The World According To Me

MMA's Josh Barnett Hosts Japan Benefit Show With All Shall Perish (Noisecreep - May 30, 2011)

2011-05-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

When MMA fighter Josh Barnett heard about the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan in March, the fighter decided to do his part by gathering his favorite metal bands to perform at The Sun Forever Rising: A Benefit For Japan. The show featured headliners All Shall Perish and was held on Thursday, May 26th at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

Barnett personally selected six diverse metal bands from across California to create an eclectic yet powerful bill. The fighter was spotted in various capacities throughout the evening, alternating between emceeing the event and diving into the mosh pit.

Show openers Thrown Into Exile and Internal Corrosion are two unsigned LA based metal bands that were hand-picked by Barnett. Thrown Into Exile laid down groove-heavy riffs with youthful energy, while Internal Corrosion stuck to old school thrash metal with plenty of harmonized guitar solos.

Later, Abysmal Dawn hit the stage and immediately took charge with their highly technical and commanding death metal attack. Frontman Charles Elliott kept the crowd moving, not allowing a single dull moment throughout their brief set.

Cattle Decapitation blasted through a tasty set of deathgrind that only they could perform. Frontman Travis Neal's guttural vocals and guitarist Josh Elmore's wailing guitars worked against each other while the crowd worked up a sweat in the pit.

Animals As Leaders have already made a name for themselves with a unique jam-oriented style that gets filtered through progressive fusion rock and metal music. While guitarist Tosin Abasi is the mastermind behind the group, he graciously stepped back to give guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer Navene Koperweis their moments in the spotlight as well.

The evening's headliners, All Shall Perish, admirably sustained the show's considerable momentum. Frontman Eddie Hermida kept the crowd entertained and involved while the guitar team of Ben Orum and Francesco Artusato worked like a well-oiled machine.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/30/mma-fighter-josh-barnett-japan-benefit-show-all-shall-perish/

Judas Priest Discuss Their Last World Tour, Next Studio Album (Noisecreep - May 26, 2011)

2011-05-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

All five members of Judas Priest took part in a press conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, CA, to announce the upcoming first leg of their North American Epitaph tour with Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society. The band also introduced its new guitarist, Richie Faulkner.

On the subject of this being their 'final tour,' guitarist Glenn Tipton clarified the band's plans and touring outlook for the foreseeable future.

"It's not the end of the band, by any means. It is our last world tour. It takes a big chunk of your life -- 18 months, really, of being out there," Tipton said. "We've been doing it for nearly 40 years now. It's not to say that it will be our last show, and we certainly will [be] -- and have been -- recording, so chances are that there will be a [new] album as well next year. We would never turn down the appropriate date if we were offered it at some point in the future, but it will be our last world tour. It's probably the last chance that most people will get to see Judas Priest live. We wanna go out one final time and play our songs and just be together with the audience."

The band formally introduced Faulkner (Lauren Harris, Dirty Deeds), who replaced K.K. Downing last month after his sudden departure from the band. Tipton spoke highly of their new guitarist and what he brings to Judas Priest.

"It's amazing, really. When Ken ['K.K.' Downing] told us and said he leaving Priest, we had two choices: we either carry on and do the farewell tour, or we could have ended the band. So, obviously, we had to find the right guy, and honestly, we couldn't have had any better than this guy. The most amazing thing is he satisfies everybody's needs for how Priest should sound, but he does it in his own way. It's pretty unbelievable; he blended into the band straight away. And, as Rob said earlier on, honestly, if we hadn't found Richie, I don't think we would be going out [on tour] now, so it's just worked out really, really well for us."

Faulkner spoke about what he brings into Judas Priest compared to Downing's playing style.

"I come from [the classic-rock] era - [Led] Zeppelin and [Jimi] Hendrix - and I think K.K.'s playing was Hendrix-inspired as well, so that's kind of similar there," Faulkner said. "What it feels like to be a part of it, you can only imagine -- it's kind of surreal, really. But as a fan of the band and the genre, they are big shoes to fill, but I know what I do... As a fan, and as part of the band now, it's exciting -- as a guitar player and as a musician."

As far as Judas Priest's forthcoming album, both Tipton and vocalist Rob Halford gave their thoughts on how it is coming along. While they are still in the midst of writing and have yet to collaborate with Faulker on any material, things are slowly shaping up in the studio.

"It's quite a mixed bag. Really, there's more sentiment on this album. In a way, I suppose, it's also our farewell album. There are some anthems on there, which pay tribute to our fans; it's our way of saying thank you to the fans for all the years," said Tipton.

"I think what really is important is that you still have this desire, this passion -- it doesn't diminish in nearly 40 years," added Halford. "We still have this tremendous love for what we do in heavy metal music and the fans that have supported us are a constant inspiration. And I think we all agree that as much as we were very happy with the way 'Nostradamus' came out -- that was a great moment for us, because we had been waiting forever to make this concept album -- that's not the end with 'Nostradamus'. We wanted to make, at least, as Glenn said, one more great metal album with all the great ingredients."

"We've [already recorded and] mixed three [new] tracks, which we might put on our web page, because, as I said, some of the songs are a tribute to the fans -- a big 'thank you' to the fans for all the years -- so we might do that; we haven't really decided [how we'll release them]," said Tipton. "But that's one of the suggestions. I think we've done about 10 songs, but they're not finished. Three of them are mixed, the rest [need more work]. And, of course, we haven't done any collaboration with Richie yet.

"So it's [still the] early days, but there will be an album at some point - we just need time to finish it, really, and that depends on the touring schedule. 'Cause even if you get a break, when you've been on the road two or three months playing every night, you probably don't feel like going into the studio. Sometimes you need to walk away from music for a little bit. But at some point next year, I'm confident we'll release an album," said Tipton.

Judas Priest plan to release 'Single Cuts,' a CD single box set featuring all of the band's UK CBS/Columbia singles from 1997-2008 with original artwork; and 'The Classic Albums Collection,' a box set featuring re-mastered versions of all 17 of their albums including the two Gull Records releases.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/26/judas-priest-last-world-tour-next-studio-album/

Sister Sin's Liv Jagrell Talks About Her Favorite Female Rockers (Noisecreep - May 17, 2011)

2011-05-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Sister Sin are currently playing on the Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock tour with In This Moment, System Divide, and Straight Line Stitch. Frontwoman Liv Jagrell recently told Noisecreep about some of her favorite women in hard rock and metal.

"When I started to play, there weren't many females. There was a band from Sweden called Drain STH. They were like my gods because they were girls and they played really heavy. Most of the bands with female singers were punk rock and I'm not so into that."

"Of course I loved Doro because she's like the only one pretty much in Europe. I'd have to say Doro and Drain STH. Then today I very much admire Arch Enemy. I sing, and she [Angela Gossow] doesn't sing the way I do. But I do admire her. She's so cool and awesome."

Jagrell has been lucky enough to share stages with some of the women rockers she admires. "We have played with both Arch Enemy and Doro. Actually the two guitarists in Arch Enemy are from my hometown. I grew up with them so I've known them since I was small."

On the Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock tour, Jagrell is in one of the four female-fronted bands on the bill. What does she think of the tour so far?

"I think it's awesome because I'm used to being the only girl with these guys," she said. "That's fun because they treat me very well. But it's fun to have some females around."

As Sister Sin's profile grows on the touring circuit, Jagrell is becoming a role model herself. "I feel there are a lot more females that don't only want be the groupies or fans. They want to play too. When I was starting there weren't so many [women in rock]. I had to force my best friends to join me in a band. My first band was all female. I feel there are many more girls now [playing in bands]. I'm happy for that."

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/17/sister-sins-favorite-female-rockers/

Asesino Working On 'Evil' New Album (Noisecreep - May 13, 2011)

2011-05-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

Dino Cazares is a busy guy. The singer-guitarist is currently working on a new Asesino album while also writing new material for both Fear Factory and Divine Heresy. When Asesino play shows on the West Coast and in Mexico this summer, they will test out some of the new material for their forthcoming album, due out in 2012.

Cazares recently spoke to Noisecreep about the entire concept behind Asesino.

"I don't know if anybody really knows what Asesino is about. He is an official character based on an actual person, who was an assassin for a certain mafia. You can put the two together. The theme of Asesino has always been the Satanic and evil. He's a hitman, so he goes and kills everybody. He's not particular on any type of person. He kills everybody, whether it's black, white, Iranian, Pakistanian, or whatever. Whoever's on the contract to kill, he kills."

"He has a couple of guys who are his helpers. One is Maldito X and the other guy is Sadistico. These guys are very perverted individuals. There's a lot of perversion on the records."

While it has been nearing six years since the last Asesino album was released, Cazares has been working hard on the follow-up and is ready to unleash it on the world.

"On the new record, it's going to be a continuation from the second record [2006's 'Cristo Satanico']," Cazares said. "On the first record [2002's 'Corridos de Muerte'], it's an introduction to who Asesino is. It introduces what his job is -- to kill. At the end of the album, he gets caught, gets sentenced to death on the electric chair. He dies and goes to hell. Unfortunately, the way he dies was a priest was frightened by what he said on the electric chair. The priest pulled the lever on the assassin. He goes to hell and strikes a deal with the devil. The devil says, 'I will grant you life on Earth but you have to carry out this one task for me.' Asesino says, 'No problem.'

"So, on the second album, 'Cristo Satanico', which means 'Satanic Christ,' Asesino comes back to Earth, since Lucifer granted him life on Earth if he carries out this one task. He had to go out and kill somebody. No problem. But also Asesino had revenge that he wanted to seek on the priest who killed him. He found out that his boss, a person he was killing for, was the person who set him up, got him in prison, and got him into the death sentence in the first place. So he had two people he wanted to go kill. That was his boss and the priest. Obviously when an assassin is going to kill somebody, he investigates where they go, where they work, what time they go to bed, what time they s---t... he knows everything about the person before he kills them. So he's investigating the priest, he finds out the priest is a pedophile. He likes to f--- little boys. He's been taking money from the community. He's been living very lavishly, very rich and wealthy. All of the money has been coming from the church and from the people. He's also been molesting little boys and raping them.

"So Asesino goes and captures the priest, tortures him and makes him admit to everything he's doing wrong. He tortures him and buries him alive, so he could suffer down there for all the suffering he's caused. At the end of the album, he confronts his boss and has his boss on his knees, saying 'I know why you set me up.' His boss was jealous of the assassin because he was gaining respect amongst the mafia, more than his boss. He ended up cutting his head off with a machete."

Cazares says that fans of Asesino should expect another epic themed album and nothing less.
"We have the new album, which will be out in 2012. We think that he will become the king of the world and with the Mayan calendar and all of that stuff. In Biblical terms, it's the end of the world, or it'll become the second coming of Christ. So we're thinking of calling the record 'The Second Coming,' which is 'El Segunda Venida.' Even though it's our third album, it's more based on the second coming of Christ than the end of the world."

"On the new album, the reason we are calling it 'The Second Coming' is because when he buried the priest alive, the priest gets out. He gets out of the grave that he buried him in. The priest is resurrected in a way. So it's going to be a battle of evil [against] evil... A battle between Asesino and the priest."

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/13/asesino-working-on-evil-new-album/

Helmet's Page Hamilton on Performing 'Betty' Live (Noisecreep - May 12, 2011)

2011-05-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

On recent tours, Helmet have been performing their 1992 release 'Meantime' in its entirety. While that album nears its 20th anniversary, 1994's 'Betty' is another fan favorite that audiences want to hear start-to-finish.

Frontman Page Hamilton recently spoke to Noisecreep about the possibility of Helmet playing 'Betty' in its entirety on a forthcoming tour. "I don't know," he said. "If somebody asked us to do it, and showed us the money, we would consider it."

"Just to do for the sake of doing it... We have so many songs that are fun to play. We like that we have 65 to 70 songs to draw from. They are songs that are staples, but over the last couple of years, because we've become so comfortable with each other, we rotated stuff quite a lot more. By the end of the Europe tour, the sets could be wildly different, from the opener to the ending. It's more fun to keep it fresh like that."

Hamilton said the band plans on focusing more on their latest release, 'Seeing Eye Dog', as well as an assortment of songs spanning the band's history.

"The next couple of tours will concentrate on the new album," he said. "We'll play everything off the new album with the exception of 'Morphing' and 'LA Water.' So for Australia, New Zealand and Brazil we have coming up, we'll be playing a lot of new stuff."

"We've contemplated learning a couple more songs off of 'Betty', the ones I've shied away from because it's really hard for me. 'Vaccination' is really cool. It's a difficult song. We surprise ourselves sometimes. We could do all of the 'Aftertaste' record. We know all of that. We all know all of 'Strap It On.' 'Betty's' a little more of a challenge. I shy away from a couple of the songs on there. We probably have 3/4ths of the album all ready. We have to learn the weird, Henry [Bogdan]/Page co-writes: 'Why the Long face Mister Ed' to 'The Silver Hawaiian' and 'Rollo', which we did live back in the day; and 'Beautiful Love', which we did live."

"The only song that hasn't been performed from that album live is 'Sam Hell', I believe. Everything else I've played. We would have to go in and learn it."

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/12/helmet-page-hamilton-betty-live/

Helmet's Page Hamilton on Touring With David Bowie (Noisecreep - May 5, 2011)

2011-05-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

While Helmet were on hiatus between 1999 and 2003, one of Page Hamilton's many hired-gun stints included touring with David Bowie on the 'Hours...' tour. Hamilton recently spoke to Noisecreep about his experiences playing guitar with one of his musical heroes, which left a lasting impression on his future work with Helmet.

"It was a huge confidence boost to play with one of my idols," he said. "One of the guys who is considered one of the Big Three, or Big Four --- including The Kinks, The Beatles, The Stones and Bowie. They influenced everybody."

While many people would never imagine Hamilton's guitar style working within Bowie's eclectic sound, Bowie and Hamilton found a way to make it work.

"It was great to have him compliment me on my playing, compared to the bands of that era of Roxy Music that sounds haphazard [compared] to what I'm doing, but you could hear that it's very thought out and worked out."

"I just listened. He called me his Quiet One, because I didn't talk a lot. I just listened. I wanted to learn what he had to say about songwriting. One day, he would turn to me at rehearsal and said, 'Advice for budding young songwriters -- I make half my songs from Danny Kaye's 'Inchworm.' Danny Kaye's 'Inchworm'? Uh, OK. He talked about Roy Orbison influencing 'Ashes to Ashes,' trying to do that falsetto high melody thing.

"I liked to be around him. He's confident but approachable and humble. When you're good at what you do, you don't need to be an a-hole. He's really proved that. Everybody that I admire who is alive has been just like that. It's been pleasures meeting or spending a little bit of time with, from Neil Young to Billy Gibbons. They've all been really cool and generous. It's been a great experience. I had to learn a lot of music. I had to learn how to make guitar sounds for songs that covered 35 years. It was pretty difficult."

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/05/helmet-page-hamilton-tour-david-bowie/

Asesino's Dino Cazeres Talks About Cinco de Mayo (Noisecreep - May 5, 2011)

2011-05-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Asesino will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo by playing a free show on Thursday, May 5th at the Slidebar in Fullerton, Calif. The Spanish-language death metal trio has scheduled several shows specifically around the Cinco de Mayo holiday, which is already a fairly massive event particularly in their native Southern California.

Asesino guitarist Asesino (a.k.a. Dino Cazares) recently spoke to Noisecreep about his thoughts on the holiday and how to best celebrate it.

"Traditionally, we try to play shows around special Mexican holidays, or my birthday," he explained. "We usually have piñatas. Obviously, everyone knows what piñatas are. We usually fill it with party favors. When you have a piñata, for people who don't know, traditionally you stuff it with candy.

"For us, we stuff it with adult candy. We stuff it with weed. We put porno in there. We put condoms and t-shirts. All kinds of stuff. You'll be able to enjoy what's in there."

This is not the first time Asesino have played a special holiday show. "There was one time we did a show on 4/20. We did a show on November 2nd [for] Dia de los Muertos. We try to do it around special holidays. It just happened this year that we had time around Cinco de Mayo to do one."

Cinco de Mayo shows have become somewhat of an over-the-top tradition for the band. "One year we put a live chicken in [the piñata]," Cazares continued. "It was a fighting cock! [It was] one of those fighting roosters. We threw it in the crowd. It was funny because when we busted it open and realized there was a fighting cock in there, it was kicking everybody! Usually we like to put weed in there. The most we put inside of a piñata was a pound of weed. That's how Asesino celebrates Cinco de Mayo, sharing it with the crowd!"

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/05/asesino-to-play-free-southern-california-show-on-cinco-de-mayo/

Symfonia: A New Power Metal Supergroup -- Exclusive Interview (Noisecreep - April 29, 2011)

2011-05-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

When vocalist Andre Matos (formerly of Angra, Shaaman, Viper, and currently of the Andre Matos Band) and guitarist Timo Tollki (formerly of Stratovarius and Revolution Renaissance) collaborated to write songs, they planted the seeds towards creating the power metal supergroup known as Symfonia. Rounding out the band are Tollki's ex-bandmate in Stratovarius, bassist Jari Kainulainen, as well as keyboardist Mikko Harkin (Cain's Offering, ex-Sonata Arctica, ex-Kotipelto, ex-Solution.45) and drummer Uli Kusch (Gamma Ray, Helloween, Masterplan). The band's debut release is called 'In Paradisum.'

Matos recently spoke to Noisecreep about the band, the collaboration of the players involved, and the possibility of touring.

When did Symfonia begin? Who contacted whom originally to start the writing process?
Andre Matos: I've known [Timo Tollki] for many years and we've been keeping in touch since '99 when we toured together in Europe and became good friends. We never had any ideas of working together. About a year ago, he gave me a call and he said 'Andre, I heard that you were living in Sweden now and that's around the corner from me in Finland. So it would be a good idea if you could find some free time to meet and maybe try to write some stuff together. I have some ideas that would fit to your voice.' We didn't know in the beginning what it would be or if it would be just a single project. After we met, I spent about a week to ten days in Finland. It was a nice time and we've been talking about different things. We've been through similar experiences in the past. Being part of some bands that somehow got renown, and at a certain point we quit those bands and looked after our own careers.

There are a lot of similarities on both stories. Then we said, let's try to write something together and see what ideas we have. Surprisingly we had good chemistry between us. Then the next step was who else would be part of the team. The first names that came up to our minds were the ones who are in the band now. Everybody was into doing it. We really see it as a real band and although nobody was really looking forward to being in a band again at this point in their career, it just happened. It was a lot of coincidences and the people interested and right after this, there was no real expectations around about what we would be able to do together. In one year's period of time, many things happened. The first meeting with the scratch songs to the album production and then the album is out now. We are playing the first gigs and things are rolling now.

You recently played your first show at the Finnish Metal Expo.
It was very important because it was a way for us to state that Symfonia was not meant to be a studio thing. We wanted to have the live experience right away before the album release. It was tricky to play songs that nobody knew before and on top of it, to do it at the Finnish Metal Expo, which is basically a place that is made up of people from record labels, journalists, and musicians. It's a critical type of audience. To be honest, I didn't expect much from that concert, in terms of the reaction of the audience. But surprisingly also we had it very good that night. In the end, they were like 'We want more! We want more!' It was something that we didn't expect due to all those factors. I think we did it good, and it was a good atmosphere.

You've played quite a few bands over the years, and you've written most of the lyrics in each of your bands. How do you feel your writing has grown in Symfonia?
All across my career, I've done a little bit of everything. There were songs I wrote -- complete music and lyrics. There are songs where I wrote only the lyrics. There are songs I only wrote the music. One thing is for sure -- I like to work in partnership with somebody else. It's something very grateful for me because it's the possibility of exchanging experiences. In this particular case, to share my ideas with somebody like Timo, it was a great pleasure. We match a lot of points of view, either on the lyrical side as well as on the musical side. It was very easy going. We shared all the credits on the songs because in the end we didn't know who did what. There was so much cooperation between both of us. We just said it was 50/50.

What I really want to highlight on this album is that in my humble opinion we have good songs on the album. Nowadays it's the most important thing to have in an album. To be honest, nowadays with this easy technology access everybody can have good sound on an album. Everybody can fix mistakes on an album in order to sound perfectly performed. Good songs are something you cannot create by computer. This is a plus that we have on this album.

I noticed there's a Latin theme to the songs. Is that something you've taken interest in? Is the band name in Latin?
The origin of this word is more Greek than Latin. It was converted to Latin right after these ancient times. Symfonia means combination of elements... a combination of sounds. This was the rough idea behind the whole concept of the band. We are five people who came from different bands in the past. The nice thing was to see what would come out of our influences of elements of inputs. This was the most challenging thing for us. The name already suggests what the music is about. One very important thing to say is we didn't have any pretension of sounding too different from what we're known from doing in our own careers. There was no pretension of reinventing any kind of musical style. We have done this expensively. These were in our best years, either with our previous bands or our solo bands. There are always requests for originality or freshness. In Symfonia, that was not really the goal. The goal was to get the originality and freshness throughout the gathering of all of those people. I think this is quite honest. This is what we have to offer to the people. This is what people would expect from us.

Where do you get ideas for your lyrics?
First of all, it is important to speak about the concept. This is not a conceptual album. The songs don't follow a certain sequence telling a story from beginning to the end. That's not the case. Still there is a strong hook line all through the songs and especially when you look at the front cover artwork. It becomes quite clear. We were trying to imagine or project our idea of paradise in the future. What would be a futuristic paradise? When we think of paradise, we usually refer to some kind of Biblical image, religious paintings, angels, peaceful place over the clouds. On the other hand, when you think of the future, especially nowadays with everything going on in the world, the first thing that comes to mind is war, destruction, cataclysms, apocalypse...all kinds of doom.

How could you imagine paradise in the future if you face it under a positive perspective? This was the main idea. This guided us through the lyrical process. Many of the songs are connected to this single concept. Both Timo and I have used in the past to write introspective and philosophical lyrics. In this point, we really match. It's not much different what we wanted to say with our music. We did the same but we tried to keep it simple as possible. The lyrics are quite deep. It has a deep message but we wanted to keep them very easy to understand.

Is Symfonia your full time band for everyone in the band now? Or is everyone balancing multiple bands?
Symfonia was not even meant to be, so it just happened. Of course my solo band is still on. The band is sitting in Brazil, so in the beginning of May, I am flying to Brazil in order to do some concerts in South America. We will also start planning a new album for the solo band. I guess the other guys in Symfonia also have their side projects or solo bands. This is an agreement between us. Whenever we are requested to dedicate ourselves to Symfonia, of course we will be there 120 percent. So right now it's a matter of schedule organization. It's been done before and it's possible.

I read somewhere that Uli [Kusch, drums] is not playing live? What exactly happened?
Uli had a serious injury in his hand, which is not fully recovered yet. He recorded the album great. He did an exceptional job on the album in two or three days! I'm astonished with his performance. Right after that, maybe due to the fact that he was not playing drums for quite a while and then he entered the studio to do this, there were some serious problems with his hand. He had an inflammation on a very special nerve. He's been seeing doctors and trying to get proper treatment for that. There is a lot of controversy because some people said he should get operated. Some others said not to. The operation is not 100 percent secure in terms of recovering. So he's still walking the thin line. He doesn't know what to do. In the meantime, he's waiting to see if he gets better. The latest news is that he's not really recovered yet so we would like to count on him for this first concert in France. We'll see.

There are still some months ahead and I'm hoping he would recover as soon as possible and join us. For the Finnish Metal Expo show, this news about his injury came a couple weeks before that. It was really shocking for us because we wanted to have Uli playing live. Then Uli supported us and said we should go do it. It's important and booked for many months in advance. Then we found a good substitute for him. This German drummer named Alex Landenburg, which is by coincidence also a guy who has played the last Stratovarius tour replacing Jorg Michael. He was familiar with the music and the musical style. He's very skilled and talented. We got along very well so that was the best solution for that moment.

Are you working on more shows for the future?
Absolutely. There is a big festival confirmed in France. It's the Sonicsphere Festival on the 8th of July. It's the biggest metal festival is France. I think it's a great opportunity to do an exclusive first show in Europe after the Finnish Metal Expo. Right after that, we have plans to go to Asia. We were supposed to start the tour in Japan before the French festival, but due to the tragedy in Japan, we had to shift it. Now it goes to the end of July or beginning of August. We would play some countries in Asia and then come back to Europe for some late summer festivals. Only after that we would start thinking about a real headliner tour, either in Europe or South America and everywhere else.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/29/symfonia-a-new-power-metal-supergroup-exclusive-interview/

Lock Up Announce New Album: 'Necropolis Transparent' (Noisecreep - April 28, 2011)

2011-05-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

Lock Up, the death-grind super group featuring Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Venomous Concept), Nicolas Barker (ex-Cradle of Filth, ex-Dimmu Borgir), Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates, Disfear) and Anton Reisenegger (Criminal, Pentagram), have announced 'Necropolis Transparent' as the title of their upcoming album, due out July 1 in Europe and July 12 in North America.

Founded in 1998 by Embury and Barker, Lock Up have released two albums, 1999's 'Pleasures Pave Sewers' (with Hypocrisy's Peter Tägtgren on vocals), and 2002's 'Hate Breeds Suffering'. Both releases also featured former Napalm Death guitarist Jesse Pintado, who sadly passed away in 2006. The group seldom plays live, but have appeared at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany in 2000, the Damnation Festival in Leeds, England in 2009, and on a brief Japanese tour with Will Haven in 2002. The Japanese tour was recorded for the band's one live album, 'Play Fast Or Die: Live In Japan,' released by Toys Factory in Japan in 2005.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/28/lock-up-announce-new-album-necropolis-transparent/

All Hail The Yeti Get Heavy in Hollywood -- Exclusive Interview (Noisecreep - April 27, 2011)

2011-05-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

All Hail The Yeti are a fast-rising Los Angeles-based metal band that has been packing clubs and drawing the attention of fans and the music industry alike. Drawing inspiration from Southern riff rock as well as hard rock and metal, the band has created a buzz around Southern California. They have recently released a five song EP, 'Trees on Fire With Songs of Blood,' on iTunes.

The group started in 2005 with frontman Connor Garrity, guitarist KJ Duval, and drummer Glendon Crain (formerly of Loser, Godhead, and Hollywood Undead). Since then, Duval has departed and the band has added guitarist Brian Harrah and bassist Nick Diltz to the line-up. Garrity recently spoke to Noisecreep after a show opening for Suicide Silence, discussing the band's rising profile, playing heavy music in Hollywood, and his love of tattooing.

Noisecreep: How was your show with Suicide Silence [in San Luis Obispo, CA]?

Connor Garrity: It was cool. The crowd likes the band and they expect a certain sound. We sound quite a bit different from a lot of the bands out there. They were cool. Everyone's really supportive and the kids loved it.

How long have you been doing All Hail The Yeti?
We started the band in 2005 and started playing shows. It was myself, KJ [Duval, former guitarist] and Glendon [Crain]. Then we had Josh Newell, who used to play in In This Moment. He also engineers at NRG Studios so he's super busy all the time, so that became an issue. We replaced him with Nick [Diltz]. We had a different drummer for a while, because Glen was off doing something else. Now we have Glen back. Now it's me, Nick and Glen. We're pretty much the three original members aside from KJ.

What is it about the Yeti that fascinates you?
It was a band that I had when I was 19 in Canada before I moved down to LA. A friend and I started a band and wanted to call the band Yeti. It was cool but it wasn't serious. We did one show and that was it. When I was down here, I was in a previous band and KJ was in a previous band too. We had met and decided to do some writing together and it turned into this. We were looking for a name and thought about Yeti. KJ loved it. At that point, for the type of music we wanted to create, it was fitting. As far as my fascination with it, it started as a thing like some kids are into UFOs and Sasquatches. It's because of where I grew up.

The band's sound is very different than what the LA scene usually produces. You have more of a darker Neurosis-like sound.
Growing up listening to all of music, Neurosis was a band I was into. I wouldn't say I was into them. That's one of Brian [Harrah, guitarist]'s favorite bands of all time. Anything like that in our sound, you could tell that from his guitar playing. I know that's one of his biggest influences. When I started the band, my favorite bands are a lot of the Louisiana, New Orleans bands -- Acid Bath, Eyehategod... a lot of that Southern sludge metal was my thing. It's a mix of that and KJ was from Boston so he had that hardcore vibe to it. So we mixed as much as we could.

Where does the lyrical inspiration come from?
Lyrically, I try my best to tell stories. I've always been the one who wanted was interested in figuring out what the next song is about. Like what is he going to do or what will they say next in this song. After a while, as the metal scene got so big over the last 15 to 20 years, it became so cookie cutter... My girlfriend broke up with me, life sucks, I've got to stand up for my family...me, me, me. There's so much other stuff to talk about. There are personal stories or made up stories or true stories from history. It depends on what comes out at that point in time when I'm writing the song.

All Hail The Yeti have built a strong local following in a time when a lot of bands struggle to attract people into their shows. What do you think it is that attracted people to the band?
I think that being the guys in the band and the friends we all have, that helped out a lot right off the bat. Like I said before, KJ and I were two bands before and knew a lot of the same people. Then it involved Nick and then Glen. At first it started out with us going to shows, having fun and partying, and we kept creating music. It seemed like our music was different than what everyone else was trying to do at the time. Whether it was something that would get us money or make us big, it didn't matter at that point. We were playing music that we wanted to play. We've been down that road – the DIY tours, starving in a van, and the McDonalds dollar menu. None of us wanted to do that again. We wanted to make music and have a good time. That's how it began. Then everyone realized it and began coming to our shows that the band is really good and we put on an awesome show, and there's always girls at our shows for some reason. That in itself will attract guys. It snowballed one day. We're doing 11:45 on a Monday night at the Dragonfly and it's packed. It's pretty cool.

One of the biggest things is the music stands out. For the longest time, Hollywood has been that Motley Crue style dirty rock. It's that scene. That scene's been done. Motley Crue's still one of my favorite bands of all time. They were good because they did when they did it. That was the new thing then. Now why do what they did 25 years ago? Hollywood's been that kind of a scene because of all the bands who got so big. It became like how Seattle was the grunge scene and what was expected out of Hollywood. I think for the metal scene, there aren't very many metal bands. The ones who are, they're the same cookie cutters metalcore with the two guitarists playing Iron Maiden riffs. They took the soul and the groove out of metal, like what Black Sabbath started when they did. That was the best.

Glen was out of the band for a bit and he recently returned. What do you think it was that brought him back to the band?
That's a good question. I think the main part of it was that Glen wasn't in his [own] band. He was in a band where he wasn't writing and as a musician that's something that's important unless you're a diehard hired gun. When he joined the band originally, he was playing in Godhead. That was something we were prepared for and when he left for a couple years, he would come to the shows and he would be like, 'Man, someone's playing my songs!' I figured this would be tough. There was a time when Brian, Nick, and I would talk about bringing Glen back into the band. He's the drummer for the band. It's like if I weren't in the band. It wouldn't be right.

You have this EP out. Could you tell us about it?
It was four or five songs on there, four of the first songs we ever wrote. Those were written with the original members. When KJ left to go back to Boston, we needed something to give out to people who came out to the shows. We did one demo with those guys way back and we had them up on our Myspace and that was it. When KJ took off, that was crunch time for us. We were packing clubs and doing well, so we took the songs, wrote a couple new ones, and picked 'When The Sky Falls' to be a single off the EP. That was one of the newest songs. It was different for me because I've been playing these songs for so long. It's nice now where we've got it back on 100 percent new material.

You're also a tattoo artist.
Tattooing was something that fell onto my lap at a good time in my life. I was just out of high school and didn't want to go to college or do any of that stuff. I found playing music. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to the classroom. I had a friend of mine whose brother built a homemade tattoo machine and it was something I wanted to try. It turned out to be a way that I could make a career and also do the things that I love to do, which is music and partying and traveling. I've always been an artist but I think the tattooing and my music are separate. I do art I guess. It's something I never really thought about.

I understand you're working on new material.
We're about to start doing our own record. We have about 19 songs. Probably 10 to 12 of the best ones and a couple of B-sides and maybe a cover song, and we're going to do a record. Mike Sarkisyan (of Spineshank) has been working with us for the past two or three months.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/27/all-hail-the-yeti-get-heavy-in-hollywood-exclusive-interview/

KYUSS LIVES! Announce US Tour Dates (Noisecreep - April 26, 2011)

2011-05-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

KYUSS LIVES!, featuring original Kyuss members John Garcia (vocals), Nick Oliveri (bass), and Brant Bjork (drums), along with guitarist Bruno Fevery (from Garcia Plays Kyuss), will be bringing their desert rock to the US for the first time in 15 years this fall.

Due to unprecedented demand and a sold-out European tour, the group has announced two very special US shows in New York and California. The Sword will be opening both shows. More North American tour dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Kyuss Lives! dates so far:

September 23, New York, NY Terminal 5
October 8, Pomona, CA The Fox Theater

In the early 1990s, Kyuss produced four studio albums and provided the blueprint for a generation of heavy bands, spearheading the stoner rock movement. 1992's 'Blues for the Red Sun' and 1994's 'Welcome to Sky Valley' were universally praised by both critics and fans, becoming a staple in any discerning hard rock record collection.

Kyuss were born out of the generator parties that took place in the Palm and Mojave Deserts of Southern California at the tail end of of the eighties. The band created a stunningly heavy psychedelic rumble described by everyone except the musicians themselves as stoner rock, or the more apt desert rock. The band's gargantuan sound rested on three pillars: a down-tuned guitar played through a bass amp, the rhythm section's quaking groove, and the instantly recognizable vocals of John Garcia.

Kyuss' classic lineup -- Garcia, guitarist Josh Homme, bassist Nick Oliveri, and drummer Brant Bjork -- only lasted for two years. After the unit's dissolution in 1995, its posthumous legend continued to grow. In the years since, former Kyuss members have formed or played with Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros, The Dwarves, Mondo Generator, Slo Burn, Unida, and Hermano.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/26/kyuss-lives-announce-us-tour-dates/

A Perfect Circle's Josh Freese Sings About His Fans on New EP (Noisecreep - April 26, 2011)

2011-05-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

Between his many drumming gigs (The Vandals, DEVO, and A Perfect Circle to name a few), Josh Freese has found time to record a new solo album called 'My New Friends.' Freese recorded, wrote, played, and sang almost every note on the album.

Freese recently spoke to Noisecreep about the EP while driving to a session with singer-songwriter Michelle Branch. Freese discussed subjects including how he balances his time between being a drummer and a dad, as well as how to transcend beyond the drummer stereotype.

Freese, the father of four kids as well as a veteran drummer-for-hire, recorded an EP of five songs based on the lives of a few particularly generous fans who bought a much higher value version of his prior solo CD, 'Since 1972.'

When did you find time to record a solo record?

Having four kids is unbelievably time-consuming. That's why it took a while to come out. It's difficult to make the time for myself to record my own stuff sometimes. I do it whenever I have a few minutes. What it comes down to is, when I told these guys when they bought these [added value album] packages where they got a song written about them, I said listen, this isn't going to happen in the next couple of months. Often, you have to wait ten years and go, 'Hey wait a second! Wasn't this a song back in 2010?' I had to light that fire under my ass, so to speak, to get it done. People were waiting.

Did you play everything on this record?
I did. All except one guitar solo. There's a guitar solo on the second track, which is done by my friend Warren Fitzgerald from The Vandals. He played a solo and the rest is me.

So who are your new friends in 'My New Friends'?
One guy, his name is Ferris Al-Sayed. He's a Middle Eastern guy from Indiana. There's Tom Mrzyglocki from Florida. He got two songs written about him. He kicked down more cash money, so he got more music about him done. There's Chuck Thomas from Tennessee. Eddie Torres from New York City, he got the last track on the record. They were guys that bought opportunities to have songs written about them and released in a serious fashion, not a 'I'll write a quick song about you tonight on an acoustic guitar, recorded poorly, burn you a copy, write the name of the song with a sharpie and send it to you so you can play it for your friends.' I spend a lot of time and money and energy on this, and work on it as hard as any other records of mine. I fund it myself and make the time to do. The type of stuff that I do, I do it on my own and engineer it myself for the most part. I record most of it myself. Play everything myself. I'm proud of it. I hope they like it too. They seem to. But who knows?

When you did the various high-value package deals for your last CD (2009's 'Since 1972'), you drew some serious attention. Which deal purchase surprised you the most?
It's definitely the one Tom Mrzyglocki bought. It was a limited edition of one. It was for $20,000, and someone bought it. He got two songs written about him on the EP and one of the songs is basically saying 'Hey man, you could have bought a new Four Runner or a car for that.'

This is a one time only offer thing with all of these interesting experiences of adventures available on it. He goes 'I'm young and crazy enough to shell out the money to do it.' Of course I'm going 'Right on! Of course you should do it. It's not as much that as me saying as much as going through someone else, I could understand that. There are a million cars out there you could buy until you're grey and old. But this was a much more interesting thing that he knew would only happen once and wouldn't happen again. There were people involved he wanted to meet. There are things involved he wanted to go to. He was excited about it.

On the first song, 'You & Me & The Tuba Tree,' what is the tuba tree?
The tuba tree is the big tree at my father's house. If you go on YouTube and punch in 'You & Me & The Tuba Tree' and you'll see the video I made for that song. It flashes up once early in the song, but at the end you'll see it over and over. It keeps repeating the scene every time it says the tuba tree. It's a tree he's had at his house for over 25 years. It's filled with old tubas and sousaphones hanging from all the branches.

What originally inspired you to do the 'Since 1972' CD?
I made a 12 song record in 2000 called 'The Notorious One Man Orgy'. I wanted to put out another record but it took me forever because I wasn't getting off my ass. Sure, I was in a bunch of different bands, but I wasn't getting it done. I finally got myself to get it done and put it out. I made both those records because I'm a songwriter. I'm not a very successful songwriter, but I've written songs since I was a kid. I love doing it and it's another facet to my creative being. I don't wanna just sit there and play drums for other people. I've got more in me that's gotta come out. It was something I had to do and wanted to do. Whether eight people buy it or 18,000 people buy it, I'm glad it's just out there as an option for people to buy. The record is like a time capsule -- it can live on forever. Who knows what people may discover or not discover in the future.

Have you ever played your solo stuff live?
No, I haven't. I've always been freaked out about it. I don't have the guts to start a band and do all that. If I were 24 and didn't have kids, maybe I would. Or I weren't getting hired at all or my drumming career was going down the tubes, maybe I would. I'm too busy doing what I'm supposed to be doing. If I thought I were one of the greatest singers ever that should be out there fronting a band because I know that I am, then I would do it. But I don't feel that way. I'm musical enough to get my point across and record stuff from my home studio and put it out there. I'm not like 'I'm great, I'm gonna knock em dead, people are gonna freak out...and I'm the next Jeff Buckley!' You have to feel like that to put yourself on the line. I know a lot of people that aren't that great but they're crazy enough to think they're crazy enough to think they're really, really great. So they do it! They give it their all. There's something enduring and aspiring about that, but I think I'm smart enough to know I'm not that great.

So we won't be seeing the Josh Freese Band live any time soon?
Somehow if it could be the Josh Freese Band and somehow I'm not involved in it. Have four other people play my songs! [laughs] The drummer for this band The Replacements, one of my favorite bands from Minneapolis, Chris Mars, put out a solo record. He had a band for four or five of his musician pals who played a couple of shows as the Chris Mars Band, and Chris was sitting at home. He wasn't even at the show! I kind of like that idea, saying it aloud!

I take it your kids aren't old enough to be your backup band.
You know what would be funny? I should just put them all in a room with instruments, even though they've never played and just let them wail away on it, and call that my band!

Whenever you name comes up, there is always the reference to your time playing with the Disneyland Marching Band. Looking back, does it seem surreal how far you have come as a player?
Absolutely. I look at my son and his friend who is 12. When I was his age, I was getting endorsements from Zildjian Cymbals and DW Drums. I was playing band shows and I joined a musician's union to play at Disneyland. I was paying taxes! To me it was very normal because it's all I do. I knew I was special back then and I thought it was cool. I knew it was out of the ordinary to be paying taxes in a musician's union at 12. But not until now, 25 years later, where I could go, 'It's pretty wild.'

What else are you working on these days?
I'm working on another record with The Offspring. I'm doing this tour with DEVO. I went to South America about a month and a half ago, on tour with Paramore for three weeks. They lost their drummer so I filled in. I'm about to start some Weezer stuff. I'm driving to a studio right now to make a record over the next three days with a female artist, Michelle Branch. She's a singer-songwriter. [I've] known her for a while. [I've] never worked with her, but am finally getting a chance to work with her, [so I'm] looking forward to that. This summer, a lot of Weezer dates and maybe some A Perfect Circle dates as well.

A Perfect Circle just relaunched recently. I saw the 'eMOTIVe' night which was pretty cool.
Yeah. We did a tour in November. It was our first tour in seven years. [The last show doing the 'eMOTIVe' album] was harder than we thought. Not the tour itself... [but] I wasn't looking forward to 'eMOTIVe' night. When I was told we're doing all three records, I thought 'ah man...we're going to do a covers record?' A lot of the songs, the way they were recorded was really strange. It's hard to duplicate that stuff live. At the end, what's cool is as much as it is a pain in the ass, we would do a cover of our cover, which we made it even more different. It was inspiring and fun to do. [Even though] I thought I was going to look forward to the least in every city we went to, I really liked it. Maynard [James Keenan] proved me wrong. He was like, 'This night's going to be great.' I was like 'Oh god! I don't think so.' I just kept my mouth shut. He was right. We all enjoyed it. Sometimes we would be practicing some of those songs. We never learned every single song we've ever played [before]. It was challenging but fun. Sometimes when you're on tour and playing the songs perfectly every night, it gets tiresome. Not a whole lot of excitement, but I'm hoping it all works.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/26/a-perfect-circles-josh-freese-sings-about-his-fans-on-new-ep/

The Runaways Tribute Album to Benefit American Cancer Research (Noisecreep - May 2, 2011)

2011-05-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

On June 7th, Main Man Records will release 'Take It Or Leave It: A Tribute To The Original Queens of Noise: The Runaways,' a two disc, 36-song set spanning the entirety of the legendary band's career.

Whether you consider them to be proto-punk rockers or heavy metal guitar heroes, there is no doubt that the Runaways changed the perception of women in the male-dominated field of rock 'n' roll. Teenagers Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, Joan Jett, Sandy West, Jackie Fox, and Vicki Blue spoke to a whole new generation of young women, some of whom consequently started playing rock 'n' roll themselves. Arguably, The Runaways kicked down the door for female-fronted rock bands such as The Go-Go's, The Bangles, L7, Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and The Donnas. The Runaways have also been named as an influence by numerous bands including Redd Kross, The Germs, Motley Crue, The Beastie Boys, The Adolescents, Guns N' Roses, and Smashing Pumpkins.

In honor of Sandy West, who lost her fight with cancer in 2006, Main Man Records will donate a portion of the proceeds from 'Take It Or Leave It' to the American Institute For Cancer Research. The AICR was the nation's first charity to support research into the role of diet and exercise as it relates to cancer prevention. Since 1982, it's been their mission to fund, support and promote research as well as expand public knowledge through educational programs to bring its message of cancer prevention to millions of Americans. To date, the Institute has committed more than $82 million for research and education.

Legendary artists from many musical backgrounds participated on 'Take It Or Leave It,' donating their time, talent and resources to help honor The Runaways and raise money for a great cause. Artists featured on the tribute album include Shonen Knife, The Dandy Warhols, The Donnas, Peaches with Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill and Le Tigre) collaborating for the first time with her husband Ad-Rock (Beastie Boys), Care Bears On Fire, Kittie, Bebe Buell, David Johansen (New York Dolls) collaborating for the first time with new Dolls guitarist Earl Slick (David Bowie), Starz, The Adolescents, and White Flag as well as members of Generation X, Smashing Pumpkins, Monster Magnet, The Fastbacks, and many more.

Sweden's Sister Sin to Open For Steel Panther in Hollywood (Noisecreep - May 4, 2011)

2011-05-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Swedish hard rockers Sister Sin will be doing a one-off show following the conclusion of the 'Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock' tour, opening for Steel Panther at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA on Monday, May 16th. Steel Panther play the club every Monday night.

Sister Sin have been touring the US, supporting bands such as OTEP, Ill Nino, Michael Schenker Group and Motorhead. Now, they have a chance to play in front of some of their favorite celebrities in Tinseltown and witness the over-the-top spectacle that is Steel Panther.

Frontwoman Liv Jagrell was excited about the opportunity. "It should be an interesting show," she said. "I'm looking forward to it very much. I've only seen them on TV. They're very funny. I hope they're as funny in reality as they are on TV!"

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/05/04/sister-sin-open-for-steel-panther-in-hollywood/

Soundgarden Announce North American Tour (Noisecreep - April 25, 2011)

2011-05-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Soundgarden have announced their first US tour in 14 years, following their appearance at last summer's Lollapalooza show in Chicago. The Mars Volta will be opening the tour. So far, only four shows have been announced, with more dates to be added later. More information will be available soon at www.soundgardenworld.com.

Soundgarden 2011 Tour Dates:

07/02 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
07/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn's Landing
07/18 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
07/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum

Prior to the tour, frontman Chris Cornell will doing a solo run in May.

Chris Cornell 2011 Tour Dates:

04/22 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
04/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater
04/24 – St. Paul, MN @ Fitzgerald Theatre
04/26 – Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre
04/27 – Medicine Hat, AB @ Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre
04/29 – Victoria, BC @ Royal Theatre
04/30 – Coquitlam, BC @ Red Robinson Show Theatre
05/01 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
05/03 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
05/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
05/06 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/25/soundgarden-announce-north-american-tour/

Nevermore Guitarist, Drummer Quit the Band (Noisecreep - April 22, 2011)

2011-05-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Drummer Van Williams and guitarist Jeff Loomis have announced their departure from Nevermore. Both players have been in the band since the band's self-titled debut in 1995. In a joint press release, they issued the following statement:

"In a mutual decision, Jeff Loomis and Van Williams have decided to leave Nevermore. The time has come to pursue our own paths from the group. Due to internal struggles and ongoing issues within the band, we feel it is our time to move on. We would like to thank all of our fans around the world for their years of love, support, and enthusiasm. This was not an easy decision, but a very necessary one at this point. May we all meet again someday, somewhere in time."

Nevermore recently canceled their planned US tour with Symphony X. No information on further tour dates has been given at this time

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/22/nevermore-guitarist-drummer-quit-the-band/

Shinobi Ninja Talk About Their Eclectic Sound, Touring and Video Games (Noisecreep - April 18, 2011)

2011-05-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

Shinobi Ninja make no apologies for their eclectic sound. The New York based sextet fuse rock, funk, R&B, hip hop, ska, punk, and metal, into a sound that they can undoubtedly call their own. The band has been spending a lot of time in their tour bus as of late. Since late 2010, they've been out on the road in support of their debut album, 'Rock Hood.'

Drummer Terminator Dave and vocalist Duke Sims (aka DA) spoke to Noisecreep while on a recent tour about their varied musical backgrounds, their love of video games and touring. As a bonus, the band also also gave us the exclusive premiere of 'Super Are You,' one of Shinobi Ninja's previously unreleased tracks.

How's the tour going?
Terminator Dave: It's so much fun. We've never been out on the road for this long before. It's exhilarating playing every single night. But for two months I've died and went to heaven. We've played to big crowds and also some smaller ones. It doesn't matter – we just rock the show.

How far out into the US has Shinobi Ninja has played before this?
TD: We played South By Southwest in 2010. We also played in Los Angeles before. The furthest we've driven West is Minneapolis. We just finished driving from San Antonio to Iowa, and scattered around the Midwest on our way back to Brooklyn. This is the furthest we've ever driven! I think we've put about 12,000 miles into this one in the last couple of months.

What are some of the highlights from the tour so far?
Duke Sims (DA): We played at Lincoln Theater in Raleigh, NC and some dude came from New Jersey. He had driven 7 hours with super amazing video equipment and recorded a lot of stuff at the venue and then the afterparty at the hotel. They're making a live DVD out of that. That was an amazing experience. We played at the Roxy Theatre in LA. That was a dream-come true. We said what's up to Moby. We said what's up to Ru Paul. When we were in LA, we got nominated for some Artist on the Verge thing with New Music Seminar. I saw Lisa Loeb. It was cool. It was a trip.

All six of you come from varied musical backgrounds. How did you manage to fuse it all into one comprehensive sound?
TD: It happened over the course of the years. We all met at a recording studio and rehearsal space called Progressive Studios over 2005 to 2007. We're all friends or were working together or partied together. One day me and Mike [guitarist Maniac Mike] and DJ Axis [Powers, turntables], our band went on sabbatical. DA's project was taking a hiatus. All of a sudden we were writing a song together. It just happened.

DA: I don't think it's a planned thing. We were having fun. We just like a lot of music. We live in the age where everyone has iPods and you have different genres of music. I don't think it's something we think about too much. It's about having fun.

Does being from New York have an influence on how your sound came about?
DA: Yeah, NYC definitely influences what we do. It's a melting pot there. It's a city that never sleeps. That affects you. 4am looks exactly the same as 4pm. There are so many people. That's another thing about New York. I feel like New York is like some kind of All-Star team. We have the coolest dudes from New Hampshire who will come to New York and then not necessarily will be the coolest dudes any more. Those are the people you become friends with. They are people who are there to be as great as they can.

The name Shinobi Ninja – was anyone into anime or video games?
TD: DA is a big fan of video games. His favorite game growing up was 'Shinobi.' He thought his mom's house, where we recorded our demo, looked like a ninja house. he came up with the name of the band from that.

DA: This kid who lives across the street from me when I was growing up in Brooklyn had 'Shinobi' for the Sega Master system. It stuck got stuck in my head forever.

I read about a Shinobi Ninja Fan App. Could you talk about that?
DA: It's an iPhone App we developed for our fans. It's a 2D scroller game, just like the Ninja Turtles. The objective of the game is to get from Brooklyn to Club Babylon to play a gig. You can unlock music videos and different songs at every new level. It has a dope function with a GPS. If you download the game and then bring it to an actual gig that we're playing at, and the GPS sees that you're at the gig, it will unlock the game or a music video for you. It's going to be available for the Android soon.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/18/shinobi-ninja-rock-hood-song-premiere/

Andrew WK on His Favorite Concert Appearance and Extreme Metal Past (Noisecreep - April 18, 2011)

2011-05-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

"I think all of our concerts really as parties. It's a performance for sure. It's not a recital. It's a celebration of that music. All of the greatest times I've had were at our shows," said Andrew WK when talking to Noisecreep about his wildly popular live shows.

Ever since bursting onto the music scene with his 2001 'I Get Wet' solo album, Andrew has gained a reputation as one of the most thrilling live performers out today. But his extreme metal background made the songwriter weary of trying out a new direction when he first started his solo career. "Starting in junior high school, through high school, I was very into metal or black metal and death metal specifically. When I started doing Andrew WK, as much as I loved death metal and extreme heavy metal, I'm making this choice not to play that kind of music. I had been in grindcore bands where I played drums and I loved it. But I felt like I had to make this choice. This scene I was part of was not going to relate to me anymore."

Anyone already familiar with the upbeat party rock of his solo work knows that it's far-removed from Andrew's death metal and punk background.

"I thought that crowd wasn't going to like this Andrew WK music. It's not heavy enough. Because the feeling I wanted to create with the music, and everything I do with Andrew WK, was raw energy. The way I would get to it would include this cheerful sound and a lot of keyboard and piano. The lyrics were very celebratory and the whole vibe was as joyful as I could make it. I just figured that people who were into what I would call "heavier music" probably wouldn't be into it."

Andrew remembers one of his favorite live shows. "The party was at a festival called the Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama, where a lot of different kinds of bands played, but definitely a lot of hardcore bands, what I would call heavy metal and death metal bands. I have so much respect for this heavier music.

I think we were on the Ozzfest tour during that time, which was one of the most intense and great times we ever had. We became friends with bands and learned so much about performance from the band Hatebreed and from watching Down play every day – it was a huge experience, but we definitely felt like the odd band out, because we weren't as heavy as most of those bands. Just because we played in a major key on most of our songs makes us sounds different."

Despite his reservations, WK pushed forward. "Anyway, at this festival I thought it would be another show like Ozzfest. We always had a good time and won over people that hadn't heard of us. At this show, we kicked into the first song, and it was a very large crowd. I would say between 8-9,000 people. It looked big to me. It was a sea of people, as far as you could see, that made the biggest circle pit I had ever seen. When they would come up on stage, it was like a riot, but a happy one (laughter). Everybody was singing along to the words, and these were the same people who were singing along to the bands that were much heavier than us."

The crowd's reaction to his performance taught Andrew a lesson. "I thought, 'Wait a minute, maybe there are other people out there like me who like all different kinds of intense music.' That show changed everything because of this celebratory atmosphere. You couldn't see the stage anymore. It really had become a party. I realized this is what we're meant to do. These people confirmed it.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/18/andrew-wk-remembers-his-favorite-concert-appearance-and-extreme/

Facedown Fest 2011: A Sense of Unity -- Live Review (Noisecreep - April 15. 2011)

2011-05-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

On April 8th and 9th, Facedown Records held the 11th annual Facedown Fest at the Glass House in Pomona, California, bringing together fans of metal, hardcore, and punk rock with a positive spirit and a sense of unity.

Early attendees on Day One got a taste of Facedown's newer metalcore acts such as Messengers and Saving Grace, who gave fans a taste of youthful aggression, and HANDS, who showcased the progressive side of the label's sound.

A Plea For Purguing's thrashy metalcore sound got the crowd headbanging throughout their entire set. Frontman Amo Atkin's lighthearted jokes about his weight issues between songs lightened up the mood, making their set even more enjoyable, though no less musically brutal.

War of Ages made a big announcement about re-signing with Facedown Records, which helped raise the amount of excitement for the crowd. Frontman Leroy Hamp interacted with the audience, keeping them entertained and leaving very little room for dull moments.

Day Two featured more hardcore-oriented acts from the Facedown roster. Judging by the number of fest attendees wearing a For Today shirt, it became obvious that they were the most eagerly awaited band of the evening.

Earlier in the evening, Overcome returned to Facedown Fest in nine years. Despite a hint of unfamiliarity from the crowd, the audience slowly warmed up to their sound. A Hope For Home's sound was met with lukewarm responses from the crowd, perhaps unfamiliar with their post-hardcore sound.

For Today's energetic yet aggressive set the pace for much of the evening. The crowd sang along throughout their set while frontman Matty Montgomery expertly worked the room.

The Facedown Fest once again proved to be a success, built around dedicated fans that enthusiastically support the bands and the music they love.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/15/facedown-fest-2011-offered-a-sense-of-unity-live-review/

Testament's Alex Skolnick Gets a 'Kick' Out of Jazz and Bollywood Movies (Noisecreep - April 13, 2011)

2011-05-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

After playing on the first four Testament albums, guitarist Alex Skolnick decided to leave the group to explore other areas of music. Skolnick's newfound interest in jazz guitar eventually led to the formation of the Alex Skolnick Trio, a purely instrumental jazz group.

Originally, the trio recorded instrumental jazz versions of popular rock songs by KISS, Scorpions, AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Metallica. However, the band's most recent CD, 'Veritas,' features all original compositions with the exception of a cover of Metallica's 'Fade To Black.' Skolnick recently spoke to Noisecreep about the new album, his appreciation for music other than metal, and his interest in Bollywood.

Noisecreep: Was your interest in jazz-fusion music something you never got to fully explore until you were out of Testament?

Alex Skolnick: I think it was something that requires a lot of development and ability, to be able to play music like that. I was always listening to it. All of my personal listening at home was that kind of music. When I'm with friends at a party or a metal bar, I'd want to hear loud headbanging music. But not the first thing when I get up and during the day. I tried to learn it but it was really frustrating. I played like a beginner. It took years and devoting myself to it, [playing] nothing but that type of music.

Did you find the other two guys in the band while you were studying music in New York?
I found Matt [Zebroski]. He's the drummer. We were both in school. I [left] California and moved to New York. I surrounded myself [with] music. He's a bit younger, in his early 30s. We had a lot in common. He was different from most of the other students. I was [different too], because I was in a metal band. We started to write together. We had two different bass players that were in school with us. One recorded a demo with -- he was a great player but he didn't work out. [Then] we started working with [bassist] Nathan Peck and recorded with him.

'Veritas' has more original compositions than the previous CDs. Is 'Fade To Black' the only cover you did this time?
That is the only one. We almost didn't do that one! We were going to do an all-original album but we thought it didn't hurt to just try it. So we tried it and it felt so good. So we kept it. It's the last of the covers, and it was the perfect title.

It's a cool rendition of it. It sounds like the original but it also sounds like your song too.
People often say that. We did 'Electric Eye' by Judas Priest. Even Rodrigo from Rodrigo y Gabriela said, 'That sounds like your song.'

I remember at NAMM you did the 'Detroit Rock City' cover.
Right. That was one of our earliest arrangements. The first songs we ever re-arranged were by Scorpions. We did 'Still Loving You.' Then we did 'No One Like You.' They went so well that we decided we needed to do more of these. I remember at some point noticing that the original interludes to 'Detroit Rock City' also had these flamenco chord progressions. We realized that this melody works over a swing jazz arrangement. Then it started getting played on public radio stations and [getting] a lot of attention. It got in with mainstream jazz publications.

The original songs seem to have a New York influence judging by titles like 'Only In Brooklyn.' Do you feel like living in New York has a real influence on the songs?
Absolutely. 100 percent. I don't think I could do this if I lived somewhere else. There's a lot to be said for it. The energy is very contagious. I used to think it made no difference, [that] you could put me in a cabin in Montana and the music I create would be the same. That's completely wrong. You are definitely affected by your surroundings. I noticed [that] early on in the '90s when I first started visiting New York regularly. I was meeting a lot of interesting musicians. Everybody was passionate about music. I'm very fond of the Bay Area, but maybe because I grew up there... I was over it [laughs]! So I go back to New York, thinking I'm growing by leaps and bounds. Maybe I just need to be there. Looking at it now, it's no question, it's the best thing I could have done.

I noticed that you reference Bollywood in a couple of your songs.
I get a kick out of it in the same way as the Hong Kong martial arts films. These genres of films are campy but kind of cool. That's why I like about some of the Hong Kong films. They're so violent, but even if they beat each other up, they'll apologize because they're on the same team. It's ridiculous, but I like that. I've been interested in Bollywood, such as the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire.' The music was composed by A.R. Rahman, who is the leading Bollywood composer. I wanted to do a song where you have a street full of colorful costumes with people dancing in synchronization.

What was your initial feeling after picking up these new skills on guitar, and then returning to play in Testament in 2005?
It was interesting. It's been so long. It felt like a new style. It took a few days before it felt comfortable. Once it did, it felt better than it had. All the work I had done on jazz started to kick in. I realized I didn't need to play exactly as I played them. There was so much room for improvisation. When you hear me play, you'll recognize the song. But no one will say it's not the same solo, but there are little embellishments that I may throw in that I may not have been able to do before. I think I feel more in tune with how I express the music. That's what was exciting. When I first started playing with Testament again after all of these years, I didn't know how long it was going to last. I thought we would do a couple of reunion tours and see how it goes. Everybody started feeling the energy. It became a part of what I am supposed to be doing.

Kirk Hammett has championed the Alex Skolnick Trio. Do you know him from the Bay Area?
I never knew him well actually. We would cross paths occasionally, but by the time Ride the Lightning came out, I was a sophomore in high school. They started doing well, which was a pleasant surprise.

Has he ever joined the band live for an appearance?
No. That would be great. [Metallica bassist] Robert Trujillo joined us in New York. He was a special guest with Rodrigo y Gabriela. So he soundchecked and we were all set up to soundcheck right after him. He just walked up to our drummer and said 'play me something.' They started playing and then I joined in. Then Nathan [Peck] joined in on bass. I have that on video! It's an awesome jam.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/13/testament-alex-skolnick-trio-gets-a-kick-out-of-jazz-and-bollywood/

Spineshank Return with Original Singer and New Album (Noisecreep - April 8, 2011)

2011-05-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

After six years away from the spotlight, Spineshank have returned and are ready to release a new record. The LA-based metal band formed in 1996 and released three albums on Roadrunner Records, which put them on tour supporting such bands as Disturbed, Fear Factory, Coal Chamber, Soulfly and Danzig.

The band went through many highs and lows, including a Best Metal Performance Grammy nomination in 2004 for their song 'Smothered.' At the same time, problems with Roadrunner Records and the temporary departure of vocalist Jonny Santos put the band on hiatus.

Guitarist Mike Sarkisyan recently spoke with Noisecreep about Spineshank's forthcoming album, 'Anger Denial Acceptance,' and what led up to the relaunch of the band.

Noisecreep: When did you officially re-launch Spineshank?
Mike Sarkisyan: I wanna say it was June of 2008. We started writing songs and sort of a skeleton of a record together. Then we went on tour on the Music As A Weapon [Tour]. In 2009, that whole year we did nothing. We got our gear stolen. We had a bunch of things happen to us. We officially reconvened making the record very late in the year and finished mixing in February.

Looking back, the band broke up at the height of it's career in a way.
I guess you could say that. We finished a sold-out tour, got nominated for a Grammy, and then we went on hiatus, or disbanded -- whatever you want to call it. So we sort of left on a high note.

The highs and lows all hit at the same time.
Yeah I guess. What you have to understand is prior to that, from 1996, when we got together, up until that point, we were non-stop -- whether it was touring, recording, writing, whatever it was, it was non-stop. I think we were exhausted.

You tried doing a different version of Spineshank during the time off with a couple different singers.
I wouldn't call it a different version of Spineshank. The stuff that we wrote sounded nothing like Spineshank and didn't end up on this record. We worked with a couple different singers. We worked with Jonny [Sculls Flanagan], who is now in We Are The Riot. We worked with him on and off for six or seven months. There was this other guy, Brandon [Espinoza], who we worked with. It was good stuff. It wasn't what we wanted to do. I could see us writing a song or two, but I couldn't see us writing a whole record with that lineup. The whole Spineshank thing wasn't in the back of my head as to whether we would call this Spineshank or not. It was never an issue at all.

Tell us about the new album.
It's called 'Anger Denial Acceptance.' It's produced by me and Tommy. It was mixed by Mike Plotnikoff. It's sitting there waiting to get released now.

I'll tell you this. If anybody is expecting us to sound exactly the way we did when we put out our last record, they're probably going to be disappointed. It's definitely... dare I say the word growth? Or mature? You can expect us to sound the way we did seven years ago. It definitely does sound like Spineshank. It doesn't sound like any other band. The only way I could put it to you is it, is not dated sounding. It's sort of a loose concept record. It somewhat tells a story. There's an underlining theme to the whole thing. The title ties into it. It's about loss, and the different stages of dealing with loss. It's a pretty elaborate record, I'll tell you that much. I think a lot of people will be rather surprised to hear something this elaborate coming from us. It's the next step.

Any song titles you would like to share?
The first song is called 'After the End.' Second song is called 'Nothing Left For Me.' Third one is 'Anger Denial Acceptance,' which is the title track. Fourth one is called 'I Want You To Know.' Track five is 'Murder Suicide.' Track Six is the 'The Endless Disconnect.' Track seven is 'I Am Damage.' Then there's an interlude. After that is 'Everything Everyone Everywhere Ends.' Then there's 'The Reckoning.' And then what we did, and this is kind of cool, is the song 'Anger Denial Acceptance' is really weird. It's in three parts. So we took each part and wrote a whole other song around it. Those are the last three on the record. They flow one into another but its three different songs. It's doesn't stop. The first one is called 'God Complex.' The second one is called 'Lord of Method Opportunity.' The last one is called 'Exit Wound.'

Jonny is back in Spineshank. Do you feel the time apart improved the relationships within the band?
The way I look at it is, Spineshank is us four dudes. It's me, Tommy, Rob [Garcia] and Jonny. In order for it to be called Spineshank, I believe we owe it to our fans to have the original four dudes. Very rarely does it happen where a band can have a different singer and still call it that. People are going to crucify me for this, but when Motley Crue got [John] Corabi, as much as I love that record, it's an amazing record but it's not a Motley Crue record. It shouldn't be called Motley Crue. There's definitely some kind of chemistry that happens within the four of us that you can't replicate without any of those ingredients.

You've been producing more lately. Was this something you were always interested in?
I think from minute one of starting Spineshank, back when I was 17 and had a little four track, me and Tommy [Decker] took interest in the whole recording process. Obviously it grew from that into doing the earlier Spineshank records and co-producing the last two records with Gggarth Richardson. So the studio is something that both I and Tommy feel really super comfortable in. We know it inside and out. We know how to get tones and what we're going for. Even if you're working with a different engineer or a different producer, it's a lot easier to convey what you're saying to them when you know what you're talking about. It kind of happened. It wasn't necessarily something we planned on doing, but it was a natural growth.

I worked (engineering) on the first Five Finger Death Punch actually. I produced a band called Destroy the Runner. I don't think they're around any more. I think it came out on Tooth & Nail. Lately I've been working a lot with All Hail The Yeti. It was kind of an on and off thing, and once our record was done, it was like I needed to do something.

What's it like producing your own band considering you have this odd love/hate relationship within the band?
It's a bitch I'll tell you that much! The hardest part is keeping yourself in check. That's why I need someone to bounce ideas off of, and that's where Tommy comes in and vice versa. The hardest part is stepping out of the picture, thinking [as a] producer and what's good for the song. Even on this record, as elaborate as the guitar parts are, I step out of that. I don't look at it as a guitar player. I look at it more from the songwriting aspects. The guitar player ego thing is foreign to me.

So how much of the new record have you played live so far?
The song we used to play a lot was 'Born Conform Repent.' Even though we did record it and mix it for this record, it's not going to be on it. It's probably going to be some sort of a B-side or for a soundtrack. It doesn't fit the flow of the record. Other than that, every once in a blue moon, we would play a song called 'I Am Damage,' which is on the record.

Are you currently shopping 'Anger Denial Acceptance' to labels or distributors?
We're pretty damn close to it. Very close to it. The problem is that we spent a long time making this record. It's the most personal we've ever been and it's like my baby. I'm sure everybody else will say the same thing. It's really hard to let it go, and we want to make sure whoever puts this record out is going to care about it as much as we do. We don't want to just s--- it out and 'now it's out.' We want the proper support and we want the people working the record understand it and care about it as much as we do.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/08/spineshank-return-with-original-singer-and-new-album/

Behemoth: Better Than Before -- Exclusive Interview (Noisecreep - April 7, 2011)

2011-05-30T02:38:00.000-07:00

The past year has been a life-changing experience for Behemoth frontman and guitarist Adam 'Nergal' Darski. The rocker spent the past year in a hospital in Poland battling leukemia, which he was diagnosed with last summer. Since then, he had been going through treatment and facing some of the toughest moments of his life.

Fans reached out to assist Nergal to find a bone marrow match. After dealing with the ups and downs of his illness, he is slowly working his way back to doing what he does best -- making music with Behemoth.

Noisecreep recently spoke to Nergal about his health issues, his experiences battling leukemia, and how that has influenced the writing of his forthcoming record.

Noisecreep: It's been a while since we last heard from you. How are you doing these days?
Nergal: I'm getting better. Each week I'm getting stronger, more power, and more vitality. No complaints really. I'm mean it's still going to take few months until a full recovery but it's developing and I'm happy about it.

So how long were you in the hospital?
Six months. I started in August and it took me almost six months to recover. Three months after the transplant. The first eight weeks were rough. I wouldn't move that much out of my house. I had to keep myself in a sterile condition. With time and now after the 100th day after the transplant, I'm more relaxed. The worst times are behind. From now on it will be better.

Did you go back to playing guitar right away?
I've played guitar for about two months now. No electrics -- just acoustic stuff. Chill out stuff. Things that stretch my fingers [like] no fast picking, no leads, [and] no black metal stuff. This will come soon, within one or two weeks. I wanna start playing the old Behemoth stuff and within the next six weeks, we start rehearing for the shows coming this October of this year.

What was it like picking it up again after so much time not being able to play it?
I was really scared to grab the guitar and start playing. When I did I was terrified. Originally I was thinking it was like bicycle riding. But it's exactly opposite. The longer the break, the more you lose. You lose the technique. Then to bring back the technique, you need to work twice as hard as before. So it's kind of a pain in the ass but there's a lot of fun ahead of me and I'm getting more passionate about it. I'm more optimistic about it. Nothing can go wrong really.

Did you get a renewed appreciation for the guitar during your health scare?
Not really. Definitely my way of viewing things after I left the hospital changed...not drastically but I had to value things in life. When I came back from the hospital I valued friendships way more than I did before. I tried to spend more time on things that really do have meaning for me in life. Not to waste time any more. I learned before I was sick I would try to do everything by myself. Because I was like no one else could do better than me. Things had to be done today. I would stress myself. Everyone else wouldn't have stuff done. And now I'm like, 'take your time.' Take it easy. If it becomes tomorrow instead of today, the world isn't going to collapse because of that. I'm becoming more relaxed than before, and I try not to stress myself too much.

So how did you originally discover something was wrong with you? Do you remember the first signs of the illness?
I found out that I was sick in the hospital when the diagnosis came. It was in August [2010], but the symptoms came approximately two months prior to when I was diagnosed with leukemia. The symptoms were I had bumps all over my head. Everywhere where my hair was I has like this skin infection or something underneath my fingers. I thought it was a skin infection or skin disease or allergy or something. I had no clue. I left for a tour and it wouldn't disappear. It was still there. I felt fine but I was playing shows every day.

I was drinking alcohol. Everything was fine. This time, I would have diarrhea pretty much all that time. I would lose weight but I was in good spirits all the time. It was weird. After that, because of the concerts starting, I started having breathing problems and started sweating like a pig. Two days before I officially got to the hospital it was pretty disastrous.

Does this whole experience seem surreal to you, that you got a clean bill of health while other patients may not?
To be honest, for some reason, I was aware. Everything was so great [for me]. I know there were people dying and people leaving in black body bags. I saw that. With the others being there, it could happen to anyone there, but everyone else's health cases are different. For some reason, I had to find strength, and in my case it's going to be not as heavy and not as dangerous as others. I had this faith and I never questioned it. I never doubted that. On one hand, I'm relatively young when this happened to me. I was in really good shape because my whole life I've been taking good care of myself. I was never a heavy drinker or doing drugs. I was doing sports. Probably if it had been a different person, [there may be] more damage and may go probably the other way.

I'm saying I had one hundred percent faith and I was aware that everything was so great. I was making plans for Behemoth. I've been working... not every day... but constantly I've been working on new projects... a DVD and a book and doing some interviews here and there. I tried to make plans. That's me thriving through the whole process. Stay there and be decadent. Stay there in the hospital and go 'let's see what happens. Let's see what doom brings.' No f---in' way! It's myself who determines my doom. That's how I see it.

Did you do any lyric writing while you were in the hospital?
I did some writing. I didn't do any music. I probably recorded some lyrics on my record player and might use them on my next album. I wasn't actively writing but did get some cool inspiration from reading the Bible and other stuff. I had two to four pages of notes for the next record. Some of them are real, real cool. Some of them are crap. I'm sure I've got some cool stuff ready for the next record. I'm not going to rush. I'm not going to hurry. We're going to take our time. The whole circumstances around it, this might be our most important record of our career.

I thought 'Evangelion' is the defining point. We have to rethink and refine ourselves. Now it's time to prove it. I'm really sure it's going to be the defining Behemoth album and hopefully open new doors for us. Show the fans the potential from a different angle. I would hate to record the same record as 'Evangelion.' Even though I love 'Evangelion' -- I think it's the top Behemoth album.

During this time, your fanbase really came together for you.
It was crazy. I never expected that. I don't expect massive feedback from people. I'm not that egotistic like when I get sick, everyone's going to help me out. Let's see what happens. If I mean something to people, they're going to help me out. They're going to give me support. I'm not that arrogant to say that everyone's going to support me. I was f---ing shocked! All the metal community would help me out and gave me strength. It definitely kept me motivated during this hard time. It meant a lot.

I'm sure you received a ton of letter from fans during that time. Were there any that stood out?
Yeah I had some people who offered their bone marrow. There were people actually offering to come to Poland because they didn't know the procedure. You don't need to come to Poland in order to become a donor. There was one guy. He was notorious for sending the same email every week or two. It was like 'I'm ready to give you my bone marrow, but you need to pay for my flight costs and the next Behemoth show I enter for free.' There were some more demands. He's an idiot. I never replied to that email. I was terrified by his mental condition, writing this crap. But 99 percent of the emails were 'what can we do to help you out?' I replied to maybe five percent of them because there were too many. Every occasion I had to write news from the hospital, I would mail people to say hey.

What did you miss most about touring?
Any aspect of touring was missed. The first week I was shocked with everything. It was all new to me. Then I got into the hospital I wanted to get back out on the road. I wanted to be in the same company as my guys, traveling from town to town, and meeting people. Playing this music and touring is a cure for me. It's everything or nothing. Obviously I don't think that way, but it's such an integral and elemental part of my life and I can't deny it. I just want to get back in shape and make another record and get back on tour.

When do you resume playing shows?
We're doing some shows in Poland in October. I'm excited about it. We're probably doing some Asian and Australian dates around December. Full-on European and US headlining tours are planned for Spring 2012. Get ready. It's going to be a full-on tour. We need to complete the 'Evangelion' cycle and then we start recording the next record. We're not rushing. We want to make sure that the come back tour is planned with pyro and the craziness. Behemoth is better than before!

Is there anything else you would like add?
I'm so thankful for all the people for lending their support and for the faith in me and the band. I'm just speechless. We owe them and we're going to give it back very, very soon. Behemoth will be back stronger than before. That's the most important thing you should know.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/07/behemoth-better-than-before-exclusive-interview/

Andrew WK's Cannibal Corpse Dream Came True (Noisecreep - April 7, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

We recently spoke with rocker Andrew W.K. about some of the coolest nights he's had at his New York City nightclub, Santos Party House.

Noisecreep: What are some of the most memorable shows you've had at Santos Party House so far?
Andrew W.K.: Almost all of my personal favorite bands have either played here or have talked about playing here, and we're still working on it. That alone, to me, is mind blowing. One of the other things that I never anticipated was, like so many people, am not able to go to every show. A lot of my favorite shows, including my friend's bands, I haven't been in town [for] because I've been on tour or traveling, working. That's what happens when you live in a city like New York. There's always more stuff than you can do. It's really frustrating when it's at your [own] place.

Cannibal Corpse played here recently and that was something we had dreamed of for a very long time. Being able to be a proper metal venue, specifically death metal, because there's a great venue in the city called B.B. King's, which I have played at and have seen many bands play there, but I never thought it lent itself very well to heavy metal and death metal. For some reason, that's where all the shows went. It was a dream of ours to be able to, not take away what's going on at B.B. King's, but for example, have a place that has black walls versus carpeting and wallpaper. A place that's focused on the music and not much lounging. We could do a proper mosh pit. That's the whole idea. It's to make a space that completely facilitates fun of a high energy type.

But with Cannibal Corpse, one of my best friends who's worked with me on the road for many years named Brian has been a stage tech with them even before he was with us. I couldn't go see them. It's a blessing and a curse, but of course I'm exciting they played at all. That, to me, was a touchstone marker of how far the club had come from this dream we had in our brains to an actual space that was hosting the greatest bands that we could ever want to play anywhere. Also at the Cannibal Corpse show, Dying Fetus played, which is another legendary band.

When I first moved to New York, there was an amazing venue called the Wetlands. It was another strange place. A lot of bands who played there catered to jam bands and what people called esoteric or hippie kind of bands. I saw a Pink Floyd tribute band there. That place had a lot of death metal shows. It was strange going to a place that had Grateful Dead vibes all day and then seeing amazing death metal bands. I think I saw Nile there. That place went away too.

It was time for someone to step up and make sure we could have shows like that in New York City. It is also easy for bands like that to play in New Jersey, and not necessarily make it into New York City proper every time. I think it's important that there be, not only a lot of venues, but a lot of different kinds -- independently owned ones, ones owned by the major conglomerates, and the ones in-between. The thing is, the city is big enough to host all of these places at once, which we're very thankful for.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/07/andrew-wk-cannibal-corpse-dream-came-true-at-santos-party-hous/

Front Line Assembly Tour US for the First Time Since 2007 (Noisecreep - April 1, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Front Line Assembly are gearing up for a US tour, the band's first since 2007. The tour is in support of their latest full-length release, 'Improvised. Electronic. Device.' Die Krupps and Cyanotic are set to open each show.

The new album's first single, 'Shifting Through the Lens,' is the most danceable track FLA has created in the last decade. Al Jourgensen (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) guests on the sonic industrial onslaught of 'Stupidity,' which Bill [Leeb, keyboards/vocals] says was "inspired by the Ministry album 'The Last Sucker.' Jeremy [Inkel, keyboards] was on tour with his other band, Left Spine Down, ... and he got to know Al really well. We're really excited to have him on it!"

Front Line Assembly formed in 1986 when Leeb left Skinny Puppy and issued the first FLA album, 'Initial Command.' Since then, the Canadian electro-industrial band has released 16 full-length releases.

Tour dates:

May 15 Winnipeg, MB - Pyramid Cabaret
May 17 Ottawa, ON - Zaphod Beeblebrox
May 19 Montreal, QC - Kinetik Festival
May 20 Springfield, VA - JAXX
May 21 NYC, NY - Highline Ballroom
May 22 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
May 23 Toronto, ON - Mod Club
May 25 Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel
May 26 Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
May 27 Chicago, IL - The Abbey
May 28 Milwaukee, WI - Miramar Theater
May 29 Minneapolis, MN - Ground Zero
May 30 Detroit, MI - Shelter
June 01 New Orleans, LA - Howlin' Wolf
June 02 Dallas, TX - Trees
June 03 Austin, TX - Elysium
June 04 Houston, TX - Numbers
June 06 Denver, CO - Summit Music Hall
June 07 Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
June 08 San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
June 09 Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theatre
June 10 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
June 11 San Francisco, CA - Red Devil
June 12 Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 13 Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/01/front-line-assembly-tour-us-for-the-first-time-since-2007/

Andrew WK Said 'Yes' to Adult Swim, 'No' to the Kardashians (Noisecreep - April 1, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

We recently spoke with rocker-turned-club-owner-turned-television-host Andrew W.K. about some of the most memorable happenings at Santos Party House, his New York City night club.

Noisecreep: You're involved in many television shows. Have you filmed anything at Santos Party House?

Andrew W.K.: I filmed an entire talk show there one day for Adult Swim. That's when I was working with Adult Swim and they had me make a special appearance on an episode of 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force.' From that, we started filming the talk show idea. We turned the whole upstairs of the club into 'Sally Jessy Raphael.' I had a heated audience on bleacher seats, and a stage area down below on a lower level, just like you see on 'Jerry Springer.' I was talking with guests about all sorts of crazy stuff.

Then the other day we filmed some stuff for Fuse TV. They have been very supportive of the club. We always want the place to be seen. Whether bands want to film there or people want to do TV shows...we did film some other part of a TV show. The Kardashians wanted to film there. We actually said no to that. It was only because we didn't feel it was fair. We wanted to get something out of it. But we're big fans of theirs anyways. We're happy they wanted to shoot there. We wanted it to feel like one of those nightclubs that is in some kind of a crazy movie where the characters go into a night club and one guy goes 'hey let me do the talking and keep your mouth shut.'

There are all sorts of people and crazy music and all dark. That's my definition of going out at night. You want to be out of your element but still comfortable. A sense of danger but yet also a sense of great excitement and possibility and surrounded by friends.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/04/01/andrew-wk-adult-swim-the-kardashians/

Filter Guitarist Jams with Charlie Sheen and Snoop Dogg (Noisecreep - March 31, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Guitarist Rob Patterson (Filter, ex-Korn/OTEP) is reportedly collaborating with actor Charlie Sheen and rapper Snoop Dogg on a yet-to-be-titled song. The former 'Two and a Half Men' star took to his Twitter account to post the following message: "Warlock meets his makers-music makers that is @SnoopDogg @robpatterson666 get ready to rock the Sheenius within!" He later tweeted a Twitpic of the three men, with Patterson holding his guitar. There is no word on when or if this collaboration will see the light of day.

According to a recent interview with USMagazine.com, Patterson stated that he and Sheen had been friends for a few years after meeting through mutual friends. Apparently, Patterson had been giving one of Sheen's girlfriends, Natty Kiely, private guitar lessons. Through this connection, he has been writing music for Sheen and is reportedly taking part in the actor's upcoming My Violent Torpedo of Truth tour, slated to start April 2nd at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.

In addition to any involvement with Sheen's tour, Patterson is still playing with Filter. The band's latest single, 'No Love,' is currently being pushed to rock radio, and a European tour is slated to begin in June.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/31/filter-guitarist-jams-with-charlie-sheen-and-snoop-dogg/

Andrew W.K. Stars in Season Three of 'Destroy Build Destroy' (Noisecreep - March 30,2011)

2011-05-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

This week, Andrew W.K. will begin filming the third season of the show 'Destroy Build Destroy' for the Cartoon Network. The show features Andrew W.K. overseeing two teams of teenagers that destroy various objects and then build vehicles out of the wreckage. The show features high powered explosives, bazookas, rocket launchers, and other weapons of moderate-sized destruction.

"We are about to start filming our third season at the end of this week," said W.K.. "It's still on every week. The episodes we made from the last batch [are on now], and we're about to make 15 more episodes. So get ready for a lot more destruction!"

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/30/andrew-w-k-stars-in-season-three-of-destroy-build-destroy/

Atari Teenage Riot Offer Free Download of New Single (Noisecreep - March 29, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Atari Teenage Riot have just released their latest single, 'Blood In My Eyes', as a free download at http://tinyurl.com/41ytujk. The song features Nic Endo on lead vocals and gives fans a taste of their forthcoming release, 'Is This Hyperreal?,' due out this summer via Digital Hardcore Recordings.

The album is the band's first full-length release since 1999's '60 Second Wipeout.' The band split up in 2000, but reformed in 2010 to do a few reunion shows and issue a new song called 'Activate' through Soundcloud.com. The song featured ATR's newest member, CX KiDTRONiK, replacing Carl Crack who died of a drug overdose in 2001.

'Blood In My Eyes' focuses on the issue of women and human trafficking, their "sexuality exploited for financial gain right under the gaze of the ineffectual governments of the self-proclaimed civilized west," according to a statement from ATR.

The band's statement continues: "The song is a riveting electronic punk rock diatribe in typical Atari Teenage Riot form, paying homage to the feminine retributive subtexts popularized by cult films like 'Kill Bill' and heavily censored French art-house offering, 'Baise-Moi.' With its straight-forward throbbing 909 drum machine patterns, massive guitar riffs, ear-splitting adrenaline rushes of noise, and powerful female vocals, 'Blood In My Eyes' charges down an unswerving path determined to confront the future head on."

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/29/atari-teenage-riot-offer-free-download-of-new-single/

Party Hard with Andrew W.K. at Santos Party House in New York City (Noisecreep, March 28, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Andrew W.K. loves to have fun. Whether performing or recording, the singer-producer is all about having a good time and making sure his audience is feeling good too. His latest venture is Santos Party House, a New York City-based night club he has been a part of for the past three years.

Andrew recently spoke to Noisecreep about his role in the club, his thoughts on New York City's nightlife scene, and his ideas about what makes for a good time.

Noisecreep: How did you get involved with Santos Party House?
Andrew W.K.: One of my oldest and best friends here in New York is an amazing man named Spencer Sweeney. He is a successful fine artist – a painter, but also an amazing musician and a fantastic DJ. A lot of the greatest nights I've ever had out were going to wherever he was DJ-ing. A lot of those places were also where I was playing my first shows. When I first moved [to NYC] 13 years ago, he was one of the first people to invite me to play a show. That meant a lot to me because I didn't know anybody here. He made an effort to reach out and we became really good friends. He's like a mentor to me as well. He's introduced me to so many amazing people, things, ideas, places, and opportunities.

One day he called me up and said, 'Let's start up our own night club. Do you want to do it?' I said OK. He'd also spoken with this other night life veteran and has worked at various bars, clubs and venues named Larry Golden. The other guy who initially came in was the architect, the man with the most building and business experience in terms of starting a new place in the city of Manhattan. That's Ron Castellano. The idea was that we all loved going out. We love music. We love dancing. If we could make our own place, we would kick ass. The place was great -- but what if bands could play too? Or that place is so awesome, but wouldn't it be great if the sound was really good and loud. This place is good, but it's too fancy with all of the velvet and gold. Why don't we have it [be] a hardcore blacked-out space where we could rage?

That was the idea. But we also had the support of so many investors and our main partners, Derek Ferguson, Lucy Ekstrom, and Alec "Despot" Reinstein, and the petition of 5,500 signatures from downtown Manhattan telling the city that they supported us opening a new venue there. It's the first new nightclub with a liquor and dancing license to open in downtown Manhattan in over 20 years. If we had any idea how challenging [and] what an odyssey it would be, I don't know if we would have ever been able to muster up the courage. It felt like the city itself wanted this to exist.

What was the first official show at Santos Party House?
It's been three years. Before we actually opened we hosted an art gallery kind of show with a lot of amazing artists and Paper magazine, which is a legendary New York culture, music, and art magazine which has been supportive of us from the beginning. We did some crazy shows there when I put them together with some New York bands and people I was friends with.

It really started with our friends playing and bringing all of our buddies to create the parties and the nights when we first began. Also one of the first parties we did was with this amazing French dance music group called Et D'Amour. They came in every Thursday. Moby was there. As for the first concert, I can't remember.

Do you host any specific nights at the venue?
I've DJ'd there many, many times and hosted, while other people performed. I might introduce the acts . I like doing the lights. That's very fun. Before we opened, that was my dream – how exciting it was to sit behind the lights and trigger them to the music. That really was one of the most fun things for me, getting to do the lights there. Creating the atmosphere – it's fun for me. Making sure everybody has drinks. Making sure everybody understands where the bathrooms are, and giving everybody any kind of assistance or help on stage.

I got to play around the world at so many legendary venues. All different kinds of venues – places that were great, places that sucked. I can use that knowledge I've gathered over these years to put into a space, to give back to other people and the city that's given me my career. It's great to be able to give back. For people now who are moving here, bands who want to play, people who want to dance, socialize and meet people, now here's a space where we can contribute to the greatness of what New York City is.

Who is the Santos in Santos Party House?
Thank you for asking about that. You can pronounce it that way. You could even pronounce it 'Santa.' We have identified the non-physical spirit of fun. We look at this guy as the saint of good times. Not just New York's good times, but the global [patron of fun]. You can see [Santos] on our website and our t-shirts. He's like our leader. We feel like Santos Party House is the architectural manifestation of his spirit.

Is there anything else you want to mention about Santos Party House?
The website is www.santospartyhouse.com. The Twitter is @SantosPartyHaus. There's not enough letters in Twitter! We're open almost every day for concerts, drinking and dancing. [We] would love to have anyone come by [the club]. We have all ages shows, 18 and up shows, 21 and up shows.

There's always something for anyone to do. There's no dress code. You don't have to have a girl with you to come in. Certain nights are different. If it's sold out, obviously it's sold out. But we try to be open minded as [much as] possible. Please come by and say hello to me. I'll buy you a drink.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/29/party-hard-with-andrew-wk-at-santos-party-house-in-new-york-city/

Soilwork and Arch Enemy Members Form The Night Flight Orchestra (Noisecreep - March 28, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Night Flight Orchestra, the classic rock-style band featuring members of Sweden's Soilwork and Arch Enemy, have posted two new songs, '1998' and 'California Morning,' on their official Facebook and Myspace pages.

The band features vocalist Bjorn 'Speed' Strid (Soilwork) and guitarist David Andersson (Mean Streak, Soilwork session player). The two musicians formed the core of the group after touring the US together in 2007. The pair found common ground when discussing what is and what isn't considered classic rock. The new band's aim is to capture the '70s/early '80s sensibility of classic melody, timeless songs, and the subjects of cities, streets, and alcoholic beverages.

Rounding out the group are bassist Sharlee D'Angelo (Arch Enemy), keyboardist Richard Larsson (Von Bonzo), and drummer Jonas Källsbäck (Mean Streak). Song titles the band has issued include 'Tarot Woman,' 'Badlands,' 'Rhiannon,' 'Running On Empty,' 'Blind Man,' 'Night Moves,' 'Deuce,' 'Separate Ways,' 'Elected,' and 'Set Me Free.' The band is currently unsigned but will be recording its debut album this summer.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/28/soilwork-and-arch-enemy-members-form-the-night-flight-orchestra/

Exhorder Bassist Passes Away (Noisecreep - March 23, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:35:00.001-07:00

Exhorder bassist Frankie Sparcello passed away on Tuesday, March 22, due to unknown causes, according to Blabbermouth.net. Sparcello originally joined the band before the recording of their sophomore release, 'The Law,' in 1992.

The band broke up shortly after the album's release, before reforming with their original lineup a few years after. Sparcello rejoined the band in 2009. You can watch a video of a 2009 reunion show on YouTube. Exhorder were scheduled to perform at Maryland Deathfest IX on May 26-29, 2011 at Sonar in Baltimore, MD.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/23/exhorder-bassist-passes-away/

Nikki Sixx Tours US Book Stores to Promote 'This Is Gonna Hurt' (Noisecreep - March 23, 2011)

2011-05-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and Sixx: AM fame will be appearing in bookstores in select US cities to promote his new book, 'This Is Gonna Hurt.'

At the bookstore appearances, Sixx will meet with fans and sign copies of the book. 'This Is Gonna Hurt' comes out April 12th via William Morrow.

Book tour dates announced so far, according to www.sixxsense.com:

LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, April 12th
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036

SEATTLE
Wednesday, April 13
7:00 PM
University Book Store
4326 University Way NE, Seattle WA 98105

SAN FRANCISCO
Thursday, April 14th
6:00 PM
Book Passage
One Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

PHOENIX
Friday, April 15th
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
21001 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85050

DALLAS
Saturday, April 16th
2:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
7700 West Northwest Highway, (Lincoln Park Shopping Center), Dallas, TX 75225

RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY
Monday, May 2
7:00 PM
Bookends
211 E. Ridgewood Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450

NEW YORK CITY
Tuesday, May 3
7:00 PM
Borders
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Wednesday, May 4
6:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
555 12th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

PHILADELPHIA
Thursday, May 5
6:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
1805 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

BOSTON
Friday, May 6th
7:00 PM
Boston University Bookstore
660 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02215

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/23/nikki-sixx-tours-us-book-stores-to-promote-this-is-gonna-hurt/

California Metalfest V (Noisecreep, March 21, 2011)

2011-05-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, California Metalfest V took over The Grove, a 1,700-person capacity venue in Anaheim, California, as 30 bands on two stages played in front of headbangers from all over SoCal. Scene favorites As I Lay Dying headlined the event.

This year, early arrivals to Metalfest got warmed up by As Blood Runs Black and After the Burial on the main stage, while the side stage featured newcomers Destruction of a Rose, Suffokate, and Molotov Solution. The Human Abstract headlined the side stage and kept the crowd engaged with their highly technical brand of modern metal.

Hometown favorites Winds of Plague and Suicide Silence were two of the highlights of the evening, taking command of the crowd with their unique takes on the metalcore sound. The massive mosh pits incited by both acts reminded Noisecreep of the days when bands like D.R.I. were still playing warehouse shows to insanely energetic crowds.

Event headliners As I Lay Dying lived up to the tough task of following two hometown favorites by playing on a lengthy set of modern thrash metal songs that gave the crowd their fill. Over the past few years, AILD have become one of the hottest groups in their genre and Metalfest definitely found them in fighting shape.

Past editions of Metalfest were held at the Glass House and the Fox Theatre in Pomona, California, over the course of two days. The 2010 edition featured Fear Factory, Job For A Cowboy, Bleeding Through, Whitechapel, and Earth Crisis.

While California Metalfest V lacked the marquee names of previous years, the combination of electrifying live performances and wildly enthusiastic crowds made it a truly memorable night.

http://www.noisecreep.com/2011/03/21/california-metalfest-v-a-truly-memorable-night-live-review/

Type O Negative Interview (Juggernaut Magazine, 1996?)

2010-04-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

I dug this interview up after the news of Peter Steele's passing. I kept a copy of this interview I did with him when the After Dark DVD came out. I can't remember what year I did this but found him to be an interesting person to speak to.

Type O Negative
By Rei Nishimoto

After all of his years of performing in front of 1,000 plus audiences, and even after baring it all in an issue of Playgirl, Peter Steele still suffers from stage fright.

Couples Retreat (Valley Scene Magazine, October 2, 2009)

2009-10-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Couples Retreat
By Rei Nishimoto

Finding the humorous side of relationships between people and how they work on it comes in an assortment of ways. Couples therapy is the latest wave of how couples attempt to work on improving their relationships, and the funny can often be found.

Couples Retreat looks at four couples who are all encountering problems. Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are one couple who are overly happy except they do a superb job at masking their own problems. As a way to save them from divorce, they choose to take a vacation to a tropical resort in the South Pacific designed to help couples through therapy.

They enlist their other couple friends - the child raising Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), the loveless yet married Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis), and the newly divorced Shane (Faison Love) and his new much younger girlfriend Trudi (Kali Hawk) - Jason and Cynthia are short on cash and enlist under a group rate. They give the couples a fancy slideshow about the resort, and they are thinking they are about to go have fun. This is where they quickly learn the other couples are about to have their relationships under a microscope like Jason and Cynthia.

They are met by Schtanley (Peter Serafinowicz), the British resort manager who is overseeing their stay. His blunt yet snobbish personality quickly interacts well with the four couples, where brief conflicts over what they expected from the resort and what was about to happen in the story build up naturally.

Another key person in the film in Marcel (Jean Reno), a Zen style therapist and founder of the resort. His methods of trying to work with the couples clashes with their lifestyles and causes tension to each of the couples. His unorthodox methods, such as having the couples disrobe on the beach to swimming in shark-infested waters, is the beginning of many laughs throughout the film.

Each of the couples never dominate throughout the film and compliment each other very well. Jason and Cynthia want others to think they have the perfect marriage except they try to hide their problems from the world. Dave and Ronnie are the couple who are only looking to spend some time away from their two young boys. They also are viewed by the others to have the good life, except they cannot see that. Joey and Lucy are the couple who are too busy seeking other singles on the resort and are too blinded to realize what they have. Plus Shane is trying to impress Trudi by overdoing things.

Part of their resort stay includes sessions with a couple's therapist (played by Ken Jeong, Amy Hill, John Michael Higgins, and Karen David). Each couple has their relationships examined closely, which creates tension for most of them. Their interactions with the therapists expose each of their vulnerabilities, but also creating problems that did not exist before.

Each of them discover each other's troubles, as Shane briefly loses Trudi over a fight and runs off to the single's resort. The rest of the group attempts to help Shane by going across the waters to the resort. During that moment, Cynthia breaks down and tells them about her secret. Joey's wandering eyes leads him towards younger singles he met when they arrived, and Lucy is impressed by the attractive yet flirtatious yoga instructor Salvatore (Carlos Ponce). But throughout their wild adventure, Shane finds what he was looking for, as well as the other three couples in their own wild ways.

This movie is not quite the comedy of the year, but the story is relatable enough for viewers to enjoy and find a few laughs along the way. There is a humorous side to this entire story without getting too ridiculous and becoming distasteful. Couples Retreat is enjoyable from beginning to end, and rarely has a dull moment.

The Invention of Lying (Valley Scene Magazine, October 4, 2009)

2009-10-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

The Invention of Lying
By Rei Nishimoto

Imagine a world where people told the truth, regardless of how blatantly true their statement was. In Ricky Gervais' latest film, The Invention of Lying, he created a story about being in an alternate world like this and what the world would be like if no one would ever lie.

The Invention of Lying is a comedic story that is both hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. While many comedies aim towards cheap jokes, this film builds around a story that is relatable to many viewers.

Gervais portrays the character Mark Bellison, a down-on-his-luck, 40s-ish, single, schlubby, and a pessimistic loser, who works as a writer at the fictional Lecture Films Motion Picture Studios. The film starts with him going on a blind date with Anna McDoogles (played by Jennifer Garner), a beautiful yet bluntly forward woman who Mark had a crush on for years, who happened to be the first cousin of his best friend Greg (played by comedian Louis CK).

The two go on their date, where her forwardness practically leads to her shooting him down for another date. This starts the string of bad luck for Mark, including his worst fear of getting fired by Lecture Films. He is openly known as their worst writer at a company who makes films about historical facts read on camera. He was stuck with the 14th Century and specially the Black Plague era. He is openly heckled by his secretary Shelley (played by Tina Fey) and his boss Anthony (played by Jeffrey Tambor), who attempts to fire him every day but is poor at confrontation.

To add insult to injury, his rival Brad Kessler (played by Rob Lowe), rubs in his firing in person. Brad is viewed as the perfect specimen, both professionally and physically, which Mark never was or would be.

While he was suffering through this, his mother (played by Fionnula Flanagan) was in a senior home and was slowly in declining health.

This leads to Mark discovering he has the ability to tell lies. Gervais' dark humored overtone fits Mark very well and especially when this point in the film arrives. His tone comes in softly and brings a comedic touch that is not so over the top.

Once Mark discovers his ability, he shares his newfound knowledge. His friend Frank, his depressive neighbor who is always on the verge of suicide, is given words of encouragement by him. Later, he takes Greg along on a trip to a casino for some gambling, where they win money in the most unorthodox of ways (i.e. cheating). Gervais and CK both interact well, building a good interaction without having to tell vulgar jokes and instead keeping the comedic flow natural.

Mark uses his new powers to gain his job back and gaining revenge against the people who spited him at the film company. He produces a new film about the Black Plague, and eventually earns more money where he buys a mansion. He manages to attract Anna, where this becomes the first twist of the story.

While Mark begins telling his lies to move up in the world, another turning point comes while he is comforting his mother in her deathbed. His words of comfort mistakenly get out to the public, and are viewed as a prophet and a visionary about the afterlife. Crowds of people await Mark to share his words and what he knows. Gervais' subtle character comes across very well in this part of the film, and he shows why his style of writing and acting has attracted a new audience within the comedy world.

The relationship between Mark and Anna becomes the final plot twist in this film, as the two figures out what they truly want from each other. The two unlikely couple brings a moral piece to the story, especially when in this world everything revolves around the truth.

While it may not be the slapstick film of the year, The Invention of Lying does have lots of laughable moments along with moments that will leave a lasting impression. Gervais is slowly showing why he should be recognized for his work besides The Office. This may be the film where he will get his moment.

Evergreen Terrace (AMPMagazine.com)

2009-09-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Evergreen Terrace
by: Rei Nishimoto
Posted on Sep 08, 2009 - 3:17 pm

Evergreen Terrace is one of the bands who have lived and breathed the road life and made a career out of it. For over a decade, they have played to countless fans of hardcore, punk and metal music, and have built their following through hard work and dedication. Starting in Jacksonville, Florida in 1999, they named the band after the Simpsons fictional street they live on. The band has built its sound around aggressive riffs and a strong blend of raw shouted lead vocals and melodic vocals during their choruses. Musically, they mix influences of hardcore, metal and punk that has helped them stand out amongst the scene. With the recent economic difficulties plaguing most people, the band still managed to push through. They overcame uncertainties within the band to create their latest release titled Almost Home. They parted ways with bassist Jason Southwell after their last record, and they recently lost drummer Kyle Mims due to a freak bicycle accident before their most recent tour on the Summer Slob Tour. Caleb James of Casey Jones filled in for the tour.

Guitarist Josh James spoke about the new record, touring with new members, touring, and their love for the Simpsons.

Where are you now?

Josh James: We’re on the last night of the Summer Slob Tour with The Acacia Strain, Cruel Hand and Unholy. We are in Hartford, Connecticut at the Webster Theater. We have a nice 15 hour drive home and have two days off and then we hop on a plane and head to Europe.

How’s the tour going so far?

JJ: It’s been good. There are a lot of tours going on right now and you can definitely see the effects of that. Kids don’t know what they want they want to do this summer. You have Warped Tour, 10 Bands For $10, Summer Slaughter Tour, and the Summer Slob Tour. You have a lot of things going on. The crowds have been good. It’s been a lot of fun. This tour’s definitely had a less serious vibe to it, all because of the theme of being a disgusting slob. It’s made for some interesting nights!

I heard about your drummer’s situation. How’s he doing?

JJ: He just got out of the hospital yesterday. About five days before we left for the tour, him and the guy playing bass for us, they were cruising around on beach cruisers around the neighborhood. Kyle had a brand new bike and the spokes just collapsed. He was about a block from his house and it threw him over the handle bars. It broke his clavicle in three different spots and crushed his elbow. He was rushed to the emergency room. They put a steel plate into his shoulder. Caleb [James] from Casey Jones is filling in on drums. We try to keep in touch with Kyle every day. A week and a half after his surgery, he started getting really sick and went to the emergency room. They found out he had a blood clot in his lung. So he was put in the hospital for a week under observation. He called me and said he just received the bill solely for the clavicle surgery. It was around $40,000! It’s definitely a hard time for him and hard time for the band. Things were looking good. We have a new record about to come out. We have a lot of great tours lined up for the next six months. Something unfortunate as this happens; everybody is trying to stay as positive as we can. We didn’t want to cancel any tours. We were lucky to get Caleb to play drums for us. Kyle’s going through physical therapy and will be back with us in a couple of months.

Caleb will be in long as he is needed then?

JJ: He’s going to do the European run with us right after this tour, which starts next week. After that, we’re doing five and a half weeks with Emmure. That takes us into October. The doctors told him that there is a high chance that he won’t be able to turn his hand so his palm faces up. He’s not sure how that will affect his drumming. He’s trying to stay focused and not let it get to him too much. He’s a tough guy when it comes to bringing him down on things. Hopefully that attitude will come through in a positive way.

Not to bum out the interview, but what was the biggest difference between the making of Almost Home versus past records? I read you used a producer this time around.

JJ: This recording process was completely different than anything else we have ever done. In the past we had gone to one studio. We’ve never had a producer. We were strictly working with the engineer at the studio. This time, we ended up tracking all of the music without a producer. We recorded that in a small studio called Martel Studios in Georgia. We tracked all the vocals, as well as Jason Suecof produced and engineered the record. He just did the new August Burns Red, Job For A Cowboy, Black Dahlia Murder, All That Remains, and Trivium. It was cool and weird at the same time. He didn’t do a whole lot with Craig’s [Chaney] vocals, which are the clean singing vocals. It was cool to have someone step in and looking at it with a completely different perspective. He had Craig try so many things he hadn’t thought of. Obviously we hope one day…we don’t oppose working with a producer. When we started writing the record as far as the songwriting, there was so much going on with the band. Just like any other band was felt it…the economy had a huge impact on us, the impact of the outlook of our personal future, what’s going on in the world, and what is and what is not important. Our bass player [Jason Southwell] of over ten years, he decided it was time for him to call it quits. There were a few months there where it was rocky for us. We didn’t know what the future was. We didn’t know if everybody wanted to do it or if it was worthwhile doing it. Ultimately me and Drew [Andrew Carey, vocals] and Craig and Kyle started writing the songs, everything we were experiencing emotionally and dealing with, everyone started pushing out stuff that was deeper than anything in the past. It seemed like the songs flowed better. I think when listeners hear it they will be able to understand. They will be able to understand and grasp the energy the record holds.

Does the title Almost Home tie into your dealings over the past few years?

JJ: We come up with a bunch of different titles. Then Almost Home was brought up. We tour so much that we’re constantly saying we’re almost home. We’re always thinking of taking a break. It seems like the break never comes. As soon as we come home, we start writing and record. In another sense, when we started the band, it was never the intension to release a record. It was to have some fun and never to go on tour or to make it our career. It seems like throughout those years, I don’t want to say we strayed away from having a good time and having a useful mindset. Reality does kick you in the ass sometimes. It’s hard to not get caught up in the bullshit and becoming an adult and dealing with the problems you deal with. All the things I was talking about earlier, like Jason quitting and the economy, it puts so much pressure on us. When it seemed like we came to our breaking point, where we almost split up, it was a breath of fresh air. It felt like it took us back to home ten years ago where we were. I don’t care if the record fails. I don’t care if the record sells a million copies. That would be great but nobody’s thinking about that. Within the last few records, you have labels and management and other bands and booking agents and all of this bullshit and pressure from all of these people that ‘this record can’t sell! It’s gonna be a success!’ That’s all you’re thinking about. We got to a point where it’s like ‘we don’t give a shit.’ Either it’s gonna do well or it’s not. We can’t control that. All we can do is write songs that we enjoy and other people will like them. It brought us back to the order of the band where we started off.

I noticed on past records many of your songs were inspired by pop culture such as Survivor to Fight Club, amongst others. Did those types of themes inspire the songs on Almost Home?

JJ: We’ve always taken things from pop culture and slid them into the band. There are definitely ideas for lyrics that we’ve gotten from books – tons of titles for songs and records have been from movies and books. A lot of times we’ll hear something funny in a movie and we’ll write a song and we’ll call the song whatever the funny line is in the movie or the clever line is in the book. We don’t really think of the title when we write the lyric. Somehow at the end, the lyrics match the title of the song on the record. There are definitely some pop culture references in Almost Home. There’s a song called ‘I’m A Bullet Proof Tiger’ that is a Kenny Rogers quote from the show Eastbound & Down. There’s nothing lyrically based. I think it was something on Wolfbiker. Everyone was getting into philosophy and the idea of gods and religions. I think reading a lot of those books and lyrics, you could see where we were reading or watching through those lyrics. On Almost Home, it’s heartfelt lyrics and though out lyrics. There’s nothing specifically based from a book or a movie that influenced us in the past.

What’s the deal with the bass player situation? Do you have fill ins for now?

JJ: We made a decision that me, Craig and Drew have been in the band for ten years. Kyle’s been in the band for five years. We wrote the record. Jason our old bass player didn’t really write anything musically. It’s not going to change the writing process or the sound our old bass player didn’t influence in the music. We thought it would be easier for us to instead of having a fifth official member, just having someone to play for tours…it’s one less person to deal with on the business end of things. Also it’s easier that way. We have our friend Chris [Andrews] who formerly played for this band Stretch Arm Strong. He’s playing bass for us now. He’s doing these tours with us for the rest of the year.

So you have two fill in guys for now?

JJ: It’s never happened before. Caleb the guy who’s playing drums for us, he usually does merch for us. We’re used to touring with him. We’re not used to touring with Chris. The first few shows were awkward for us because I’m looking on stage and I’m like ‘who the hell’s on stage with me?’ We’ve all gotten into the groove and I think this group of people have gotten extremely tight and have figured out how and what everybody does live.

I know you had a YouTube page with some video diaries. Are there any plans of doing more in the future?

JJ: That’s something I recently started doing last year. We toured the States so much…whenever I talk to my friends, nobody ever asks about tours from the States. They don’t care what you did in Idaho. Whenever you go to Europe or Australia or Japan, that’s when all of your friends ask ‘how was it? Was it crazy?’ I started making little documentaries whenever we go overseas, mostly to show our friends and family what it’s like over there. I try to film things here and there, and if there’s enough good or humorous footage, we’ll try to put it all together and give people something to watch. Most of them are short and entertaining.

You got the band name from the Simpsons. Now that the Simpsons hit the 20th anniversary mark themselves, does this give you any added motivation to keep the band going another decade?

JJ: The goal is to eventually convince Matt Groening to put us on the Simpsons. Once that happens, then I don’t really care what happens. We know we’ve fulfilled all that we could do. If you want to let Mister Matt know that we’re fully ready to have our episode and just to give us a call.

You’ll do a duet with Bart?

JJ: I’d like to really get down with Homer personally because my stepdad’s name is Homer, as well. He used to get really pissed off when I was a little kid. I used to call him Homer Simpson. He would get furious.

Aliens In The Attic (Valley Scene Magazine, July 24, 2009)

2009-08-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation films come with a load of surprises, and especially when it comes from another plant. The surprises in 'Aliens In The Attic' keep view3ers on its feet and rarely leaving a dull moment. It appears this was never part of their family vacation plans.

The movie is an all-out battle between the Pearson family and the aliens "who came from upstairs" and will decide the fate of Planet Earth. Stuart (Kevin Nealon) and his wife Nina (Gillian Vigman) played their summer vacation with their family in a comfortable suburban house in Michigan.

Then there are the kids - the adorable seven-year old Hannah (Ashley Boettcher); the 15-year old Tom, a computer geek whose grades intentionally tanked; and the older sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale), who is secretly dating an 'older' boyfriend Ricky Dillman (Robert Hoffman).

Stuart decides to band the family together and takes them to an old fashioned retreat in a surburban house away from the things the kids became attatched to, such as video games and computers. The PearsoNana Rose (Doris Roberts) and identical 12-year old twins Art (Henri Young) and Lee (Regan Young). This side of the family is the polar opposite of Stuart's family, as they drive in cranking loud rock music, playing video games and carryingillegal fireworks for the sheer thrill of it all.

An unexpected Ricky also works his way into an overnight visit with the Pearsons. This does not sit well with Tom, as he is the only member of his family who sees through Ricky's shallow ways.

Gradually, as night time falls, dark clouds swirl around the house and then four glowing objects shoot towards the roof. This is where the alien crew of Skip, the tough commander (voiced by J.K. Simmons); Tazer, a muscle-bound enforcer (voiced by Thomas Hayden Church); Razor, a lethal female commandert (voiced by Kari Wahlgren); and Spark, the techie four armed member, who is also the sole non-threatening one (voiced by Josh Peck).

While Tom and Ricky were supposed to be bonding on the roof while fixing their satellite dish, this is when Ricky is taken under a spell of the aliens, due to a high-tech-mind-control device and plug implanted into his brain. Dillman put on quite a performance, as Ricky having to move around at fast speeds into walls and his marionette like portrayals throughout the film. While Ricky is a slimeball as a character, his potrayal was worked in as karmic, payback way by the kids.

Much of this film is focused around the children trying to takr down the aliens. Each of the children's roles plays a key part in the interaction with the aliens. Tom is the brains and figures out how to counteract the aliens' tactics. Bethany is the love struck yet later betrayed whose moods swing throughout the film. ZJake is the crazy one who loves to play with fireworks and blow things up. The twins tinker with the controls they stole from the aliens, and later use to control Ricky, Hannah plays the sensitive one who bonds with the alien Sparks, when he is captured by the kids.

In many ways, this film showed hints of the 1985 hit Goonies, with the kids on an adventure type feel. But unlike the Goonies, Aliens in the Attic is a simplified version without the in depth adventure story that would make it exciting for viewers of all ages to enjoy.

The four aliens each portray a unique personality that comes across well as they attempt their evil ways, inside of the house. Plus their interaction with the kids, especially during the shooting scenes with the potato guns, comes across somewhat predictable but still enough to leave some of the excitement within the story.

Aliens In The Attic is the human versus alien film that the family can enjoy together. While this film does not have the rough 'em up type of story like much of the movies out today, instead it is one of the few movies that people of all ages could enjoy.

Orgy @ Roxy (VISIONS Magazine - January 22, 1999)

2009-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Orgy: Los Angeles - The Roxy (22.01.1999)
Autor: Rei Nishimoto
Erschienen in: VISIONS Nr. 74 Author: Rei Nishimoto
Published in: VISIONS No. 74
Support: Professional Murder Music, Hero
Besucher (Visitors): 500

Der Abend wird von zwei Bands eröffnet, in denen ehemalige Mitglieder der verblichenen Band Human Waste Project mitwirken.

The evening is opened by two bands, in which former members of the faded band Human Waste Project participate. At work is Sänger Aimee Echo und Drummer Scott Ellis, together with former Snot members Mike Smith (Guitars) und Jamie Miller, former Drummer, now Bassist. Hero is a lot more melody-driven than HWP and have more in common with Cure or the Beatles than with the grain. For Professional Murder Music are HWP, bassist Jeff Schartoff and ex-Tura satana guitarist Brian Harrah of the meeting. PMM go on wearing experimental Industrial enriched with DJ scratches and chilling background sounds from the synthesizer. Both Professional Murder Music and Hero have already been offers from various labels on the table - there will probably still listen. In the last six months, Orgy, the emerging heroes of the music of the 21st Century, the scene by storm. Their bizarre, some glam, some Gothic-influenced outfit, and the ubiquitous cover of New Orders "Blue Monday", the band from the state to quasi-Stars. Their first appearance in their home city of Los Angeles as the headliner is also definitely a success, well over 400 people fill the Roxy, among them some members of Coal Chamber, Downset, and Limp Bizkit, Orgy, the wish to express their support. The star of the band is clearly the mastermind and vocalist Jay Gordon: Less than two meters tall, spindly and with a hairstyle, which suggests that he deals with Manson and Coal Chamber announced the hairdresser, he immediately draws the attention. What is not surprising, because the rest of the band is not nearly as involved in the show as he delivers an excellent job but as an accompaniment. Orgy define the 80s-wave and synth-rock re-fit, but the zeitgeist of modern synth guitar effects and an extremely dark background. The highlight of the predicted performance is said "Blue Monday" in which an almost familial atmosphere emerges. Orgy optimists see as one of the bands, the hard music in the new millennium may bring. Even if something seems premature - Orgy will make their way.

Asian Dub Foundation @ Troubadour (VISIONS Magazine - March 23, 1999)

2009-08-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Asian Dub Foundation: Los Angeles - Troubadour (23.03.1999)
Author: Rei Nishimoto Published in: VISIONS No. 76
Visitors: 350

The British revolution of new electronic music slowly reached the American coast, and in the form of Asian Dub Foundation. The existing five-man combo, originally from India, break beats mixed with hip-hop, funk, reggae and electronic influences to create a new, fresh sound to modern, with all these styles, new country enters. Together with socially critical lyrics and the fact than Asian living in England, they have in the music world, new doors open. Since the U.S. as opener for the Beastie Boys for the first time already have, they could be an ever-growing popularity of delight. Her most recent appearance in Los Angeles again this was impressively demonstrated. Among the enthusiastic audience was also Rage Against The Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha, who probably also wanted to show his support. Resemblance to him, are not absurd, especially since ADF frontman Master D vocally the reggae version that is de la Rocha represents. Master D and guitarist Chandrasonic are often the audience to the deeper meaning of a song to convey. This is a piece not just down, but like when? crash? the audience indicated that this was the secret behind the world economy going. This is not to say that, as with most rap-metal acts, the rest of the band in the background hidden, and only one or two people in the show included. On the contrary, even Sampler DJ Pandit G and J Sun actively take part in the action and let her run free movement, especially when you agree with an imprisoned hero in a song for his recognition proves. The Asian Dub Foundation, slowly opens up new avenues for the musical future and probably will in the coming years, the leadership style of taking the time is still emerging. Take in eight.

Arkaea Interview (Valley Scene Magazine, July 10-23, 2009)

2009-07-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Arkaea Interview
By Rei Nishimoto

For two decades, Fear Factory became one of the most influential heavy metal bands on the heavy music scene. The LA based band released seven full length releases (including two full length releases without original guitarist Dino Cazares), in which fans recognized them for their powerful blend of hard driving guitar riffs, lightning speed drumming, and a vocal style that switched between a raw, shouted style and a clean, melodic style throughout their songs.

After the release of their 2005 release Transgression, drummer Raymond Herrrera and guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers began writing songs that were originally intended for a new Fear Factory record. But once band vocalist Burton C. Bell chose to work on his side project Ascensions of the Watchers instead, the two members shifted their energies towards something else. Their new band Arkaea was finally born in 2007.

"This was essentially supposed to be the next Fear Factory record," explained Herrera. "There were some personal differences, I guess you can say, so we decided to take the songs and do something else with them. Obviously we weren't going to do Fear Factory at the time."

So Herrera and Olde Wolbers continued to work on new songs and began shaping their sound around new members in the band. They began by recruiting vocalist Jon Howard (of the Canadian metal band Threat Signal), which they were familiar with from past touring.

"It was Christian's idea to get Jon and Pat (Kavanaugh) involved. Christian had already worked on the Threat Signal record, so he was good friends with Jon and Pat. I hadn't really met Jon before. I may have spoken to him once or twice - kinda say hi to the guys. I didn't really know them that well at the time."

"We had sent songs we had written up to that point to Jon. He heard some of the stuff and started doing vocals on it. I thought 'wow, this guy's really good.' He's doing a really good job. So it kind of snowballed from there. We kept sending him stuff and he was sending stuff back. I was starting to get ideas as an answer to what he was doing. It's a collaborative effort, even though he's in Toronto. It built from there. We wrote some of the stuff here (at the studio). We wrote some stuff at Christian's house. We kept writing like a normal record, and before you knew it, we had 12 songs."

"When Christian and I had branched off, we already had eight songs for the next Fear Factory record, which eventually became Arkaea. When Jon got all of these songs, it almost had a whole record done at that point. He had his work cut out for him."

Over the past two years, they slowly worked on their songs until they were satisfied with the results. Their debut album, Years in the Darkness (out July 14 through E1 Music) is the end result, where songs such as 'Locust' and 'Beneath the Shades of Grey' remind longtime fans of the similarities to Fear Factory, as well as new elements added along the way.

Plus with Howard joining the band, he refined their songs to fit his vocal dynamics to the music. "A lot of the better changes are in nuances where I was able to write around his vocals. He has a different rhythmic vocal style with verses, where I had to change my style just a touch to make those parts stand out more. The style of drumming is still the same. It's a different animal. He's very hard working. In a one-week period, he banged out seven songs and it was 80 percent there. It's unheard of for us. It's really good to have a guy who's really hungry and eager. He gets it that it's a good opportunity," said Herrera.

Arkaea is currently working on a summer tour, which will be announced through the band's Myspace page (www.myspace.com/arkaeamusic). There are talks about an Arkaea remix CD, as well as a XBOX video game featuring Arkaea's music to be released in the near future.

Antiproduct @ Key Club (Big Cheese Magazine)

2009-06-30T01:21:00.000-07:00

ANTIPRODUCT
The Key Club
Los Angeles, CA (USA)
February 13th
4.5/ 5

With the recent string of UK acts like Bullet For My Valentine, Gallows, and Enter Shikari beginning to create waves on American shores, it is natural for curiosity to kick in as to what is coming next. No one would have predicted that the mad people known as ANTIPRODUCT would soon be terrorizing American shores, beginning with LA. Los Angeles has getting acquainted with the wildly-mannered folks known as Antiproduct over the past few months. A rock ‘n’ roll band pushing itself to the edge has not quite existed within Los Angeles in quite some time. Their zany frontman A Product (aka Alex Kane) is the main attraction here. His KISS-meets-Lucha
Libre outfit is quite exciting, as his interaction with the crowd hits everyone like Jim Carrey in ‘The Mask’. His outfit has many unsure of what was happening, but the crowd began to loosen up and enjoy themselves. This marked the first show with new Antiproduct members, guitarist Mixie and bassist Stitch, along with drummer Ben Graves. Despite the uncertainty of the new members and some minor technical problems, the band sounded solid and never lost its momentum. They even managed to get the normally uptight LA crowd to sing along with ‘Bungee Jumping People Die’. Guitarist Clare Product caught the crowd by surprise by handling lead vocals on the
Motorhead-ish ‘Drugs Sex Food And Booze’. Clare, along with Mixie, both traded off on vocals while Alex joined in as a third guitarist before the band closed their set with their version of the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ theme song. Standing head and shoulders apart from the generic emo/metalcore hordes, Antiproduct make one hell of an impression.

Rei Nishimoto

My Life In Ruins (Valley Scene Magazine, July 26, 2009)

2009-06-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

My Life In Ruins
By Rei Nishimoto

The flood of summer releases has been dominated by sci-fi remakes, horror films and comedies, which have been heavily hyped to pull in audiences. My Life In Ruins is one of the few films that captures audiences with a story from the heart and a human touch.

The film features Nia Vardalos (also of 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding) playing Georgia, a Greek-American history professor who came to Athens to find her kefi (Greek for mojo). She eventually finds herself working as a professional tour guide for Pangloss Tours, as a way of finding equally eager people who shared her knowledge of Ancient Greece.

Vardalos brings warmth and sincerity to her character, playing an often uptight person who is also passionate about Greek history, which attempting to share that with others.

The film captured many breathtaking views of the ancient Greek sites. Unlike a documentary, each scene is worked in with the tour group's chaotic personality and brings a humorous touch. Director Donald Petrie managed to find a strong midpoint towards bringing both elements to the film.

Georgia finds herself with travelers who are only interested in lounging at the famous Greek beaches and shopping more than seeing the famous heritage sites she knows very well. Due to her refusal to adapt to the group, she earns unfavorable ratings. This leads to her boss (played by Brenice Stegers) to cut a deal with another tour guide, Nico (played by British comedian Alistair McGowan) to force her to quit with his obnoxious methods and backstabbing ways.

Georgia is stuck with a tour bus without working air conditioning, accommodations with the crummiest hotels Greece had to offer, and was paired with a bus driver with a heavy beard and was thought to be a mute named Procopi "Poupi" Kakas (played by Greek actor Alexis Georgoulis).

Nico is following the same route, but often unleashes sets of mean pranks such as buying the group ice cream on a hot day and dinner at the Hard Rock Café. This pushes Georgia to her breaking point, often thinking about abandoning the tour and her life in Greece.

Georgia attempts to write a letter of resignation from the hotel, which that also goes sour. Vardalos' real life husband, actor Ian Gomez, plays the hotel clerk that mails her letter, or attempts to do so.

Georgia's tour group consists of a diverse yet somewhat unruly group of loudmouthed Americans (Rachel Dratch and Harland Williams), beer drinking Australians with their odd accents (Simon Gleeson and Natalie O'Donnell), the stuffy Brits (Ian Ogilvy and Caroline Goodall) and their sullen teenage daughter (Sophie Stuckey), a couple of divorced and looking-for-action Senoritas (Maria Botto and Maria Adanez), a kleptomaniac senior citizen and her mute husband (Sheila Bernette and Ralph Nossek), a young adult looking for action (Jareb Dauplaise) and a workaholic, cell phone addicted IHOP sales rep (played by Brian Palermo).

The group member who stood out amongst the crowd was Irv (played by Richard Dreyfuss), an elderly man who loved to crack a joke or pull a gag for every occasion, especially when Georgia's lectures begin to pull the group down. But after learning Irv just lost his wife, the two characters learn more about each other and let their guards down. Dreyfuss' interaction with Vardalos throughout the film, brought out a human touch to the film. Irv represented a character that audiences could easily relate to, and was made relatable to anyone on many levels.

Each of the group members bring their own unique personalities to the film. While Georgia is battling Irv over her uptight behavior, her kind hearted nature comes across in the film, whether it is getting the rash behavior of the Americans over souvenirs, making the young British girl happy while her parents argued, or simply stealing the air conditioner from the other group's bus.

The film's heart is found with the interaction between Georgia and Poupi, as the two characters gradually discover their mutual attraction for one another. This part of the film is also interwoven as the tour group encourages her towards Poupi, as the romance gradually builds up.

This film is not the over hyped, box office breaking movie of the summer. Instead this film is for audiences that miss stories with human emotions and cinematography that captures real things left in this world. My Life In Ruins is something that will be touching audiences for a long while.

ISIS AT THE HENRY FONDA THEATER (LA Weekly June 19-25, 2009)

2009-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Isis at House of Blues

For over 12 years, L.A. (via Boston) based Isis has slowly built up their avante-garde brand of post-rock music over the past dozen years by creating a brand of metal that resists traditional structures like choruses, verses and fast riffs. Often compared to such bands as Neurosis and the Swans, the band has managed to transcend influences and keep their sound growing. On 2006’s In The Absence of Truth, the band expanded to include ambient stuff, and it easily became one of their most commercially successful releases, earning Revolver Magazine’s Golden Gods Best Underground Metal Band award. Their latest is called Wavering Radiant, and features Tool guitarist Adam Jones on the opener “Hall of the Dead.” (He plays keyboards on the title track, as well.) “Ghost Key” fills up with a ’70s-ish progressive instrumentation, with Turner’s angsty but melodic tone offering the perfect foil. (Rei Nishimoto)

CKY (Big Cheese, Issue 112, June 2009)

2009-06-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

IT ISN'T OFTEN when you will find a band of four different individuals that pushes each other to create music that matters. For over a decade, the members of CKY are part of a dying breed of musicians that give a damn about what they do. The tension amongst the members may be the vital ingredient behind creating their long awaited CD, 'Carver City'.

The band began writing songs in 2006, at guitarist Chad I. Ginsburg’s Studio CIG in West Chester, Pennsylvania. This was around the same time they signed a new recording deal with Roadrunner Records. During that time, internal problems arose between the members, and leaving the band in limbo. Members stopped communicating with each other, creating more tension. At one point, vocalist and guitarist Deron Miller publicly announced that he was leaving the band by posting it on the band’s Myspace page. Or did he actually quit?

“I think that the dumbest thing that anybody could every do is say things out of anger when they are drunk,” said Miller: “It’s hard for me to even recall the event which caused this whole problem. I don’t know. I don’t care if I said I quit. Of course I would never quit the band, but under that circumstance I got so angry and fuelled by nonstop problems. When you don’t have anybody to talk to, it gets out of control, no matter how responsible you can be. It gets very monotonous. You learn to be well grounded and take all the fun out of the music. You’re lucky to be there. Be responsible for yourself. It’s not an uncommon story. It happens in every band.”

“Did I probably say I quit the band? Sure. I think we’ve all said it at one point. But don’t take it seriously.”

'Carver City' is the band’s first full length release since 2005’s 'An Answer Can Be Found', and they definitely stepped it up in creating a powerful record that captured the spirit of rock music that they wanted within their sound. The time they spent working on this record is definitely felt and heard.

“What happened was that we would work on the record, and stop because we would be offered tours and then do that. Then there’s the stuff with the problems within the band for a while. We were tired and flatten out for a bit. It was probably a good thing for the record,” said Miller, explaining the delayed writing and recording process.

The songs on Carver City reads like a concept record, as the ideas are based around a story about a fictional town. Miller and Ginsburg based the location around Wildwood, New Jersey, a beachside location they both spent as youths in the 1980s.

“I usually write all the lyrics. I came up with idea based on when I used to go roller skating when I was younger. I was always having a good time. That’s how my youth was. So I brought it up as an idea behind the lyrics. We agreed on it and it was working out that way. I think the problem with concept records, per say, is that they focus too much on following the concept. We didn’t come up with the title until almost after the album was done. With the record, we wanted to capture a vibe we were getting while making it.”

This format began to evolve after Miller and Ginsburg were finding ways to connect lyrics they had written together. To avoid creative roadblocks, they tried this format and discovered what they had would begin to gel together.

“It reminded us of certain times of our youths that made us look back. It wasn’t good times or bad times. It’s hard to feel nostalgia in the present. The good times in our lives, a lot of people consider that their youths. The memories are more liver than they were when they were actually happening. We were capturing a vibe. The vibe was the feeling of nostalgia and its worth. The past is clearer and better than things now. Not always because there are bad things to look back on as well.”

“The album is based off of events happening in a city. We’re trying to tell a story, like {Pink Floyd album} 'The Wall'. I wouldn’t call it a concept record. I’d call it a record that creates a story that may or may not be a concept.”

The songs on the album read as pieces of an extensive story in the making. ‘Hellions on Parade’ and ‘…And She Never Returned’ feature powerful driving riffs and familiar rock melodies reminiscent to 80s hard rock such as Journey, while ‘A#1 Roller Rager’ blends harmonies with energetic metallic riffs.

“I get what you mean," agrees Miller: 'Journey would definitely be a band that I would hear back in the day. We’re trying to capture that vibe, where music didn’t appeal to a certain crowd. A lot of music today is so formulated and it’s hard to be a band today because they’re so focused on what the youth wants. I don’t know what’s going on with music because it’s so bad nowadays. I don’t even like to talk shit about it any more.”

“We’re definitely not stuck in the past. We’re trying to create a future. We’re trying to take the elements of what people liked and give it a fresh vibe to it".

For a band that prided itself under the moniker Camp Kill Yourself (aka CKY), their message and fan base has survived for over a decade. But how has the moniker aged with them?

“It’s funny because when you asked that, it reminded me when Chuck Schuldiner of Death was asked about the band name and the meaning 15 years later. I’m proud of it.” said Miller. “I think it’s a great name. It doesn’t work to make up this whole thing to make up an acronym and not be known as Camp Kill Yourself. We’ve spent a lot of time asking our diehard fans what they think and they’re like ‘it’s alright.’ The band name is Camp Kill Yourself. We hardly hear anybody call it that. I haven’t heard that in a long time. We’re all proud of it. It’s perfect.”

Brian "Head" Welch (Big Cheese, Issue 109, February 2009)

2009-06-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

When original guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch made the announcement in 2005 that he was leaving Korn, it shocked the world as to why he chose to depart. After being in the band for twelve years, he announced that he had chosen ‘the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and will be dedicating his musical pursuits to that end.” It's been three years and his life has taken quite the drastic turn. He has discovered religion and became a Born Again Christian, which led to him focusing on raising his daughter, Jennea instead of touring.

He also issued an autobiography called "Save Me from Myself," revealing his personal battles with drug addictions. This also turned into his debut solo album, which contained songs that he had been writing over that time. “I wrote these three years ago. I didn’t work on them the whole time. I took time off and did other things. I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted to take a break from the music industry anyways for a while. It worked out good. I would work on it for a couple of months, and then I did something else for eight months, and then I’d come back. It’s pretty free,” explained Welch. “I knew I would do music...I didn’t know exactly how, like if I’d go and jam with people or if I’d do my own thing. I didn’t know what I would do. It sounded exciting to do music other than Korn. I just want to start out everything new. I was sick of everything the same – the same touring, playing the same songs with the same guys for over a decade. I wanted to start new, no matter if it was from the bottom or not.”

The songs on 'Save Me from Myself' were reflections of Welch’s life, as well as themes and ideas he had encountered over the years. Songs like ‘Loyalty’ and ‘L.O.V.E.’ were based on themes related to his life. His first single, ‘Flush’ is a semi-autobiographical tune about his past issues with drugs and alcohol. “Yeah, totally,” he said about ‘Flush.’ “That’s why I wanted to go back. I know it well. I have a victory over it. It didn’t kill me, so I can talk about it. Addiction is nuts. It’s crazy. So many people are struggling with it. I like to think about the prisons I was in. It helps me share the experience.”

Recalling what he encountered while writing this record made Welch stronger as a person. “The drugs make my head spin. Things I used to do, I couldn’t believe. I used to have my drug dealer Fed Ex me eight balls of speed from California to Europe. In Germany one day, tracking my package, then we’d play a show and then move to Sweden or wherever, and it would arrive at my hotel. I wouldn’t know if these authorities would come in and arrest me because a dog found it. I think I did it twice and both times I got away with it. Like in Asia, they would lock you up and kill you if they found drug trafficking. It was my youth but who knows what they would have done?”

He wrote a song called ‘Die Religion Die,’ a song that challenges traditional religion. “It’s how I feel about organized religion, like some of the people that try to control you. What I’ve learned by going to churches, it ends up being like a little country club. People need to get creative and not sit in a pew every Sunday. Get creative and go out in the world and touch people.”

On this record, Welch is handling the lead vocal duties as well as guitars. He slowly taught himself how to handle vocals and worked himself into doing it. “I’m still trying to make that transition,” he said. “It’s difficult. It’s hard to sing, especially when you hear all of these good singers everywhere. Here I am trying to practice and my voice is cracking. I’m like ‘how am I going to do this live?’ It’s easy to punch in and out on a recording. I’m my worst critic. We always are. I had to struggle in the recording studio. I’m trying to develop my strength in my voice. When I started, I was trying to develop that. How do I get it to sound good? I kept trying.”

Welch assembled a unique lineup of people to play on his record, such as Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), Archie Muise Jr., and drummer Josh Freese (The Vandals, A Perfect Circle). “I knew a guy who knew Tony, and the same way with Trevor and Josh. They were into it. They liked what I was doing. They heard the music and they were excited. I think Tony’s daughter was into Korn actually. That might have helped him make the decision actually. He wasn’t used to playing this. It was crazy. I was producing Tony Levin and here I am, 'the Korn guy'. It’s kind of surreal,” he said.

While Welch was working with these people, he did admit to reaching out to his ex-band mates to guest on his record. “I tried to get the bass player Fieldy on my album. He was going to do it. It was weird because the day he was going to come down, it was raining real hard. He said he didn’t want to drive in the rain. I took that as a sign that he shouldn’t be on it.”

Welch is currently in talks about touring in 2009, with scheduling in the works. How does he feel about getting back on the road? “I’ll never say never but I’ll never drink or do drugs again, and I’ll be fine on the road. It’s a new creation. Old things have passed away and the new me is here. I’m gonna go up there and have fun. It’s not going to be perfect. Everybody’s going to have bad days. So we’ll see.”

Mahavatar (Modern Fix, Issue 50)

2009-06-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

Interview: Mahavatar

by Rei Nishimoto

Mahavatar. A name as exotic as the founding members. Jamaican guitartist Karla Williams forged a bond with Israeli Lizza Hayson and honed their musical vision. That was 1999 with the following year seeing the release of a hundred copy run of their first single “The Time Has Come”. One more demo run that was sent out to radio stations and magazines saw an immediate response to their blend of heavy metal idealism and gothic alternative voicings. A few bumps along the way with some lineup changes (the trails of any true band) didn’t deter the core unit from raging forward and securing a record deal with Italian label Cruz del Sur. That venture produced the bands first full length “Go with the NO!”. A unique thrash power metal heaviness blended with the haunting gothic harshed out female presence on the vocals. It’s large and stomping and not what most would expect from the formula.

Guitarist Karla Williams sheds some insight into the creation known as Mahavatar.

Your bio states the band started in New York City.

Karla Williams: Mahavatar was formed in 1999 when guitarist Karla Williams joined forces with Lizza Hayson, Polish drummer Peter Lobodzinski and Frenchman Benjamin Serf on bass. We’ve had a few line-up changes since then, but as was the case in the beginning such is the case now. We all come from different cultural backgrounds and enjoy different genres of music. Personally, when listening to music, I like to travel and take different paths that all lead to that ultimate blissful feeling. So, if it moves me, I’m into it. Currently we are rehearsing with new members: Szymon Maria Rapacz (bass) from Poland, Shahar Mintz (rhythm guitar) from Israel, and Roi Star (drums) from Israel for some upcoming shows this summer. I believe there was only one previous band member who was born in the USA. All current Mahavatar members live in New York City.

Your vocalist Lizza has a unique sounding style. Where did you find her?

A mutual German friend by the name of En Esch from the band KMFDM introduced us. I was playing in another band. Lizza was looking for a guitar player. En Esch recommended me. The rest is history.

Is Lizza influenced by spirituality within her lyrics? There is quite a bit of mention of ‘open your mind’ in the lyrics.

Yes, we all have strong spiritual beliefs, which are manifested within the lyrics and our shared desire for creative freedom through sound. Here, space and time don’t exist.

There is a mention of the line “Go With The No” on your bio. Could you explain what that is about.

One night Lizza and I were sitting in some bar and the subject of naming the album came up. It was Lizza who coined the phrase, “Go with the NO!”. For us, it’s about not being afraid of the other side. We are all socialized to believe that saying, “NO!” is a negative thing. We believe it can be very positive. “Go with the NO!” from beginning to end is, our message, a call to arms, to rise up, open your eyes, the power lies within you. Look at the destruction of the past, present… where are we headed? You have a choice. We believe there is more and we are confident in this. No! We are not afraid anymore. We will not give in. Without fear, we are open now and so it begins. Confront and embrace your demons. Follow your own destiny. Then you’ll see. While tapping into the earth’s energy. The light from the darkness appears, giving birth to a new way of seeing, thinking, feeling. Into the forever. You see the lies, but don’t hide from the anger of this reality. Take this newfound energy and use it to start a revolution towards positive, progressive action. The time has come. The time is now. Go with the NO!

Um… Ok. So where do you draw inspirations for your music? I hear a lot of variations of tribal sounds and dark grooving melodies as well.

Mahavatar take inspiration from everything around us. Personally, some of the people that inspire me are… Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Journey, Kitaro, Arcturus, Philip Glass, Boston, Emperor, Beethoven, In The Woods…, Amorphis, Mozart, Cynic, At the Gates, Anathema, My Dying Bride, Primordial, Ulver, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice, Borknagar, J. S. Bach, Opeth, Last Crack, Los Incas, Wagner, Jeff Buckley, Mary J. Blige, Paco de Lucia, Mahler, Randy Rhodes, Slash, Ritchie Blackmore, Paganini, Michael Shencker, Steve Morse, Zack Wylde, Rachmaninov, Dimmu Borgir, Chopin, Ottmar Leibert, Marty Friedman, Barber, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Crimson Glory, Helmut, Fear Factory, Queen, Savatage, Dream Theater, Rush, Tool, ABBA, Grieg, Giorgio Moroder…

You worked with Bobby Hambel, formerly of Biohazard. How did he get involved and what did he do to help develop your sound early on?

Bobby is a friend of the band. He helped us with some technical things in the studio, like getting good guitar & drum sounds, and was very supportive throughout the initial tracking stages of our first demo in 1999. The Mahavatar sound has a life of it’s own.

Being in New York, you received some exposure through radio station WSOU. How much do you think that helped with your following?

During our demo days, it was nice to hear our music being played on WSOU. For a while we were put into regular rotation (not normal for unsigned bands). It did help get our name out more, and we received a lot of positive feedback and support, which helped us increase our fan base and attendance at shows because the DJ’s would announce our gigs. We look forward to gaining more exposure through radio stations like WSOU.

You worked with Michael Barile, who previously worked with Candiria and 40 Below Summer. What did he offer to your sound, he typically doesn’t work with bands with a sound like Mahavatar.

Yes, we recorded “Go with the NO!” with Michael Barile at Purple Light Studios in Brooklyn, NY. This was the first time Mahavatar worked with an engineer who had the knowledge and experience in recording heavy music, so it was great knowing that Michael was there. It made for a more relaxing experience which made us feel less worried about things like whether or not we were going get good sounds to tape. He was very supportive, offered us a lot of freedom and shared his own creative ideas, some of which we were able to use to help uplift the music even more.

Will Mahavatar hit the road anytime soon? Are there any immediate touring plans? What is to come in the immediate future? Any updates on the band?

Our immediate plan is to play live, so we are in rehearsals in preparation for some upcoming local shows and then we hope to hook up with some festivals or tours. It has begun.

mahavatar.net

2005 “Go with the NO!” (Cruz del Sur)

Guitar Center Drumoff 1999 (Sonicnet.com)

2009-06-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Instrumental Version Of Jane's Addiction Relapses Again

Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Flea play several songs by defunct hard-rock band.

by Correspondent Rei Nishimoto

Dave Navarro, pictured on Jane's Addiction's 1997 Relapse tour, also was a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

LOS ANGELES — Flea, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins reunited as a sort of instrumental Jane's Addiction at the House of Blues on Saturday to celebrate "Drum Day L.A."

"Stephen asked me to do it, and I'd do anything for him because I love him," Flea (born Michael Balzary) said. "I was in Big Sur this morning, and I drove six hours, got here and walked onstage and did it."

The trio, who joined Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell for the hard-rock band's 1997 Relapse tour, performed instrumental renditions of "Stop," "Ocean Size" (RealAudio excerpt), "Mountain Song" and other Jane's songs and combined for a triple-drum assault on "Trip Away" (RealAudio excerpt).

Drummer Perkins and guitarist Navarro were original members of the group. Navarro also played guitar for a few years in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, for whom Flea plays bass.

Navarro and Flea said it wasn't nostalgia that propelled them to participate in the event, which was sponsored by Guitar Center in celebration of "Drum Day L.A."

"The people at Guitar Center are my friends; Steve Perkins is my friend," Navarro said after the performance. "And obviously Steve's one of the greatest drummers in the world and is a pleasure to play with. So anything he wants, I'll do. I'll play anytime, anywhere."

Navarro, who has been working solo since leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers last year, said he hopes to release his debut album under the name Spread in February.

Perkins, who is scheduled to tour next year with ex-Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee's band, Methods of Mayhem, dotted the performance with several drum solos. The drummer, who also played with Farrell in Porno for Pyros, initially took the stage alone and gave several drum demonstrations, including one on an African split drum.

Saturday's event also featured a contest between seven amateur drummers judged by the likes of Marilyn Manson's Ginger Fish, Poison's Rikki Rockett and the Go-Go's' Gina Schock. Each contestant had won a regional competition. The winner was 9-year-old Carlon Deon Muccular of Richmond, Calif., an event spokesperson said.

Jazz drummer Louie Bellson was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk at the event, and drummers Dave Weckl (Chick Corea) and Dennis Chambers (George Clinton) also performed.

A Static Lullaby Interview (December 2008)

2008-12-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

A STATIC LULLABY
By Rei Nishimoto

Bite Club
Heavy hardcore act say fangs for the memories

Perseverance is a common story for any band’s survival. This is a familiar story for A Static Lullaby, as the band had been through as many ups and downs during their seven-plus-year history. But, they managed to worked through their troubles to make their most recent release, Rattlesnake! .

The new record introduces new members, bassist Dane Poppin and drummer Tyler Mahurin. Unlike past records recording with five members, they found that working as a four piece brought out more of the band.

“Less personality, less conflict,” says vocalist Joe Brown. “Let [guitarist] Dan [Arnold] write the songs he wants to write without anybody telling him any other way; Dan having the freedom to write both guitar parts. And Dane wrote a lot of songs on the album too. That’s another thing we never had before — somebody who was a full contributor writing-wise. I always write lyrics and work on melodies, but as far as musicianship, Dane contributing on that was phenomenal.”

Since the band started, A Static Lullaby forged a sound that brought together their aggressive side with melodic overtones. They shuffled through various lineups over the years (and a brief stint on a major label for 2005’s Fasso Latido). But now they have found a unit that best represents the band on Rattlesnake! .

“We released the last album [2006’s A Static Lullaby] and made the record we wanted to make, music that fans were familiar with that we originally started making and got back to the roots,” Brown explains. “On this last album, I’ve gone through some personal traumas. I was going through a divorce and dealing with alcoholism. We’ve got new members and finally have a band that was solid.”

With four full-lengths and an EP under their belts, A Static Lullaby made major strides in growing as a band.

“It’s about having an idea of who you are and where you came from,” says Brown. “To say we were part of forming a style of music that is way overplayed today, watered down, so many different fashions that you can’t see what it is any more.”

“But I’ve grown up,” he continues. “My tastes in music have changed. I want everything to be heavy as f·ck. That’s what I do.”

On the web: myspace.com/astaticlullaby

The Bronx Interview (Mean Street, December 2008)

2008-12-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

THE BRONX
By Rei Nishimoto

Three the Hard Way
L.A.’s hardcore hooligans get in touch with their inner mariachi
There aren’t many bands that work as hard as The Bronx. Staying true to who they are isn’t always hip, but they have no regrets doing things this way. They recently completed a short tour with Every Time I Die and Stick to Your Guns across the East Coast.

“It’s a good little hardcore tour,” says frontman Matt Caughtthran, calling from Toronto, Canada. “It’s always interesting when you’re hanging out with Every Time I Die. They’re good friends of ours. We get into a lot of trouble together. I think when we get back into the States, that’s when the trouble’s gonna start.”

They spent this past summer on the Vans Warped Tour, getting acquainted with fans under the scorching sun.

“It was great man,” the singer continues. “It was surprisingly a lot of fun. It was a good chance to play in front of people who have never seen our band, and hang out with some friends we haven’t seen in a while. It was a really good time. It’s always fun going across the U.S. in the summertime. It’s always a fun thing to do.”

The Bronx last month released their long-awaited full-length record entitled III. This is the first of two full-length albums they recorded under their own White Drugs label and using their own studio.

“It’s our first time recording with Ken [Horne], who is our additional guitar player, and our bass player Brad [Magers],” Caughtthran says. “They’ve been in the band for a while now and it cemented us together, going through the recording process. I think it’s the best [the band’s] been. I think the band’s relaxed and loose, and also confident. Recording in our own studio was cool. It was frustrating at times, since we had to work out the kinks when it came to studio gear.”

The songs on III have evolved and sound stronger than ever. Fans got an early taste of the record with “Knifeman” which was met with strong reaction. Plus Dave Schiffman (System of a Down, Audioslave) produced and engineered the record, giving the band that added punch in their sound.

“He brought a guru-type attitude,” Caughtthran says. “He wasn’t hands-on, as far as sculpting songs. The songs were pretty much there. He was the guy we could bounce ideas off of. He was the medicine ball in the middle of the room. When we needed that extra input, he was there. He’s a great engineer and he’ll get some great sounds on the record as well.”

While the band will be focused on III, they also have a second record coming out in March.

“It’s called Mariachi El Bronx,” Caughtthran explains. “It’s a mariachi record we did. It’s the next step of the band. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll mariachi — it’s really traditional and old school.”

Having the band name The Bronx has drawn many misconceptions about what they are truly about. The band has heard a variety of them, and some simply fall way off the mark. To add to the confusion, on the video for “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy),” the band used a rapper friend to lip-sync the song’s lyrics.

“If you watch it with no sound on, it looked like a hip-hop video,” Caughtthran explains. “For a long time, people thought I was black. So it worked rather well. Whenever we would do interviews, people would be like, ‘You’re not black!?’ ‘Yeah, I know.”

ON THE STAGE: Dec. 5— The Echo (L.A.)

On the web: thebronxxx.com

Too Pure To Die - Confess (Mean Street, December 2008)

2008-12-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

TOO PURE TO DIE
Confess
(Trustkill)

Release date: Jan. 13

Iowa may have spawned another act that is not connected to Slipknot and is making some noise of their own. Too Pure To Die have all of the elements of modern metal — even amounts of raw and melodic vocals and plenty of memorable, chunky guitar riffs. But unlike most aggro-metal out there, Too Pure To Die isn’t entirely a wall of riffs and does sneak in some harmonies. Their sound has the heaviness of Pantera and Machine Head, with the melodic parts of Sevendust and Black Label Society. While they aren’t exactly the most groundbreaking band sound-wise, they make up for that with their energy. These guys show promise and could be something to look out for in the coming years.

Grade: B
REI NISHIMOTO

ANJ Interview (Blistering.com)

2008-11-24T01:41:00.000-08:00

ANJ
By: Rei Nishimoto

Russia is hardly known as somewhere that would produce heavy metal music. The country is better known for its vodka and importing its athletes and the music scene is best known for producing 80s hard rockers Gorky Park and female pop act T.A.T.U.

ANJ is an up and coming modern metal band out of Moscow who is beginning to make some noise. Started by frontman and guitarist Anatoly Zhuravlev in 2003, he began writing music on his own. He was a guitar prodigy in his teen years and became Russia’s only Schecter Guitar endorsee. He later wrote satirical songs with such titles as “Gorbachev,” “Power to Destroy” and “Prophecy,” fusing that with his elaborate stage shows.

The band has released three full length recordings in Russia, and has found them appearing on various music fests across Russia, as well as 2006’s Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki and 2007’s Download Festival in England.

In 2008, Zhuravlev recorded new songs in Los Angeles with producer John Travis (Kid Rock, Buckcherry). He recorded songs with guitarist Levon Sultanian (formerly of Onesidezero and Abloom) and drummer Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour/ex-Soulfly).

ANJ utilized the services of Sultanian and former Candiria drummer Ken Schalk (later replaced by drummer Dmitry Sachko), as well as the live members, guitarist Oleg Izotov, and bassist Nikita ‘Niki’ Simonov for a Gigantour date and As I Lay Dying in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band recently completed a US tour supporting Yngwie Malmsteen.

Zhuravlev (through a translator) spoke to Blistering.com about the band’s history, being a metal band from Russia and conquering the American market.

Blistering.com: Please tell us about the history of the band.

Anatoly Zhuravlev: About four, five years. The band or crew now, it’s about over one year.

Blistering.com: Is this your first time playing in America?

Zhuravlev I played in Milwaukee before. I also recorded in L.A. a music video called “Mikhail Gorbachev.” You can find it on YouTube.

Blistering.com: How are American audiences different than playing in Russia?

Zhuravlev Sometimes I feel like there’s no difference and other times there are bigger differences. I’m actually in the process to find a connection with the audience.

Blistering.com: I read that ANJ has played various European festivals in the past. How did you get onto those festivals? Did you build a fan base over there first?

Zhuravlev I am working hard and doing my best to get over there. Because we’re doing something original, they like that.

Blistering.com: A lot of people are unfamiliar with the Russian music scene, especially the heavy metal scene. How is the Russian metal scene today?

Zhuravlev Metal is not very popular. That’s why I am trying to get outside of Russia to find an audience. There’s nothing there so that’s why I’m looking for foreign audiences.

Blistering.com: Your lyrics are in English. How difficult is it to write lyrics in English when it is not your native language?

Zhuravlev There are Americans that help him [writing in English]. Actually those texts are adapted.

Blistering.com: Do you ever feel that when you are getting the idea down in Russian that it gets lost in the translation into English?

Zhuravlev Some of those songs completely change when you translate them into English. The meaning is totally different from what it meant in Russian. Some of those songs stay the same and mean the same.

Blistering.com: You mentioned recording some songs in Los Angeles. How was it to work with an American producer and American musicians, and how different was it compared to how you normally record music?

Zhuravlev Like when we recorded the music video here in LA, “Mikhail Gorbachev,” he got a lot of positive emotions. But with the songs, I think it’s about the same recording here [as in Russia]. With the technology today, the whole world seems the same. Anyways we’re trying to adapt for American audiences. For Russian audiences, we’re going to have to do this a different way. It’s a different mentality and a different culture. You can’t use the same thing. It won’t work like in America. Even the albums are different.

Blistering.com: You recorded the song “Mikhail Gorbachev.” Tell me about the song, including what the point you were trying to get across in the song.

Zhuravlev It’s a humorous tale. You have to look at your past with a sense of humor. It’s not trying to make fun…a lot of intellectual people in Russia recognize it as a good song and a good music video. It’s not making fun, but an easier way of telling the history.

Blistering.com: Do you feel that through your music you are bringing positivity to Russia when there is a lot of negative press right now with what’s going on there?

Zhuravlev I wouldn’t put it that way. The government won’t pay me for that! That’s not my point to do that. It’s cool to be in America. For every band there, it’s their dream is to tour in America. I don’t have any ambitions to change the view or stereotypes of Russia.

Blistering.com: When you started ANJ, what bands did you listen to that inspired the sound?

Zhuravlev: Creedance (Clearwater Creedance Revival), Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne. It’s stuff that everyone’s listening to - no one too famous.

Blistering.com: Are you recording a full-length album any time soon?

Zhuravlev We already have a few songs written already. A full album will be done in a few months.

Blistering.com: Any final words?

Zhuravlev (without the translator) Ladies and gentlemen, ANJ is coming…!

www.myspace.com/anjkill

Beneath the Massacre Interview (Blistering.com)

2008-11-24T01:38:00.000-08:00

Beneath the Massacre
By: Rei Nishimoto

Beneath the Massacre is one of the many bands coming out of the rising Montreal metal scene within the past few years. Joining fellow scensters Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance, Neuraxis and Cryptopsy, they have built a following through extensive touring. Their latest record, Dystopia, continues that brash style of technical death metal that pushes the extremities of that sound. Fans have growth more familiar with them touring with Suicide Silence and Necrophagist.

Vocalist Elliot Desgagnes talked about the new record, life on the road, and their background that developed them into what they are today.

Blistering.com: What different approaches did you take on the making of Dystopia?

Elliot Desgagnes: We had to write it on the road because we were constantly on the road for the Mechanics of Dysfunction promotion. It was me and the guitar player (Christopher Bradley) mostly writing music all the time and we hoped we had enough songs. That’s why the release of the record is out a year and a half after the first one. Writing-wise – I think everyone’s had a word to say about the songs, compared to maybe to the previous one. On this one, we all worked for it.

Blistering.com: Much of your lyrical content is based on social decay. How much has the themes of your songs changed over the years?

Desgagnes: Yeah totally. Dystopia is more about the disasters upcoming. I would say it’s a big question mark. It’s a lot of questions that I’m asking, like how I would ask it to the world I’m living in. There aren’t many answers. It’s the opposite of Mechanics of Dysfunction, where I was bringing up like a problem with a solution. This one’s a bunch of questions I threw in there.

Blistering.com: Where did you get the interest in this theme? Are you into conspiracy theories like the 9/11 theories?

Desgagnes: I don’t believe in that many conspiracy theories. There are some, but I’m not the one who believes in these conspiracy things. I think it is way simpler than this. It’s capitalism. It’s the mass consumption of the society we’re living in. It’s bringing us nothing but war, conflicts and the bigger gap between the rich and the poor. A reason for all of these wars and all of these problems…the social problems are so obvious. It’s almost funny that people don’t understand yet.

Blistering.com: Musically, for a band together for such a short period of time, you have quite the crushing sound with such highly technical parts put together. Does it take a while to piece together your songs, as much of it is quite complex?

Desgagnes: Our songs are definitely complex. I think it’s a sound that we got from…it’s weird because we’re such good friends. There are two brothers, the guitar player (Christopher Bradley) and the bass player (Dennis Bradley). I’ve known them forever. I was their neighbor when we were kids. It’s like a bunch of brothers that we knew what we were always trying to do. So when we write music, we don’t question ourselves whether it sounds like us, because we know it will. There are a lot of bands I hear them say, “I don’t know if we do it this way or that way, but it doesn’t sound like us.” We don’t ask ourselves questions about it because we know what we want to do, how we want to sound, and just do it.

Blistering.com: Has everyone in the band been playing in bands prior to Beneath the Massacre?

Desgagnes: Beneath the Massacre’s coming from the ashes of another band we used to have. I was playing bass and at this point we needed a new singer. I grabbed the mic instead of playing bass. At this time, we found our sound and that we were starting something with a new bassist with new members. We’ve always been playing music for a long time. Justin (Rousselle) started playing drums…I don’t know how old he was but it’s been a while. We’ve been musicians before Beneath the Massacre. We’ll be musicians after Beneath the Massacre.

Blistering.com: Being from Montreal, the Canadian metal scene has exploded with bands like Cryptopsy, Despised Icon, and Ion Dissonance. With the exception of maybe Cryptopsy, did you all come up the scene together? Were you familiar with each other?

Desgagnes: We all met when we were at shows. With our ex-band, we did Ion Dissonance’s first show. I met the guys in Despised Icon after shows. The dudes came and saw me and said they were amazed. Ever since, we kept contact and they’re good friends of ours. We went to Europe together. I think it’s the music. It’s about going to the shows and the music we love made us friends. I do realize there are a lot of good bands. I’m pretty proud of the Montreal music scene. The last Neuraxis album is amazing. I know Ion Dissonance is writing a new album right now. So is Despised Icon.

Blistering.com: What is it about the Montreal metal scene? Is it sheer coincidence that all of these bands came up at the same time and got noticed at the same time?

Desgagnes: In Montreal, we’re there for the music first, unlike a lot of places we go. Bands are not there for the music. They’re there to look cool on stage and impress their girlfriends. For us, we’re there for the music. I think Montreal has a huge respect for musicians. No matter what gender they are. Right now, we’re on tour with Suicide Silence, Architects from the UK, Emmure and After the Burial. Architects sounds nothing like any of those bands. So in some places in the States, people would watch them like ‘what are they doing?’ People loved them in Montreal because they’re great musicians. I think places are more open-minded about music. There’s going to be some good bands coming out of these places.

Blistering.com: When you started Beneath the Massacre, what were some of the bands that helped shape your sound?

Desgagnes: Bands like Death, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, and Origin. Death/grind bands like Pig Destroyer. We’re also influenced by the hardcore movement. We don’t sound hardcore but it’s an energy thing. We like giving a show. We’re like sweating like assholes on stage, and dying every night. We’re true to our music. We couldn’t play the music without that. I think also it has something to do with growing up listening to punk music. So there’s definitely some kind of punk/grind/hardcore attitude also behind the music.

Blistering.com: How’s the Suicide Silence tour going so far?

Desgagnes: Good. Suicide Silence is huge. They’re so huge it’s ridiculous. There’s some cities where I’ve never seen turnouts like this. Like smaller cities. We’ve played big cities with big bands before so I knew what to expect. But it’s small cities where there are lots of kids.

Blistering.com: Where were some of the surprise turnouts on the tour?

Desgagnes: There was a stop in Kansas, where we played a month and a half ago with Necrophagist and Dying Fetus. There were 70 kids. When we played with Suicide Silence two weeks ago, a month after we played with Necrophagist, there were 250 kids! This is in Kansas – the smallest place ever! The only reason we had a show there was because we were playing Denver, Colorado the day before, and there was nothing before we were going to the East Coast. So they booked those kinds of shows sometimes. It’s not big markets. It was pretty big.

www.myspace.com/beneaththemassacre

Cro-Mags Jam @ Nike Theatre (www.Vivelepunk.net)

2008-11-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

CRO MAGS LIVE AGAIN

New York hardcore legend John Joseph recently toured Europe with this Cro Mags jam band. Big Cheeses Rei Nishimoto caught them in .LA.

CRO MAGS JAM
The Nike Theatre
Los Angeles, California

5/5
Original Cro Mags vocalist John Joseph made his long awaited West Coast appearance with his all-star CRO MAGS JAM band at the ‘Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History Of American Hardcore’ book release show. A packed room eagerly awaited the appearance of the tattooed frontman to throw down the old school hardcore jams, and he, along with the band, definitely did. The band, featuring guitarist A.J. Novello (Leeway), drummer Mackie Jayson (Bad Brains, Hazen Street, Madball, Cro-Mags), and bassist Craig Away (Sick Of It All) delivered the goods, punching away at all of the classic tunes and keeping the crowd moving throughout their set. Joseph introduced many of their long-time friends in the crowd, including Lord Ezec (Skarhead/Danny Diablo) and Toby Morse (H20), dedicating songs to them and speaking about the positive message behind hardcore. They played many favourites including ‘We Gotta Know,’ ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ and ‘Hard Times’, with Morse and friends joining in the fun. Showing that despite the drama behind some of the members’ relations, the Cro Mags were definitely a huge part of shaping hardcore and heavy music in today’s scene, nobody should ignore this.

Rei Nishimoto

The Bronx - Bronx III (Mean Street - November 2008)

2008-11-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

THE BRONX
The Bronx III
(White Drugs/Original Signal)

Release date: Nov. 11

Rock ‘n’ roll got a swift kick in the rear by The Bronx, and their latest release continues to do that. Sticking to their raw, edgy sound full of AC/DC-style rhythms and punchy Black Flag-style aggression, they have created what is easily an anthem for a new generation of antisocial youths. But on III, they have honed and refined the maniacal side, where hooks appear in spots throughout the record, but without losing any of the intensity along the way. Songs like “Knifeman” and “Pleasure Seekers” pack memorable guitar rhythms with sing-a-long punk style choruses, while older fans will get off on “Inveigh” with its abrasive blasts of riffing from start to finish. Longtime fans should enjoy this, as well as newer fans looking for music to bash your heads to. This is a record full of edgy songs that could easily become the logical progression of rock music that is missing today.

Grade: A
REI NISHIMOTO

Pig Destroyer - Natasha (Mean Street - November 2008)

2008-11-05T23:04:00.000-08:00

PIG DESTROYER
Natasha
(Relapse)

Release date: Nov. 11

This tune was originally available as a bonus DVD Audio to ’04’s Terrifyer album, but is now available as its own standalone release. Natasha is a one-song, 35-minute epic that plays like a soundtrack to a slasher flick. The band created a slowed down, doom-filled masterpiece that falls somewhere between Godflesh, the Melvins and Neurosis, with horror-movie samples, synth melodies and ambient parts. Longtime fans may be thrown off by the lack of their familiar grindcore ways, Natasha still brings out the brutality in many other ways. The gradual buildup throughout the track is quite immense, as the slow grinding behind the low end heaviness is felt throughout the entire tune. Natasha may not be for everyone, but fans of doom should give this one a test drive.

Grade: A
REI NISHIMOTO

Cave In (Modern Fix, Issue 50)

2008-10-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

by Rei Nishimoto

photo by Erin Caruso

It isn’t very often when a band like Cave In enters the world and changes the perception of average music fans. Ever since their humble beginnings back in Boston in 1995, they were creating music based on their love of music, whether it was Snapcase, Threadbare or Sunny Day Real Estate. Guitarist Stephen Brodsky named the band after a Codeine song off of their “Frigid Stars” LP, and began shaping the early version of the band around the heaviest sounds they could create while also stretching the lengths of the songs at the same time. These songs were found on a variety of seven inch singles done for a variety of independent labels before landing on Los Angeles based HydraHead Records.

A few line up changes occurred along the way creating what is now heard on their 1997 “Beyond Hypothermia” CD, which was called their ‘debut’ but was actually re-worked versions of previously recorded songs from past seven inches. But they later brought in current bassist Caleb Scofield to secure the position. Having trouble finding a vocalist that fit the band’s needs, Brodsky handled the vocals and recorded their first ‘real’ full length, 1998’s “Until Your Heart Stops”. Longtime Cave In fans grew to love the sheer raw aggression behind this release.

It wasn’t until 2000’s “Jupiter” (a running theme based on Brodsky’s interest in the solar system) that truly saw a climaxing in the band’s musical abilities. Stepping away from the sheer aggression and exploring more progressive melodies, it was a Cave In long time fans weren’t expecting.

The success behind Jupiter found them in a huge bidding war by several major labels for exclusive signing rights. RCA/BMG won bidding war and released “Antenna” in 2003. For the first time in Cave In’s history, they received a large recording budget to record in Los Angeles. They spent two months in the studio while soaking in new techniques such as re-listening to the same songs repeatedly and spending more time on arrangements.They became students of the major label game. “Antenna” became the band’s most melodic and progressive sounding release to date, although long time fans were somewhat lost by their new direction. Being a band that never relied on radio singles in the past, they quickly learned that the big label world was not for Cave In and quickly parted ways with RCA.

The band spent the past few years doing extensive soul searching to lead into the recording of “Pitch Perfect Black”. After rediscovering what made Cave In important to each member, they began writing this new release. This is Cave In’s first release in three years and raises the bar on creativity. It’s a representative work in overcoming their recent troubles. It takes the best parts of each era of Cave In’s history and creating an ambitious record that needs to be heard. Long time fans will be re-acquainted with the classic heaviness while recent fans will also be familiarized with their spaced out guitar tones and dreamy indie rock melodies.

Guitarist / singer Stephen Brodsky and bassist Caleb Scofield spoke about the making of the new album, the challenge of creating music, the major label experience and the future of Cave In.

You went through quite a struggle to release Perfect Pitch Black.

Caleb Scofield: The majority of the material was intended for our next release on RCA. After a year and a half of disagreements and things not working out the way we’d hope it would, we parted ways with RCA. We weren’t sure what was going to happen to these songs. We had made demos for six or seven of them and knew we were happy with them, but we knew we had a ways to go and needed a home if they were to be properly released. We came full circle and came to talking to our friends at Hydrahead again. They were interested in releasing the stuff. It’s kind of a surprise to us that the record is out. The songs have seen the light of day. They’ve come as far as they have from the initial demos to where they are now. It ended up making a pretty cool record.

This new CD took a lot of elements from the past and present without sounding repetitive. Is this something that just happens with unspoken chemistry?

Stephen Brodsky: We kind of wanted it to happen that way. I really felt the couple releases prior to this one (“Jupiter” and “Antenna”) weren’t pushing us as players and songwriters as much as I wanted to. Collectively, we came on to the same page in terms of that idea of writing songs. Whenever we want to shed a layer of skin musically, we don’t go about it nonchalantly. There’s a real driving force in our band to be the best as we can with what we’re trying to do. We’ll just do it. It’s never felt as though there was a weak link in that attitude when it came to actually writing music.

Caleb: It allows everyone in the band to showcase their personality and what it is they’re good at. This record was really collaborative as far as the writing process went. Everyone was open to each other’s ideas. It’s always healthy. You feel more connected to it. It’s fun. When we did that tour with Converge, we knew that we would have to play some older material. Otherwise, we would be getting booed every night. So we started doing that, and after that tour, it was fun playing those metal songs. Next thing we knew, we’re writing heavier riffs again. My vocals are becoming more a presence. It’s important for us to always do what we’re good at, instead of running away from certain things because you don’t want to end up being pigeonholed as this type of band.

“Antenna” was on a major label. What did you learn from that experience?

Stephen: I think we learned more about ourselves as people more than anything. When it came to shedding layers of skin like I said earlier, in terms of musicality, it’s probably more important for us as musicians than anything. It’s more important to us than playing stupid little games to sell more records, which is what you have to do when you’re on a major label. You’re encouraged to be more of that nature. That was the biggest lesson. That had an effect on the way we wrote these songs, how went about writing them and the ‘carefreeness’ by which we chose to maintain the process.

Were you surprised major labels took that much interest in Cave In, considering you have such a hardcore following and not meant for the mainstream?

Caleb: That whole time period was bizarre for us. We never had any aspirations of being a band on a major label or even considering it an option. Then with the release of “Jupiter”, we started getting this attention from people from a totally different world than where we came from. At the time, exploring different avenues seemed good to us. It did take us about a year to decide whether or not it was something we wanted to do. But all of us were enthralled with the idea of being able to do the band full time and not having to commit ourselves to anything else. We decided to go for it. It still baffles me to this day, especially in retrospect now seeing how things turned out. We ended up living up to every cliché that you have about any band going to a major and having things just fall apart. I still wonder what the interest is from that world with a band like us. I think those people are so far removed from what it is that we do when they see a band that can travel across the country and the world on their own and have people come see them and buy their records. Imagine what we could do with the money and power they have. But in reality, that’s not how it works.

I never could put concepts like radio songs and Cave In in the same sentence. They don’t go together.

Caleb: It was pretty weird. Even stuff off of “Jupiter”, like the song ‘Braincandles’, is pretty straightforward. It’s kind of a pop format, verse, chorus, verse. I hope that even when we write songs that are more ‘accessible’ or whatever you want to call it, there’s still something more interesting to them. There’s still that tinge of Cave In and you can tell it’s a Cave In song. On “Antenna”, we got into this groove of re-working everything so hard. Everyday we’d have a finished version of a song but we were reworking it. Before you know it, we’d have a record full of these tiny, short songs. It’s not a very good representation of us in that style of writing. We can’t fully express ourselves. It’s funny because major labels put so much attention on bands always having songs for the radio. For a band like us, we never relied on that format to get out to people. Ever. We never even considered having a song on the radio. We tour, release records and if people catch onto it, they catch onto it. We did have a couple of songs on the radio from “Antenna” and it didn’t do anything. It wasn’t like as soon as our song went to radio, we saw a massive difference in our turnouts or record sales.

“Antenna” took a musical departure from past releases where melodies played a bigger part than before. Any regrets?

Stephen: Maybe the aggression by which we went about shedding the idea of Cave In strictly being a hardcore band was somewhat necessary. The scene that we came from didn’t really champion that sort of thing as much as it maybe should have when you consider what defines punk rock or what the idea of punk rock really is. We overcompensated for that by really just sticking it in people’s faces that we weren’t going to be this kind of band with this handle on it that people could swing it by and take a grip on. We were going to be more of our own thing and we would define what we were. It wasn’t going to be anyone else’s words or opinions. I don’t regret that. As much as our fans are important to the continuation of this band, there is no way I could pick up the guitar and play something I’m not going to be feeling 100%, because I don’t want anybody else to see that. Nobody else should have to hear that.

Do you think you may have spooked some of the older fans with direction of “Antenna”?

Caleb: Absolutely (laughs). That was something that we knew would happen. But you can’t live your whole career worried about what your fans are going to think. You have to do what feels right for you at the time, and hope it is the right thing. This record is sort of a return to form for us. We’re realizing what type of band we really are, what we are good at and what type of songs we’re most comfortable writing and playing. I’m sure a lot of people look at our band and they’re like “These guys are too all over the map. One year they’re a heavy metal record and next year it’s an attempt at some pop-rock record.” It’s understandable. Hopefully we ourselves are sort of realizing what we need to stick with and what we’re good at.

I guess not everyone can be AC/DC.

Caleb: Yeah! (laughs). It’s tough putting out the same record over and over and having people dig it. Especially being in the band, you are always wanting to do something different. Challenge yourself a little bit and change it up just enough to keep you wanting to write another record. Go out and tour. Keep things interesting for yourself. We definitely bounce all over the map musically, but it’s something that keeps it fun for us.

Was “Perfect Pitch Black” the record that was originally supposed to be the major label release? How much of this was written at that time?

Stephen: All of it.

What was it about Hydrahead Records that appealed to Cave In to release this CD?

Stephen: Those guys were really supportive of us through the whole process of making this record. They said themselves, “If RCA won’t put this out, we’ll do it.” Right there, it just rang a bell. They were on the same page as us in a lot of ways. Neither party necessarily wanted to go for the throat and stuff this thing into people’s ears like most major label records are worked. We didn’t feel comfortable about that. We enjoy people gravitating more to something we do as opposed to having a noose thrown around their necks and yanked towards us. And we didn’t approach any other labels. We weren’t interested in that. I think with anything, the words ‘record label’ were sort of like redrum written in blood on a mirror.

Wasn’t there a point where Cave In was close to not being a band any more?

Stephen: Yes. There were plenty of points where we didn’t know why we were in a band or with each other. We were questioning that even prior to discontinuing the promotion madness for “Antenna”.

Caleb: We did a tour about a year ago with Converge and after that, we hadn’t been touring much at all. We had finally gotten off of RCA and just burnt out. We toured so hard for years. We really got put through the ringer with the label and management and all down the line. I think we all reached this point where we were like ‘Let’s just step away from this for a while. If it does come back together at some point, great. If not, so be it. I moved out here (Los Angeles), and our drummer J.R. moved away to Germany. He was nursing a broken wrist anyways so we knew it would be a while until he would be able to play. For a while, it did look like nothing was going to happen. These songs on “Perfect Pitch Black” were shelved away. Everybody was busy doing their own thing. But when you’re so close to something for such a long time and then you step away form it, it’s only a matter of time until you’re like ‘Oh man! I miss this.’ The fact of the matter is that we can still put out records, so why not take advantage of this?

Is that when you started doing your solo record?

Stephen: I’ve done music on my own for as long as I can remember. Ever since I got my first four-track machine when I was in high school. I’ve put out a couple records under my own name on a small label a few years ago. We all had time away from each other to explore playing with different people and develop our own skill in the process. That was refreshing. When you play with the same dudes for four years straight, in one sense, it’s really like a nice sweater that you’ve always had that fits every time you put it on. But in terms of our inspiration for playing our instruments, we had run out of fuel by the time Cave In had decided to take a rest. At this point, it’s more exciting that I can ever remember. You really develop your arsenal as a musician, when you learn a bit of the language and the traits of other players out there in the world. Everyone has their own way of speaking through their fingers or their mouth or whatever to make sound. At this point, when we get together and write some more music, I think it’s going to be that much more exciting.

How do you differentiate between what works with Cave In and what will become your solo material?

Stephen: At this point, if I play something for those guys that might work for the band and they’re excited about it, then they’re pretty verbal about it. So it depends on the excitement level of it. Now all of the other garbage, I do on my own (laughs). The solo stuff is like the garbage disposal of Cave In!

What other projects are the rest of the guys in? Do you have other projects you’re involved in?

Stephen: In the past couple of years, there’s been other stuff that I’ve gone back and forth on, but ultimately it’s the two worlds. Caleb (Scofield, bass) does Old Man Gloom once in a blue moon. He was also playing in the Icarus Line for a little while, but I don’t know if they’re even a band any more. Adam (McGrath, guitar) is playing in a band called Clouds, which is mainly his creation. By his description, it’s sort of a punk rock jam band. Ben also plays in Converge. Caleb: I only really do Old Man Gloom. We have a hard time getting together to do anything because all of the members are so busy with their other bands. We had a record come out last year. We didn’t get a chance to tour on it at all. We played a few shows. We were all happy with the record and it deserves a little more attention that what it got from us. There is only so much we could all do. That’s kind of a thing that will always be there and there will always be time for it, here and there. Adam has another band in Boston going. They’re playing shows. Steve’s working on something. He’s got his own record that he’s constantly working on. He’s playing in this band Octave Museum. He’s always going. He’s got so much musical energy.

There’s a lot of recent metal bands coming out of the New England area. Any insights into the regions prolification of good bands?

Caleb: I don’t know. That’s a good question. As detached as I am from a lot of it now, I think it’s something about those New England winters. Tough skin makes for good metal records. Especially with the earlier hardcore scene. It developed in New York, Boston and DC. The area built a lot of amazing bands that set the bar. You have bands like Unearth, Converge, and Shadows Fall that play in a band, tour and put out records all of the time and people catch on. You can’t get away from it. It’s great. They have a great work ethic and a love for what they do.

Plus the neighbor, Jamey Hatebreed. Has Cave In toured with them yet?

Caleb: Connecticut. No, I would love to tour with Hatebreed. That might be pretty challenging for us opening up for them. That band’s unreal. I’ve followed them since day one and I have their first demos and seven inches. Just seeing them evolve into what they are now is impressive.

How’s it working out with new drummer Ben?

Stephen: So far, it’s been really, really invigorating. Ben is a musician in his own right and has his own bag of tricks and his own way of speaking behind the drum kit. It’s exciting and a new toy for us to dabble with. We’ve already written a few new songs with him. It’s stuff that doesn’t sound like any other Cave In songs we’ve ever written, which is the key.

Caleb: We brought him on when J.R. was like ‘I don’t know when I’m coming home.’ We gave Ben a call and he’s been a friend of ours for a while and totally excited about helping us out and play with us for as long as need be. We did a couple of shows in Boston with him and it went really well. We recorded a couple of new songs which we’ll have on this next tour.

What happened to John-Robert Connors, your last drummer?

Stephen: Ultimately, J.R. hurt his wrist badly and had a lot of bad luck in accessing that situation and getting it taken care of. He also was living out of the country for a little while. That is where he is still with his wife. Even if he wanted to play drums in Cave in, he couldn’t. He doesn’t live in the same country and his wrist is messed up. He’s not able to work. That’s where it stands.

You’re about to do a U.S. tour with Doomriders?

Stephen: Yeah. It goes for about a month.Caleb: Nate from Converge’s band. Nate also plays in Old Man Gloom with me. That’s cool. It’s like a giant family of the same dudes but a few different bands. They’re all great friends of ours. We grew up playing music with them. More so Steve than myself.

Is anyone from Cave In involved in Doomriders?

Stephen: No. Might as well be. It’s such an incestuous scene over here. I guess that shows the rabid love that New Englanders share for playing music. It’s always something I felt about this area, ever since I became involved with playing music. That’s probably why I chose to stick around here as long as I have.

Other tours scheduled?

Stephen: This tour ends right before Christmas. We’ll hang with our families and open some presents. Then after New Years, we’re going to do a tour over in Europe for about a month. We’re doing that with Pelican. We’re really looking forward to that. Then we’re planning on being at South By Southwest next year. Shortly after that, we’re touring Japan for a week. That will lead us into April, and hopefully by then, we will have formulated another record.

Have you toured Japan before?

Stephen: Not Cave In. I went over there with a band I was playing in called the New Idea Society.

Cave In traditionally releases a number of split singles and songs for compilations and tribute albums. Do you have anything like that coming out in the near future?

Stephen: For this tour coming up, we have a two song cassingle. It’s Ben’s recorded debut on drums. It’s two brand new songs and it’s a limited thing. I don’t think we’re going to make more than 500. If we manage to sell 500 cassingles, we’ll be surprised, considering the cassette is a dying format at this point. It might already be dead. We found a way to dig up some plastic corpses to make 500 of these things to give away. It’s fun to do stuff like that. It will test the love of your fans. How far can you go to test your love for the people who love what you do? That’s part of what it is. Here’s a couple of new songs, good luck trying to play them! We’re really excited about it. They look awesome. Aaron Turner did the design work for it. We gave him the rule that he wasn’t allowed to use a computer in his design work. It’s all done by hand. It’s like a demo you’d buy a local hardcore show ten years ago.

cavein.net

Every Time I Die (Mean Street, December 2005)

2008-10-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

EVERY TIME I DIE

By Rei Nishimoto

The success story behind Every Time I Die could not be written any better than what they have experienced. They toured non-stop behind their previous CD, Hot Damn!, supporting such bands as As I Lay Dying, Unearth and Dillinger Escape Plan, but winning over fans with their energetic rock sound.

On their latest release, Gutter Phenomenon, the band started things off big. They debuted at number 71 on the Billboard 200 chart the first week, selling 14,230 copies and becoming Ferret Records top-selling artist. Before that, they took part on the first ever Sounds of the Underground tour and gave fans a sneak preview.

"It was cool to be part of the first one," said guitarist Andrew Williams. "It is [somewhat] like the bands that get to say they were part of the first Ozzfests. It sounds cool and it is what it is. The people that put together the tour did well and I think they broke even this time. So we hope they keep doing it and maybe in a couple of years we get the chance to do it again."

They filmed their latest video for "Kill The Music" with a guest appearance by actor Michael Madsen. Williams and director Darren Doane developed the concept for an over-the-top video.

"When we started working on a story line, I presented the idea of doing an underwater video with us playing live, William says. I thought it would be cool and different. But then we thought about getting someone with a name that could make a statement in the video. Darren said he knew Michael Madsen, but we thought hed be too expensive. After a while, he called him to ask if he would be interested and he (Madsen) agreed, Williams said.With some reassurance, everything proceeded smoothly."

"He (Madsen) was way cool and hes one of these people that you have to tell him he did a good job", he said.

On the web: http://www.everytimeidie.com/

The 2008 Valley Film Festival (Valley Scene Magazine, October 17-30, 2008)

2008-10-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Valley Film Festival

By Rei Nishimoto

Just over the Hollywood sign in the San Fernando Valley area, many of today's films are being developed and made. To highlight the talent from this area, the 2008 Valley Film Festival has brought together five days of films by upcoming filmmakers and talent alike, in front of fans who want to get a taste of what is to come.

Held at the El Portal Theatre in the North Hollywood Arts District, the 2008 edition is in its eighth year and showcases short films broken down by categories ranging from short stories to dramatic to comedy. Each genre of film is shown in blocks of three to four films, while audience viewers vote on their favorite films of that block. The films are an average 15 minutes per film.
One of the film sections that stood out was the Horror Shorts Program that was held on the Friday of the five day showing. Each of the four films showed tremendous promise and often was a shame that it ended so soon. The stories were well crafted and kept the audience on its feet within its allotted time.

The strongest film of the block was Everyday Joe, a suspense filled film by Shane Cole. This is a film that was built around a simple storyline and gradually built up into a heart pounding flick.
The story revolves around the main character named Joe (played by Jason C. Miller, also the singer/guitarist of the LA based rock band Godhead), a guy who leads a below average life. He is unable to hold down any odd jobs around town, and lacks a social life. He does not have any friends or relationships, which the film captures by showing his awkwardness in spending excess time on the internet as well as his inability to speak to Gina, a girl from his help group, (played by actress Persia White). Gina is also shy but shows interest in Joe, however his paranoia keeps him from showing his true feelings.

The suspense builds up when Joe drifts off to sleep, and awakens on a random alley. This occurrence happens again later, except he wakes up in an office building by a lawyer's office, the difference is that the second time he finds a murdered body next to him where he wakes up. This is where Joe's past takes him down a dark twisted road. The scenes build up to the suspense and are well crafted by Cole, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

The turning point comes when Joe is confronted by the guy who had him believing that he was losing his mind. It turns out to be Simon (played by Zack Throne), an unusually quiet guy from his self-help group who targeted Joe from the beginning, and now is ultimately trying to hurt Gina. After a struggle occurs and Simon tries to kill Gina, Joe fights back and is forced to kill Simon.

Everyday Joe is a well-crafted film that could easily be expanded into a full-length film that could be either a suspense film as well as a dark comedy (ala Falling Down). If films with larger budgets would follow this as an example, there might be more hope for the movie industry in the years to come.

Another highlight within the block of this film festival was horror/gore film Hallow Halls, a fictional story about five kids who entered a prison building they believed was abandoned. They gradually learn that the prisoners that were originally there were tortured and experimented on, but still walked the halls. The film is filled with zombies that kill, and there is a lot of blood and guts flying from the kids who become their victims. This is definitely one for fans of horror films with killer zombies.

The rest of the films include Eater, a Silence of the Lambs meets Twilight Zone style story about a rookie cop that works the nightshift at a jailhouse. During his shift, he learns that there is a cannibal on the loose, who kills and eats his victims. Much of the film is about him trying to evade the cannibal before falling victim himself. And Stuffed is a short film about a woman who finds a new man in her life. She collects stuffed animals, which are all over her apartment. But when he gets too close, her stuffed animals take matters into their hands. This film was creatively done, but it has more cuteness to it than horror.

The Bronx Interview (Big Cheese Issue 103)

2008-10-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

There aren't too many bands out there that are as real as The Bronx. In this day and age where substance is a secondary thought, The Bronx throw it all down and don't regret doing it. It takes this type of a band to carry a name with such an impact as The Bronx.

Currently ripping up and down the US as part of this year's Warped Tour, the hard work has been paying off Stateside for the Californian wrecking crew, who already routinely play to larger crowds abroad than they do in their native country. However, standing out like a greasy smear across the white silk sheets of Warped's shiny pop punk stars and starlets, The Bronx are a breed apart on the summer's travelling festival. "It's a bit of a mixed emotion," says vocalist Matt Caughthran, about his thoughts on being on Warped: "It's like being in a hot tub with a man. The hot tub feels good but sometimes the company ain't that great."

Having toured for just over two years in support of 2006's second self titled album, the last few months have seen the five piece working on not one, but two new albums (as revealed in BC 97). "That's what we do," explains Caughthran: "One of the main things about the band is all talk, no action - we talk about things, and randomly do them. We've been working hard in the last year in the last year especially to get two records out. We're doing a mariachi 'El Bronx' record, which is the tradional Hispanic record - as traditional as we could do it. Plus a regular, what you have come to expect - or not expect, Bronx record."

With new song 'Knifeman', newly uploaded onto the band's Myspace page, showcasing the 'regular' Bronx, Caughthran and guitarist Joby Ford took the time to explain how the idea of a mariachi CD came about. "We did a TV show in LA and they wanted to do an acoustic song, but those suck," said Ford: "Have you ever heard a good one - an acoustic rendition of another band's song? With the exception of, I don't even like it but the first time I saw Eric Clapton do all of his music unplugged, I thought it was great. I'm still not a fan but when he changed 'Layla' to what it was, I thought it was an incredible thing, even though I don't like that song. It was great to see what he could do with that song..."That had nothing to do with anything I was talking about. But we decided to do a mariachi version instead of a bunch of guys with acoustics looking great. It came out great and we had a bunch of our friends play on it."

But, contrary to what people may think, the songs on 'El Bronx' are in English and not in Spanish. "I didn't sing in Spanish. I kind of use the force when it comes to that. There's a natural evolution of things. The record came natural to all of us and in certain ways, it came naturally to me, vocally, in English. It was a way for me to get out more of the melodic side of singing, and it felt really good. I felt no need to force myself to speak horrible Spanish," says Caughthran.

Raw, honest and as subtle as a luminous breezeblock to the forehead. The Bronx play hardcore punk in its truest essence, compounding their vicious studio attack with furious live shows. "It's definitely our favourite type of music," says Caughthran: "I also think a lot of bands take a shit creatively. A lot of bands enjoy the fact that they're in bands and not really doing it for music." "Because I can't play it, therefore I should," adds Ford.

"We try to push ourselves in that direction also. We're all proud to be in the band. It's a nice feeling," concludes Caughthran.

Their debut on the first date of the tour in Pomona, California featured the usual opening day of organizational madness as kinks were ironed out last minute and confusion reigned supreme.

The 108 degree heatwave Southern California was sweltering under didn't help much either, but the band worked through the problems and are enjoying their time on the tour. "You know what? We're glad to be here. We're having fun. We work our asses off all the time - we're excited to go on summer vacation. We've got some friends on the tour here and there, so it's cool," adds Caughthran. "What was awesome was a guy in a wheelchair was fucking people up in the mosh pit. I could give a shit about anything else but seeing that dude do that. It was awesome!" adds Ford. "It was like, I wanna hang out with that guy! [There's] so much positivity coming from that guy."

Scars on Broadway Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

2008-10-14T17:47:00.001-07:00

Under the Skin

While the future of System of a Down remains in flux, Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan are making their own mark with Scars on Broadway.

When System of a Down announced their extended hiatus in 2006, their loyal fan base was unsure how to react to this news. Vocalist Serj Tankian immediately released his solo record last October. Bassist Shavo Odadjian launched his new project Achozen with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. But there were rumblings of the two remaining members and when their new project was about to be unleashed upon the world.

Guitarist Daron Malakian introduced Scars on Broadway earlier in 2008, after premature reports of various incarnations over the past few years, including Amen's Casey Chaos in one version. "I've been working on this a little before System went on the last tour on Ozzfest," says Malakian: "Ever since we got off Ozzfest I've been working on this non-stop. Right after that tour, I called up John (Dolmayan, System of a Down drummer) to do this. We've been in this for about a year and a half. It doesn't seem like it, but it is."

"The biggest benefit of me and Daron being in a band together outside of System is that we already know each other," says Dolmayan. "That's what brought me to John. I liked his playing I know his bad and his good. He knows the same. There are no surprises for each other. I'm not in the mood of getting surprised by shady types," concludes Malakian.

'Scars on Broadway' is an eclectic record that captures a wide array of sounds where no two songs are alike. Songs like 'Babylon' captures a punkier edge, while 'Chemicals' explores a tripped out psychedelic sound. There are other songs that bring back the heavier SOAD sound from their earlier days, as well as some Armenian influences appearing as well. Fans got to hear 'They Say' on the band's Myspace page, but this is but one aspect of the band's sound.

"It's like one facet of a diamond. Every time you look at a diamond from a different perspective, it's going to shine a different light on you. That's what this album's like. It has a lot of different hooks to it," says Dolmayan.

Scars on Broadway played their first live show at the Whisky in Los Angeles in March, which introduced the live band with guitarist Franky Perez, keyboardist Danny Shamoun, and bassist Dominic Cifarelli (former Pulse Ultra guitarist). The packed crowd brought back memories of the old SOAD shows in the mid 1990s, when they sold out the club circuit before they signed a recording deal.

"There was a sense of excitement in the audience," says Malakian. "Like, 'What's this band about? I've heard it was happening'...That's how it was with System. With System, we'd sticker all over LA but no one had seen the band yet. The first time we played there was a sense of excitement in the air. We felt that at the Whisky. That, to me, is the important thing that need to happen to make Scars stand on its own two feet."

Before the record was released, 'They Say' was played on US radio, creating a strong buzz. "the first time I heard 'They Say' on the radio, it was like hearing 'Sugar' for the first time. It was taking it back for me because it was 'They're playing Scars...' We weren't under that SOAD safety net, where we know they're going to play it. I actually didn't know they were going to play it. I didn't know Scars would stand up on its own two feet."

Malakian was one of the main songwriters in System, penning many of their well known songs with Tankian but Scars on Broadway is entirely his vision, where he wrote and produced the entire record himself. While writing for Scars may sound challenging, he makes the process sound a lot more basic than it appeared. "I write catering to what I know and who is playing the songs," he explained. "In System, I knew John's playing style. I knew Shavo. I knew Serj. So when I write I had them in mind. I wanted to write around their styles. When I brought in a topic for the song, I usually wanted it to be a topic that I thought Serj would be into singing so I would try political stuff because he's very involved in political things. In that way it was different because the members have changed."

"Some I wrote after. The approach is very different. I wanted these songs to be very eclectic and not necessarily start the big moshpit. I wanted to make an album that was listenable."

In Scars on Broadway Malakian handles all of the lead vocals, which is not new to him. While in SOAD he played guitar while occasionally doing backup vocals, he was once a lead vocalist in a prior band. "As I've gone more into my writing and even with the last two System records, I wanted to sing on my own songs," explains Malakian. "The things I'm singing about, I can't sing it to somebody else and have him sing it. I'm capable of it. It is taking a little getting used to for me live, because going from stage right to centre stage...I'm still getting comfortable with that. Even if this were a System record, you'd probably hear me singing more than on 'Mesmerize' and 'Hypnotize.' Then where are we? Serj sings his songs and I sing my songs. We didn't feel it was a band situation any more. As i get older now and as a songwriter have matured more, I want to express my voice in my own songs. In a lot of cases in System, I may have written a melody line and the lyrics, but I'm not singing on them. But I wouldn't trade it for the world what we did because I love Serj's voice." "When Serj and I met, I was a singer and he was a keyboard player. We reversed roles. He had never been a frontman of a band before, and I was the frontman of a band that broke up and his band got together. I wanted to do what I did before, write the songs and be creatively involved, but not necessarily stand there and sing."

One key point that drives Scars on Broadway is bringing back the energy and excitement of a brand new band. Malakian wanted to recapture that spirit in his new band that he once had with SOAD. “There are a lot of things going on with this band that goes back to the innocent times of System of a Down. It’s refreshing and it’s almost like you never thought you can feel that again. And you do. If a crowd gets in front and cheers for us, we don’t expect it because they haven’t heard any of our songs. We actually appreciate it opposed to knowing they’re going to cheer.” “The less you expect, the more impressed you are by the reaction. That’s what’s happening to us right now,” added Dolmayan.

With Scars Malakian wanted to create new music that pushed forward his creativity, while showing a different side of him from what he had already done. “I keep writing songs I’ve never written before, but at the same time keep a style. When you hear it you know it’s a song that Daron wrote. Whether it’s System or Scars, you can see my signature there. That’s something that’s important to me. But that happens naturally. So I don’t think about that much.”

Malakian praised Dolmayan’s drumming on the Scars on Broadway record, and a key reason he brought him into the project. But Dolmayan was modest about his role in the songwriting. “It’s pretty much drumming,” he said. “Daron handles all the production and songwriting. I might make a couple little suggestions. I guess a lot of what I bring to the table is comfort. Daron’s comfortable with me. He knows me as a person because I’m not going to change.” “He brings great drumming to the table,” adds Malakian: “I have a lot of friends that are drummers and they’re all good drummers. For some reason, I associate with drummers. I like the drums. One thing there’s a difference with John is behind the kit. I’m not saying it because he’s here. The more people I’ve played with, the more I appreciate John. He fills up the song and is a solid player. You can rely when you’re playing live."

So where did Scars on Broadway come from? Like System of a Down, which came from a poem, this name also has an interesting story behind it. “One day I was talking to a friend on our way to a hockey game about these light posts in Glendale on Broadway that has Swastikas on them in the design,” explained Malakian: “When I said the name Swastikas on Broadway…[I thought] that’s interesting. There’s a dark feeling to that. But I don’t want to use the name Swastikas. The way they’re on there, it’s scarred on there. I thought Scars on Broadway sets up a cool image.”

“Now the name to me, when I related it to the songs, it has nothing to do with that lightpost. It has more to do with all the world is a stage. We’re just scars on that stage that come and go. All we did is left a mark on the world.”

Kevin Lyman Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

2008-10-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

Talking Tours

Big Cheese catches up with Warped head honcho Kevin Lyman to find out if Warped will be coming back to the UK any time soon...

On this year's Warped Tour...

I book the tour in November. The world’s changed very quickly. We set the ticket price. We said we would go out for the same ticket price as last year. Then the past few weeks, we had accountants asking ‘are you charging extra at the door?’ How will gas be hit? We’ll go out there and it will cost us. I told everyone we’ll make less money this year. That’s what will happen. Luckily I’ve got the Mayhem tour so instead of making money for retirement it will be going to paying for the gas on Warped Tour! For me, yesterday was a weird day. Just looking over how this tour’s been for 14 years, having this open society and a lot of things going on. Every year the tide comes in and the tour grows. Last year it was a little scaled back. But it’s hard when so many people want to be involved in it. I look at it and it’ll probably be the last year the Warped Tour will be able to be this way. It’s not because of any other reason other than forces taken out of our control. But I think we could make the Warped Tour work. We’ll probably do a lot more locally next year. Probably travel with fewer stages. We’ll go with the bigger stages, or maybe tell the promoter to bring in a stage and a sound system. Maybe they’ll come in from a little city and play two or three shows. It’ll still be a great show. We just won’t have 70 bands going out on the road with us. Next year’s the 15th year so already into some ideas for a pretty cool show. We’re hoping to tie it in with NASCAR and make it a big weekend. A lot of NASCAR drivers like punk rock, like Ryan Vickers’ crew. They’re coming down tomorrow because they’re racing up at Sears Point.

On deciding who plays on the tour...

I always thought Warped Tour was eclectic. Some people think it got too emo, too screamo, or whatever. When you really dig into it, the Warped line up is pretty diverse. In 1995 – L7, Sublime, No Doubt, Quicksand, CIV, Orange 9MM – what did they really have in common? They had a thread and a lifestyle, but they didn’t sound alike. If you look at the Hurley.com stage and watch the Smartpunk stage – when we get on the East Coast, a lot of the amphitheatre stages are split in half. I wanted kids to hear the difference in the sounds of music. So that’s why you’re out there, you’ll hear Oreska Band and Alesana, and then Beat Union. I think kids are all over musically. I think it’s playing well. Katy Perry is going up with that. It’s interesting to have someone like Katy Perry now. I heard her demo tapes in October. When I first heard those demos, I went ‘good attitude. She’s a punk kind of at heart.’ With Oreska Band, how cool is that kids are into it. There were 1500 people at their stage – an all girl Japanese ska band. I think people are open minded right now to the music. We did the Old School Stage last year. That was really cool down in Carson. We’re going to expand that to four cities. We have Big Drill Car coming back. We have the Germs coming out, and D.I. I think this is the time where maybe at one point it scared people. TSOL played a few shows at the Warped Tour, and the kids ran, like, ‘who the hell?!’ But now, when they see that band, they’ll start looking into Fear and those kinds of things. Last year it was awesome at Carson, where people were asking ‘would people go see these bands at a venue any more?’ Probably not, but come out to the Warped Tour and learn about a history lesson of punk.

On a possible return to the UK...

We’ve been asked quite a bit about that. It’s hard with Warped. We take A Taste of Chaos around the world now. When you go to A Taste of Chaos in the US or Japan or Australia, it’s a similar show – indoors and a second stage. Warped Tour’s taken up this massive proportion. This is the vision of the Warped Tour and with the internet, videos and DVDs and international travel with kids coming over here, when you take it overseas, you can’t duplicate this, no matter how hard you try. Kids will go ‘this isn’t the real Warped Tour.’ Kids want to come here. A lot of other places don’t have free things that kids in America like, from the stuff in the booths, activities and signings. So we go overseas, you have six to eight booths and kids go ‘I want that overload of the Warped Tour.’ My thing was I always took the Warped Tour to places I never go to travel. I got to travel because I started the Warped Tour. I went camping in Australia with bands, traveling in buses, having a great time around the world. Now they’re talking about Warped Tour South Africa…sometimes I’m wondering if it’s better to buy a ticket to go see it. You don’t necessarily need to do a show everywhere you want to go in the world. We’re doing Warped Tour Mexico. We’re doing a little show out there at the end of August. There are some kids that used to sneak in to the country to see the Warped Tour. Then they started throwing their own little Warped Tours down there. Then they’d bring me pictures and they’d have a little truck with two bands that reminded me of Warped Tour in 1995 in many ways. Now we’re trying to take a step up, helping them booking bands, Vans connections so maybe they could be doing this.

Warped Tour Feature (Big Cheese Issue 102)

2008-10-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

One Big Mother

With the temperature a skin-roasting 108 degrees in the shade, Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley acting as some sort of demented ringmaster leading today's Southern Californian crowd into moshpit carnage, lost luggage, Japanese ska bands wander around looking mightily bemused as the backstage catering kills hundreds of burritos. Welcome to the first day of Warped 2008.

While much of the mayhem is happening out on the main grounds, the bands have their own personal drama happening behind the scenes. Every one of the 120 bands that participate on each of the shows has their own routines that they are responsible for. Big Cheese followed Norma Jean, who are participating on the entire tour for the first time. Aside from promoting their forthcoming release The Anti-Mother, they let us into their daily routines, their past Warped Tour experiences, how they keep themselves entertained, and their forthcoming record.

THE DAILY ROUTINE

Cory Brandan (vocals): Wake up…who knows when…
Chris Raines (drums):…wake up when someone comes and wakes us up yelling! It depends because we have a new record coming out, The Anti Mother, which comes out August 5th. We’re promoting that record. That’s what this tour is for. That’s the most important thing. We have tons of interviews like this, so we’ll get up and do that. And take naps. That’s the thing about touring…especially a tour like this. We only get 30 minute slots. We play for 30 minutes and then it is 23 1/2 hours of doing nothing.
Jake Schultz (bass): It’s a lot of us sitting around.
Scottie Henry (guitars): We got good at doing nothing! I don’t get bored easily at all. I can do nothing and be fine with it.
Chris Day (guitars): Air drum competitions…we have a grab bag, if you say something awesome…you get to reach your hand in and get a prize…
Scottie.:…like an army man.
Cory: Or a friendship ring.
Cory: We need to get some different prizes.

PRE-SHOW RITUALS

Scottie: I usually drink a Monster Energy drink before just to get wired. We were playing in New Jersey one time I accidentally took some of those bumblebee pills. I didn’t think it did anything. I forgot something and I ran upstairs and back down, and for some reason I’m coming back down the stairs, it kicked in. I was bouncing off the walls. I felt like I should have been drunk. It was the weirdest feeling. I was saying stupid stuff into the microphone.

Cory: I like to smoke a cigarette before we play.
Chris R: I just listen to music in my IPod and pace around.

BC: What’s your song of choice?
Chris R: I’ll listen to something crazy. Depends on what I’m into at the time. I’ll be a lot of En Vogue…older TLC, original Debbie Gibson lately.
Cory: Deborah…
Chris R: She’s Deborah now.
Cory: We like Debbie, OK.
Chris R: I like her Out Of The Blue record. My mind goes nuts before we play. So whatever goes with that is what I listen to.

BC: So you should add Tiffany to that list.
Chris R: My wife’s claim to fame is that the first concert she saw was Tiffany.
Cory: She saw Tiffany’s first concert?
Chris R: No, her first concert was Tiffany. That was her claim to fame (laughs)!
Cory: That’s going to be trivia!
Chris R: You wanna know what my first show was? It was Biohazard and Stompbox, at the Insect Club when I was 13 years old. It was the coolest thing ever. One of my older friends took me and I remember I had big pants on and I had this extra large Focus tee on, which was this old Christian hardcore band. I was right in front like this…it was me and the ‘Hazard!
Chris D: You know who was the opener of that show? Unsane.
Cory: Why would you not mention that?
Chris R: Because I was there to see Biohazard!

Cory: Mine was Warrant, Trixter and Firehouse, and some other band. It was during the Cherry Pie record. Firehouse during that big record they had.

BC: Is Debbie Gibson, Warrant and Trixter what inspired Norma Jean?
Cory: Warrant and Trixter…
Chris D: And Silverchair with Spacehog.

WARPED TOUR MEMORY LANE

Cory: We did five dates last year and we’ve never done anything else.
Chris D: I’ve never been to a Warped Tour.
Cory: That was my first time going to a Warped Tour as well.
Jake: Last year when we played? I went once…to see AFI. That was it. That was awesome. Did you go to Warped Tour a lot, Chris Raines?
Chris R: I went to one in high school.
Jake: Who did you see?
Chris R: Who was playing? Sick Of It All played. Rancid, Lagwagon, Downset, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack…Limp Bizkit was supposed to but they didn’t.
Chris D: You said Limp Bizkit and I heard biscuit. That reminded me that I’m hungry. I would eat a biscuit right now. I haven’t eaten all day.
Jake: That’s something we like to do on tour, also is eat.
Chris D: We’re good at that. Watch a lot of baseball games.
Jake: I like to watch Warped Tour actually. I like to people watch. I’ll just walk around and look at the people.
Chris R: I think on cooler days, it’s totally different. If it’s cool, then we’ll go out and do stuff. When it’s like this, you don’t want to get off the bus.

BC: Besides the heat, what’s the best part about the Warped Tour?
Chris D: Playing for a bunch of people that we don’t ever play for.
Scottie: The shows are really fun, at least the five we’ve done last year. It was a lot of energy. I’m excited to start playing today.
Jake: We have our friends on this tour too. Friends are nice.

BC: Do you find the kids in the crowd to be metal kids, punk kids or hardcore kids? Chris R: It’s a pretty good mix of all that. There are a lot of different kinds of music on this tour. You have heavy bands and some punk bands and rock bands and some dance bands even this year. They mixed it up and you’ll see fans of all of these bands. I know if I were going to a festival show, there had to be some bands I’d want to see. It’s cool though.

'THE ANTI-MOTHER'

Jake: We all got cabin fever a lot because we were recording the same place we were staying. This record took the longest to make than any other record. There was a struggle in the air to make this record for us. We were trying to make this the best thing it could possibly be.
Cory: It was a pretty frustrating record to make. We barely finished it.
Jake: It’s probably finished today.

BC: Ross Robinson is notorious for going to extremes to get performances out of people. Did anyone get hit in the head with plants this time?
Chris R: He did it with my drum sticks a few times. Not threw them at me. He did it to aggravate me.
Scottie: We clicked really well with Ross, since it was our second record with him too. I feel that we have the same energy that he has and wants for the record. It moves in a different direction as far as not having stuff thrown at us, but all of us getting to the same place that we need to be to record the song.
Chris D: When we did Redeemer, he pushed me down and you could hear me fall down on the record. It’s track two at the very end (‘Blueprints For Broken Homes’). He pushed me and I fell over a chair with my guitar on. I was playing the riff and the song was almost over. All of a sudden he pushes me and I fell down the step and over a chair. He was like ‘dude…that was bad ass! We’re keeping that!’
Chris R: He made me run a lot. But they would run with me.
Jake: He made us run in the sand and back. It sucked.

BC: What did he do to you to inspire you?

Cory: The thing about being the singer is that my voice is the instrument. My health comes into play and my sleeping habits, which both of those are terrible. He had to push me really hard. We would talk about what the song’s about to get the best performance out of you. The best way is to know what the song is about and mean it when you sing it. You’re going to put passion into it, where as you are trying to sing well.

BC: What was it like working with Page Hamilton?
Scottie: We actually played ‘Tic’ with Page at our practice space. That was one of the best things ever. He was singing and we were all playing guitar. That was really cool. He’s an awesome dude.
BC: Does he blast his rig?
Scottie: I think we play really loud too. It matched. We were in a pretty small practice space and had four guitars going and bass and drums and singing really loud. He came in for one day and we decided to play ‘Tic.’ The first hour he was there was him sitting down on a stool showing us chords.
Cory: We nerded out on guitar for a while. Then we talked about guitar stuff and wrote a song with him [‘Opposite of Left and Wrong’].

BC: What about Chino Moreno?
Scottie: Page came to Atlanta to write with us. He came to the studio to do guitar parts and then came back and sang on it. Chino came in and wrote a song with us. It was a lot more spontaneous, plus we had Ross there too. He had on a guitar and we were in there about to talk about whatever. He tuned up and started playing this riff. Cory had a couple of riffs that happened to fit perfectly with it.
Chris D: We wrote two songs with Chino but we only ended up using one of them. He was there for two days. The Deftones were recording so he sang on our record from their studio. It’s called ‘Surrender Your Sons.’

Mighty Mighty Bosstones Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

2008-10-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

Boss Tuneage

After a five year hiatus the Bostonian kings of original American skacore the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are back, back, back!

When the badly kept secret of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones reuniting to play the Hometown Throwdown in Boston around Christmas 2007 was uncovered, it became news that their longtime fans were longing for. The Bosstones had fully recharged their batteries and were ready to take over the world once again.

“It feels really good. Now it doesn’t feel like not so much time has gone by. It feels a little more familiar than I thought. I certainly wouldn’t have pushed to get it going if I wasn’t looking forward to it,” said bassist Joe Gittleman, about the band reuniting, minutes before they play their first Los Angeles show since 2003, headlining a sold out Hollywood Avalon.

Coming together in 1985, the Bosstones created'ska-core', a sound that fused ska with a punk and hardcore edge Influenced by a wide array of music from 2-tone ska to bands like AC/DC, Motorhead, the Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, the Bosstones slowly created a following that many bands wished they could have. From their early years on the 'Mash It Up!' compilation and their debut release, 'Mashing Up The Nation!' through the Taang! Records era and through the major label years, the band has a following that has stood up strong for over two decades.

While the likes of 'The Impression That I Get' rocketed up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the Bosstones also contributed 'Where'd You Go?' to the 1994 Alicia Silverstone movie 'Clueless', as well as recording a cover of KISS's 'Detroit Rock City' for the 1994 tribute CD 'Kiss My Ass'. They also made appearances on the 1997 Vans Warped Tour and the 1995 Lollapollooza tour, as well as opening for Aerosmith on New Year's Eve in Boston in 1994.

After recording seven full length records, three EPs, a live record and countless seven inch singles released across the globe, one thing was clear, the Bosstones had transcended trends and scenes. “We were packing places. We had a lot of people supporting the band long before ska was popular,” remembers Gittleman: “When we were touring in 1990 to 1994, there were some metal years in there. There was Nirvana in there. Being a ska band wasn’t an easier or popular thing to be. I feel like we’ve been immune to it because we never really wanted to do anything but what we wanted to do, and didn’t really care. There was a summer there or two summers when a lot of people liked ska music. Now a lot of the people obviously don’t. But the people who supported the Bosstones from the beginning still do. It’s a good position to be in where you have people who are willing to put energy into the thing you like to do.”

The Mighty Bosstones recorded three new songs and compiled a number of B-sides and unreleased tracks onto a new CD called 'Medium Rare' through their own label Big Rig Records, giving long-time fans songs that were previously available on hard-to-find import seven inch singles or on assorted compilations. “When we left the major label we were on, we wrote it into our agreement that we could release a bunch of those songs. A lot of those songs had been on vinyl or a lot of people had shitty versions of them. We didn’t have the rights to release all of the extra songs, but we had it to release a bunch. We picked our favorites of those and recorded a few new songs, and even though it had been recorded over ten years, we tried to turn it into a cohesive thing as we could. Working on new tunes was fun. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to do more of that.”

Prior to the LA show, they played five shows at the Middle East in Boston and a New Years Eve show in Providence, Rhode Island. These were their first shows in a few years, and they quickly became reacquainted to the vibe again. “It was weird. The first night felt like it had been a long time. By the second night, it felt like it was the same routine. The same jokes still apply. You fall back into the groove of playing the songs. It was pretty easy to get comfortable with it.”

During the hiatus, each member moved onto different projects. The most public was Barrett, who briefly had his own morning radio show on LA’s Indie 103.1 FM from 2005 to 2006. He is also the announcer on the popular late night US television show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Gittleman fronted Avoid One Thing, which released two CDs through SideOneDummy Records. He also tour managed Flogging Molly, as well as worked at SideOneDummy as in house producer and A & R. “Joe Sirois [drums] played in the Street Dogs for a number of years. Ben Carr had a son, works and lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Tim Burton [saxophone] lives up in Florida and does some movie production stuff. Chris Rhodes [trombone] hangs out in Connecticut and played with the Toasters,” adds Gittleman.

Their return was not planned as most would speculate. While nearly half of the band relocated to Los Angeles from their native Boston, they began contacting members about starting the band up again. “I did a lot of the pushing for it. It wasn’t long before everybody was excited and involved. I started talking to Dicky [Barrett] about it probably about a year before we did it. There was a lot of planning and getting everybody on the same page and ready to go.”

Around the time they released their last studio record, 2003’s 'A Jackknife to a Swan', internal burnout from consistent touring was felt and priorities shifted towards other projects amongst each member of the band. “By that point, it had been ten solid years of touring or more -thirteen years,” said Gittleman: “I think it’s not something that we should do if we’re not enjoying or able to put everything into it. Out of respect for what we had created, it felt like a good time to put it aside. We never talked about how long it would be. Everybody started doing other things. One year turned into two, three, four and five. Then it seemed like it would be a good time to revisit it and see the guys again.”

As for a new full length release, Gittleman did not have a definite answer towards whether that would definitely happen. “It’s not really discussing it at all. It’s definitely something I’d like to see us do. It takes a lot of time, finding the time, and having it is something that we’d give our all to.”

The Briggs Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

2008-10-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

Down On The Street

Returning with the raucous 'Come All You Madmen', The Briggs are heading your way next month. Just don't mention Boston...

The way The Briggs has toured over the years, it seems like they are well known by everyone within the punk scene and have earned their respect. Past tours with Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion and Flogging Molly have placed them in front of rabid kids that later were converted into believers of the band. They even got mistaken for being a Boston band, even though no one figured out that they were from the other coast.

“What’s funny is that no one ever knows we’re from Los Angeles,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Joey LaRocca. “Everyone asks ‘you’re from Boston, right?’ Always - every single time. We’ve had write ups in papers. We’ve had magazines…’The Briggs Straight From Boston’…what are you talking about? They just make it up. It’s funny.”

The So Cal punk kids kicked off their touring with a slot on the Vans Warped Tour this summer. They have played on the side stages on previous years of the tour, and this time they were invited to do the entire tour. “We’ve done it three other years,” said guitarist and vocalist Jason LaRocca: “We did it a couple of weeks. We did a month once but it’s our first time doing the whole shebang.”

'Come All You Madmen' continues where the band left off on their previous release, 2006’s 'Back To Higher Ground'. Musically, they focused their energies on writing a strong record without losing anything along the way. “There were fewer tricks on this record. I think that was part of the recipe in making the record,” explained Joey: “I think we were mostly looking at writing the most honest songs we could and making them very approachable and performable live. That was the main trick – was to make it sounding intimate live.”

They brought back Joe Gittleman, the long time Mighty Mighty Bosstones bassist to produce their latest record. The Briggs retained his services to help take them to the next level and create more chaotic noise. “Gittleman has become a part of our recording process,” say Joey: “Because he’s done several records with us, when we starting to formulate plans to do a new record, we were thinking about [working with Gittleman]. We decided that it made sense to work with him again, just because we feel really comfortable with him. He’s very much like another member than a producer who just tells you what to do. He comes in and feels out the songs with us. He jams the songs and we figure it all out together. Since we haven’t really worked with too many other producers, we’ve gotten in a groove that we feel is comfortable.”

this record, they brought in several guests to perform on various songs. Bosstones vocalist Dicky Barrett and Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker appear on ‘Charge Into The Sun.’ Baker, as well as the Bosstones’ horn section of Tim “Johnny Vegas” Burton, Kevin Lenear and Chris Rhodes appear on ‘Bloody Minds.’ Plus the Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey contributes his vocals on ‘Mad Men.’

“That was just a fun thing,” explains Joey: “They all originated wanting to be a part of the project. It was a real treat for us just because it wasn’t like we were searching out who can we find to do this. It was natural because we had just toured with all of these bands and they’re friends. These are bands that we had looked up to since we were teenagers listening to punk rock. And here they are on our record singing with us.”

Casey and Baker were connections The Briggs made after touring with their respective bands. They both became fans and wanted to play on the record. “We did three tours with Dropkick in the last year. We did their St. Pattys Day tour last March and a winter tour in the States and Canada, and were in Ireland, Scotland and England for three weeks [with them]. We became really good friends.”

“We hung out [with Bad Religion] all the time. We were on tour together for six weeks. With Brian, we were playing a show at the House of Blues in San Diego and he approached us. He’s like ‘I don’t care what you want me to do, but let me do something. Even if it’s hand clapping, I don’t give a shit.’ He gets a kick out of doing stuff like that. Obviously we used him to the best…not for his hand clapping abilities, but for his guitar solos.”

The Briggs with be returning to the UK at the Reading and Leeds Festival in August. “We’re very excited about it. This will be our first time,” said Joey. “It’s a good follow up to a great tour with Dropkick Murphys earlier this year. We’re really happy to go back!”

Bullet For My Valentine Interview (Big Cheese Issue 101)

2008-10-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Matt, Padge, Jay and Moose, collectively known as Bullet For My Valentine, have become kind of a big deal in the US since 'Scream Aim Fire' debuted on the US Billboard 200 Charts at number 128, selling 53,000 copies in its first week of release. Not bad for a band from the UK that had to fight to gain respect from audiences.

"We're happy. As far as 'The Poison,' it did what it did," ponders a reflective Matt Tuck: "It thankfully laid out some great foundations for us. We're very proud of it. I'm glad people like it."

The band kicked off their US touring cycle by joining the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour with Avenged Sevenfold, Atryeu, Idiot Pilot and Blessthefall. For a UK band to impact the international heavy music scene like is something rarely seen or felt, and a tour of this size has proven to be a big way to kick off promoting their latest release.

"It was perfect timing," says Moose. "We have a new record out and this tour's going out as well. Our manager said 'We think it's a good thing for you to do.' We agreed."

It came at the perfect time for them. As a unit Bullet have never sounded stronger, effortlessly winning over fans every night. Matt's vocals sound fiercer than ever, and after suffering through throat problems over a year ago, Bullet For My Valentine once again sound like a well-oiled and finely tuned machine. So how are his pipes holding out?

"There's been nothing major," says the frontman. "I mean it's getting tired. We've been on tour for twelve weeks. We did this big European tour before we came out here so it's starting to get fatigued. It's not as slick as it was a couple of weeks ago, but no problems."

This North American tour has appeared to work well for Bullet For My Valentine, with the band playing the main stage every evening before Atreyu, ensuring rabid fans had enough time to get in to see them perform.

Playing alongside Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu every night was not unfmailiar to Bullet, as they have done shows together in the past. But all three bands having fans that are fans of their music, this tour package did work in their favour .

"We know of them because we've done shows with them before in the past in Europe," said Moose: "We came over here to play with them in America. Avenged is a pretty big deal over here. They're pretty nice guys as well."

While Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu have built their own buzz on their home turf, Bullet have drawn attention themselves, and are hoping to make that spotlight a permanent one.

"There's obviously a lot of people here to watch us. there are a lot of people here that know who we are. Or maybe they're just curious to what we sound like. It's really good for us to get over here - hopefully we will win over some new people to get them into the rabble," says Moose.

It's clear that Bullet have come a long way since recording their self-titled EP in 2004 through independent label Visible Noise. Since then these four Welsh lads have blossomed into one of the UK's most successful rock acts since Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, metaphorically giving the naysayers who predicted that 2005 debut album 'The Poison' was a flash in the pan a raised middle finger.

"For me, it was the most exciting times of our lives," reminices Matt. "Regardless of what we do now, how much further we get or how many more albums we sell, that year especially was incredible. It was our childhooddream. It was scary and exciting. It was always positive in my emotions coming together at once. It was mad. Even though we knew we were getting signed, it still wasn't real. We played for so long, we let it down a few times before. We were sceptical that it would happen. It did and we were ecstatic."

Like the proverbial rolling stone, the momentum behind Bullet very quickly became unstoppable. This was surreal to the band members. They went out on their first proper tour supporting 36 Crazyfists in the UK. Since then, they have played festivals such as the Download Festival and have ventured towards North America and cracked into the American market.

While each member had heard countless stories from bands about the United States, they were eager to check it out for themselves. "We got off the plane and went straight for the Rainbow Room, got absolutely smashed and had a food fight," laughs Moose about his maiden visit to Los Angeles.

"He almost broke my nose with a pizza tray," adds bassist Jay. "I ran over a taxi. It was exciting. It still is now. But now we'll go to the Saddle Ranch instead and ride the mechanical bull. We're not as wild as we used to be when we first started. We were crazy when we started but the shows have gotten bigger...."

While Bullet For My Valentine have played in front of a variety of audiences in the UK as well as the US they have encountered a wide range of reactions, but is there a real difference between the two nationalities?

"Not really. They're all there to have a good time. They're all there to rock out. The only difference is the accent," says Moose. "Everywhere we go the reaction is identical every night. Especially on our headline run - they're there to see you. My job as a frontman is to command the crowd and make them feel part of the family. I like to wind people up as much as possible," adds Matt.

The Bullet guys have made new friends on the tour, and have had more than their share of fun to boot. "I couldn't remember the evening or the band, but they ended up carrying me back to the bus. I got loaded," said Moose. "I was on another one of the Japanese bands' buses and I got sake and I collapsed and they carried me up the steps of the bus. It was some hardcore drinking," adds Jay.

Returning to the UK for another bout of touring this summer, Bullet will also be hitting up the festivals, appearing at both Download and Reading and Leeds in June and August.

Says Matt: "We're playing the main stage [at Reading]. We've done the main stage twice. It's exciting to do this festival, especially this year with the line-up - Rage Against The Machine and Metallica are headlining! It's a big deal this year. One their website it's a record of two hundred thousand tickets sold in two hours. It's the fastest it's ever gone."

With typical understatement, Moose brings our time together to an end. "We're the first band ever actually allowed to do Reading and Leeds and Download. It's pretty cool for us."

Bayside Interview (Mean Street - October 2008)

2008-10-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Bayside

By Rei Nishimoto

Positive Vibes

“I spent a lot of time at the Rainbow Room,” says drummer Chris Guglielmo, about his days off while recording the new Bayside record, Shudder, in L.A. “I’d just go in there and people watch. It’s like being in a time warp.”

It was apparent that they were enjoying soaking up the Hollywood experience of their rare off time, but the band worked hard on their record. After recording their prior albums on the East Coast, Bayside wanted a change of scenery and recorded Shudder at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica with producer David Schiffman (System of a Down, Audioslave).“

[Schiffman brought] his calming influence,” says bassist Nick Ghanbarian. “He works to each individual person. It’s going to sound bigger and better, and he knows how to do that while you’re tracking your part. He knows what sounds good. You might have played it perfectly, but he may make you play it again louder just so when he’s mixing and the song’s done, the energy and the vibe mesh well together.”

“He works in a stressful environment,” adds Guglielmo. “When you have four people relying on you for certain things, he handles it very well. He doesn’t get too edgy at all.”

The band has overcome every challenge set in front of them. Since the band’s formation in 2000, they appeared on the 2007 Vans Warped and the Victory Records tours, as well as appearances on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and Total Request Live. But they also overcame lows when the band was involved in a fatal van accident in 2005 that killed then-drummer John Holohan. They paid tribute to him on their 2006 Acoustic EP.

Shudder retains a lot of their sound while refining what fans loved about them. Much like on their prior releases, the songs on this record also maintained a theme as well. Vocalist and guitarist Anthony Raneri says he wanted the theme to be positive.

“I don’t approve of a lot of the bands out there today with these big fan bases that are putting the wrong ideas in kids’ minds to party, drink and do drugs and have sex,” he says. “We want to be a better influence. Musically, I wanted to write songs [whose] cores were simple and very easy to latch onto. That’s why we named the album Shudder because we wanted one word, very powerful, to the point and easy to remember.”

The songs on Shudder feature the melodic pop-punk style Bayside have built their careers around. The first single, “No One Understands,” is a straightforward song structured around melodies and hooks, while “The Ghost of St. Valentine” and “Boy” retain the guitar-driven sound Bayside is best known for. Plus there are the anthemic pop-punk sounds on “Roshambo (Rock, Paper, Scissors).”

“To us, we could say we’re trying things, but inevitably it’s going to sound like us,” says Ghanbarian. “I think it’s more youthful.”

“I think the only real difference in this record from the other records is coming out in the sonic aspect,” says Raneri. “The songs are Bayside songs. We have a couple of ska-tinged things and a couple of rockabilly-tinged things. But it sounds like Bayside.”

ON THE STAGE: Oct. 22— Glass House (Pomona), Oct. 23— Troubadour(W. Hollywood)

On the web: myspace.com/bayside

Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (Mean Street - October 2008)

2008-10-07T14:38:00.001-07:00

GOJIRA
The Way of All Flesh

(Prosthetic)

Release date: Oct. 14

The French death machine known as Gojira is one of the few bands within the metal genre that has set the metal world afire. The theme of this record revolves around the subject of death, and the overtone of their music definitely suits it well. Their sound varies from an older death metal style with chugging guitars blasting away with progressive parts (“Toxic Garbage Island”), alternating in between to more technical death metal (“A Sight To Behold”). Lamb of God’s D. Randall Blythe loans his vocals on “Adoration For None,” a straightforward tune that is simply brutal. There isn’t a dull moment anywhere, and they may have created their strongest release to date. Gojira has definitely raised the ante on this release so make sure to wear a helmet when you play this.

Grade: A

REI NISHIMOTO

Pepper Interview (Mean Street - September 2008)

2008-10-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

PEPPER

By Rei Nishimoto

Island Spice

“It’s been great. We sold out Red Rocks in Colorado. It’s been far over everyone’s expectations,” says Pepper drummer Yessod Williams, about their recent summer tour with Slightly Stoopid. They were touring in support of their current release, Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations, and have attracted fans along the way.

“You go downstairs and look at the plaques on the wall,” he continues about Red Rocks. “It goes back to Elvis Presley playing there. The Beatles have played there. Led Zeppelin played there. All of these great bands that are huge influences have shared that same stage. And to have sold it out too…we were blown away. That place is huge.”

“This has got to be the fifth or sixth tour we’ve done with [Slightly Stoopid]. It’s always a blast. It makes those rough times on the road so much easier when you’re out with your friends. It’s like summer camp with our friends and hanging out. It sucks when you tour and you don’t talk to the other bands.”

The trio began in the Kona area of Hawaii in 1996, creating an energetic style of reggae. They relocated to Southern California in 1999 to expand their base and capitalize on opportunities, which later resulted into future tours with 311, Snoop Dogg and The Wailers. But Williams is proud of where he and the rest of the band are from.

“In Hawaii, that’s by far the most popular style of music,” he explains. “We get such few famous artists who would come over and perform. The ones who would, a majority of them were reggae like Yellow Man, UB40, Gregory Isaacs and anything like that. I think just being an island and that whole island vibe just marries itself with reggae. We were encompassed in it growing up our whole lives.

”What sets Pepper apart from traditional reggae is their energetic style. For a trio to perform music without additional members, they managed to build a live show that matches the energy of their music.

“We finally figured out how to put on a real rock show,” Williams says. “So I think we infused a lot more rock into our music. There’s this misconception where people think we have this mellow show, like this island breezy type show. It’s a high energy and spontaneous…the crowd’s interacting constantly. We don’t make a setlist. We plan out the first four songs and then we have the crowd call out whatever song they want to hear.

”They placed their live show to the test during the 2007 Vans Warped Tour, where they played in front of punk rock kids looking to rock out.

“This was the third time we did it, and it was the first time we were one of the headliners on the main stage,” he recalls. “Our show’s high energy and I think the fact that we didn’t sound like any band on Warped Tour was great for us. We stuck out like a sore thumb and it turned people’s heads. It was such an honor because we were on the same stage as Bad Religion, Pennywise and Flogging Molly. We had a great time on and off the stage the entire time.”

Pepper has have a tour wish list of musical acts they would love to play with.

“Definitely NOFX,” Williams says. “We’ve played on Warped Tour with them, when we were on one of the side stages. NOFX would be an endless blast of a tour. If you’re reading, Fat Mike, please take Pepper on tour with you!”

On the web: pepperlive.com

Funeral For A Friend - Memory and Humanity (Mean Street - October 2008)

2008-10-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Memory and Humanity

(Victory)

Release date: Oct. 13

Funeral For A Friend is a favorite amongst the U.K. crowds and their latest release may finally be the one that should turns heads. Much of their sound revolves around frontman Mat Davies’ big melodic vocals, along with a catchy, guitar riff-oriented style that falls somewhere between post-hardcore and melodic indie rock. The catchy, ’80s guitar melody of “Beneath the Burning Tree” will connect instantly with fans of the modern emo and pop-punk craze. “Kicking and Screaming” sticks to a standard melodic riff rock sound that longtime fans will love. For older fans, there are edgier-sounding songs here such as “Rules and Games” and “Waterfront Dance Club.” This record may be their most melodic and mature-sounding release to date, and the big break the band had been seeking for a while.

Grade: A-
REI NISHIMOTO

Sepultura Interview - Rock Brigade Magazine (1996)

2008-09-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

This is an old interview I did with Max Cavalera of Sepultura for the Roots CD in 1996. I just dug this up and thought it was kind of cool.

After starting the worldwide chaos three years ago, the long awaited Sepultura has finally arrived. Appropriately titled Roots, they're geared and ready to take the mayhem to the next level. Max Cavalera explains his roots and everything behind all the hype.

How did you start writing for Roots ?

The title Roots came up around a year ago, where I found it interesting, making a record returning to our roots, using Brazilian instruments and people who the rest of the world hasn't seen [much of] yet. We worked with percussionist Carlinhos Brown, continuing what we started on Chaos A.D., which was the first real combination of heavy music with percussion. That combination blended well because it influenced bands in and outside of Brazil. We wanted to make Roots sound stronger.

Were the songs written with Carlinhos Brown, or were they written already?

We wrote a song together, called "Ratamahatta", which has various sounds. He did the percussion parts on some of the other songs, like "Ambush" and "Endangered Species".

What did Ross Robinson bring to the Sepultura sound?

He brought vibes, getting into the real thing, as on "Roots" and "Attitude". On "Straighthate", there's lines like "Walking down on different dirty streets/but still the same old feeling still exists", where you've gotta mean it. We worked on the vocals closely, being in the vocal booth every day and redoing it three or four times until we got it right. I remember Ross saying "it had to be right. If it felt a bit fake, we weren't gonna put it on the record".

By doing this, do you think the way you play the older songs has changed?

No. It's gonna be great mixing the older and the newer stuff. We're gonna do a really intense show, mixing "Roots" with "Attitude", "Territory" and "Troops of Doom". It's gonna be a show that'll be really intense all the way.

You've experimented with various Brazilian instruments. Have you played them on previous albums?

I've played them for fun back in Brazil, but back then we were numb towards towards those ideas and instruments. When we left Brazil, it helped us see that there are a lot of cool things that we could add to our music. I've been practicing on the Bearing Bow again. I'm playing it live when we're on tour. I wanna do really wild sounds, unlike the normal sounds.

Lyrically, you've said that the songs are more personal than previous material. In what way do you mean by that?

This album has a different attitude, which tells the listener to believe in yourself and fight back. On the others, I was whining about world issues. I'm complaining less now and I'm giving people more advice., showing how I was influenced by people like Bob Marley and Jello Biafra. Through that, I'm trying to pass the same feeling to our fans through this record at a personal level.

Musically, other than the Brazilian influences, your musical influences have changed. Who are you influenced by these days?

When we were writing the record, we listened to a lot of old hardcore, old Black Sabbath, and newer stuff like the Deftones, Korn, and Ministry. There's a bit of Nailbomb, which I can't deny had an impact on Roots.

How much of an impact do you think bands like Korn and the Deftones had on Roots ?

It had an influence on the songwriting, with different structures, less lead guitars and more riff oriented. The bass is fatter, unlike previous Sepultura albums or any older heavy metal records, where you can barely hear the bass. There's also a hip-hop influence on some of the songs, which comes from what I listen to and Igor's influence from listening to a lot of Ice Cube and Public Enemy.

You used Mike Patton, DJ Lethal and Jonathan Davis [Korn vocalist] on "Lookaway". How did you incorporate their sounds into your record?

Since Schizophrenia, we've had guests appear on our albums. People like John Tardy (Obituary) and Jello Biafra to Evan [Seinfield] (Biohazard). This time, we took it one step further and brought Carlinhos [Brown], DJ Lethal (House of Pain), Mike Patton (Faith No More) and Jon [Davis] (Korn) into the studio. We decided "Lookaway" would be the song that would put us together. It flowed. Everyday we kept adding more and more. At the end of the recording, we were excited about what we had in our hands.

Did DJ Lethal do the scratching on "Ratamahatta"?

That's Carlinhos Brown's voice. He can do some f**kin amazing effects with his voice. It's funny you mentioned that, because I played it for Chino [Moreno], the Deftones singer. That's the first thing he said, like "there's some cool scratches!" I told him it's not scratching. He's like "no way!" I told him it's done with a human voice!

How did you arrange to record with the Indian tribe for "Itsari"?

It was one of the earlier ideas [we had] for the record. If it didn't feel true, I would have changed the album title. It wouldn't be the same without "Itsari". It happened when I found out that we didn't have to deal with the Brazilian government. That was the first positive thing, since it didn't sit well with them. I got in touch with the tribe and they were really excited. The news about the recording got all over the press within Brazil. It helped make the youth look at them less as animals and more as people, who have real feelings, with a culture they want to protect. We were proud to be the first rock band to record with the tribe.

You've recorded covers of Celtic Frost's "Procreation of the Wicked" and Bob Marley's "War". How did you select these songs to cover?

When I thought about the roots of death metal, Celtic Frost was one of the most influential. They had the whole vibe, being dark and heavy. "Procreation of the Wicked" is one of my favorite heavy songs of all time. We thought it would be great to cover that and making it heavier than the original. We did it because it sounded like a twisted Melvins version!

What about the Bob Marley song?

The lyrics are strong. The music's nothing like the original. You wouldn't expect us to play reggae! It's slow, heavy beats, and my vocals, if you're familiar with the song, comes from a United Nations speech. Bob Marley turned it into a song, and I turned it back into a speech, which I'm singing into a speakerphone. It's gonna sound like a speech, with a heavy vibe. It talks about racism and prejudice in an in-your-face way.

Are you planning on touring places like Southeast Asia again?

I hope so, because I enjoyed playing places like Indonesia. I can't forget the whole experience. Chaos A.D. went gold in Malaysia, so we're really trying to play there. One of the Sepultura goals is to play where nobody wants to go. It's important to go where people don't see many shows. I remember how I wished a band would go [to Brazil] and play so I could see a show. I feel the same way by doing that for other people.

What kind of fan mail did you receive from those regions of the world after touring there?

We get a lot of mail from those places. The fan clubs in Phoenix and Brazil inform me with most of the letters they think I should read. It's great because these kids really mean it when they say that the music's really helping them. For me, it's takes a strong effort to keep writing when many people say "oh you're wasting your time because no one's taking what you write seriously". It's bulls**t. A lot of people take what you write seriously. It does help many people, mainly in the poorer countries in various parts of the world.

Do you think that by being experimental, it might turn off any longtime fans?

When we wrote the record, we recreated ourselves, grabbing new influences mixed in with older elements, which became original sounding. I don't mean to turn off any Sepultura fans. All they need to do is listen to the end of Roots to understand that it's the heaviest s**t we ever recorded. But at the same time, we're reaching to a new audience with "Ratamahatta" and "Lookaway", which we never did before. This album really takes chances, but it pays off at the end.

Black President - Black President EP (Mean Street - September 2008)

2008-09-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

BLACK PRESIDENT

Black President

(Cobra Music)

A band name like Black President makes a bold statement. None of its music is backing Obama, but its music is plenty fueled with screams for change. Their music is not your average pop-punk full of pretty melodies. Instead Black President goes for a highly energetic brand of melodic punk whose subject matter is part political, part social commentary, but never a loss for words. Frontman Christian Martucci belts out his heart on songs like “So Negative” and “Short List of Outspoken Suspects,” while “Ask Your Daddy” makes it clear how they feel about the spoiled youth. Black President is a rarity within the punk world these days in a time when people would rather be followers than speak their true minds.

Grade: A-
REI NISHIMOTO

All That Remains - Overcome (Mean Street - September 2008)

2008-09-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

ALL THAT REMAINS

Overcome

(Prosthetic)

Each release by All That Remains has shown significant growth in its sound and musicianship, which places them amongst the top of the current metal wave. Their latest release, Overcome, could be some of their strongest and more mature material. “Two Weeks” and “Days Without” showcase frontman Phil Labonte’s cleaner vocal abilities, only hinted at on previous records. This side of the band adds a new dimension to their sound without losing any of the aggression in the process. But there are of heavier tunes for the loyal fans — “Before The Damned” and “Undone” blow through some shredding guitar work and the edgier side of the band fans have grown to love. Overcome should be the logical step up for longtime fans and an eye opener for those who were not aware before.

Grade: A-
Rei Nishimoto

Dragonforce Interview (Mean Street - September 2008)

2008-09-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

DragonForce

By Rei Nishimoto

Born of Fire

While British heavy metal act DragonForce made major strides on American shores, they are often tagged as a power metal band. While the band’s technical guitars and high-ranged vocals draw comparisons to that sub-genre, guitarist Herman Li isn’t crazy about using that tag to describe the group’s sound.

“It’s good and bad,” he explains. “A few weeks ago, I put on a Stratovarius album, which was one of the biggest power metal bands. That was one of their albums at the peak of their career. When I listen to that, I couldn’t hear why DragonForce is in the same style. We’re so different, compared to our new album.”

Genre labels aside, the heavy metal export is making an impact that harkens to the days of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. The group that made its long awaited U.S. appearance in front of thousands of rabid fans back in 2005. Now they return with Ultra Beatdown, slated for an Oct. 7 release. The group just wrapped up a slot on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, this past summer’s big metal tour.

“The U.S. is so big, it’s different from the places you go to,” says Li. “You always get the DragonForce fans and the people who have never heard of us or heard us but never seen us. You can see the different reactions. Some people that have never heard of us are trying to work out what’s going on. People who like us are going crazy. You get on this tour to play to new people and convert them.”

On every tour stop, people are introduced to the band and have varied reactions to their music.

“I don’t know if it’s odd, but some people are just staring at us,” says Li. “Their eyes are just staring, trying to figure out what’s going on. They haven’t seen guitar solos for 20 years or something. They didn’t know you have to go ‘wahhh!!!’ There’s so much going on in our show that it’s hard to concentrate.”

Following the success of 2006’s Inhuman Rampage, DragonForce created another record that stuck to its highly energetic yet technical guitar metal sound. They played “Heroes of our Time” during recent shows prior to the album’s release to give fans a taste of the new material.

“Everybody’s been calling it Sonic Beatdown, because we have an album called Sonic Firestorm,” snickers Li. “Basically we didn’t put up any boundaries. We took a long time to write the songs and to record. It was a long process making sure the record is better than Inhuman Rampage. The main thing is to come out better than before. We didn’t say what we’re not going to do. We even have a mid-tempo song, which we usually don’t.”

“I think every time we make an album, everything is harder,” he continues. “Our ears get picky. We’re hearing things differently. Some of the takes on this album that got rejected would have easily made the first two albums.”

Just keep your “power metal” descriptions to yourself.

“You can call us power metal if you want, because our first album was close to that” Li says. “We’ve taken it to a whole new level. The whole style and approach is different. I guess you need some kind of thing to understand what it is. Power metal could be the totally wrong description for our music. People could get the wrong idea to think we sound like the older style of bands. I do listen to those bands. I think our music is different compared to the older style.”

ON THE STAGE: Nov. 7— Hollywood Palladium (L.A.)

On the web: dragonforce.com

Walls of Jericho (Mean Street - July 2008)

2008-07-09T09:17:00.001-07:00

WALLS OF JERICHO

By Rei Nishimoto

Biblical Distortion

Walls of Jericho spent the past decade perfecting its metallic hardcore sound and building a strong fanbase. Now they’ve taken a bold step by releasing Redemption, a five-song acoustic EP that ventures into territory rarely heard within their genre.

“It was something that we’ve wanted to do,” explains vocalist Candace Kucsulain. “I’ve been in choir and singing my whole life. But when we started Walls of Jericho — we didn’t want to incorporate this. We wanted to keep the live show energetic. We didn’t want to do the same screaming stuff the bands were doing. Even though I could sing, we never put that in. We wanted to keep it heavy.”

“We’ve always wanted to be able to create music like that,” she continues. “To be in the band for so long and never to get that opportunity is horrible. We got some downtime and we had met [Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman] Corey [Taylor] about a year and a half before. So we’re, like, ‘F*ck it, we have time…let’s do it!’ ”

Produced by Taylor, the band opted for tracks that weave together stories ranging from personal tragedies to everyday life. The five acoustic songs include “No Saving Me” from ‘06’s With Devils Amongst Us All and a cover of the Animals’ “Land of the Rising Sun.”

“ ‘House of the Rising Sun’ is a great song,” Kucsulain says. “We’ve been talking about doing that song and it came through. The Animals played around Detroit and I went to the show. That was what decided it for me. It has such a great mood to it, dark and it’s real. It talks about real sh*t. Everyone back in the day told a story. They told a story and that’s what I liked about the Animals.”

“ ‘Ember Drive’ is about how my mother passed before Ozzfest,” she continues. “‘My Last Stand’ is about me and about how most people are on a search for themselves, someone to be part of and how lonely that can be. ‘Addicted’ is about dealing with a family member, for both Corey and me. So we decided to do it as a duet. It’s about substance abuse and how it tears you apart to watch your loved ones living their way.”

Reactions were mixed prior to the EP’s release, but the band clarifies that this is not the band’s future musical direction.

“We got a lot of ‘It’s cool you did stuff like this.’ We have people, like, ‘I hope this is not what you sound like now.’ I try to make it clear that this is not our new sound. It’s something we’re doing separate. There are people I respect as musicians that called me or sent me a text, telling me how the songs really moved them. This guy I know said that he had to call his mom. We did this for us. We did this because when I’m 80 and hanging out with my kids and grandkids, I want to play them something they can understand. That’s why this music is different than the rest of the music on the radio. There’s a reason there’s this aggression and powerful noise we make. Not everybody gets it, and we wanted to make music that everybody else gets.”

Walls of Jericho will be releasing a brand new full-length release called The American Dream this summer.

ROCKSTAR ENERGY

DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL

DATE

July 13

VENUE

Glen Helen Pavilion

2575 Glen Helen Parkway

San Bernardino CA 92407

909.880.6500

livenation.com/venue/getVenue/venueId/453

WEBSITE

mayhemfest.com

TICKETS

$50 orchestra pit/first level orchestra

$25 second level

$6.66 lawn

LINEUP

Mayhem Stage

Slipknot

Disturbed

DragonForce

Mastodon

Jägermeister Stage

Machine Head

Airbourne

Five Finger Death Punch

Walls of Jericho

Hot Topic Stage

Underoath

Black Tide

Suicide Silence

36 Crazy Fists

The Red Chord

On the web: wallsofjericho.tv

Zach Hill - Astrological Straits (Mean Street - July 2008)

2008-07-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

ZACH HILL

Astrological Straits

(Ipecac)

Zach Hill is one of the few unsung drummers on the scene today, and Astrological Straits shows why his style will be recognized by the masses real soon. Within the first few seconds of opening track “Iambic Strays,” his music sounds like a space alien’s first encounter with Earth drugs, with psychedelia-meets-free form drumming as its soundtrack. The record plays through like an eerie story, where each piece of music represents a moment in time. Hill shows off his manic drum rolling skills on “Street People” and “Hindsight Is Nowhere,” while on “Keep Calm and Carry On,” he plays on one of the few standard rock tunes on this album. He is one of the few drummers that are keeping music interesting, and this record comes highly recommended to those who are sick of the standard.

Grade: A

REI NISHIMOTO

Blacklist Union - Breakin Bread With The Devil (Mean Street - July 2008)

2008-07-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

BLACKLIST UNION

Breakin Bread With the Devil

(Blu)

The rock ‘n’ roll spirit lives on in L.A. through the much talked about Blacklist Union. Musically, the band plays melodic, riff-filled hard rock that revives memories of the classic Sunset Strip scene with a slight modern edge. While their style is nothing groundbreaking, the band does manage to keep their sound exciting and fresh. This kind of musicianship is something that is hard to find on most band’s records today. Vocalist Tony West brings in a dark, hypnotic sound similar to Michael Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel with a touch of Ozzy Osbourne’s haunting overtones. Breakin Bread With the Devil is more for the old-school hard rock purists that are seeking more song-oriented music, and those who simply want their rock back.

Grade: B

REI NISHIMOTO