Volume III/Issue 2

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CONTENTS

Broken Records Magazine

VOLUME III/ISSUE 2 July 2011

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

DAVID COOK 58

43

THE BAND PERRY 44

26

COUNTRY THROWDOWN 52

58 52

VOLBEAT 40

4

IN THE MIX 10 Q&A 23

BLACK VEIL BRIDES 26

WEIRD AL 43

WARM UPS 7

A THOUSAND WORDS 34 MAIN SUPPORT 40

40 44

HEADLINER 58 5

Broken Records Magazine Owner/Publisher Scott Vollweiler Editor-in-Chief Justin Sarachik Managing Editor/Photographer Ray White Associate Editor Markos Papadatos Editors Megan Messana Lisa Eadicicco Photo Editor Matt Ryan Writers Danielle Choo Brian Gonzalez Vincent Balestriere Ryan Zerfas Alexa Asperin Amanda DelGuidice Amanda Domenech Andrea Towers Arin Segal Greg Rothberg Jennifer Leeflang Jillian Long Michael Camp Terri Caputo Laura Desaro Photographers Alexa DiMaio Barbara Dengel Briana Raimondo Bryan Rankin Jacqueline Cheng Kevin Hulse Kristin Tully Laura DeSantis-Olsson Intern Kayla Sarachik 6

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Perhaps one of the most important experiences we get to enjoy as people is music. With it, some individuals are inspired to do great things, to better themselves, or even cope with a problem. Without it, well, without music I can’t imagine a world void of it.

Music is the universal language that encompasses every language, culture, race, man and woman, young or old. Everyone can relate and everyone has a story of how music changed their lives or meant something to them.

Just remember the first time you popped in your favorite artist into your stereo. Try and remember the emotion, the passion, the absolute feeling of “Wow, this is amazing.” It’s a great memory right? Sometimes we lose this memory because everyday life gets in the way, and sometimes we lose it because we feel music has changed too much. Whatever the reason, I’m here to say, GET IT BACK! Broken Records covers everything from country to hip-hop, and paints a beautiful picture of the diversity we call “today’s music.” So I implore YOU, the reader, to read through every article, look up the musicians on the page and give them a listen because you never know what artist may become your new inspiration.

Happy Reading, Justin Sarachik, Editor-in-Chief

Our Info Official Site: BrokenRecordsOnline.com Digital Edition Site: Scribd.com/BrokenRecordsmagazine Twitter: @BrokenRecordMag Youtube: Youtube.com/BrokenRecordsMagazin Email:BrokenRecordsMagazine@yahoo.com “Like” Us On Facebook

By: Markos Papadatos Georgia native Brantley Gilbert is a gifted country singer-songwriter whose songs have been recorded by such country artists as Jason Aldean and Colt Ford.

On writing country star Jason Aldean’s smash hit “My Kinda Party,” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country Charts, Gilbert remarks “that was absolutely amazing. It was definitely an honor to have somebody of his stature record it and have success with it.”

“My latest album Halfway to Heaven picked up where my debut album A Modern Day Prodigal Son left off. It opened the next chapter of my life,” he says.

“My current single is ‘Country Must Be Country Wide,’ which debuted at #40 on the Country Charts. We released the music video today, ” he adds.

“My proudest professional accomplishment is to be sitting where I’m sitting.

Right now I’m happy and I’m real proud of where I’m at,” he says.

The hardest aspect of Gilbert’s job is “being away from home so much.”

On performing in a studio vs. a live setting, Gilbert remarks “in the studio you are more concentrated, since there are only a bunch of people out in front of you that you are trying to entertain. Live is a little bit more challenging because you are trying to evoke emotion and entertain at the same time, and it’s real easy to trip on the words. I love being on stage. It’s a lot of fun, especially when the people are singing your songs back to you.”

“I’m gonna ride this thing until the wheels fall off,” jokes Gilbert about his future plans. “I don’t see myself doing anything else. This is about all I know how to do.”

For his dedicated fan-base, Gilbert states “thank you. Words can’t say how much I appreciate the support we’ve been given over the past few years to help get us where we’re at.”

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Mary

Sarah

You-Tube singing sensation Mary Sarah started singing at the young age of eight. “I started playing piano and my piano teacher spoke to my parents about getting vocal lessons at age 10, which taught me to take care of my voice. At the age of 12, I landed a spot on the Kidz Bop World Tour and I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Mary Sarah is drawn to traditional and modern country music. “There’s something about traditional country music that hits you on the spot. I am a fan of Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’ and ‘Walkin’ After Midnight’ and Connie Francis’ ‘Where the Boys Are.’ In modern country, I love Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, both as a person and vocalist. Her songs ‘Jesus Take the Wheel’ and ‘All-American Girl’ have made a big impact on my life.”

On country music, Mary Sarah loves “the way it tells the stories. It’s a great

When the lights go down and the party is over, there is a time to get serious. This is not that time. However, the soaring vocals of Lindsey Stamey and the tight

experience to be able to put something down on paper. I love songs that can give you hope and encouragement and I love country songs that make you cry.”

Her proudest professional accomplishments include singing the National Anthem at the Astros Game and performing on the Kidz Bop World Tour.

Mary Sarah’s plans for the future include “embarking on my sophomore year in school, as well as releasing an album in May that I recorded at 14 called Crazy Good. I won a promotion package to put it on 20,000 jukeboxes around the United States and I shot a video for it and I look forward to recording in Nashville. I am also launching a new website and keeping up with fans and friends.”

For students who wish to pursue a career in music, Mary Sarah states that it’s important to work hard, be passionate and love what you are doing. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” she concludes.

and games until you listen to the lyrics.

Their self titled, debut EP, came out May 10th and is slathered with self reflective whimsy, relationship bartering lines, and rhetorical inquisitiveness, but the real fun happens when “The Fiasco” takes the stage.

Lindsay Stamey in a phone interview with Broken Records

By Ryan Zerfas

electro-dance-rock southern sauce of Oh No Fiasco will stop you in your tracks, and yes, gentleman, you’re going to be the one asking for directions. It’s all fun

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by Markos Papadatos

Magazine seemed like a mild mannered southerner, but her stage presence is often described as Bjork from the South meets Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s.

The music accompaniment often features canvases (the backing band wearing white shirts) and paint, freestyle dancing, reenactments of famous tv/movie scenes and anything else that one might think properly fits their band name, “we wanted a band name that sounded good, but fit our stage

presence,” said Stamey who continued describing how the stage is the place she feels most like a normal human being.

The EP is a seven song thrill-ride leaving most listeners in a glass case of emotion and is an honorable mention of things one shouldn’t give a Gremlin—just behind bright light and food after midnight.

It opens with a sexy serenade “Stand In Lover” which loudly proclaims “I’ve had enough to drink tonight/so you’ll do just fine/yeah, I like it like that,” with enough body and bounce to double take a saloon full of sailors.

“Clarity” is a heavy hitting ballad that fully showcases the vocal range of Stamey much like a THX sound check, while “Fly Me to the Moon” brings the listener along to an intimate party scene turned day dream where the landscapes soar hand-in-hand with quick hitting electro beats that might as well be soundscapes.

It’s a trip you don’t want to miss.

Afterall, once you decided to hit play, you verbally inked your contract for a fiasco.

by Markos Papadatos

Jessie and the Toy Boys is one of Britney Spears’ openings acts for her “Femme Fatale” tour. On being a part of this tour, Jessie remarks “it’s such an honor on so many levels. I’m a huge Britney fan, she’s such a superstar. My favorite new artist is Nikki Minaj.

It’s an incredible company to be in.

To see all of my hard work pay off and all of my dreams come true is an incredible feeling.”

Regarding their first single “Push It,” she remarks “it’s one of my favorite songs. I never get sick of it. When you hear it, you instantly have to get up and move. It makes people dance and makes them feel

2011 has been a prolific year for singer-songwriter Joshua Gray. He’s been featured as an “Artist to Watch” on Clear Channel’s iheartradio.com and he earned the spotlight on AOL Music’s CD Listening Party this past March.

A Queensbury, NY native, Gray’s music has earned him comparisons to his musical hero, pop sensation Josh Groban. “That’s a great comparison,” says Gray. “I would love to have a career like him.

That’s the ultimate dream and goal.”

In addition to Groban, Joshua Gray has also been inspired musically by Michael Bublé, alternative rock band Muse, and by opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.

Justin His first single, “Call Me Crazy,” from his eponymous 5-track EP, was Sarachik co-written with his brother, Travis. “I remember he had the line ‘people that just want to make love’ written. We thought it was pretty catchy, so we wrote the rest of the song around that line.”

On April 30, 2011, his CD release show took place in New York City Singer, musician, actress, and film where the proceeds went to the scorer-readhowTigerDarrow,woman Ronald McDonald House Charities of many talents puts it all together. of the Capital Region (RMHC).

“As a former camp counselor, I How did you get into acting? How thought it would be a good gesture did you get into music? I was to help out kids and their families.” exposed to the acting world really On future collaboration choices, “I early on. When I was about seven would love to do a song with Michael years old, my mom asked me if I Bublé, and it would be cool to do a would like to try acting. I said yes song with someone from a different and signed with her agency, Acclaim musical style like Bruno Mars.” Talent. I’ve gotten to work on tons For hopefuls who wish to pursue of great projects and I’ve met some music as a career, Gray remarks “write really amazing people through and perform what you like and what all of the film work I’ve done. you love. Keep it real like yourself and As far as music goes, I started playing people will respond well.” violin when I was about two years

Tiger Darrow

something. I closed the Sacramento show with ‘Push It’ and the energy was through the roof.”

From her six-track “Show Me Your Tan Lines” EP, her favorite is “Money Makes the Girl Go Round.” “It’s about a friendship that I had that ended up in very deep betrayal by someone who I thought was one of my best friends. I just love the chorus so much, and it was a song that wrote itself. I wrote that song in an hour! Music is literally therapy, and it’s amazing to sing that song and sort of have the last laugh,” adds Jessie.

By Markos Papadatos old, but I always told my parents that I really wanted to play cello.

My uncle got me my first guitar when I was about seven, but I didn’t really start songwriting until I was twelve. When I was 14, and I had written enough songs for an album, so I sat in my grandparent’s living room with my laptop and a condenser mic and tried my best to get good recordings of all of my songs.

After I had everything recorded, I released my self-titled, debut album.

How are acting and music similar, how are they different? Acting and music are both performancedriven. Just as an actor on stage or film must embody their character, a musician must “sell” his or her songs when he or she performs. In order to connect with your audience, or have an impact, your audience has to believe the story you’re telling them.

Tell me a little bit about your new albums, and why people should listen to you? continued on next page

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My new albums are pretty different from each other. Hello was cowritten with and produced by Cary Pierce. I did everything on You Know Who You Are completely on my own. While Hello is more easily classified as “pop,” I’m not sure about the genre of You Know Who You Are because it’s a crazy meshing of different styles. Some people have referred to it as my “experimental” album because I played around with all sorts of different genres. The idea behind You Know Who You Are is that every song was written about someone in my life, and if they were to listen to the album with that in mind, they could figure out which song is about them.

What is your coolest film experience, and what does your acting future hold? I’ve gotten to work on a lot of really cool films, so New Jersey rockers, Dave Incognito I’m not sure I can choose one particular and Jay Prussack, founders of Metal experience. I’ve been involved with band, Incognito Theory have played Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids series together throughout countless bands since I was eight years old. He’s a over the years. Doing mostly death huge inspiration for me and I’ve metal it became evident that they learned a lot about the film industry needed to throw their death metal and the hard work and drive it takes roots behind them. “When you play to accomplish your dreams from for the death metal scene, you play for him. It allowed me to learn from an a certain group of people. We want to early age how to be professional, broaden our horizons, be universal, but it also encouraged my creativity. and be more well known,” said I give Robert Rodriguez and frontman Dave. Guitarist, Jay sees Troublemaker Studios a lot of credit this transition as something different, for who I am today as a professional. “I’m still into the heavy stuff. This is Where do you hope to be in five something different, like a challenge.” years time? Hopefully, in five years So what exactly is this new sound I will have finished my undergrad like? Upon listening, it is easy to hear work, and maybe I’ll be playing hints of Disturbed and Godsmack shows all around the country or intertwined. “It’s a melting pot of a scoring films. I’m going to NYU’s lot of stuff...powerful metal overtones Steinhardt School for music with melodic vocals,” Jay said. It’s composition and theory in hopes of all the grunge nu metal goodness you having a focus on film scoring. The like with influences of their roots. scoring that I got to do for Machete “We are trying to reinvent the wheel... was such an awesome experience; I [we have] great showmanship, talent, would love to work on more projects and honesty,” Dave said excitedly. like that.

Some of their biggest moments 10

By Justin Sarachik

O EY ZIT N T R COU

I had the privilege to chat with up and coming Jane-of-all-Trades Courtney Zito, as we discussed her new concept and show, Hollywood Girl, where she plays the lead character Quinn Monroe.

as musicians have occured together.

They played a 40 Below Summer, reunion show with God forbid and Ashes for your Enemy. It was a huge show because these bands where big locally. “We knew a lot of people at that show,” Dave said. As far as capacity wise and venue wise, the biggest show they have played was at Starland to a crowd of about 1000.

They had about 140 people there, and only had two weeks to sell tickets.

“We plan on taking this to the next level. It’s all about the music, this is Dave, Jay, Rob, and Erik- complete,” said Dave. “I play music for the love and everything that goes into it. The band has promise, so lets achieve something,” said Jay. “Let’s build a following and not stand still.”

I.T. will be releasing their debut album, Silent Pain, sometime this summer. They recently signed with New Jersey indie label Romolus X Records and are doing a lot of great work in promotion for themselves.

Stay tuned for I.T. because it’s sure to be a big year.

How did you get into acting, and was it always your life’s ambition? I basically came out of the womb singing, acting & dancing. I have been on stage since I was two years old. Performing has always been my life’s ambition and I suspect it will always be. If I am not creating something, I don’t feel alive.

Where did the concept for Hollywood Girl come from? My life. This show is based on my own experiences in LA with love, dating, friendships and all things entertainment. Not everything you see actually happened, but there may be a sentence, or a person, or a moment in each episode that was inspired by something that took place in my life. It started out as a book, but because I love movies and television and because I am an actress, I decided to create a web series, because I felt it was a realistic creative outlet for me.

How’d you get the name Quinn Monroe and how’d you choose Hollywood Girl for the title? I had her last name first, actually. It’s after Marilyn Monroe, because I have always adored her. She may have had a lot of personal problems, but she was way ahead of her time as an icon and a businesswoman.

I think she knew exactly what she was doing most of the time, and let people think she was just the ditzy bombshell.

She’s an icon till this day, and people still love her. She was the original Hollywood Girl.

How long does shooting take, and how much work goes into each episode? Months of work goes into each episode, because I write the episodes, I recently brought in a co-writer, Kelsey Scott for episodes 4-10. Then I need to cast them, find our locations, get everyone’s schedule, gather props and equipment needed and try to coordinate the shoot days, gather music with the help of Jon Santos, and I sit for hours on end listening to that music till I can decide what music to use for what scene.

Then we shoot anywhere from 1-4 days, and finally we begin post which could take several weeks.

Using your best elevator pitch, why should the world watch Hollywood Girl? Because I said so! Just kidding...

If you’re looking for a light hearted, quirky comedy, based on real life circumstances in love, friendships and the Entertainment Industry, and that’s full of physical comedy and a pretty hot cast, then you will love Hollywood Girl.

Check out the Hollywood Girl Website for all your Quinn Monroe fixes www.hollywoodgirltv.com/home.html

A’ TRIS

A’tris is a band that is generating a buzz on the indie circuit through college radio and the Internet. Don’t look for

any meaning behind the name, singer and front man Mason Taylor says, “We wanted it to be a word like Google. It could be a noun, a verb, or an adjective; but, regardless of its function, we aim for it to be synonymous with great experiences.”

A’tris has been touring about once a year, and averages about a CD a year.

Their debut CD, Appeal, was released in 2005. Their second release was in 2007, an EP entitled, Commons. The most recent full length, Lensing, came out in 08 and featured their biggest single to date “Automatic Doors.” The video was featured on MTV a few times, and gained a lot of plays on the college radio circuit.

They have done all they can to get noticed, but Mason says, “The future is in placement. The newer A’tris music is more commercially viable.”

If a band can crack the walls of radio, TV, or movies, it opens a big door of opportunity. In addition to this, Mason is constantly using social networking to reach out to people. “Social media is tough because everyone can use it, but I use these sites to make friends,” says Taylor.

While on the subject of social media, A’tris is currently trying out an incredible project. For every week of 2011, A’tris is putting out a new demo. These songs are rough tracks that we will be set to video and put out through their various sites. It is their hopes that the viewers will pick their favorite songs and be proactive in the creation of the next album.

Currently in week 22, all is well so far.

“I’m looking forward to sharing our music with new audiences and look forward to seeing where it takes me,” Taylor concludes.

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On hard rock music, Adelitas Way lead singer Rick DeJesus remarks “I love the energy and the fans! I think rock and roll is going to make a big comeback within the next year.”

Their latest record “Home School Valedictorian,” was released on June 7, 2011 via Virgin Records. “With this album, you can tell how much the band has grown, and you can see how much better we’ve become. We really pushed ourselves on this album and we’ve really taken it to the next level.”

Regarding the album’s song selection process, DeJesus remarks “we did not write 60 songs for it.

I don’t like to write like that. I think you can tell if a song is magic or not. How many important things can you say in 60 songs? We literally wrote 12 or 13 songs, and eleven of them made the record. We wanted to make a real record that has meaning, and an album people can relate to,” DeJesus says.

On the inspiration behind their new single “Sick,” DeJesus notes that “it’s just about being fed up, and being sick of being underappreciated in your job, and in numerous things.”

DeJesus further reveals that “Sick” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot Rock Charts, and hopes that the band could score yet another Top 5 hit.

The album features a collaboration with Tyler Connolly from Theory of a Deadman on “I Wanna Be.” 12

Photo Credit: Olaf Heine

Meet Country Music’s “Family Man”

“Tyler’s a really good friend of mine and we’re going on tour together in August for Carnival of Madness.

We had fun, and he’s a great guy and songwriter.”

Although he loves the entire record, one of DeJesus’ favorite songs is “I Can Tell,” since it’s very well-written and personal to him.

“I’m excited about the Carnival of Madness Tour, and I’m just so ready for it!” exclaims DeJesus. “This tour is unbelievable. It’s one of those tours that every band in America wants to jump on, and we’re on it,” he adds.

Adelitas Way is expected to join Alter Bridge on the tour. “Myles Kennedy is one of the best vocalists out there. It’s going to be an honor to share the stage with him,” says DeJesus.

Adelitas Way’s future plans include having yet another hit record, and a couple of more singles off the album, and being on the road for the next three years.

by Markos Papadatos

Craig Campbell is drawn to country music due to its “honesty and real-deal storytelling.”

A Lyons, Georgia native, Campbell used to perform at The Stage prior to landing his record deal. “I learned a lot there.

That’s where I learned how to play, and got to try out songs, and I saw what people liked and what they didn’t like. It’s the single-most important venue that made me who I am today.”

His debut single “Family Man” was a Top 15 hit on the Country Charts. “That was a little surreal. I wrote that song from personal experience and I thought I was the only person in the world that was having these issues of being a parent and a husband. Then I found out I wasn’t alone. For everybody to love this song, and for it to be in the Top 15, is awesome!”

On his eponymous debut album’s song selection process, Craig remarks “when we got started on it, my producer and I agreed that we were going to have the best songs on this record.

I continued to write everyday with my songwriting buddies in Nashville, and ended up writing 9 out of 11 songs on it. We just picked the best songs that fit me and what I had to say.”

On his latest single “Fish,” Campbell remarks “it’s a fun song that talks about a guy who wants to take a girl fishing. It’s one of my biggest songs live, and I think it’s going to be a hit!”

Campbell’s future plans include “being out and doing some shows, trying to recruit new fans, and exposing everybody to my music. That’s what it’s all about: bringing the music to the people!”

by Markos Papadatos

THE FRONT BOTTOMS “Can you please take me off speaker phone this is a private conversation” is just one of the convivial lyrics of The Front Bottoms, a two piece indie group out of New Jersey. Brian Sella, guitarist and lead vocalist currently works in a grocery store where he draws most of his lyrical inspirations.

Like-wise drummer, Matt Uychich who works in landscaping gives Brian free-reign on the message of their songs whether it be washing hair with soap or knowing that good things never last. Although Matt seems timid in person, he consistently kills it on the drums during shows. This most recently happened at, The Pianos in New York.

Defying the laws of physics, The Front Bottoms is the first band

By Amanda Domenech

either of them has been in proving that the combination was truly a match made in indie-music heaven.

They played their first show three years ago at a venue in Jersey where their only audience was the sound-check guy. Coming a long way since, Brian and Matt have toured New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania- playing to full houses of fans singing along to their songs.

The duo has defined their success by reaching the goals that they have set for themselves. One of which, was completed by recently signing to Bar/ None Records, a Jersey-based label.

They are set to release a self entitled EP this Summer with Bar/None that will include all six tracks from Slow Dance to Soft Rock along with an

additional six songs. They also have alternate versions of their songs that incorporate a third piece, either banjo, bass or piano. “So if you don’t like one version of our song maybe you’ll like another,” says Brian.

In short if you’ve ever found yourself rocking out to the soundtrack of Juno or 500 Days of Summer, you’ll enjoy The Front Bottoms and their casual ability to leave songs stuck in your head.

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by Justin Sarachik Moving Mountains, not meant to be inspirational but implied, initially started as a school project by singer, Greg Dunn and drummer, Nick Pizzolato in 2005.

“We would hang out, write music and record it. It was basically high school experimentation,” said Dunn. Little did they know that after the tracks they recorded leaked on the Internet, a sensation was born. “It was sort of an accident. There were no shows and no band. People just really liked it.” Eventually they completed the band with Frank Graniero, guitar/vocals and Mitchell Lee, bass.

MovMou’s sound is a clash of genres. “We combine the aesthetics of music,” Dunn said. “...elements of punk and hardcore bands-with the aggressiveness of post rock.” He also describes the writing process as a little bit challenging and interesting. “Our demographic covers a few different scenes, but it’s better this way,” he says.

After finding their burst of Internet success, Moving Mountains found themselves being hunted down by mainstream acts for touring. “It’s so weird and it never gets old. At the end of the day we are a bunch of fan boys just like everyone else,” said Dunn. Right out of the box, MovMou was asked by Thursday to join them on tour.

“We get to tour with people who inspire us. It obviously made me pee my pants,” he said with a laugh.

The first tour they embarked on was the “Say Anything Tour.” They realized as a band that this was how things

were going to be, and this is what it’s like to play in front of 3,000 people. “I was just thinking, how did I survive?

But in the end, we came out a better band.” Dunn recalls the moment he realized that all this was real, “It was a sold out show on the tour. I just had this surreal out of body moment. I was like, holy sh*t, I’m playing in front of a couple thousand people. It was perfect.”

In talking about the new album, Waves, Dunn says of the album “It’s very much the same as everything we’ve done. The only difference between this and our previous works is that we are older.” “We wanted to make a record that we could play naturally on tour. The influences are two years of being on the road. I’m 22 now, I see things differently, my style is different,” Dunn said. He promises the album is way more rock, more aggressive, and straight forward-”As real as possible.”

So what does the immediate future hold for Moving Mountains? This summer they will be doing two months of Warped Tour before hopefully doing their own tour in the fall. “We would also like to tour out of the country, go to Europe and Australia in 2012,” said Dunn. From his own experiences people in Europe are more receptive and open to new music. They are starting to make more ties overseas and hope to make the jump. “Next year we really want to devote our lives to doing it.”

MM

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Can you share what the writing process was like for The Fight of Our Lives? We had more of a say in what went on the record this time around. We didn’t have any one

By Gerard Ucelli

Straight Line Stitch is set to be a part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival; with Megadeth, Disturbed and Godsmack. That is pretty huge.

How did that come about and what was the band’s reaction and what are they most looking forward to? It came to be by our die-hard management busting their asses to get us on it. It was sort of surreal in a way because, we were somewhere on tour when I got the phone call saying we were officially on it. I thought it was a sick joke, but it turned out it was true. The first thing I can remember us doing was all heading directly to the bar to have a drink, sort of a mini celebration. As for the bands playing on Mayhem we are all excited to see Machine Head, Kingdom Of Sorrow and In Flames, mainly because we have never seen them before.

VersaEmerge has been emerging into the mainstream masses and vice versa since releasing Perceptions (2008). With the combination of angelic vocal melodies, prosperous guitar riffs, and intergalactic lyrics, VersaEmerge stands a real chance of succeeding. Broken Records was very fortunate to speak with Sierra Kusterbeck, the powerful voice behind the band.

Their debut album, Fixed At Zero, has been out for the past year and is still making quite an impact with their fans.

When it came to writing Fixed At Zero, fame and popularity were not the only two aspects that were arising. Maturity was the first aspect that came to Sierra’s head when discussing the transition from Perceptions to Fixed At Zero.

“We’re all pretty young and all the material we write is a stepping stone.

When we wrote Perceptions that was the first time in my life I experienced writing music. Ever since then I feel like we’re more mature. We’re getting closer and closer to where we want to be. When writing the songs it can be based on the feel and element or word. We constantly remind ourselves to put ourselves in that mood. It just made each song that much better,” said Sierra.

Choosing a single that represents what the fans wanted from FixedAt Zero, “Figure It Out” was picked with no hesitation. To prove that VersaEmerge made the right choice, they made the music video so mysterious that the fans take on the name of the single as an adjective.

Sierra explains “We wanted it to kind of be a mystery. We’re really into space and aliens and sh*t. It’s influencing everything we’re writing in the future. At the end of the video we have this crystal and we don’t want anyone to know whether someone wants them. You don’t know if we’re being chased or if were running after someone.”

VersaEmerge: Alexa DiMaio

Moving M ountains

Straight Line Stitch is an unstoppable metal powerhouse that has been in existence since 2000 and has shared the stage with the likes of Slayer, Antrax, Mastodon and Chevelle. The band has seen its fair share of line-up changes since their inception, but is now “a fine tuned machine” that has only gotten better with each addition.

Straight Line Stitch recently completed The Times of Grace Tour released their new album, The Fight Our Lives, on March 22nd on E1 Music. We had the chance to chat with their talented vocalist Alexis Brown, who is best known for her ability to easily transition from a beautiful, soulful, melodic sound to a powerful metal screaming voice. Check out what Alexis had to say:

holding our hands telling us to do this or do that. Looking back, the w r i t i n g process was a lot easier t h i s time around b e c a u s e e v e r y o n e seemed to have their creative juices flowing.

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On the Record with Grammy Award Winner Chubby Carrier By: Markos Papadatos

By: Scott Vollweiler & Markos Papadatos

Prior to becoming a country singer, Colt Ford was a professional golfer.

“Music has always been my first love. When I first turned pro in golf, I was also trying to do music at the same time, and it was impossible to do both. The schedules don’t match up. I made a choice to do golf. I knew I could pay the bills and I knew I could feed my family like that. I knew that I could do it with music, but it would require luck on other people’s behalf. I wasn’t prepared to take that kind of chance,” says Ford.

On balancing a country career and a family, Ford says “it’s hard. I’ve been really lucky to be married to an amazing woman. She’s a tough girl.”

Ford further notes that his wife’s strength has been a substantial influence in his life.

On discovering his unique country sound, “I went in the studio and decided to be really honest with myself, and make the best record that I could make, and this is what it turned out to be,” Ford says.

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His newest album, Every Chance I Get, which was released on May 3rd 2011 via his label, Average Joe’s Entertainment, features guest vocals from his friends, fellow country stars Luke Bryan, Eric Church and Tim McGraw.

The album’s lead-off single is “Country Thang.” On the reason as to why there are two versions of the song, Colt states: “With Eric Church’s new single ‘Homeboy’ coming out at the same time, his record label was worried, and they didn’t want the songs out at the same time. If both songs were out there, they thought that radio would not play the newEric Church song, since he would be on the Colt Ford song. Truthfully, I don’t believe that radio would do that.

If a song is good, a song is good!”

According to Colt Ford, “I’ve been really lucky being on an independent label. I haven’t been forced to do anything. Every song I cut, I liked it, and I wanted to do it. On this record, my favorite would be ‘She

Likes to Ride in Trucks’ since it’s a song about my daughter. It’s a very personal song, and showcases a different side of me. It’s a ballad and unlike anything I’ve ever done.

How could that not be my favorite!”

Ford continues, “We actually have not added that song to the set list yet.

I don’t know what’s going to happen.

That’s going to be the next single, so we’ll be putting it at a show soon. That will probably be tough for me to do.”

On the importance of staying humble in the music industry, Colt concludes that it is essential “to be a nice person on top of all of that! You shake hands, and you take pictures with people, and sign autographs, because that’s the role you chose to lead. If it weren’t for those fans, what would you be doing with your life? I’m getting to play music for a living. It bothers me when artists don’t want to take pictures, or sign an autograph, or shake somebody’s hand. If it weren’t for those fans, then you wouldn’t be here.”

Chubby Carrier is the leader and founder of the acclaimed zydeco band, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band. At the 2011 Grammy awards, their album “Zydeco Junkie” was awarded the coveted gramophone for “Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album.”

A Louisiana native, Chubby Carrier has been performing professionally since 1989.

This past February marked his twenty-sixth anniversary in zydeco music. His greatest musical influences include Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King, and Clifton Chenier who was dubbed as “The King of Zydeco.”

Zydeco music has been a part of Carrier’s family for a long time. “My grandfather played the music, and my father played it as well. I am the third generation to play zydeco music today,” he remarks.

On winning the Grammy award, he remarks “after traveling for twenty-five years and performing 275 shows a year, all my hard work has finally paid off! The Grammy is the most prestigious trophy you could win in the music business. It feels great when you get rewarded from your peers in the music industry.”

Recently, the Grammy category for “Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album” was consolidated by the Recording Academy, making Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band the last recipients of this honor; moreover, in next year’s Grammy ceremony, the zydeco and Cajun musical works will compete in a brand new Grammy category entitled “Best Regional Roots Music Album.”

Chubby Carrier has had the privilege of collaborating with many artists in his career. He notes that he would have liked to collaborate with the late James Brown, since he was a huge fan of the “Godfather of Soul” and loved his artistry; moreover, Carrier reveals that he is also a fan of the country music genre and mega-star Garth Brooks.

For Carrier, success is “when you accomplish the goals that you set out to reach with zydeco music, and when people ask us to come back and perform in their states, and in different countries around the world.”

Tiny Animals – Danielle Choo

Let’s clear the air: There are times where musical fate works its magic and helps us discover some truly remarkable artists. Music has the uncanny ability to brighten our lives and let us see the world in new ways. When I discovered Tiny Animals, I had a pulsing inclination that I would love this group before I even listened and they did not disappoint. The New York based band features lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Howerton, his sister Rita (drums/vocals), and Anton Kreisl (bass/vocals). The alternative rock trio flaunts catchy choruses and perfectly placed harmonies on their sophomore effort Our Own Time, which was released this April. This is totally an album worth buying and with every listen, a new song becomes my favorite. With their quirky vibes and well-constructed vocals, their first single “Wait For Me” is a sure hit.

Other favorites for me include “We Can Read The Stars”, “I Don’t Need This Love” and “What I Had To Do”. The meticulous craftsmanship of the band continuously comes across as effortless talent. I’m impressed how Rita’s vocals are lodged in all the right places and really bring a unique and beautiful sound to their music. The ideal balance of pop and rock is also achieved throughout. As proven with Tiny Animals, sometimes an artist or song comes along that just makes perfect sense. The world seems to align and our musical fate is upon us. This discovery is illuminating and we feel like we can read the stars. With only the beat surrounding us, we gain a little clarity and feel like we can see in the dark.

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ON THE RECORD WITH SUSIE Of “I grew up playing a lot of math class in high school, bluegrass music. I played and he was my first kiss. fiddle and mandolin, and I was always really shy I’ve always been a big fan and I didn’t know how of Garth Brooks and Hank to talk to anybody. This Williams. Since four song is about forgetting years old, country music your fears. It’s about my has been a big part of my first kiss,” laughs Brown. life,” says Susie Brown.

Her proudest professional The JaneDear Girls’ accomplishment is eponymous album “going out on the road debuted in the Top 10 of the playing with musicians Billboard Country Charts. such as Trisha Yearwood, “That was great. We came and being out with my out with our first single duo partner, and being ‘Wildflower,’ which I was nominated for two a co-writer on. It’s really 2011 ACM awards.” fun during our shows, Their future plans include because everybody “being out on the road with knows all the words to Jason Aldean, and then

by Markos Papadatos that song, and our second touring with Brad Paisley in single ‘Shotgun Girl,’ and the first week of June. We’re some of the other songs on the album,” gushes Brown. really looking forward to that since we’ve never met Brad.”

Thanks to the success of their lead-off single Her dream country collaboration choice is to “Wildflower,” which was a Top 15 hit, they were sing with Keith Urban. “He’s got his own thing named the top debut country act of 2010. “That going on. He’s confident in what he does, and I was amazing. When I moved to Nashville, I didn’t just love his voice and style,” adds Brown. really know how to write any songs and when I For hopefuls who wish to go into country, met Danelle a few years ago at a local club, we got Susie recommends they “practice, practice, together strictly to write songs. We ended up writing practice. Know who you are, and be proud of it!” a ton of songs together, and I became a songwriter For the JaneDear Girls, success is “being through writing with Danelle,” remarks Brown. happy where you are and where you come Their latest single “Shotgun Girl,” was written by her from, since everything extends from that.” duo partner Danelle Leverett. “It’s another spunky, up- “Thank you to the fans. I love meeting everybody. We tempo summer song, and she actually wrote it about an have My Favorite Things blog on our website, and ex-boyfriend of hers, that wanted to buy a truck. She Danelle and I do weekly blogs to showcase our favorite wanted to come along with him, and she wanted him to things, so people can get to know us on a personal level. get a big seat for her to sit next to him, to ride her shotgun. We also have Facebook, and we love to comment back The song stems from that relationship,” reveals Brown. with everybody that writes on there,” concludes Susie “‘Sugar’ is the fourth song on the record, which is Brown. autobiographical for me. I had a crush on a guy in my

“Since four years old, country music has been a big part of my life.”

Susie Brown.

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One of the keys to being in a successful band is longevity, and that’s exactly what Emery has managed to do over their last ten years or so on Tooth & Nail Records.

After four hit albums, and countless shows, it’s that time again; a new album and a new tour.

The name of the new album is, We Do What We Want, and in promotion of the album, began a headlining tour March 1st with: To Speak of Wolves and Hawkboy.

Describing every tour as being different, Matt goes on to say “It’s intense when there’s a new record.

You ask yourself ‘Did you practice enough? Are you playing well?’

It’s more intense, nervous, and exciting.”

On January 31st, long time lead singer, guitarist, and bassist, Devin Shelton, announced he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the band. He did not rule out a possible

return, but for now seems to need the time off. Replacing Devin on bass for the immediate future, is Andy Nichols. “He learned all the bass parts himself, and we organized all the singing parts together. He’s done a tremendous job, and makes this transition not a big deal.”

This is a perfect way for Emery to find out what the fans think of their new sound. For this record, Emery signed a joint deal with Solid State Records (Tooth & Nail’s sister company). Solid State focuses more on metal/hardcore and screamo bands. This musical turn is one of the main reasons why the album is We Do What We Want. “Originally the album was supposed to be half acoustic and half heavy. We aren’t scared, so we’ll do what we want, and there you have it,” Matt said.

We Do What We Want, is Emery’s heaviest album to date, especially the first half. “The content is the same, the band is the same; it’s just more metal,” he said.

Perhaps most important to

Emery is the inspiration for their music. Emery, though not labeled a “Christian” band, are in fact Christians in a band. “We don’t want to be looked at as an example or an outlet. We want everything we do to come out through our music.

This is just our job. We don’t really get to interact too often with the fans to share our beliefs. It’s more so with the relationships we build on the road, said Matt. “We try to let Jesus be saturated in everything we do.”

Lastly, Matt wanted to let everyone know the future for Emery is looking good. “We are going to continue to work hard on this record by touring. We’ll also have some new material- some a little darker, a little more intense.”

by Justin Sarachik

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Two-time Dancing with the Stars champion Mark Ballas is a triple threat in the entertainment industry: dancer, singer, songwriter.

Ballas’ biggest musical influences include Michael Jackson, Prince, John Mayer, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

On his latest album HurtLoveBox, Ballas remarks “I’ve written about sixteen songs for it, and we wired it down to eleven. It’s a really live record and I wrote the whole thing. It’s about personal experience, and I tried to write in a matter that other people can relate to. It was a great process putting it together, and creating a real live rock-pop singer-songwriter album.”

“The album’s called HurtLoveBox. I used to keep all of my memories in boxes when I was a kid. Half of this record is about going through trials and tribulation, being let down and finding ways to overcome it.

The other half is about overcoming obstacles, being in love, feeling good about life, and letting all those things come into one,” Ballas reveals.

Regarding his latest single “Hotwire,” Ballas notes that “it’s a fun song, about someone who is fed up with life, and needs something to ‘hotwire’ and jump start his life into gear; it’s about trying to find inspiration, and ultimately finding it at the end of the day.”

In his “Hotwire” music video, Ballas collaborated with dancing partner Chelsea Kane. “It was an icebreaker, since we met two days before. She’s very professional and fun. We had a great time doing it,” he says.

On his personal favorite songs, Ballas remarks “I really like ‘Every

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Piece’ and ‘Faith,’ but I like them all. It changes from day to day.”

Machine, I really like Ellie Goulding, and Colbie Caillat is awesome!”

The hardest aspect of his job as a professional dancer and singer involves “keeping the body in check.”

Ballas’ future plans are to keep “touring, songwriting, and writing for other artists too; to keep the ball rolling, and get the music out there.”

“As your out, and in

a dancer, you need to keep muscles stretched, work and eat healthy. As a singer artist, it’s important to stay shape vocally,” he says.

“My proudest professional accomplishments include winning the Dancing with the Stars competition twice, and getting this record finished and getting people to hear it. The first time I heard the album from start to finish, I was really excited about it,” Ballas says.

“Growing up, I went to musical school and theater school. My years at that college helped me as a musician, performer, and as an artist. That definitely defined who I am today, as well as hours and hours of practice,” he says.

On balancing a career in dancing and in music, Ballas remarks “they help each other out. You need music to dance.

It’s helped me with musicality, having a good sense of rhythm, and it helps me get more intricate with guitar work.”

Ballas notes a difference between singing in the studio and performing live. “I like them both for different reasons. In the studio, love to hear the ‘playback.’ The live shows are great because you have an audience and people screaming. You can afford to make mistakes at a live show, and you can do things quicker because there’s more emotion involved.”

On future collaboration choices, Ballas states: “I would love to play with John Mayer, I am a big fan of Florence and the

On alternate career choices, Ballas notes that it’ll be either soccer or boxing. “I grew up in England, so I was a big Manchester United fan, and I loved it. I love boxing too,” he says.

For hopefuls who wish to become dancers or musicians, Ballas recommends that they “follow their dreams, and everything is possible.

Don’t let anybody tell you that you cannot do something. If anything, that should fuel your fire and make you do it even more. One day, with enough practice and hard work, I believe everyone’s dreams can come true.”

On the use of Social Media to stay connected with his fans, Ballas says “I really love Twitter. You could interact quickly with it, and I do Facebook as well. I’m really big on both,” he reveals.

For his fans, Ballas concludes “I love you. Thank you for everything and for supporting me. Thank you for picking up the record, following me on the show, voting for me, and giving up your Mondays and Tuesdays, and allowing myself and the other dancers into your homes.

We’re super grateful. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the fans.”

For Mark Ballas, success means “coming off stage and thinking to yourself ‘I couldn’t have done it better!’”

by Markos Papadatos 21

Most marriages don’t work in this world, that is unless you are a perfect combination such as heavy metal and blood spattering/face crushing hand to hand combat. If you’ve taken in a UFC event, either live or on TV in the last eight years, then you have heard the music of Buffalo, NY’s STEMM. What better way to get your smash face music out there than with blood thirsty fans of the UFC? With a new album on the horizon and lots of other exciting things coming up, BRM caught up with STEMM lead singer/guitarist Joe Cafarella to find out about becoming the official UFC band,

didn’t have that big of a name. I remember when there was a TV show called as Real As It Gets and they were using our music and we went out telling people we’re working for UFC. They had no How did you get hooked up with the UFC? idea who that is or A friend of mine is in a rock band in my hometown and we they kind of heard have been friends forever. He was friends with the music of it. We are going producer for UFC to grow as the UFC and he contacted my grows with us. Now friend to send his all of a sudden, music out to him. When he did, they told him it wasn’t heavy everywhere I turn, I enough and he said I have a friend of mine who has a really see a UFC hat or a Tap Out shirt and people do fights and good band. He contacted me and we put a package together stuff like that. As the sport became bigger, a lot of people and I really thought nothing of it. About two weeks later, we started seeking out who did the theme song. The down part got calls from the UFC and they said they really liked our was that our name was never broadcasted and we never put stuff and wanted to start using our music for the t.v. show and up a stink about it. No one ever cares who writes the theme their pay per view programs and stuff like that. Of course song for “Friends” or anything like that. It was just really we were excited about it. The more we worked together, the cool to see how many people who were affiliated with the more they started asking for music and it led to us writing sport, went out of their way to find out who wrote the song the theme song for it. It was luck of the draw, which is pretty to contact us and help spread the name of the band. We’re much how it is in the music business. It has a lot to do with a metal band, but not all UFC fans are metal heads or even luck and having things in the right place at the right time. hard rock fans. It’s a wide variety of people so we are very lucky to have gotten that type of exposure. I think we’re How did getting your music out talking like 46 or 48 countries that the UFC is broadcast through UFC help your following? in. We definitely reaped some benefits from what they’ve It’s funny because we started working with the UFC about done for us. eight years ago. They weren’t where they are now. They

Joe Cafarella of

by Ray White

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Dredg and Egypt Central Singers Gavin Hayes from Dredg and John Falls from Egypt Central both took time out of their busy touring schedules to talk about each of their bands respective new album releases. Check out the interviews below: Dredg

Chuckles and Mr. Squeezey is very different from your previous releases. Can you tell us about the different approach in making this record?

We view this record as a collaborative effort and we worked with Dan the Automator in the way it sounds, production wise. His sound is very apparent, and intentional.We’ve been writing rock records for many years, and we wanted to do something different. Honestly, I don’t think we would have been excited enough to make a record if we were going in to create another Rock record. It is always about progress and evolution.

You guys were one of the winning bands for the she listened to the last song on the album, “Simply Ernie Ball Warped Tour challenge. Was winning Me,” for the first time which is actually a great thing to that competition a key component on your success? hear for us. It makes us feel as though our message is We actually won the challenge two years being heard. in a row. It was an amazing experience Everyone Dies in Utah What do you think is uniquely and opportunity that we all feel gave is making headway with different about your album compared us much needed promotion as well as a their newest release to some of your peers? great time with fans and friends.

Seeing Clearly. This We’re not going to sit here and say that Does adding the electronica/techno six piece hardcore/ you’re going to love our album more infused beats throughout the music electronica band is than our peers album but we will say change what people would typically getting noticed for their that we wrote it from our hearts. We classify a “hardcore band?” unique twist on the wrote it out of experiences that we’ve Some would say yes, others would say post hardcore genre had that can relate to one another and the no but we don’t really use the electronic by fluidly adding digital strongest messages we had to give, we sound to be “genre defining.” We use it sounds and computer actually repeated a few times throughout more as a instrument to help create the generated beats and the album so our fans, and friends would feel and emotion that we try to give off rhythms and vocals. truly understand our meaning. in our songs.

Why do so many people die in Utah?

Have any fans openly spoken to the Honestly, we have no idea. None of band about the impact EDIU has had on their lives us have ever even been to Utah so we’re not entirely from a musical standpoint? sure. The band name actually just came from a statistic Yes! We have had fans claim to feel many different saying that Utah had the highest death rate of all of the emotions after listening to our debut album, Seeing states at one point, henceforth, Everyone Dies In Utah.

Clearly, such as sad, happy and every emotions in between. We had a particular fan tell us she cried when Interview by Justin Sarachik 24

What’s been the fan reaction so far?

Kind of split. Some people love it, some people hate it. I have received a lot of hate mail about it. Some of those people have emailed me back apologizing saying that it took a while for it to grow on them and now they are digging it. It may catch people off guard who have been fans for many years. I think there is a common thread that is still very us.

Can you tell us about the current tour?

We are about half way through it right now. Our show is an array of our whole career going back to the first record and now the current one. We have been playing songs we don’t usually play on tour. We found ourselves getting comfortable playing 15-20 songs we thought translated well live. We have added about f i v e s o n g s we never played live before, and are playing at

least a song or two from every record. There’s something for everyone.

Egypt Central

What has the fan reaction been like in hearing the new album live?

It has been flattering and overwhelming. The fans have been patient waiting on the new record. The excitement over the waiting has played a part, and the response is great. People are trying to sing the songs by the second chorus every night. They come up after the show and identify where in the set the songs they loved were.

What was the writing process like for White Rabbit?

It happened in different phases. There was a lot of material that had been written over the last couple of years, waiting to make a record. When we got in the studio, rather than just doing a bunch of old songs we had, we took some of the best pieces of the songs we liked and made new music. The fans are getting fresh stuff we are writing right now instead of just getting stuff in the bank. It happened so smooth and so fast, that it felt like it wrote itself.

What does the title mean to you guys?

White Rabbit is a reference to a person and situations we experienced in the industry where we felt we had these huge walls built around us, confining into this fake world we were living in that wasn’t reality at all. It tells the journey of the awakening of the band and realizing what was going on and pulling ourselves out o f that.

Once t h e song w a s done w e hadn’t decided it would be the album name but felt it encompassed the entire gap between the first and second record. It is a record of real life we had been living. We are very honest and open with our fans and we try to tell the stories we have been through.

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Interview and Photos By

Alexa DiMaio

How did you guys come up with the band name?

Andy- It’s actually a name that I came up with when I was pretty young. I didn’t necessarily come up with it, I sort of borrowed it from Catholicism.

The term “Black Veil Brides” actually refers to when a nun marries into the church, she marries God and gives up the carnal pleasures of life and sort of devotes herself to one thing.

Although we are not a religious band by any means, I like the idea of devotion and I think that is sort of what we do. We’ve devoted our entire lives to music. I also like the sort of positive and negative sound to it. It’s

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sort of got that Guns N’ Roses kind Andy- Certainly, we’re not phonies. of feel where it’s got that positive and We all grew up in areas where we negative imagery. were sort of the weird kids, the dark kids, or whatever you wanna call it.

How long was the writing and I think what we want to do, is sort of recording process for your first give kids strength. album, We Stitch These Wounds?

I think so many Andy- The recording process wasn’t bands try to talk very long and we really didn’t have a about how sad whole lot of time to record it or much and terrible life of a budget. I think we had more time is, but offer no than we had on our second record that real way out. Our we just finished. But I couldn’t really whole thing is give you an exact amount of time. The that yes, we might writing process was just accumulated be the weirdos or over the first 20-something years of the outcasts but all of our lives. That record was sort we’re strong in of an amalgam of all the ourselves and things we have previously you could go grab written. the world by the

throat and make How did you guys choose something out of your first single? What yourself. made that song different than all the other songs?

Out of all your live shows, what Andy- It was sort of about was the greatest experience? The tone more than anything. worst?

The song “Perfect Weapon” Andy- We toured so much. We’ve sort of told the story of what been touring constantly since the I thought the record meant. inception of the band really. I can’t Also, you can just listen to really cite a specific one great a song and think, “This is a time because almost every night is really solid chorus.” fantastic. Bad times, here’s been very few, honestly. There’s always The music video for something redeeming, even if there’s “Knives and Pens” a smaller audience at some shows. shows what it’s like to It’s about the connection with the be an outcast...have you audience, and if there’s only a couple guys had any personal of 100 kids there that are just stoked experiences to influence about seeing you then that’s the most that concept? important thing.

Who are each of your biggest musical influences?

Andy- Mine is CC. CC- I’m just so far across the board from jazz to trance/electronic. I can’t

even decide that because I’d be going all day.

Ashley- Easy enough. Kiss, Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses.

What’s one thing you guys like most about each other? Dislike about each other?

Andy- I like his face.

Ashley- I like his kneecaps.

Andy- My kneecaps are nice, they’re always messed up. A certain part of Ashley’s hair makes me physically angry.

What could we expect from your upcoming second album?

Andy- The greatest rock n’ roll record of us, we’ve all sort of been into the whole idea of bands and music and art ever made. our whole lives.

How does it feel to have so many fans worldwide that support you What is the main message you want to get out to your fans through your guys?

Andy- It feels great. There’s really no lyrics?

Andy- To just never give in. Never let downside to that.

CC- It’s redeeming because we do anybody mess with you. Always be really work hard on tour. To play live strong in who you are. Nobody could shows and just see a bunch of fans tell you what to do or tell you who out there dressed like us with make you are. up and paint all over their bodies, it’s really redeeming.

Andy- It’s cool to see how much the band resonates to our audience. That’s definitely the most cool feeling ever.

When did each of you start playing music/ instruments?

CC- I was ten when I started playing drums/percussion.

I’ve always been into music, even as a kid.

Andy- I’ve always been into music.

But I’m going to start trying to play an instrument tomorrow.

AshleyYeah, music and art as a kid growing up.

Andy- I think all 27

Inteview By Matt Ryan Photos By Scott Vollweiler

How did you get into music? It was just born in me I reckon. When, I turned ten years old and started writing songs. It was always just kind of a natural thing for me. I did it my whole life, and then after college, I just decided to move on up to Nashville because it was just a part of what I felt like my life was gonna hold. So that’s where I’ve been for ten years; just chasing it, writing songs, meeting people. I got a deal, and just worked hard from there in.

Your single “Love Like Crazy” went certified gold, and was Billboard’s 2010 most played

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single of the year. I really began to have a lot of things happen that were awesome. I had some cuts on other artists’ [records] that kind of made it all worth while, but being an artist, we had three or four singles out. They were all just kind of top 30’s which is good, but, we were really just looking for that big hit to get us started. So for “Love Like Crazy” to be such a big hit, and for so many ears to have heard it, really just changed my life.

All of your singles so far have landed somewhere on the Billboard charts. What was it like to keep building on that measurable success? You just gotta work. When you work hard for something, for me, I expect something to happen. They were all top 40 or top 30. I’m just really thankful to be working and to have a little success.

So tell me about your new single “Beautiful Every Time.” It’s a great song and I’m so proud of it. I wrote it with a couple of friends of mine. One day Rob Hatch came to me and said, ‘hey, I’ve got a great title.’ We explored the story a little bit, and sat down and just thought of all the things that are beautiful every time to us.

Speaking of song writing, you’ve written songs for some pretty big names also, haven’t you? Well you do something your whole

life and you get better and better at it. I worked really hard for a long time, and had some of my idols record some of my songs. It was the biggest honor you could ever imagine. I grew up listening to Garth Brooks my whole life, and Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and these kinds of guys to use cuts for songs really, really makes you feel good.

It’s awesome to have your idols recognize you like that. The industry also recognized you this year. You’re nominated for three ACM awards, including Song of the Year. That’s just straight surreal dude! There’s so many great songs that are out, even in just the last year. Just to be a part of nominations like that, the nomination alone, is flattering. It’s really cool, you’ve been watching those awards shows your whole life. It’s just like, “Wow, is this really happening?”

You have any new music in the works? I’m writing all the time.

Right now I’m trying to save up stuff for the next album, and that kind of thing. I’ll be starting to record that later this year and I want to have stuff ready. It’s going to be a cool thing on tour, because Neman and I will be out writing all the time on the road.

Anything else you’re up to that maybe we should know about?

(Laughs) There isn’t time for much else. But I’ve been kind of dabbling in ideas for TV, and TV shows, that kind of thing. So you never know the next few years I might be trying to put a TV show out. Who knows? (laughs)

Give me the scoop on how you came up with the name? Actually the name came from our original drummer. Not a whole lot of meaning behind it. We were actually just looking for a name and he came up with that. So we made some t-shirts and a banner and we couldn’t really go back after that (laughs). We were pretty much like “Well, we’ve got all this stuff with the name on it, so…”

How did you guys form as a band?

We’ve been playing together since middle school! We’ve had changes in lineup with different members coming and going until about two years ago when we added Franky and Derek. Derek was in a different band called Twisted Method and they’re from the same town as us, so when they disbanded we kind of scooped him up. And Franky we met on tour in Pennsylvania – that’s where he’s from.

Well it seems to fit just fine! You’re releasing your second album as Ekotren now right? Yeah. Our first album was Light The Fire. This album has a lot more energy, much more up-tempo and we’ve definitely matured a lot since the last record.

As a band, what’s the recording process been like for you guys? We pretty much sit down as a group and

Broken Records Magazine caught up with lead singer John Sheldon of Ekotren right before their sophomore release of The Dead of Night to find out all the details of what to expect from the guys in 2011. let it flow. Sometimes someone will come up with a riff and we’ll sit down together as a group and come up with the song structure, where the chorus is, where the verse should be, and then basically I write all the lyrics.

Lyrically, looking through the track list, it seems like there’s this theme of bitterness and anger. Was that something preempted? It was pretty pre-empted.

At the time we were going through label changes and what-not and pretty much sick of people telling us “you should be writing heavier” or we should write more melodic and make it more commercial. And I think in the end we just did what we wanted on this album and that’s

how it came out. We just went with what we felt was the best music we could create, not what was heavy or what someone told us it should be.

You chose to use “The Dead of Night” as the title track for this album, what out of all the tracks made you choose that? We came up with the whole concept for the album before we had even finished writing all the lyrics and we came up with that as a band. So I basically wrote the song around the idea of “The Dead of Night” and that’s pretty much it. That’s how it came into being.

Now you’ve toured with Staind and Chevelle, which seems like an odd combination because you’re so different sound-wise.

How do you hold your own?

Yeah, we actually did a festival show with those guys. It was cool. There’s always only so much you can do.

There’s always that metal mentality that the worst thing what-so-ever is that they don’t care. I mean no one wants to hear that they don’t give a crap but we just go out there and play our best show possible. We just put on our best performance and not really try to be something that we’re not. We try to give them what they hear on the CD so nobody feels like they were fooled. We are what we are.

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Three years after the long anticipated reunion of the Cavalera brothers Max and Igor, Brazil’s greatest exports are back again with a new album, Blunt Force Trauma. Cavalera Conspiracy is like a fusing of all the elements from old school Sepultura (Max and Igor’s original band) and Soulfly (Max’s band after the Sepultura fallout) with an added shot of pure brutality that comes from a very unique chemistry that can’t be summed up into words.

Music definitely not for the faint of heart...you’ve been warned.

BRM got the chance to talk with Max Cavalera about the intense studio session that produced Blunt Force Trauma, recording with Igor again and everything else that is the Cavalera Conspiracy.

What have you been up to since finishing Blunt Force I Trauma? We actually went to Barcelona and did a video write for “Killing Inside” and we did a concert there. We played t h e m the whole record and got a really good reaction from a t the crowd. I’ve actually been home working with Greg home from Dillinger Escape Plan because I am making a side a n d project with him that should be out next year. So I’ve for a been writing songs for that until the Cavalera tour starts. y e a r I heard the tracks for Blunt Force Trauma were all and I done in about six days, how did you grind out an h a v e entire album that quick? The stuff was coming out been recording them and putting them aside and save really quick and we just rolled with it. We used the them for later. Then when we come to the studio we time well, we had really long hours like from ten in the start jamming together and add some stuff and create morning to midnight. We just used the time as much things in the studio together. Marc Rizzo (guitar) as possible and in six days the record was finished. came up with the end part of Blunt Force Trauma, It was amazing! It kind of felt like the stuff I did in the melodic parts. It was a great contribution to the the 80’s. It had the same kind of vibe and reminded record. Johny Chow (bass) brought the song Target, me of that. When you listen to the record, it really which was a riff he brought from home and we really blows you away because a lot of it is very intricate. liked it. When we listen to the CD, we always add a Where was the recording done, here in the states little to the original. It’s a band contribution, for sure. or Brazil? There were two different studios. For the How does it feel to be recording with Igor again? drums, there is a place called Lair, which is in L.A. It is It’s great, man. I always enjoyed playing with really cool like an old castle with big walls, swords, and him. I think this is the best time I’ve had playing banners. And then the rest of the album, the vocals and with Igor and performing and playing live. I guitars, were done at Logan’s studio which is on Melrose. look forward to doing more with him and having How did you guys get hooked up with a long Cavalera Conspiracy tour this year. producer Logan Mader for this album? Are there any elements or dynamics with you and He was in Soulfly for a year so I knew him personally, Igor in the studio that you don’t get anywhere else? but now he is an engineer and he is really good at what I think there is a groove that I get with him that is very he does. We thought of him for making the first record. special. It is really unique and there’s definitely some We really loved how it turned out so I kept tabs on what kind of chemistry that happens between him and me he was doing. His stuff sounded amazing, so I decided playing together. It just comes without forcing and to do a Soulfly record with him too. When it was time it’s so spontaneous. It feels great to have that and the to make something else, we figured why change it? We way I play with Igor is like no one else in the world. decided to go with him and it was definitely the right thing. It made everything go quicker and it sounds great.

Interview by Ray White What is the song writing process like for the Cavalera Conspiracy?

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By Matt Ryan

We caught up with the man himself to talk about work, getting back to basics, what life would be life without music, and even a little New YorkBoston competitive spirit.

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There are many facets to a jewel- which reflect many colors. Without a doubt, one of the diamonds in hard rock’s crown is Sully Erna, front man for Godsmack, and one of the most passionate people about music you’ll ever meet. His new solo work, Avalon, is an emotional creation, with a power and truth almost only found in the moment of creation. It’s a ride through the very inner workings of our souls through the music that drives us daily, even if we don’t realize it.

So there’s a lot going on for you.

Godsmack is back together with a really balls to the wall album in “Oracle” and headlining Mayhem Fest. You’ve got new personal work out in the form of Avalon.

Gonna be crazy, huh? Yeah, it’s gonna be a really busy year, but it’s so over needed at this point. We [Godsmack] took a long break and only ran a tour or so in last couple of years. So for sure, we’re looking forward to getting back to work, payin’ the bills, and doing the things that we have to do in our job as well to maintain life and what everyone else does.

was, it was kind of obvious that I was going down this road of “Voodoo” and “Serenity”, but even deeper and into a world music kind of vibe.

I heard that the creation also took a “deeper” path. Everyone in the band in is a multinstrumentalist, which is really exciting and cool to watch. We have a cello player that’s classically trained from Bulgaria.

We have Niall Gregory who used to play with Dead Can Dance from Ireland playing percussion. A classical pianist who plays flute, etc.

Anytime we needed a sound, like, “oh this needs a mandolin,” or this How does it feel to be back in the needs a flute or this needs a cello, grind? I’m just enjoying being back everyone was qualified and beyond on the road right now. I love the to not only play the parts, but to new project that I’m out with, and bring their background to it. the people I’m involved with there.

It’s just a different breed of people, You can really hear it too. It’s a different breed of music, it’s a full of emotion, optimism, and breath of fresh air, and it’s really complexities. It’s sounds really nice. So, I’m excited for the whole personal- especially a song like year. I think if you ask me that “My Light.” Oh yeah. That song later, in November, (laughs) you’ll was written with my daughter in probably get a completely different my thoughts. As we were writing answer. But right now, I’m excited that music it just so happened at and got a lot of energy to get out that time, I just had her on my mind there and do this. a lot. And you know, I had never written a song about my daughter, The new project “Avalon” is for but, why wouldn’t I? I write about sure something totally opposite everything else that touches me so from what some people might emotionally, whether it’s anger, expect from you. Honestly, some disappoint, or good times and bad of the pieces I’ve had in my head times. This is really about a general since about 2003. But you know, as promise from a dad to his daughter.

I put the band together, and you start It’s the “I’ll always try to be there to really write and get in a room, for you, never gonna break your and figure out what the sound really heart,” and that kind of stuff, but 32

I think it’s generalized enough, that people can see their own children in the song, and it’s easy to translate into their own personal lives.

What’s it like watching people’s reaction to that emotion from up on stage? I gotta tell ya, we’re watching people every night wiping tears from their eyes. It’s crazy. I think it’s just touching people on a very personal level. And that’s just a beautiful thing to see.

So you think the music speaks for itself? You know, I haven’t heard anyone bum this record out yet, and I’m psyched about that. I’m sure people could if they wanted to. I just think that they’re having a hard time tearing it apart because it really is just good music. You don’t have to worry about who wrote it.

Don’t try to stereotype it ‘cause it’s Sully Erna from Godsmack’s solo thing or whatever. Just listen to

the music and judge it for yourself.

I couldn’t agree with that philosophy more. Music just is.

That’s just always how I’ve lived.

I don’t care if it’s Katy Perry, Eminem, or Pantera. Billy Joel, or Elton John. I don’t care. I listen to all kinds of music and if it’s a great song, it’s a great song. Period.

That’s awesome. So for you in life, it’s the same as this album…All about the art and expression?

That’s it! You just gotta get out there and blossom, and spread your wings. Do what you love to do.

For me, it’s just about creating... creating anything. I love producing, arranging, acting. I love being creative and challenged. I think 2012 is going to be an amazing year, I think this year is just setting up for a new beginning.

Check out the entire extended interview with Sully at BrokenRecordsOnline.com

If you could sum up When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes in one word, what would it be? Reawakening We often hear that “timing is everything”. So given this and your recent hiatus, what effect did timing have on your album musically?

Having the time away from Yellowcard allowed us all to come back into the studio refreshed and refocused. There was an excitement that has been missing for a long time.

“Ocean Avenue” and “Only One” are such standout tracks that crowds love to sing along to. What do you feel is the standout or “favorite track” of this album? Fans are really reacting to both “With You Around” and “Sing For Me”.

My personal favorite off the album is “Be The Young.” There’s an idea embedded in it that can resonate with audiences everywhere.

Can you tell us a bit more about the meaning or inspiration behind this song? During the hiatus I embarked on a song writing project with my friend Sean O’Donnell. He and I have been friends for 12 years. The music we were writing didn’t end up getting released but when Yellowcard decided to move forward again, we all wanted Sean to be a part of it. He is now the bassist in the band. The song is about our journey as friends to this point in our lives.

Any tour bus essentials? I bring a towel on tour. A shower is a most sought after experience and you can never count on the venue to have decent towels.

Fans definitely play an important role in an artist’s career, and certainly this is more than the purchasing of records. How would you describe the role of your fans and the relationship you strive to have with them? The fans are everything. They are the core. We try and include our fans in every decision we make as a band, because without them this whole dream would be pretty useless.

By Danielle Choo

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Rihanna

“Good Girl Gone Bad” Performing Live at the NBC Today Show’s Toyota Summer Concert Series in New York City photo: Laura Desantis-Olsson

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Nikki Minaj

“Smile For The Camera” Walking the red carpet during Casio Tryx Out NYC 2011 at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square

Barry Manilow “15 Minutes...”

Barry Manilow signs autographs of his first original album in 10 years, “15 Minutes” at Radio City Music Hall photo: Jennifer LeeFlang

photo: Scott Vollweiler

Train

“Hey Green Carpet.”

Grammy winning band, Train, walk the Origins’ Rock The Earth Month Green Carpet

photo: Alexa DiMaio

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By: Matt Ryan & Markos Papadatos

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Danish heavy metal band Volbeat consists of Michael Poulsen on lead vocals and guitar, Thomas Bredahl on lead guitar, Anders Kjolholm on bass, as well as Jon Larsen on drums; moreover, Michael handles the songwriting for the band.

Volbeat has been influenced musically by Metallica, Social Distortion and Led Zeppelin.

On whether they knew they were going to find success in music, Anders remarks “I had no idea.

When we started out in 2001, it was just for fun. Michael had another band before. I didn’t expect it at all.”

Regarding their writing process, Thomas remarks “it’s basically Michael writing, which means there is a different approach sometimes. Sometimes he got a full idea for a song that’s been living at home, and he comes up and says this is ‘the whole thing.’

Sometimes it happens that I am jamming some riff in the backstage room, and he’s like ‘that sounds cool,’ and that kind of tricks him into a full-blown song. The main guy writing is Michael.”

Volbeat have been known to perform in both huge festivals and smaller clubs. “Both things are really great. I would lie if I had to say that it’s not fun to play in front of 50,000 people. Of course it’s fun! You don’t have the same kind of intimacy with the audience, but in a small, intimate setting you can react with them. It’s two different things. I like them both. I don’t prefer one over the other,” says Anders.

“We just go on stage and do what we do. We don’t think or see us being different let alone

better than the people buying the tickets. We might be standing a little higher, but there are only four steps down from that place called the stage, and then we are on the same level. We are not afraid to walk down those steps. We are fans of music. We go to shows and we got out and buy albums. We freak out when we meet our idols. We want the pictures and the autographs.

We know what it’s about. We’re smiling when we play. Even when we play our harder stuff, we’re smiling because we like what we do,” adds Thomas.

Particularly impressive about Volbeat is their honesty in their music. “Some of the lyrics are strictly personal,” notes Thomas.

With regard to their latest album’s title “Beyond Hell/Above Heaven,” Thomas states: “there are a couple of different things to it. It deals with good and bad stuff, a yin and yang sort of thing. Then it talks about being beyond hell and above heaven, making the listener question ‘where is that?’

It channels the idea as to whether or not heaven and hell exist? Is it just a concept that you came up with? Maybe there is something in between heaven and hell. That’s where we are right now. That’s the common story.”

From their new album, Anders remarks that his favorite song to play live is “Who They Are,” since it has a “heavy groove and Slayer/ Metallica vibe.” “I really like that number, as well as ‘The Mirror and the Ripper,’” adds Anders.

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If you were born in the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s, you have most likely heard the music of Styx. Whether it be from their countless album’s, touring, or hearing them on the radio, after speaking to Chuck Panozzo, it was easy to see why they were once voted the most popular band in America.

After putting band names in a hat, Styx was chosen and they were ready to make some music. Through a lot of hard work and years of playing, Styx has become one of the biggest and most influential bands of our time.

Even after 40 years, you can still catch them on tour this summer with YES. When you see them at a show, be ready to hear a collection of different Styx songs from throughout the years. They try to cover songs from every decade as well as picking songs that they think that their fans will want to hear. They also change around the set list for different shows.

What Panozzo loves the most at a live show is when the fans sing along

By Greg Rothberg 42

with them. “It’s a wonderful thing and a true experience when they know the words better than we do.”

Something that Chuck will always remember is when Styx got the opportunity to play the Super Bowl. Even though everything went smooth at that night, Styx has had their share of things gone wrong during live performances. Panozzo said, “As a professional, when things go wrong during a show, don’t panic and just keep playing. By the time you try to fix it, the problem is already gone.” Even though there are some things out of his control at a show such as the weather or other problems, Panozzo loves performing no matter if it’s in front of 30,000 people in New York or 3,000 people in small little market towns.

Many things have changed in the last four decades. He says that there are no more secrets today like their used to be when they played a show.

They can play a concert tonight and

the next day it’s all over the Internet.

But Panozzo tries to make the best of these changes. The way they write their songs is different now as they don’t even have to all be in the same room to write new material.

In five years from now, Panozzo hopes that Styx will still be writing more material and with the way that technology is, they might be performing a virtual concert or he might even be performing concerts just sitting in his house.

Wherever the future does take Styx, they have already given us years of great music and great memories. Panozzo never imagined that Styx would ever be this big.

Panozzo said “Making music is a wonderful way to make a living.”

He wants to thank all of his fans for their love and support throughout all these years. And he wants to let them know that Styx is rocking better then ever and that they are coming to your town this summer so be ready.

L A D R I E W welcomes the

Alpocalypse. by Mike Camp The album everyone has been waiting for five years is finally coming. June 21 marks the return of Weird Al Yankovic, with his new album, Alpocalypse. The lead single off the new album is “Perform This Way,” which is a parody of “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. The single, however, didn’t get released very easily. Weird Al asked for permission to do the song, and at first was denied by Lady Gaga’s management, but created the song anyway.

He said he wasn’t going to release it as a single without permission, so he just posted it on YouTube for his fans to hear. When Lady Gaga heard the song and about what happened, she approved the song. Apparently her management denied the request for a parody without even asking Lady Gaga.

In good faith, Weird Al decided in donating the sales from “Perform This Way” to a Human Rights Campaign.

Which he said, “I felt I had to do anyway just because I felt a little weird doing that particular song because “Born This Way” is sort of a big gay rights anthem.”

The misunderstanding about Lady Gaga’s parody “Perform This Way” could have been worse than everyone thought though. Weird Al said that without having that as his lead single, “The album wasn’t going to be coming out this summer.” He said he would have waited until a new idea came into his head for the new lead single. So without Lady Gaga’s approval we could have been waiting “quite some time” for his new album.

The new album will feature seven brand new songs, combined with his EP, Internet Leaks, which

was released in 2009. On this album, it will include parodies of not only Lady Gaga, but of The White Stripes, The Doors, Miley Cyrus, Queen and T.I. Make sure you pick up the deluxe version with the DVD, which will feature ten music videos from this album.

Even before the album is released, Weird Al is taking his talents on the road supporting the new album. The tour with include the first live performs of “Perform This Way” along with the other new songs off the album. Since this tour kicks off before the album get released, fans will get that little sneak peak on the new songs. For those hardcore fans, just so you know, he doesn’t forget about you. He said during his tour, he’s not going to play the greatest hits, but he will make sure to throw in some “golden oldies” and surprises to keep those hardcore, long time fans happy.

Not only does he have his album and tour going on right now, but he is also currently working on another new project. With Weird Al’s recent book “When I Grow Up” being so successful,Apple is developing an application for the book for your iPhone and iPod. So look for that coming soon to your mobile devices. Also, he is working on his newest music video for “Perform This Way.” It maybe Weird Al’s 13 album, but he still gets excited for his hard work. It’s a little easy to get into stores now, but he remembers back when his first album came out. He said he would call up local record stores to see if his album was available. I think he can rest assure that his album will be on the new album racks on June 21 , so make sure you’re there to pick it up! th

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The Band Perry is one of country music’s hottest live acts. The trio of siblings consists of Kimberly Perry on lead vocals, rhythm piano and guitar, her brother Reid on bass guitar and backing vocals, as well as her brother Neil on mandolin, accordion, drums and background vocals.

Their critically-acclaimed eponymous debut album was released on October 12, 2010, via their record label, Republic Nashville. The Band Perry wrote or co-wrote nine of the eleven tracks on the album. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard Country Album Charts, as well as #4 on the Billboard 200 all-genre Charts, and subsequently, it was certified gold within four months.

Thanks to the success of their record, The Band Perry was nominated for a coveted 2010 Country Music Association (CMA) award for “Vocal Group of the Year,” and received a 2011 Grammy nod for “Best Country Song” for their smash hit “If I Die Young,” which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country Charts; moreover, their debut single “Hip to My Heart” was also a Top 20 hit.

The Band Perry has been profiled on such television shows as “The Today Show,” “Ellen,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The View,” “CNN,” and “E! News.”

On country music, “I love the rapport between the artists and the country music fans,” says Kimberly Perry. “Country music is the people’s music. It’s not just the stories of the lives of the singers’ songs. We’re just so grateful to live our lives and get to sing our songs each night,” she adds.

“Our parents have given us the best musical advice. Half of making it in life is outlasting the process. The 46

three of us have been on the road together since we were 15, 8 and 10 years old. We celebrate 13 years this October,” says Kimberly.

On April 3, 2011, The Band Perry won two prestigious Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards for “Top New Vocal Duo or Group” and “Top New Artist.” On achieving these accolades, Neil Perry states, “that was a great, great night. It was such an honor to be nominated for the award, but to actually accept our first award from the fans, since it was fan-voted, was also very special. It feels like the kingdom of country music has given us their warm welcome.”

“Everybody’s working really hard out here. That’s what we love about country music. Last year we spent 19 days at home. We just try to challenge ourselves creatively to be true to our own life experiences, and then we can really respond honestly through our music.

We want all of our songs to be characters,” says Kimberly.

“One thing that we always work towards is being our own worst creative critics and always stepping up over everything that we do and just being better every single day. That’s our goal: striving to be better,” Neil says.

About the song selection process of their debut album, “we were really focused on making each track have its own identity and its own character. We didn’t want any two songs to say exactly the same thing, or feel the same way, or evoke the same emotion.

This album really walks on

the edge between reality and the surreal. Part of it is day-dreaming a little bit, and the other half is dealing with cold reality,” remarks Kimberly. “All three personalities in this band really show themselves in the different tracks of this album,” she adds.

“The song ‘Lasso’ winds the album down,” says Kimberly. “It’s a helpless romantic ballad about giving all of your effort and all of yourself to catch the object of your affection,” she adds.

Kimberly Perry was the sole composer of “If I Die Young.” On her inspiration to write the song, she remarks “I wrote it on a cloudy day in East Tennessee up in the mountains where we live. We looked around at each other and said that even in our 20 years we really got to live a lot of

life. We’re doing what we love to do and we’re doing it with the people that we love, and it all ended up in a song. It’s been a pretty complete life. The song is a statement of contentment and gratefulness for what we have and what we’ve been able to do.”

“For a song that has the word ‘die’ in the title, it really does breathe a lot of life into the room. We’re finding this out everywhere we go, playing it live, and whenever they hear it on the CD,” says Reid.

Their chart-topping single “If I Die Young” has been certified double platinum, and most recently, it was featured on American Idol, bringing their music to a broader audience.

Lauren Alaina performed it on the Idol stage while competing in the Top 3. Her rendition earned her a spot in the Season 10 Idol finale, and was later declared the runner-up winner of the show.

Their latest single “You Lie” sits at # 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Charts, thus becoming

their fastest-rising single to date.

Kimberly reveals that this tune contains the band’s favorite lyric on the album: “I never liked the taste of crow but baby I ate it.”

On achieving yet another Top 5 hit on country radio, Kimberly remarks “it feels great. Playing that song live takes on a very different life than ‘If I Die Young,’ but there’s equal passion in both songs.”

On their favorite tracks on the record, Kimberly states “I really love ‘If I Die Young’ for a lot of reasons and ‘You Lie’ is equally my favorite.” “‘You Lie’ is probably my favorite as well, and ‘Walk Me Down the Middle,’” says Neil.

“Another one off the record that we love is ‘All Your Life,’ which is really great to play live, and it’s really a special song for us,” says Reid.

According to The Band Perry, the hardest aspect of their job as country musicians involves “remaining creative with such a demanding schedule.”

“We’ve already worked with Alan Jackson, but we really love the Zac Brown Band,” says Kimberly about their dream collaboration choice in

“Country music is the people’s music. It’s not just the stories of the lives of the singers’ songs. We’re just so grateful to live our lives and get to sing our songs each night.”

country music.

The Band Perry notes that they would also like to do a duet with country icon Loretta Lynn.

The Band Perry shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The country trio revealed that their future plans are “to continue doing what we are doing. To play live and to give people a great show, and write music that inspires people and challenges them to think.”

The Grammy-nominated band is currently opening for country star Tim McGraw on his Emotional Traffic Tour. This fall, the trio will hit the road with Keith Urban in September, and then follow up on Reba’s just-announced arena tour.

The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young” music video received three nominations, including “Video of the Year” and “Group Video of the Year,” in the 2011 CMT Music Awards, a fan-voted awards show, which took place on June 8, 2011 in Nashville , Tennessee . The Band Perry took home the “USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year” award.

For The Band Perry, their definition of the word success is twofold.

“Being better every day on our instruments and with our music as entertainers, but even more than that, better as human beings,” says Kimberly.

For their supportive and loyal fans, The Band Perry concludes “thank you for a warm welcome to country music, which is so humble.

We believe country music is the people’s music and it’s our richest desire to be the people’s band. We hope to see you guys out on the road.”

Kimberly Perry 47

In the last decade rock radio has changed drastically. In fact, with this brand of exponential turnover one has seen the landscape shift dramatically in less than half that time. One constant has remained throughout rock radio’s new millennium…Seether.

I’ve always felt the milestone celebrating a band’s ability to sustain a

by Ryan Zerfas career is five albums. If a band sustains that test of time, each other, change in the industry, and simply come up with five albums worth of material, all the while surviving the endless perils that eat the majority alive—then you are a band knighted with legitimacy.

That brings us back to Seether.

After taking a multi-year break, they return with their fifth studio album Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray which appears When asked about time as a downloadable off Humphrey advised, file May 17th on your “sleep is a precious commodity,” electronic device of choice. It features “Broken” a 2004 dynamic duet with all the while taking consideration of an already branded top-notch radio Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee. family obligations and the wonderful They’ve amassed a blue-collar opportunity of Skype, allowing him to single in “Country Song”, which channels their inner Big N’ Rich, and is career that is nothing to shake a stick keep in touch with the wife and kids. their first album produced by Brendan at. “I feel blessed…it’s a rock n’ roll It’s quite clear that touring O’Brien (Pearl Jam, STP, AC/DC). honor to still be doing very well in is Seether’s biggest reward or It’s a diverse collection of songs that this business,” charmed Humphrey, “feedback…that 70-95 minutes is further their growth in musicianship who further discussed one of the up to you,” in terms of the musician and songwriting from 2007’s Finding best things a band can do is hold delivering to fan relationship, said Beauty in Negative Spaces. Or in the themselves to a highly critical standard Humphrey. It’s hard not to feel this words of John Humphrey, drummer, in order to compete with what’s out positive energy and craftsmanship in an interview with Broken now. In talking about advice to up and come to fruition on the new album.

Records Magazine, “Seether: 2011.” coming bands Humphrey encouraged Take a song like, “Tonight”, which Seether’s notoriety started with an them to take a Darwinian approach to from the first drum beat comes off astute product placement with their making music focusing on only the uniquely positive for a Seether song first single “Fine Again” kick starting strongest they have to offer “record quipping “I feel so alive tonight/ Madden 2000 which parlayed itself a ton of songs…self analyze… you got me feeling sublime/I want into a gig the following summer with and of course play a lot of shows.” to yell it from the rooftops down/ Obviously, Humphrey is keen to his until it’s over/and we’re older.”

Ozzfest. Over the years, Seether has own advice, because when Seether is This seems quite giddy, but before quietly, but with a vigorous work ethic, amassed five #1 Rock Radio touring a new album, they typically that movie moment rolls its credits hits with “Fine Again”, “Remedy”, will play 270+ shows a year—chain and everyone exits in hysterics, “Fake It”, “Rise Above This” and touring (ending a tour with one band, one will find a deeper meaning now “Country Song.” Other popular continuing on with another) around about relating to people, “we’re numbers include a cover of George the calendar year(s) to a rigorous three not complacent” was Humphrey’s Michael’s “Careless Whisper” and days on and one day off schedule. encouraging sentiment about the 48

That’s What I Love About

Craig Morgan

possible second single to the album.

Complacency will not be found either on a song like “Country Song” which stretched Seether’s musical vernacular or “Roses,” which sounds like the boys have been getting their daily dose of Muse. There’s no question it takes an open mind from all team members to branch out far enough to make such a grandiose venture—but they’ve done it again, and the fans continue to rejoice.

Slow growth and steady workmanship have allowed Seether to grace this place in rock history.

They’ve withstood changes in music, the band, and life itself. Another tour and another few years on the road await and one can be sure the fans will be ready. Just another day in the life for Seether. Just don’t expect them to whine about it. In “Tonight,” the second line finds Shaun Morgan reminiscing happily…”I’m sick of complaining about a beautiful life.”

There’s no reason to wonder how you got here, Seether- You earned it.

Craig Morgan is drawn to country music due to “the stories and the people.”

“My musical influences are Gene Watson, John Conlee, Merle Haggard, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder and Luther Vandross,” reveals Morgan.

Regarding his newest single “This Ole Boy,” Morgan remarks “it talks about how a guy and a girl in our world get along and do certain things. It’s a simple song about the simple things that couples do, especially where I’m from.”

About the song selection process for his forthcoming album, Morgan states: “it’s simple for me. All I do is put songs that I can relate to, that I think the average listener can relate to.

I write and sing about everyday things. Usually, it’s everyday things that people overlook. We’ve seen what has worked for us in the past, and we’ve just tried to implement that into this new album.”

“I don’t have any one particular favorite song. I have a lot of favorites. When I do an album, there are ten or twelve songs on the record, and those are my ten or twelve favorites. Every one of them has a special story for whatever reason,” remarks Morgan.

His most successful radio single “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” was named the 2005 Billboard Country Single of the Year. “It’s exciting. I was on an independent label [Broken Bow Records]. To have the #1 most played song of the year at all is a big deal. It was the first time in the history of the music that an independent label had a five week #1 song,” says Morgan.

Morgan is the star of the top-rated Saturday morning show “Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors,” which will commence it second season on June 25, 2011 on the Outdoor Channel. “It’s a lifestyle show that chronicles how I integrate all of my outdoor activities into my touring schedule, as well as my life. I’m an active and avid outdoorsman,” says Morgan.

The hardest aspect of Morgan’s job as a musician is “being away from home.”

Morgan’s proudest professional accomplishment is his Grand Ole Opry membership. “To be a member of the Grand Ole Opry is the pinnacle of a country musician’s career. It’s one of the greatest things that could ever happen to a country singer. The only thing that might equal that, and for some people it would be greater, would be a Country Music Hall of Fame continued on next page

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CRAIG MORGAN continued... induction,” Morgan says.

Particularly impressive about Morgan is that he has made over 170 appearances on the legendary Opry stage. “Every time is a brand new time. Every Opry show is a brand new show, and it’s exciting,” exclaims Morgan.

On future collaboration choices, Morgan notes that he’d like to work with Stevie Wonder, as well as such female country artists as Sara Evans and Dolly Parton.

Morgan’s plans for the future are “to continue doing what we’re doing.

We’re going to finish up this album, get it out, and just keep on making music, touring and supporting the family.”

If Morgan weren’t a country star, he reveals that he’d like to be in “law enforcement.”

According to Craig Morgan, success is defined as having “stability for my family.”

Morgan uses Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) to stay connected with his fans. “I like Twitter because it’s a great way to tell our fans where we’re at,” he says.

For his fans, Morgan concludes “thanks! I appreciate your support.

I am looking forward to getting out the new record.”

By Markos Papadatos

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Bill Anderson

“Being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame was the top of the ladder, and not far behind would be joining the Grand Ole Opry, which will be fifty years ago this year!”

by Markos Papadatos If he weren’t a country star, Anderson Bill Anderson is drawn to country “would have done something that music due to its simplicity. “It speaks had to do with communicating with directly to people’s feelings and the public.” “I was a sports writer at emotions. It always did to me in the one time and I loved the newspaper music that I try to create, and that’s business. I love sports and I love to what I try to do for other people.” write about anything. I could have been On May 11, 2011, Anderson was happy probably being an anchorman apart of the CMA Songwriter Series on a television newscast, or anything at Joe’s Pub, New York. He told us, that would involve being in the public “I’ve never been to Joe’s Pub before. I in some form of mass communications understand they have a lot of fun there. whether it’s writing or broadcasting I know that the two shows sold out in or television,” the country icon adds. four hours! I’m looking forward to it.”

For hopefuls who wish to get in the His songs “Whiskey Lullaby” and country music business, Anderson “Give It Away” won the CMA “Song remarks “you need to be dedicated to of the Year” honors in 2005 and it, and you got to love it. Be prepared 2007 respectively. “It’s always nice to make a lot of sacrifices. At the end to receive awards and to be honored of the day if it’s something that you for the things that you do. My award enjoy, the reward is tremendous.” is to create music that people enjoy.

When somebody awards your songs The key to longevity is to “stay like that, it’s the icing on the cake. It’s healthy and to enjoy what you are very nice,” the country crooner says. doing.” “I’ve never had one day when For Anderson, his songs have I got out of bed and dreaded to go to become like his children making it work. I’ve always enjoyed what I’ve difficult to choose a favorite, but two done, and I’ve been able to make songs in particular that stand out to a living doing something I love.” him are “Mama Sang a Song” and His latest album Songwriter, is a “A Lot of Things Different,” which collection of songs that Anderson was a big record for Kenny Chesney. wrote or co-wrote, several of which The hardest aspect of Anderson’s were lighthearted. “I tried to include profession is “being away from home a few lighthearted songs, and so much.” “I like to travel, but I two or three of the better ballads miss out on things with my family.” that I’ve written over the years.”

Anderson’s plans for the future are to For Bill Anderson, success is equated to “keep on making music as long happiness. “If you are successful you are as I am blessed with the good happy. That’s the most important thing health to do it. I do not have in life. We all have different degrees of any intention to retire, or to stop how we measure success. I measure touring, or to stop writing songs.” mine by being able to look in the mirror In his illustrious career in every day and be content with who I country music, Anderson had am and where I am and to be happy his share of proud moments. in my life. I have been very blessed!”

For his fans, Anderson concludes Trisha Yearwood & Bill Anderson “thank you for 50 great years (courtesy Bill Anderson Facebook) and I hope there will be more!”

A Whispering Songwriter

In Conversation: sessions with Moby The Brooklyn Museum as part of its, “In Conversation” series held a discussion with Moby and John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s Soundcheck and New Sounds on May 12th. They discussed Moby’s new album and book of photography of the same title, Destroyed. There was also a live performance of songs from Destroyed and a screening of Moby’s self-directed/produced Be The One EP videos. This was his only scheduled performance in the U.S. Moby’s new album takes you in a different direction in its approach to talking about the experiences of life on the road. We are not only introduced to Moby’s perspective but also learn more about him. The title for the album was inspired by an experience at LaGuardia Airport in New York. A message displayed on an LED sign read, “Unattended luggage will be destroyed.” What seemed to make the sign interesting was that the sign only displayed one word at a time. “So I stood there, and every time the word ‘destroyed’ flashed, I took a picture of it. Somehow, for me, it just summed up the feeling of disconcertion and exhaustion that I have when I’ve been on tour

for a long time.” Moby told Rachel Martin on NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered.

The feature track “The Day” Moby says, “It’s sort of about two things. It’s about visiting a very sick family member in the hospital and its also about spending time with friends of mine who are addicts and how hard it is for a lot of the people I grew up with to stay alive in the world and stay clean.”

This is just one of the many things that go unmentioned when it comes to life on the road.

His discussion on the book began with a slideshow of images from it. Initially Moby said he, “… never felt comfortable showing people my work,” because he was concerned that “If I showed it to my friends, I was afraid they’d say, ‘Everyone with a digital camera thinks they’re a photographer.

You’re just a dilettante musician.’”

Moby’s band for the performance included, Inyang Bassey, Claudia Chopek, Daron Murphy, and Kelli Scarr. They performed the feature track of Destroyed, “The Day” along with classics, “Porcelain” & “We Are Made of Stars.” They also performed covers of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotte Love”, Neil Young’s “Helpless” and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”

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By Scott Vollweiler 52

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“Whiskey For My Men…Beer For My Horses” is belted out in a nonchalant style through the PA system at the MANN Center for the Performing Artists in Philadelphia, PA. That could mean we are either at an old style saloon or a Willie Nelson concert. Lucky enough for thousands in attendance, it was the latter.

For the second year in a row, Broken Records Magazine was apart of the Country Throwdown tour-the Country Music version of Warped Tour. Headlined by outlaw legend, Willie Nelson, along side Country superstars Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, and Lee Brice. Also on the bill were Brantley Gilbert, Craig Campbell, Lukas Nelson (Willie’s son), and a slew of singer-songwriters.

Like last year, we were lucky enough to sit down with some of the artists and talk about what they are up to and Throwdown.

BRANTLEY GILBERT I started out by asking the big hitmaker, “Who are you looking forward to seeing the most that you’ve never seen or met?” Without hesitation, Brantley responded, “Willie! I’ve never had honor of seeing him. I Can’t wait for that.” The Country Rocker has a big single out right now called “Country Must Be Country Wide.” He told us that he co-wrote that with the “local boys” Colt Ford and Mike Dekle.

“Knowing I’m up in Philly right now really means Country is Countrywide!” Indeed.

RANDY HOUSER

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On this day, Mr Houser admits that he’d gotten in a sharp fight earlier that morning. He lost the fight but has the pride. The beardless singer told me, “I got in a fight with my razor this morning.” I added, “It won.”

He quipped, “It happens!”

“I’ve got all my friends out here with my on this tour,” Houser explains. “We’ve got Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Craig Campbell out here. We’re gonna spend a big part of our summer with our ‘family’.

It’s great” So if he has everyone out here on tour, he complete then…right? Well his face lit up when I asked him about being on tour with Willie. “That’s the biggest thing of all. He’s my biggest hero. I’ve been listening to Willie records since I’m a kid.” Well Randy, live out your dream with you hero!

JAMEY JOHNSON “We had a blast doing this tour last year with Montgomery Gentry. We get an opportunity to meet other artists and some that are just getting started. There are old friends you’ve played in bars with but haven’t in a long time. So when they brought up the idea of a Throwdown tour with Willie, it was common sense. We tried to set up a tour with Willie a few years back and it ended getting cancelled the second week in, so I’ve been waiting for that second week since.”

I then explained to Jamey that last year, one of the artists that performed had said that Jamey was the only artist that could stand in one spot and have the entire audience captivation and in the palm of their hands. So then I asked him, “What can we expect this year?” His answer had everyone laughing: “Less Choreography.” Priceless.

LEE BRICE While sitting on Lee’s tour bus, I didn’t waste anytime asking him about what he’s most excited for on the tour. Like a chipper young kid, he responded, “I’m looking forward to a lot of things. First off, I’m looking forward to it in the hopes that it’s gonna happen, I hope that I get hang out with Willie over the course of the tour. What a dream come true it would be for me to just jump on his bus and be like a buddy. Talk to him and hear what he has to say or do whatever!” As far as guys he’s looking forward to jamming or writing with but has yet to, he has Brantley Gilbert and Lukas Nelson, who “blows me away.”

CRAIG CAMPBELL The “family man” who likes to “fish” seemed to be a breakout star from the opening date of the tour. Fans were constantly flocking to him to sign their merchandise. He explained that he had gotten the call in January for the tour. Plus he adds that he a “huge Willie fan” and that he’s got friends on the tour like Lee Brice who “has a song on my record that I just loved.” Campbell admits that it’s gonna be a “fun summer” and can’t wait to see Willie and “learn from him.”

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If you have ever read Shakespeare, you might remember dissecting the piece of work line by line in order to discover all the hidden symbolism and metaphors. You find the common ties that bind the story together and radiate a message to the reader. It suddenly becomes more than words on a page but rather something remarkable that you take a personal journey through. The words allow you to vicariously live through the author and become an active (rather than passive) participant in the story. Of course, music has the potential to draw all of the same parallels, with the added bonus of our auditory senses.

With the June 28th release of This Loud Morning, David Cook has truly presented a story for his audience to delve into with him. He has certainly achieved his goal of creating “an album, rather than a collection of songs.”

Given this, much of the pressure he felt on this album was self-imposed.

“I don’t ever want to make the same record...I would rather make a record that I’m extremely proud of that doesn’t sell any copies than make a record that sells 5 million copies and makes me feel like I compromised.” (This all seems a bit reminiscent of when he went against the norm of performing a song he had already done during finale week on American Idol, and clearly helped propel him to the top.)

“I really wanted to give this album more of a cinematic feel, more layers, more emotion outside of the lyrics.”

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This Loud Morning kicks off with what sounds like a music box, putting you in a trance-like state. So here we go people. We have entered David Cook’s early summer night’s dream. We’re about to “let the night do what the light never could.”

Now, this music will captivate you in many ways, and this sleep-like condition is nothing short of deep. Cook told Broken Records that he wanted to create layers within this album, and as we start to peel them away one by one, the potent themes start to come forth. The album as a whole plays with a series of paradoxes, from light to dark, from This Quiet Night (his acoustic EP) to This Loud Morning. It becomes evident just how intricate the design of this record is. This is all soon to be revealed as we fall deeper into this reverie.

With the music box whispering in the background, it’s hard to fight off this dream-like state. The starter track “Circadian” gets the album whirling with the perfect blend of meaningful lyrics, guitar riffs, and undeniable creativity. The children’s choir singing “Mayday, somebody save me” is hauntingly beautiful and takes the song to a completely new level. Immediately we are struck with pure innovation, partially due to the producing skills of Matt Serletic. Despite noting different styles, Cook knew immediately that Serletic was the right fit. “I really wanted to give this album more of a cinematic feel, more layers, more emotion outside of the lyrics. I sat down with Matt…and he got it, without me saying anything. He was saying these things, that had I talked first, would have said the same things and at that point it just made sense.” The music box 61

instrumentation, which is actually a blend of a toy piano and a glockenspiel, certainly brings the drama they were hoping for.

After such a noteworthy song like “Circadian,” you can’t help but be intrigued with what is coming up next. The subsequent track was co-written by Ryan Star, Gregg Wattenberg, and Johnny Rzeznik.

(The liner notes of this album might as well be a Billboard chart.)

Cook spoke highly of all his collaborators on a personal level as well, and felt fortunate to work with so many “nice people” during the process. In regards to writing with Star on “Right Here With You,” he revealed they “worked on the lyrics of that song through correspondence…a lot of email, a lot of versions.

Working with Ryan was great -- just because of a rapport with Ryan from touring and all that.”

Vocally, this song offers something quite different with a falsetto like we haven’t seen since the Idol stage. In this song he shouts, “If the sky keeps falling // And the night keeps calling // I’ll be right here with you.”

Again, Cook has included imagery of light and brightness that are being taken away, as we continue on in this dream-like escape.

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The next few stages of sleep are filled with varying rapid and slow waves, and the same can be said about the ensuing tracks. “The Last Goodbye,” co-penned by Ryan Tedder, offers something a bit more up-tempo. When choosing this to be the first single, Cook hoped it would serve as a bit of an “appetizer” for the rest of the album. He joked that “before we kick people in the face, I’d kind of like to kick them in the shin.” In terms of the song’s composition, he continued on to say that “In writing “I’ve never been that with Tedder, I really wanted a song that when the concerned with the lyrics and the music, when separated, didn’t seem like they fit together…but they coexist well.” best songs, I’m only

concerned about the Consider this goal achieved, as a song about a final farewell is not expected to have the upbeat chords that right songs.” this track does. Cook recently sang this song amongst others with the PS 22 Chorus in Staten Island, NY. He described this experience as both rewarding and one he hopes he can do again. “I think to be able to walk into a room with those kids, they are doing it because they love music and they are really good at it; that was kind of inspiring…They have a childlike excitement for music, which is awesome to see.”

Each song on this album exhibits the ability to really enthrall an audience both lyrically and musically.

The power anthem “We Believe” is a song that is begging to be shouted by audiences everywhere. It’s a song built for arenas with its message of united hope. Two tracks later, “Hard To Believe” brings back the idea of fading light, a common thread throughout this album. “When stars fall and ground breaks // You’re sinking cause it’s too late // I’m right here, I’m right here // Just stay with me.” Lyrics from several songs are reminiscent of ones on his previous album such as “Permanent.” Losing his brother to cancer a few years back is surely an underlying layer of this album that suggestively peeks through at times.

We spoke with Cook about his work with the Race For Hope in Washington DC, which raises money for brain tumor awareness and research. The event raised $2.5 million this year, and he hopes to continue with the complementary Concert For Hope in upcoming years as well. “It’s fun for us to perform, that’s a given, but to be able to do something that’s fun for us and also be part of raising money and raising funds and raising awareness…that was kind of an extra feather in the cap.”

Continuing on with the idea of lyrics that are left to be interpreted, when discussing power ballad “Goodbye To The Girl,” Cook hinted that a song about romance doesn’t always start this way, and often ideas are epitomized into a relationship. “Lyrically…I’ll take things that aren’t necessarily about love…and personify it as a woman. It’s kind of about saying goodbye to a relationship, but also saying goodbye to life.” He continued to say this track is “really a cornerstone, an imperative moment on this record because of that haunting quality. It sets up ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ on a way no other song on the record could do as well.” Bandmates Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann co-penned this tune as well.

While we are talking about band involvement, the members of The Anthemic (add in Monty Anderson and Kyle Peek to Skib and Tiemann) recorded the album in studio. With this go-around, Cook hoped to create something more cohesive between the record and the live performances of these songs.

He described how songs off his debut major-label album definitely altered throughout the tour, 63

after being with his actual bandmates. “I kind of wanted to do that earlier. I didn’t want to change it on the road…I wanted more of a synergy between the album and the live show.”

Whether through metaphors or arrangements, cohesion seems to be a regular ideal throughout this record, and just as it peaks, we are about to embark upon the next stage.

As we fall into the deepest part of this night’s dream, we drop into REM sleep, otherwise known as the closing track “Rapid Eye Movement.” Cook not only noted this as his favorite song on This Loud Morning, but feels that this track is the cornerstone of the entire album. “I don’t think this record would exist without ‘Rapid Eye Movement.’ That song really opened up my brain to the theme of this record.” Naturally, the album title (of both the fulllength record and acoustic EP) stem from a line in this song.

“Give me one more quiet night before this loud morning gets it right and does me in.”

The music box keeps playing as the album loops and we continue our limbo-like trance.

He told us how he hoped to create an album where the songs blended together and how conceiving this circling effect was a “serendipitous moment” in the studio. Touching upon the deeper context here, he

way, fans can barely anticipate when they will hear them performed live. Of course, some of this eagerness is because they will get to physically see him, the man our readers voted the Sexiest Male In Music. After finding out who his competition was, he humbly replied “Has everybody seen Kris Allen?

That guy’s a goodlooking dude!” and claimed a big thanks were in order for this award. All jokes aside, seeing and hearing the beauty of these songs played live is on everyone’s mind.

When asked what mentioned how this all was it is like to play a song for the indicative of the continuous very first time, he expressed cycle of sleep. Just as our final concern over how an audience stage of sleep (and our final would react. “That’s the big song of the record) is coming nerve-wracking moment for to a close, we are left begging me, just because, there’s no for another cycle and another disconnect there…If you’re listen. on stage and you got all these sets of eyes looking at you, you When describing the album as a can tell pretty quick if they’re whole, he divulged, “I’ve never feeling or not – and if they’re been concerned with the best not feeling it, you still gotta songs, I’m only concerned about finish the song.” the right songs.” With every tune being incredible in its own Rest assured, each and every

“Lyrically…I’ll take things that aren’t necessarily about love… and personify it as a woman. It’s kind of about saying goodbye to a relationship, but also saying goodbye to life.”

A Moment With Matt Serletic Producer Extraordinaire 64

What Did Matt Say About Working With David on This Loud Morning?

“It’s been a blast to work with David.

He’s come a long way. He’s got raw talent and knows how to use it.”

“He really stepped

track on This Loud Morning could never disappoint.

While touring plans for the rest of the year are not in place (yet), if the large number of shows on his last tour are any indication, we could be expecting a slew of dates. “I love playing shows…At this juncture, it’s kind of focused on what is going to get us in front of the most people possible. I want this record to be successful. I want people to hear this record.”

This Loud Morning is a songwriting work of art.

It takes us through layers and levels that many albums and artists could only dream of. It makes a statement and reminds the listener that even if darkness is surrounding you, the light is always within reach. It’s a trance you don’t want to come out of. -- it’s an earlysummer night’s dream. Take that Shakespeare.

up on this new album. He’s written every song and he’s dug deeper and found a unique voice.”

“It took awhile to make the record because were trying to make this unique

and make each note special.

It was definitely worth it.

Each song is special. The album takes you on a ride.”

“We used different

instruments...there’s an undercurrent of modern technology and some hip hop beats even beautiful string sounds.

A wide tonal range and I helped David open up the doors to the sound.”

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