my daughter Annabelle was just a baby and I don’t like being away from her or my wife,” said Erick.

Erick’s latest release is a DVD entitled Stay Awhile. It is a small, intimate acoustic performance in which he explains the meaningful stories behind his songs. “With this DVD, I wanted a visual aid to validate and clarify what I am doing and to help the audience get it. My live shows allow me to reach another emotional level of rawness and passion. Songwriting for me is different every time. Lyrics and melody are the key ingredients with minimalistic music,” says Erick. “The depth is in the lyrics themselves. What I write is influenced by my family. The birth of my daughter Annabelle has given me even more purpose and has fueled me. When I am up on stage, I am fighting and singing for my family.”

Erick’s live shows are what he lives for and he truly delivers in those shows. On stage: A man, standing alone, naked in front of a crowd of strangers with only an acoustic guitar by his side. This leaves him vulnerable and exposed for all to see and he loses himself in his performance. That blank canvas is suddenly a collage of feelings and emotions as raw as you have ever heard or felt. “People have told me that I need to pull back a little, that I allow people to see too much. I grew up in a small town in Tennessee and everyone knew each other by their first name. I am not a guarded person and I want to stay that way. I always want to be that guy. I don’t want to be a huge star that you always see on TMZ or in the Inquirer.”

One of the most beautiful and powerful songs that he has recorded is called “Plastic Flowers” and I asked him for some insight on that song. “When I was growing up, my parents owned their own flower business and I delivered flowers to cemeteries. After I married my wife, I started thinking about spending a lifetime with her and the thought of losing her scared me,” said Erick. “My parents have been married for 40 years and I don’t understand that kind of love yet, but I want to. So, I sat down to write a song, from a man’s perspective yet trying to keep it universal, about a guy who lost his wife. He takes her fresh cut flowers everyday and he knows his life is coming to an end. On that last day, he takes her plastic flowers because he knows they will always be there. I have to detach myself when I song it live or I will cry, it’s very overwhelming.”

So, what does the future hold for Erick Baker? “I want to get to the level that Tom Petty is at right now. To just go out there and be able to do whatever you want to do. He is so real and so true. If I can be at least a minor fraction of him, that would be great. I also want to be the best husband and dad that I can be. I want the man that my fans fall in love with to be the same man that my wife fell in love with also.” Erick also went in the studio this past January and recorded his new CD that he hopes to have out very soon.

My best friend and I were lucky enough to see Erick perform last summer with Heart. Neither of us had ever heard of him, but we were quickly captivated by this guy on stage with his acoustic guitar and a voice full of conviction. We waited in line to meet him and bought his latest CD. On the ride back that night, we listened to it and his words moved us to tears. That warm summer night captured one of those musical experiences that forever changed my life.

Erick Baker is a man who turned heartbreak into a pivotal life changing experience, in a positive way. He’s a man who sings from his heart and just lays it all on the line. The amount of passion and emotion in his lyrics and voice is almost beyond comprehension. His live performances truly do help to transcend his songs to another level. Erick Baker: a man whose gift of poetry to music will strike a chord in you like never before.

Thomas Dolby: Still Blinding Us With His Brillance

2011-04-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

The man who “blinded you with science” is back on the music scene after a long absence. Thomas Dolby, who up and left the music biz back in the early ‘90s, is back with a brilliant, new EP entitled Oceanea. Be warned: those who may be expecting “Science Part 2” will be a bit disappointed. This new release shows Dolby in a more mature, serious state of music making.

The EP is a follow up to another EP released in 2010 called Amerikana. These are both precursors to his first full length studio album in almost twenty years entitled A Map of the Floating City which will be released later this year.

The budget priced three song EP opens with the title track ”Oceanea”, which is a smooth, soothing song ones journey of returning home. His words on this song are beautiful and poetic and a far cry from his electronic heydays. A nice added touch is the addition of the gentle vocals by Eddi Reader.

“Simone” is more of a jazzy little number complete with saxophone. This song also weaves a tale in its lyrics of a love gone bad, but one party not wanting to give up so easily. Closing out the EP is “To the Lifeboats” which references Caroline, a name familiar to all fans of The Golden Age of Wireless, Dolby’s first release way back in 1984. This song does have a little bit more of Dolby’s trademark synthesizer work.

I was very pleased with this EP and it was enough of a tease to make me even hungrier for the full length CD to come out later. Dolby’s songwriting weaves a tale of storytelling that has matured through the years. I found this to be refreshing compared to the humor that was evident in his early work. His work may be a bit more serious this time around, but Dolby will still “blind you” with his lyrical poetry.

The Braids Native Speaker Intrigues The Senses

2011-04-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

One listen to the debut CD by the band Braids is just not going to do it. This is one of those kinds of CDs where it should have a sticker on the front requiring a “two listen minimum upon opening”. It is entitled Native Speaker and it is one of the most unique releases that I have heard in a long time.

Braids, who hail from Calgary, came together as four best friends in high school and began their musical collaboration shortly after. Their debut EP, Set Pieces, was released in 2008. This new release has only been out a short time, but it has garnered rave reviews from everyone including Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Spin.

How exactly can I describe what I heard in written form? The sound is both complex and simplistic at the same time. There is a great deal of experimentation and layering of sounds that is very refreshing. It is the ultimate “let the top down on a sunny day and drive with nowhere in mind” soundtrack.

Lead singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston has a style that is unique in today’s market, yet it has already started to draw comparisons to the Bjork from her early Sugarcubes days and Kate Bush. She has a sense of innocence to her styling, but when listening closely to her lyrics you can tell that those devil horns pop out every now and then.

The songs are somewhat “epic” in length given most standards that the industry is use to seeing. The average song length is six minutes long and none clock in under four minutes. “Glass Deers”, almost eight minutes in length, is a slow song that builds and builds with endless layers of synth arrangements. “Lemonade” is a more upbeat and somewhat catchy song that just keeps drawing you into it deeper and deeper. It’s almost like subliminal mind control to where you can’t turn it off. Wait; don’t let that scare any of you off.

I can see why this has caught the ears of an industry full of “flavors of the week” and all the rave reviews are warranted. Again, it is entitled “Native Speaker” by The Braids. It’s the band that many of you haven’t heard of before, but you soon will. They may be young, but what they bring to the table is wise and seasoned well beyond their years. Check them out before they blow up huge so that you can tell all your friends “I told you so”!

LIVAN's Post Punk Revival

2011-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

I love when I run across new music that makes me take a step back and go “Whoa!” This was the case upon my first listen to the new CD by LIVAN. Greek born, UK musician LIVAN (pronounced Lie-van) is a throwback to the late eighties and early nineties punk movement. I felt transported back to a club in England during that era when I listened to this CD.

His new CD is entitled Off the Grid and for good reason. “I called the release Off the Grid because of the digital recording revolution, so many people are making records in their bedroom with ProTools. They lay everything on the ‘grid’, but it’s soulless. It fails to grab the onstage vibe of musical interaction that inherent in a live band,” explained LIVAN. The band took an old-school approach to recording this one and it does have that raw, real feel to it.

The opening cords of the leadoff track “Happy Returns” grabs your attention with its crunching guitars and nasty bassline. This just sets the tone for the rest of the CD in a big way. It’s very infectious and you can’t help but want to get up and jam. “King of the World” is along that same vein with its catchy riffs and chorus. LIVAN reminds me of an early David Bowie or Billy Idol when they were young and hungry. You can hear that attitude that they had in his voice. The CD is not all upbeat and dance worthy.

Tracks such as “Meet Me on the Other Side”, “No Man’s Land” and “Where I Bleed” show a different side of LIVAN. The music slows down and the lyrics turn a bit darker on these selections, thus showing us a more emotional side to this performer. There are many layers to LIVAN and one shouldn’t be so easily fooled by the upbeat selections. This is a person who has his own dark side that we are allowed to take momentary peeks into. His vocal styling, in my opinion, on these brooding songs was eerily similar to Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil.

This CD has barely seen the light of day since I received it because it has become one with my CD player. The songs are catchy and energetic, the vocals are unique, the lyrical content is worthy of interpretation and the musicianship is top notch. Are you in need a post-punk fix? Are you wanting to hear something to make you think? Are you just plain sick and tired of premanufactured, mindless music on the radio? Then check out LIVAN and see what the buzz is all about.

Kopek: The Rock Of The Irish

2011-03-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever played word association? Ok then, what comes to mind when I say Irish? Red hair? Shamrocks? Bagpipes? Lucky Charms? How about genuine and authentic rock and roll saviors, here to deliver a sermon that not only is rock and roll not dead, but it is about to grab you by the neck and choke you into submission. Do I have your attention now?

Let me introduce you to three lads from Dublin, Ireland: Shane Cooney on drums, Brad Kinsella on bass and Daniel Jordan on vocals and guitar. They go by the name Kopek and their debut CD, “White Collar Lies”, has only been out a short time, but it has caught the attention of an industry that has grown stale and an audience that is hungry for real music. These guys are as genuine as you get: real musicians writing real songs and playing real music.

I had the privilege of catching up with drummer Shane Cooney before a recent gig and we talked about this crazy rock and roll ride that has begun for the band. “The response here in the States has been overwhelming at times. We wanted to keep things honest and original when we made the CD, but we truly did not expect this kind of a reaction on this side of the pond. Everyone seems to be really into it,” said Shane.
So, what’s in a name? What exactly does Kopek mean? Shane explained, “It really doesn’t mean anything, we just liked the word. We wanted to choose something that people would hear and associate it with the band, no second meanings. We wanted to have a blank canvas, free to do what we wanted. Plus, it needed to have a hardcore and rock sound to it.”

The boys have been busting their chops and paying their dues for almost ten years now, so this is no overnight sensation story. Drawing on influences ranging from Robert Johnson and the Doors to Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins, the lads perfected their sound. Daniel provides some nasty guitar riffs that are as infectious as his very unique voice. Shane and Brad are a solid rhythm unit providing that fist in the air pumping backbeat that keeps the songs throbbing along.
“Our style is one that would stop you on the street, throw you up against the wall and slap you in the face”, says Shane, when asked about the group’s sound. “The Sex Pistols would have killed for all of this material to write about. There is so much horror going on in the world. Then you have bands that write love songs, but what if you don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend? Things do tend to piss us off, especially after our hangover wears off and we like to write about those things; whether it’s the price of alcohol or the price of oil.”

Shane told me that his musical defining moment came when his parents took him to a midnight show when he was eleven to see Jerry Lee Lewis in Ireland. It was a rare opportunity to see Lewis perform and Shane was a mere twenty feet away from him in a small club. He was so blown away by how real Lewis was and how he wasn’t trying to copy anyone else, he just wanted to be himself. That was the moment that he knew he wanted to do that for a living.

Speaking of shows, Kopek has definitely been busy burning up the road on tour. They just finished up a very successful tour with Hinder, Saving Abel and My Darkest Day. I was fortunate to see the guys perform in Greensboro, NC on that tour. “That was a great show! The crowd there was very into it and very energetic. I also learned that moonshine is a delicacy in those parts of the South,” explained Shane when recalling their stop in North Carolina. The band ended that tour and then jumped onto another tour with Cold and Egypt Central. Shane told me that when that tour was over, the band would be joining another tour, but he couldn’t let the cat out of the bag yet and tell me who with.

Our conversation closed with a discussion of the band celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the States instead of their native Ireland. “We were actually in Baltimore on that day and had a show to play. It’s amazing how all of America comes together and for one day only, everyone is Irish. I think we drank for two days straight and are still a bit hung over. America certainly knows how to do St. Patrick’s Day right,” said Shane.

I have to tell you all that this band has had a major impact on me. I cannot tell you the last time that I got a CD that was as solid as “White Collar Lies” is. Shane explained to me that they wrote and recorded in a way so that each song could be strong enough to be a single and video. The irony is that there are so many choices floating around, that the label is debating exactly which one to release next. How many bands can say that they actually have that type of a problem?

Check out these Irish lads and see what all the fuss is about. One listen to “White Collar Lies” will make you a believer not only in the luck of the Irish, but also in the talent of these amazing musicians.

I See Stars Throw A Party

2011-03-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

I See Stars gained a huge fan following after the release of their acclaimed debut album 3-D. The release defied genres and really captured the attention of many on the music scene. The guys brought forth the emergence of electronicore to the scene that proved to be a popular entrée to hungry music fans looking for something new. What exactly is electronicore? Well, you take one part auto-tone, add one part electronic, mesh in just about every genre imaginable and add a dash of screamed vocals.

The band toured heavily in support of their debut release, including the 2010 Warped Tour, and their live show gained new fans with each and every performance. Those fans have waited five years for new material and the result sees the band taking path in a new direction, while trying to stay true to their roots. The new album entitled The End of the World Party is definitely a party album with more focus on techno/dance and less on hardcore.

Lead singer Devin Oliver and his band mates have decided that, instead of recreating that magic that they captured with 3-D, they wanted to step it up and take it to a new level. The album tends to lean heavier on the electronic and techno edge, with less emphasis on the hardcore. Auto tune is something that a lot of bands are experimenting with and for some fans, it’s a “take it or leave it” addition. There is some experimentation with it on tracks such as “Home for the Weekend”, but I don’t think that the guys over saturate the music with it until the point of overkill.

I think there are some really great tracks on here including “The Common Hours 2” and the title track, with “Over It” being probably the strongest track overall. There are plenty of catchy and heavy riffs and the overall feel of the album is very upbeat and fun. Yes, they also still have their screams before the breakdowns also. It is still a heavy pop/electronic album, but nowhere along the lines of heaviness heard on their debut.

Overall, I found it very enjoyable. I am sure that there will be fans who want to hear that same formula again that they fell in love with and they may feel as if it comes up short in the heavy category. A band must be allowed to grow and try new things in order to expect any form of longevity in this fickle music industry. I commend I See Stars for trying something new and hope that it pays off for them.

http://www.barebonesmusic.com/barebonesmusic/Reviews/Entries/2011/3/10_I_SEE_STARSThe_End_of_The_World_Party.html

Darkest Hour Returns To Form

2011-03-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Washington, D.C.’s Darkest Hour is back with a newfound focus determined on bringing them back to the forefront of the metal core scene. They just released their new CD entitled “The Human Romance” and it’s a more defined sound that their fans will be very happy with.

The band has definitely seen their share of personnel changes over their 15 years together. 2007 saw the release of “Deliver Us”, which was deemed a defining moment in the bands’ career by many of their fans, both old and new. Shortly after came the sudden departure of longtime guitarist Kris Norris. He was replaced by Michael Carrigan who was an asset to their live show, but came up a little short while meshing into a cohesive unit in the studios. Their 2009 release, “Eternal Return”, left many fans a little disappointed. That release seemed to be a step back from “Deliver Us” and did not bode well with many fans. Since then, they left their longtime home of Victory Records and have signed with eOne Music. It seems as if they are hungry on this new CD and have come out of the gates with guns blazing. “The Human Romance” is a return to their defining sound that put them way
ahead of many in the same category.

John Henry’s vocals are semi-clean on this CD, but still capture that intensity that fans expect out of him. Songs such as “Love as a Weapon” show the band in top form with dueling Mikes, Carrigan and Schleibaum, assaulting the listener’s ears with blazing guitar licks. This song, in my opinion, is definitely the standout cut on the CD. The guys are just as aggressive as ever on tracks such as “Violent by Nature” and “Your Every Day Disaster”.

Overall, fans will be pleased with this return to form CD. Darkest Hour proves that after all these years together, that they are not a one trick pony. The epic instrumental “Terra Solaris”, one of two on the CD, is proof of just how great the musicianship of these guys truly is. While some tracks may be a little more melodic than others, overall it still unloads its fury with such tenacity that it will certainly melt your faces when cranked to capacity.

http://www.barebonesmusic.com/barebonesmusic/Reviews/Entries/2011/3/2_DARKEST_HOURThe_Human_Romance.html

Kopek: Dublin's Addictive Musical Export

2011-02-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Ireland’s newest export to the USA comes in the form of a power trio of rockers called Kopek. Their stellar debut CD entitled “White Collar Lies” has just been released onto the world. The band, consisting of Shane Cooney on drums, Brad Kinsella on bass and Daniel Jordan on vocals and guitar, are here to bring back some much needed energy and passion to rock and roll.

How many times have you opted not to buy a band’s CD because you only liked a song or two on it? Well, this CD is an exception to that rule as it is a work of art from beginning to end. It flows cohesively from beginning to end and warrants the listener’s attention to such an extent, that you don’t want to skip any tracks. How many times has that happened to you while listening to a band’s CD? Be honest now; very few times has such an occurrence happened.

The CD opens with the new single “Cocaine Chest Pains” and the opening riff immediately grabs you by the throat demanding your attention. It also caught the attention of Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue as he featured it on his radio show The Sixx Sense as one of his new picks. If this one doesn’t get you rocking, then you best call 911 because this is pure rock and roll ecstasy.

The title track shifts gears and slows the tempo a bit while delving in lyrics on a level sure to strike a chord with many people today. Touching on the government getting richer while more and more lives are lost, it is a song that touches on the sentiment of many Americans today.

“Love Is Dead” is another stand-out track that pays homage to many of the band’s fallen idols. It was the band’s first video and is a stellar example of singer Daniel Jordan’s insanely original and powerful vocals.

The band really mixes it up and rocks out with fierce intensity on songs such as “The Easy Way (D.B. Cooper)” and “Bring It Home”, which also includes another nasty riff that the song is based around. They also know how to slow the tempo a bit on songs such as “Floridian” and “Bigger Than Us All” to where they are almost ballads, but they build up to their chorus which rocks out.

Brad and Shane are a tight unit to supply the backbeat and drive that powers this band. Daniel, well, what can I say about Daniel? This guy is definitely a star that many people will be talking about in the near future. He is a highly skilled guitar player with some original and amazing riffs that hook you from the first chord. He also possesses one of the most original voices to come along in years. He has a rough and raspy voice that is so powerful and full of conviction that you can’t help but to notice who is singing. It hooks you and makes you want to hear more.

I highly recommend this CD to lovers of powerful rock and roll that is true to the core and heartfelt. You also have to love the effect of the distortion pedal on a catchy riff. Kopek may be new to the scene for most of us, but these guys have been putting in their dues for almost a decade and it looks as if the payoff is in sight. Check out “White Collar Lies” and experience a new force in rock and roll to be reckoned with.

Music as a Weapon Tour Assaults Winston Salem, NC

2011-02-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

It may have been a cold and windy day in February, but it was about to heat up as the Music as a Weapon 5 tour pulled into Winston Salem, NC. A sea of black t-shirts congregated in front of the Lawrence Joel Sports Annex as the fans began to line up to claim their spots when the doors opened. The tour, consisting of co-headliners Korn and Disturbed along with Sevendust and In This Moment, has been drawing impressive numbers along the way so far and tonight’s show looked to follow suit.
Monster Energy Drink, the sponsor of the tour, was on hand for the show with their mobile unit parked out front. Their crew was giving away free drinks to anyone who ventured up too their tent outside. There’s nothing like getting a bunch of anxious head bangers all jacked up on energy drinks before a show! The doors opened at 6:30 and a mad dash ensued for not only the general admission floor spots, but also for the bathrooms!

In This Moment were first to hit the stage. The band, fronted by Revolver’s Hottest Chick in Metal Maria Brink, have been touring relentlessly since 2005 and establishing a very loyal fan base. Their five song set, focusing solely on their newest CD “A Star Crossed Wasteland”, was a full on assault. Maria seemed to be having some audio problems at the start, which did prove to be distracting for her, but she managed to keep it together like a pro. The crowd was definitely full of new recruits into their Iron Army. Their set closed with “Welcome to The Gun show” and a full moshpit erupted as bodies started to fly everywhere. This was my first time seeing In This Moment on a big stage and I have to say that they seemed right at home.

Sevendust were up next and fed off of the energy that In This Moment drummed up in the crowd. Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon took the stage with a vengeance and from the opening notes of “Splinter”, he had a chokehold on the hungry fans. The band sounded tight and marched through staples such as “Driven” and “Black”. Their short, but intense, 30 minute set ended with “Face to Face” and left the crowd hungry for more.

This proved to be the perfect set-up for Disturbed, who had a strong following in the building by turnout of t-shirt support alone. David Draiman, lead singer, may not prove to be the most charismatic person on stage, but he knows how to deliver the goods to the crowd of followers. The band, who’s last four CDs have debuted at number one, sounded great and the lightshow was top notch. They blitzed through their hour long set with very little interaction with the crowd. “Remnants” followed by “Asylum” followed by “Stupify”, one hit right after the other. It barely gave the crowd time to catch its own breath. The kamikaze style set closed with their signature hit “Sickness”. One argument heard about the band is that their sound has definitely been well crafted, but it’s beginning to sound a bit repetitious. It may be time to freshen up things just a bit.

It was Korn’s turn to close out the show, as they take turns with Disturbed alternating that coveted spot. The originators of the “nu-metal” sound, Korn has seen a lot of wannabes pop up in their career of almost 20 years. Their showing tonight proved why they have lasted for so long and earned the respect of many in the crowd. Lead singer Jonathan Davis may not look the part of the traditional front man, but the man has got the skills to fill the shoes and get the job done.

Davis, along with Munky on guitar and Fieldy on bass, controlled the stage front with their unique presence. Munky, looking somewhat like a cross between Prince and Adam Ant with his face paint and attire was a beast on guitar. Fieldy wielded his bass more as a weapon than an instrument of sound as he pounded away on it. Davis came out dressed more for a run at the gym than a rock show, but that’s the beauty of this front man. He doesn’t need all the props and fancy gimmicks used by some; substance over style.

I admit that a lot of people that I spoke with before the show were not very interested in seeing Korn perform. I heard a lot of comments such as “They use to be good”, “They suck” and “Maybe 10 years ago, but not tonight” when I talked to some of the crowd before the show. Well, Davis and company made believers out of these doubters with their high energy hour plus set of old and new songs. Most of the staple songs were there, “Freak on a Leash”, Twisted Transitor”, “Ya’ll Want a Single” and “Blind” kept the rabid crowd head banging along. Davis even brought out the bagpipes for “Shoots and Ladders” which turned into a mash-up of sorts with Metallica’s “One”. Are Korn closet Glee fans?

The band ended the show by coming out to center stage and tossing shirts, guitar picks, drum sticks and drum heads out into the audience. I will admit that I was highly impressed with their set. Yes, it could have been a little longer so that a few more of their signature songs could have been included. That being said, the entire show was a treat. The Music as a Weapon Tour focused this year n smaller markets that may not necessarily get shows of this caliber. Here’s hoping to its continued success in bringing music like this to the masses.

Hinder And Friends Keep Rock Alive In The Carolinas

2011-01-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, NC recently played host to a good old fashioned rock and roll party. The new travelling rock show consisting of Kopek, my Darkest Days, Saving Abel and headliner Hinder pulled into town on January 27. Their agenda was simple: to thaw out the frozen town and to keep rock and roll alive in the Carolinas.

Kopek kicked off the show right on time to a half full house. The ones who were there got treated to a solid thirty minute set from this Irish band. Lead singer Daniel Jordan has a very unique voice and is a worthy front man. Low on style, but heavy on substance, they slowly warmed the crowd over. “Cocaine Chest Pains” and “Love is Dead” got the loudest crowd responses.

My Darkest Days were up next and the floor quickly filled up when they hit their cue. Discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, this band has developed a very strong and loyal following in a short amount of time. Their set really got the crowd fired up! It included a great cover of Duran Duran’s “Come Undone”. It was true to the original, but with an added rock edge to it. The set ended with their huge lead-off single “Porn Star Dancing” and everyone in the building was on their feet for this one. Lead singer Matt Walst is great fronting this band and his voice was top notch. The ladies did seem to be very taken to their shirtless, mohawk sporting guitarist Sal Costa.

Saving Abel took the stage next and kept the crowd pumped up. Touring in support of their latest CD “Miss America”, the bands energy may have been just a step down from My Darkest Days, but they did sound awesome. Lead singer Jared Weeks interacted a lot with the crowd and even dedicated a song to the troops serving overseas. “Addicted”, off of their first CD, got the crowd rocking as well as their latest hit “The Sex Is Good”.

It was finally time for Hinder to hit the stage and at that point, the crowd was hot and ready for them. In a time when most bands depend on a lot of flash and props to make up for a lack of actual talent, Hinder proved that they were not in that category. Lead singer Austin Winkler was definitely schooled in the eighties front man genre. He strutted around the stage enticing screams out of the women while at the same time encouraging the men to band their heads! He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. The band was there to have fun and wanted the crowd to forget about their nine to five troubles for ninety minutes and enjoy this rock and roll party.

The set was a good mix of tracks off of their new CD “All American Nightmare” and their previous two releases. The band is all about partying, but they have also found a niche amongst their fans with their eighties inspired power ballads. “Better Than Me” and their huge hit “Lips Of An Angel” got two of the biggest sing along that night.

The band was tight and proved themselves worthy of headlining this bill. All bands did a meet and greet after their sets that night and met fans and signed autographs. The music industry is truly struggling with the issue of illegal downloading. When acts like these allow the fans to get one on one contact with them, it is a great marketing tool that needs to be utilized by more bands.

It was a fun night full of great rock and roll. Hats off to the beautiful Carolina Theatre for bringing such a great event to their venue. It is a small, intimate theatre complete with an upper balcony and the acoustics in the place were incredible. The theatre is a classy place with a top notch staff. Here’s hoping that many more great acts will make at a stop at this wonderful venue.

STYX Takes Us Back To The 70s

2010-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

STYX visited the Salem Civic Center on October 25, 2010 and schooled the small crowd in attendance in what’s missing in today’s industry: true musicianship. The band has been on the road performing The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight, two of their huge releases from the seventies, in their entirety. The last few years has seen a resurgence of bands from the seventies packing arenas all across the country and STYX has been riding high on that wave.

The band’s current lineup consists of only one original member, James “JT” Young on guitar and vocals, longtime member Tommy Shaw on acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, Lawrence Gowan on keyboards and vocals, Ricky Phillips on bass and Todd Sucherman on drums. Longtime member Chuck Panozzo is on tour with the band, but is in a weakened state because of being HIV positive and only performs in some of the bigger cities.

As the house lights went down that night in Salem, the large video screen onstage came on and we watched a person in their bedroom flipping through a vinyl collection of such seventies groups as Journey and Bachman Turner Overdrive. Then, you see the STYX album The Grand Illusion and they take it out of its sleeve and place it on a turntable. The band then hit the stage and began “Great White Hope”, song one on side one.

Tommy Shaw’s vocals on “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” were dead on and have aged like a fine wine. Lawrence took the spotlight for a huge hit of theirs “Come Sail Away” and received a huge, favorable response from the crowd.I, personally, miss Dennis DeYoung being in the band, but I do have to give credit to Lawrence Gowan. At times, he did sound eerily similar to DeYoung, but the guy has an amazing voice and he definitely knows how to win over a crowd. As the concluded side one, Tommy looked at the audience and asked “What do we do now? Flip it over!” and the video screen showed the actual vinyl album being turned over. Yea, kind of cheesy, but it does make you linger for those days of the pops and cracks of the vinyl.

James took center stage for a rocking version of “Miss America” that had the diehards on their feet. The band ripped through the rest of side two and then proceeded to take a twenty minute intermission before returning and starting side one of Pieces of Eight. “Great White Hope” kicked it off and the band really seemed to be genuinely having a great time on stage playing these songs. It was very infectious seeing Tommy and James smiling at each other and clowning around.

“Renegade” was without a doubt the big crowd pleaser of the night. Up until this point, the majority of the crowd was rather subdued and sat during the performances, but this song brought the entire place to its feet. The song is a definite staple for the local album rock station in town and the crowd was ignited with enthusiasm.

As side two of Pieces of Eight ended with the very mellow song “Aku Aku”, the band left the stage for a brief moment but then returned for a short encore. It consisted of a great cover of the Beatles “I Am the Walrus” followed by a Tommy crowd favorite “Too Much Time on My Hands” from Paradise Theater. The band then showed their appreciation to the fans by pelting them with STYX beach balls, frisbees and tote bags.

Overall, the show was a feast for the senses. The huge video screen provided a great backdrop all night long of art work and images. The ears were treated to a feast of instrumental expertise as the band sounded as good if not better than the recorded versions of these songs. It is very unusual to see a group that peaked in the late seventies and early eighties to be so on top of their game over thirty years into their careers. The music was top notch as were the vocals of everyone. A band like STYX just proves that these guys are from the old school of music making where you don’t do it because it’s the cool thing to do; you do it because you LOVE doing it.

Terri Nunn of Berlin: Proving She Can Still Take Your Breath Away

2010-09-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

The 80s was such a great decade for music. There were no rules and fresh, new bands were popping up everywhere. New Wave was introduced in the early 80s and riding that wave of creativity was the band Berlin. Fronted by the charismatic bombshell Terri Nunn, the band’s breakout EP in 1982, “Pleasure Victim”, brought them to the forefront of the synth driven MTV era. The band is probably known best for the love song “Take My Breath Away” from the movie Top Gun in 1986.

The band disbanded in 1987 and went their separate ways. Terri stayed busy throughout the years and in 1996 reformed Berlin with all new members. The creative juices immediately started flowing and the band hit the road touring and began recording. She reunited with original band mates in 2004 for the VH1 show “Bands Reunited”.

Terri recently slowed down from her very busy schedule long enough to answer a few questions that I had for her. It was an eye-opening interview:

Johnny: “Hi Terri thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions to let everyone know just what you have been up to. A lot of people do not realize that you were actually interested in acting early on in your career. The biggest piece of trivia to come out of that is the fact that you auditioned for the part of Princess Leia in Star Wars. So, what made you decide to focus primarily on music?”

Terri: “I wanted to be a musician/songwriter more than anything from the time I was 3 years old, but it scared the crap out of me. Some opportunities presented themselves pretty early in my life (15 years old) for doing television. At 18, I decided to try going after the music dream and got really lucky meeting John (Crawford, of Berlin) within a year. It was a lot of work, but our results together got attention pretty fast, so I made the choice of working on music full-time.”

Johnny: “Looking back, there weren’t many women rocking out or fronting bands. You were kind of a pioneer. I mean, you were pushing the envelope way before Madonna ever came onto the scene. “Sex, I’m A…” was a shocker back then, but pretty tame by today’s standards. Do you ever step back and think, ‘Yea, I was one of the first!”?

Terri: “There were a few women who really inspired me to rock out, Grace Slick being one of them. Along with the guest spot on her song, we (I, Martha Davis- the Motels and Gaye Ann Bruno) got to interview her on our weekly talk show “Between the Sheets. One of the questions I got to ask her what it was like for her to be truly one of the first female rockers on the planet. She said her role model was Mick Jagger and male role models are true for me too. Bowie, McCartney, Jim Morrison, these were the people I wanted to immulate onstage.”

Johnny: “A lot of people don’t realize what all has gone on since you reformed the band back in 1998. Your latest release was 2009’s “All The Way In”. Are you currently working on new Berlin music?”

Terri: “Yes, an all new studio album will be released in 2011! We’ve had quite a few releases since 1998: “Sacred and Profane” came out in 2000, the DVD “Intimate” in 2001, the studio album “Voyeur” released in 2003, “4Play” in 2005 and the DVD/CD package “All The Way In” in 2009.”

Johnny: “A lot of people mainly know you from “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun. It was the number one song of 1986. Has there ever been a point since then when you thought ‘Oh my god, if I have to perform that song one more time?’ I had read that Pat Benatar once had that problem with ‘Hit Me with Your Best Shot.”

Terri: “I imagine every artist goes through that exasperation when you have to play songs whether you want to or not, but I have been to concerts where the artist did NOT play the hits I loved and it bummed me out. It felt like they didn’t care about their audience, so why am I paying to be there? Bottom line is, I’m lucky to have so many songs people love and it is my duty and HONOR to play them for people. I love my songs.”

Johnny: “Speaking of which, what motivates you these days to continue creating music and to perform?”

Terri: “Music always has. Collaborating with people, writing new music, seeing the audiences have such a great time that it transports me into freakin’ bliss. These things are really motivating!”

Johnny: “As far as collaborating goes, what would be your dream duet?”

Terri: “Wow, so many. Singing with Grace Slick on the song she just released, ‘Edge of Madness’, was a huge orgasm for me. She wrote it to benefit the needy people in Louisiana right now. Hooking up with people is so fantastic in this business. Chris Cornell comes to mind now; I’d love to sing with him.”

Johnny: “Earlier you mentioned your weekly talk show ‘Between the Sheets’, with your co-hosts Martha Davis of The Motels and your manager Gaye Ann Bruno. Can you tell us more about it?”

Terri: “I’ve wanted to do a talk show for a long time. I co-hosted a show on 97.1 Free FM here in Los Angeles last year, but it wasn’t the right fit. Then Sam Phillips, who also had a show there called The Single Life, started HotTalkLA.com and invited me to host a talk show on her site as well. Gaye Ann and Martha had guested on the Single Life and she thought they were great too, so the three of us started ‘Between the Sheets’ last March. We interview guests and talk about music and pop culture and sex and current events and even sing on occasion! IT’S A BLAST! We’ve interviewed some amazing people already: Grace Slick, Howard Bloom (author of The Lucifer Principle, Genius of the Beast) and Devorah Iyall (Romeo Void). We also enjoy bringing people in with interesting stories: a man who’s physically turning himself into a woman, a man imprisoned for 24 years and just exonerated for a crime he did not commit, a woman who was married to another woman for 5 years without realizing it…fascinating stuff. You can check out all the podcast on HotTalkLA.com.”

Johnny: “A couple of quick questions for your fans. What’s in your I-pod?”

Terri: “Oh god, a lot of stuff. The latest people that I’m listening to are The Birthday Massacre (a really good band!), Lady Gaga, Goldfrapp, Nine Inch Nails and the new Devo.”

Johnny: “Do you have guilty pleasures that may surprise your fans?”

Terri: “I don’t know if it’s surprising, but I love vanilla frozen yogurt with caramel sauce. It’s guilty because most of the time I don’t eat dairy at all, but oh god, it’s hard to turn down.”

Johnny: “So, when all is said and done, what do you want to be known for? When someone says, ‘Hey, do you remember Terri Nunn?’…what do you want to come to people’s minds?”

Terri: “My music and, hopefully, that I empowered people and contributed to their enjoyment of life. Also, with this new talk show, I hope I expose my audience to more talented people and mind-expanding ideas in this world.”

Johnny: “Terri, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions for me and thanks to your manager Gaye Ann for setting this up. It has been an honor.”

Terri: “Thank you Johnny! Good questions! Best of love to you.”

To keep up with all of Terri’s ventures, keep up with her at www.myspace.com/berlinmusic or www.berlinpage.com or on Facebook.

UPROAR Festval Blazes Through Charlotte, NC

2010-09-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

Summertime and major concerts go hand in hand. It seems like all of your favorite bands sit the road when the hot days of summer arrive. Even with the economy in a state of disarray, there were quite a few new tours this year. One of the most anticipated was the inaugural year of the Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival.
This is Rockstar’s second festival this summer, coming on the heels of the highly successful Mayhem Festival. UPROAR is a smaller version of that tour with only one side stage and not as many bands on the bill. Now, these bands may not be as heavy as some featured on Mayhem, but there was still plenty of rock for your money.

UPROAR made its North Carolina stop in Charlotte on September 1 and the weather that day was just as hot as the pyro featured during Avenged Sevenfold’s set. After a local band, whose name was as forgettable as their set, attempted to get the crowd charged up, Hail the Villain took the stage. This Canadian band unleashed a surprisingly impressive 25 minute set on the crowd that definitely got them fired up. Met up with these guys after their set and I have to say that they are a very nice bunch of crazy guys and the band even has their own comic book. You really need to check out this band’s amazing interactive website.

New Medicine was up next and performed a pretty good set as more of the crowd started to fill up the stage area. Australia’s Airbourne really got the crowd fired up with a high energy stage show that focused heavily on their outrageous lead guitarist/singer Joel O’Keefe. This guy is a poster child for rock and roll rydlin when he is on-stage. He was climbing on top of speakers and shredding out solos and at one point even ventured out into the crowd on the shoulders of a crew member
while shredding the entire time!

HELLYEAH closed out the Jagermeister stage and ripped the other bands on that stage a new one with a set worthy of their name. This “super group” of sorts, consisting of Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray, former Mudvayne member Greg Tribbett on guitar, Tom Maxwell of Nothingface on guitar, Bobzilla of Damageplan on bass and the legendary Vinnie Paul of Pantera and Damageplan on drums, is dead set on bringing fun back to rock and roll and they are doing so with a vengeance.

The Rockstar main stage was up next with, even though they have been performing for ten years plus, the “still referred to as” overnight sensation Halestorm. Now, lead singer Lzzy Hale is the lone female performer on the tour, but she most certainly proves that she’s got the balls to front the stage just as impressive as any guy on the tour. Sporting a newer, shorter do, Lzzy and the boys commanded the main stage and got even the most skeptical metal fans in the crowd throwing horns by the end of their set. Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor’s side project Stone Sour were up next and Corey displayed a side of him that most fans do not get to see or hear. The dynamics that he brings to this band is so different than that of Slipknot in that he is a totally different artist by lyrically and vocally. The band ran the gauntlet of musical styles with several heavy numbers performed, mixed with a softer side on songs like “Through Glass”.

Avenged Sevenfold have definetly been the focus of a lot of media attention going into the tour. Mid-way through recording their highly anticipated new album, they lost their drummer and brother in music Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Then the album, “Nightmare” debuted at number one and brought the band screaming back to the forefront with a sound that defies labels. I, along with a great deal of fans there, thought that these guys should be headlining this tour. All one had to do was look into the crowd and see that they were in agreement. I mean, there was like five Avenged t-shirts to everyone Disturbed shirt in the audience.

The Avenged show started with a road crew member hanging himself front and center as they screamed into “Nightmare” and began their pyro heavy assault on the senses. The band, with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy sitting in on drums, unleashed on the audience an arsenal of songs that spanned their entire catalog, yet after a 55 minute set left all of us wanting more. M. Shadow's vocals were dead on target and lead guitarist Synester Gates proved he is a force to reckon with. Another summer tour where the next to last band on the bill stole the show from the headliner. Disturbed closed out the show with a less than inspiring set. They sounded good and they had a great intro to the show, but maybe it was the fact that they had to follow-up such an impressive set from Avenged Sevenfold. It was just a little boring on the senses after the set that was just witnessed.

Overall, the crowd was not as huge as anticipated, but they were appreciative of the fine music being performed for them all day long. Most bands did autograph sessions similar to Mayhem with some bands actually doing two different sessions with one at their tent earlier in the day for free and another at the FYE tent with purchase of their CD. I hope that this tour is around next year, for they really showcased some smaller groups that may have been overlooked on the summer tour circuit given the state of the economy. I guess we will just have to wait to see how much “roaring” will be done next year.

Fight The Lion Roars Forward

2010-09-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

In an industry filled with copycat bands, it’s really hard to stand out and get noticed. DC’s Fight The Lion are attempting to do just that. Having just released their full length CD, “When The Mighty Fall”, they are winning over audiences with their great live show and a fresh batch of catchy songs off of their CD.

The guys have seen a lot happen in a short time. They have opened for such acts as Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Poison, Candlebox and Lifehouse while touring up and down the East coast. A sponsorship with Jagermeister, two EPS, a name change and a few personnel changes later, the guys are really to solidify their place in music industry.

The band, consisting of Jake Mimikos on guitar and lead vocals, Ron Cruz on lead guitar and vocals, Shawn Battle on drums and vocals and Jason Proctor on bass, seems to be defining their sound on this CD. Tracks seem to bounce back and forth between uptempo rockers such as “Runaway Lover” and “The Drive” to slower, more emotionally charged songs such as “A New Hope” and “The Changing”. On the slower tracks, Jake has almost a Michael Stipeish (REM) quality to his vocal delivery. You can really feel the emotional attachment to the lyrics of the slower songs by Jake.

The title track, “When The Mighty Fall” is a standout on the CD and sets the tone of the overall positive message that the band is conveying to the listener, focusing on the positive and overcoming negativity. This does seem to be the overall theme to the CD.

Ron has really stepped up his game on this CD, yet at times it seems as if he is holding back. The band’s live show really gives him a chance to flex his muscles. Shawn really puts in a solid performance laying down some thunderous rhythms on the disc. Jason, newest addition to the band, shows that he is a worthy addition as his bass provides a pounding back beat that compliments Shawn’s drumming to create a worthy rhythm section.

“When The Mighty Fall” is a great progression for this young band. Their songwriting on this CD has matured a great deal since their two EPs. For fans of modern and progressive rock, I would highly recommend checking out Fight The Lion. In a world of wannabees, these guys show a lot of promise and drive that will soon make them the ones to be.

KISS Prove Why They Are The Hottest Show On Earth

2010-09-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

It was a hot summer night on August 28th in Charlotte, NC, but it was about to get even hotter. KISS brought their “Hottest Show on Earth” tour to town that night. They showed all of those in attendance why, after 37 years, they are still the iconic giants in the art of over the top rock and roll showmanship. The current touring lineup consists of co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons plus Eric Singer on drums and Tommy Thayer on lead guitar.

The amphitheatre was packed that night and the lawn was so full that it was hard to see the grass! KISS came up with a great marketing campaign for the summer tour. KISS and smart marketing go hand in hand. As dates for tour were being announced, a special offer for the lawn seats was announced. A paid adult lawn ticket could bring up to four kids, under the age of 14, to the show for free. There were a lot of parents who took advantage of this offer. There were even KISS shirts for the smaller kids on sale at the merchandise booths. Smart move on Mr. Simmons and the boys!

Touring with KISS is The Envy, who are signed to Simmons Records, and The Academy Is. Both bands performed short, yet very good sets, but you could tell that the crowd was there to see KISS. The house lights went down and the video screens came on showing KISS towering above the buildings ala Godzilla as they marched along towards the concert hall. The next images were of the band coming from their dressing rooms to the stage. The now infamous introduction was made and a huge explosion rocked the amphitheater. The boys hit the stage firing on all cylinders performing “Modern Day Delilah” from their latest CD “Sonic Boom”.

The set list for the 2 hour and 10 minute performance spanned the majority of their catalog, but was short on material from the group’s non-makeup years. “Deuce”, “Calling Dr. Love”, “Lick It Up” as well as the surprising non-makeup choice of “Crazy, Crazy Nights” were performed along with numerous others. A KISS show is known for its theatrics and they pulled out all the stops for the fans that night. Gene spit blood and flew to a platform near the top of the stage for “I Love It Loud”, Paul flew out into the audience for “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, Tommy shot rockets at the stage lights during his solo, Eric’s drum kit rose up to the lighting rig and Gene breathed fire at the end of “Firehouse”. Of course, there was a ton of pyro and flames all during the show also.

Paul billed the band’s encore as the longest in the history of rock and roll. Most bands play one or two songs for their encore, but then again, KISS is not like most bands. Their encore was six songs which included an amazing acoustic version of “Beth” with Eric coming out from behind the drum kit to center stage to sing.
KISS brought out members of the armed services to present a check to the Wounded Warriors Foundation. One dollar from every ticket sold on their summer tour will be donated to this worthy cause. Paul gave a heartfelt speech about our troops and living in the greatest country in the world and then led the audience in the pledge of allegiance. That’s something that you usually don’t get at a rock show.

The band closed the night with their signature song known worldwide, “Rock And Roll All Night”. The confetti sprayed out into the audience so thick that it was hard to see the band onstage at times. A barrage of smoke bombs, flames and explosions made the stage look like a 4th of July celebration. As Paul smashed his guitar in half and the show ended.

The band looked and sounded incredible. Gene Simmon’s trademark tongue was wagging all night as his monster boots lurked the stage all night long. Paul Stanley was more energetic that night than I have ever seen him before in concert and he jumped around in his platform boots like he was 25 again! Tommy and Eric have brought a sense of urgency to the band again. You can tell that they are having a blast on-stage and not just going through the motions. Paul said at the show that a KISS concert was somewhere between church and the circus. Ringling Brothers doesn’t have a thing on these boys!

Glamnation Tour Spices Up Roanoke, VA

2010-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Adam Lambert brought his Glamnation Tour to the Roanoke Special Events Center in Roanoke, Virginia on Thursday, August 26, 2010. The event was close to sold out and the crowd was very diverse and very enthusiastic. Fellow season eight American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta has been opening shows for Adam on his tour and she proved to be a worthy tour mate. The eighteen year old Iraheta has a voice on her that is seasoned way beyond her years. The spunky little red head reminded me a great deal of a young Pat Benatar with her voice and stage presence. Her set consisted of several tracks from her debut CD “Just Like You” including a chilling acoustic version of her single “Scars”. Fans were treated to a surprise rocking cover of, none other than, Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker”.

While waiting for Adam, the crowd got pumped up by a great selection of songs by the Black Eyed Peas, Journey and Michael Jackson. The houselights then went out and a prerecorded version of “For Your Entertainment”, the first single off of his CD of the same name. Then Adam emerged at the top of a flight of stairs onstage in a top hat and long coat to his song “Voodoo” and the crowd erupted.

Adam proceeded to run through song after song including his bizarre spin on Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” that he performed on American Idol. “Fever” proved to be another crowd favorite that night. He shared the stage with two male and two female backup dancers along with a very tight four piece band. Let’s not forget to mention the pipes that Adam has blessed with. For those who saw him perform on Idol and we in awe of his voice, let me tell you that it is just magnified a billion times live. He has got to have the most powerful, pure voice that I have ever heard live.

The show was very colorful with a great laser show that added to the almost techno/rave feel of some of the performances. One of the highlights of the show was an acoustic version of the song “Whataya Want From Me”. The show closed with Adam’s current single “If I Had You”, which is currently in the top ten on VH1’s countdown. A short, one song encore was next which saw him cover T-Rex’s song “20th Century Boy”.

The show itself was a lot of fun. It was very high energy, with lots of dancing and a few wardrobe changes. I was hoping for a longer encore in anticipation of hearing his cover of Gary Jules’ “Mad World”, which was originally done by Tears For Fears and performed by Adam on Idol. I was also surprised at how tame his show was. I had read some things online about his show, but that night in Roanoke was free of anything that could be interpreted as controversial.

Unlike other Idol contestants who tend to jump into the industry way above their heads after Idol, Adam seems to taking a smart approach and touring smaller theaters and halls instead of trying to take on large coliseums. He is selling out the majority of his shows and getting rave reviews. For those who thought it was more important to pay attention to this man’s sexual orientation, you missed an amazing show that evening. Hopefully, this gifted artist will continue his momentum and build on it. Adam is proving that sometimes losing on American Idol is a great deal more rewarding than winning.

Red Velvet Car Brings Heart Full Circle

2010-08-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Storytelling is an art form that is slowly fading away in today’s music industry, but not if Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have their say. The Wilson sisters, over their 30 plus year career, have given us such lyrical classics as “Dog and Butterfly” and “Dreamboat Annie”. The eighties came along and a change came over the sisters. The focus suddenly became less centered on crafting personal lyrical gems and more on cleavage and big hair. It was an educational experience to say the least.

The changes in the industry in the eighties and nineties did cause the girls to stop and look at what was going on. They regained their focus and started to remold the legacy that they has established. The focus went back to writing personal and meaningful songs. It looks as if things have come full circle on their newest release entitled “Red Velvet Car”.

Heart is at a very unique point in their career where they don’t have to record, but they want to. There are still a lot of unpinned lyrical gems floating around in the heads of Ann and Nancy. What better place to start than returning to the home of their original label. This CD was recorded for Legacy Recordings which is part of the Sony Music Entertainment family. The band recording their debut album all the way through 1983’s “Passion works” under the Sony flagship, so this is a homecoming for them.

“Red Velvet Car” contains probably the most personal and introspective lyrics since those gems from their early seventies and all around their strongest CD in years. The lead off track entitled “There You Go” sets the tone of the CD with its unique arrangement of instruments and lyrical warnings. It is a very unique song that sounds refreshingly different for the band.

Radio has been all over the track “WTF” and for good reason. It’s a power rocker with Ann’s powerful vocal interpretation of the lyrics taking it to another level. “Red Velvet Car”, my personal favorite on the CD, is a very sexy slow song. The string section in the background of this song adds a profound layer to this song that just helps it transcend to another level.

Nancy takes over vocals on “Hey You” and just may be one of the best songs that she has ever written. It tells of a love come and gone and the being thankful for what was, but not being bitter or angry during this process. The addition of Nancy on mandolin adds a nice touch to this very Sheryl Crowish song.

“Queen City” pays homage to Seattle where the Wilson sisters grew up and where Ann lives today. “Safronia’s Mark” is another lyrical gem that is about the sister’s great, great, great grandmother from the Civil War era. It’s a beautifully arranged song that is another standout on the CD. Speaking of songs written about family members, “Sunflower” was written by Nancy about Ann and given to her as a birthday gift. Wow and to think that all I ever got from my sister was a card.

The last track entitled “Sand” is a new recording originally done by the girls sideproject The Lovemongers. The song, even though previously recorded, had never truly felt complete. They rerecorded it for this CD and added some different instruments and the song has finally seen its completed form. It’s a beautiful song that I thought couldn’t get any better than the original, but I was sorely mistaken.
Heart chose Ben Mink to produce this CD. They were familiar with his work since he produced Ann’s amazing solo CD entitled “Hope and Glory” back in 2007. He was a wise choice for this project as he continuously challenged the girls in ways that they haven’t been throughout all their recording years. As in challenging Ann’s vocals and asking her to hold back instead of just unleashing her vocals as she normally does. He even challenged Nancy’s play of the acoustic guitar some thirty plus years after she first picked one up.

“Red Velvet Car” is the first CD from the band since 2004’s “Jupiter’s Darling” release, but well worth the wait. Ann and Nancy may be a little older, but much, much wiser. Open the door and hope in this “Red Velvet Car” and be prepared for the musical ride of a lifetime.

Heart; More Substance Than Style This Go Around

2010-08-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

Church came early for me this week with the combination of a run-in with an old friend and the act of spontaneity. It was a muggy Saturday and my afternoon was free. I had read online that the legendary band Heart was playing a very small, intimate amphitheatre in Raleigh, NC. Although we had no tickets, we decided to take our chance by driving down and seeing who may extra tickets for sale in the parking lot.

Sure enough, standing right by the entrance gate was a woman holding up tickets that she needed to unload. We purchased them for the very low price of only $10 each and entered. I should have known right then that it was going to be a very special evening. The opening act was a new male vocalist by the name of Erick Baker who took the stage all alone and very vulnerable with only his acoustic guitar and the mic. His voice, very similar in vein to David Grey (reference provided from a friend) was amazing and he definitely poured his heart into each song. At one point, I remember hearing him and thinking that the song sounded very familiar. He was doing an slowed down, acoustic version of the Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party”, which he managed to pull off and make it work. Just a quick side note, please look into this artist for he is a very talented guy on the verge of a major break.

The sky started to fade to night and the air started to cool and the setting was great for an outdoor concert. Heart hit the stage about 9:00 and it did not take long to see that these ladies are truly the real deal. In a age of “here today, gone today” flavors of the week in the music industry, it’s always rewarding to see an act like Heart. The Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy for those not in the know, have been rocking out for over thirty years and still do not get the respect that they truly deserve.

Ann kept the banter between songs very short, acknowledging that there was a lot of history to cover and for the crowd to have a goodtime and enjoy the evening. The arrangements on some of the hits that they have been playing for years were toyed with just a little bit to give the songs a fresh interpretation. Their big hit from the eighties “These Dreams” showcased Nancy on mandolin which was a great artistic move on the her part. It really added to the structure of the song and made it, in my opinion, even better than the original version.

The band is actually touring this summer to support their new CD, “Red Velvet Car” and they played three tracks from it that night including the texting friendly appropriate song called “WTF”, which was actually a good little rocking tune. The band continued to mix up the classic hits from the seventies and the hits from their big, yet brief heyday in the eighties. Ann’s version of “Alone” was stripped down to an almost keyboard only performance that really showed why her voice is one that the most underappreciated voices in the history of music. How many times can you say that you have gone to a concert and that the singer’s vocals sounded even better live than on the CD itself? Ann’s voice live has that pure, raw emotion feel to it that gets stripped away during production in a studio.

All the seventies classics seem to have been spotlighted including the rocking “Barracuda” , “Straight On” and “Magic Man”. A very cool little “mash-up” was their classic “Even It Up” mixed with the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” which sounded amazing. A personal highlight for me was my favorite of their classic seventies hits “Dog And Butterfly” on which Ann can do no wrong. Such a beautiful song on which Ann’s connection with the lyrical content is an element lacking in so many singers today.

Heart fans know that the band is notorious live for doing some amazing covers of classic songs from bands that they are fans of. A prime example being the solid cover of Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll”. Well, the girls may have just topped themselves with the encore played this particular night. The two song encore started with a wicked cover of Zeppelin’s “What Is And What Should Never Be”.

What was about to happen next is one of those events that you feel honored to have experienced. At that point, we were taken to church by the Wilson sisters as they graced the crowd with a cover of the Who classic “Love Reign O’er Me”. Now, I am a Who fan and had even talked on Face Book with a fellow writer about the exact same song earlier in the day. To add to the irony of it all is the fact that I was even wearing a Who shirt that evening! What proceeded to happen over the next six minutes was nothing short of spiritual. The power of Ann’s voice delivering the poetic words of Pete Townsend’s masterpiece from Quadrophenia. That, combined with the superb musicianship supplied by the band, created one of the strongest musical moments that I think I have ever witnessed live.

Overall, the show was nothing short of a stellar display of pure talent. Artists like Ann and Nancy Wilson are rare in today’s music scene. True, back in the eighties, they did get caught up in that “packaged” artist machine that pushed style over substance, but it didn’t take them long to come to their senses and get back to what it was all about…the music. Did they play all the hits that night in Raleigh? No, quite a few of their big ones were left out, but just about everyone there walked away with a feeling of satisfaction and definitely getting their moneys worth. In today’s recession, that just doesn’t happen too many times.

Super bob......Different Name, Same Rock And Roll Attitude

2010-08-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Washington, DC. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? President Obama? The White House? Politics? Probably alot of negative stuff involving the government is the first thing that comes to alot of people’s minds. Yet, there is something refreshing coming out of DC that just may take the country by storm.

They go by the name of Super bob, although they played under the name bob for many years. That story will come later. I discovered these guys by accident one night when I went to a club in North Carolina to see another band and I happened to get there early. You know how sometimes you want to go late so that you don’t have to sit through some lame group while waiting for the good stuff to begin? Boy, was I about to be pimp slapped into paying attention to who this band was setting up their equipment.

Four young guys were up there and two were pretty average looking while the other two consisted of a guy with very long dreads and another with shorter, multi-colored dreads and tats. Ok, that did catch my attention a little bit. Then, the sampled music began to play over the PA system and their first song began. It was shaking up a hot soda and then letting the lid off. The guys just erupted on the stage and began jumping all around and slinging instruments and totally killed it. They grabbed your attention and refused to let you go. Their sound is like a hybrid of Korn and Rage Against The Machine and early Red Hot Chili Peppers, yet they do it in a way that makes it their own, not like they are imitating another.

That was over a year ago and I finally caught up with these guys shortly after the release of their new CD “Rock n Roll” at a small venue in VA before their show.

JP: “Hey guys, first off thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I saw you last year at the Somewhere Else Tavern in North Carolina and you totally blew my mind. I had never heard of you guys before, but you won me over that night. You were amazing. I was trying to find some stuff online about you and how things got started. Can you catch me up to speed?”

Adam: “Well, Matt and I have been friends since we were really little and we always knew that this was what we wanted to do. In our first band, Matt played bass and I sang. I didn’t like the sound of my voice for what we were attempting to do so we switched.”

Matt: “Yea, I didn’t really think that I had a great voice but it just worked. Drew, he used to be our sound guy, but he sucked at it. He was the world’s worst sound guy! So, we needed a drummer and he learned the set in like a week and a half. Then Carl came in and this lineup has been together since 2004.”

JP: “The name bob, which of course is now Super bob, how did you guys decide on that for a name?”

Matt: “Well, we just wanted something simple. You know, a name that everybody would get. You see the name and you have no idea what we will sound like but after hearing us, you always associate our sound when you see that name.”

Adam: “Yea, kinda like Korn, plus we wanted it to look good on a sticker. As far as the name goes, it was something that we decided to do because another artist had a similar name and we just went ahead and instead of waiting, we decided to change it. We wanted to keep our logo and just add an adjective. So far, it has been a smooth transition.”

JP: “So, tell us about the early days of the band.”

Adam: “Oh, we sucked! Well, musically we did. We went to see Korn and we knew that’s what we wanted to do. I high energy type show, not just stand around.”

Matt: “Yea, the fans were always commenting on how great we were on stage and how they loved the show. We are always pushing each other on stage to be better.”

JP: “With the way you guys are always jumping around on stage, there have got to be alot of accidents.”

Adam: “About every month and a half, we usually have some sort of accident. Carl has gone through several stages. Matt’s back has been sliced open with a guitar before.”

Matt: “Six seconds before a sold-out show at the 9:30 Club in DC, I blew my ankle out. I tore the tendon off the bone and proceeded to do the rest of the show on one foot.”

JP: “I am amazed that nothing worse has happened to you guys with the energy that you bring to the stage. Let’s hope tonight’s show is accident free.”

The guys are touring no win support of their second CD entitled “Rock n Roll”. The stage to them is their ring and they dare you to step in. They are on a crusade to save rock and roll and they will not take no for an answer. Powered by a diet of crack and steroids, they let you know who they are and that they mean business from the start. Just listen to track one of their new CD. The song, “Pleasure To Meet You”, lets the listener know that they are not just “another played out radio song”. Carl’s pounding bass and Adam’s crunching guitar riffs combined with Drew’s amazing back beat has created am amped up sound for them that is very contagious. One listen and you cannot help but to bob, no pun intended, your head long with it.

“Push” is an awesome song that is more in the vein of one of their influences Korn. One of my favorite songs on the CD is entitled “Coffee and Guns” and is both lyrically and musically one of the standout tracks on the disc.

The guys told me that they tried different things on this CD because they wouldn’t have to be performing them in their live set. They experimented with acoustic guitars, like on “Lonely as It Takes” and “El Chupacabra” as well as some new electronic tricks of their own.

Their set that night in Roanoke had the crowd in that tiny club on their feet the entire time. No matter the size of the venue, these guys bring it 110% each and every performance. They tour up and down the East coast doing 120 dates last year and looking to surpass 150 this year. It’s that old school mentality of bringing it to the people live and proving themselves that is making believers out of people. Check them out on Facebook or at www.myspace.com/bobband or www.superbobmusic.com.

If these guys hit a club anywhere near you, then drop what you are doing and take the time to check them out. If you are a fan of Rage Against The Machine or Korn, then their sound will be right for you. It is an addictive combination that they have put together. Carl lets his bass do the talking as he pounces around on stage. Adam is very energetic and likes to snarl out at the audience and get the crowd involved and feel like part of the show. Drew, hide behind his drums is always working up a sweat providing the back beat for these guys. Matt, what can we say about Matt that hasn’t already been said. A guy who is more energetic than a daycare class on a fieldtrip to the zoo! His unique multi-colored dreads make him stand out and his unique voice is insane. These boys are old school believers in hard work, blood, sweat and tears...well, not sure about the tears part. Check out their crusade to keep rock and roll alive.