THE VEER UNION

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:12:03 +1000

* Interviewed by Lisa Miller at the Rocklahoma Festival, USA May 2010

Biography
Vancouver, Canada’s THE VEER UNION is a young band with the future on their mind. It is that optimism, combined with their drive and work ethic that promises to translate THE VEER UNION’s success to the North American market.

The Veer Union had made their mark in 2009 with the TOP 10 single “Seasons” which was the longest charting rock song for a new artist all year. It became the theme song for the 2009 Stanley Cup winners the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Seasons” was also featured in all Major League Baseball postseason telecast as well as NFL, NASCAR, ESPN, WWE Backlash, NHL and more.

Their second release “Youth of Yesterday” was the highest added song to rock radio first week of it’s release. They had toured for 10 months in the US last year promoting their album and hitting cities across the nation. They had the opportunity to play shows and festivals with the likes of Theory of A Deadman, Staind, Seether, Korn, Hinder, Breaking Benjamin, Framing Hanley, 30 Seconds to Mars, Flyleaf and more.

With “Darker Side of Me” now impacting radio The Veer Union will be back on the road early this spring and will be playing more shows and festivals to come... Look out for a show in a city near you!

How did the band come together?
The band was formed in late 2004 by Crispin Earl and guitarist, Eric Schraeder. Originally from Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, the two longtime friends and neighbors had a common bond: "We had played in bands together and we were both living out of our rehearsal studios in downtown East Vancouver," recalls Crispin. Living for their music was to become the thing that held the UNION together.

Crispin, who was then the vocalist for a popular local band called Everything After, was gaining national attention as a songwriter with credits on Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee's solo CD Tommyland: The Ride. Eric, who had recently relocated back to Vancouver after a stint in Los Angeles playing with the band 40 Foot Echo (Hollywood Records), was working on projects of his own. The two wrote music together for months and found their styles extremely compatible. After this productive time, they determined it was time to find band-mates who shared their mindset.

While multi-instrumentalists Eric and Crispin were recording demos for what was to become their major label debut – AGAINST THE GRAIN - they were introduced to Marc Roots (Roots) and James Fiddler (Fid) through a mutual friend. The bassist and guitarist had been in bands together and had been out on the road for some time. The four became close friends and formed a strong bond before they had even picked up instruments to jam with one another. Neil Beaton, a drummer from Langley, BC entered the fold when the band lost their original drummer. Having spent time on the road with the band as the drum tech, he understood and shared the strong bond between the band members and their drive to succeed.

Where is the band from?
Vancouver Bridge, Columbia

Can you tell us about your first album “Against The Grain” that you have released on Universal/Mowtown Records?
After nearly two years of endless touring across the continent, signed a record deal with Universal/Motown Records and recorded AGAINST THE GRAIN with producer Greg Archilla (Collective Soul, Matchbox 20, Buckcherry) with a couple of tracks produced by Brian Howes (Hinder, Hedley, Daughtry and Rev Theory). Guitar-driven, “Seasons” features a particularly powerful vocal performance from Crispin. “Over Me” delivers the message of regret over an evocative musical landscape where Eric and Fid truly shine. “Seasons, lyrically, is about seizing the day,” says Eric. “It’s a sick live track – really cool to play.”

How long have you guys been on the road for in support of the current album “Against The Grain”?
February 2009 was the beginning of touring for this latest record, but before that we toured our independent record for about 2 to 3 years which was before we signed to Universal.

What are your thoughts on the heat at Rocklahoma?
Well it's not so much the heat as such...which is bad enough, it's the humidity. We are not used to humidity at all.

What is your approach to songwriting?
Every song is different. for the most part we have a chemistry in how songs are done and then we will put our own spin on it. Everything we write about is based on life experiences and is real and something we have gone through.

Can you give us some background into the name “The Veer Union”.
Well the band is very much about things that are real. The Veer Union meaning if there was such a dictionary meaning would be about honesty, something real...that's what the whole band is about.

What bands have you grown up with and who might have shaped what The Veer Union is today?
The bands we grew up listening to, we like to believe those bands had their own thing. Soundgarden became Soundgarden because they went...let's make a band and create music. It's art.... If you have a 1,000 people telling you what to do, then you lose what the artist is all about.

Going from first having an independent release, to then being signed to a major label, how did you handle this?
In this day and age it's very easy to be signed to a major label and feel pressured into going "corporate". A lot of bands feel that pressure, but for us it was like when we make music we want to sit back and go "yeah....that's it, that's what we want to create and if the label doesn't get it, then what's the point of putting it out.

What is in store for the rest of 2010?
We have been writing like crazy. We have a festival after this in El Paso then we are going to be out on tour now for another couple of months. We are hooking up with a band called Framing Hanley who are good friends of ours. Then right after that we will head back into the studio and start recording some stuff. We have a lot of really cool new material that we are really really stoked about.

APOLLO DRIVE

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 21:57:15 +1000

* Interviewed by Scott Smith

Biography
In 2008, Stefan Örn (Guitar/Keyboards) was playing in local bars on the east coast of Sweden and came across Fredrik Lönngren (Vocals), whom he would describe as “sort of a local hero, with a voice like he’d never heard before”.

The two began writing together and after a few failed attempts of solidifying a band, they were introduced by mutual friends to Mason Pitts (Bass) and Bobo Ölander (Drums). Finally, the band they had tried to form for so long had come together.

The deal was sealed between the guys on a random street in Los Angeles called Apollo Drive, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As the band continued to work on new material and tour Sweden, they sent a song demo to renowned producer/songwriter Anders Bagge. Anders loved what he heard, especially Fredrik’s extraordinary vocals. “…I like bands that have a voice that’s very personal and that’s what they have. It’s one of their biggest strengths.”

The result is a well-crafted, one-listen record titled “Papercut”. With heartfelt lyrics that are instantly relatable along with a genuine anguish from the vocals of Fredrik Lönngren, the song easily strikes a chord with anyone that hears it.

For starters you are a band from Sweden, yet you "sealed the deal" in confirming and naming the band on a random street in Los Angeles, USA. Can you fill in a few gaps and explain what led you to head over to the USA in the first place before the band "officially" existed?
Actually we were already a band at the time, but under a different name & a slightly different constellation. We took a trip out to Los Angeles together to get some inspiration, meet some contacts and to just have a good time together. For a long time we had been looking for a name that would best suit the band and we bounced some names off one another trying to find the right one. While in LA we passed a street that Mason had talked about, where he'd spent some time making music, in an old make shift studio, round the corner from "Apollo Drive". He'd been brainstorming on names & that one kept coming back to him. All of us agreed that it was a cool name, so we gave it a couple of days to think on it, but in the end we all agreed that Apollo Drive was the name that fit the band best.

For those who have not yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound?
Well I'd say power and emotion come to mind.. and strong, melodic hooks with a cracking good lead singer;)

You released the single "Papercut" earlier this year on ITUNES and people can hear it on your Myspace page. How has the response been to the song so far?
It's been really amazing so far, Papercut's gaining more & more attention both on myspace and youtube everyday now. We have people telling us on a daily basis in the U.S. that they're hearing Papercut both on major radio stations and on Sirius XM regularly, so Papercut is definitely gaining steam in the U.S.A.

You have also signed a deal with Robbins Entertainment in the USA. When can we expect an album or more releases from Apollo Drive?
The single is going very well in USA, so no plans for a full release right now, but we'll have more of a plan for a full release come late summer.

What’s the general songwriting process for the band? How does it start and where does it end?
It often starts with Stefan and myself jamming on different chord structures & melodic ideas until we shape it into a strong song, then Mason and Bobo come in & put their mark & input into the songs to help complete them.

In terms of your songwriting, what do you consider to be the most important ingredient in a song?
There should be really strong feeling in a great song that moves the listener on an emotional level. A great song should have strong lyrics that people can really relate to, they'd don't have to be literal, but they should paint a picture, so the listener can make their own interpretation. Most of all it's important for me to be able to put my feelings & emotion into a song, I have to be able to really relate to the song myself in order to put everything I've got into it.

What music did you grow up listening to and how did it help create the style of music that can now be heard through Apollo Drive?
We've got pretty eclectic tastes individually, everything from classic rock, punk rock to jazz, but I think we all like bands like The Beatles, Springsteen, The Who, The Stones, The Clash, Muse, Oasis, Radiohead, Aerosmith, INXS, Mother Love Bone & Nirvana to name a few..

To us here in Australia, Sweden is more commonly known in the last couple of years for an abundance of hard/sleaze/glam rock bands which we also love. Is the modern rock/pop that Apollo Drive plays common in Sweden at the moment?
No, there aren't really any other bands here in Sweden doing anything like us, but we're about to change that!

If you could travel back in time, or even into the future...and play your music to any one of your musical heroes, who would it be and why?
I'd like to be able to play our stuff for Macartney, Springsteen or maybe Steven Tyler, to see what they like about the songs & hopefully we could get some good advice from one of our heros while were at it..

As a band, you have travelled to both Africa and the USA. Did these trips involve playing any shows whilst you were in these countries? What were some of your highlights of the trip to Africa?
Neither trip involved any official shows for us, but we did get to play with some natives in both cases, which was a blast. The scenery in Africa was something right out of a movie and it just us away. The day we arrived we travelled by car for about 8 hours to get to a spot that our guide knew of, a really cool old Kasbah way up in the mountains. It was a really difficult spot to get to, a dangerous and risky ride straight up through the Atlas mountain range. We travelled to about three different spots including an amazing oasis down the mountain on the other side of the range. There we slept outside in these cool old Bedouin tents with lizards, snakes & cockroaches. Then we headed back down to Marrakech for two nights where we stayed in an old palace turned hotel, which was inside the walls of the old city market. Our first night at the palace they served us a lavish dinner & we got to jam with some berber natives who were playing at there. They had these really cool African instrument's which we got to jam on, then they played some our songs with us while everyone was dancing and eating dinner. All & all it was a really great experience, with some absolutely breathtaking scenery.

What is in store for Apollo Drive for the rest of 2010?
Just to get out and play for our as many of our new found fans as possible. We want to spread the word about Apollo Drive and we want to get our music out to as many listeners around the world as possible.. Speaking of breath taking scenery, we hope that we can tour Australia in the in the coming year. I think a trip "Down Under" would definitely make for good inspiration for some new material!

LIKE A STORM

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 11:19:47 +1000

* Interviewed by Lisa Miller

Biography
On their debut album THE END OF THE BEGINNING, Like A Storm stir up a torrent of infectious hard rock. The Vancouver-based quartet's first full-length is an avalanche of captivating choruses and hard-hitting grooves, as exemplified by the first radio single Chemical Infatuation. Electronic textures and string flourishes cascade into a wall of distortion as vocal melodies hypnotize.

Brothers Chris, Matt and Kent Brooks along with Thomas Karanasos conjure a dynamic rock sound that's simultaneously ethereal and edgy.

Like A Storm's journey began in 2005. After rehearsing once in their native New Zealand, Matt, Chris and Kent decided to move to North America and pursue the rock n' roll dream.

Upon moving to Canada, it only took one show for Like A Storm to build a buzz. Kai Marcus (Methods of Mayhem/Noise Therapy) saw the band and was instantly blown away. He struck up a friendship with the guys and introduced them to multi-platinum producer Mike Plotnikoff (Three Days Grace/My Chemical Romance/Buckcherry) in early 2006. Plotnikoff and the boys immediately began trading ideas for what would become THE END OF THE BEGINNING.

The band began officially recording with Plotnikoff in Calabasas, CA in early 2007. Virtuoso musician and former Yes keyboardist Igor Khoroshev joined the production process, bringing his progressive and classical influences to the record. After over 16 months of writing, recording and experimenting, the band emerged with THE END OF THE BEGINNING.

Our USA correspondent Lisa Miller caught up with the guys backstage prior to the band’s appearance at Rocklahoma.

* Live pictures featured from Rocklahoma courtesy of www.jrmpix.com.

You are originally from New Zealand, but where are you based now?
We are based in Vancouver, Canada. It's just a little to far to fly back and forth to New Zealand haha!

Tell us a bit about your debut record....
Well it is called "The End Of The Beginning" which we spent 16 months recording in LA. We went down there thinking it would take 3 months but we got a little excited and spent 16 haha!

That involved living with our producer and his family staying in the spare room in Calabasas. If you aren't familiar with Calabasas it's where all the movie stars and rock stars live. So for a bunch of Kiwi dudes it was pretty weird to be sitting down in Starbucks and Nikki Sixx would rock past or Tommy Lee or Travis Barker, even Ozzy Osbourne! So that was really cool experience.

Who is the label you have released the album on?
We are signed to a management company and label out of LA called Prospect Park and also have Korn who are one of our most favourite bands of all time, Janes Addiction, Five Finger Death Punch, Flyleaf....a whole lot of really good rock bands.

You have been pretty busy out on the road touring, can you fill us in on some of the bands you have played with since you moved over from New Zealand?
Our first ever tour of the USA was opening for Creed on they're reunion tour which was insane. We thought we were just going to be doing the small clubs, but we got thrown out onto the bigstage, which was an awesome experience though. Our first show in the USA was in front of 14,000 people in Pittsburgh!! I think at that moment we realized that was what we were born to do.

Played with Shinedown, Puddle Of Mudd, Hoobastank, Creed, Saliva, we have just come from the Rock On The Range festival which had Deftones and Three Days Grace. So we feel like we are just living the dream right now, without sounding too cheesy! But this is exactly what we moved over here to do and we feel so lucky to be doing it!

Your first time playing Rocklahoma, what are your thoughts so far?
Well we played in Tulsa last year with Creed and we know people down here like to have a good time, so we are looking forward to it!

We can't wait to see ZZ Top tonight and we are stoked to be playing at 7.15pm rather than midday at Rock On The Range or otherwise we would pass out if we played at midday here as it’s a fair bit hotter here!

What’s in store after Rocklahoma and the rest of 2010?
After this we have a few headline shows on our own, which is our first USA headline tour. It’s all come about quicker than we had expected. Then we are heading out with Drowning Pool for a while, then heading back up to Canada for some shows. Then after that it’s shooting our next video. That’s about as far as our calendar runs at this point in time, but that could all change on a dime. That’s one thing we have learnt, you have to be flexible!

AMY MEREDITH

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 22:42:11 +1000

* Interviewed by Troy Culpan

It’s always great to talk to new bands and even more so when in only a few years of existence have managed to get signed to a major label in Sony BMG, support bands such as Cobra Starship, Owl City, Shinedown and more and release their debut album. This is just what Amy Meredith have done, a 5 piece band out of NSW have taken radio by storm with their single ‘Lying’ and if that song is any indication of what’s to come then the boys will deserve every success they receive.

Drummer Kosta Theodosis took some time to tell us about the album, touring and just who Amy Meredith actually is.

For starters, the first time I saw you was opening for Shinedown earlier this year, I remember seeing ‘Amy Meredith’ was supporting and thinking, oh, I wonder what she’s like, then 5 guys hit the stage. So tell us, where did the name come from and how many times a day are you mistaken for a female folk singer?
Well basically the name was, our lead singer had a babysitter when we was about 5 years old and he had the biggest crush on her and her name was Amy Meredith so basically he decided to name the band after her as a little tribute to his first crush. It’s actually really confusing with the name, because unless you’re aware of the band clearly everyone just thinks we’re some female acoustic act, so we’re trying to get the message out there that its actually a band of 5 guys.

Your sound can be explained as electro, pop, rock, synth, I mean pretty much every word you can think of. Who would you sight as your main influences in your sound?
Well all of us in the band have a lot of common influences and I guess that’s come out in the music, bands like The Cure is a big one, The Killers even, The Smiths a bit, even current bands like Phoenix we love so there’s a lot of new wave type stuff, post punk stuff and a lot of newer stuff as well.

Where were you the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio? How did that feel?
It’s always in the car, I’m always in the car when I hear it so I do a lot of driving around, I’m basically the Taxi driver of the band always picking everyone up so we would’ve heard it in the car driving the boys around somewhere, its really exciting actually, we’re used to it now as we hear it a few times a day. It’s a great feeling and good to know its getting out to a larger audience

You’ve been lucky to support some big bands coming through Australia, who has been your favourite and given you the best piece of advice? What was that?
That’s a good question, I guess touring with Cobra Starship and Owl City, that was probably my favourite tour because we got to play to a lot of all age audiences, some of the younger kids we don’t normally get to play to and they were all very excited and playing to big full houses on that tour so it was really great. Haven’t really got any advice from the bands, we all just have a good time and go out a bit sometimes after the show, but no really great advice.

Was there anything they were doing that you thought ‘oh I should do that?’
Not necessarily one thing but its just really great seeing some of these bands that are constantly touring and how slick and tight their shows are, you know they’re playing hundreds of shows a year all around the world so just seeing the consistency of their shows night to night and how they put it together, its just really interesting to see how bands that have been doing it for a lot longer put the show together.

After the show are they supportive and love what you’re doing?
Yeah definitely a lot of the bands are really great and come down and check out our show from side of stage or whatever, we’ve been really lucky to tour with some great bands, especially Cobra Starship again, they were really encouraging and really good to us, because they were just telling us how they’d been there before and that every band has been in the same position and doing the opening slots and stuff but there’s always a good camaraderie between bands and us so its cool.

The video for your current single ‘Lying’ is a great concept, who came up with that idea and how much fun was it to make?
We really love it, our director Mark Alsten he actually just presented the treatment to us and we all loved it from the moment we saw it, we all just put in a few ideas and changed a few things to our liking, some of the boys had preferences of what they wanted to do in the video but it was a lot of fun to make turning up to the studio that day, we had a lot of fun, it was tiring actually for the performance part of the video, for me especially because I was in the back of everyone’s shot, so while the other boys were just hanging out with the girls, I was stuck playing for probably 3 hours, the song over and over as hard as I could so it was actually quite tiring. But once that was done it was a lot of fun.

The single has also reached number 7 on the iTunes chart which is no small feat these days, are you blown away by the reaction and reception you’re receiving with the single?
We really are, it was such a surprise because we saw it, we were a little bit nervous about the track, because I remember when we released it we were in Queensland and we were in the tour bus just checking out the iTunes chart on our iPhones and yeah it wasn’t doing too well and it was such a slow build. We thought it had its time and it just kept building and eventually, into the 30’s, 20’s, 10’s and up to number 7 which was amazing for us and it got to number 10 on the ARIA charts just last week, its really exciting and blown us away, especially for a single, its very difficult for especially a new band to get a top 10 single so we’re very, very lucky and happy.

With some major radio support too, I’ve heard it a lot
Yeah, definitely we’ve got a lot of support from radio, so we’re lucky I guess and people are liking the song which is nice

So tell us about what we can expect from your debut album ‘Restless’ due on July 2nd?
Basically if you’ve heard the singles it’s a similar vein to that, a bit of history of the band the first song on the album is actually the first song we ever wrote together so its from our earliest stuff to stuff we wrote just specifically for the album. It’s a lot of fun, it’s a great up beat album and I think it’s a fun album and people can enjoy listening to it in their car or dancing around to it at home, I think people are going to like it.

Being your debut album, how hard was it to pick that batch of songs to represent how you want the world to be introduced to Amy Meredith?
Yeah it was really difficult actually, we had a lot of discussions about it actually because there were so many songs, even coming in to recording the album there were about 60 songs written that we had to cull down to songs we wanted to record and from the songs we recorded then we had a bunch of extra songs that we had to cull down to the 12 that were on the album so there was a lot of discussions and I’m sure there are a few favourites that everyone had that didn’t make it on to the album as well, it was difficult, but they’re good for B-sides and might make an appearance on the next one as well.

In only 2 years of existence, you guys have done more in this time than some bands take 10 years to do. What do you put this down to?
It’s been a few years I think the band, well not long, 2007 the band started, everyone in the band has the same idea of what we want, every one works very hard to make it happen, no one wants to have a normal job, we all want this band to be our job, so we’re putting in 100% effort and working as hard as we can to make it happen I guess.

Was the recording process fun? Was it different to just doing an EP at home?
Yeah it was a really great time actually, the boys had a lot of fun down at The Grove on the Central Coast working with some great producers and it was big, it was over a couple of weeks, lots of fun, all the drumming was done over the first day or 2 basically so there wasn’t a lot to do there, so we had a lot of fun down there.

You’re very interactive with your fans, particularly those on facebook and from that continue to develop a major following. How important is the social media as a tool for the band?
I think quite a large part of the bands success, being able to keep in touch with our fans and have them be able to ask us questions and just talk about anything its just really important to our success and we appreciate our fans a lot and we wouldn’t be here without them, so we just love having a chat with them and I think it’s a big part of our success.

You have dates set until the end of August promoting the record, how long do you plan on being out on the road?
Basically once the album comes out, we’re going to go non stop, we just want to get the music out to as many people as we can, we’re doing a big regional run with Grinspoon actually through August and September and straight after that we’re heading into our massive national headline tour which is the big one I’m looking forward to and that’s through the end of September and October and we’ll be going everywhere on that tour and I’m very excited about that one, there’s a lot of plans. We’re planning on heading over to the US in that time and just playing as many shows as we can, so it’s really exciting.

Have you got some interest from the US?
Yeah there is actually, we’re heading over as soon as possible cause there’s some good things happening over there for us so we just want to get over in the next couple of months and do some showcases and get some management together and we’ll see how we can go over there.

So that’s what’s next for Amy Meredith, all album and touring, all full steam ahead?
Yeah exactly as soon as the albums out on Friday, we’re doing a few local shows at the moment which is good, we played the ASTRA awards last night and there’s a couple of shows around Sydney, we don’t always get to play around Sydney we’re always touring so that’s exciting, yeah just basically full steam ahead for the rest of the year.

FREE ENERGY

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:56:06 +1000

* Interviewed by Troy Culpan

Signed to the credible DFA label, Free Energy, released their debut album ‘Stuck On Nothing’ in Australia on Friday June 4.

Free Energy is a five member Philadelphia based power pop-rock band whose members include Scott Wells, Paul Sprangers, Evan Wells, Geoff Bucknam, and Nick Shuminksy. Album producer is James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.
Opening the album and lead by a simple cowbell, the 70’s inspired self titled single “Free Energy”.

The band’s debut album ‘Stuck On Nothing’ is not music for the arms-folded set holding up the back wall. “With Free Energy, the first thing we do is make sure the drums sound awesome,” explains Sprangers. “Then we build on top of that, so everything is solid, well thought out, and distilled to its essence.” The vocals are always audible and up front.

The ten songs of ‘Stuck On Nothing’ began life as a string of modest, homemade demos, but only as a jumping-off point. “You can just make little four-track things that are pleasing to listen to, but we’re a rock n roll band, and rock n roll music is supposed to be dance music,” insists Wells.

Free Energy make singing along just as easy as stamping your feet and clapping in time. “There’s a lot of optimism and positivity in the music, lyrics and imagery,” the singer concedes.

Do not resist the exuberance.

You’ve been a band now for almost 3 years can you give us some background on Free Energy and how you came about?
Yeah well we signed to DFA Records 3 years ago, Scott and I, based on demos that they liked and after that we just spent a year kinda recording more demos and eventually James kind of got it in his hands for him to produce it and Scott and I moved to New York from Minnesota and lived in NY for a while recording with James. As recording began to take longer than expected, we realised we needed to live somewhere cheaply so we moved to Philly and then towards the end of the recording process everyone moved out to Philly and we practiced in a house and started getting the live band ready about a year and a half ago.

Was it hard to finally get your album ‘Stuck on Nothing’ released?
Um, no its just been a very slow process, we’ve let it take its own path, nobody has pushed too hard anywhere like our manager is really cool and our label is cool. Helped us negotiate the waters of EMI and helped us with playing it for people there who got excited and then other people got excited and it was just like been a very slow but steady growing thing. It’s hard to explain but its really cool but I feel that its very rare to be given time to develop as a band and so it feels like a classic rock band.

You have a very retro sound that has been compared to everything from Journey, The Cars, Cheap Trick and even Thin Lizzy, how do you react when you’re given this kind of praise?
Well obviously, its pretty ridiculous because that’s the music that inspires us and we aspire to and we all know that’s the cannon of rock music and informs everything we know culturally at least in the States its been in the background of our lives, it benefits us as I don’t know if there are a lot of bands at the moment that take these bands as inspiration and it also harms us if people really love Thin Lizzy and they listen to our record and obviously it doesn’t sound like Thin Lizzy record, so I just hope that people take it with a grain of salt.

Who are some of your biggest influences?
Growing up definitely, Nirvana, Pavement, Public Enemy, everything, I mean Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses, Metallica and these days, well mostly we listen to music in the van on cassette tape and we listen to some really weird shit, like we’ve been listening to a lot of late Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel, Scorpions, Seger.  
The title track, named after the band I have to say is my favourite purely for its use of the cow bell. Whose idea was that?
The cow bell? Oh man, I think it’s just a practical usage, we love cow bell and definitely. I mean I don’t know. No one has asked that. Maybe it was James idea?

How did you get involved with James Murphy of LCD system who produced your album? Did he just like what he heard?
No he didn’t ha ha, well he did eventually. The guy who runs DFA day to day, his name is John Gelkin, he saw our vision and heard the demos very rough and he heard how they can fit and in the back of his mind I think he always wanted James to produce it and he kept gunning for James and James is really busy and didn’t have time but eventually it really sunk in and James realized that we talked a lot about music and records and realized that we shared a lot of the same reference points and that we were on the same page and then he got excited and realized what it could be, but it was really John Gelkin that connected us with James and let it grow into what it was.

You performed on Letterman earlier this year! How was that?
It was awesome, it was really fun.

I can imagine that you’ve gotten quite a live following, what can fans expect at a Free Energy show?
Well, luckily fans have been dancing at all the shows, its crazy. I dunno we put everything into the show and we really try to make sure people have a good time, its like come and see us and it’s a giant party and we’re kinda like the house band at this party.

3 years ago would you have ever thought you’d be speaking to someone in Australia about your debut release?
Absolutely not. No way. It’s amazing, it blows my mind.

Hopefully we can see you down here.
Dude, honestly that’s the one please we would die to come, we’re obviously huge huge huge AC/DC fan and I feel like people would really like it there in Australia.  
In a music industry full of far too much pop, dance music and not enough Rock were you nervous recording a clap your hands, stamp your feet kind of album?
No, because we’re too in our own bubble, we’ve always felt like weirdos so I dunno, DFA are so encouraging. James and John both were encouraging, we think and in our heads we think it’s the coolest record ever made and we assume that it’s gonna be huge so we’re pretty oblivious to trends ha ha.

Now I love the videos you’ve brought and it looks like there’s a lot of work put into them; was that fun making those?
Yeah, a lot of work and extremely fun, people put so much good energy into that. I’m really psyched about them.

Is there a meaning behind the name of the band?
Literally, it was a song and I thought that the riff that Scott came up with sounded like Free Energy and after we had exhausted every band name possible, finally someone had pointed out Free Energy actually has a lot of other meanings and connotations that are conducive to the spirit of the music and what we’re doing.

What’s next for Free Energy?
Well we are going to tour our asses off, try to play for as many people as possible. We have a tonne of songs ready to record but I think this is our priority right now in touring to as many places as possible. We’re on the road now for a 9 week stretch with a little time off but we’ll be touring very steadily all through this year and next.

And hopefully a promo tour down here.
I know, we really want to, we will it’s just a matter of if its August or October.

SPIT LIKE THIS

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:00:45 +1100

Four EP's, one compilation CD, hundreds of gigs, top 10 rock chart placing, prestigious support slots, dedication, belief, tenacity, determination, sheer bloody hard work... that's all it took for SPiT LiKE THiS to release their debut album.

After 5 years of relentless DiY ambition, the band released their debut album, "We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away) to great success signing a worldwide record deal with Swedish label, GMR MUSiC GROUP. The album has since been released in Scandanavia, Benelux & Italy on 27th January 2010; and Germany, Austria, Switzerland on 12th February 2010 (on GMR via Sony/BMG).

And they're about to do it all again having just announced that they will commence working on their 2nd album with legendary producer Chris Tsangarides of Ozzy Osbourne, Thin Lizzy and Anvil fame.

Lord Zion, the bands vocalist hunted us down to tell us everything you need to know about the glam punk rockers!

How and when did the band come together and what is the particular inspiration behind the name "Spit Like This"?
The name comes from the day that I met Vikki. It was in London, in a club, we were both totally drunk but I was happy as I had met a girl version of me. The fact she played bass was a bonus! The night ended with us having a spitting competition outside the club with me showing Vikki how to “spit like this”. Fast forward a year or so, after we had decided to form a band, we were looking for a name. We pondered several names before deciding on SPiT LiKE THiS. Two that particularly sticks in my mind is Viper Room 69 and Sick Sisters, which is quite awful! Anyway, we wanted a name that summed up our attitude and we got chatting about how we met and recalled that competition. And that was it. It had the punk vibe we wanted, attitude, aggression, it wasn’t “safe”, it was memorable and could also be sexy. Shortly after, we got it tattooed so we couldn’t change it!

Can you introduce each member of the band and give us a rock n roll “fact” for each?
LORD ZiON: That’s me, co-founder of the band and vocalist. My rock n roll fact would be that I once set fire to a guy for wearing an Iron Maiden jacket. Neither of us were very amused.

ViKKi SPiT: Bassist and co-founder. Her biggest rock n roll story is that we used to sell her used underwear on eBay to earn the money to record our first EP.

ViLE GiLEZ: Drummer and longest-serving member behind me and Vikki. My god, there are so many rock n roll facts I could draw on here… How can I pick just one?! OK, he won’t thank me but once, whilst on a major bender, VG picked up a hooker in Brixton and had her sucking on his cock for about half an hour, but it wouldn’t go hard as he had a major case of coke cock. So, he chucked her out of his car and drove home. He lost his license and almost went to jail shortly after that.

CYNDi ROTT: Guitarist with possibly the best rock n roll story of us all! Shortly after he joined, we had our first photo shoot. Part of the shoot involved us all getting covered in fake blood (as you do). Cyndi couldn’t be bothered to clean up so drove home that way, topless as the blood is really sticky. He had to pull into a petrol station to fill up and, when he did, his car promptly caught on fire! The fire brigade arrived to find this man, seemingly covered in bloody, trying to put out his car that was on fire in a petrol station. Classic!

What do you think the band bring to the worldwide rock scene that you feel is currently missing?
I look around and I don’t see another band like us. We’re intense and aggressive live yet have a fun, playful side. We also look really good so people aren’t appalled by our faces! Our music is a combination of glam, punk and rock – which is something I don’t see around too much. Our visual appeal goes beyond the way we look and extends to our artwork, something we are very concious of. We try to be as unique as possible, but not in a contrived sense. SPiT LiKE THiS is more than just a band, it’s an attitude and a way of life. We have a neat equation that describes us: Sex + Subversion x Style = SPiT LiKE THiS.

In July you commence recording your second album with Chris Tsangarides who has produced albums for such legendary artists such as Ozzy, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and most recently Anvil. How is the songwriting coming along and what are you looking for from Chris in taking this 2nd album to the next level?
We are REALLY excited about bagging Chris. Before we even started this process, we had a list of “dream” producers and he was on it. When I contacted him and he seemed responsive, I couldn’t quite believe it. When we met him and he was a great guy, that was a massive bonus. Look at it from our point of view: we literally started with nothing, having to sell used underwear to scrape the cash to get going. And now we are working with a Grammy nominated producer! Life doesn’t get much weirder.

As for the songwriting, up until now, I have been the main songwriter. It was something I needed to prove to myself and I needed to establish what SLT was all about. Well, that’s done now and we have grown together as a band. Our sound has grown and, as an ensemble, we are quite unique. We wanted to give it a go, writing as a band. To be frank, I thought it was going to be a disaster: 4 strong characters locked in a room trying to create music is a recipe for chaos but I think, as we share one common goal, it worked out really good.

The new songs we are writing seem to be a natural progression to what has come before. Personally, I am spending much more time on the lyrics than I had in the past (I’m still the sole lyric writer and it finally dawned on me that people actually listen to them!) and drawing heavily on our experiences of the last couple of years, good and bad. The songs are much more autobiographical and a bit nastier. It’s exciting and I cannot wait to hear them for the first time as recorded by Chris. I believe he will help establish the SLT sound once and for all.

Your first album "We Won't Hurt You (But We Won't Go Away)” has been released throughout the UK, a lot of Europe and even in the land Down Under and New Zealand. What has the interest in the band been thus far outside of the UK? Have you had much interest coming from Australia as yet?
It’s very strange for us as, within the UK, we are a fairly well-established band. We are kind of used to a particular level of recognition. Of course, outside of the UK, we are nothing so, in that respect, it’s like starting at the beginning again. The difference this time is that we aren’t on such a steep learning curve, although every territory has it’s unique slant. I can always tell when our record is about to come out in a new country as I start getting lots of people from that country add me on Facebook and our website starts getting more hits from it. So far, so good! We are getting a lot of reviews – which either seem to be REALLY good, or REALLY bad – and we are getting people talking. We polarise opinion, which is a strength as it means we are igniting people’s passion. As soon as you can do that, you are on to a winner!

We have always had a little bit of interest from Australia – I guess all English speaking countries – so I was so glad when I learned our CD was coming out there. We got our video played on Rage TV which, from what I can make out, is a pretty big deal, so that is awesome. I just wish that I understood more about how the Australian & New Zealand market worked – I don’t even know where you guys go to buy CD’s online!

You have certainly shared the stage with some of the biggest names in hard rock and some of the more visual bands in rock, such as Twisted Sister, The 69 Eyes and W.A.S.P. For those of us that live in galaxies far, far, away and haven't witnessed your live show....tell us what we are missing!
Excitement and energy. We love playing live – that’s the whole point of being in a band – so, cliché or not, we really do give it as much as we can. I used to start our sets by telling the audience that, the better we are, the better they are and, the better they are, the better we are. And it is so true. The live experience is one to be shared, not just viewed, so we always try to reach out and touch every member of the audience. Not physically, you understand! But it can be hard for someone right at the back to get in to the vibe, but we normally win everyone over. We are quite relentless!

Everything from your website, promo pictures and video clips etc is all visually strong. Is this something that as a band you have full control over...from concept, design to end product?
That’s my department and we do have total control over it. I cannot imagine it any other way. How can anyone, other than us, determine what we should be? That, as a concept, is beyond me! So I tend to have these crazy ideas then spend an awful lot of time working out how to execute them. Some work better than others but, on the whole, I think I do a good job! Like I said before, SLT is more than just a band so, when people buy our CD, they are buying more than just music. They are subscribing to an attitude and becoming part of our history.

We are living quite extraordinary lives, getting to do things that most people never, ever get to do. Given that opportunity, why wouldn’t you go over the top??! I never got the grunge thing when that happened, it seemed so pointless to me. They didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves or making the most of it and that, to me, was such a lie. Here was this movement, seemingly full of sincerety yet the people creating the music were just as rich and obnoxious as anyone from Mötley Crüe! More so, in fact, as they were saying one thing but doing another. Back to SLT, we have the chance to have ourselves potrayed as 100 foot tall characters looming large over London. OK, I’ll do that! We have the chance to shoot a video in a crazy house full of mad props. OK, I’ll do that! And we will keep on doing these things for as long as we can!

I think it's now the perfect time for a brief advertisement. Here's your chance to tell us all about smellyourmum.com and why we should support the merch on this website...
Shortly after we formed SPiT LiKE THiS, Vikki and I realised that we needed to do something other than sell used panties to earn money. I had these ideas for offensive slogan T-shirts so part of the panty money went in to setting up smellyourmum.com. The basic premis was that we needed the freedom being self-employed brings so we can always do the band stuff without having to ask for time off. We also wanted to do something that complimented the band. And, finally, we enjoyed the notion of offending loads of people with our sweary T-shirts!

We started off with just 6 designs. Vikki learnt to screen print and I quickly became a master of website coding. Those 6 designs have now expanded to 4 or 500 designs and the site is nudging 12million hits! It wasn’t supposed to take off in such a big way; since launching the shopping site in 2004, we have sold literally tens of thousands of T-shirts – every single one of them hand printed by Vikki. She has painful RSI as a result and has to have her thumb in ice water twice a day to cope with the pain.

To this day, I design the T-shirts, put them on the site, process the orders and Vikki prints them. On the most basic level, every single T-shirt sold helps fund SLT. It pays for our rent, our food and our share of SLT. We have total punk DIY ethics and just get on with it. On the broader level, every item we sell is a genuine rock n roll artifact.

We ship free worldwide as well, and have many Australian customers. We even had comedienne Christina Davis (who I believe was on your version of Big Brother?) buy some of our tees to wear on her tour in Oz!

Is there much of a glam/punk rock scene in London/UK in 2010? Do you find that your fellow country people "GET" bands like Spit Like This, or do you find that some of your neighbouring countries like Germany show a bigger interest in this kind of music and visual appeal?
Um, no, I think we are it! When we started out, we were a fly in the ointment on the London scene. No-one was doing anything remotely close to what we were doing, so we grew pretty quick. London did have a fairly healthy rock scene but, mainly, they were copycat bands, clones of stuff like Guns N Roses, not putting their own spin on it. So the scene quickly imploded. We are our own scene though and don’t subscribe to anything. Some people REALLY get what we do, other people don’t have a clue. It’s funny! And I’m sure it is something we will encounter in most countries. Our strongest selling point though is our live show. It’s pretty much universally acknowledged that we are awesome live! So, the more people we can play in front of in other countries, the better!

Is there any such thing as a typical "Spit Like This" fan, or are they all a differen't breed unto themselves?
I’ve thought long and hard about this – over the years, not just now. I’m really interested in marketing and understand how important that is for a band, especially in this day and age. One of the first things any marketing book will say is “identify your audience and target them”. So, I have sat down and tried to do that, and I can’t! I am sure there is something that unites all SPiT LiKE THiS fans, and it is probably the same thing that unites SPiT LiKE THiS itself. But I haven’t put my finger on it just yet!

There are some bands where you can say, “if you like Metallica, you will also like Slayer” – chances are, that is true. But we aren’t one of those bands. I can look out in the audience and see a glam fan, sleazy rock fan, goth fan, punk fan, guys, girls, classic rock fans, middle-aged people, teenagers and everyone and everything in between. So we appeal less to the “tribe” and more to the individual, which would make sense, as we are all individuals within the band.

The follow things we know play a part in the evolution of the band, can you give us some words about each:
a) Rocky Horror Show - a lot of our early reviews would mention The Rocky Horror Show – I think something about my voice reminded them of it? Or perhaps it was the dark, sexy nature of some of our early tracks. Whatever it was, as fans of the RHS, we thought we would work on a cover of “Sweet Transvestite”. We did, it worked and, live, it is HUGE! I think we’d be shot if we ever left it out of our set. So, we put it as a bonus on our disc and even have the seal of approval from Rocky creator, Richard O’Brien, who called it a “fab spin on an old favourite” – high praise indeed!

b) Freedom - I appreciate that we are lucky to live in a country that values freedom more than other countries but, especially since 9/11, a lot of our freedoms in the UK are under threat. Our government has gone a very long way in taking away the responsibility of the individual and creates new laws at the drop of a hat. I find this a worry. Already the UK has more CCTV cameras than any other country and we are truly under constant surveillance. You cannot get away with anything! And that is not a good thing. Human beings NEED a certain amount of freedom, some more than others but, at this rate, the whole country will be criminalised as we are ALL guilty of breaking various laws, bit or small. It can only end in revolution!

c) GMR Music Group - Our saviours! We love, love, LOVE Lena and GMR. She was the first to express an interest in us early 2008. Unfortunately, at the time, they weren’t in a position to take us on and we then got offered another deal, by a UK label. So, our album first got released in the UK in November 2008 but with no support. (Here’s how great Lena is, by the way, she actually purchased a copy of it!). We parted company with the UK label in 2009 and begged Lena to take us on to re-release our CD in the UK and release it across Europe. She was concerned about doing that as she’d had a bad experience doing something similar before. But I threatened to come and camp on her doorstep until she said Yes, which she eventually did. I now feel bad for her though as she IS experiencing problems due to the original release – but she isn’t complaining at it has been a pleasure to work with her. I am so excited about being able to give GMR an album to work with from scratch so they can do their job properly without these ugly problems coming up! We <3 GMR!

d) 70's B Movies - Are so much fun! 80’s ones too. I think it is quite obvious that we are heavily influenced by cinema. It is that exaggerated life we all crave. A lot of what we do, visually, is a nod toward various cinematic experiences we have had.

e) Sex Drugs & Heavy Metal - An important song in my life. It was written many years ago. Like most bands, our debut album has been written over years and years, not just a few months, and this song was one of the first. I wasn’t sure whether to include it or not – I have passed my “drugs” phase so it is maybe not as relevant to me as it once was – but I’m not preachy or straight edge about that sort of thing so, fuck it, it stays. Not only that but, for me, it is more a song about rebellion than specific things. It’s just saying “hey, do what you want with your life and don’t give me any shit” – and I still 100% subscribe to that!!

Lord Zion, thanks for taking the time and please add anything else you feel needs to be said.....
You have covered a lot, thank you. And many thanks for being the first Australian publication to interview us! I wish I could tell your readers where they can buy our CD from – but I haven’t a clue – so I will just say “the usual outlets”!! You can actually buy it direct from us, on our smellyourmum.com merch site. Again, free shipping!

Readers: GET INVOLVED! We stand for the individual and do not discriminate. Become part of our world and find a new family. We are here for your pleasure.

SEXSTONE

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 09:09:47 +1100

Driven by their philosophy that “if you can’t feel the music, then it’s not worth listening to,” the four piece Kentucky based powerhouse Sexstone draws on their brand of heavy rock with a vintage, almost psychedelic edge to explore, on their highly anticipated debut album, “The Painful Side of True”. Sexstone is currently working in the studio with producer Brandon Mashburn, recording tracks for their latest release due to drop later this year.

We caught up with bass player Trent Riley to introduce us to the band.

How and when did the band come together and what is the inspiration behind the name?
We actually formed in 2004 with a slightly different lineup. We reformed in 2007 while looking for a female vocalist to do a different project covering 80's ballads, but just couldn't find the right vocalist. We resorted to sending out random e-mails through Myspace and Facebook just asking if anybody new any singers. Steve Bauer responded stating "I don't quite fit the female criteria, but I write and sing)...he also sent us a rough copy of the song "Falling Away" (which became "The Fall") and we just loved the song and the lyrics. We brought him in to audition and just loved his songs! That is what started us on this new path. As far as the name goes...It just signifies all things ROCK to us...Come to a show and we'll show you what it means!!!

Can you introduce each member of the band and give us a rock n roll “fact”for each!
Steve Bauer / Vocals - love watching the Golden Girls!
Steve Wheeler / Guitar - Once played in nothing but zebra striped underwear and combat boots
Trent Riley / Bass - Nikki Sixx once laid his broken bass in my arms
Bryan Thomas / Drums - Sometimes plays in just his boxers

For those people who haven’t yet checked out your songs on Myspace etc, can you describe the music of Sexstone?
Our motto is "If you can't feel the music, then it's not worth listening to!" Our music is emotionally driven and everyone who listens can take a piece from each song and apply it to their own lives.

You have a new album due out in 2010 and a track from that "The Fall" can be heard on your Myspace page. When do you expect to have the album released and how is it all coming along?
We are working with producer Brandon Mashburn (Trust Company, Machina, We Are The Fallen, etc...) in Springfield MO. We are going back to the studio in early March to finish up tracks for a 5 song EP. Brandon is just an amazing producer and so laid back and easy to work with.We are shooting for an early Spring release, and can't wait to let everyone hear it! We're also recutting "Land Down Under" with Brandon!!!

Who are some of your favourite bands that may of influenced the bands sound?
We listen to so many different styles but here's a few favs...Third eye blind, Our lady peace, Matchbox Twenty, Kiss, Motley Crue, GnR, STP, Alice in Chains, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin.

When it comes to songwriting, what are some of the key elements to a song that Sexstone have as a priority?
Emotion and real life experiences ... Our first album "The Painful Side of True" is basically a diary of Bauer's life just set to music.

Is songwriting something that is shared amongst the band, or do you all contribute elements to the songs? Lyrically no, but usually the basic music and structure are brought in and then we as a band tweak it and mould it into what we feel is the right fit for the song, a song may change 100 times before we actually finish it!

What kind of a rock scene does Western Kentucky have which is where you hale from? Where do you see the band fitting into both the worldwide and USA scene?
Western KY doesn't have much of a scene...we've had to really create our own by renting buildings and throwing our own shows. We do a lot of traveling to the larger cities like Louisville KY, Nashville TN, and Evansville IN. We come away from every show with new fans, and that is just so amazing...as far as the U.S. and the World Goes...We'll be taking over soon!

What has the interest in the band been thus far in the USA and also internationally via your Website and Myspace etc?
We couldn't have done this without the help of all the internet radio stations and webzines. We are getting airplay on stations all over the world now and have fans in several different countries. It's really wild what you can do if you work at it. You can't just put the songs on myspace and let them sit. You've really got to get out there and push the songs to the people.

What do you think the band bring to the rock scene that is currently missing?
Pure Emotionally Driven Rock...We don't use gimmicks, or props...we just take the stage and let the songs speak for themselves!

Given your location in rural America so to speak, do you get the opportunity to play live shows as much as you would like? Do you have any major touring plans lined up?
We're just now really starting to get out and about...We're heading to TX on March 18th for SXSW. We will tour regionally all summer long this year and hopefully catch a few breaks along the way. We are swapping shows with some great bands in our tri-state area like Halo Stereo, Bonejinn, November, and many more. It's going to be a very interesting year for us!

If there's anything else you feel the world should know, but we haven't covered with our questions, here's your chance to tell all.....
Just want to say Thank You for giving us the chance to speak here, and thanks to all of our fans who support us day in and day out! Come out and catch us live if we're in your area...Follow us on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc...
You can grab our 1s album "The Painful Side of True" on iTunes and CD Baby now, and be on the lookout for our 5 song EP this spring.
Thank You!!!

KENNI DENILE

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 08:28:17 +1100

To kick it off, tell us a bit about your background, who you are and where you’ve come from…
I was born in Denver, Colorado and was adopted as an infant. I had always known that I was adopted and that my father was a musician and my mother was an immigrant from Germany. My first word that I remember saying was music. I was always different, felt out of place and that no one saw what I saw. The family I grew up in, wasn’t a musical family and since I was the oldest, it was up to me to discover music for myself. My first records that I bought were Van Halen I and Cheap Trick – Live at Budokan. I was playing the drums then and that music really lit me up. When I was 17, I joined my first band as a singer and I have been doing it ever since. There was a time though, when I gave up music all together. The style of music that I play wasn’t big anymore, my band at the time was falling apart and I had let some of the negative things that can happen, really get to me. I felt like all of my support was gone. Once again, even in my band, I felt abandoned. About 5 years would pass before I picked it up again. Music is a part of my soul and it just kept tugging at me. At this point I don’t see how I could ever stop playing and writing. Music is in my blood, it’s what makes me tick. I’m a stronger person for my experiences and I absolutely LOVE playing live! I so can’t wait to get on stage and just go off!!!

You’ve just released your first solo album ‘Dreamer’ available via your website, how long was this in the making and why was now the right time to do it?
Dreamer took longer than I thought it would to make. About 2 and a half years. As far as the timing, it just felt right. And it came together, musically, exactly the way I pictured it would. This wasn’t a project that was forced or contrived, it has always been inside of me and the time for it to come out is now. I also feel that my kind of music is making a return in popularity. I know that I’m tired of hearing a bunch of wining about how hard your childhood was or how dark you’re feeling. I mean that stuff is real and I get having an outlet, in 1 or 2 songs, but I also get that people want to go to a show sometimes to have fun, ya know? I, for one, love to see a killer band with great sound and lights and music that just lifts you up to a place you’d forgotten about. To me, that’s Rock N’ Roll! No need to whine or bitch, just get up and let the music move ya’!

For those that haven’t heard your songs, how would you describe your sound to our readers?
I call my music retro-futurist. Like Van Halen meets Journey. Lyric driven songs with big choruses and smoking leads.

Tell us how the songs came together, was it a lengthy process in getting them the way they turned out?
This was a very lengthy process. I had a certain presumption of how the recording process worked based on my earlier efforts in Colorado, but when I decided to become a solo artist and be solely responsible for the music and all that comes with it, it turned out to be a much bigger task than what I was used to. That said, I loved it and can’t wait for the next time I get into the studio. Overall, it took a little over 2 years to complete. A lot of that time was spent raising money, since I’m self-funded and have a family to feed, that took a lot of extra effort.

But in retrospect, that extra time was a blessing because it gave my wife Sabrina and I the space to live with the music, in it’s early stages and helped to create solid ideas for the most important part which is the mix. Sabrina was a big part of this process. She co-produced the songs with me and co-wrote on a few of them as well. As far as the songs coming together, that is and always has been a pretty smooth process for me. I was very fortunate to work with some amazing musicians that were able to take my ideas as well as my rough demos and interpret them just about perfectly.

You have a message that states ‘Dream Big, Live Free’ explain how this came to you and just what it means to you
Well, to me, Dream Big, Live Free means to do that which fulfills you, that makes you feel right with the world. Doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else, what matters is that what you do is truly what you feel and that it helps you to be a better you. Don’t be concerned if it seems too far out there, just go for it man! And I believe that when you go after that which makes you whole, you will truly be free. It’s kind of like that old saying “If you love your job, you won’t work a day in your life.”

Who are some of your favourite bands or artists that may have influenced you and your sound?
Well, my all time favorite band is Mötley Crüe. No doubt about it. I still remember when I first heard Shout at the Devil. Life changing. I really like Jane’s Addiction, Godsmack and Marilyn Manson. As far as Influences go; again, Mötley tops the list for overall vision of what a band should be as entertainers. Musically my influences are Dio, Maiden, Priest, Cheap Trick, Van Halen and of course the Beatles. All bands with great melodies and strong vocals.

If there was one song that you wish you could’ve written, what would it be and why?
The song I wish I had written would probably be ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. Pretty much sums up my view of the world inside of a great melody.

You’ve said you’re ready to play some shows but you at that point had no band. Have you managed to find the musicians who will help pass on the message of the Dreamer?
At this time, I am still working on building a band. Living in Nashville, there are countless professional musicians here that I could enlist and they would be killer. But for now, the hunt is still on.

What can we expect in 2010 and beyond from you?
2010 will hopefully see me hitting some big stages. I feel something is in the works right now that will change a lot of things. I am an entertainer and I look forward to getting back on stage. Beginning work on a new studio album would be awesome too!

Lastly, you have free reign, anything you want to add, plug or share, now is your chance.
I would encourage people who are into melodic rock to go to my website http://kennidenile.com download my record ‘Dreamer’, share it with their friends and sign up for my mailing list so that I can keep them in the loop.

Being a dreamer, or someone who goes out on their own, is not an easy task and honestly, isn’t for everyone. But if you feel like you are being pulled in a direction that you can’t explain, you just know it feels right, then you need to go in that direction and see where it takes you. I am still searching, learning and sometimes wandering, but I know who I am and what I love to do. I would hope that my music reaches people and inspires them to go out and kick some ass at whatever it is that they do. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but there is one creed that I do try to live by; “To follow your dreams is to follow your heart and to be set free.” I can’t wait to see you all out there, somewhere, in the world on the road. I love playing rock n roll and I love singing for people! I hope that you’ll let me be your Dreamer.

I want to thank MTRBWY for giving me the opportunity to share my story and thoughts with you.

Peace.
Kenni DeNile

Thanks Kenni, May the Rock be with You!

NIGHT BY NIGHT

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 21:51:45 +1100

“Night By Night chose their name wisely. Their songs come to life in darkness, when life’s normal rules cease to apply – and those who listen are united by the adrenaline rush ignited by the music.

Hailed by the British and international rock press as a force to be reckoned with on a rock and metal scene that has become sterile, this London-based four-piece – fronted by The Sisters of Mercy guitarist Ben Christo – have made giant steps since their formation in 2008 and are poised to make an enormous impact with their new EP Can’t Walk Away, produced by Romesh Dodangoda of Funeral For A Friend and Bullet For My Valentine fame.

The secret behind Night By Night’s music is their modern update on classic rock, with its fusion of searing guitar riffs, widescreen vocal harmonies and a flawless modern production that casts a powerful spotlight on the band’s superb musicianship. You’ll hear Def Leppard and Bon Jovi in the Night By Night sound, but there’s plenty of unexpected (but awe-inspiring) creativity from the schools of Faith No More, My Chemical Romance and Mötley Crüe too.

If you need any more reasons to spend some quality time with Night By Night, just ask the thousands of fans who have witnessed their support slots with rock legends such as Y&T, The Quireboys, Heaven’s Basement, Adam Bomb, London After Midnight, Kory Clarke of Warrior Soul and Dear Superstar. They’ve toured Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Poland, with more international dates stretching into the future.

“We are melodic, intense, uplifting and totally for real,” says Christo. “A hell of a lot of people relate to our music, both in its lyrical content and its anthemic qualities. We’re incredibly passionate – our songs and live performance mean everything to us.”

How and when did the band come together and what is the inspiration behind the name?
Jonny: The band had been under several guises but really took shape when, in 2008, Ben (lead vocals and guitars) and myself (bass, vocals) started writing together, then Iain Frisk(guitar, vocals) joined and the solid foundation was born. Moyano (drums) completed the line-up.

Iain: Ben and Jonny had been playing together in various bands and projects. Then Ben and I met in a (now demolished) underground rock club in London; I think we may have met by singing harmonies at each other! Moyano and Jonny used to play in a previous band, we got in touch and everything just *clicked*.

Ben: There’s a saying in the UK that refers to the progression of time in a monotonous, repetitive fashion – 'day by day'. In contrast, the ‘night by night’ experiences in life are often those that are dramatic and emotionally charged. Our songs are often inspired by these highly-compelling experiences.

Can you introduce each member of the band and give us a rock n roll “fact”for each!
Iain: Ben Christo is our lead singer and guitarist, and also plays guitar for The Sisters Of Mercy. That’s both a fact and rock ’n’ roll, right? Moyano El Buffalo is our drummer, and proof of the “survival of the fittest” theory. Let’s summarise by saying that the morning after our first gig, he woke up in Berlin airport. It took him a week to get back to London, the day before our next show. Jonny Thornton, on Bass, used to make his own pyrotechnics for one of his previous bands. Needless to say, the last time he did this, everyone had to evacuate and the club was closed down - forever. I’m Iain Frisk, and when I moved to London to start a band, I had only a guitar, a sleeping bag, and Lemmy’s autobiography.

For those people who haven’t yet checked out your songs on Myspace, can you describe the music of Night By Night?
Ben: Melodic hard rock. Intense and anthemic, both brooding and uplifting, employing classic song-writing sensibilities which are executed with contemporary vigor. Night by Night aim to fuse infectious melody with searing intensity, whilst retaining musical and lyrical integrity.

Jonny: It combines the power and emotive aspects of 80's rock with the loud and aggressive guitars of contemporary rock.

You have recently released your 3 track EP on ITUNES which features the killer song “Can’t Walk Away”. When can we expect more recordings or an album from you guys?
Jonny: We're currently working on more tracks for our debut album and sometime in 2010, we hope it will be gracing your ears.

Who are some of your favourite bands that may of influenced the band's sound?
Jonny: Some of the staples of arena rock are in there, such as Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and various other 80's bands (some of whom were, unfortunately, lost in the swell of hair metal). Then more modern bands such as Thrice and Sevendust.

Ben: Sevendust, Katatonia, Killing Joke, AC/DC, Strung Out, Boysetsfire, FM, The Wildhearts, Thrice, Winger, The Cure, Judas Priest, Bon Jovi, AFI, Nik Kershaw, Harem Scarem and early Manic Street Preachers (Richey James is/was(?) a great lyricist).

Iain: It’s not just bands that have influenced our sound. A lot of our vocal harmonies are influenced by folk and classical music.

When it comes to song-writing, what are some of the key elements to a song that Night By Night have as a priority?
Jonny: It's all about the chorus - if you don't have that, you don't have anything. That's the hook and the key thing an audience will take away. Other than that, catchy riffs and our three-part vocal harmonies.

Iain: Often we’ll write a verse or pre-chorus that most bands would use for their main chorus!

What kind of a rock scene does London have right now for the kind of music that you play? Where do you see the band fitting into both the worldwide and UK scene?
Jonny: At the moment there is a real variety on the London scene. Being a major music city, there's pretty much everything on offer, if you look for it. I reckon what we have in our favour is a fresh approach to one of the biggest sub-genres of rock. It's contemporary but retains a classic edge.

Iain: The London rock scene is so varied, from the heavy, hardcore music to classic rock, metal, punk and pop-punk scene. A lot of these people are surprisingly open-minded about music, and will tell you that they won’t classify it or analyse it; just that if it’s good, they like it. If you approach our music expecting something heavy, it’s there in the guitars and drums, and if you expect something melodic and catchy, it’s there in the vocals. So, we reckon that we'll appeal to a broad range of rock fans.

What has the interest in the band been thus far in the UK and also internationally via your Website and Myspace etc?
Ben: We seem to have tapped into something that many people, worldwide, have been missing for a while – melodic hard rock...with integrity. We've had received messages from around the globe from rock fans, from 3 generations, who have made an instant connection with Night by Night's sound and direction.

Iain: The countries where we’ve received the warmest reception so far has been the UK, US, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Japan. The thing that makes me most proud about this band is that every single venue we’ve played at so far, without fail, has asked us to come back and play again.

What can people expect when they come and rock out to a Night by Night live show?
Jonny: Great songs, entertaining stage show and killer 3 part vocals.
Iain: Tough guitars, spine-tingling harmonies, catchy choruses and heavy beats.

You have played gigs with an interesting collection of bands thus far which actually include some of our favourites in Y&T, Heaven's Basement and The Quireboys. Do you have a memorable gig that stands out so far in the band's history?
Jonny: We've played with some bigger bands that you'd expect would be the better gigs but in reality my personal favourite was Lenzburg (Switzerland) in 2009 - just a great night, but man, that was a hot stage!

Iain: Playing in an abandoned abattoir somewhere in Poland. And whilst I can’t remember where this was, but the first time we started to see people singing along.

Ben: The London show we just played. For me, it was a milestone in the band's history. I'd come to London to start a melodic hard rock band and, now, it's really happening – playing to a crowd of people singing along! I feel as if our ambitions have truly begun to be realised and am so excited about what's to come in '10!

What do you think the band bring to the rock scene that is currently missing?
Jonny: I believe there are far too many bands putting their "look" before their music. That's not going to end well. I think we have a good balance of playing well and getting the image right.
Iain: If there’s anything I’d like this band to achieve, it would be to bring back three part harmonies to heavy rock music.

You have a couple of shows lined up already in the first half of 2010, what are the plans for the rest of 2010?
Jonny: Get the album recorded and released and then, well, world-domination.
Honest answer.

If there's anything else you feel the world should know, but we haven't covered with our questions, here's your chance to tell all.....
Ben: Stay in touch with us:

www.myspace.com/nightbynightmusic
www.nightbynight.co.uk

Can't Walk Away is available on iTunes. Please buy it and help us afford to record the debut album!

ANGELS

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:34:09 +1100

Hands up who can name a rock band from Croatia? Well in a perfect world, that will all soon change with Angels, one of the most exciting bands to come onto the melodic rock scene in recent years, well at least since H.E.A.T! The all girl band play a unique blend of popular rock in the vein of bands such as Bon Jovi and mostly comparable to the band Vixen. With their album “Rock The World” due out in Croatian later this year, an English version will follow in early 2010, an album that features songs written by Jakob Samuel from The Poodles and also feature the talents of Lord Tim from Australian metal band LORD.

Even more remarkable is the fact that 3 members of the band are only 20 and bass player Tea is 19. Having been together now for seven years, they just missed out on going to Eurovision as a full band when they were only 17 years old. The band were finalists and clearly the viewers favourites but it was the year that Croatia's biggest pop-star of 15 years (Severina) made an entry so the girls just missed out. A public outrcry followed proving just how popular the band had become amongst music circles in Croatia!

A few weeks away from heading to Australia to play a bunch of shows, we caught up with bass player Tea who gave us all we need to know about the band and the upcoming tour! Be sure to check the bands Myspace and Website for all tour date information.

How and when did the band come together and what is the inspiration behind the name?
Well, the band got together 7 years ago, we were all going to music school except Irena, who we met singing in the choir together. In music school we played classical music, that music is great but we all were kind of into rock music, especially Bon Jovi, cause we are all big fans. In our town only boys were playing in bands so we decided that we are going to form an all girl band and this is how things started.

For those people who haven’t yet checked out your songs on Myspace, can you describe the type of music that the Angels play?
If you haven’t checked our songs yet: What are you waiting for? Heh!
Our type of music is melodic rock, It’s not very heavy so something like Bon Jovi, The Poodles... People that are into melodic rock, arena rock, AOR, hard rock and even melodic heavy metal will enjoy what we do.

Who are some of your favourite bands that may of influenced the Angels sound?
I have to say again Bon Jovi, than the Poodles who have been a great help to us especially Jakob Samuel who gave us some songs, Whitesnake, Guns ‘n’ Roses, AC/DC, Manowar, Kiss, Bryan Adams, Vixen, Doro Pesch, U2 and other bands from this genre of music.

You are coming to play a bunch of shows in Australia next month. Can you tell us how this tour came about, as it sure is a long way from home for you girls!
Ooo, it all came so soon J, we still can’t believe that this is happening...person guilty for all this is Steve Ravić, we met Steve like a year ago, we recorded a song ‘Slave of Love’ for his movie. We were thrilled with collaboration, so we signed a contract, so Steve is now our manager and first thing about his plan was to finish our album and then tour in Australia, so we get down to business and here we are, In a few weeks we’ll be in Australia, at first we were a little bit scared, Matilda was, she is a little bit scared of planes (we will give her some pills!), but we are big girls, we are looking forward to this, it’s a once in a life opportunity.

What are you looking forward to most about your visit to Australia?
We are all different and we like different things but one thing it’s for sure we are looking forward to playing in Australia, yes, we like see, beaches, we hope to try some Australian food, see the kangaroos, koalas, swim with the dolphins and some of us with sharks, but playing in Australia is much more important then those other things, we will rock your world, hey!

What kind of a rock scene does Croatia have for the kind of rock music that you play?
Well each kind of music has its own fans, so does rock, but unfortunately folk music it’s a little bit popular. That does not worry us because there are lot of excellent bands in Croatia and more and more people are supporting that. There are a lot of live concerts, lot of festivals and a lot of opportunities for bands but the missing part is that all this needs much more media support so that people could know that something is happening.

Where do you see the band fitting into both the worldwide and Croatian scene?
We definitely see a place reserved for usJ, but it would be stupid to say we want to be like Bon Jovi, of course we would like that, but our biggest dream is to play music that we love and then people will recognize our passion our place is waiting for us, it’s just a matter of time, with help from our fans it’s all possible.

What has the interest been thus far in the Angels both in Croatia and also internationally via your Website and Myspace etc?
We are very happy with the comments we got, there’s really been a lot of them and we have a lot of positive mainstream attention from Croatia. It’s really great to know, that besides your closest friends and family you got support all over Croatia and the world, especially in Australia, there’s a big thanks to Steve who’s our big promoter there. We got a lot of concerts because of Myspace and our Website, people can hear us and that’s the most important thing...

You recently finished recording your album “Rock The World”, in both Croatian and English versions. Can you tell us all about the album? Will it be ready for purchase during your Australian tour?
Yes, our first born, we are very proud of this album, we put a lot of effort into this and I think that everyone can see. There are a lot of people who helped us with it, helped us made our songs the way they are. There are 10 songs who are mix of songs we wrote, songs that other people wrote, like Lord Tim (LORD/Dungeon), Mario Šimunović. I won’t tell you anything else, because this way you’ll have to listen to it for your self! We want things to be perfect, so for the English version, you will have to wait until after Australia tour... But there will be a special tour version in Croatian with a few bonus songs that will be on the English version early next year.

If you had the choice of touring the world with 2 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
I’m a little bit annoying heh, definitely Bon Jovi, ‘cause Bon Jovi is our role model, we love their songs, and second one is tough, I think answers would be different, some of us would say U2, some of us Guns ‘n’ Roses, some of us Queen, The Poodles, it’s very tough to say.

In recent years awesome melodic rock bands like H.E.A.T, The Poodles and Wig Wam have competed to represent their countries in the Eurovision Song Contest. Are there any plans for you to do the same in 2010?
Maybe, we are considering the idea.

What do you think the Angels bring to the rock scene that is currently missing?
Something new, like we sometimes say, the x factor...we have great songs, we are all girls in the band, with soul and lot of love for music. I believe there hasn’t band like this for years, you have to love it.

Also, on top of performing our concert, we will have our own after party on stage where we will pay a lot of different cover songs. Of course, material by AC/DC and Bon Jovi, but also Bryan Adams and Survivor and some other very interesting material all rock up. So you get double the show!

After you get home from the Australian tour, what are the plans for the rest of 2010?
First to see our family! About music plans, definitely to play as many concerts as possible (to tour Croatia and Europe and Magic Circle Festival with Manowar is confirmed). To write songs for our second album which is going to be recorded by the end of the year. To tour the world, including Australia again ;-)

Thank you and see you on tour!

LOVEHAMMERS

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:08:35 +1100

“Lovehammers triumphant new disc, ‘Heavy Crown’, restores faith that heartfelt rock and roll can still thrive. With an inimitable and unpretentious sound, Chicago’s homegrown heroes punch out an album of thought-provoking, hook-injected airwave contenders that are long on hooks and incendiary riffs.

From the explosive opening salvo Guns to the soaring Honest Ill Wait, Lovehammers nail a variety of approaches with expert finesse. With sonic jewels like Your Time, My Time and the infectious Oh My Baby forging a direct line to the any self-respecting rock music fan, Heavy Crown offers a refreshing respite from todays over-compartmentalized musical climate. The fifth full length from the band was produced by heavy-hitting producer Marti Frederickson (Aerosmith, Buckcherry, Pink, Faith Hill, Papa Roach).”

May The Rock Be With You checked in with Dino Kourelis to chat about the bands killer new album.

For starters, a lot of people may know who you are, but can you introduce us to Lovehammers and give us a brief bio in your own words on the band?
We tend to call ourselves a gang, rather than a band. We have known each other our whole lives, and feel like that is what makes this thing called Lovehammers special. The most important part of the band is our extended family that have begun to call themselves Hammerheads. We love and cherish the relationship we have with our fans, and are also as accessible and open to them as humanly possible.

Most people would not know that Lovehammers had released 3 albums prior to your first major release in 2006, now 3 years on we finally get to hear ‘Heavy Crown’ your 5th studio album, what as a band happened over the last 3 years that led up to ‘Heavy Crown’ seeing the light of day?
We basically lived a ‘Behind the Music’ episode. We had some very bad advice, and the people that were handling our band didn’t seem to have our best interest in mind. In the end, we got ripped off, lied to, and everything was just a mess. It took 3 years to try and pick up the pieces – both mentally and from a band standpoint.

‘Heavy Crown’ is a great modern rock record and needs to be given kudos, so firstly, kudos on a great record, but we would like to know what the songwriting process was for the record?
This record was written, recorded, and mixed in about 3 months. Many of the performances are live, and without a real budget, we really didn’t have the luxury of top notch facilities. We were fortunate enough to get some studio time at CRC in Chicago and Marti F. was great, letting us use his studio for most of the vocals. Other than that, this CD was recorded in bedrooms and basements – LOL!

How was it working with producer Marti Frederickson producing the album?
Marti is great. We got to work with him on our last record, and he was generous enough to let us use his studio for vocals and also lend a helping hand with some of the songs. It is always great when you get someone of his stature willing to help enhance a song.

Lovehammers have a reputation as an energetic and passionate live band. Explain to those who haven’t the chance to see you perform, just what they are missing.
We are just a “real” band. Everything you hear is being played live – no backing tracks. We try to give the audience a unique experience every show. We always ad lib, so you never really know what you are going to hear from show to show. We always love the crowd and interacting with them. Before and after the show, you can always find us mingling amongst the crowd. If you come to a show, just plan on getting sweaty. It is just raw, live, rock.-n-roll.

From the shows what do you personally get from performing live?
We get the greatest satisfaction hearing the crowd sing back to us and have the songs impact them on a personal level. If we can do that, then we have done our job.

Your fans or ‘Hammerheads’ as they’ve been named, seem to be involved in the bands decisions, whether it be choosing singles or set lists or general promotion, this is mostly due to the bands requests. It’s awesome to see a band doing this with their fans, how important are the fans to you?
The fans have always been the most important thing for our band. Since our inception, we never really fit into one genre or a clique in the Chicago scene, so we had to kind of make our own. With no allies, the only thing that we had were our fans. We just kind of took over Chicago, because of this army that was being built and getting stronger called – HAMMERHEADS.

We would post our address on our website and invite all hammerheads to our house ‘hammerhouse” before and after every show. We figured the least we could do for everyone was supply a few kegs since our fans were spending $15 on a concert ticket. It wouldn’t be uncommon to have 500-1000 fans at our house before and after a show…..

Although Marty Casey didn’t win the job of fronting INXS, Lovehammers got to tour and open for them. Did they give you any words of wisdom for how to handle the new found fame you had by being on the show?
The guys in INXS were very helpful and willing to share their thoughts, and experiences. Tim and Kirk were especially kind to us throughout our time together. Every show, we would sit on the side of the stage trying to absorb as much as we could from them. These guys are legends, and one of the reasons we have become a band in the first place. Hopefully we can do some sows with them again.

What’s next on your agenda for the Hammerheads?
Next on the agenda is getting the fans more involved. We started REEP Records (Record Executives Everyday People) in order to give the power to the real music experts – the fans. Many bands get a false sense of security from a fast talking label big wig or rep, and we have unfortunately found that the reality is those people are really out of tune with what the true fans and public want. People say the Music Industry is declining, but the truth is that Artists are getting smarter and more involved and we are getting into a very exciting time.

What can we expect for the future of one of rocks up and coming bands Lovehammers?
Our first single off this record impacts on February 9. The sing is “Guns” and it is basically a homage and a thank you to all those brave men and women who risk and sacrifice their lives everyday in the armed forces. Although are album had a Midwest release, we will also have a Nationwide Release in 2010.
We hope to see everyone on the road!!!!!!

COLD DRIVEN

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:53:30 +1100

“Cold Driven was formed in early, 2005 by founding member’s vocalist Billy Nickell, bassist Dennis Nickell, guitarist Shane Bouthillier and guitarist Ben Bouthillier’s mutual passion for creating unique and original music. With the rock solid foundation of this band being brothers they recorded their debut album, “Set In Stone” (2005) and established themselves as a fresh new force in music, that revealed a multi-faceted group which thrives on creative exploration and escape.   With the nationwide release of “Steel Chambers” (2007), Cold Driven further reinforced their distinctive sound. On the strength of those songs, and extensive touring across Canada in 2008, CD pushed their first single “Heavier Than Heaven” to number 51 on the Canadian rock charts, solidifying a strong fan base across the country.   With recent changes to the band, CD looked to drummer and longtime friend Jeremy McLachlan from their hometown of Armstrong, B.C. to become their fifth and final member. With the core of the band together they now have their sights set on recording an explosive third record with producer Danny Craig from platinum recording artists Default.”

May The Rock Be With You checked in with vocalist Billy Nickell.

For those that haven’t heard of Cold Driven, can you give us a quick introduction to the band?
We are a 5-piece band out of Armstrong, B.C. Canada. We have been together for about 5 years now, toured Canada extensively, released two albums and are working on our third.

How would you describe your sound?
We are a melodic hard rock group laced with sequencing elements that range from industrial to symphonic.

You’ve been a band since 2005 and in that time have released 2 albums, how have you grown both as a band and musically over your time together?
Oh man that's a big question! When we first started we basically we're a bunch of kids with a ton of different musical styles, and no boundaries. We just wanted to make some music that explored all those styles, and created a different sound. We also liked having an excuse to get together and drink!
Over the years, we have learned a lot about writing cohesive songs, both musically and lyrically. We have focused our sound a lot more, and I think we've began to create an identity. We have a rule of thumb when we writing new material, we ask ourselves "does that sound Cold Driven enough?" And what that basically means is, we want someone to hear one of our riffs, or lyrics or melodies and be able to identify it as Cold Driven right away. It's taken a few years to find where we are comfortable musically and where our strengths are as a band. So we like to stay within that identity, and feel like we are offering something new for listeners.

I think one of the things that has helped us get to the point that we are at musically is how we have dealt with each other personally. We have been through a lot of fights, and poured and lot of blood sweat and tears into this band. Every struggle we've come up against has made us closer and given us the ability to hear each other out, both musically and personally. (So we've basically learned how to tolerate each other!!) We got to the point that we are comfortable with who we are as individuals and as a group. Because we have been through a lot of growth personally, it's allowed to a more mature sound in the music.

Who are some of your main musical influences?
One thing that I think we all relate on was our love for hard rock. We listen to a lot of metal as well and we like to pull in elements of that when we feel like we need it. Some of the bands that have influenced us are Linkin Park, Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Soilwork, and In flames.

‘Steel Chambers’ was released in 2007 and was in essence self produced, its now 2009 and you’re working on a new album with producer / Default band member Danny Craig. What can we expect from this new record and when can we expect to hear the end result?
Working with Danny on this record has been great. He challenged us to make every part better than the last, and so far we haven’t settled on anything until we knew it was great. We are trying to make the absolute best product that we can at this point in time. He has helped us look at writing differently, trying things outside of the box, but still being us. So far on this record we tried to get back to the heavier and darker side of things, both lyrically and musically. We don’t have a release date for the new album, but you can expect to see it in early 2010.

From all reports, Cold Driven are at their best on stage and have opened for some big Canadian artists such as Default, Sam Roberts and Corb Lund. Did you pick up any tips from any of these seasoned professionals?
We are a band that thrives on getting better, so any time we have a chance to share a stage with a well respected band, we absorb everything we can. Playing with bands like this has taught us to give 150%, and leave it all out on the stage every night. You have to be professional on and off stage. You have to practice, practice, practice!

If you had the choice of touring with 2 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
I know everyone in the band would have different answers for this one, but personally I would love to tour with Three Days Grace. I am a huge fan of the band, especially Adam Gontier, he is one of my all time favorite vocalists. I’m sure I would annoy him to death trying to pick his brain all the time. Another band that I would love to have the chance to tour with is Linkin Park. They’re a band that has personally influenced me a lot. It would massive honor to share the stage with either band, and I think I could learn so much from both bands.

Do you have any plans to try and take Cold Driven to any other territories outside of Canada?
We really want to go the US and Europe. I know when the right opportunity comes by we will be heading both of those directions.

Lastly, what does success look like for Cold Driven?
I don’t believe in thinking small, so success to me looks like headlining arena tours. I want people to come see us with a large production. I want Cold Driven to be the reason why 15,000+ bodies walk through the doors of a stadium. I also want every person that walks through those doors to leave feeling like they just saw one of the best shows of their lives.

DOMENICA

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:50:54 +1100

“Full-throttle guitar and hook-filled rock defines Winnipeg based quartet Domenica. A perfect balance of metalcore and pop infused with melodic vocals, Domenica is gritty, dark and honest - everything hard rock should be.

Wrapped up tight in the intense vocal folds of Bekki Friesen and rock-solid rhythms from bassist/vocalist Kurtis Wittmier is lead guitarist/vocalist Josh Bedry and drummer Steve Hrycyshyn. The members of Domenica come from a primarily self-taught musical background that started in their respective early childhoods, proving the deep-seated passion for the music they make. Simply put, Friesen and her band are not together to become the next rock phenomenon.

On The Luxury, the debut album from Domenica, the band collaborated with famed guitarist Marcos Cureil (P.O.D) while recording at Matt Sorum's (Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver) Hollywood-based studio and at 441 Studios in Winnipeg. The album, released on August 4, 2009, encompasses a vast array of the band's musical influences of hard rock, punk and metal. With songs such as the first single "Above Me", "I Love My Gun", and "Luxury", the band showcases their ability to create hard driven infectious rock tracks.”

For those that don't know anything about Domenica, please feel free to give us an introduction.
Bekki: Domenica is basically a 4 piece full throttle, guitar driven hard rock band that started in Winnipeg. We’ve been rocking together for 5 years now, touring heavy, and are loving every minute of it! We throw it down on stage every night, and our new CD is tight. We’re very proud of how far we’ve come.

‘The Luxury’ is such a diverse sounding album, how would you describe your sound to someone that’s never heard Domenica?
Bekki: We’ve got influences ranging from metal to punk to pop to grunge… our sound doesn’t quite fit neatly into any given genre, although each song definitely encapsulates many different “sounds”. After shows, we often hear people tell us they have no idea who they could compare us to, but that the show was wicked…people need to see us live to appreciate it I think. Very melodic…very heavy…very different personalities within each song.

What's your songwriting process and where do you draw your inspiration from?
Bekki: I write most of the music/lyrics for the band. Basically, I have a Protools rig in my basement and I play around with it a lot...recording tons and tons of demos…nothing really obvious inspires me that much-I just enjoy writing. I like being able to express myself the way I want to through music…So I do my thing, and every now and then, a killer tune for Domenica comes out of it. I’ve got hard drives full of crap though. I write all sorts of different stuff.

You've been a band now for 5 years, what's been the lead up to the release of your debut album 'The Luxury' and has it been a 5 year labour of love to finally now see it released?
Bekki: Umm…it kind of felt like it was never going to finish. It took so long. We didn’t record it for 5 years straight, since we started as a band we’ve had a bit of an “on again-off again” relationship with the recording studio. It’s great to have it released though, we’re pumped that we have an actual product to finally support…but we’re also ready to start moving on. Because it took so long to finish, a lot of the songs on the record are quite old (its about ½ newer, ½ older material). We want to start the 2nd album within the next few months…and hopefully get it done for next summer!

You co wrote and produced 3 tracks on ‘The Luxury’ with Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. How did you get involved with him?
Bekki: Well, through some mutual acquaintances, I randomly connected with Marcos’ management while I was doing some work in L.A a few years ago. I gave him a copy of our promo EP (which was basically the record half done), and he loved the song “I Love My Gun”…so he sent it over to Marcos who also loved the tune. Long story short, after that we set up some sessions and Marcos and I wrote 3 songs together. A few months later Domenica and Marcos hooked up at Matt Sorum’s studio to record them!

Musically who are your main influences?
Bekki: Radiohead, System of A Down, Silverchair—although you probably wouldn’t be able to tell by listening to Domenica…it’s more like a pop-twisted personal interpretation of whatever influences us.

In recent years we have only seen a few bands fronted by women that have really taken the rock world by storm, bands like Evanescence and Nightwish to name a couple, do you feel any pressure to put in just that little bit more to be noticed in what is an obviously male dominated scene?
Bekki: No. The only thing that sucks is we are often underestimated with regards to our live performance….although, for people who assume mediocrity that do show face, they’re blown farther away by the end of it so it can work to our advantage as well. There are more male-fronted bands than female-fronted bands. There are more male executives than female executives in the business. That’s just the way it is. We always end up winning our rooms over when we tour. People forget this is a hard rock band when they start talking about “women in music”. We’re playing the game the way we want to.

In a day and age of illegal downloading and file sharing you took it that next step and made your first single ‘Above me’ available for free download from your website www.domenica.ca what was the thinking behind doing that?
Bekki: We just want people to hear what we do. We love touring, and the more people who hear us, the more people come to shows plain and simple. We’re not worried about royalty cheques or $0.20 cent download royalties. We sell tickets, merch, and make friends with the awesome people who take the time to check us out on the road. A lot of people still end up buying the CD anyways just because they can relate to what its about, and they want to show their support. We didn’t think it was a big deal to give the single away.

You did some tour dates throughout Canada with Papa Roach whose show is so high energy and always on fire. How were those shows and did you pick up any tips from a band of seasoned touring veterans?
Bekki: Absolutely, they were amazing….They laid it all down on the stage…and were very cool, laid back and gracious with the people who came out for the show. They’ve also been touring hard for how many years now? A decade? That’s the main thing we learned from them—you don’t ever have to stop touring and releasing CDs if you don’t want to…you just have to work really hard. After playing with them and seeing it first hand, we ‘get it’, and that’s what we’re striving for.

‘The Luxury’ has now been released in Japan and Switzerland. How has the reaction been outside of Canada?
Bekki: The CD’s been released in Japan, and it’s coming out very soon in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It’s so cool to know that people are into what we’re doing in completely different cultural domains. In Japan, we’ve been doing especially well…glossy magazines…lots of fan mail…but it’s weird when you can’t read the language or see first hand the result…We’re going over there for some touring in the new year so that should be a trip! It just seems surreal.

Lastly, what does the future hold for Domenica?
Bekki: More releases in more countries, lots more touring around the world to push those releases, more videos, and most definitely making CD #2 ---then … repeat for round #3. We’re going to keep touring and recording until we’re done…and we’re pretty sure that’s many years ahead of us still.

GRAND DESIGN

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:07:01 +1000

“It all had started in 2006 as a project inspired by bands such as Europe, Scorpions and Def Leppard. The first thing after writing all songs was to get hold of a good drummer. Richard Holmgren – a very talented drummer and former member of “Vanessa - now playing in Wolf joined vocalist Pelle Saether. Guitarist Peter Ledin (ex Vanessa) was next – his style of playing is perfect for this project that now had turned into a band.  Peter understood quickly the vision of GRAND DESIGN, and after Fall 2006 songs like “Air it out”, “Love Sensation”, “Sad Sound of Goodbye” and “Sheik Iddup” had become reality. During Spring 2009 all bass was done by Anders Mood, a good friend and also a member of Wolf. Dennis Vestman (ex Steelattack) performed some extra guitars and Saether himself took care of the vocals.  The singer/ producer comments he sound of GRAND DESIGN: “We wanted that Leppard sound to it. You know: 96 channels of choirs just running you over – and we nailed it!!! This album features a big 80’s rock sound combined with great songs with BIG choirs.” With songs like “Air It Out” and “Love Sensation”, “Time Revelation” is gonna be a rock sensation. GRAND DESIGN will bring the rock of the 80’s back into your players and to the big stages.”

Grand Design - how and when did the band come together and what is the inspiration behind the name?
The band was from the beginning just a project that developed into a band
We started recording drums for this album back in 2006 and carried on with the guitars during free slots in the studio 2006 and 2007. At that time it was only me and the drummer+one guitarist. The rest like bass+vocals were made spring 2009 now with a full band. The name “grand design”was made up by Janne Stark-a good friend of mine – don’t know the background of that.

The band could be described as "Melodic Hard Rock" and "AOR" how would YOU describe the sound of Grand Design?
We like the phrase “classic 80´s rock” – I think it is between those two phrases you mentioned. “Melodic Rock” is to hard for us and AOR is to smooth I think-hehe

Can you introduce each member of the band please?
Drums: Richard Holmgren-great drummer and a cool guy. Plays like a metronome.
Bass: Anders Modd-very tight bass player with his own sound I think.
Guitars: Peter Ledin-kinda rock guitar player perfect for Grand Design. Very good solo player.
Guitars:Dennis Vestman-on rhythm guitar one of the tightest I ever worked with-a funny guy.
Vocals: Pelle Saether-well I sing and do it all the time everywhere-hahaha.

You have two awesome songs on Myspace called "Air It Out" and "Love Sensation", can you tell us all about those two songs?
I really like these two songs – I think they turned out pretty nice.
From the beginning they were not so high up on my list but with the lyrics + the cool choirs they really exploded!!! They have totally different verses but both manage to fit in to the bridge nicely. Both choruses have like a call and response feeling to it, the lead vocals is answering the choirs.

What are some of your personal favourite "sounds of the eighties" and how much of an influence did they have on the sound of Grand Design?
I like productions from the 80´s from bands like TNT, Leppard, Yes.
For that time the guys really did a helluva job!!

Sweden where you are from, has a major market for the kind of rock music that you play. Where do you see the band fitting into both the worldwide and Swedish music landscape?
This kind of 80´s inspired rock is on the rise here in Sweden, bands like The Poodles, Treat and H.E.A.T have really open up doors – also in the USA bands like Wildstreet and OUTLOUD are doing great – maybe the world is ready for a new era of 80´s rock!!    You have signed to the record label Metal Heaven Germany. Can you tell us how that came about?
Well we put out the 2 songs (that you can hear on our Myspace) in the middle of June – 2 weeks later we had 5 labels that wanted a deal. We choose Metal Heaven because of his personal engagement – so far he has done a great job

What has the interest been thus far in Grand Design both locally and also internationally via Myspace and word of mouth?
So far it has been crazy – the response has been a total oyeah from rockers around the globe – also already on some radio stations world wide - so hopefully this will work out    If you had the choice of touring with 2 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Europe and Def Leppard. Why?? – Because they ruled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you had to pick just one song to introduce someone to the "sounds of the eighties", what would it be?
Women with Def Leppard or Final Countdown with Europe – ooops thats 2 - hehehe  
What lies ahead for Grand Design in the coming months? Album release, live shows, worldwide domination?
The album will b out 23 of October and beginning next year Japan. Hopefully will be playing live 2010 to support the album – we are working on it. Then world domination-hehehe

THE BLACK MOLLYS

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:50:06 +1000

“On one hand, The Black Mollys are good old fashioned American rock 'n rollers with an abundant serving of unshakable hooks, remarkably contagious choruses and soaring harmonies. But dig a little deeper and the Chicago based trio’s sound is simultaneously loaded with alternative rock elements of today, from charging power chords to high voltage percussion to just the right amount of attitude and unbridled confidence that still steers clear from pretentiousness.  It’s a carefully crafted brew that’s been consistently refined on the road throughout the 2000s thus far, chiseled across tour dates supporting a wide swath of influential artists as diverse as Goo Goo Dolls, Cheap Trick, Gin Blossoms and David Lee Roth (just prior to his highly anticipated reunion with Van Halen).
 Whenever and wherever The Black Mollys load up the buses, fans can expect the ultimate celebratory experience that breeds instantaneous sing-a-longs through tongue-in-cheek tunes like “Erica” and “Girlfriend” or the equally compelling pop culture references of “I’m So Ordinary” and “Hollywood.” It’s indeed an ambitious formula that’s thus far found fanfare across limitless demographics and culture lines, subsequently bringing an instant elixir to life’s stresses, strains and seriousness with an unabashedly positive party.”

Founding member Tory gave us the complete lowdown on everything you could possibly want to know about the Molly’s!!! 
Hey Tory, thanks for taking the time to chat us. Can you give those reading over here in Australia a quick introduction to the The Black Molly’s and what the band is all about musically....
I started the band in LA, CA around 1999, moved it to Kansas City and got a regional following that allowed me to sign a deal with a label in Beverly Hills and move back out to LA...recorded "The First One" and toured the wheels off of a couple of vans for that, the label ran out of money so I went to Iowa to record a new cd at my friends studio, which turned into Ignorance is Bliss, and liked being back in the midwest so much I ended up moving back! Somewhere in all that touring I had come across a band called Supermint and hit it off with their drummer Randi Scott who said we would someday rock the world together and that came true right after the cd was done and our old drummer got married and retired! We are now thick as thieves and indeed rockin the world together! I named the 2nd cd Ignorance is Bliss because I gave up on writing and doing what I thought other people wanted to hear and pursuing a big record deal. I started writing for myself and just having fun and everything really came together for the band at that point, so we have continued to plod along without a care in the world and things seem to happen so much easier now! Lesson number one kiddies....stop trying so hard! haha We are a band that loves to have fun and write songs that hopefully make you laugh and forget about your 9-5 job and bitchy girl or boyfriend for a minute while our song is stuck in head! Our live shows we just let it all out and force you to have a pint and let go for a couple of hours!

You recently released a compilation of your past two albums on the kickass UK label “Trashpit Records”. Tell us about how the association come about with Trashpit and the reasoning behind the “One Mans Treasure Is Another Mans Trash?
I was on tour with The BulletBoys and when they fired Lonnie after 2 days they called our old friend Rob Lane in (who else would get on a plane less than 24 hours after the phone call and be on stage the next day in a different country!) to play bass on the rest of the tour. With a lot of terrible routing and shit gigs we had all the time in the world to talk about funner and better things we could be doing and Rob mentioned coming over to the uK for a tour and that he would like to put out a cd to support if we did that and since virtually no one had heard either of our fantastic releases we decided to throw the best of the best together really give people an extra share of badass rock and roll since times are hard.

In my opinion, music such as yours should be all over the radio and is far superior to most of the schlock we get forced upon us these days….where do you see The Black Molly’s fitting in as far as the big wide world of music goes?
Well, I find it humorous (until I check my bank statement) thaT a lot of people tell me they cant believe these songs aren't huge and all over the radio and MTV (or whoever the hell plays videos these days.) I see us fitting in along with bands that make great records and tour the world playing to people that enjoy great melodies and loud guitars! Bands like Lit and Butch Walker...maybe the Supersuckers, that have a solid fan base that knows every time they release a cd its gonna be a solid slab of catchy goodness and will most likely get to see them come sweat all over them at some point.

What do you think sets The Black Mollys apart from other rock bands out there today??
I think we are part of an elite group of bands that is out there making consistent great "albums" and our fans can count on a live show that we take seriously to not be serious and have some serious fun....ummm.. yeah. I think it shows when Randi and I, and whoever we drag along on bass at the moment, are on stage its where we are meant to be and genuinely love to play and sing and make people laugh by making ourselves look silly if need be, you will never get a "we are too cool for school" vibe here.

You worked with the legendary Michael Wagener on your last album “Ignorance Is Bliss”, how did this come about and did this association deliver what you were hoping? And what’s this we hear about you using the guitar used for Skid Row’s “I Remember You” for your recordings?
He is good friend of my best friend Wade Goeke, who makes studio gear (the Best!) called Chandler Limited right here in little ole IOWA uSA. Wade introduced us at a music convention and Michael was so cool that he offered to mix a couple of songs for us....wait I'm getting ahead of myself! We recorded the whole cd at my friend Wades studio and had no idea who was gonna mix the thing! The final most important step....now lets go from MW offered to mix 2 songs...He invited us to his studio in Nashville mixed the 2 songs and said he really liked the music and if we had any more songs that he had some time open and would love to mix more...luckily I brought the entire hard drive with the rest of the cd since this was my dream come true for him to say that! I walked over and set the hard drive on his desk and said, "I have ten more songs if you have time!" Long story longer, he mixed the whole thing and I think it sounds great..oh the skid row guitar, we were mixing Girlfriend and at the end of the song MW kept saying this need something more...after trying several thing he decided it needed an extra hit of guitar on the last three notes! So we set up a big guitar rig ( MW specialty!) and he handed me a stienberg with no headstock and I hit 3 chords a couple of times and that was it!

What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help create the style of music that can now be heard through The Black Mollys?
I'm still a huge fan of music and it all gets thrown it the mix somewhere I think form 1st album, Ted Nugent- Double Live Gonzo! to the Tinted Windows cd I got last week, although they probably "borrow" from the Beatles as much as I do! I think from listening to the hardcore punk like the dead kennedys all the way through The Beatles and The Cars...The Ramones..Cheap Trick...Black Sabbath...Lets not kid ourselves The Bee Gee and ABBA are on my IPOD and get played so its all a big mess that comes out all Mollys!

Who handles the songwriting in the band and where do you draw your influences from, both musically and lyrically?
Up to this cd I have done most of the writing by myself and then presented it to the band, I am looking forward to working on this next one as a team and maybe even a couple of outside writers I would be really excited to work with if it happens! We will save that for a near future conversation when the new cd is done! Lyrically I am what I am in real life, a total smart-ass who deals highly in sarcasm and fun. Most of the ideas come from my life or things I see around me, its just more real and easier if you are talking about what you know and feel. There will be some good surprises on the next cd! I am very excited and we are starting to record it in Nashville with Michael Wagener Sept 27th!

What do you consider to be the most important ingredients in a song, particularly as far as The Black Mollys goes?
I would have to go with melody... harmony... simple things working together, a cool guitar riff that you can raise your hand and rock out to like your playing an arena or for someone who doesn't play guitar they can rock the air guitar!That may be my shortest answer of the whole interview.

What’s on the horizon as far as new material, is anything currently being worked on, or are you letting the word still spread with the release of your "greatest hits" CD so to speak?
In the spirit of not really trying (haha) we will are starting a new album with Michael Wagener at the end of the month, we will probably get 2 songs tracked before we jump on the bus and tour the USA for most of october but then right back in to finish the drums and get to work on guitars and vox!

Your Myspace bio refers to intentions of touring Australia…..is there any substance to this and secondly, are you aware of a fanbase out in these parts for the band?
I guess I have never read our own bio! I hope thats true! Honestly you are the 1st person I know from down there! Hopefully there is an underground Black Mollys revolution going on as we speak and the venues will no choice but to fly us over (1st class of course, lol) and pay us in Fosters ( Pabst Blue Ribbon would do.) and vegemite to rock peoples asses!

You have already built an impressive list of touring partners in Goo Goo Dolls, Cheap Trick, Gin Blossoms and David Lee Roth…ignoring those for just a minute, you have the choice of three bands (past or present) to take on the road with you for your own headline summer tour of the USA. Who would you choose?
I think we could fill a decent sized club with Master of Puppets era Metallica, 70s era Elton John ( with 80s doowap only Billy Joel backing him up.) and 4 kids from Liverpool to open the show....I would have said The SuperSuckers but I don't wanna follow those guys on stage!

Speaking for you personally, not only do you have The Black Molly’s, but you also play in the Bulletboys and Enuff Z Nuff. Working with Marq Torien and Chip Z Nuff must present itself with some interesting experiences being the unique characters that they are! Any that you would like to share?
I'm no longer with Bulletboys or The Bulletboys or whatever they do with that...I think there enough stories there to fill a bathroom wall but I will tell one that I don't think is hateful (from me anyway) towards anyone just damned funny...geez, these could get long! You just asked for stories involving Chip and Marq! Here goes...I will try to be brief...

We stop at a gas station in Oklahoma and Marq goes into the ladies room to take a dump ( standard procedure on the road, the ladies room is always cleaner) in walks a rather large lady doing the pee dance and not knowing a dude is in the head, she starts knocking, a little at first and then impatiently louder and louder, quite the line of ladies has formed behind her at this point, finally Marq yells "Fuck off! There is someone here taking a shit!" When he walked out, looking like he does, in Oklahoma and there is a line of ladies looking very surprised he starts heading to the van....but stops and turns around and goes back to the door where the lady had gone in to pee and starts kicking the door and yelling, "how do you like it when somebody knocks on the door when your using the bathroom!" Pretty funny stuff if you ask me, I could write a book from that tour alone. I wish Marq and Ryche nothing but the best in the future, They are passionate people who take what they do extremely seriously and I hope they get where they want to go...But my heart is in The Black Mollys.

Maybe you have to know Chip to appreciate this one but we are flying back home from Japan at Tokyo Narita airport and all the security guys are wearing the surgical masks and it is very serious business walking through but I am right next to Chip and I hear him say to the guy...." I like your mask, its nice." hahha I swear, i died laughing going through customs! That is whole different book waiting to be written!

Lastly, here is some free space to cover anything we may of missed or whatever else you feel needs to be said!
Thanks for taking the time to sit through my terrible spelling and english to hear what we are up to! All of our cd's are available through www.Notlame.com or you can get the new one,"One Mans Treasure is Another Mans Trash" direct from Trashpit here... http://www.000trashpit.bigcartel.com/

Hopefully we will see you soon and cant wait to unleash more Black Mollys music and rock their faces off at a show! Peace and Chicken Grease! 
 

WHITE WIDDOW

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 19:59:20 +1000

Not since the days of Roxus has Australia produced a band as true to the melodic rock genre as White Widdow. Armed with three newly recorded songs available for download from their website for free (see links above and below), White Widdow is destined to create a buzz worldwide amongst those who worship anthemic keyboard driven melodic rock.

The storming "Cross To Bare" with blistering guitars and symphonic keys displays a heavier side to the bands melodic glory, in the way of bands such Pretty Maids, Treat, Bonfire and Jaded Heart. With healthy lashings of AOR goodness, the wrenching, yet uplifting "Don't Fail Me Now" relives the glory days of Stage Dolls and Harem Scarem, masters of the melodic rock ballad.
With driving rhythm and stabbing keys, Change Of Passion is destined to become a live favorite"

We caught up with lead singer Julez to help us unveil White Widdow to the masses.

White Widdow - how and when did the band come together and what is the inspiration behind the name?
White Widdow came together in April 2008, Trent our Bass player and myself had been wanting to put together an AOR / Melodic Rock band for many years, however wanting to be a live performing band rather than a studio project we just could never seem to find people interested. We would often go and see a Van Halen tribute band called X-Halen that had an amazing guitar player called Enzo, we became friends over time and Enzo would come out to see us perform with our other band (The Deadthings), one night after a show Enzo let it be known he would be keen to work together if I ever wanted to do something outside The Deadthings. From there Enzo, Trent and I began looking to complete the line up. Finding our drummer turned out to be very easy, in the form of Trent's housemate Nick, the four of us then began writing and rehearsing. However I knew there was something missing, something very obvious.......Lots of Keyboards! So I enlisted the help of my younger brother Xavier behind the keys, an accomplished artist in his own right with the two time Aria Nominated Illusive/Mushroom recording artists X & Hell.

The White Widdow name doesn’t come from anywhere in particular apart from when I was a kid I had a "thing" for rock bands that had White in their name, like White Wolf, White Sister, White Tiger, White Lion etc, from there for some reason I always wanted to be in a band with white in it’s name. I thought “Widow” worked cool with it and decided on White Widow. However there had been a couple of other bands use the name through the years, so I made the change to "White Widdow" using two “D’s”, I've always been a fan of Double D's anyway!!

The band has been described as "Melodic Hard Rock" and "AOR" how would YOU describe the sound of White Widdow?
I think that both are accurate, as there are both elements and that some songs are more Melodic Hard Rock and others more AOR. I think our sound has a pretty equal influence of both European AOR/Hard Rock and US AOR/Arena Rock.

Those who have seen you live would be aware you are blessed with a
mighty talented band. Can you introduce each member of the band please?
Enzo: Guitar - One of the most amazing guitarists I've seen and known, an absolute talent, a great guy to work with and a fantastic live performer. Influenced by Van Halen, Dokken, Savatage and many other Hard Rock bands

Trent: Bass - My partner in crime, Great Bass Player, Great Friend, very easy to work with, a great live performer. Influenced by Kiss, Pretty Maids, Pink Cream 69, Danger Danger, Journey, Harem Scarem and countless others.

Xavier: Keyboards - My Brother, great with song compositions and arrangements, great on the keys and a great singer. Influenced by Survivor, Journey, Night Ranger & King Kobra amongst many styles of other keyboard driven music.

Julian: Vocals - that would be me, well I try to keep the whole thing together, steer us in the best direction and host the live party!

You have recently launched your "EP" featuring 3 tracks that are
available on your Myspace page. Tell us about the songs on this "EP".
The three tracks available for free download from our myspace are the first of our recordings to be available, these were all written over the last 12 months or so and are all musically a group collaboration, lyrically they are all very personal to me and some of the relationship rollercoasters I've been on in the last few years. I'm very proud of how the songs have turned out.

What are some of your personal favorite melodic rock bands/AOR
bands and how much of an influence did they have on the sound of White Widdow?
There really is so many great AOR/Melodic rock bands to name, but there is only so much space, so here are some of my personal favourites.

White Sister - A huge influence all round , great Guitar/Keyboard blend in their songs and awesome hooks
Survivor - The inventors of montage Rock, again a big influence all over, great songwriting, great melodies
Journey - The AOR Kings, there's none smoother, none slicker.
Bon Jovi - Those first three albums are Melodic Rock bliss, for sure a big influence in every way.
House Of Lords - Great Keyboard work, Great sound, Great songs.
Roxus - Australia's AOR Champs, big influence on me personally as a teenager seeing them perform live regularly.
Treat - Awesome songs, great pre choruses, huge hooks, another all round influence.
Icon - More hard rock than the others listed here, their "Night Of The Crime" album is a great slab of melodic hard rock.

Despite Australia not really being known as a major market for
"melodic rock", where do you see the band fitting into both the
worldwide and Australian music landscape?
On the Worldwide scale I think that there is enough market for us to be able to do what we love and put our music out there, and for that we are looking for a home in the form of a label that understands AOR & Melodic Rock that can help us do that in areas like Europe & Japan.

In Australia it’s actually rather interesting, as we are clearly not a Glam or Hair band nor a Metal band, but we have played shows with bands of all styles. We’ve found so far that our style of Melodic Rock in the modern era seems to be accessable to all these crowds and they don’t deem it as anything but Rock music with an 80’s style.

What has the interest been thus far in White Widdow both locally at
your shows and also internationally via Myspace and word of mouth?
People here in Australia at the shows seem genuinely excited to be seeing a band like ourselves perform this style of music again, it’s something that has been missing from the Australian Rock seen for a very long time. I can remember during the 90’s bands like Empire, Serpentine, De Arrow, De Mont and of course the mighty Roxus all playing regular live shows, but by the end of that decade it had dried up and we’ve really had nothing to replace it for 10 years. 
It’s a thrill to have people enjoy it because we love this style of music so much, it’s the reason we are doing this. So far our approach with Myspace and online has been very soft, we posted up the songs from our “free Download EP” for people to be able to download and hear our music. We’ve been contacted by people wanting a pressed hard copy of the EP, but we do not have one and will be saving that for the album release, hence why we made the songs available for free. We’ve already been contacted by some lables, but want some more songs recorded before we go any further with them or start contacting any others.

If you had the choice of touring with 2 bands, past or present, who
would they be and why ?
Wow, well I think Journey on the “Frontiers” tour with Steve Perry would have been breathtaking and Survivor on the “When Seconds Count” tour would be amazing also, I’d love to have the chance of warming up the crowd before I go and stand in it myself every night!

If you had to pick one song to introduce someone to the genre of
melodic rock/AOR, what would it be?
Hmm, what a question! As a mainstream answer I would say Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”. In a more obscure answer I would say Signal’s “Arms Of A Stranger”

What lies ahead for White Widdow in the coming months?
Album, more live shows, some interstate shows (Adelaide and hopefully Sydney) , more writing and recording in the lead up to a full album by the end of the year with a release early 2010. Thanx to all our friends, fans and to May the Rock Be With You, we really appreciate the support!

Julez. 
 

THE NEXT

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:55:05 +1000

In a world where prefab, trend driven rock bands are the norm,The Next stand head and shoulders above all as the real deal- tough as nails and built to last.

Cut from the same leather as history making rock bands Led Zeppelin, Guns and Roses and Motley Crue,The NEXT have left a trail of exhausted, satisfied audiences in their wake. Delivering the goods at maximum impact and with an ever growing following, The NEXT have become THE must see live show.

How did the band and its name, ‘The Next’ come about?
Well we all met from playing in other bands and when we came together to jam it just felt right.. As for the name, well, we just liked the sound of it

How would you describe sound of ‘The Next’?
One of our fans once described it as “Guns n Roses bangin’ Aerosmith while Motley Crue jacked it in the corner” – so I guess you could say we sound like a rock band

What do you think sets your music apart from that of other bands?
I don’t wanna diss any other bands, but I think we’ve got a maturity to our songs but we don’t wanna get political on your ass, just sing about what really matters.. ‘rockin out and havin a good time’

What can one expect from your live show?
We really put a lot of effort into our shows to make sure that the audience is getting what they came for.. we work hard and we play hard, so hopefully that comes through at the show

What inspires or has influenced your music the most?
Everything influences, it’s what makes us all who we are. If you take all that you’ve learnt from life and put with it some music that gets your dick hard, it’s hard NOT to be inspired don’t ya think?

What do you think it takes to succeed in music these days?
These days I think it’s all about the song, it’s about how quickly you can get in and leave in impression before the listener moves on.. Which is kind of unfortunate because it’s usually the ‘album songs’ that have the most balls.

What to you will be "success" as far as The Next is concerned?
I don’t think it’s bad to want it all, so why would we settle for anything less

If you could travel back in time to any gig in history, which one would it be?
I’d probably go back to the California Jam in 74 to watch Richie Blackmore set his amp on fire and trash all his gear!

Do you have any interesting pre-gig rituals you would like to share?
Does downing half a bottle of JD count?

Tell us where we can find out more about ‘The Next’
Check out our myspace page..
www.myspace.com/thenextmusic

And lastly, this is the spot where you can plug any gigs coming up, or just fill us in on something we may have not asked, but the space is yours to write what you wish.
For sure, We’ve got our EP Launch coming up at the Annandale Hotel on 21Aug before we fly interstate to do some promo, and then over to LA. You can get tickets at the venue, so come along and party with us!!

TORPEDOHEAD

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:30:33 +1000

TORPEDOHEAD is the rock n’ roll process of supersonic combustion in which a shock wave from razorsharp riffs is propagated forward due to energy release in a reaction zone behind it. Haling from Frankfurt, Germany the trio lives the imagination of the NEW YORK DOLLS jamming on AC/DC tunes, while transforming this into their own riff driven sound.

The band around frontman / songwriter and guitarist Sven Spacebrain started out in the Summer of 2008 from the remaining debris of several rock n' roll acts, wich shared the stage with bands such as L.A.GUNS, DAN BAIRD, THE CASANOVAS...

The Video to the first single "Broken Flowers" had it’s premiere in january 2009 and march saw the release of TORPEDOHEADS debut album “LOVESICK AVENUE” in co-production with the international audio company "beyerdynamic" ! The album features 12 blasting rock n' roll tracks. Since its release the Album has received very good reviews in the press (Germany, Canada, Italy..) and online fanzines. The songs of TORPEDOHEAD are also a featured item on the podcast of Michael Butler (bassist of JETBOY) called the "rocknrollgeekshow.com".

Torpedohead – how and when did the band come together and what’s the inspiration behind the name?
We started out in the summer of 2008 after leaving our old bands behind us. I had a whole bunch of songs in the bag that where just waiting to be let out out, ready to explode. Oh yeah...here's the name... BOOOOOM!!

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a rock "n" roll fact about each of them?
There's our drummer "Stefan", who we like to call Mr. Trash, cause he smashes up a few pairs of drum sticks during our gigs. He just pounds the skins in a very "Bonham" way, which sets the backbeat of our band. Add our "Hardy Bassman" on top of that foundation. He's our punk edge to our sound. Pushing forward and givin' the flow a kick in the ass. And then there's, the spacebrain, who writes the songs, plays guitar and does the singin on top of that all. And with that you've got a TORPEDOHEAD ready to explode on stage !

For the benefit of those who haven't yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound?
TORPEDOHEAD is the rock n’ roll process of supersonic combustion in which a shock wave from razorsharp riffs is propagated forward due to energy release in a reaction zone behind it. On top there are lots of melodies and hooklines to sing along.

You released your CD "Lovesick Avenue" earlier this year. What has the response been to the CD so far? How did you find the process of writing and recording this album?
We recorded the album before hitting the stage the first time in a cottage in the middle of nowhere. We nailed down the basics in one week and did overdubs (vocals, extra guitars) in the following weeks. The songs were written by me, prior to the recordings, in a couple of months. We've all been through several studios and producers with our previous bands and wanted to do things different from the start with this band. So we decided on producing the record on our own account. After finishing the record we made a video to promote the album along on the internet. The video to "Broken Flowers" had it’s premiere in January 2009 and March saw the release of our debut album “LOVESICK AVENUE” in co-production with the international audio company "beyerdynamic". The album has received very good reviews in the press (Germany, USA, Italy..) and online fanzines. Which is pretty awesome because we had no idea how anyone would react to the album. So far things have been working out great!

In terms of your songwriting, what do you consider to be the most important ingredient in a song?
First of all, the tune has to come from your heart and soul. Nothing constructed on the “old drawing board” will ever stand the test of time. Since I'm a sucker for a great tune, there's just got to be a hookline to sing along, that let's the hair on your arms stand up.
And if you’re good, you'll add a cool guitar riff. And the masterpiece is a great guitar solo. That always has to be "the song in the song". It's just got to have that bluesy feeling with a hookline too. Not many players can do that. In fact I find myself still working on that and learning every day. Just like a good old wine, it gets better with age. I just went to a "Dan Baird" Show some weeks ago and these guys really get better with age. I played with them some years ago. But the last time I saw them... WOW ! They got Warner Hodges (Jason & The Scorchers) on lead guitar and he just smashes them solos in your face. Man, you can learn from this guy.    What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help create the style of music that can now be heard through Torpedohead?
As a kid i used to listen to THE BEATLES, ELTON JOHN or THE EAGLES. Lots of great pop rock stuff. We had tons of tapes flying around in our house and those where the ones that really got me hooked. Later on I got hold of some AC/DC songs on the radio. From then on I had to get hold of every AC/DC album and stuff that rocked equally like MÖTLEY CRÜE, LA GUNS or GEORGIA SATELLITES. That was back in 1990 when the whole rock n’ roll scene was about to be turned upside down a few years later. While all the kids around me started to listen to grunge, alternative etc, I was still hooked on good old rock n’ roll! So the first band I had was kinda of a pop-punk outfit with a rock edge to it. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of the alternative movement back then (and still am not) of course it had its influences on me. But more in form of UK bands like THE WILDHEARTS or 3 COLOURS RED. At some point I found myself mixing all these influences together and transforming it into a sound that led me through several bands and finally into forming TORPEDOHEAD. I don’t want to see myself limited to some style or sound and this band gives me the opportunity to let it all out!

If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical hero's who would it be and why?
I’ve given that theory up, cause I have already been on the road with some of my favorite bands and played my songs to them. Some of that was a great experience, like touring with THE YO-YO'S (that featured Danny from THE WILDHEARTS) or with DAN BAIRD (GEORGIA SATELLITES). Supporting the LA GUNS and hanging out with Tracii was also a great experience. But other heros should just be left up there with the stars to dream of. Don't ruin all the fantasies of rock n' roll!

The German/Frankfurt rock scene is something we are not that familiar with. Is rock music like what you play, popular in German/Frankfurt?
Rock music is very popular over here. But not exactly the sound we play. There is a huge market for alternative, metal and punk over here. There's also a big underground rock scene. TORPEDOHEAD doesn't really fit in anywhere 100%, which is good, since it gives us the chance not to get limited to some style or sound and let's us stand out. We get great reviews in big mainstream magazines and in under gound stuff too. We're like a two-edged sword: Cutting our way slowly through every side!

What can people expect from spending 45 minutes at a Torpedohead live show, here's your chance to tell the rest of the world what they are missing out on...
Everything you need if your into rock n' roll! Big guitar riffs backed by loud, big blasting Zep Drums. Guitar solos, a sweaty punk rock show and big sing along choruses... oh yeah and a lot of fu !! Ever took a ride on a "rock n' roll satellite"?

What do you think sets Torpedohead apart from other rock bands out there today?
Well, first off ... we don't TRY TO BE or TRY TO SOUND LIKE. We just get on stage and do our thing. I think there are a lot of great new rock n' roll bands (or sleaze-glam... whatever you like to call them) out at the moment. But a lot of them just look and sound like 80s retro a little too much. I miss a little bit of the unique sound to them. A lot lack the punk attack on stage, that bands like GUNS N' ROSES or SKID ROW had when they started out. But in the end, it's up to the listener to judge our sound. Like it or not!    Here at May The Rock Be With You, we believe in free speech, so here we dedicate to you unlimited space to say anything else you think hasn't been covered or even tell us how great American Heartbreak is, which is a band we like too :)
Well, if you mention AMERICAN HEARTBREAK... The bassplayer Michael Butler rocks ! He's a friend of ours, since I was on tour with them and my old band over here in Germany some years ago. Check his "rocknrollgeekshow.com". We are a regular guest with our songs there ! And besides that: "For those about to rock (with TORPEDOHEAD) ... we salute you!"

KNYGHT

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:08:13 +1000

“Knyght were born in 2002 when brothers Tommy and Olly, at the early age of 13, decided to start a rock n roll band, almost as a game, just to emulate their idols. After some years of gigs in small pubs and line-up changes, even though still very young, the band started performing in many famous underground clubs in Rome and Italy. They receive positive reviews for their demo “Destination Unknown” on italian and international music magazines and webzines, the demo collects more than 25.000 online plays, and good airplay on rock radio.

In the second part of 2008 German producer Heiko Hinze, who already had acquired many years of experience working with artists such as Metal Church, Tom Jones and Motley Crue asks the band to move to Munich to record their first EP....BET EVERYTHING.... The EP was released by German indie label Anko Music on January 15, 2009. Two weeks later the band went to Switzerland and Spain, with Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango.” www.knyghtband.com

In this interview Tommy and Mr Svarione more about this very promising band!

Knyght – how and when did the band come together and what’s the inspiration behind the name?
TOMMY: Actually Knyght were born 7 years ago, a year before me and my brother (Olly, the guitar player) wanted to be football players, but after that summer when IT’S MY LIFE by BonJovi was played by EVERY J-Box on EVERY beach, we changed our mines and changed dreams…..we were 12 and 13 years old and Rock n Roll was everything we were waiting for.

Unfortunately there’s no inspiration behind the name, just 3 stupid 13 years old teens with too many smoke and alcohol in the veins that day to have intelligent ideas for the name…but when we realize that KNYGHT was not a good name for what we wanted to do, it was too late to change it and by the way we attached to our name!
 Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a rock "n" roll fact about each of them?
TOMMY: We got Dario on the bass, usually he is the most quiet of the band, but every guy and a girl that was in Barcelona (Spain), when we have played there with Bang Tango, remember him! We had a great show, lots of people and 5 second after the show Dario jump out the stage, run in the backstage full of adrenaline and drunk everything he could from the Bang Tango room, 3 minutes later he was completely drunk screaming in the backstage and when he met the Faster Pussycat drummer he spend 15 minutes with him telling him how they (faster pussycat) were good that night, the problem was that Faster hadn’t played yet that night….

Mr Svarione (drummer) is a sort of "alcoholic snare" guru, he thinks that hitting the drums harder as he can is the only way to play!

The Doc (keyboards)….everybody think that he’s the melody guy, the romantic one….so wrong, he’s the bad boy of the band, he’s got the old school rockstar attitude, he drinks, smokes, fucks, get caught in fight…

Olly is our guitar hero. A cute couple in Germany remember him because during the week we was recording the Ep in Munich, he came back to the Hotel pretty drunk and decided to walk naked through the Hotel until me and Doc realized what he was doing because this kind couple knocked our door and showed us Olly that didn’t know where he was and that was naked….
 For the benefit of those who haven't yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound?
TOMMY: We are not one of those bands who think they can change everything or create a new kind of music, we just love music, and love to play it…so if u hear Knyght, you’ll hear a mix of every bands have influenced us served with a special Knyght sauce and a modern touch

Mr.SVARIONE: It's like hearing something you've heard before, but way better.
 You have an EP out called "Bet Everything" which was produced by experienced German producer Heiko Hinze who has worked with big name bands such as Motley Crue and Metal Church. Can you describe how the recording process went for this EP and what were some of the important things you may of learnt from Heiko ?
TOMMY: We’re very grateful to Heiko and to the chance he gave us! He heard our old demo on myspace, liked the way we write songs and asked us to move to his studios in Munich (Germany) to record with him our first Ep.
It was our first experience outside Italy and it was amazing to work with a professional producer, we always had our old demos produced by us, so we didn’t know how was to work with a producer and so we learnt to listen to someone who knows more than us and hear other ideas for our songs.
The firsts times we argued a lot cuz sometimes he wanted us to record stuff we didn’t want or he didn’t want stuff we wanted….but we made compromises and the result was really good.

In terms of your songwriting, what do you consider to be more important a killer hook or a thought provoking lyric? And speaking of lyrics, with English not being your first language, how have you found having to write lyrics in English?
Mr.SVARIONE: I think both have the same importance...a lot of bands write great songs with shitty lyrics, and in Italy no one seems to care...I guess that if you want to create a great song, you can't undervalue something like lyrics...

TOMMY: Unfortunately we were born in the wrong nation of the wrong continent, English is far from being a second language here in Italy and we don’t want to play the lame Italian pop, so we have to study lots English on our own, we’d like to be an international band, play in Europe, USA, Australia, Japan, Africa….everywhere. Write lyrics in English is not really easy, but we believe lyrics are really important and we spend lot of time to have them sound the best.  What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help create the style of music that can now be heard through Knyght?
Mr.SVARIONE: when I was a child, the music played in the hi-fi was incredibly loud and incredibly good...from Zeppelin, to The Cult, Gnr, Stones, things like these...

TOMMY: Everyone of us has his favourite bands, we grow up listening to classic rock Aerosmith, Queen, Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf, Bryan Adams, Guns n Roses and sure you can hear lots of these bands in our songs, but we’re listening now also to lots of new stuff (and you’ll hear in the new songs we are writing these days) AlterBridge, Nickelback, Buckcherry, Hinder….what we are trying to do now with new songs and next work is to mix everything, writing what we like but trying to have it sounds as modern as possible
 If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical hero's who would it be and why?
TOMMY: I don’t know, I think that if ever one of my heroes will ever listening to my songs and like them, I’ll have and heart attack….I really wish that someday mr.JonBonJovi or Meat Loaf will sit in a room with me and together we’ll listen to one of my work, but this is one of the 1000 dreams we have, who knows…
By the way I think that I’d like to play my music to sir Desmond Child, I believe he’d like and appreciate Knyght, we love his works and if we are good songwriters it’s because, most of the things, we’ve learnt from him.  Early this year you travelled to Spain and Switzerland to play some shows with Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango. What were some of your favourite memories from this tour?
Mr.SVARIONE: Playin' with Beautiful Creatures and Faster Pussycat was fun, when you're "on tour" you can meet a lot of people, and obviously some assholes!

TOMMY: Tour is lots of fun for a young band, but it’s also hard if you are not U2, you don’t have flights in business class to take u from one show to another, we lived in our small tour bus, usually we booked a room for 2 and slept there in 5, but in Spain they caught us and kicked our ass.
But we got also beautiful memories, in Spain we played in big places in front of lots of people, the club in Bilbao was really huge! And the people were very kind…we had lots of great after show parties, free alcohol everytime everywhere…we loved the life on the road!
 The Italian/Rome rock scene is something we are not that familiar with. Is rock music like what you play, popular in Italy/Rome?
TOMMY: Popular? Ahahahaha….no, unfortunately not.
There are LOTS of bands in the underground in Italy, few bands are also really really good, but labels, booking agencies and clubs don’t give a shit about good music and have killed all the chances to have a good and alive rock scene here in Italy and people prefer to spend 50 euros in disco clubs than 10 euros to see good original bands
 2009, what do you have planned for the rest of the year? Lot's of live shows, writing or recording new songs??
TOMMY: All the things you said!
Now it’s almost half an year from the Ep released, I think we’ll promote it for all the summer too, but meanwhile these days we are working on lots of new songs (we’re really proud of the new stuff) and these days, we received an offer from a famous American producer to record with him…

“I think” we’ll record a PROMO with him after the summer and then if we’ll find good deals, we’ll finish to record our first ALBUM, but we’ll tell u more soon!
Live shows…we hope to play as much as possible these months, we’d like to play again outside Italy soon, we’re also next to sign a contract with a USA booking agency to tour USA next year with an American band, but still nothing sure….

So THANK U VERY MUCH for the interview, MAY THE ROCK BE WITH U (and with us), and stay tuned: www.myspace.com/knyghtband - www.knyghtband.com

SPITFIRE RAIN

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 19:04:59 +1000

Spitfire Rain are a new Melbourne based band, fronted by the mercurial Suzani Rain. Their weapon of choice is melodic, riff driven Stadium Rock. Roaring,dynamic guitars lock in with the big block rhythm section, providing the backbone for Suze's distinctive vocals and super sized choruses. Taking the DNA of great Australian acts such as The Divinyls and The Baby Animals and welding it to their unique songwriting prowess, Spitfire Rain are proving that "radio friendly" needn't mean "sans cojones"...

Having already conquered the stages of some of Melbourne’s rock venues like The Espy, Ding Dong and Hi-Fi Bar, 2009 will be a red letter year for the band with the release of their debut e.p and more gigs than you can wave a Les Paul at.

Spitfire Rain – how and when did the band come together and what’s the inspiration behind the name?
The band initially arose from good songwriting chemistry that Suze and I both discovered we had waaaay back in 2003. She came into a guitar shop I was gainfully employed at and was looking for band members. Up until then, I ‘d had no luck finding the next Bruce Coverdale Perry, so we got together and came up with some tunes straight off the bat that we were very happy with. The name of the band was initially Spitfire which we knew would be taken by zillion other bands so I just added her surname, Rain.. Similar to what Yngwie did with the J... Great minds think alike..

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a rock "n" roll fact about each of them?
Suzani Rain –Vocals. Too talented for her own good, not too bad on the old optic nerve either. R’N’R Fact: She has 55 tattoos.

James Bunney- Drums: Quite frankly, he is the man when it comes to pure unadulterated skinsmanship. A powerhouse rock drummer and also the singer for his own band, Tall Order.
R’N’r Fact: Will quite happily play with broken gear.

Andrew “Earl” Irwin-Guitar: He actually taught me my first song on guitar, Battle Hymn by Manowar, back before the wheel was invented. Is probably the only sane person in the band and thus extremely valued.
RNR fact: Drives a Valiant… None more Rock.

Steve Cox- Bass: Ladies man and all round raconteur, used to have super long hair which I envied, then gallantly shaved it off to raise money for cancer. The people’s champion.
R’nR Fact: Loves beer more than life itself and has toured with Jeff Scott Soto AND Zakk Wylde..

Ben Webster-Guitar: (me) The Ward Cleaver/Reuben Kincaid of the band. Stylish, yet firm.
Rn’R fact: Not too long ago I had 5 Ibanez Destroyer guitars at one time. It was rumoured to be the biggest collection in the South Eastern suburbs.

You describe yourselves as a melodic hurricane...please explain what a melodic hurricane sounds like exactly for the benefit of those yet to hear you guys or for our hearing impaired readers :)
Look, I’m not gonna lie to you.. At the time of publication, I thought that ‘Hurricane” description (as it’s now referred to) would just make good copy, rather than the standard 8 million band name list or the usual “Imagine the love child of” or “Sounds like a jelly wrestling match between” type rundowns we’ve come to expect on these self promotion websites. But as time wore on, we’ve really grown into our somewhat lofty title. Just listen to the songs super loud on your stereo or Ipod, while standing in the afterburner of a Stealth bomber. Easy as.
Since you insist though, imagine a high stakes poker game between The Divinyls, Danger Danger and The Foo Fighters.. With Butch Walker dealing in one of those green-tinted visor things. Aim high, I say..

You have two killer songs up on your Myspace page, when can we expect to hear more new songs from Spitfire Rain or perhaps get our hands on a CD/EP?
Great question and thanks for asking, I'm stoked you like our tunes...Those songs are very basic demos we did to realistically suss out the band's sound. We are currently finalizing the list for an album which will hopefully be out by the end of the year. When you’ve got 11 songs to choose from, it’s really hard to nail down the final 10.

In terms of YOUR songwriting, what do you consider to be more important a killer hook or a thought provoking lyric?
Hooks first, ask questions later.
Bob Dylan can sleep easy.. For now.

What do you think sets Spitfire Rain apart from other rock bands out there today?
Apart from being a melodic hurricane?? Last time I checked, there wasn’t too many of those kicking (or blowing) around.. Seriously though, I reckon we’re pretty unique in Australia, the only band I can think of that’s on the similar path as us are a Boston band called Damone, who funnily enough are pretty awesome.

What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help in creating the style of music that can now be heard through Spitfire Rain?
The ‘big guns’ for me as a youth (gone wild) were Iron Maiden, Queen and AC/DC.. And still are. I played for a little while in a melodic punk band called Gameover and they introduced me to Jimmy Eat World, The Donots, Anberlin and the more ‘contemporary’ sounds etc., which had a huge impact on my writing.. I really like the energy that the music had.
Suzani comes from Veruca Salt, The Divinyls, Fleetwood Mac, Icehouse, Noiseworks and Hole, even Dolly Parton. I’d like to think there’s a little of those influences creeping through, although it’s never a conscious thing, we just go with our feeling on a song by song basis. It all revolves around the chorus and hooks for us. That’s the bottom line.

If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical heroes, or record labels or musical eras, who, what or when would it be?
Personally, out of my extensive gallery of musical heroes, I’d actually like to play our stuff to Justin Hawkins.. His outlandish delivery sometimes overshadows his freakish songwriting ability for some people. The ace thing is he doesn’t care. I’ve got nothing but great respect for that man. And I reckon he’d ‘get it.’ Or maybe Mutt Lange if he’d do us a real bargain production deal.

Aside from seeing some killer t-shirts, what can people expect from spending 45 minutes at one of your live gigs?
A kickass set of songs with a unique perspective, there’s usually something most rock fans can latch on to with our stuff. We’re not in one particular niche I don’t think, just a plain ol’ ‘rock’ band, which may or may not be to our detriment. We’ve played gigs with The Baby Animals, Vanessa Amorosi, The Dead Things and we’ve got one coming up with Electric Mary.. Basically, we shoot for a lot of melody mixed in with a tough, rawer delivery. No backing tracks or other types of smoke and mirrors.. Except for our sterling selection of vintage band t-shirts, as you’ve noted.. Nothing compels an audience like a 25 y/o picture of Don Dokken glaring out at you..

What are your thoughts on the current state of the music scene here in Melbourne and Australia?
I think it’s real healthy at the moment, there are plenty of good bands around if you do your homework and try and keep your mind open. Sites like yours and Melodicrock go a long way to help make the picture a lot clearer when there's so much information out there.. The music business however??? Totally different story. It is what it is though, you just to have adapt to survive.

2009 - What’s in store for the rest of the year?
We’ll keep playing shows but we’re mainly focused on the studio side and getting a really strong record for people to listen to and hopefully enjoy. Making sure the songs will be all they can be and if we’re really lucky they’ll live up to our expectations. Our next gig is Saturday 13th June at The Espy and the Electric Mary bonanza is the 25th July at the Pelly Bar in Frankston.

Thanks a lot Scotty for giving us some air time and May The Rock Be With You!!!!

PHONIK

Sun, 24 May 2009 08:20:36 +1000

Groin level riffs and head level lyrics, that’s Phonik, hailing from Melbourne, Australia. With a killer live show that has been witnessed by us here at May The ROCK Be With YOU and with a video for the slammin’ “Batter Up”, 2009 could be the year that Phonik take that next step. Combining a host of influences, the guys have formed a sound all of their own! BATTER UP!!!

How and when did the band come together and what's the inspiration behind the name?
We've been together for a couple of years. I went to high school with Mick, who was in the year above me. He wasn't particularly liked by my group of mates, so at lunchtime one day we decided to pick a fight with him. It wasn’t that serious, I mean it happened every day at that school pretty much, like we had our own Fight Club just before we left. The teachers ended up having to put cameras up everywhere around the school, which we unfortunately got caught on. Luckily, you could still get away with stuff behind the lockers, but that’s another story! Anyway shortly after our "altercation", Mick materialised at school in black drainpipes (tight pants) and hair like Vince Noir. We got together for a jam, and started looking for a drummer, which we found through our old bass player -whose brother had been going out with Rattos sister, get that? Jem (Ratto) came up to my rehearsal shed and we had a jam over a few originals, covers and epic huntsman vs. wasp battles. It was pretty clear that Ratto fitted in. Our old bass player stormed out one day and we got Jemmas younger brother Matty or Trixxxy to fill in. We jammed over beers and drunken mishaps, and Trixxxy was in. This was about mid 2006, and we did a few local jammy type of gigs under the name White Hot . We also tried with a second guitarist for a while, but it didn’t really work.

With the name, we changed from White Hot to PHONIK EMBER in 2007, but out went the Ember no pun intended and here we are as PHONIK. It means sound I guess, but it’s just a cool word and isn’t tied to any one genre.

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each of them, preferrably as rock 'n' roll as possible!
Trixxxy on AK - First time I met this kid we drank a shitload of vodka, stole an old ute and went to pick up slappers. Mick was steering and Ash was doing the gears! Haha crazy.
Trixxxy on Ratto - Ratto is always the first to drink and the first to sleep. My own brother.
AK on Ratto - I’ll drink 12 beers but we’ll find most of them round the house still half full. Or half empty? Whatever the glass, Ratto’ll drink half of it.
Trixxxy on Mickey - Mickey is just the sexiest man alive.

You have released an EP titled "Peep Show" and have some new songs up on Myspace. “Batter Up” rocks our socks off! But how would you describe your sound to a deaf person?
Well we pride ourself on the show we put on - mad lights, outfits, cutting sick! But musically I’d say groin level riffs and head level lyrics. It’s hardcore glam tunes.

Those of us who have seen your live show, know you guys put on a killer rock n roll performance. Here's your chance to tell the rest of the world what they are missing out on...
Inside my mind first song. Turn volume up. Jangly guitar tone, turn volume up more. Building excitement. Cannot see crowd at all too much smoke. Machine Gun snare roll from Ratto, and OWWWWW!!! we’re off! Strum. Loud. Make ugly face across stage at Trixxxy. Kick leg out front, kick leg out back. Kick leg out front, Mick dodges guitar headstock. Hair in mouth! DAMN! Must get girlfriend to cut mullet. Where is girlfriend? Looking. Scanning the faces. There, girlfriend in second row, pull a wink, cover up mini AK with guitar. Garth. If she was a president! FUCK YEAH.

Insane vibe, crowd going off, Mick cutting through mix. Groin level riffage in first verse. Guitar sling and spin, slightly ballet-like. Cross the stage, Trixxxy headbutting bass, OWW!!! First lead break - over to other side of stage, guitar neck out over front row. Fingers, notes. Look down, fan in first row has untied my shoelace. DAMN! Mosh pit started up. Hardcore metal dude, glam mofo’s and one massive fat bloke owning the lot. Smile at mosh pit. Crowd lip syncing must’ve done their homework.

Breakdown, kick leg out front, out back, front, back, front. Intense. Trixxxy pogoing, Ratto headbanging and Mick, the sexiest man alive, strutting. Volume up, up on Mick’s shoulders for main solo. More notes and fingers. I love these two. Almost fall off. Really tricky bit. OWWW!!! Finish with bend. Jump down. Drum fill and more singing/strumming to final thrashy finale. Robot arm/leg move, hit final chord, guitar spin and lights out. 10 people in crowd chanting fuck you, 300 screaming. Drink liquid, ready for next round.

You have played with some of Australia's biggest rock bands like The Living End, the Angels, The Screaming Jets and Airbourne...any memorable moments or experiences from any of these shows?
AK- The Angels was great, packed crowd of about a 1000 and hanging out with Doc Neeson backstage was sick! He just talked about the industry, our set and music in general. A really nice guy with a very big presence. Quietly spoken though, but it might’ve been part of his preparation for their set. I found out later he’s actually an actor and quite an intellectual, so had I known that I probably would’ve gone more geeky with the convo. But yeah a lovely bloke. At the end of the night, we had a photo together, and I asked him if we should pull a face. Doc didn’t like this, he replied “ive got my own face” but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and I thought what is it with The Angels and faces? But I’ve never seen his face again!!!

What do you think sets Phonik apart from other rock bands out there today? I guess for starters there ain't too many guitarists who can shred like you can with a playing card!!!
AK - Haha cheers. What we’re doing both musically and performance wise isn’t being done. A lot of screamo and metal bands cut sick on stage, but their music is too cliched and every band in the all ages scene does it. Our music is pretty demanding, and we spend a lot of money on lights, stage stuff and other props. No-one presents a show quite like us, and no-one sounds like us. Haha we’re in debt most gigs. We wear matching outfits because it’s stronger, that’s half the reason gangs dress in the same clothes i.e. Alex’s droogs in Clockwork Orange. But I think because we’re influenced by a variety of different people, it kinda shows in our music, making us different from everyone else. Therefore our fanbase is a real mix. Ultimately, I think there will be more bands like us. I want there to be more diversity, cos at the moment in the all ages scene the companies that run the gigs only want the same old screamo bollocks which has been round for too long.

If you could travel back in time and be in the crowd of any gig or festival, which would it be and why?
Trixxxy - Soundwave! Killswitch Engage were ballistic. I was with a bunch of mates, the sun was shining, and some top beats.

For us oldies that grew up on a diet of "glam rock and hair metal", (and whilst you also draw as much musically from bands of the 90's), it's great to see there is a bit of "glam" movement here in Melbourne, a term we use rather loosely. What are your thoughts on the current state of the music scene in Melbourne and Australia?
AK - The Melbourne scene is growing and our band is at a leading edge of it, taking it in a new, modern direction. I would hesitate to call it glam metal, but I won’t deny its influence on our tunes, particularly innovative bands like Van Halen, Motley Crue and New York Dolls. But the fake style of Poison just makes me cringe when I see it imitated by younger bands. They should try mixing it with something else to get something different going. There are a few bands nationwide who are trying to do this (different styles with an eighties/nineties sound) but I think our next release will be made with a definite new sound perspective. Glam could be a good tag if it wasn’t so linked with the it’s already been done view. If you mean glam metal in that we’re copying eighties bands, that’s not us. I think it’s a bit like most emerging scenes, it won’t have a name attached to it for a while!

Concerning the all ages hardcore scene, we don’t condemn it at all. But I do think some people feel really threatened by our music. At the last gig we had abuse, bottles and shit thrown at us from some 10 or so hard-arses who were safely behind the 200 people crammed in front of the stage. It was great! The adrenaline generated was unbelievable, I loved every minute of it!!

2009 - what's in store for Phonik?
Trixxxy - Us. We wanna be in store!! We’ve got a music video planned for Batter Up with about $4000 worth of lighting and prop hire. We’re pretty unorganised and random really so anything could happen. I dunno maybe some fanzines, another CD, tours. We are planning a release for later this year, probably an EP with Batter Up on it. Haha I know you love that song dude, so will definitely be sending you a copy. There’s rumour of a Japanese tour!

Lastly, here is free advertising space for anything you want. You could promote your costume designer, tell us how great George Lynch is, or which of you has the best hair, or none of the above,....the choice is yours :)
Trixxxy - Check this band Attack! Attack! On myspace. Our fanspace is at www.myspace.com/phonikrock and we definitely want everyone to add us as a friend, and drop us a comment etc. We don’t bite that much and it’s always cool to talk.

Also you can download songs and get other stuff at
www.youtube.com/phoniktv
www.last.fm/phonik
www.purevoloume.com/phonik
www.mp3.com.au/phonik

THE DEADTHINGS

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:12:47 +1000

The Deadthings - Formed 2002 in the inner city of Melbourne, Australia on the sleazy streets of St.Kilda by Frontman Julez Mephisto and Rhythm Guitarist Leigh Van Hell (Ex Voodoo Lovecats) and completed with Dave Scythe (Lead Guitar), Trixxi Trash (Bass) and Nick Caligula (Drums). The Deadthings tell dark and grim tales of sleaze and heartbreak in their own unique melodic morbid way.

Having toured throughout their native Australia and in the USA, The Deadthings have toured with many International acts including;

WEDNESDAY 13
LA GUNS
PRETTY BOY FLOYD
TUFF
FASTER PUSSYCAT
LYNCH MOB

Hailed by the International press as Australia’s Premier Glam/Sleaze band and with their Rock N Roll soaked in blood, guts, beer and glitter, The Deadthings continue to build a strong live following from show to show and a worldwide fan base with their infectious songs, with no plans on slowing down until the whole world screams their name!

 The Deadthings - how and when did the band come together and what's the inspiration behind the name?
We started out back in late 2002, Myself and guitarist Leigh Van Hell had known each other for years , he had previously been playing in the Glam Punk outfit Voodoo Lovecats and I approached him about the idea of starting a new band with a particular style and sound and he had very much the same ideas. Leigh already had the name and the logo which he designed, he took the name from the classic Horror film “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things”, the film which we had our video clips included on as part of the bonus features on the films DVD re-release back in 2007. We played our first show at The Espy on October 7th 2002, from there Leigh and I worked with several different players until we found what was the right mix and that was the line up that ended up recording our EP “When Hell Sleazes Over” in 2004.

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each of them, preferrably as rock 'n' roll as possible!!
Leigh Van Hell - Guitar
Leigh has to be one of the nicest guys in the world and he’s really the soul of the band. Easily one of the biggest if not THE biggest Heavy Metal fanboy of all time, He has the broadest taste in Metal I’ve ever seen, from Burzum to Foreigner. His Metal knowledge is astounding, as is his Vinyl collection of albums. Whenever we are on the road , he’s always on the lookout for some Rare Heavy Metal Vinyl that may have eluded him so far.

Dave Scythe – Lead & Acoustic Guitars
Dave is hilarious, the funniest guy I know and always keeps the band in hysterics with his quips and antics. A great guitar player, fantastic on an acoustic guitar, and the guy that pushes us to be the best we can be.

Trixxi Trash – Bass
One of the easiest going people there is, almost always has a drink in his hand. Always up for a party. Between this guy and our drummer, their bizzare collection of 70’s and 80’s Exploitation films is something to behold.

Nick Caligula – Drums
Our newest member of the family having only joined the band in 2008, an awesome drummer that adds some much welcomed double kick to our sound and Nick’s also a great singer which is another asset. Again with the Exploitation film collection!!

For those yet to experience The Deadthings sound, how would you describe it?
The Deadthings sound I think is very much an early 90’s Hollywood Glam style with chant along choruses, at times it can be a little more melodic in more of an 80’s hair band Warrant/Black N Blue direction. All the while with a Halloween type tongue in check lyrical theme.

What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help in creating the style of music that can now be heard through The Deadthings?
I grew up on a diet of Arena Rock, the whole genre and spectacle of 80’s hard rock drove me to get up on stage and do it myself. I think the biggest influence on me is KISS, both musically and visually. KISS made a lot of people pick up a guitar and want to rock out. Later bands like Ratt, Black N Blue and Poison all made a big impact on me and I have no doubt it all comes through in our music.

What could one expect spending 45 minutes rocking with The Deadthings?
Blood , Sweat , Beer & Glitter!! We give absolutely everything we’ve got. We try to give the same performance that we would want if we go see a band perform. A high energy show that will have you singing along before the end.

If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical hero's, or record label's or musical era's, who, what or when would it be?
I just wish we’d have had the thrill of playing up and down the Sunset Strip Club scene during the late 80’s/early 90’s when hair bands were in their prime and everything was in excess!!!

What do you think set's The Deadthings apart from other rock bands out there today?
We do this because we love it, not because its cool, not because we think we can “make it”. Our love for what we do and this style of music is what gives us our conviction. If we had wanted to have a real stab at “making it” we’d have gone for a more bland “middle of the road” rock vibe (see Nickelback/ Alter Bridge and thousands of other faceless rock bands) , instead of the underground sounds and image of Glam and Goth combined.

You have played a bunch of shows with some of hard rock's biggest names here in Australia and even at the infamous Whiskey on L.A's Sunset Strip, what have been some of your memorable moments from these shows?
The coolest thing for us is getting to tour with the people we grew up idolising, if you had told a 16 year old Julez Mephisto that one day he’d be in a band that will go on tour with the likes of Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Pretty Boy Floyd and Lynch Mob he’d never believe you. One of the coolest things was seeing George Lynch up on stage during sound check while the whole stage was decked out with The Deadthings back drops.

With your Myspace page describing your music as Rock N Roll soaked in blood, guts, beer and glitter, what kind of movie could you expect your movie to feature in?
Horror films for sure!!! I’d love to see our songs set to a death scene in a horror film, something like Return of the Living Dead part 2 or 3 would be excellent!! Actually part 2 has an awesome soundtrack with Leatherwolf, Anthrax and AOR band Lamont.

In your opinion, what do you think are the most important ingredients for a band to succeed these days?
Tenacity and heart.

Lastly, here is your free advertising space to say anything else you wish and promote what you might have in store for 2009...
We are currently in the editing stages for our most recent video clip for “Crimson Rain” from the “Dead Over Heels” album, the footage was take while we were on tour with Lynch Mob and Faster Pussycat across Australia. In addition we are going through archival footage dating back to the start of the band for our long time coming DVD which we plan to finish for release in July all going well. It will be a mix of Live footage through the years as well as the full show at The Whisky Ain Hollywood opening for LA Guns and also feature all 6 of our video clips. In the second half of the year we hope to demo new songs for the follow up album to “Dead Over Heels” that should see a release sometime in early 2010!!

I just want to say thanx to May The Rock Be With You for the interview and Support, it’s people and websites like you guys that help give artists like The Deadthings a vehicle to reach a wider audience.

Keep Rockin’ Like Dokken!

SINS OF AMERICA

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 21:03:19 +1100

“Sins Of America were formed in Boston USA in January 2008. Sins Of America are on a mission to set the world on fire with their own unique brand of high energy, melodic, cocksure, hook laden good time rock n roll with a killer rockstar image and attitude to boot. One things for sure, they don’t make em like this anymore! The band combines the poppy hooks, huge chorus and vocal melodies of Def Leppard, the crunch of early Skid Row, the guitar heroics of Ratt and the modern day production values of power pop acts such as Marvelous 3 to create a kick ass melodic beast with enough relevance to the past, but with both eyes set firmly on the future.

The band spent 2008 taking their “arena rock” inspired live show out on the road all over the usa to oustanding reviews, headlining their own shows as well as opening for the likes of Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Bang Tango, Britny Fox and White Lion. The band has just released their debut CD which is now available order from the official Myspace page.”

In your own words, tell us how the band came to be together.
Rob-Well after my U.K band Teenage Casket Company (www.myspace.com/teenagecasketcompany) finished off our last tour at the end of 2007 with no real plans set in place for 2008 we decided to take some much needed time off to pursue our own individual projects for a while. Up until that point we'd been working non-stop for 4 years. Touring,recording,promoting and basically working our asses off with no record label or management whatsoever. To be honest with you,I think we were all just burnt out and taking a break was the logical decision at that point. Anyway,with everyone else working on different things I thought about putting something new together in the U.K but I was kinda burnt out on the scene and it was around this time that I started to email back and forth with our drummer Shawn Vincent who was based out here in Boston. We both had a similar kind of vision as to what we wanted to do so I got my ass on a plane and arrived in the U.S in December 2007 to put the band together.I hooked up with Shawn a week or so later who in turn brought our Guitarist Chris Kelley into the project and the 3 of us starting jamming together.We met our Bass player Evan Deane at a club one night.I remember seeing him,thinking he looked cool and belonged with us image-wise.I had no idea whether he actually played or not! When he told me he played Bass,I told him that we were looking for someone so he came to see us rehearse the following week,loved it and joined the band in January 2008.

Evan-I'd heard about a project in the works from Pink,the singer from my previous band Biopop. He said that our buddy Mike Trash from the Erotics had told him "the singer from Teenage Casket Company is coming to the States and is putting together a new band" I was beginning my new career as a hair stylist,so it'd been a while since I'd played and I wasn't really into starting a new band at the time.I was at a Demons Alley (singer for Biopops new band) show and bumped into Drummer Shawn Vincent.He told me he was playing in a new project and they needed a bass player. I asked him about it and he told me it was with Rob Wylde, the singer from Casket Co. I told him I was interested, but it would have to be AMAZING for me to add more stress to my life.Just then,Rob came over to say Hi.Shawn introduced me as the Bass player he told Rob about and right away he asked if I wanted to play.He said, "you look cool, if you can play as well as Shawn says you do,you’re in!" I joined them at practice the next week, I walked in and saw Shawn’s buddy Chris Kelley from their previous band "Stars Underground " and knew I was in the right place.Thinking, no big deal, its just one night out of my life,as soon as they cranked into the first song I knew this was going to be one of the best bands to come out of Boston .

What was the inspiration behind the name Sins Of America?
Rob- That was Shawn's idea.Evan and I were working on demo's in my apartment back in January 2008 when he called with a long list of band names he'd come up with.About half way through he said "Sins Of America" and at that point I stopped him and said "Don't go any further that's it,that's the name!" Evan and Chris loved it too so we did a quick Google search on the name to make sure it wasn't already in use and to our surprise it wasn't so we went with it.It perfectly sums up what we're all about as a band.

Evan- Coming up with a band name is one of the most stressful things a band can do.Pages and pages of stupid band names come to the table.At the time they sound great,but once you come up with the right name you just know it.

Introduce us to each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each?
Rob- OK well both Shawn and Chris used to live out in L.A for years playing all the cool Hollywood clubs so they have some pretty interesting stories from back in those days! Chris was good friends with Robbin Crosby (RIP) He shared some really interesting stories with Chris as to how Ratt achieved that "perfect" guitar tone you hear you hear on all the classic albums.Shawn and Chris also briefly worked with Rikki Rockett of Poison in their band Sister Morphine out in L.A Rikki would loan Shawn his mega expensive snare drums to record with in the studio which I thought was really cool! As for our Bass player Evan,he's a kick ass professional hairstylist.Apparantly Joey Kramer of Aerosmith is a regular customer at the salon he works at in Boston.As for me,I'm from England,I write songs and I'm also in a band called Teenage Casket Company.

Evan- Rob Wylde (Lead-vocals/Rhythm guitar) is from Nottingham, England.He is good friends with Robin Hood and makes a mean cup of tea!
Shawn Vincent (Drums/ backing vocals) is like a metronome and has been called one of the best Drummers ever to enter a studio (that came from the engineer of our new CD who played drums in an early 80's band band called "The Atlantics" who funnily enough were signed to Atlantic)
Chris Kelley (Lead guitar/backing vocals) can shred circles around the best of the best and loves his apple pies from Micky D’s.We never see him on a road tip without one!
Evan Deane (Bass/ backing vocals) works as a hairstylist at one of Boston’s best hair salons,has a degree as an audio engineer and loves Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer!

You have just released your debut CD. For those not familiar with Sins Of America, how would you describe your sound?
Rob- Good time party rock with huge hooks,tons of melody and songs so catchy they should carry a health warning! We take our cues from all the classic late 80's bands and bring that style kicking and screaming into 2009.We're not trying to preach to anyone or be something we're not.Our music is basically pure escapism,simple as that! When you come out and see us live it's just one big party and everyone's invited!

Evan- Late 80’s early 90’s Hair/Glam/Cock rock.If you like Skid Row and Poison,then you will most definitely love the hook laden melodies of SINS.

5-Rob, you sure are the master of some killer hooks. We gotta ask, (without giving away your secrets), how do you generally tackle writing a song?
Rob- Wow thanks for the compliment! Well I grew up listening all the classic "Larger than life" late 80's American radio rock so writing hooks and melodies is in my blood I guess.I was always much more into the Commercial stuff over the sleazy stuff and to be Commercial and have hits you have to write great melodies and hooks,and that's how I always approach my writing.I've never really been into just writing heavy riffs for the sake of it....anyone can do that! As a rule I always try to keep the Chorus as simple as possible musically so that the melody really shines through,as it's the melody that sticks in your head and the melody that you end up singing in the shower! I write most of my stuff on an acoustic as it's always lying around on the couch somewhere.I'll just usually play around with different ideas until I stumble across a nice chord progression,then I jump on it! Inspiration doesn't always hit straight away though.Sometimes I can be doodling around for hours and not come up with anything I like,other times I can write an entire song in half an hour or a melody line will just pop into my head out of the blue when I'm out shopping or something! The trick is to really nail it when the inspiration hits.Once I have a basic chord progression and a general feel for the song,the melody and lyrics just tend to flow and come pretty naturally afterwards.The feel and mood of the song determines the subject matter of the lyrics and for the most part,the lyrics will come from whatever's going on in my personal life at that point whether that be good or bad.

Evan-The only thing I know about Rob's song writing is that he is inspired by everything! Songs come to him even when he’s on the crapper.We try to help him with new material whenever we can, but he is just so good at what he does!

What gives you the most satisfaction recording an album or playing a live gig?
Rob- They're two totally different things. Recording in the studio is just pure creative energy and nothing is as satisfying as hearing a song that you wrote on your couch at home come to life in the studio.I'm always the first to arrive and the last to leave when recording,even if all my parts are done.I just love to be around the whole creative process but nothing beats playing live! It's the most addictive drug in the world and the ultimate high.I get withdrawl symptoms when I'm not out there playing and it's the whole reason that I and every musician on the planet does this in the first place!

Evan- Being an engineer, I love recording songs in the studio and seeing something that you pour all your heart and soul into become a reality.But there is nothing as thrilling as having people singing along to your songs when you are up on stage.Best drug in the world.

What do you think makes Sins Of America's music stand out from that of other bands?
Rob- To be honest with you I don't think there's that many bands out there right now doing what we do (especially not here on the East coast of America anyway) so that kinda makes us unique which I like.The few bands who are playing a similar kind of style to us have no hooks or songs,and the bands who have decent songs look like shit and have no image-We have both.Obviously the music always comes first,but we also take a lot of pride in our image and the way we present ourseleves.We have the best of both worlds.The complete package.

Evan- Lately bands that we've played with give great live shows,I mean killer performances but they lack songs. The one thing that I hear about us is that when we are done with the first chorus of a song, people already know the words, and by the next chorus they are singing along.I can’t say that about any band I've seen in the last few years.

If you could travel back in time (or into the future even, say tomorrow….) and play your music to any one of your musical heroes, who would it be and why?
Rob-Mmm...That's a tough one.I've been lucky enough to play in front of 2 of my idols and songwriting heroes Bruno Ravel and Steve West (Danger Danger) who came to see TCC in New York a couple of years ago.That was awesome and surreal at the same time!
I guess the obvious choice would be Jon Bon Jovi.He was the whole reason I started singing and playing guitar in the first place.You can knock him,say he's cheesy and whatever but the guy can still sell out stadiums and sell millions upon millions of albums to this day.I'm not overly keen on some of the stuff he does but you can't knock him,he's well and truly stood the test of time.

Evan-Everyone in the band has a varity of influences.For me it would definitely be the original line up of Guns n' Roses circa ’87…talk about a band on fire! I’m also a huge fan of the Sswedish rock movement…Backyard Babies,The Hellacopters, Gluecifer,Hardcore Superstar etc Not many people know about them in the States but they are some of the most amazing bands I have heard.Also,early Ramones or AC/DC…there are too many to list!

You have recently played with some of hard rock's biggest names, FASTER PUSSYCAT, L.A GUNS, BANG TANGO, BRITNY FOX AND WHITE LION...any interesting highlights or words of wisdom from these shows/bands?
Rob-All those shows were great.I remember Bang Tango only getting to play a 2 song set back in the summer! All the bands on the bill over-played (us included) There was a curfew at the club so they went onstage and about 10 minutes and 2 songs later they were done ha ha! After the White Lion show I hung out with their Australian Guitarist Jamie Law till 5 in the morning.I remember having a "really" bizarre conversation with him about kangaroo's at one point! Then the guitars came out and we started jamming until Mike Tramp banged on the wall from his hotel room next door and told us to keep it down as he was trying to sleep!

Evan-Playing with Faster Pussycat was one of my favourite shows.They were kinda boring to watch but I love their songs.
Bang Tango only got to play 2 songs,which really sucked because they were really good. The thing I remember most about Britny Fox is that the only remaining original member of the band was really old,but you can’t fuck with "GIRLSCHOOL" White Lion was kick ass and put on a great show.They sold millions of albums,how could they not be?…

2009 - give us a bit of an update on what's in store this year for Sins Of America and for any potential new fans out there, here's as much space as you want to convince them to buy your CD or come see your show!
Rob - Hopefully a full album,tours and a decent record deal! I'd also love to bring these guys to the UK so we'll see what happens.All I can say is,if you love catchy Good time Party Rock,then look no further we're "your" band.Our brand new CD is out now and available to order.Visit us at www.myspace.com/sinsofamerica to order your copy and we'll see you on the road!

Evan - Our main goal is to get the name out there.Rob just recently had dinner with Kerri Kelli from Alice Cooper. He was playing with "The Big Ball Stars" who are basically a traveling "super group cover band" featuring members Of Alice Copper, Ratt, Survivor, MSG, WASP, Warrant, Vince Neil and Guns n Roses. He ended up sitting at a table next to Jani Lane from Warrant.Across from him was Chris Holmes of WASP as well as Dizzy Reed from Guns n' Roses.Our new best friend Brent Woods of Wildside/Vince Neil (producer of the new Vains of Jenna album) is really into Sins Of America,so needless to say we have some hook ups for 2009. New songs, that I am currently recording demos for, radio support and a killer live show are some things to be expected from SINS in 2009.

BOBBY KIDD

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 18:07:43 +1100

“Hailing from the Land Down Under, Australia, Bobby Kidd possesses a talent for creating powerful pop-rock melodies that are instantly memorable and enjoyable. Bobby was drawn to the piano at age 12 and after years of piano lessons, he was ready to take on his first rock band in high school. This experience aroused his curiosity about the whole process of music production. That is when Bobby began producing his own unique style of music.

In order to learn as much about music as he could, Bobby Kidd started working at a local music studio in Wollongong, a town just south of Sydney. It was this environment that inspired him to sing, write songs and learn more instruments including the guitar and drums.

In 2006, Bobby decided to pack up all of his belongings and trek south to Melbourne. Whilst Sydney had been a great proving ground, Melbourne offered a far more diverse live music scene. Bobby Kidd actively performed solo acoustic shows, wrote many more songs and has now attracted a solid loyal fan base in Melbourne, Sydney and abroad.

Now looking to expand his musical presence elsewhere in the world, Bobby Kidd is a musical powerhouse that deserves a listen”.
 What is it that you love most about doing what you do?
Well, What isn't there to love lol. I love everything about being in the music business. For me, it starts with the whole process that goes into writing a tune. I’ve been fortunate enough to have met and worked with some great writers and producers. And then of course going out and playing the songs live. To me, there’s nothing that comes close to that feeling.

Your always meeting new and wonderful people (and weird ones too lol) Also for me personally, bringing joy and happiness to people’s life is a good feeling. When your doing something you love and put all your heart and soul into it, people respond to that, and that’s something so special that no one can take away from you. That’s pretty much how I feel and why I still love doing what I do.

What’s the general songwriting process for you? How does it start and where does it end?
Good Question. Everyone will tell you something different when it comes to this kind of question, simply because everyone’s different and works differently. What works for some may not for others. For me it depends on whether I’m co-writing (an interesting way of looking at life through other writers) or simply writing on my own. When writing or co-writing, a lot of the times it starts with a melody idea in my head. Then I either pick up the guitar or sit down on the piano (more often then not it’s the guitar) and start playing around with what I’m hearing in my head. And work on getting the best melody I possibly can.

Lyrically at this stage isn’t that important. Having said that, There have been plenty of times when I get a melody in my head and a few words or a line or 2 at the same time so at this stage It’s important to write them down. (There’s a reason why certain words or lines just come out and sing well, at least when I write) I also always have a little tape recorder sitting right next to me for when the magic happens (and for all the not so magical stuff as well lol).

Every song I’ve written has had different approaches to them. Some songs are written together from scratch in the studio or in the living room, and some, I have already written the melody and arrangement for and then we get together and discuss what we want to write about. There’s never a dull moment when it comes to writing.

What inspires or has influenced your music the most?
Well It’s no secret too those who know me well that one of my major influences at least early on in my career was Bon Jovi. I think Jon and Richie are phenomenal writers and great performers. Ever since I first saw and heard Jovi, I knew right then and there that I wanted to be like him (Rockstar lol).

There’s plenty of other bands/artists since then that have also influenced and inspired me along the way, with some examples, Kiss, Richard Marx, U2, Butch Walker, Pink, Nickelback, Daughtry, Sixx.A.M, 30stm, Keith Urban and the list goes on and on…… basically what all these great bands/artists have in common is that not only have they got great catchy songs, but they’re great performers. “They’re entertainers”. That’s what I love and respect about the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Butch Walker. These 2 guys right here, to me are the ultimate in entertaining. So when ever I’m feeling down or need a pick me up, I simply put on a dvd from any of these bands/artists (especially Jovi or Butch) and I’m reminded (almost immediately) why not only, did I fall in love with the band/artist, but what inspired me to become an artists myself.

Anyone who has listened to your EP will be aware of your talents as a lyricist. As far as lyric writer's go, who do you admire?
Well not too sound like I’m repeating myself here, but I guess the bands and artists that I mentioned in the last question about inspiring me, really do get a mention here. The likes of Butch Walker, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora etc etc….. However, one thing I’d like to mention on this topic is that it’s not always about the lyrics.

Honestly, to me the most important thing firstly, would have to be the melody. Now don’t get me wrong, I think lyrics are essential and very important to the whole of the song, but lets be honest and realistic here. Without a good catchy melody to sing along too, does it really matter what the singer is really singing about? How many times have you switched from 1 radio station to another simply because the tune wasn’t really catchy enough to keep you locked in? I know I have. Of course you could argue that point, but for me it all starts with the melody (regardless of what genre you listen to). Now if you can master and get both the melody and lyrics right, then you have something that is truly special and maybe even a ‘HIT’ on your hands.

Is there a song in particular off your EP that makes you proud to think I wrote/recorded that?   Well the E.P has 6 tracks on it. And of course I love them all. It’s like image having 6 kids and someone asking you which is your favourite child. Your answer would and should be all of them. However music is a funny thing. And after some time, you tend to lean more towards some songs over others. Why? I don’t truly know. Some sounded better as just an acoustic version than a fully polished up production and others really came through in the end.

Having said all that, There’s 4 out of the 6 that I’m very proud off. If I had to pick 1 for the sake of the question it would be a tough one but would be a toss up between ‘Everytime You’re Near’, ‘Breaking me Down’ or ‘No Longer My Own’. Those 3 tracks are quite special and I’m very proud to have not only written them but also recorded them. I think we captured the songs beautifully and honestly and with raw emotion.

If you could travel back in time (or into the future even, say tomorrow….) and play your music to any one of your musical heroes, who would it be and why?
I’m not sure that I would be brave enough to do that actually. Ok, lets say I had the opportunity to play a song or 2 to say someone like Butch Walker (singer/songwriter/producer/LEGEND), now I would love for him to produce a song or 2 (why stop there, heck Butch, lets do an album lol) so anyway, from a producers point of view, Butch would be listening to the song from a different angle then someone who wasn’t potentially gonna produce your work, if that makes any sense. Anyone else could just simply say yeh that’s great or not really my thing. But in Butch’s case he would be breaking it apart and hearing things here and there. So in that regards I wouldn’t be too afraid to play to him. It would be an honor.

However, on the other hand lets say I had the opportunity to play in front of Jon Bon Jovi, well that would be just shit scary. Why? Well simply because he’s the reason I started singing and playing guitar. Could you imagine if I played a song of mine in front of him, a guy I look up too and he turns around says, yeh whatever, It’s ok. I would be shattered.

I heard someone once say, that’s it probably better not to meet your idols, ‘cause they may not turn out quite like you had imagined or remember them too be.

Having said all that, it would be fantastic to meet and jam with all the guys that have inspired and influenced my musical journey this far.

What do you think it takes to succeed in music these days?
Success? That’s an interesting question and a tricky one to truly answer. It means so much to some and something completely different to others. How do you measure success? Is it having a record deal with a Major label? A Management contract? Supporting the likes of Pink on her American tour? Or just simply getting air time on commercial Radio or even a spot of T.V on a morning program. Simply having recorded and selling an E.P on itunes is success for some.

I think to have longevity in this industry (and lets face it, that’s what all artists/bands want) it would be a bit of everything I have just mentioned above. These days bands and artists have to be out playing, constantly. Labels want to see that your out there and ‘CAN’ play live and entertain a crowd and have a following, before they even think about signing you (if you’re the lucky few that do get signed).

The other important thing to note is also style of music you play. As great as the Australian market is, It’s not for everyone and every style, so one must decide whether to stay here and possibly struggle or go abroad and have a crack at say the U.S market or European market.

Look, to answer your question is quite difficult. Simply because these days, who knows what it takes to succeed in the music biz. ‘A bit of talent and who you know’, or ‘A heap of talent and hope for some luck to come your way’…..

As someone who has been based in Sydney, moved to Melbourne and now aspires to having a crack overseas, what are thoughts on the current state of the music industry?
Well, the music industry is in a different state then it was say 10 years ago. Technology has its up’s and down’s. If you take me for instance, without the likes of myspace and itunes I wouldn’t be able to have access to the many wonderful fans I have around the world, who not only can buy and download my E.P but catch up on all the latest stuff in the world of ‘BOBBY KIDD’.

It’s a great tool to have as an up and coming artist, looking for a big break. It’s a great tool for keeping in touch with people in the industry as well.

I guess the flip side to it all is, that with everyone now pretty much downloading songs either for free or for pretty much next to nothing it does make it extremely hard for the likes of myself and people in the same situation to make a living out of what you love doing.

So now what’s happening, is that the Record labels are loosing money and not getting any money back from their investments into new or even established artist, so now there’s other ways that the labels are looking into making money from the artist eg the ‘360 degree clause’ They now want a piece of your touring, merchandise etc etc.

But regardless of what is going on with the big labels, if you market yourself well and have a great product you can and will have a long lasting, successful career as an artist. It may just not be on a global level. But again, Success means something different to everyone.

What do you think sets you apart from other artists out there today?   Not sure really. Everyone wants to be a Rock star lol. We’re all different but yet the same, No ones ‘new’ anymore. Personally, If think so long as you have a great product, and can entertain your fans, then there will always be a market for you out there somewhere. I’ve made it a point these days not to focus too much attention to what everyone else is doing or playing.

My motto has and always will be too ‘write and sing catchy melodic songs that people can sing along with and also relate too’. I’ve always said and still to this day say whenever I finish writing a song or even during the writing process ‘If it moves me, then hopefully it will move others’. Someone once said to me, ‘BK, you can’t please everyone’, so stop trying too’. And with that advice, that’s how I live my life.

I got into music because I loved the feeling it gave me when I heard a band on the radio or saw them playing live or watched the behind the scenes footage at a concert or in the studio and I now have that same feeling inside when I write a new song or perform live.

So hopefully that honesty and passion comes through my music and I guess it’s things like that, that separates artists out there today.

2009....what is in store for Bobby Kidd?
Look into my eyes, I can see the future lol….. just kidding.
2009 is hopefully gonna be a big year for me. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well and I get the opportunity to have a good crack at the U.S market and/or the European market as well.

And as always, I’ll be playing more shows, be it acoustically or with a backing band. I’ll also be writing more songs, and with any luck have a new product for all my fans out there.

I know you guys must hear this a lot from artists, but can I just say that my fans rock. The never ending support and loyalty I get is truly amazing.

See you all on the road….. bk

HEAVEN'S BASEMENT

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 12:11:21 +1100

“Born from the five corners of the UK with a sole ambition between them; to reach the summit of their potential and to be regarded alongside the bands that inspired them. Heaven's Basement are about evolution, growth and reaching new heights. Defiance, risk, and self-challenge are their hallmarks. We're all about big, energetic, statements of intent, says frontman Richie. We're the band that will make you fall in love with Rock n' Roll all over again". Guitarist Jonny Rocker reveals all....
 Heaven's Basement - how and when did the band come together and what's the inspiration behind the name?
We formed the band towards the end of 2007 and spent about 5 months writing and rehearsing before we played any shows. The name came from the night we all decided to start a new band. We'd been at a party at Richie's house and when everyone started to leave we went down to his basement to jam. Sid mentioned that we were going into Hevanz's basement and it stuck. Thinking of a name for your band can be a pretty horrible process but everyone liked it straight away so we felt like it must be right.

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each of them, preferrably as rock 'n' roll as possible!!
Richie is the singer, he's from Wales although that's not necessarily a rock n' roll fact. I've often heard that the welsh are either good at fighting or singing, Rich seems to be pretty good at both. Sid is the lead guitarist he's like a tazmanian devil after a bottle of jager. Rob plays the bass, me and him have been mates for about 12 years now. There's no one i'd rather have standing next to me on stage, we call him the hammer after the way he plays. Chris is the drummer, it can be like standing next to a cannon when he's on fire. I'm Jonny, i'm the quiet one.

How would you describe your sound to a deaf person?
Beautality. It's like the most beautiful girl you've ever seen but with a massive dick.

You were busy in 2008 playing a bunch of shows with the likes of Thunder and even Bon Jovi. How was that for an experience? We know that a few of our readers in particular are massive Bon Jovi fans....are you able to shatter any Bon Jovi myths?
Unfortunately we didn't get to meet the guys from Bon Jovi so there's no big secrets i can reveal. It was an amazing experience, by far the biggest show we've played so far. The Thunder dates were great too, all the guys in the band are really cool and have been big supporters of us since we started. We're going back out on tour with them in europe in a few weeks so we can't wait for that.

What could one expect spending 60 minutes rocking with Heaven's Basement?
We never put anything less than every single ounce of our energy into our live shows. If you grab yourself a beer we'll batter the rest of your senses.

Surely you guys must have some pre-gig rituals you would like to share?
Sometimes it's hard when your playing different clubs every night, two nights are never the same so it's hard to have a routine. I suppose that's what keeps it fresh and interesting but normally we'll just chill out, have a couple of beers to get in the mood and just enjoy the calm before the storm.

If you could travel back in time to any gig or festival in the history of time, which would it be and why?
I've thought about this before, it wouldn't be a gig or festival though. I'd go back to 1965 and head to Los Angeles so i could watch Brian Wilson record Pet Sounds. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at that time. If i had to choose a gig i'd go back and watch The Who when they were at their peak, i think they're the best live band of all time.

What do you think set's Heaven's Basement apart from other rock bands out there today?
Well, we have no desire to fit into to any scene or be anything else but ourselves. People feel the need to put you in a category if you're in a band which is fine but we don't ever think about things like that. We want to set ourselves apart from the rest by being better than everyone else, thats what spurs us on.

You have a self titled EP out available from your website, can you tell us about a few of your most proudest tracks from the EP?
We're proud of them all. To be honest we were happy to wait and just release our album when we were ready but we had so many people asking for some music to buy we decided to put out the EP. We're pleased with how it came out but our expectations for the album are much much higher. We want to make a debut rock album to match the best of all time, there's no other plan apart from that.

2009 - what's in store for Heaven's Basement?
Well we've already been into the studio to record some tracks with the producer who will hopefully be working on the album with us. We have a few UK shows booked before we head off to europe with Thunder for a tour. When we get back we'll be thinking about starting pre-production for the record and then we'll be back out on tour in april time so watch this space!

SWEET CYANIDE

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:44:22 +1100

“Born of the fires of Mercury, raised by the spiders and diamond dogs, versed on the beliefs of the electric light, they were given the power to be the gods and goddesses of thunder with the mighty rhythm, they march through continents across the seven seas on a path of sonic construction crushing the boundaries that were placed on all man-kind taking no prisoners and leaving no ear behind the taste is on their tongues, the blood is on their fingers, the fire is in their souls, the sound is sweet, the addiction is cyanide...”
 Sweet Cyanide - how and when did the band come together and what's the inspiration behind the name?
Sweet Cyanide was the name of my first band when i was in high school; I came up with the name back then because i recall reading about the TYLENOL poisoning scares they were having here in the US. Anyway, years later, Angelo and i were about to embark on a new musical mission with Mike and Joe, and the name SWEET CYANIDE was thrown into the NAME GAME by Angelo as a joke....well, no one laughed! We all loved it and we decided it really fit the sound of the band; a bit of Sweet and alot of Cyanide!!

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each of them, preferably as rock 'n' roll as possible!!
Ok, so the band is going to hate me for these revelations but here we go: It is a little known fact that along with being the baddest (as in
Micheal Jackson) bass player around today, Angelo is skilled in the
art of Auparishtaka, especially on the road, making us all very
envious! Mike (Drummer extraordinaire) is able to levitate while laying down and engaging in the different types of congress. It's quite amazing to see him floating across the room in that position!
Joe (Guitarist,Anarchist) is an anomaly. There are so many interesting things about him that it's almost impossible to pick one but, Joe is well versed in the arts of cockfighting, quail fighting, and ram fighting! as well as being amazing at playing on musical glasses
filled with water. Mine are a little more complex but i can actually style my hair...with my organ of copulation! No lie!

How would you describe your sound to a deaf person?
Well, it depends if the person became deaf later in life or if they were born deaf...if they became deaf, then SWEET CYANIDE sounds like a dramatic, artistic, and self-revelatory Hard- Rockin' band...poisonous and irresistibly tasty! Now, if the person was born deaf, then i would say we sound like blahblahblahblah...wouldn't really make much of a difference to them, right??

What could one expect spending 45 minutes rocking with Sweet Cyanide?
All that has been missing in Rock n' Roll in the recent years!! Great
songs, massive riffage, killer vocals, and alot of sweating! In short,
you should expect to see a real-live, hard working Rock band not some crappy, cookie-cutter, fake rock group made up of guys who live off of their daddy's trust-fund money!

If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical hero's, or record label's or musical era's, who, what or when would it be?
That's easy, i'd play our CD for Marc Bolan right around his
"Futuristic Dragon"-era!

What do you think set's Sweet Cyanide apart from other rock bands out there today?
Sweet Cyanide is ROCK! The torch has been handed to us by the gods of rock and we will carry it proudly into the future! Not too mention, we have "The Cyanide Girls", a group of sexy females that are featured in their most loveliest on Sweetcyanide.com's Sinner's Club section every month (refer to the right for Miss December, Sweet Yasmin)!!

You released a self titled album out in late 2008, can you tell us about a few of your favorite tracks off the album?
'Crash Theory' opens the CD, it's what a freight-train crashing
through your living-room would sound like!
'Black n' white' is what we would consider our "hard rock musical
opus"...sheer genius!
'S.L.M.' is a sexy, sleazy Sunset Strip groove via New York City glam!
'Heartbreaker' is the obvious single; full of hooks and witty tongue
in cheek sarcasm.
'i Wish U Would' is an homage to the long forgotten great pop writers
like Jeff Lynne, Pete Ham, and Sir Paul.
'Under The Sun' is a sonic journey through SWEET CYANIDE's most metalmoments...a scorcher!!! BTW-All of these songs are now available on i-tunes;)

Sweet Cyanide is describe as a "vaudevillian laced blend of David Bowie glam and Guns N Roses grit" - what kind of movie could you see your music featuring in?
A remake of "A Clockwork Orange" or a film that educates the viewer on the fine art of love-making...i believe it's called a "Porno".

Taking into account your past experiences in the bands Crashbox and Moment Theory, as a wise man now, in your opinion, what do you think are the most important ingredients for a band to succeed these days?
Honesty. The smart listeners can hear through the bullshit and can see through the bogus images. With SC, we all share the same vision. We are not conforming to the "flavor of the week" rules that alot of
other groups are stuck having to follow. We write and play what we
would like to listen to. It's a simple lesson that we all
learned...you gotta love what your doing!

Lastly, here is your free advertising space to say anything else you wish.......
WWW.SWEETCYANIDE.COM
WWW.SWEETCYANIDE.COM
WWW.SWEETCYANIDE.COM
and last but not least
WWW.SWEETCYANIDE.COM

DIAMOND EYE

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:33:28 +1100

“We are DIAMOND EYE!! we hail from the Westcoast of Australia. Culminating from many previous bands and a wealth of experience we are here to show people that rock is still as badass as it ever was!! With powerful songs, big choruses and huge guitars, Diamond Eye is putting melody and flash back into heavy rock and we want to share it with u,”
 To kick us off, tell us how and when the band came together and what's the inspiration behind the name Diamond Eye?
Diamond Eye was formed in July 2006 after Will and Greg returned from ventures on the East Coast of Australia. The name Diamond Eye was settled on after many drinking sessions trying to come up with a cool name! The name itself we feel is strong words but do not represent anything in particular as we want people to interpret it as they will.

Can you introduce each member of your band and give us a little known fact about each of them, preferably as rock 'n' roll as possible!!
Will Kelly – Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar: Once conned his way into a drinking session with INXS under an assumed name.
Greg Fawcett – Lead Guitar/Vocals: Sprained his ankle after falling off a table doing a guitar solo when drunk…
Chase Cameron – Bass: Has a Rock n Roll Cemetery tattooed on his chest.
Troy (Bags) Goscombe – Drums: Likes to practice his with his pet snake “Stimpy” around his neck.

How would you describe your sound to a deaf person?
Like getting slapped in the face with a big wet fish!!

You released a demo EP in 2008, can you tell us about your favourite track off the EP? Also, when will we get to hear more?
Collectively our favourite track would be “Machine” which is earmarked to be the first or second single off our forthcoming Debut Album to be recorded and released later this year.

What could one expect from a Diamond Eye show?
A Happy Ending! We rock u long time!

If you could travel back in time and play your music to one of your musical hero's, record label's or musical era, who, what or when would it be?
We would go back in time to where Rock n Roll all began in the 50’s and steal everyone’s musical and visual ideas up until now, from AC/DC to ZZ Top!!!

What do you think sets Diamond Eye apart from other rock bands out there today?
Our strong work ethic, commitment to writing and performance, attention to detail and teamwork helps us to find the edge in everything we do.

You won the Perth leg and made it to the Final of the Australian leg of the Global Battle of the Bands to much disappointment not going further. How do you think the way the music industry works these days reflected upon the dare we say obvious winner of the competition?
We feel the competition was geared towards the ultimate winners who received a lot of promotion from the organisers prior to the event. However, we definitely benefited from the exposure at a national level.

The industry will always make their decision based on what they think will work for the majority. A band that is of similar age to early Silverchair and Hanson is a lot more exploitable than more experienced musicians, regardless of ability.
That being said, the Australian band come 2nd in the World Final, go figure!!

What is it that you love most about doing what you do?
We could go down the road of the cliché’s being sex drugs & rock n roll, which is all good of course! But in reality, we enjoy being able to express our collective creativity in our songs and the natural high of playing live to an enthusiastic audience cannot be topped.

You have an amazing and dedicated following that we know will grow with some exposure, how does Diamond Eye plan to take over the world?
Hard work, great songs and an electric live show is our edge and as you have said, with some exposure. “We will crush you under the wheels of our Machine” aye…

What does 2009 and the future hold for Perth's number 1 Rock band?
We’re currently in pre-production and scoping out producers and studios for the recording of our debut album later this year. We are also looking at some distribution labels to help get the album released Australia wide and internationally. To coinicide with the album launch, we will also release a single and video around that time.

As far as shows go, we are playing regularly around Perth and planning on joining the Metalfest Tour of Australia later this year, along with a possible Japanese tour in early 2010.

From there, who knows! Our basic plans is to tour as much as possible and get our name and music out to a wide audience while writing and releasing more tracks as we go. It would be great to make some money too!

Lastly, here is your free advertising space to say anything else you wish.......
Checkout our page at www.myspace.com/diamondeyerocks to see our upcoming shows and hear some tracks off our first demo. Drop us a line to tell us what you think!

Make sure you vote for us on Triple J Unearthed, there is a link on our MySpace page and we would love to get your votes and comments.

We also have a “Diamond Eye” group on Facebook with upcoming shows, band details and pics.

We would like to say a big cheers to all those that have given their support to the band. We look forward to making a lot more friends and getting our music out there for you to enjoy!

Rock on!!

ELECTRIC MARY

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:38:50 +1100

Remember when you couldn’t wait for your favorite bands to bring out their next record? Remember when you stood for an hour through the support band because you might hear something that your friends aren’t onto yet? Remember when it was real? Don’t be afraid to live in the past with your music; after all if it wasn’t for the past there would be no future. Let the GATE KEEPERS of the MUSIC INDUSTRY know they are asleep on the job. ROCK AND ROLL ....ELECTRIC MARY.

Electric Mary - how and when did the band come together and what's the inspiration behind the name?
2003 was a watershed year for singer/songwriter Rusty of Electric Mary. Musical tastes all over the world were changing and a fresh approach was what Rusty needed, so along with guitarist Irwin Thomas he headed to New York.

A chance meeting at a gig led to Rusty and Irwin hooking up with Mary Campbell, the legendary studio manager of Electric Lady Studio. An invitation was extended to visit the world famous studio, once owned by Jimi Hendrix. Mary told many stories of artists & bands such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Guns'n'Roses, the Kinks, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Bad Company. Rusty was in awe and he felt humbled to be hanging out with such illustrious company. Standing in the live room of studio A and feeling a great sense of joy, Mary handed Rusty a business card, “that's me at the bottom of the card”, electric mary..."

Right there and then Electric Mary was born. On the flight home Rusty decided to go back to what made him want to play music in the first place. The kind of music he grew up listening to and that had shaped his life.

He knew the sound he was after and he knew the guys who could deliver. The sound of Electric Mary!
 How would you describe the sound of Electric Mary?
Whatever you want it to sound like.....We have no control over your thoughts, We have no control over your thoughts, We have no control....When I snap my fingers you will wake and believe that we are the greatest thing you’ve ever heard and you have an undying luv for everything we do....S.N.A.P.

Obviously inspired by the greats of classic rock, who are some of your major influences?
Deep Purple 74-77, John Lennon, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, Queen and everything that comes under the heading good music.

What would you describe as being your ultimate goal as a band?
To musically do whatever we want to do and hope that people will jump on board with us.

If you could play a gig with any two bands, past and present who would it be?
Deep Purple with Coverdale and Hughes - (Headlining). John Lennon and George Harrison, playing an acoustic set of my favorite songs. I don’t want much! We’d go on first so I could get a drink, relax and enjoy the magic.

What do you think sets Electric Mary apart from other bands of today?
I’m sure we could rock with the best of ‘em. We have a great vibe within the band. When we come to play we mean business and we love to smash it up. Guitar solos, drum solos, 8 minute songs. Whatever we want to do, we do it.

Do you have any thoughts on the current state of rock music and the music industry?
As for the state of the industry, me thinks the gate keepers are asleep on the job. I’ve read so many times where people like Bowie, McCartney and alike have said they would not be able to make those great records now...how fucking sad is that!

What does 2009 hold for Electric Mary?
Well for starters, Glenn Hughes has announced a tour of Australia and Electric Mary has been asked to be a part of the bill. For those of you that know me, will know that Deep Purple has long been my favourite band The Hughes/Coverdale era is a big part of my musical D.N.A and an inspiration for the songwriting of Electric Mary. And to be honest i'm as happy as a pig in shit right now. I hope no matter where you are in Australia you take the time to witness one of the greatest singers of all time [ he plays bass pretty fucking damn good as well] Hmmm no one likes a smartass ;) Within a year i would have stepped onto the same stage as Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale ... yeah you could say i'm smiling.

We also have our CD out, Down To The Bone which you can purchase via our Myspace page via the links above.

CRIMES OF PASSION

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:09:31 +1100

Arguably one of the hardest working bands in the United Kingdom, Crimes Of Passion certainly are a band to let the music do the talking and talk it does. With numerous tours of Europe with White Lion and countless shows in the United Kingdom with the likes of Great White and Tyketto, the band is by no means a one trick pony! Currently embarking on a headline tour of Europe and with aspirations of playing at this years Sweden Rock, could 2009 be the year Crimes Of Passion finally get the recognition they deserve...
 How did the band and it's name come about?  It’s a lyric from one of our earlier songs, “Pretty In Blood”.  How would you best describe your sound to a deaf person?  Its like a thick pile of shepherds pie, solid and meaty at the base, but with a fluffy surface, and a hint of cheese.

What bands did you grow up with, and how did they help create the style of music that you play now?
It was always the likes of Maiden, Dokken, through the 80’s, but more recently the bands that influence us are more in the vein of Bullet For My Valentine, Saosin. Killswitch Engage, but still with a hint of the old school AOR.
 What do you think sets your music apart from that of other bands?  I don’t think we can be directly pigeon holed into a particular style of metal/rock, we think we have quite a unique sound, due to our very varied influences.   What too you will be "success" as far as Crimes Of Passion is concerned?  The release of our album has been a success for one!!! A nice deal from a decent label, and more tours, and perhaps a few quid in the back pocket to boot!! We don’t want much really!!

Is there a song in your collection now that makes you proud to think we/I wrote that?  For me its “God Made Me Your Angel” our big cigarette lighter ballad.

Crimes Of Passion is to headline Monsters Of Rock with your choice of 3 support acts. Who do you choose?  A varied line up I think,Iron Maiden – to bring in a good crowd – Journey with Jeff Scott Soto – the guy was awesome on the last tour!! And Queen with Freddie!!!! I reckon that line up put some bums on seats!!!!  Any thoughts on the current state of the music industry?  I think rock is still buzzing and always will be, it doesn’t have to be at the forefront of the media, it doesn’t need it. We like rock because its rock!!!! Not because someone told us to like it. There’s none of the “emporers new clothes” syndrome with us metal heads, is there!!!!

What does the future hold for Crimes Of Passion? Well our album has been released for a while now, so we hope there are still more and more people checking that out. More tours with some of our favourite bands, which is a real buzz!!! 2009 will be an exciting year for us, hopefully then we’ll raise enough money to retire and eat shepherds pie and drink blue nunn around our swimming pools with our milfs!!!!!

JULIAN ANGEL

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 22:07:53 +1100

Julian Angel is the rock artist rated "Stripper Rock". Rock singer, lead- and rhythm guitarist, bass player, keyboardist, mixer, producer; Julian Angel handles it all himself not to neccessarily control things but mainly to enjoy every part of the music written, played and recorded in his Digital Attic studio

What was the inspiration to get yourself into the crazy world of the Music Business? Girls. Yeah, I actually told girls I had been a guitar player in order to impress them. So one day I had to follow up on this and learn how to play...  What is the best way to describe the sound of Julian Angel to someone that has never heard you before? I was hoping you could tell me... I call it "Rock with a Slam". Glamorous, sleazy rock and roll with slamming grooves. Imagine Mötley Crüe violating Fergie while Poison, Prince and Pink are having a threesome...

What bands did you grow up with, and how did they help create the style of music that you play now? I have basically been listening to anything that had an attitude: Rock and Roll, Hard Rock, Funk, Soul, R&B... As my main influences I would name Mötley Crüe, Poison, early Bon Jovi, Extreme but also Prince and Mother´s Finest. I love loud guitars and cool rhythms.
What do you think sets your music apart from that of other music artists out there? If you are into glam and sleaze but are also looking for something rather fresh, new or modern, my kind of music should be of interest to you. I never heard anyone combine these styles the way I do. I wish I had, that would make it a lot easier for me to describe what I´m actually doing :)  What is "success" as far as Julian Angel is concerned?  It starts with a short eMail I receive from a listener from anywhere in the world telling me that he or she likes what I´m doing and might end up in millions... - anyone reading this, please stay away from talking to me about money investment, I have none, hahaha...
You are to head out on your own headline tour of the USA with your choice of 3 support acts. Who do you choose?  Them supporting me? Great: Mötley Crüe, Prince and Poison. Don´t wake me up...

Coming from Germany, what are your thoughts on the state of the music industry in your home country?  It sucks. Really. I am getting more support by the media in overseas than I do in my home country. I probably sound too American. Maybe. Also I haven´t heard anyone talk about copying cds and even copying booklets as much as Germans do. Whatever you see or hear in the States or England, Germany will come up with an embarrassing copy of it - how should a record producer who has grown up on march music ever be able to rock and roll?

Have you had much interest shown in your music from outside of Germany? Yes, you guys have shown some interest, man! I am currently selling most of my music in the USA and many fans who have bought my new album also ask me about the CD I did in late 2000. The media are very supportive too, so I am very happy with what is going on abroad.

What does the future hold for Julian Angel? A pot of gold, hopefully. Seriously, I have started writing songs for a follow up album on "Choreography Sucks", which will, however, take another year to accomplish since I really want to record quality material only.

Here is your free advertising space to tell us anything else you think we need to know about you or your music...... Need more inches? Mortgages? Cheap software? Contact me! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and thank you for making it possible. It would be great if you listened for a while and maybe drop me a line..