or us,
CITY OF THE WEAK
represents something that has been lacking severely in the world of
rock for a long time - artistry. So few have had that artistry that
goes
along with being a rock n roll band down to a science and this band -
fronted by the irrepressible front woman STEF W/ AN F - has always had
the musicality and the visual smarts to stand out of the active rock
crowd. You could hear it in their punchy, pop rock delivery and you
could see it in all of their music videos to date and we have the
photogenaeity of STEF and the vision of bass player and filmmaker CODY
EVAN HOFFMAN (the guy directs their videos) to thank for that. In a
time when musicmakers
simply make music on their laptops and post it to whatever
musical
platform is out there, it's quite refreshing to see a band that has the
complete package and knows the value of a little visual flash and
style. For years, CITY OF THE WEAK has released a steady stream of EPs
and
singles to reasonable chart action and radio play on all of the right
markets, but now the band is gearing up with the release of their first
ever LP PULLING TEETH. The title represents the struggles the band has
faced by simply making the music they want to make. Not only is the
album a milestone for the band, it's a middle finger to the haters and
the naysayers. When we spoke with STEF W/AN F it was the
weekend before the the commencement of a new tour promoting the
forthcoming release of PULLING TEETH. Here is
how the interview went.
he
artist known in certain circles as ANIMAL TEEF is something of a first
in the eyes of our publication. Blame it on our lack of knowledge when
it comes to the world of hip hop - as we are a rock publication - but
the
Oglala Lakota rapper may
very well be the genre's first real vgabond. Since 2013, we have
seen his solo career take off from the fields of the Oglala Sioux
Indian Reservation with the single AIN'T NOBODY'S BIDNESS and the LP
PINK
TRASH. The man's brand of socially conscious hip hop came with a jagged
edge and not a word or beat went to waste, even on the 14-song
collection THE SHAKE BAG or the EP SAY LA VIE. In an a genre of music
that is all about representing a certain locale, TEEF is a vagabond who
has taken his music North by Northwest to such cities at Seattle and
Eugene. For the past couple of years he has contributed rhymes to this
and that project, but now he is one half of a new project called
LONESOME GEORGE. The other half is comprised of beat maker and producer
ENDOR and their message of Indigenous pride and decolonization can be
heard loud and clear on their new album BURT BACHAPACK- a play on the
name of a legendary songwriter and a hat tip to what TEEF refers to as
"back pack" rapper. Us "dad rockers" learn something new every day!
ROCKWIRED had the chance to speak with ANIMAL TEEF and ENDOR of
LONESOME GEORGE regarding their new album. Here is how the interview
went.
n speaking
with Canadian glam/punk rock veteran TED AXE, you get
the sense that the Great White North is just a little too quiet for the
guy. In the late seventies, it was he and his band THE ACTION that got
the punk music movement going in Canada with some rather sensational
headlines in the Ottawa newspapers and the release a balls-to-the-wall
EP which contained their clarion single TV's ON THE BLINK. Yes sir,
"Canada's First Punk Rock Band" knew how to get the press going and the
band quickly found themselves touring their homeland and the States
alongside such punk rock legends as THE STRANGLERS and THE RAMONES.
When all of this was going down, rock n roll was only twenty something
years old so no one was thinking about maintaining a legacy or even
working their way into some "hall of fame" nonsense. THE ACTION became
inactive after one year but AXE took his razor tongued antics
elsewhere. He's stalked the stage of London and Los Angeles and then
formed the band SISTER HYDE in Seattle. Now, he has just released his
new solo album SEX HORROR VIOLENCE - a twelve-song opus that celebrates
the man's punk rock spirit and thse glam flourishes of his
that he
hasn't been able to shake since he first heard ZIGGY STARDUST in a
record store years and years ago.
APRIL 6,
2018 THE
ROCKWiRED ARTiST OF THE
MONTH NOMiNEES:
OCKWIRED.COM
is pleased to annuonce the nominees for our latest ARTIST OF
THE MONTH COMPETITION. The current artist of the
month winner is the band WE ARE BAND NERDS who secured
their victory with over six thousand voters. Now we are getting things
set for the month of April and we've got an amazing group of artists
for you to pick from. This official ballot page has been set up with
polling services provided by MICROPOLL.
wenty-four
years after making the
big leap to living life in the western part of the United States, it's
hard for me to believe that I had ever lived in the congestion of the
D.C. Metropolitan area. Sure, I'm cut off from some big city refinement
in my middle age and living in a town that no one can spell. Everyone
knows my immediate surroundings for the exploits BREAKING BAD's WALTER
WHITE and slimy but likable SAUL GOODMAN on BETTER CALL SAUL, but I'm
away from the "political intrigue" that defines the D.C. metro area -
intrigue which never intrigued me in my formative years. To be more
specific, I grew up in Silver Spring, a Maryland town on the
border of
D.C. where drummer DEREK FALZOI currently resides. One day we struck up
a conversation on FACEBOOK for the first time and we got to talking
about his band SEPIA which was a few days away from releasing their
newest album DROP DEAD GORGEOUS. Who was I to dismiss a "homey" and not
give his band a chance? After all, a magazine
favorite like SILVERTUNG
also hails from the "Old Line State". Maryland is a million miles away
from rock n roll abandon but SEPIA have a knack for it and you can hear
it loud and clear on their new, relatively self-produced new album.
Post-grunge is most definitely alive with these guys and while that may
cost them radioplay in any significant pop market it'll be a breath of
fresh air for listeners who recall a time when music making was a band
effort as opposed to simply pressing a button. The album's first single
MARIONETTE - an
assured piece
of pop rock on being a slave to love - is a fine single indeed but the
song HOME is the one that really catches our ear with a spirited,
rambunctious chorus sung in a round and singer RYAN BECKELMEN taking
command of the proceedings with refreshingly understated vocals that
recall ANTHONY KEIDIS and BRANDON BOYD of INCUBUS. ROCKWIRED had a
chance to speak with singer RYAN BECKELMEN and drummer DEREK FALZOI of
SEPIA regarding their latest album. Here is how the interview went.
APRIL
2,
2018 - You voted,
the polls have closed and the winners of the 84th ROCKWIRED ARTISTS OF
THE MONTH winners is the hiphop metal band WE ARE BAND NERDS. The
combining of hip-hop with the raucous
stylings of heavy metal is a an old recipe that goes back to the days
when rap was something you only heard on the streets as opposed to
every facet of American life. This hybridization first became popular
when RUN DMC teamed up with AEROSMITH for the hip-hop retelling of the
latter's freak flag classic rock staple WALK THIS WAY and reached it's
zenith in the late nineties/early 2000s with bands such as LIMP BIZKIT
and LINKIN PARK. Despite the fact that this type of fusion is absent
from the charts these days, WE ARE BAND NERDS has no probablem dusting
the genre off for their new album FORGET-ME-NOTS (PAVEMENT
ENTERTAINMENT) but what makes this new release so exciting is that the
...NERDS' approach isn't the same ole' same ole'. Their musical arsenal
is a considerable one with jazz and electronic elements and lyrics and
rhymes that examine middle class minority life and the highs, lows, and
hopes and dreams that go with it.
et me tell
you what sucks about getting old. You find yourself
not wanting to go out as much and that puts you in a strange place as a
music journalist. Sure, my area of expertise is recorded music, but
rock n roll is all about the live performance. I've let age get the
better of me and after checking the all female prog metal band FLIGHT
OF FIRE from Boston, I've learned that I'm missing out on a lot.
According to some favorable press and some footage that can
be found
on YOUTUBE, FLIGHT OF FIRE has something - that over-the-top live
sensibility that has been missing from rock since the eighties. What
good is rock n roll without showmanship? Outside of the pomp and
circumstance that goes along with the band's live set, FLIGHT OF FIRE
has musicality to spare. You can attribute that to either their
ingrained sense of rock n roll with ambition (we did mention they are
on the prog-y side of metal right?) or the years spent studying music
at Berklee School of Music. Either way, the band's artistry and
musicality can be heard loud and clear on their 2017 album PATH OF THE
PHOENIX. We are given assurances by the band that a new album is on the
way but inthe meantime, the band has released the playful single SICK
IN LOVE and are gearing up for a tour of Europe that is set for Summer
of this year. ROCKWIRED had the chance to speak with the band's front
woman MAVERICK and twins TANYA VENOM (lead guitar) and TIA MAYHEM
(bass) regarding the band and their music making. Here is how the
interview went.
APRIL
2,
2018 - You voted,
the polls have closed and the winners of the 84th ROCKWIRED ARTISTS OF
THE MONTH winners is the hiphop metal band WE ARE BAND NERDS. The
combining of hip-hop with the raucous
stylings of heavy metal is a an old recipe that goes back to the days
when rap was something you only heard on the streets as opposed to
every facet of American life. This hybridization first became popular
when RUN DMC teamed up with AEROSMITH for the hip-hop retelling of the
latter's freak flag classic rock staple WALK THIS WAY and reached it's
zenith in the late nineties/early 2000s with bands such as LIMP BIZKIT
and LINKIN PARK. Despite the fact that this type of fusion is absent
from the charts these days, WE ARE BAND NERDS has no probablem dusting
the genre off for their new album FORGET-ME-NOTS (PAVEMENT
ENTERTAINMENT) but what makes this new release so exciting is that the
...NERDS' approach isn't the same ole' same ole'. Their musical arsenal
is a considerable one with jazz and electronic elements and lyrics and
rhymes that examine middle class minority life and the highs, lows, and
hopes and dreams that go with it.
ROCKWiRED
NEWS BLAST:THE WiNNERS OF THE 2018
LA MUSiC ViDEO AWARDS
n March 24, 2018, the
winners in the first ever LA
MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS were announced during a lively and
intimate awards ceremony hosted at UNFRIENDLY
STUDIOS in Vernon. California. The director of the event -
JOWANNA LEWIS
of RADIO KSCR
- served as the hostess of the event. After months of planning,
selecting the nominees and facilitiating the voting, we can only
imagine that the stress of pulling off an evening to remembers was
high, but knowing LEWIS like ROCKWIRED does, we were not the least bit
surprised to see this entrepreneur pull of this event with her usual
grace and panache. "It was a
pleasure and a challenge to do the LA Music Video Awards." says
LEWIS. "There were some great videos that were
submitted. I am looking forward to putting this event on next
year."
MARCH
26,
2018
ROCK SHOW #7:FEATURiNG NEW MUSiC FROM KiM WILDE, NENA, DALi VAN GOGH, G TOM MAC, FATHER JUPiTER AND MORE!!!
he latest
editon of ROCK SHOW is the product of a truly lazy Sunday afternoon.
This edition doesn't feature any interviews. It's simply your host host
BRIAN LUSH and co-host RITA LOUISE spinning some tunes and talking in
between the songs, and we've got some brand spaking new ones this week.
This show is kind of an unofficial eighties reunion as it features new
music from the likes of KIM WILDE and NENA. WILDE is back with her new
album HERE COME THE ALIENS and it is a brash return to the woman's new
wave rock beginnings. The delectable electropunk rocker KANDY KRUSH
recalls a bit of the fiestiness that could be heard on her 1980 hit
KIDS IN AMERICA. NENA made an impression in the early days of MTV with
the teutonic bop of 99 LUFTBALLOONS. Now she is back with the slinky
electro-glam stomper BE MY REBEL where she gets a little help from
producer and ex-EURYTHMICDAVE
STEWART. Rocker G TOM MAC has become synonymous for his song CRY LITTLE
SISTER from the soundtrack for the eighties vampire flick THE LOST BOYS
and now he has created a musical adaptation of the LOST BOYS called A
LOST BOY'S STORY - THE MUSICAL. In this show we spin the opening number
of MAC's mighty opus. That about does it for representation from the
REAGAN era. All of our other new songs this week come from such artists
as DALI VAN GOGH, SAYERS, DYNAMOS and FATHER JUPITER.
he
first time I spoke with singer-songwriter MICK McMAINS, it was the year
2006 and he was one part of the trip-hopped, politically charged
musical hodge podge known as DJ MONKEY. It was the last two years of
the BUSH-CHENEY years and who didn't want some sort of political
resistance in their music? DJ MONEY had a sound that encompassed spoken
word, hip hop, punk rock, jazz and passion for social justice a whole
decade and a half before this SJW thing became a thing. It was five men
in a recording studio but noticeable from a distance was the truth
creative nucleus of the of the band - McMAINS and songwriter JOEY ALKES
(famed for his work on THE PLIMSOULS' 1983 power pop hit A MILLION
MILES AWAY).
he
combining of hip-hop with the raucous
stylings of heavy metal is a an old recipe that goes back to the days
when rap was something you only heard on the streets as opposed to
every facet of American life. This hybridization first became popular
when RUN DMC teamed up with AEROSMITH for the hip-hop retelling of the
latter's freak flag classic rock staple WALK THIS WAY and reached it's
zenith in the late nineties/early 2000s with bands such as LIMP BIZKIT
and LINKIN PARK. Despite the fact that this type of fusion is absent
from the charts these days, WE ARE BAND NERDS has no probablem dusting
the genre off for their new album FORGET-ME-NOTS (PAVEMENT
ENTERTAINMENT) but what makes this new release so exciting is that the
...NERDS' approach isn't the same ole' same ole'. Their musical arsenal
is a considerable one with jazz and electronic elements and lyrics and
rhymes that examine middle class minority life and the highs, lows, and
hopes and dreams that go with it. ROCKWIRED had a chance to speak with
rapper/vocalist TONY LUCAS regarding the band's new release. Here is
how the interview went.
MARCH 19,
2018 ROCK SHOW #6:FEATURiNG MUSiC FROM THE NOMiNEES OF THE LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
AND iNTERViEWS WiTH MiCK McMAINS
AND LONESOME GEORGE!!!
t's been
over a week since
we've had a new edition of ROCK SHOW but now we're back with new music
and some new interviews. This edition comes just days before the first
annual LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS which will be held on Friday, March 24,
2018 at UNFRIENDLY STUDIOS in Vernon, CA. ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE has
published the official guide for the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS and the
122-page publication has been received ecstatically by readers both
domestic and abroad. We put a lot of work in the writing and the layout
of the guide and with all ofthe work behind us, we are using this show
as an opportunity to share with the listeners some of our favorites
videos from this year's impressive list of nominees. In addition, this
edition of ROCK SHOW will also feature music and exclusive
interviews
with singer-songwriter MICK McMAINS regarding his new album AMERICAN
SOUL and ANIMAL TEEF and ENDOR of LONSEOME GEORGE regarding
their debut release BURT BACHAPACK. Sandwiched in within all of this is the
usual banter between hosts BRIAN LUSH and RITA LOUISE.
n
a musical career, all one needs is that one signature tune that
resonates with listeners so that when they hear you're name, they are
going to connect it with that song that brought a smile to their face
or got their head banging or in the case of NDN
KARS by
KEITH SECOLA, the hairs on the back of their neck to stand up. No one
needs to be reminded the dearth of Native American artistry
on the pop music landscape unless some pop tart or hip hop
guys
wants to don a headdress. At least we've got REDBONE's pop classic COME
AND GET YOUR LOVE still popping up in this
commercial or that movie.
Despite the lack of representation on the upper echelons of popdom,
KEITH SECOLA (Anishinabe) has been a rock n roll troubadour who has
entertained and moved audiences from throughout Indian Country and
beyond with a patchwork sound that combines reggae, folk music and rock
n roll. He committed this sound to tape in 1992 with his album CIRCLE
with a little help from the SAND CREEK BAND and a rumbling rock anthem
called NDN KARS.
THE
ARTiCLE WiLL CONTiNUE FOLLOWiNG
THE ADVERTiSEMENT BELOW
MARCH 14,
2018 ROCKWiRED
DOSSiER:JON MARCHEWKA OF RFL RECORDS
or the
past decade and a half there has been talk of how there is no
gold in them there hills when it comes to the music industry and
how
easy it is to make music and make it available online for people to
download without paying. It all sounds hopeless. With an environment
like this, why the hell get into the industry? For that matter, why
even start a record label if music has become this taken-for-granted
commodity as opposed to being a precious one? Those are the questions
anyone entering this "crazy" business should be asking themselves, but
ROCKWIRED is leveling these questions to JON MARCHEWKA, the
owner and
founder of the small, independent record label RFL RECORDS.
In
speaking with MARCHEWKA, we've learned that it is simply a love for the
heavier side of rock n roll that fuels MARCHEWKA's passion
for his
fledgling label and the artists on his roster which include
the heavy
metal thunder of bands such as HYDROGYN and SILK 9 to the gritty punk
rock assault of BLACK KNOTS. This
baby-faced, mild mannered entrepreneur isn't letting any music industry
cynicism get in his way and is looking forward to adding new bands and
artists to RFL RECORDS' already impressive roster.
THE
ARTiCLE WiLL CONTiNUE FOLLOWiNG
THE ADVERTiSEMENT BELOW
MARCH 5,
2018
ROCK SHOW #5:WE ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF
ROCKWIRED'S ARTIST OF THE MONTH AWARD AND
FEATURE MUSIC AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH SEPIA, FLIGHT OF FIRE AND WE ARE BAND NERDS!!!
eing away
for a week was a huge mistake but what choice do you have when you host
a podcast and you get struck with laryngitis and it hurts like hell to
talk. Some of the rasp is still with me, but ROCK SHOW is back, as is
or co-host RITA LOUISE for two hours of music, interviews with some
bands that have come ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's way and banter
between the hosts on their current living conditions in the Duke City
and shady neighbors that are across from them. Neighbors that can't be
stopped by ATF raids, forced evictions or the love of Christ for that
matter and we've got a sneaking suspicion that meth making is in the
picture. Thanks alot BETTER CALL BREAKING BAD for making this shit
chic. Oh there is so much to discuss on this fine show but we are
kicking everything off by announcing the winner of the ROCKWIRED ARTIST
OF THE MONTH. To find out who it is you're going ot have to listen to
the show until we fire off the press release. Also included in this
edition of ROCK SHOW is music and exclusive interviews with
Maryland-based rockers SEPIA, the all-female metal band FLIGHT OF FIRE
and the rap metal band WE ARE BAND NERDS.
THE
ARTiCLE WiLL CONTiNUE FOLLOWiNG
THE ADVERTiSEMENT BELOW
FEBRUARY
22,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:THE
OUTFiT
rothers
MARK and MATT NAWARA are veterans of the Chicago rock scene
having recorded and written endless hours of original music over the
years with this band and that band. Their latest venture - THE OUTFIT -
is one that plays to their strengths as music makers. Straight ahead
rock n roll with clever hooks marks the band's sound on their
self-titled debut LP with such tracks as LIAR, SOLDIER BOY and LUCKY
ONE providing the rah rah rah on this raucous debut. Of course, the
band's flawless rock n roll execution - done with the assist of
producer MATT MERCADO - was never in question given the resumes of the
men who round out the line up of THE OUTFIT. MIKE GORMAN hails from the
legendary Chicago bands PEZBAND and OFFBROADWAY and front mand and
rhythm guitarist ANDY MITCHELL whose past bands include
DISH, VERONA
and 9 VOLT. ROCKWIRED had a chance to speak with ANDY MITCHELL
regarding THE OUTFIT's self-titled release. Here is how the interview
went.
he
restlessness for a new sound either allows a band to grow or drives
nail into their coffin. The southern metal band ANTI-MORTEM
made a
name for themselves with bottom heavy, groove laden heavy rock anthems
just like your dad used to listen to but with the band's creative
nucleus LARADO and NEVADA ROMO giving the proceedings a youthful,
angsty vigor. There was certainly no reason to beleive that this little
enterprise couldn't have gone the distance but the brothers ROMO
detected a widening chasm between the music they were listening to and
the music they were sharing with the masses. Because of that chasm,
ANTI-MORTEM is no more and the band COSMIC WOOLhas
emerged with a wider musical palette complete with experimental guitar
riffs and dance breaks and a "sky's the limit" attitude to their
ambitious musical direction. The ROMO brothers are still calling the
shots creatively but a new lease on life has led to the creation of
their self-titled LP and an electrifying live set. ROCKWIRED
had a
chance to speak with guitarist NEVADA ROMO of COSMIC WOOL regarding the
new album. Here is how the interview went.
ROCK SHOW #4 | FEATURiNG
MUSiC AND iNTERViEWS WiTH LA
MUSiC ViDEO AWARDS AND iT'S
DiRECTOR JOWANNA LEWiS OF RADiO KSCR TED AXE, AND MANHIGH!!!
e are going
to try not to have an edition of ROCK SHOW go by
without our co-host RITA LOUISE. The addition of her to the ROCKWIRED
family has been invaluable and her presence in front of the
mic is
really something special. Her being away for one show was way too long
and we're grateful to have her back. In the latest edition of ROCK
SHOW, we kick things off with news of the upcoming LA MUSIC
VIDEO
AWARDS which ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE will be publishing an official guide
for. We'll be interviewing the director of the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
JOWANNA LEWIS (CEO of RADIO KSCR) and spin some tunes from some of the
nominees like RAYMOND LEVIER, MILITIA VOX and B OF DAKOTA SOUTH
RECORDS. We will also be spinning some tunes and presenting exlcusive
interviews with the likes of Canadian punk/glam rocker TED AXE, the New
Mexico-based rockers MANHIGHand the
adventurous musical stylings of RAUSCH. There is also some new music
from ROCKWIRED newcomers such as MAGNETIC NORTH, SHINOBI
NINJA, SIDE CHAIN and WE ARE BAND NERDS.
FEBRUARY
17,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NEWS BLAST:LA MUSiC ViDEO AWARDSNOMiNEES AND THE COVER FOR
THE OFFICIAL GUiDE
n March 2, 2018 ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE
will be releasing the official guide for the 2018 LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
taking place in Vernon,
California on March 24, 2018 at UNFRIENDLY STUDIOS.
This guide will feature an indepth look at the all of the music videos
that have been nominated for this exciting awards program and
give
readers and music fans a taste of what the world of
independent music
has to offer in the way of visuals. It is a mission that has ROCKWIRED
publisher BRIAN LUSH "completely excited" to say the least.
"I'm all
too anxious to get this immense project off the ground!" says BRIAN
LUSH. "These days, it's not just the song that gets an artist noticed.
It's the vision that a band brings to the table. This is nothing new.
MTV got the ball rolling decades ago but with services like YOUTUBE and
other social media, a music video is more important than ever to have
but the problem is that there is so much out there and an awards
program like the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS will give people a taste of
everything that is out there. The number of categories is truly
intimidating but ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's guide to this year's program is
going to cover all of it with style and charm."
ack when I
was a kid, you had these groups of guys called rock bands
who played music and obsessed about fame and that often times elusive
recording contract. Nowadays, it's all about the DIY and making things
happen on your own with a steady stream of live gigs, music that is
available on all of the right platforms and a strong social media
presence. And of course, a music video wouldn't hurt. Yes, it's all at
a band's fingertips these daysand as a
result you hear less and less about that aforementioned recording
contract. Breaking
with this rather recent tradition is the Pennsylvania-based metal band
SILK9 who have signed that dotted line with the fledgling label RFL
RECORDS. Their raucous 5-song EP RETRIBUTION is a gritty look
at life
and all of the ups and downs that go along with it and the struggle
depicted is not only real, it's engaging as hell. ROCKWIRED
had the chance to speak with the band's guitarist and founding member
ANTHONY LEONE. Here is how the interview went.
ROCK SHOW #3 | FEATURiNG
MUSiC AND iNTERViEWS WiTH KEiTH
SECOLA, THE OUTFiT,
COSMiC WOOL
AND SiLK9!!!
he
latest edition of ROCK SHOW has host BRIAN LUSH flying alone but there
is still some great music to be played and some interview excerpts to
be heard. ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE is committed to keeping
this new show going for the ling haul and we look forward to having our
co-host return next week. We are continuing to refine this show week by
week until a formula sticks and are constantly on the look out for new
music and talent to feature on the show. This week, ROCK SHOW presents
music and interviews with pow wow rocker KEITH SECOLA, Chicago-based
band THE OUTFIT, the Texas-based COSMIC WOOL which features former
members of ANTI-MORTEM as well as current members of TEXAS HIPPIE
COALITION and Pennsylvania-based metal band SILK 9. Check out
our playlist for todays show below. THe songs will appear in exactly
that order.
kay so I didn't go
back as far as I could've for the first ever presentation of ROCKWIRED
REWIND, but I picked a good one. It was the summer of 2016
and CANDLEBOX had just released their glorious album DISAPPEARING IN
AIRPORTS. I had already been acquainted with the band's lead singer
KEVIN MARTIN through another musical project he had been involved with
called LE PROJET and had a good working relationship with the band's
publicist DENISE. VEXATIOUS was a punchy single and the album was just
the kind of rock album that I'm programmed to fall in love with - the
kind that has something to say. This was the 642nd edition of our now
defunct podcast series ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES and it was one of my
favorites. KEVIN MARTIN is always a great interview. Please enjoy this
podcast in it's entirety with three cuts from the album included.
THE
POSTS WiLL CONTiNUE FOLLOWiNG
THE ADVERTiSEMENT BELOW
FEBRUARY 9,
2018 THE
ROCKWiRED ARTiST OF THE
MONTHRADIO
SHOWCASE
he
ROCKWIRED ARTIST OF THE MONTH competition is making it's
grand return to ROCKWIRED.COM. The last artist of the
month was the band
BOBAFLEX in October of 2017 who had won onthe strength of thousands of
voters and their 2018 ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL AWARD winning album
ELOQUENT DEMONS. In the months following their victory ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE had undergone some editorial changes and so far, 2018 is
shaping up to be our most exciting year yet in our entire thirteen year
history. Along with the establishment of our exciting new weekly
podcast ROCK SHOW and expanded reportage on the website, what better
time to augment our ARTIST OF THE MONTH campaign?
THE
POSTS WiLL CONTiNUE FOLLOWiNG
THE ADVERTiSEMENT BELOW
FEBRUARY 6,
2018 THE
ROCKWiRED ARTiST OF THE
MONTH NOMiNEES:
he
ROCKWIRED ARTIST OF THE MONTH competition is making it's
grand return to ROCKWIRED.COM. The last artist of the
month was the bnd
BOBAFLEX in October of 2017 who had won onthe strength of thousands of
voters and their 2018 ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL AWARD winning album
ELOQUENT DEMONS. In the months following their victory ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE had undergone some editorial changes and so far, 2018 is
shaping up to be our most exciting year yet in our entire thirteen year
history. Along with the establishment of our exciting new weekly
podcast ROCK SHOW and expanded reportage on the website, what better
time to augment our ARTIST OF THE MONTH campaign?
FEBRUARY 5,
2018 ROCK SHOW #2 | FEATURiNG
NEW CO-HOST RiTA LOUiSE
AND MUSiC FROM BOBAFLEX,
SiLVERTUNG, MiLiTiA VOX, JACOB CADE AND MORE!!!
he
reason for ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE taking it's time in getting
it's
official weekly podcast off the ground has had a lot to do with my own
insecurities about getting in front of the mic and doing a show.
Strange, for a guy who has produced and hosted over 900 hours of
podcasting and before that was host of an actual radio show
for
five years. I always knew that I was going to need a co-host to bounce
ideas around with. In the last year of my weekly radio show, I
benefitted greatly from the radio presence of my then host SINE
DOHERTY. That final year of ROCKWIRED LIVE in Southern California
proved to be the most satisfying. In trying to build a new life in New
Mexico for myself and the ROCKWIRED brand, I stepped away from
broadcasting and slowly turned to podcasting with the seven year run of
ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES from 2010 to 2017.
ROCK SHOW
was the show I always wanted to do - a weekly show where music gets
spun and discussed with a co-host. It's all about capturing magic and
now, I've found the perfect co-host - my sister RITA LOUISE. TO READ MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
FEBRUARY
1, 2018
his is a
re-posting
of the premiere of ROCKWIRED.COM's new podcast series ROCK
SHOW back in AUGUST
28,
2017 - Well
kiddies, here you have it! This is the very
first edition of our
brand new weekly show ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE'S ROCK SHOW. We admit it's not
the most inspired title but it gives you an idea of what to
expect
with this new weekly program. This latest endeavor by ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE is not much of a new endeavor. It's more of a rebranding of
our previous podcast series ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES. We feel a title
like . Since 2010,
ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES lasted for over 700 editions and featured
music and interviews with various active rock artists such
as WAYLAND,
BOBAFLEX, ADELITA'S WAY, EDGE OF PARADISE, ANOTHER LOST YEAR, SAINT
MOTEL, SHALLOW SIDE, BONZ, ADLER, STAR OFF MACHINE, ZEROKING, A.D.D.,
EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS, STATION, ELISIUM, RED TIDE RISING, SILVERTUNG,
MAXXXWELL CARLISLE, CITY OF THE WEAK, VAJRA, ELISIUM, MILITIA VOX
and
DIAMOND LANE. Now, ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE has decided to scale back with a
weekly podcast that still delivers on the music and exclusive
interviews but also seeks to entertain it's audience. Isn't rock n roll
all about keeping folks entertained? TO READ MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
JANUARY 30,
2018 THE
2018 ROCKWiRED READER'S POLL AWARD WiNNERS!!!
he eleventh
annual awards season for the ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL AWARDS has come to
a close and all of the votes have been tallied. There were so many
artists and bands who made the year 2017 a remarkable year here at
ROCKWIRED.COM despite the challenges our publication faced that year
and the loss of our flipbook magazine. But that
was 2017. 2018 is shaping up to be a much more prosperous year with
traffic reaching an all time high since we made the decision to post
articles directly to the website. Helping in the upswing in
vistors to the site was the voting for the 2018 ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL
AWARDS. This year, BOBAFLEX was the big winner with 4 READER'S POLL
AWARDS for BEST BAND, BEST LP for the their album ELOQUENT DEMONS, and
BEST SONG and BEST MUSIC VIDEO for the single LONG TIME COMING.
Rounding out the winners of the 2018 ROCKWIRED READER'S POLL AWARDS are
MILITIA VOX who won BEST FEMALE ARTIST o the strength of her single
NYCTOPHILIA and SILVERTUNG who won BEST RECORDING (EP) for their live
acoustic EP LIGHTEN UP. Also, rocker JACOB CADE walked away with BEST
MALE ARTIST on the strenght of his single WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM. Votes
came from all over the Continental U.S. and North America. ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE would like to congratulate the winners and thank everyone who
took the time to vote. TO READ MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
JANUARY 29,
2018 DAMNiT GILLEY PRESENTS:BOBAFLEX
LiVE
efore I get
started, I want to clear up a handful of things, all of the bands that
played were all wonderful, the show featured SCARS REMAIN, FALLING
THROUGH APRIL, and ASIDE OCEANS. Great bands, I definitely recommend
that you the reader check them out. Also want
to give a shout out to ALEXANDRIA SNYDER, I know you really wanted to
make it out to the show but life happens. A shout out to BLAKE WEBB as
well for pulling through on a ride situation. Lastly TRAVIS SCHINKE,
your words of encouragement mean the absolutely world to me, you don't
understand how much I needed to hear that after the past few months,
let alone 3 weeks that I've had. Thank you! TO READ MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
JANUARY 29,
2018 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE:LA MUSiC ViDEO AWARDSGUiDE
n March 2, 2018 ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE
will be releasing the official guide for the 2018 LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
taking place in Vernon,
California on March 28, 2018 at UNFRIENDLY STUDIOS.
This guide will feature an indepth look at the all of the music videos
that have been nominated for this exciting awards program and
give
readers and music fans a taste of what the world of
independent music
has to offer in the way of visuals. It is a mission that has ROCKWIRED
publisher BRIAN LUSH "completely excited" to say the least.
"I'm all
too anxious to get this immense project off the ground!" says BRIAN
LUSH. "These days, it's not just the song that gets an artist noticed.
It's the vision that a band brings to the table. This is nothing new.
MTV got the ball rolling decades ago but with services like YOUTUBE and
other social media, a music video is more important than ever to have
but the problem is that there is so much out there and an awards
program like the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS will give people a taste of
everything that is out there. The number of categories is truly
intimidating but ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's guide to this year's program is
going to cover all of it with style and charm."
TO READ MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
JANUARY
28,
2018 DAMNiT GILLEY PRESENTS:REASON
DEFiNE
EASON
DEFINE, originally your name was THE REASON YOU STAYED if I'm not
mistaken, how come the name change and what made you decide on the
current name? Does it have anything to do with being a HOOBASTANK cover
band and trying to move on?
For the
record, we have never played a HOOBASTANK song! We changed our name to
REASON|DEFINE because we thought that it was time for a change from our
name that we came up with when we were really young. It was time to
grow up and move forward with our debut album with a name that more
accurately described our music and our commitment to each other. TO
READ MORE CLICK HERE!!!
JANUARY 24,
2018 DAMNiT GILLEY PRESENTS:FOZMO
OZ MOUSE, what brought all of you
together and what do each of you bring to the band? Heyo! JORDAN
here! We decided to condense the band name to FOZMO because so
many people couldn't find us. That's what we go by now. Originally the
band started as a two piece folk punk(ish) duo. We met in college and
began writing, recording, and playing shows. That other guy has since
left the band but before he did he transferred to UNCG. His suite mate,
CHRISTIAN happened to become our drummer. We were a 3 piece for some
time until Aaron joined on bass. I knew Aaron from high school and had
been in several bands with him. When the other original member left
Aaron switched to guitar. CHRISTIAN introduced us to one of his
coworkers DEXTER who jumped in on bass. We met our lead guitarist
DALLAS from playing shows with his old band. As for what we bring:
CHRISTIAN brings the most gear. AARON brings his guitars and
accidentally breaks them. DEXTER brings his bass, but not much else.
DALLAS brings his fiance. JORDAN brings crippling anxiety, horrible
stage banter, and his acoustic. TO READ
MORE CLiCK HERE!!!
JANUARY
22,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:HYDROGYN
he lead
singer of a band is so integral to the identity of that band
that losing them could be harmful or - at the very least - force the
remaining band to go for a serious musical overhaul. Even
legendary
bands have come to the fork in the road. Some, like VAN HALEN, have
been successful in brandishing two legendary front men with two
distinct followings. What was left of GUNS AND ROSES ditched AXL for
the late SCOTT WEILAND and formed VELVET REVOLVER. HYDROGYN is a band
based out of Ashland, Kentucky that has made some noise as
well some
BILLBOARD charting with a series of albums released on this label and
that label since 2004. A good chunk of the band's notoriety stemmed
from the band's former front woman JULIE WESTLAKE - whose country and
western roots couldn't be denied in her tackling of the more
hard rock
metal leanings of HYDROGYN. Following the 2014 EP BREAK THE CHAINS,
JULIE stepped away from the band leaving HYDROGYN with a musical ideas
and not much else. In steps ERICA PARROTT, the kind of pyrotechnic
vocalist that a metal band of this caliber requries and according to
founder and guitarist JEFF WESTLAKE, PARROT has got attitude to spare.
We hear it loud and clear on the band's latest album REDEMPTION, where
PARROTT not only commands the vocals but the lyrics as well.
JANUARY 17,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:A
VERY LOUD DEATH
ith
the release of a single and an EP behind them, the Atlanta,
Georgia-based trio A VERY LOUD DEATH have stepped up their game
artistically with the release of their debut LP LANTERNS. The
album is
a dark, moody listen that combines primal punk energy with a
more
nuanced, progressive rock aesthetic. It's a sound that is sure to take
the band beyond their stomping grounds and into that cherished glow of
indie rock recognition, and dare we say 'fame'? ROCKWIRED had a chance
to speak tot he band's guitarist and front man CHRIS EDGE regarding the
band's new album. Here is how the interview went.
LANTERNS
is an amazing album and it's been out since September. In the months
since the album's release how do you feel about the finished work? I
feel that we did the best that we could do with what little that we
had. It was all done live essentially with a few layers over
it.
I think the reception to it hs been pretty good but we're trying to get
this thing pushed out more. It's always very crowded when you're trying
ot get your music out there. We feel good about it.
JANUARY
9,
2018 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE:LA MUSiC ViDEO AWARDS
TV changed
the musical landscape tremendously by making music a
visual experience and turned recording artists into superstars in some
cases. In an time when the M in MTV has become obsolete due to the
network no longer spinning music videos, there are more music videos
than ever thanks to YOUTUBE. Visuals are still the most powerful way to
sell a band no matter the genre. With the flux of music videos coming
from this or that independent recording artist, where does the artist
go to get recognition for their work if MTV's VMAs are all about
celebrity and wardrobe malfunctions and KANYE WEST outbursts? JOWANNA
LEWIS - the founder of the online radio station RADIO KSCR - is an
entrepreneur who saw a need for this need for recognition and began
hosting music video festivals involving screenings of music videos at
vintage movie theaters. In 2016, LEWIS upped her game by hosting RADIO
KSCR's MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS which celebrated the visual work of an
intimidating number of bands and artists from around the world. Just as
intimidating as the number of artists nominated were the categories
themselves which included BEST HORROR MUSIC VIDEO and MOST LIKELY TO BE
AN INDIE FILM. To check
out the winners that year click here.
A year and a half later, LEWIS has rebranded
her ceremony the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS. Bands and artists are able to
enter their music video for consideration up until regular deadline of January 20, 2018
or the late deadline of January
31, 2018. Nominees
will be announced on February
4, 2018 and the ceremony will be taking place at UNFRIENDLY STUDIOS
on March 24, 2018.
To promote the event, ROCKWIRED.COM will publish the official guide for
the program featuring write ups on the nominees.
JANUARY 8,
2018 DAMNiT GILLEY PRESENTS:MESSENGER
DOWN
ESSENGER
DOWN, how long have you been together and who makes up the band
currently?
My name
is GARRETT FOSTER and I released my first song as MESSENGER DOWN in
2012. I have a few friends who come help out when I play shows, but I'm
a solo artist so there's not really members of MESSENGER DOWN. It's my
stage name.
If I'm
not mistaken, you have been through quite a few line up changes, in
what ways do you feel as though you have adapted to survive through
them rather than fall apart?
It's
partially true and partially not, MD's had a weird history. In the
beginning I wanted to do MESSENGER DOWN as a solo artist in part to
avoid the drama and distraction of member changes. These days it's a
rare thing to find a band who hasn't had a member change or two, and
when you're on a smaller local scale that can seriously get in the way
of building up momentum and progressing. I have always loved writing
music on my own, so after being in a few bands I decided this time I
was just gonna do this on my own. After about a year and a half there
were a few guys who had been playing shows consistently and really dug
the music I was writing so we decided to try it as a band, but that
eventually became the revolving door of member changes we all wanted to
avoid in the first place. We were burnt out and that lead to a lot of
tension among us so it was just best for us all to go off and do our
own things. As of 2015 MESSENGER DOWN has just been me again, and those
dudes all have their own things going on now that I'm super supportive
of and into.
JANUARY 7,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:FAiTH
iN THE FALLEN
or years,
we have become acquainted with many a rock band that
was young and eager and willing to do what it took to beat that
ever-elusive rock n roll dream into submission. Doing so often means
living on the road for months at a time going from one gig to another
with barely enough money in the bank and putting all of your effort
into
recording music that gets shared as opposed to purchased. And the
merchandising. We can't forget the merchandising. Despite all that you
have to do these days to sell your band's brand these days,
you've got
bands that have mde it work. But in the case of the Chi-town based
metal band FAITH IN THE FALLEN, brand recognition and the quest for
fame don't figure into the band's modus operandi. FAITH IN THE FALLEN
are just folks - working class guys with families and mortgages to pay
off and day jobs, but the demands of work and family life in now way
prevent these guys from writing songs and rocking out. In fact, their
working class status informs much of the material on their latest EP
GRAVITY. The band's high-octane metal sound has made them a hit in
their native Chicago and we'll be hearing more from the band by the end
of January 2018 with the release of two brand new singles.
JANUARY 5,
2018 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:CORNERS
OF SANCTUARY
he
mission
for a band like CORNERS OF SANCTUARY has always been a
consistent one - to keep that classic heavy metal sound within reach of
the populace. In a time when rock n roll is increasingly becoming your
grandpa's music, CORNERS OF SANCTUARY has found a niche for themselves
as a bombastic touring band that has reliably turned out one
electrifying album after another. Since the band formed in 2011, their
momentum seemed unstoppable until their lead singer FRANKIE CROSS
decided to step back. Losing a lead singer is a big deal for a band and
finding the right replacement can be a daunting task but the
fellas
from CORNERS OF SANCTUARY made the finding of a vocalist with serious
range their mission and their search resulted in the finding of
pyrotechnic vocalist TREESE LOGAN. Since the band's announcement of
their new lead singer, CORNERS OF SANCTUARY and LOGAN have made a
positive impression on fans
with the band's electrifying live set but listeners can get a taste of
the all new CORNERS OF SANCTUARY on their new single BURN which comes
months before the upcoming LP THE GALLOPING HORDES.
he
release of JAY KATANA's humorously titled LP BRIGHTER THAN YOUR FUTURE
actually dropped at the tail end of 2017 but since we're looking to the
future with the arrival of 2018, why not give the man his due at the
start of this brand spanking new year. When we spoke with KATANA in
2016, he had released an ambitious sounding EP BLEEDING
BOYFRIEND PART 1 which demonstrated the young artists virtuosity on the
six string and his wide music reach melding SATRIANI-esque guitar work
with current electronic beats. Giving the music and the artist some
extra varnish was the artwork that highlighted the
music videos for that EP's roll out. Romantic disillusionment ruled the
day with that release and there was nothing more pwoerful than guitar
virtuosity mixed with electronic dance music to drive the point home.
Now, KATANA continues his rock guitar-meets-EDM alchemy with his new
album BRIGHTER THAN YOUR FUTURE but the motivation is different this
time. Following a serious hand injury in which had KATANA fearing he
would never play guitar again, the Russian-born ax-man found himself
re-invigorated when the blood-spurting injury was fixed with surgery
and a new lease on life was discovered. Accompanying this new lease on
life is another artfully released album complete with all of the flare
that we've come to know KATANA for. It's even coming with an action
figure!
DECEMBER
25,
2017 ROCKWiRED'S
ANNUAL READER'S POLL BALLOT!!!
ward
season is upon us here at ROCKWIRED.COM and today we are pleased to
announce the nominees for the upcoming 2018 ROCKWIRED READERS POLL
AWARDS. Our award season has always been a huge to do but
this time
around we will be doing it bigger than we've ever done before. This
year the voting will begin on Today,
December 25, 2017 here at ROCKWIRED.COM with
polling provided by MICROPOLL. Polls will close January 26, 2018. On
February 4, 2018,
winners of the 2018 ROCKWIRED RADIO MUSIC AWARDS will be
announced on a two-hour presentation which will be featured on the
online radio station RADIOKSCR.COM. This marks the eleventh
annual awards season for ROCKWIRED and this
year's top nominees include BOBAFLEX, EDGE OF PARADISE, WAYLAND and
VAJRA. This
year we have come to a concensus on an impressive list of nominees.
Please take a good look at who we have selected and cast your
vote with care.
DECEMBER
21,
2017 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE:EDiTOR'S CHOiCE 2017 istorically,
at
year-end, I've always made a point of expressing what a great year the
previous twelve months were. And why
not? You have to
build up the anticipation for the EDITOR'S CHOICE list that I was about
to roll out for our readers. At the close of 2017, we've got another
amazing list of artists who made 2017 so damned memorable. Some of the
names are familiar, some are not, but everyone of them left a strong
impression on us visually and musically. As far as
the year 2017 itself - eh, it's been difficult! Our monthly publication
ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE has ceased, but there is hope that it maybe
returning in the Spring of 2018. This has forced us to beef up the
editorial for ROCKWIRED.COM and so far the results have been
promishing. 2017 may not have been the best year for us, but it's one more
year behind us and If we've got twenty five favorite bands and artists
to share with you at the end of the year, that works for us.
DECEMBER
18,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:KRASHKARMA ver since
THE
WHITE STRIPES came up with the idea of cutting out the bass player,
rock n roll seemed to have stumbled on a primal urgency that had been
lacking in the years prior to their debut. The duo KRASHKARMA has the
same kind of line up consisting of a male guitarist and a singing
female drummer but KRASHKARMA boasts a punchy, theatrical heavy metal
sound that electrifies on recordings and a live stage. Plus, guitarist
RALF DIETEL and NIKI SKISTIMAS look so fucking adorable together.
ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE reported on a show featuring these guys and the band
VAJRA in our April 2017 issue. I can't quite remember what my reason
for not being able to make it to their show at BURT'S TIKI LOUNGE was,
but
trust me when I say that I'm kicking myself for it now. It's
been a
couple of years since the band released their blistering LP PAINT THE
DEVIL featuring such mesmerizing singles as GHOST IN THE MACHINE,
VOODOO
DOLLS and SAVE ME, but it's been enough to fuel anticipation and
excitement for their recent Winter tour whose promotion boasted some
clever, classic STAR WARS imagery. ROCKWIRED got a hold of
these two
over the phone as they were on the road heading to a gig in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. We talked about the current tour nd their plans to
release a new album in the coming year. Here is how the interview
went.
DECEMBER
16,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:SiLVERTUNG he
blistering hard rock sensibility of SILVERTUNG earned them a dedicated
following and some serious traction on what's left of active rock radio
with such singles as NEVER TO LATE, FACE THE MUSIC and YOU &
ME.
Truth be told, the steady progress of this band has filled me with
pride given the fact that SILVERTUNG hails from my home state of
Maryland. We've been with these guys from the beginning and have seen
their evolution through such releases as the LP DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS
to the EP FACE THE MUSIC. Now, SILVERTUNG has turned the volume way
down for their latest EP LIGHTEN UP, a live acoustic recording that
doesn't simply strip some of their big hits down to a bare, heartfelt
minimum - it reimagines them.The
new lease on these songs results in a band enjoying themselves on the
stage and an already enthusiastic audience becoming all the more
enthused. ROCKWIRED
had a
chance to catch up with SILVERTUNG's front man SPEED regarding the new
EP, the band's current tour and their plans to hit the studio for a
follow up EP in the coming year. Here is how the interview went.
DECEMBER 8,
2017 kay, we're at
it
again! With the absence of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE, we here at ROCKWIRED.COM
are filling that void by re-launching our podcast series ROCK SHOW.
Back in late-August, the show was launched as a means of complimenting
our monthly magazine by featuring music and interview
excerpts from the bands who have been featured on the site
and the magazine. With ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE on an indefinite hiatus we
felt it important to bring back ROCK SHOW as a weekly show featuring
all new music and interview excerpts with the bands and artists behind
the music. On the latest edition of ROCK SHOW, we feature music from
SILVERTUNG, RED VELVET CRUSH, MANHIGH, JANGLING SPARROWS and JACOB CADE.
DECEMBER 6,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:MANHiGH got GABRIEL
GAMBINO going in a recent phone conversation when I described the sound
of his new band MANHIGH as QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE on peyote.
The man
knows me well enough to know that such a comparison from me comes from
the heart. For the past seven years, I've come to know GAMBINO as the
front man of the alt-rock band THROW THE TEMPLE and have seen the
band's evolution from demo makers into a serious touring band (one of
the few out of Albuquerque these days) with an LP (ANYWAY BUT DOWN from
2015) that had the potential to go the distance. This was a band that
seemed determined to break out of the Duke City and make a dent in the
world of active rock sharing the touring stage with bands like ACIDIC.
Mysteriously, the band ceased operations and despite my
prying GAMBINO has
been tight-lipped as to the reasons for the demise.
is
that rare artist in the realm of electronic music that boasts the very
earnestness and spark of artists such as KATE BUSH, MADONNA
and SINEAD O'CONNOR. On eM's official facebook page she lists these
artists as influences and you can hear it in her signature hypnotic
style. Having sung since the age of six, this chanteuse from Melbourne
Australia has applied her voice to such musical endeavors as choirs,
rock bands, acoustic duos and working with djs. Her voice can do
anything but int he past few years, the pulsating sounds of electronica
are where she is most comfortable these days. Already, she has given us
something to look forward to in the coming year with her forthcoming EP
SOMEBODY SOMETIMES. The roll out is planned for January 11th and eM is
confident in the material she will be presenting. "I feel I am a unique
artist and with each release I evolve, better and
bolder." says eM "I love getting feedback good or bad. I'm not out to
please
people but if they love a track, I am happy! This EP flows really well
from start to finish, I am hoping people pick up on that." Preceding
the release is the haunting A WORLD OF POSSIBLE and it's
simple-yet-striking video.
itting
the road with a band like BOBAFLEX is a big deal in the active rock
world. In fact it's one hell of a glory gig, especially for a lean mean
19 year old kid who knows a thing or two about looking good wielding an
ax and playing the shit out of it. Young men getting swept up in the
rock n roll lifestyle has historically made for some exciting ,
salacious adventures filled with women, adulation and drugs. Somewhere
in that mess is rock n roll. The temptations are many in that lifestyle
but we've got every confidence that JACOB CADE can resist the excesses
and temptations and maintain the upward trajectory that he is on. At
19, CADE is already an artist with past. He has two albums behind him
and is now on the verge of releasing his latest EP HUNGER in
the coming
year. This forthcoming release marks a shift in creative approach as
CADE gets a little help in the songwriting department from the likes of
RACHEL BOLAN of SKID ROW and LZZY HALE of HALESTORM along with producer
MICHAEL WAGENER behind the recording console. Preceding the release of
the EP is the punchy first single WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?
NOVEMBER
29,
2017 MUSiC
ViDEO BLAST:RED VELVET CRUSH
ehind
the band RED VELVET CRUSH is the steely determination of it's
frontwoman JILLIAN RISCOE. Nothing has
been able to deter
this young
woman from living the rock n roll dream. We first became acquainted
with
her back in 2009 when she was a solo artist plugging her self titled
solo album. Many spend their lives in rock band after rock band and
eventually find their voice as a solo artist, but RISCOE felt that
having a band was the way to go. Along with guitarist and co-songwriter
DANIEL MENDALA, she formed RED VELVET CRUSH and let the world in on
their dynamic approach to music. Is it rock with a pop sensibility or
is it pop with a rock n roll attitude? It's hard to care about what
order it goes in when you've got something this catchy. RED VELVET
CRUSH released their debut EP SMOKE AND MIRRORS in 2013 and are now
knee deep in the promotion of their follow up EP CRYSTAL CLEAR which
takes their hard driving pop rock sensibilities a giant step forward as
evidenced by their latest single and music video STATE OF EMERGENCY.
HE CHROMA DIVIDE,
how did you come up with the bands name and how long have you been
together?
NICK: We came up
with the name amongst a few others. This one just kind of felt right.
We like to blend different genres, kind of like colors in a painting.
Each individual part stands on its own, but together it comes together
as one. And that's what we are trying to accomplish. Establishing our
own sound, but doing it our own way.
Tell me a bit
about yourselves, how did all of you meet and group together to form
the band?
CAMERON: We're from
small town CHINA GROVE, NC. We've all played together in some capacity.
This is the first time we've all been together in the same project
though. We just got tired of trying to fit a certain genre. We wanted
to make our music, and create our own sound. We've been overwhelmed by
the support we've gotten. It's really motivating us to push our own
limits and create something spectacular.
NOVEMBER
28,
2017 ROCKWiRED
REViEW:RUMBLE
- THE iNDiANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD he
roll out and subsequent universal acclaim for the documentary film
RUMBLE - THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD couldn't have come at a worse
time for me.
ROCKWIRED's supplemental publication ROCK IS
RED MAGAZINE
- which covered American Indian and first Nations contemporary music -
was going under and seemed to signal the demise of our monthly
publication ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE. News of this brand new documentary
seemed like a ray of hope for me as an American Indian music
journalist. I wanted to reach out to REZOLUTION PRODUCTIONS - the team
behind the documentary film - and get their story on the pages of
ROCKWIRED. Numerous interview requests were sent to REZOLUTION and the
film's directors CATHERINE BAINBRIDGE and ALFONSO MAIORANA, only to be
greeted by radio silence. Was this any way to treat the first
American Indian-owned rock music publication?
NOVEMBER
26,
2017 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE:TiNA
TURNER
eary
are we as a
publication in bringing up the dearth of female voices in rock these
days.
We could say that what we need is another rock n roll hero like the
woman born ANNA MAE BULLOCK in an unincorpated township in Tennessee
called Nutbush, but you'd roll your eyes at the pun, as you are
probably doing now, and thinking "There isn't gonna be another TINA
TURNER." Who needs another TINA TURNER when we've still got the
real thing walking this green earth? Retired,
happily
married and living in Switzerland, TURNER has boasted one of those few
musical careers that have reached legendary proportions and had the
sort of biblical backstory worthy of CECIL B. DEMILLE's TEN
COMMANDMENTS. Forget the Old Testament stuff. The unwanted
sharecroppers daughter from the backwoods of Tennessee made her way to
St. Louis where she became enthralled with local music star IKE TURNER
and his KINGS OF RHYTHM. It turned out the little girl from Nutbush had
one hell of a RAY CHARLES growl and soon found herself at the
center of the action. With that voice, BULLOCK cut the single A FOOL IN
LOVE and the TINA TURNER (a name inspired by the amazonian heroine
SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE) persona was born. As a duo, IKE AND TINA
TURNER enjoyed sporadic success on the charts with such classics as
their high octane rendition of PROUD MARY to the all out ruckus of
NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS, but it was their blistering live set that put them
in a class all by themselves. And of course there is the dark
matter of the violent marriage that TINA found herself in with IKE.
Years of
abuse came to an end of July 4, 1976 when following a bloody brawl with
IKE, TINA walked away with 36 cents to her name and a resolve to take
on the world on her own terms. Years of financial and professional
struggle
followed but the world would soon find out that TINA TURNER was a
fighter. That fighting spirit proved useful when putting together a
solo music career that would defy the odds of race and age. The often
times elusive second act proved to more successful than the first go
around and came complete with multi-platinum albums, record-breaking
sell out tours, eight GRAMMY wins and a movie about the woman's life in
which the actress playing her (ANGELA BASSETT) was nominated
for
an OSCAR. Now there is talk about a musical coming to the WEST END
stage.
NOVEMBER
20,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:JANGLiNG
SPARROWS
ith
the release of 140 NICKELS by the roots americana band
JANGLING SPARROWS, front man and songwriter PAUL EDELMAN has found
himself in an exciting place creatively. Music making, even in these
lean musical times, is a painstaking art that comes with an equally
painstaking process. With all of the work that goes into creating
songs, it's easy to forget that one needs to make some money and more
importantly - connect with an audience. On 140 NICKELS, we
don't feel that EDELEMAN and the JANGLING SPARROWS will have any
trouble connecting with an audience that is hungry for music that
speaks to the good, bad and ugly that goes with the dodgy territory of
love and life. EDELMAN is a committed pro both vocally and on the lead
sheets and proves, even in a time when music is a taken-for-granted
commodity, that there are troubadours out there that are worth the time
and attention given to such dearly departed rockers as TOM PETTY.
File the album 140 NICKELS somewhere in between PETTY'S
WILDFLOWERS and JOHN HIATT's BRING THE FAMILY.
e
have to admire the creative gumption of ELANTRIS. The Lisbon,
Ohio-based band, formerly known as BLACKTHORNE, boast a sound that is
described as 'symphonic' metal powered by the high octane vocal
perofrmances of front man THOMAS ULLOM and front woman
LINDSAY
VICTORIA KETCHUM. Giving the band it's symphonic flourish is
keyboardist MARK LIBER, who put down the guitar when the band band
changed it's name and got lost in the endless sounds and textures that
were available to him through the keys. Yes, these guys got a whole lot
more ambitious with their heavy metal, but according to MARK LIBER
finding the audience proved challenging until the band did what ever
band does to survive in these lean musical times - hit the road. At the
time of this interview, ELANTRIS was on the road, performing their
ambitious musical set before audiences who like their metal to be more
theatrical and sonically nuanced. This live set is largely
informed by the reformed/retooled band's debut album THIS SACRIFICE.
The self-produced catalog of epic heavy metal mastery isn't for casual
listening. This opus is a musical journey worthy of HOMER featuring
such standout performances as CAPTIVATE and SEAS OF TORMENT.
NOVEMBER 9,
2017
ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE: FRONT
& CENTER 2017
he Autumn season has
always been an important one for ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE. Not
only is it the time of year that we roll out our KICKING AX list. We
also roll out our FRONT & CENTER list which highlights
our publication's favorite front men in rock. For the better part of
rock n roll's illustrious history, the music has always benefited from
the kinetic energy created between a lead singer and a guitar player.
Look at MICK JAGGER and KEITH RICHARDS. Consider ROBERT PLANT and JIMMY
PAGE. Or how about ANN and NANCY WILSON? We could go on and on. This
year's FRONT & CENTER list heavily compliments the list of
guitarists in the KICKING AX feature and according to editor-in-chief
BRIAN LUSH, it's one of life's happy little accidents. " There is a lot
of cross-pollination between the two lists. " says LUSH "But that
speaks to the chemistry generated by these bands. It's that very
chemistry that keeps rock n roll going despite all the times that
someone like GENE SIMMONS has declared it dead."
NOVEMBER 8,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:ALARM
FOR WAR hen
I spoke with BUGGY, the thirteen year old rapper fronting the band
ALARM FOR WAR, it was the 16th anniversary of 9/11. I have gotten used
to feeling old when I speak with some of these bands and artists that
have been profiled on ROCKWIRED throughout the years, but there was
something that unsettled me about this young subject. BUGGY, a kid from
Crystal, Minnesota, never lived in a world before 9/11 so the chaos and
the dysfunction that he addresses on his rambunctious debut EP ENEMIES
OF THE STATE is coming from a very real place. What better
way
for a young man to vent his frustrations and deliver a
message of
"hope and truth" than the blistering sound of rapcore metal? Is this
beyond his years? Could be, but in an age when many believe that the
youth of American grow up too damn fast, maybe an EP like ENEMIES OF
THE STATE has dropped at just the right time. Engineered by BRIAN BART
(LOGIC RECORDINGS), edited and mixed by GRAMMY winner JR. McNEELY and
mastered by BRAD BLACKWOOD, ENEMIES OF THE STATE showcases the band's
potent musical chops and BUGGY's lethal sense of rhyme and vocal
prowess. With a starting point like this, BUGGY's career could go
anywhere. Let's just hop that the young man's idealism stays intact.
here is a new name
about to burst on the rock scene, that mixes the styles of LED ZEPPELIN
and GUNS N' ROSES - and that name is JACOB CADE. :Energetic rock n'
roll with a modern twist" is how this singer/guitarist/band leader from
Colorado likes to describe his music. And from late November through
early December, rock fans in the northeast will be able to get a
glimpse of this talented performer, as he will be opening shows for
BOBAFLEX.
"I
am so stoked to be going on the road with BOBAFLEX," says CADE. "This
will be the first experience for me being out and playing every night.
I can't imagine how much fun I will have. Sort of a mini-dream come
true! I'm jumping in circles right now. Fans should expect the band and
I to come out and give it all we've got. It's going to be an energy
filled, in your face, kick ass piece of entertainment. I guarantee
whoever comes to see us will be mind blown."
hings have been
very eventful for POLARITY with the release of ACTION POTENTIAL not too
long ago, how would you describe your emotions both going into the
album and it's release?
It's certainly
been one hell of a roller coaster ride. Overall a great learning and
memorable experience. Initially starting off with feeling excited and
hopeful to finally just a feeling of satisfaction and relief. It did
take alot longer than we expected it to with regards to production
time. Fortunately we feel it was definitely worth the long wait!
OCTOBER 30,
2017 DAMNiT
GiLLEY:HORROR FiLM DiRECTOR
SHANT HAMASSiAN
IGHT OF THE
SLASHER was released to a lot of critical acclaim, where does it stand
now a year later in 2017?
At this point,
NIGHT OF THE SLASHER has been selected in over 185 festivals, has won
over 50 awards, and has become OSCAR eligible. The short film premiered
as a VIMEO STAFF PICK (the first horror film to do so on that site),
and featured as SHORT OF THE WEEK, and FILMSHORTAGE. The short film
online is still growing and slowly reaching half a million views
cumulatively across all platforms including VIMEO, FACEBOOK, and
YOUTUBE. I still receive emails from festivals and events to showcase
screenings of it!
Since NIGHT OF THE
SLASHER, do you have any other projects that you have been working on
or are you working to piece together a feature length film?
NIGHT
OF THE SLASHER was always a proof-of-concept for a feature film, but
right now, the developments on that are under wraps.
OCTOBER 30,
2017 ROCKWiRED.COM'S
ROCK SHOW:ROGER
CAPPS
t
the core of a every kick ass rock band is a strong, sturdy bass player
and they don't get stronger and sturdier than ROGER CAPPS. For ten
years, he laid down one mean four string in support of that
GRAMMY-winning rock n roll coloratura PAT BENATAR. This guy goes all
the way back that woman's cabaret singing days as part of the jazz
quartet COXON'S ARMY in Richmond, Virginia. When BENATAR was getting
too big for RICHMOND she moved to New York City to pursue that often
times elusive rock n roll dream, and invited CAPPS with her to help
develop a sound that was going to capture the ears of a record company
and get this woman's career to the next level. CAPPS and BENATAR
developed an electrifying night club act at the comedy club CATCH A
RISING STAR and caught the ears of the big boys at CHRYSALIS RECORDS.
Before anyone could blink, BENATAR was signed and the woman's rock n
roll vision came to fruition thanks to NEIL GIRALDO - a young hot shot
guitar player fresh off of a recording and touring gig with RICK
DERRINGER. As the bass player in BENATAR's band, CAPPS traveled the
world, co-wrote such tracks as HELL IS FOR CHILDREN and played on all
of BENATAR's platinum albums IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1979), CRIMES OF
PASSION (1980), PRECIOUS TIME (1981), GET NERVOUS (1982), LIVE FROM
EARTH (1983) and TROPICO (1984).
OCTOBER 29,
2017 DAMNiT
GiLLEY:HORROR FiLM DiRECTOR
TYLER HALL
YLER HALL start
off by telling me about yourself. What made you want to get into the
movie industry?
My upbringing was
fairly normal other than the amount of horror films my parents allowed
me to watch and what age I watched them at. The earliest memory I have
watching a horror film was when I was 5 years old sitting on my
Father's lap. I remember a dark endless tunnel, sounds of the undead
echoing about and a cold loud shatter of a firearm. You guessed it, my
first horror movie I ever watched was GEORGE A. ROMERO'S "DAY OF THE
DEAD". After that first encounter with a true horror film, I was
completely hooked. Like most kids, I loved HALLOWEEN and truly
anticipated the holiday each year. I remember my mom always helping me
piece together my costumes instead of buying them at the store because
store bought costumes weren't creative enough for me. I always wanted
to be something completely different then all my other friends and to
be quite honest, I was very competitive. During my Highschool years the
faculty would hold a homecoming week costume contest each year and I
would be brainstorming ideas for my costume weeks in advance. I needed
to entertain and I wanted my costumes to be good and better than the
ones I had created in the past. I won every year. I guess that's where
a lot of my creative side comes from though, I guess it all comes from
my mom. Her and I would stay up for hours making different Halloween
props and costumes. I really think my adolescence and love for the
holiday really sparked my interest in becoming a filmmaker. I just
couldn't imagine a better and more unique childhood.
OCTOBER 24,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NOTES:FELiX
Y LOS GATOS
n recent
years, Albuquerque, New Mexico has become the land of BREAKING BAD and
BETTER CALL SAUL. As one who lives in the "Duke City",I feel
it's better to be known for two bad-ass televsions shows than it is the
place where BUGS BUNNY forgot to make a left turn. This dry,
arid, mountainous setting is on the map in a big way when it comes to
televsion production, but I always felt that the music scene here
deserved just as much attention. Maybe the lack of exposure speaks to
the fact that there are no music scenes in the age of the internet and
social media, but that hasn't stopped FELIX PERALTA from
making a
decent penny making and performing music here and throughout the
country. He and accordion player D.B. GOMEZ form the creative core of
FELIX Y LOS GATOS - a musical act with a sound as wide and expansive as
the American Southwest. Covering a wide range of sound from blues,
bluegrass and zydeco, FELIX Y LOS GATOS have been an in-demand live act
in the Land of Entrapment and beyond. In the coming year,
the band is set to release their forthcoming album which
they've recorded at the legendary BLUE CAT STUDIOS in San Antonio (days
before Hurricane Harvey struck the region). The new album will mark the
band's evolution from troubadours-for-hire to full fleged recording
artists with an enviable sense of musicality and a mission to
bring their distinctive Southwest sound to a much broader listening
public.
OCTOBER
23,
2017 ROCKWiRED'S
30 MOMENTS: PAT BENATAR n
an era filled with the so-pop-it-ain't-country glamour of TAYLOR SWIFT
and the quirky, cheeky stylings of KATY PERRY, it's hard to believe
that there was a time when women who sang hard rock once topped the
charts. Acts like the female-fronted HEART, the playful, powerchord
approach of JOAN JETT and the ethereal STEVIE NICKS have had their day
in the upper reaches of the charts and all of those women have made it
into the ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME. (NICKS was inducted as a member of
FLEETWOOD MAC) The one woman who hasn't even made it onto the "to be
considered" list is a four-time GRAMMY winner with seven platinum
albums to her credit. And she was the first female artist on MTV. Yes,
PAT BENATAR, the woman with a four-octave range, stuck it to the rock n
roll boy's club with a sound that was forceful and feminine and
evidence of her infleunce on the firmament of hard rock is felt today
with such standards as HEARTBREAKER, HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT, HELL
IS FOR CHILDREN, FIRE AND ICE, LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD and WE BELONG
still permeating the airwaves through classic rock radio. With a track
record like this, it's a surprise to us that this dame didn't make it
into the HALL OF FAME ten years ago. But with some of the decidedly
non-rock n roll entrants of recent years, it has us wondering if that
HALL OF FAME racket even deserves the name "rock n roll".
ESTAROSSA, you
were formerly known as GRACEFUL REGRET. What brought about the name
change?
We had a slight
personnel change as well as a slight change in vision for the band.
Things have gotten so heavy and uptight in both the world and and the
music scene lately, we decided we wanted to create music and a vibe to
combat that. We are a brazen, unashamed, simplistic, rock-n-roll party
band. We want people to have a good time at our shows, not hear us sing
songs about how bad our home life is and how our parents are making us
get jobs. The TESTAROSSA is one of the sexiest cars made during the
decadent 80's. That's the vibe we are going for, sexy and decadent.
It's ironically very new and refreshing in today's scene. Funny thing
is, FACEBOOK wouldn't let us change our band name for over a month
because they claimed we were misleading people (whatever that means).
It was a major ordeal.
OCTOBER
18,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NiTE OUT - SOCiAL DiSTORTiON FEW MONTHS
SHY OF THEIR 40TH ANNIVERSARY, FULLERTON PUNKERS SOCIAL DISTORTION COME
THROUGH ABQ. ON THEIR SUMMER 2017 TOUR. It had been a long time since
SOCIAL DISTORTION had come through Albuquerque. Long enough that I had
pretty much thought that short of my going to some 3-day festival in
Milwaukee or some damn place to catch a 30-minute set, my hope of
seeing the legendary punkers was out of the question, forever to be put
in that category of acts I never got to see. Fortunately for myself and
many others like me, I was wrong, and on September 6th I finally had my
chance.
OCTOBER 16,
2017 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE: KiCKiNG AX 2017 very
October, for five years now, ROCKWIRED.COM has given props to the
seminal instrument in rock n roll and to the men and women who pick one
up and play the hell out of it. This year, ROCKWIRED has picked twenty
such ax-wielders who are doing their duty in keeping rock n roll alive
and kicking. This annual list never comes easily and ROCKWIRED's
editor-in-chief BRIAN LUSH is pleased with this year's list and the
wide range of sounds, textures and tones from each of these most valued
players. "Every year is different" says LUSH "Some names are very
familiar to thsi list and some are brand spanking new. Not only does
this list celebrate all of the pomp and theatricality that comes with
being a guitarist in a rock band, but speaks to the musicality and the
determination of each of these players. I'm super excited by this list
of musicians that we have come up with for 2017."
OCTOBER 11,
2017 ROCKWiRED
Q&A:MiLiTiA
VOX et's face
it. THe LP is a dying art in an age where attention spans are limited
to memes, tweets and two-minute STAR WARS trailers. And lets not even
bring up the roll out for an LP. These days, you've got to make a
massive impression with a single and a music video and goth rock siren
MILITIA VOX has done so with her latest offering NYCTOPHILIA, a dark
exploration into the human psyche and it's ability to haunt the streets
late at night. Thematically, the moody single recalls the creepy,
crawly theatricality of ALICE COOPER's WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE and the
showmanship and hellbent delivery of SIOUXSIE SIOUX of SIOUXSIE AND THE
BANSHEES. Both the single and video have earned the woman raves from
such sites as AFROPUNK.COM and have proven that the singer - famed for
her vocal prowess for the JUDAS PRIEST tribute band JUDAS PRIEST - has
a delivery and an artistry that is all her own.
OCTOBER 10,
2017 ROCKWiRED
Q&A:BOBAFLEX nyone
who says that rock n roll is dead ain't listening to the right bands.
In a time when everyone is watching what they say in fear of
retaliation
from folks who spend way too much time on social media, you've got rock
bands out there that are letting it all hang out in a way that's gonna
get them some backlash from this group of people or that group of
people, and a band like BOBAFLEX is leading the pack. Truth be told,
these guys have been in the game since the turn of the century, so
we're
talking over seventeen years-plus of sex, drugs and the very music
everyone claims is dead. There is is no posing here. The rabble-rousing
is genetic. The band's founders - the brothers McCOY (lead singer MARTY
and guitarist SHAUN) are direct descendants of the McCOY family famed
for their epic feud with the HATFIELDS back in the 19th century. Family
history aside, the band BOBAFLEX have proven time and time again that
they are survivors in a music business that's been pumping everything
it's got into pop tarts and pretty boys instead of anything with balls
attached to it. A testimonial to the band's fighting spirit is their
latest album ELOQUENT DEMONS.
OCTOBER 9,
2017 ROCKWiRED
SPECiAL FEATURE: With
a movie like PUMPING IRON, the GEORGE BUTLER documentary that broke
bodybuilding and ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER into the mainstream, you
see some heart on display, but you also see unbridled
ambition. The film was released in 1977 and focused on the
1975 IFBB MR. UNIVERSE and the 1975 IFBB MR. OLYMPIA
championships. 1977's STAR WARS may be the film remembered
most
for it's epic battle but PUMPING IRON had an epic battle of
it's
own. In one corner, you had the ultimate alpha male. A 6'2", 235 pound
Austrian guy with mighty arms, shoulders and pecs. Just as broad as the
man's shoulders was his smile which brandished a gap in his teeth. And
that voice, high and gentle, ran contrary to his herculean physique
and pronounces v-sounds like f-sounds and r-sounds
like ah
sounds. At the time of the filming, SHWARZENEGGER was a four time MR.
OLYMPIA winner.
In my adult
life, the
whole notion of being a gentlemen is one that I have clung to and
still do today. If, for no other reason than to hear compliments for
my chivalry. And domestic violence? The notion of a man hitting a
woman to exert some sort of power and control is one that sickens me.
But what if the woman hits first? What if the gentler sex is the
aggressor?
In the past few years,
moments have been caught on video and shared on social media showing
some rather thuggish behavior on the part of women. In one video, that
had made the rounds on social media, a black mother got in the face of
a mall security guard who yelled at her kids to keep quiet. The further
the woman got into the security guard's face, he warned her, "you
better back up!" As this was going on, her children, toddlers at the
most, taunted the guard with "That's why you gay!" Eventually the woman
resorted to hitting him, leading the security guard to shoot her with a
taser gun, sending the belligerent woman into shock and a comical
tumble
sideways, bringing to mind the fall of a redwood tree. As a result, the
woman's children were left screaming, crying and jumping up and down as
onlookers started questioning the guard for his course of action. When
the
story blew up on social media, there were those that questioned the
man's need to use a taser on the woman in front of her children, but
there were many
who came out in support of the guard.
SEPTEMBER
30,
2017 - The polls have closed for
ROCKWIRED.COM's
recent ARTIST OF
THE MONTH campaign. Voters from all over the North America
made
their
vote count
and BOBAFLEX is ROCKWIRED.COM's 82nd
ARTIST OF
THE
MONTH winner. This is the band's second time winning the title. Anyone
who says that rock n roll is dead ain't listening to the right bands.
In a time when everyone is watching what they in fear of retaliation
form folks who spend way too much time on social media, you've got rock
bands out there that are letting it all hang out in a way that's gonna
get them some backlash from this group of people or that group of
people, and a band like BOBAFLEX is leading the pack. Truth be told,
these guys have been in the game since the turn of the century so we're
talking ovr seventeen years-plus of sex drugs and the very music
everyone claims is dead. there is is no posing here. The rabble-rousing
is genetic. The band's founders - the brothers McCOY (lead singer MARTY
and guitarist SHAUN) are direct descendants of the McCOY family famed
for their epic feud with the HATFIELDS back in the 19th century.
illennials
get a hard rap. In most cases that rap is deserved but you do have
whipper snappers who take inspiration from the music and the wisdom
of their elders. This is the case of the ax-wielding, lap-steel
playing twenty-year old HEATHER GILLIS. She is a brand new talent but
her chops were earned the hard way. She began paying her dues on the
road under the tutelage of ALLMAN BROTHERS drummer, the late-BUTCH
TRUCKS as part of his band FREIGHT TRAIN. Now she's got a band of her
own and at the time of this interview, she was gearing up for her
band's tour of the Northeastern of the United States.
ROCKWIRED
had a chance to catch up with HEATHER GILLIS before the start of her
tour. Here is how the interview went.
You
are weeks away from kicking off your tour. What is all going through
your head?
I'm
really looking forward to it. I moved to Atlanta a couple of months
ago and I've got a new band that I'm working with. We've actually
been on the road for a little bit already and so far it's been great.
I'm looking forward to heading up tot he Northeast and play for the
folks up there. We've met a bunch of people and it'll be nice to get
up there and see some familiar faces and make some new friends.
SEPTEMBER
15,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - DiSHWALLA TAKEN FROM THE AUGUST 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
It
also gave the band a one-hit wonder status, which was unfortunate. I
felt that songs such as CHARLIE BROWN'S PARENTS and MISS EMMA PEEL
deserved equally heavy rotation. Eventually post-grunge gave way to
this or that pop-thing-y and DISHWALLA got lost in the mix despite a
steady stream of albums that deserve reconsideration , but how likely
is that with a public transfixed by THE VOICE. But why get lost in
the past when you've got an amazing new album such as JUNIPER ROAD,
where the band brandishes a raw, punchy rock sound and the vocal
chops of their new front man JUSTIN FOX.
ROCKWIRED
had a chance to speak with keyboardist JIM WOOD regarding the band's
latest release. Here is how the interview went.
JUNIPER
ROAD has been out for about a month now and the critical responses to
it look like they've been good. How do you feel about the finished
work?
Every
time we have a new album, it's always my favorite. But standing apart
from all of that, JUNIPER ROAD in by far my favorite album of ours.
When we finished it I couldn't listen to any of it for a
month.
I just couldn't hear it for what it was at all. After about a month,
I started listening to it and it's the first DISHWALLA album that I
play over and over again. It's in the CD player of my truck
and
I rock out to it when I'm driving around. I haven't done that with
any DISHWALLA record, ever.
SEPTEMBER
14,
2017 -Finding the
balance between new music
that is coming ROCKWIRED's way and stuff that is happening in
entertainment is a tricky thing, but with this latest issue of ROCK
SHOW, I feel like a balance has been achieved. So much has
happened in the previous week. I even had the chance to step out and
see a movie. No one is more surprised than me that the movie
that I stepped out to see was IT. I've never been big on STEPHEN KING.
I've always been more of a sci-fi person than a horror fan, but the
1990 ABC-TV mini-series STEPHEN KING's IT made an impression on me. In
this latest episode of ROCK SHOW, I discuss my thoughts on the film and
how it compares to the 1990 miniseries.
I
also caught the premiere of FOX's new dramedy series THE ORVILLE, SETH
MACFARLANE's tribute to STAR TREK. Coupled with that will be a
discussion on my anticipation for the upcoming CBS ALL ACCESS series
STAR TREK DISCOVERY. In the months since the the announcement of the
new STAR TREK series, it has inspired a swarm of hatred from fans if
comment sections on this or that website are to be believed.
Personally, I'm more excited for this show than I was back in 1987 when
STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION was about to get rolled out. I'm excited
to see a STAR TREK with action sequences and cinematic
special effects and dare-I-say "lense flare". Better than endless
debates on interstellar diplomacy and positronic mumbo jumbo.
And so what if the Klingons look different?
A
last minute subject brought up on the show was SINEAD O'CONNOR's
appearance on DR. PHIL. I personally think that DR. PHIL is worst find
that OPRAH has ever made and it's my hope, that the Irish
lass gets all of the help that she needs. Music can't afford to lose
another artist.
This
episode of ROCK SHOW also comes the closest to reaching the proposed
running time of 90 minutes. While the previous episode gave
us an idea of how we were going to continue. In this issue we start
implementing those changes.
TODAY'S PLAYLiST:
ELANTRiS
- ASCENSiON
ELANTRIS is one of the bands that will be featured on the cover of our
November 2017 issue which hasn't been released yet. That issue will be
our STAR WARS issue and the band's Wagnerian approach to metal, make
them a perfect fit for that issue. In this episode we spin the song
ASCENSION and you'll hear an interview clip with the band's
keyboard player MARK LIBER.
SEPTEMBER
11,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - VAJRA TAKEN FROM THE AUGUST 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
We
were finally able to catch up with PINNA over the phone as she was
visiting her parents in Upstate New York, away form the rigors of
running a band and booking shows. The relaxation seems well deserved
as the band's latest single THE MIRROR continues to perform well on
radio markets throughout the Country while the haunting music video
gives viewers a taste of the band's bewitching live performances.
It
seems like you guys are on tour after tour these days but it seems to
be coming together with the success of THE MIRROR on radio.
It
feels great! It's pretty awesome! The crazy ideas I've had in my
head, people are responding to in a good way. It's overwhelming and
it's tiring. It's like a train running at sixty miles an hour but I
wouldn't trade it for the world. This is what I do. This is what has
to happen. You've got to be all in and you've got to push from all
ends. It's been great. It's always great to see the country. I can be
myself. I feel that I can be at home where ever I am. I'm used to
different spaces and I like that. It's challenging to navigate
different subcultures. You start to shed your ego because you learn
more about yourself and why you do what you do. Financially, it's
really difficult. You can't work while you're on tour. We don't make
much money when we are on tour. We're barely covering our costs. It's
rough , but we do it. We know that we're building something.
SEPTEMBER
10,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - AVENGED SEVENFOLD TAKEN FROM THE AUGUST 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!! o,
I've been late getting to Florida's A
DAY
TO REMEMBER.
Honestly, I had passed them over
as just another metalcore, nu metal band, that doubtlessly was
talented, but not really doing much of anything new or exciting.
That's my fault. I should know better than to do that. While I did
not hear anything that I would say was anything new,
there certainly is a large amount of excitement from ADTR.
Especially reflected in the youth. My daughter is a fan of the band,
as is my niece and her friend that I was lucky enough to have
accompany me to the show. When I got a good look at ADTR,
I was less than enthusiastic about what was to come. Trendy hair-dos
and skinny jeans do not make a rock star in my view, but who the hell
am I to judge? Besides all that really matters is the music, not the
appearance. Still, skinny jeans?
SEPTEMBER
9,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - STATiON TAKEN FROM THE AUGUST 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
ROCKWIRED
had a chance to speak with guitarist CHRIS LANE regarding the new
single and hints of what people can expect form their forthcoming
album. Here is how the interview went.
How
do you feel about the press and the positive reaction to the new
single ALL YOU NEED IS A HEARTBEAT and the music video?
We've
had this song for a while. I've always liked it and I'm just happy
that it's out. People seem to like it as well. It's been on our live
set for a while. When we decided to release the song we knew that the
people who are STATION fans were going to know it. And now, they have
a recorded version of it. The reaction to the song and the video has
been great. It's been a while since we released new music and we were
very nervous about it. Every time we release something new, it's a
brand new day. You hope that people will care and we've been very,
very fortunate to have people care. It's been a nice experience."
FOR
iMMEDiATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER
7,
2017 - We are two shows into the run of our new podcast
series ROCK SHOW and I feel like we've found ourselves. I'd
say "finally", but that implies that it was a long, long search. As you
make your way through this new episode, you're going to hear
something signature. You are going to hear a stream of consciousness
coming through the speakers salted and peppered with some
hard rocking tunes from the likes of BOBAFLEX, ZEROKING, MILITIA VOX,
EDGE OF PARADISE and others. In the same way that ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE is
taking on more challenging story ideas outside of music, our new
podcast is going to be a reflection of the times that we're living in
and and provide a humorous look at what is going on in the world and
withing the walls of ROCKWIRED MEDIA. In this episode alone we discuss
the stories that we're working on for the upcoming October issue which
include a 40th anniversary retrospective of the documentary classic
PUMPING IRON, which made ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER an icon, re-defined
masculinity and made the sport of Bodybuilding not seem so fringe-y.
We will also be discussing a story that we're working on for
the upcoming issue on the MEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT and the women who have
take center stage. In this show you will hear interview excerpts with
the movements two leading women KAREN STRAUGHAN and JANICE FIAMENGO.
Outside of the goings on with ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE, the show will touch
on what has been happening in the news lately, particularly with
BURNING
MAN and the story of JOEL OSTEEN closing the doors of his megachurch to
people suffering from the flooding in Houston.
he
rah rah rah of punk music is just the thing that our country needs in
these chaotic times marked by the threat of nuclear war, a serious
divide and a President who think that white supremacist torch bearers
are good. Given the shaky political and social landscape, why is a
band like KITTENHEAD not more well know? The band's sound is rooted
in the energy and spirit of punk, but there is a hell of a lot more
than that on the band's raw and rambunctious debut album. Produced by
PAUL ROESSLER (SCREAMING TREES, NINA HAGEN), the band's innate punk
smarts illuminate on tracks such as TUESDAY and the politically
charged TIN MAN, but the reach of this band is proved with the ballad
(or power ballad if you wish) ENOUGH. Setting the band apart from
other punk rock fair is the classical training of both vocalist KIVI
NEIMI and bassist/guitarist DEE DEE LEE. Non-indicative of such
classical training is the band in-your-face live show which has
earned them raves up and down the Pacific Coast.
SEPTEMBER
3,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - LiViNG COLOUR TAKEN FROM THE AUGUST 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
The
theme that runs through the band's forthcoming release is that of
blues music and the stories that it has had to tell for well over a
century, but don't discount this effort as something rootsy or
studied. This exploration of the blues utilizes every strength in
this band's musical arsenal from VERNON REID's blistering yet nuanced
axmanship, singer COREY GLOVER's pyrotechnic, soulful delivery, DOUG
WIMBUSH's thumping bass slappage and WILL CALHOUN's thunderous drums.
In their examination of the blues everything from ROBERT JOHNSON to
NOTORIOUS B.I.G. gets it's due ans the results electrify and
resonate. ROCKWIRED had a chance to catch up with COREY GLOVER of
LIVING COLOUR and talk about the forthcoming album. Here is how the
interview went.
SEPTEMBER
1,
2017 The month
of October has always been an important one for ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE.
It's the month that we roll out our KICKING AX list but this year, we
are coupling it with our FRONT & CENTER list which highlights
our publication's favorite front men in rock. For the better part of
rock n roll's illustrious history, the music has always benefited from
the kinetic energy created between a lead singer and a guitar player.
Look at MICK JAGGER and KEITH RICHARDS. Consider ROBERT PLANT and JIMMY
PAGE. Or how about ANN and NANCY WILSON? We could go on and on. Sure,
the decision to combine both features in one massive issue was due to
the
fact that ROCKWIRED chose to hold back on our September issue, but form
a pure rock n roll stand point, combining a feature on front men with a
feature on guitarists seems to make all of the sense in the world. This
year's FRONT & CENTER list heavily compliments the list of
guitarists in the KICKING AX feature and according to editor-in-chief
BRIAN LUSH, it's one of life's happy little accidents. " There is a lot
of cross-pollination between the two lists. " says LUSH "But that
speaks tot eh chemistry generated by these bands. It's that very
chemistry that keeps rock n roll going despite all the times that
someone like GENE SIMMONS has declared it dead."
AUGUST 30,
2017 Every
October, for five years now, ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE has given props to the
seminal instrument in rock n roll and to the men and women who pick one
up and play the hell out of it. This year, ROCKWIRED has picked twenty
such ax-wielders who are doing their duty in keeping rock n roll alive
and kicking. This annual list never comes easily and ROCKWIRED's
editor-in-chief BRIAN LUSH is pleased with this year's list and the
wide range of sounds, textures and tones from each of these most valued
players. "Every year is different" says LUSH "Some names are very
familiar to thsi list and some are brand spanking new. Not only does
this list celebrate all of the pomp and theatricality that comes with
being a guitarist in a rock band, but speaks to the musicality and the
determination of each of these players. I'm super excited by this list
of musicians that we have come up with for 2017."
AUGUST 29,
2017 The 62nd
issue of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE will be delivering a
knock out rock n roll punch by combining two special features in one
spectacular issue. KICKING AX and FRONT & CENTER have always
been trademark features of our publication. This year they will occupy
the same issue. This man-sized issue will also feature an article on
the Men's Rights Movement, a retrospective of the bodybuilding
documentary PUMPING IRON and a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming
documentary METAL MISSIONARIES!!!
~ ~ ~
ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE has been ambitious in the past, but we've never had plans this
big before. Perhaps that goes with the territory of being a
publication on the rise. After five years of being in operation,
perhaps it just makes sense to try something new and
exciting. Just check out the cover for the upcoming
Ocotber 2017 issue! In all honesty, we have no idea why we chose to
illustrate the bands that will be featured in this upcoming issue , but
it seems to speak volumes of our publication's desire to shake things
up slightly. Our August 2017 issue arrived late and as a
result, there will be no September issue, but we will be making up for
that in October with some heavy hitters. BOBAFLEX is a band
that has come to symbolize rock n roll's recklessness and undying
spirit
in a world where you have curmudgeons such as GENE SIMMONS
ringing the deathknell. For over a decade now, the band has played to
audiences in the tens of thousands throughout the United States and
Europe and have built a dedicated following on the strength of their
electrifying live sets and a series of albums that walk line
between hard and heavy rock n roll and shock. Their latest album
ELOQUENT DEMONS just may be the best yet from these committed road
dogs.
AUGUST
28, 2017 AUGUST
28,
2017 - Well
kiddies, here you have it! This is the very
first edition of our
brand new weekly show ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE'S ROCK SHOW. We admit it's not
the most inspired title but it gives you an idea of what to
expect
with this new weekly program. This latest endeavor by ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE is not much of a new endeavor. It's more of a rebranding of
our previous podcast series ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES. We feel a title
like . Since 2010,
ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES lasted for over 700 editions and featured
music and interviews with various active rock artists such
as WAYLAND,
BOBAFLEX, ADELITA'S WAY, EDGE OF PARADISE, ANOTHER LOST YEAR, SAINT
MOTEL, SHALLOW SIDE, BONZ, ADLER, STAR OFF MACHINE, ZEROKING, A.D.D.,
EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS, STATION, ELISIUM, RED TIDE RISING, SILVERTUNG,
MAXXXWELL CARLISLE, CITY OF THE WEAK, VAJRA, ELISIUM, MILITIA VOX
and
DIAMOND LANE. Now, ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE has decided to scale back with a
weekly podcast that still delivers on the music and exclusive
interviews but also seeks to entertain it's audience. Isn't rock n roll
all about keeping folks entertained?
ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE'S ROCK SHOW is going to be a work in progress. Of course it
will be a show about spinning new music from today's leading active
rock artists but ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's Editor-In-Chief BRIAN LUSH
promises that
there will be some surprises along the way. "Just as we are getting
more adventurous with our content in our monthly magazine, we want this
new weekly show to be just as exciting." says LUSH. "Given the doubts
about rock n roll's prospects these days, we feel it is our duty to
make a rock music show that is all about fun and agenda-free. The only
agenda here is rock n roll."
AUGUST 27,
2017 (AUGUST
27, 2017 - Albuquerque, NM) For seven years and over 700 shows,
ROCKWIRED.COM's flagship podcast ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES has come to
an end. The ending has been a most unceremonious affair here at
ROCKWIRED simply because the online media company ROCKWIRED MEDIA LLC
is now in the process of developing a new weekly 90 minute show called
ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's ROCK SHOW which will feature, music and interview
excerpts from bands throughout North American and around the
world.
AUGUST 27,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - OWL COMPANY TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
The album HORIZON
sounds like it was a long time coming. You released your first single
in 2015 and now it's 2017. What's all going through your head
regarding this upcoming release?
We're amazed with it. We
had such an amazing time recording it. As band we're all really good
friends so the whole recording process was very smooth. We
hate
this kind of over-produced kind of stuff. We wanted to do something
that was really raw and rough and I think that we got it. We're very
excited with it and we can't wait to get people to listen to it and
enjoy it.
And when you say "raw
sound" are you inferring that you guys produced this yourself or
did someone help you behind the recording console?
We did everything by
ourselves. I have a recording studio here in Brazil so we took our
time in putting these songs together. The whole process of putting
this album together was amazing. It was the sort of experience that
you couldn't have if we had to pay for the studio time. You know what
I mean? This was all done on our own time. So, we're very happy with
the results.
AUGUST
26,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - iRON MAiDEN TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
When your
city is the
112th stop of a
117-date tour, playing in 36 different
countries, on six of the Earth's seven continents, you don't
really expect much in the way of overindulgence on the band's part.
To be fair, most of us can relate to being close to the end of a
project, or deadline in our own jobs, the excitement has passed, we
just want it over. We're tired and just want to go home. Maybe
we're phoning in the last of our work. With that in mind, we can't
really hold it against a band of musicians that are going through the
same experience, right? I mean if we're being fair, right? Okay,
maybe we do hold it against them. After all, we're fans. We've
bought the albums, the merchandise, and paid exorbitant ticket prices
for the show. They owe us. Right? Right! Well, maybe we should
reexamine our thinking about that, but in the meantime, if getting
the most of your dollar is a priority, go no further than IRON
MAIDEN.
AUGUST 25,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - KiLLSET TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
Do I call this album
S.T.F.U. or SHUT THE FUCK UP?
The album title has a
couple of different meanings. It could mean "shut the fuck up"
but there is a hidden track on the album and people can buy
the
album to figure out the second meaning.
And the album debuts
on July 7, at the RAINBOW ROOM. How do you feel about the finished
work?
I'm really excited. We're
going to have this cool little CD release/listening party. People
will finally get to hear the whole album, We've dropped some singles
and music videos and I'm really excited to get people to hear the
full product and hear the diversity of the album.
AUGUST 25,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - WAYLAND TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
The
new single is
amazing and the news of a new album is exciting. This is the first
time you guys have released a collection of music since the
beginning. You guys had been focusing on singles only.
Yeah,
we're very proud of the album. We were working on singles for a
while. We were building our fan base in that way and also by doing a
lot of touring. Each single we released would bring us around the
country twice. We were using that opportunity to develop ourselves as
a band on the road, being on different stages every night. We were on
the road for 250 nights a year for the last five years. After all of
that we finally felt like it was time for a full length album. Even
though that's really not the thing to do int he industry right now,
but we're kind of purists when it comes to traditional rock n roll.
All of our idols like THE STONES and ZEPPELIN and even THE FOO
FIGHTERS are still putting out full length records. We also felt like
all of our fans deserved a collection of music and more importantly
we wanted to have it. We wanted to have fourteen songs on an album.
AUGUST 6,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - ANNiE LENNOX TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
Whether it was a bit of
robo-emailing or a mistake made by a twenty something who didn't know
any better, the story of ANNIE LENNOX being scouted by a radio
station gave us quite the laugh. LENNOX had gone out of her way to
dismiss the correspondence as a scam, but not before having a little
fun with it. Yes, scams that take advantage of up and coming music
artists are everywhere but why this was sent to a four time GRAMMY,
GOLDEN GLOBE and OSCAR winner has us scratching our heads.
We're quite confident in
assuming that "KYLIE" - the contact in that laughable email
- is a six-foot-two fellow behind a computer in his parents basement,
but it sounds like the sort of oversight that would get made by a
millennial named "KYLIE" I even have a friend in that age
bracket who thought that the person who sang SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE
OF THIS) was a guy. Millennials and their lack of pop culture has
reached a critical point. I don't expect these brats to ever bring us
back to the moon, but I'd like to teach them a thing or two about one
of pop's most enigmatic performers. Are you listening, KYLIE?
AUGUST 2,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - G TOM MAC TAKEN FROM THE JULY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!! Being the
child of some
rather restrictive parents in the Summer of 1987 was a challenge.
There were so many fantastic movies that had come out such as ROBOCOP
and RUNNING MAN, but the one that got me the most excited was THE
LOST BOYS. I was around the same age as the COREYS (HAIM and FELDMAN)
and the notion of sexy, leather-clad vampires terrorizing a Southern
California coastal community seemed like a new, exciting slant on
the vampire sub-genre of horror. Unfortunately for me, the film was
rated R and I was forbidden to see such a film but with some slick
maneuvering, I got to see the film with a friend and his parents,
without my mom and dad ever finding out. All of my expectations for
the film were succeeded. The vampires were sexier. KIEFER SUTHERLAND
was a most menacing villain, the romance between JASON PATRIC
(MICHAEL) and JAMI GERTZ (STAR) was electrifying and the antics of
the COREYS struck the perfect balance between fear and laughter.
JULY 22,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - NEVER i TAKEN FROM THE JUNE 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!! NEVER
I, what made you decide on the band's name?
NEVER I is the title of a song by THE CHARIOT that we interpreted as
being synonymous with selflessness. A perspective we strive to hold
true in our lives and the music we make together.
Can you tell me a bit
about yourself and each member of the band, what do you bring to the
table?
CLINT thumps. HAYDEN jams. CONNOR is a wiz. KOTA funks. Anonymous
singer hollers.
Who
are your biggest influences both musically and personally?
Musically
we'd have to go with bands like NORMA JEAN, UNDEROATH, and THE
CHARIOT. Personal influences include LEONARDO, DONATELLO,
MICHAELANGELO, RAPHAEL, and of course MASTER SPLINTER.
ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - SiGNALS OF BEDLAM TAKEN FROM THE MAY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!! ESCAPING
VELOCITY is a fantastic album and now that's it's out there for
people to take in how do you feel about the finished work?
CERO:
If you're doing your job right you're always going to look back on
the things that you've done with glasses that allow you to see all of
the mistakes. So for everything I've ever done it's hard for me to
look back and kind of enjoy it. I always look back on things and
think about the things that I could improve. So I think we're all
really proud of it but at the same time we use it as a tool for
things that we want to develop in the future and improve upon.
And
how about you TOM? Do you look back on what you've released with a
critical eye as well?
TOM:
I don't know. That's kind of a hard question to answer. I'm really
proud of it. I was like a ton of work and it's the firs thing that
we've created as a band that I feel was distinctively the product of
all of us. It's funny looking back on it now too because we're not
quite the same anymore and we can hear all of the things that we did
and you might go "Oh, I might do things differently now."
It's not just a reminder of things to improve upon. It's more like it
a snapshot of us at the time and that was how we approached things
then. And now I'm wondering how we do things differently now.
JULY 21,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - A WAR WiTHiN TAKEN FROM THE MAY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
You
have this great CD out BELIEVE. Now that the album has been out there
for a little bit how do you feel about the finished work?
I'm
really proud of that record. I joined the band halfway through as
they were working on that record. When I joined and saw what they
were working on I thought the whole thing was awesome and was glad to
be apart of this. I was able to put some touches on the song SLAVE.
The piano parts that you hear are mine. That was really cool. I'm
really proud of how we covered a bunch of different bases on that
album. We didn't stick to one specific genre. That was cool!
Who
all did you guys work with in terms of production?
For
the BELIEVE record, we tracked it all ourselves and then it was mixed
by JOEY STURGIS and half of it was mixed by two other people - NICK
and JOSH.
JULY 17,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - BLAMESHiFT TAKEN FROM THE MAY 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
You guys are a
part of the UNDISCOVERED:ROCK compilation that is out there but I
notice that your contribution to it is an older song. Yeah, the track was picked by the guy who actually set
up the compilation. It's just one of the songs from us that he really
likes and he requested that we use
that for the compilation. Our first choice would've been our new single
off of our new release but he thought that OPERATING TABLE would help
diversify what the compilation is. It's an older song but we still feel
that it's a great song. It was a track that was a little under the
radar for us form that album and we always felt that it could've gotten
more exposure and this compilation gave us that chance to give that
song a little bit more love. We never shot a music video for it and we
never really gave it a real push and this compilation gives that song
that extra recognition.
JULY 16,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - ANDREW W. BOSS TAKEN FROM THE JUNE 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
INVINCIBLE
is about to get it's official release, and now that all of the work
that went into it is behind you, how do you feel about the finished
work?
I
think the album is amazing and I really think that a lot of people
are going to like it.
Who
all helped you behind the recording console?
I
worked with my executive producer JIM FOGARTY out of Westfield,
Massachusetts. He's got a couple of albums behind him from artists
such as ALL THAT REMAINS and a KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. I arranged the
album but he mixed and mastered and he came up with some ideas here
and there that really worked out. My drummer COREY did a lot of the
drum tracks and we had both JEREMY TABOR and JOHN BOSS on guitars.
JIM did some bass work and so did FLIP. We had a handful of people
working on this, plus there are some guest spots on there. For the
title track we had PABLO VIVEROS of CHELSEA GRIN on bass and guitars.
He did all of the music and I did the vocals on top of that. Even
though it says ANDREW W. BOSS, a lot of people helped in putting it
together. That's why I think it turned out so good.
JULY 3,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - LULLWATER TAKEN FROM THE JUNE 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
Your
live EP THE SEATTLE SESSIONS is an interesting listen. Now that it's
out there for everyone to hear, how do you feel about the finished
work?
I
feel very surprised by it. It brings me back to 2013 when we recorded
it, and the songs are different from the ones off of our official LP
REVIVAL. It's its own thing. It was recorded in a couple of
days at LONDON BRIDGE STUDIOS and we had a good time with it. It;'s
different feel for the songs than we're used to. It's cool to look
back and hear how we were playing these songs in 2013. After three
years of playing them, it's interesting to to hear how our approach
to them has changed.
With
the recent passing of CHRIS CORNELL and EP like THE SEATTLE SESSIONS
kind of has an eerie resonance.
Yeah.
We're I'm actually in Seattle right now. It's been really somber.
CHRIS CORNELL was that iconic, legendary singer that I grew up
idolizing. It's so odd. It's so weird. When I was on the flight to
Seattle the news broke and everyone was just bummed out. It was
really surreal. You wake up one morning and look at the news and you
find out that CHRIS CORNELL has passed away. It's weird. SEATTLE
SESSIONS was done on a whim as we were touring. Seattle has always
been that city and place that we've always gravitated toward. It's
the history of the city itself that gets to us, and the
history
of all of the people that have ever recorded at LONDON BRIDGE STUDIOS
and all of the music that was made there.
JULY
3,
2017 ROCKWiRED
NiTE OUT FEATURiNG YNGWiE
MALMSTEEN Whether
you
love Albuquerque, or hate it, one thing that we have going for us is
geography. Sitting right on the infamous Big-I, where Interstates 25
and 40 meets, is hugely advantageous to music lovers in the area. While
Albuquerque does have a couple of high volume venues, that draw in
major tours, we often miss out on the smaller ones. We do have venues
to accommodate these shows, nonetheless we often get skipped. On a near
weekly basis, I'll read about a band announcing a tour, and excitedly
check the dates only to find Albuquerque missing from the list.
Occasionally, however, a band's management will realize that there are
three days off between a Las Vegas, and a Dallas show, and have a gig
booked in Albuquerque, on short notice. This was the case with Yngwie
Malmsteen's World on Fire Tour that came to Albuquerque June 8th at the
Historic El Rey Theater.
JULY 3,
2017 ROCKWiRED
HiGHLiGHTS - DEREK DAViS TAKEN FROM THE JUNE 2017 iSSUE OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE!!!
REVOLUTIONARY
SOUL is a very ambitious LP in a time when people are releasing EPs
and singles these days. The fact that it's an LP is an accomplishment
in itself.
Yeah.
People have suggested to me that I just release a single instead of
an album and I'm like "What's that?" A single is not a work
of art. I could put out one of those once a week. I grew up
on
albums. I can't see myself doing a single at a time.
And
now that the album is out there for everyone to hear, how do you feel
about the finished work?
I
listen to a lot of stuff. There are some parts I'd do over again but
all in all I'm really happy with the album from start to finish. I'm
also happy with some of the critical responses . I had let people
that I've known for years listen to the album before it was released.
If any of them said "I don't know about this", I wouldn't
have released it. But everyone thought it was great . You
never
know if something you've been working on is only going to resonate
with others but this album is a universal soul, funk, rock type of a
thing. I'm very happy with it.
JUNE
25,
2017 For the better
part of a decade, JEFFREY HALFORD has maintained a reputation for
issuing music that speaks to the plight of the working man and the high
and lows that come with both love and life. In these times, doing so
successfully is a tall order, given the "share and share-a-like"
mentality of that pervades anything having to do with music. But at
least we can count on JEFFREY and his HEALERS standing out by a mile
with an electrifying live set which they have managed to take
throughout the United States and Europe. A year ago, everything
had felt like it had reached a zenith with the songwriter and
band issuing their finest album to date, RAINMAKER. The album boasted a
full, rich, vintage sound with HALFORD demonstrating songwriting chops
the size of JOHN HIATT. Now, the band is back (well, three of them
anyway) with a gritty surprise of an album called LO-FI DREAMS, where
HALFORD and the band move from the refinement of their previous album
to the raw, reckless rock n roll sound that made the genre dangerous
sounding in the first place."I
dig it!" said HALFORD, when we spoke over the phone regarding his
latest catalog of music. "I know it's a cliche, but you wait for the
magic to come into the room and it did. The last album RAINMAKER was
pieced together in pain. I couldn't get the mixes right and the whole
project killed me. Not to say that I hated that album. I loved the
album, but the way the whole thing came together was difficult. After
that, I got a trio together and went to Europe to do some shows. When
we came back we got into the studio and recorded the new one live.
There was a real focus to what we did in the studio and you can hear it
on the album."
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
MARiSSA LAMAR OF
HiGHLAND KiTESAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW EP i'M NOT WEAK!!!
When we spoke with
MARISSA LAMAR of HIGHLAND KITES, we asked her what she wanted people to
come away with after they had heard the music on her band's latest
release I'M NOT WEAK. To paraphrase her response, one of the points
that she brought up was that she didn't want people to be brought down
by her music, given the heavy themes that are on display within this
mesmerizing EP. Given the execution of these songs, which recalls the
haunting production and songcraft of works by DANIEL LANOIS and BRIAN
ENO, it is hard for us to see the music reducing a listener to sobbing
mess. We hear music that uplifts, and because of that I'M NOT WEAK is
nothing short of a miracle. Music is more that just something to do for
LAMAR. It was a means of survival. Music got her through the years she
struggled against Lyme Disease and the struggle turned her into a
songwriter with a confessional quality that is unparalleled. Damned if
we can find a anything like HIGHLAND KITES in the current indie set,
and that's a good thing. It makes the reward of discovering an EP like
I'M NOT WEAK all the more sweeter.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
MARCUS AND SiMON
BENJAMiN OF THE
SHRiMPSAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW EP ABSTRACTS AND KEYWORDS!!!
Let's face it.
Indie music has come to mean music that is acoustic based and conveys a
sense of longing and introspection. The term almost has nothing to do
with the fact that the music is coming form a band that isn't signed to
a major label. The subtlety of this sound is even used to push goods
and services such as PANERA BREAD, SABRA and UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX.
Yes, "indie music" has gone the way of "alternative rock" in terms of
not meaning anything anymore, so when a duo like THE SHRIMPS is
described as such, it does the duo and their music a massive
disservice. This isn't introspective music. It's extroverted music! THE
SHRIMPS are comprised of the brothers BENAJAMIN, and their musicality
is proudly displayed on their new EP ABSTRACTS AND KEYWORDS. MARCUS and
SIMON BENJAMIN take their queue from that other English songwriting
partnership of LENNON and McCARTNEY and deliver songs that run deliver
on melody, hook and that punchy lyric that proves to be elusive amongst
the greater "indie rock" crowd. If you were ot hear these blokes in
coffee shop. you'd put to your i-phone, stop your conversation with so
and so and really give these guys a listen, and in the era of social
media, that is really fucking doing something.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
JOHN STRiCKLAND OF
LULLWATERAND SPiNS OF THEiR TAKE ON THE PEARL JAM CLASSiC RELEASE!!!
The recent passing
of SOUNDGARDEN's CHRIS CORNELL has been a blow to the music industry
and has left many asking 'why'? Unfortunately the phenomenon of
charismatic front men from the Seattle area passing before their time
is due has cast an eerie pall over a city famed for bringing back rock
n roll's uncompromising edge. From the opposite end of the country
(Athens, Georgia to be exact) is the band LULLWATER who have taken
tremendous inspiration from the sounds of Seattle and one can hear that
inspiration on the band's previous efforts LULLWATER and REVIVAL. If
their back catalog hasn't convinced you, than their forthcoming release
SEATTLE SESSIONS will. Their embrace of the Seattle sound is worn
proudly on the band's sleeve in this live recording where the band's
cover of the PEARL JAM classic RELEASE. You can call this forthcoming
EP a grunge tribute but LULLWATER manages to keep these solid
performances raw and unflinching, on their own terms.
ROCK iS RED RETURNS
WiTH AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH DANIEL
"RAGMAN" HUDSPETH AND
COREY BETTELYOUN (OGLALA LAKOTA) OF UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE!!!
The
element of surprise is what keeps a publication like ours going, and
we've got to say that the Martin, South Dakota - based heavy metal band
UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE has indeed surprised the hell out of us with an
electrifying live set that they had put on recently at the ALBUQUERQUE
CENTER FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE. At the moment that band is on a tour
throughout the Southwestern United States in promotion of their brand
new single FALLEN STAR and while this series of shows is taking place
in small venues, we feel that it is only a matter of time before the
venues and the band become much bigger. UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE is a band
made up of varying members of local South Dakota bands RAZOR CHAIN,
NUCLEAR DECADENCE and LOST IN IRRELEVANCE. Together, these Lakota
brothers-in-arms are determined to bring their brand of metal to the
masses and leave a profound impression on listeners throughout Indian
Country and beyond.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
FRANK MiGLiORELLi OF
FRANK MiGLiORELLi AND THE DiRT NAPPERSAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW RELEASE BASS, DRUMS, GUiTARS AND ORGANS!!!
There are all
kinds of professions that are keeping the music industry an industry.
You've songwriters and producers and the heads of independent
record labels but none of those professions and business models would
mean anything without the actual music makers creating the very thing
that separates this industry from everything else. Before becoming the
owner of the indie label RAVE ON RECORDS, FRANK
MIGLIORELLI had written and recorded an extensive catalog of music used
for advertising agencies, video game projects, children's publications
and television. Eventually, MIGLIORELLI made that life altering
decision to start writing music for himself and after
listening to FRANK MIGLIORELLI & THE DIRT NAPPERS
latest release BASS, DRUMS, GUITARS AND ORGANS, we are indeed grateful.
The straight-ahead production and approach to rock n roll
showcases MIGLIORELLI's strength's as a songwriter in the vein of JOHN
HIATT and the band's considerable chops. The band's rhythm
section is comprised of TONY TINO on bass, PHIL CIMINO on drums and
ERIC PUENTE on percussion. Rounding out the sound are JEREMY BAUM on
organ, ANDY STACK and DUCAN CLEARLY on guitars, MIKE BOOKER
HEAPHY on steel guitar and backing vocals but SHERRYL MARSHAL, STEVE
CHIZMADIA and DAN PELLETIER. With such a wide cast of talent, BASS,
DRUMS, GUITARS AND ORGANS brings rock n roll back to the days when it
truly popped with melodies, hooks and a spirited delivery. Some things
never should've gone out of style.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
MEGAN FLECHAUSAND CUTS FROM HER NEW RELEASE NEW!!!
Since we're on the
subject of crazy, talented seventeen-year olds, we're going to be
turning our attention to singer songwriter MEGAN FLECHAUS. As a
publication, we've made mention of the fact that rock n roll is no
longer the music of the day and that goes double for anything that can
be described as folky an introspective but that in no way takes
anything away from FLECHAUS' hard hitting new album NEW. Rather than go
it alone,with just an acoustic guitar FLECHAUS brings a full band to
the proceedings, elevating her knowing and heartfelt songcraft to some
pretty rocking heights.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
RAY GORENAND CUTS FROM HiS NEW RELEASE FREE!!!
Ah! A boy wonder
who writes and plays every bloody instrument on his latest release! It
sounds like a novelty these days but in the case of RAY GOREN, it's
just the way that the seventeen year old whipper snapper does business.
RAY is certainly no stranger to us here at ROCKWIRED. We practically
heard this young man grow up before our very ears with a sound that
spans gut bucket blues to all out rock n roll. The kid's musicality is
a knowing one and has captured the ear of JIMI HENDRIX's legendary
producer EDDIE KRAMER who continues to mentor this one-of-a-kind
talent. One his newest release FREE, GOREN widens his musical
palette to include strong R&B and hip hop flourishes.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
KENNY KEARNS OF
RUGBY ROADAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW RELEASE RUGBY ROAD III!!!
2017
marks the 25th anniversary of a moment in time when rock n
roll gave itself a grunge-y make under and took a rough and raw
approach to getting people to bang their heads. If you're reading this
we don't need to drop names or mention that these guys were largely
from Seattle. At around the same time there was a jam band out East
making there presence known in frat houses on the Villa Nova campus.
Such an inconspicuous beginning for a band but didn't the CHILI PEPPERS
start out the same way? Aside from gaining a massive following thanks
to their electrifying live sets, RUGBY ROAD is a band that has achieved
something spectacular. They have stuck it our for over 25 years now and
their latest EP RUGBY ROAD III only goes to prove that these committed
troubadours are all to eager to keep giving the people what they want -
music that can get a crowd going.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH
SiGNALS OF BEDLAMAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW RELEASE ESCAPiNG VELOCiTY!!!
With
rock n roll already on shaky ground in terms of it's public acceptance,
it is strange to see bands such as SIGNALS OF BEDLAM embracing a
high-end progressive metal sound. Historically it has always bands that
took the direct and in-your-face approach that got people talking about
rock n roll again but we at ROCKWIRED have embraced this band's
adventurous, musical spirit which is in full force on their brand new
release ESCAPING VELOCITY. CHIKA OBIORA on bass and RICH ABIDOR on
drums lay down an intoxicating rhythm section while TOM HOY's
virtuosity on the six strings elevates the proceedings to dizzying
heights. On top of all of the musical know how is vocalist CERO CARTERA
whose innate ability to go from bombastic to plaintive can only be
attributed to his significant classical training. Just give the
haunting vocal track PIECE OF US a listen and you will hear what an
arsenal that band has in the way of a vocalist. But let's not put one
man above everyone else. SIGNALS OF BEDLAM is a band with some serious
musical ambition and in an age where GENE SIMMONS has declared the
genre dead, that is really saying something.
ROCK iS RED RETURNS
WiTH AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH KRiSTi
LANE SiNCLAiR (HAiDA/CREE) AND CUTS
FROM HER LATEST RELEASE DARK
MATTER!!!
Back
in 2014 when ROCKWIRED first became acquainted with
Haida/Cree songwriter KRISTI LANE SINCLAIR, she had just been nominated
for what was called the ABORIGINAL PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD for BEST ROCK
PERFORMANCE for her album THE SEA ALONE - a moody collections of songs
that showcased SINCLAIR's considerable Classical music training and her
fondness for the maudlin rock lyric worthy of BILLY CORGAN at his best.
It's no accident that we mention the name CORGAN. It was the SMASHING
PUMPKINS that got SINCLAIR excited about the six-string and music
making in the first place. From there SINCLAIR went on to study
classical music but eventually found her own sound and voice and has
released a a catalog of music marked by classical flourishes and rock n
roll angst. On her latest INDIGENOUS MUSIC AWARD nominated album DARK
MATTER, SINCLAIR embraces the punk and grunge sounds that got her going
artistically in the first place and as a result we are taken on a dark
and moody journey that most certainly exhilarates.
ROCK iS RED RETURNS
WiTH AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH CARLiN
BLACK RABBiT (SiKSiKA NATiON) OF NO MORE MOMENTS AND CUTS
FROM THEiR NEW RELEASE STiLL
GOiNG!!!
In
all of the time that we've been doing ROCK IS RED we have feature a
punk band here and a punk band there but we've never had anything as
hard, heavy and fast as the band NO MORE MOMENTS. Hailing from the
Siksika Nation in Alberta, Canada, NO MORE MOMENTS epitomize the D.I.Y.
philosophy of punk. Formed in 2009, the band have shown what they are
made of on the Calgary music scene and throughout the provinces. Their
hardcore punk sound has proven to be a relentless as the band who have
given their public something to bang their heads to in the form of two
EPs MOMENTS REBORN and MOMENTS NEVER SAY DIE and now the band is riding
the wave of their new release STILL GOING. After eight years of being
together, the title of their latest EP sums up the band's solidarity
and we've gotta give a shout out to the STAR WARS-themed CD cover.
Short, blistering sets rules the day on this recording with the stand
outs being CALLIN' IN, RETIREMENT PARTY and HANGOVER BLUES. In a time
where what's left of rock n roll has become slick and refined, it's
nice to hear a band like this keeping it raw.
ROCKWiRED RADiO PROFiLES FEATURES
AN EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEW WiTH TiM
BABROUR OF
BLAMESHiFTAND CUTS FROM THEiR NEW RELEASE HEART OF STONE!!!
Rock n
roll survival is all about endurance and BLAMESHIFT's ability to
survive for well over ten years is truly a testament to the band's
creative core of vocalist JENNY MANN and guitarist TIM BARBOUR. Back
when ROCKWIRED did a radio show for the rinky dink radio station
KTSTFM.COM in Anaheim, California, BLAMESHIFT made a stop at the
station on THE JAKE LARSEN show. It was a show that I personally sat in
on. At the time, the Long Island-based band had just received an
endorsement from TACO BELL and were in the midst of a nationwide tour.
Ten years later, the band still make their living on the road and are
releasing one album or EP after another one and while the band isn't as
TACO BELL fueled as they used to be, they are most certainly living
that rock n roll dream that has eluded many. BLAMESHIFT has just
released their new EP HEART OF STONE featuring the single MONSTER and
the proceedings demonstrate a band that knows who they are and
appreciates all that it took to get where they are now. Rock n roll
could use more survival stories like this one.
THE
FORTHCOMING MAY EDiTiON OF ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE WiLL FEATURE EXCLUSiVE iNTERViEWS WiTH
BLAMESHiFT,
SiGNALS OF BEDLAM,
REMADA AND A WAR
WiTHiN -PLUS-
TWELVE
OF ACTiVE ROCK'S
FiNEST BASS PLAYERS GET PROFiLED iN THE 24-PAGE SPECiAL FEATURE
MUTHAPLUCKAHS!!!
ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE will be celebrating it's fifth anniversary in the month of May
with two issues. One will be the regularly scheduled MAY issue
celebrating active rocks's top bass players and the other is
the return of the supplemental digital magazine ROCK IS RED - which
highlights American Indian and First Nations music makers. The May
issue of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE will be our annual special issue
highlighting our favorite active rock's bass players. Twelve,
four-string slingers have been selected and will be profiled in our 24
page special feature MUTHAPLUCKAHS. This issue will mark the fourth
year that ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE has made a big to-do for the men and women
who keep rock n roll's groove extra tight. This year there
are some familiar names and faces who have made previous lists such as
CODY EVAN HOFFMAN of CITY OF THE WEAK, NICK ERICSON of EDGE
OF PARADISE and SCOTT CLARK of CRAWL but we are truly excited by some
new bands and their respective bassists such as CHICK OBIORA of SIGNALS
OF BEDLAM, TY QUACKENBUSH of MAMMOTH SEED and RICHARD ERWIN of
SCATTERED HAMLET. Rounding out the list are bassists from some pretty
familiar acts ont he active rock scene such as MIKE LAROCHE of
BLAMESHIFT, ZAC BARDSLEY of A AWAR WITHIN, ADAM LOUIS KLEIN of VAJRA
and MARK JAMES KLEPASKI of VYCES. In addition to this special feature,
the magazine will also profile the bands BLAMESHIFT, SIGNALS OF BEDLAM,
REMADA, A AWAR WITHIN and more. This issue of ROCKWIRED
MAGAZINE will be released MAY 5, 2017
exclusively at ROCKWIRED.COM.
or us,
CITY OF THE WEAK
represents something that has been lacking severely in the world of
rock for a long time - artistry. So few have had that artistry that
goes
along with being a rock n roll band down to a science and this band -
fronted by the irrepressible front woman STEF W/ AN F - has always had
the musicality and the visual smarts to stand out of the active rock
crowd. You could hear it in their punchy, pop rock delivery and you
could see it in all of their music videos to date and we have the
photogenaeity of STEF and the vision of bass player and filmmaker CODY
EVAN HOFFMAN (the guy directs their videos) to thank for that. In a
time when musicmakers
simply make music on their laptops and post it to whatever
musical
platform is out there, it's quite refreshing to see a band that has the
complete package and knows the value of a little visual flash and
style. For years, CITY OF THE WEAK has released a steady stream of EPs
and
singles to reasonable chart action and radio play on all of the right
markets, but now the band is gearing up with the release of their first
ever LP PULLING TEETH. The title represents the struggles the band has
faced by simply making the music they want to make. Not only is the
album a milestone for the band, it's a middle finger to the haters and
the naysayers. When we spoke with STEF W/AN F it was the
weekend before the the commencement of a new tour promoting the
forthcoming release of PULLING TEETH. Here is
how the interview went. 
he
artist known in certain circles as ANIMAL TEEF is something of a first
in the eyes of our publication. Blame it on our lack of knowledge when
it comes to the world of hip hop - as we are a rock publication - but
the
Oglala Lakota rapper may
very well be the genre's first real vgabond. Since 2013, we have
seen his solo career take off from the fields of the Oglala Sioux
Indian Reservation with the single AIN'T NOBODY'S BIDNESS and the LP
PINK
TRASH. The man's brand of socially conscious hip hop came with a jagged
edge and not a word or beat went to waste, even on the 14-song
collection THE SHAKE BAG or the EP SAY LA VIE. In an a genre of music
that is all about representing a certain locale, TEEF is a vagabond who
has taken his music North by Northwest to such cities at Seattle and
Eugene. For the past couple of years he has contributed rhymes to this
and that project, but now he is one half of a new project called
LONESOME GEORGE. The other half is comprised of beat maker and producer
ENDOR and their message of Indigenous pride and decolonization can be
heard loud and clear on their new album BURT BACHAPACK- a play on the
name of a legendary songwriter and a hat tip to what TEEF refers to as
"back pack" rapper. Us "dad rockers" learn something new every day!
ROCKWIRED had the chance to speak with ANIMAL TEEF and ENDOR of
LONESOME GEORGE regarding their new album. Here is how the interview
went.
n speaking
with Canadian glam/punk rock veteran TED AXE, you get
the sense that the Great White North is just a little too quiet for the
guy. In the late seventies, it was he and his band THE ACTION that got
the punk music movement going in Canada with some rather sensational
headlines in the Ottawa newspapers and the release a balls-to-the-wall
EP which contained their clarion single TV's ON THE BLINK. Yes sir,
"Canada's First Punk Rock Band" knew how to get the press going and the
band quickly found themselves touring their homeland and the States
alongside such punk rock legends as THE STRANGLERS and THE RAMONES.
When all of this was going down, rock n roll was only twenty something
years old so no one was thinking about maintaining a legacy or even
working their way into some "hall of fame" nonsense. THE ACTION became
inactive after one year but AXE took his razor tongued antics
elsewhere. He's stalked the stage of London and Los Angeles and then
formed the band SISTER HYDE in Seattle. Now, he has just released his
new solo album SEX HORROR VIOLENCE - a twelve-song opus that celebrates
the man's punk rock spirit and thse glam flourishes of his
that he
hasn't been able to shake since he first heard ZIGGY STARDUST in a
record store years and years ago. 
OCKWIRED.COM
is pleased to annuonce the nominees for our latest ARTIST OF
THE MONTH COMPETITION. The current artist of the
month winner is the band WE ARE BAND NERDS who secured
their victory with over six thousand voters. Now we are getting things
set for the month of April and we've got an amazing group of artists
for you to pick from. This official ballot page has been set up with
polling services provided by MICROPOLL. 
et me tell
you what sucks about getting old. You find yourself
not wanting to go out as much and that puts you in a strange place as a
music journalist. Sure, my area of expertise is recorded music, but
rock n roll is all about the live performance. I've let age get the
better of me and after checking the all female prog metal band FLIGHT
OF FIRE from Boston, I've learned that I'm missing out on a lot.
According to some favorable press and some footage that can
be found
on YOUTUBE, FLIGHT OF FIRE has something - that over-the-top live
sensibility that has been missing from rock since the eighties. What
good is rock n roll without showmanship? Outside of the pomp and
circumstance that goes along with the band's live set, FLIGHT OF FIRE
has musicality to spare. You can attribute that to either their
ingrained sense of rock n roll with ambition (we did mention they are
on the prog-y side of metal right?) or the years spent studying music
at Berklee School of Music. Either way, the band's artistry and
musicality can be heard loud and clear on their 2017 album PATH OF THE
PHOENIX. We are given assurances by the band that a new album is on the
way but inthe meantime, the band has released the playful single SICK
IN LOVE and are gearing up for a tour of Europe that is set for Summer
of this year. ROCKWIRED had the chance to speak with the band's front
woman MAVERICK and twins TANYA VENOM (lead guitar) and TIA MAYHEM
(bass) regarding the band and their music making. Here is how the
interview went.
n March 24, 2018, the
winners in the first ever LA
MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS were announced during a lively and
intimate awards ceremony hosted at UNFRIENDLY
STUDIOS in Vernon. California. The director of the event -
JOWANNA LEWIS
of RADIO KSCR
- served as the hostess of the event. After months of planning,
selecting the nominees and facilitiating the voting, we can only
imagine that the stress of pulling off an evening to remembers was
high, but knowing LEWIS like ROCKWIRED does, we were not the least bit
surprised to see this entrepreneur pull of this event with her usual
grace and panache. "It was a
pleasure and a challenge to do the LA Music Video Awards." says
LEWIS. "There were some great videos that were
submitted. I am looking forward to putting this event on next
year." 
eing away
for a week was a huge mistake but what choice do you have when you host
a podcast and you get struck with laryngitis and it hurts like hell to
talk. Some of the rasp is still with me, but ROCK SHOW is back, as is
or co-host RITA LOUISE for two hours of music, interviews with some
bands that have come ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE's way and banter
between the hosts on their current living conditions in the Duke City
and shady neighbors that are across from them. Neighbors that can't be
stopped by ATF raids, forced evictions or the love of Christ for that
matter and we've got a sneaking suspicion that meth making is in the
picture. Thanks alot BETTER CALL BREAKING BAD for making this shit
chic. Oh there is so much to discuss on this fine show but we are
kicking everything off by announcing the winner of the ROCKWIRED ARTIST
OF THE MONTH. To find out who it is you're going ot have to listen to
the show until we fire off the press release. Also included in this
edition of ROCK SHOW is music and exclusive interviews with
Maryland-based rockers SEPIA, the all-female metal band FLIGHT OF FIRE
and the rap metal band WE ARE BAND NERDS. 
e are going
to try not to have an edition of ROCK SHOW go by
without our co-host RITA LOUISE. The addition of her to the ROCKWIRED
family has been invaluable and her presence in front of the
mic is
really something special. Her being away for one show was way too long
and we're grateful to have her back. In the latest edition of ROCK
SHOW, we kick things off with news of the upcoming LA MUSIC
VIDEO
AWARDS which ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE will be publishing an official guide
for. We'll be interviewing the director of the LA MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
JOWANNA LEWIS (CEO of RADIO KSCR) and spin some tunes from some of the
nominees like RAYMOND LEVIER, MILITIA VOX and B OF DAKOTA SOUTH
RECORDS. We will also be spinning some tunes and presenting exlcusive
interviews with the likes of Canadian punk/glam rocker TED AXE, the New
Mexico-based rockers MANHIGH
and the
adventurous musical stylings of RAUSCH. There is also some new music
from ROCKWIRED newcomers such as MAGNETIC NORTH, SHINOBI
NINJA, SIDE CHAIN and WE ARE BAND NERDS.
kay so I didn't go
back as far as I could've for the first ever presentation of ROCKWIRED
REWIND, but I picked a good one. It was the summer of 2016
and CANDLEBOX had just released their glorious album DISAPPEARING IN
AIRPORTS. I had already been acquainted with the band's lead singer
KEVIN MARTIN through another musical project he had been involved with
called LE PROJET and had a good working relationship with the band's
publicist DENISE. VEXATIOUS was a punchy single and the album was just
the kind of rock album that I'm programmed to fall in love with - the
kind that has something to say. This was the 642nd edition of our now
defunct podcast series ROCKWIRED RADIO PROFILES and it was one of my
favorites. KEVIN MARTIN is always a great interview. Please enjoy this
podcast in it's entirety with three cuts from the album included. 
TV changed
the musical landscape tremendously by making music a
visual experience and turned recording artists into superstars in some
cases. In an time when the M in MTV has become obsolete due to the
network no longer spinning music videos, there are more music videos
than ever thanks to YOUTUBE. Visuals are still the most powerful way to
sell a band no matter the genre. With the flux of music videos coming
from this or that independent recording artist, where does the artist
go to get recognition for their work if MTV's VMAs are all about
celebrity and wardrobe malfunctions and KANYE WEST outbursts? JOWANNA
LEWIS - the founder of the online radio station RADIO KSCR - is an
entrepreneur who saw a need for this need for recognition and began
hosting music video festivals involving screenings of music videos at
vintage movie theaters. In 2016, LEWIS upped her game by hosting RADIO
KSCR's MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS which celebrated the visual work of an
intimidating number of bands and artists from around the world. Just as
intimidating as the number of artists nominated were the categories
themselves which included BEST HORROR MUSIC VIDEO and MOST LIKELY TO BE
AN INDIE FILM. 
kay, we're at
it
again! With the absence of ROCKWIRED MAGAZINE, we here at ROCKWIRED.COM
are filling that void by re-launching our podcast series ROCK SHOW.
got GABRIEL
GAMBINO going in a recent phone conversation when I described the sound
of his new band MANHIGH as QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE on peyote.
et's face
it. THe LP is a dying art in an age where attention spans are limited
to memes, tweets and two-minute STAR WARS trailers. And lets not even
bring up the roll out for an LP. These days, you've got to make a
massive impression with a single and a music video and goth rock siren
MILITIA VOX has done so with her latest offering NYCTOPHILIA, a dark
exploration into the human psyche and it's ability to haunt the streets
late at night. Thematically, the moody single recalls the creepy,
crawly theatricality of ALICE COOPER's WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE and the
showmanship and hellbent delivery of SIOUXSIE SIOUX of SIOUXSIE AND THE
BANSHEES. Both the single and video have earned the woman raves from
such sites as AFROPUNK.COM and have proven that the singer - famed for
her vocal prowess for the JUDAS PRIEST tribute band JUDAS PRIEST - has
a delivery and an artistry that is all her own.
SEPTEMBER
14,
2017 -
The
new single is
amazing and the news of a new album is exciting. This is the first
time you guys have released a collection of music since the
beginning. You guys had been focusing on singles only. 
