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August/September 2014

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PUBLISHER Scott Vollweiler EDITOR-in-CHIEF Vladislav Grach ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR Rebeccah Milburn POP/TOP 40 EDITOR Arin Segal DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Laura Desantis-Olsson LAYOUT DESIGNERS Lexi Savino Johan Letelier WRITERS/PHOTOGRAPHERS/ETC Cindy Vasko Gerard Ucelli Marco Denzer Stephanie Pearl Brian Matus Debby Wong Yasmin Noor Matt Storm Hayley Roebuck Melissa Vandusky Mike Valente Sr Luis Vasquez Lori Haire

THE

TOP {20} ARTISTS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IN LET THE 2014 COUNTDOWN BEGIN #2NEW YEARS DAY

Echosmith are a 4 piece alternative pop band from Los Angeles, California. Echosmith is composed of siblings Sydney Sierota and her 3 brothers. Sydney, Graham, Noah, and Jamie have managed to begin a notable and successful career. Their new album, Talking Dreams, is out now: http://bit. ly/15WBb94 Website - www.echosmith.com/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/echosmith YouTube - www.youtube.com/echosmith Twitter â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www.twitter.com/echosmith

Photo by Vladislav Grach

Photo by Matt Christine

#1ECHOSMITH

New Years Day - New Years Day are a California based Alternative Rock group fronted by Ashley Costello. This group of horror rockers has been getting an increased amount of attention since appearing on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour and signing with Century Media. Ashley Costello is the bands lead vocalist and self proclaimed professional living dead girl. The band has just returned from tour with Combichrist and William Control. They are already planning another tour and much more. Keep your eye out for this band because they are on their way to bigger and better things. Facebook - www.facebook.com/nydrock Twitter - www.twitter.com/NYDrock

BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

#5HEAD FOR COVER

Photo by 144 Entertainment

Mary Sarah - At 12, Mary Sarah toured the U.S. for 6 months as a featured lead vocalist and dancer in KidzBop®, a Razor & Tie Records and Vee Corporation production, produced by Michael Anderson in Los Angeles. Her newest release, “Mary Sarah and Friends – Bridges” includes tracks featuring Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Tanya Tucker, Vince Gill, The Oakridge Boys, Big & Rich and Freddy Powers. Website - www.marysarah.com

Wild Cub - Signed to Mom + Pop Records, Wild Cub creates that feeling of escaping and getting into the meditative state of mind. Just by listening to their album, “Youth,” you can’t help but let your eyes fall shut as the descriptive lyrics paint a soothing story. Maybe it’s because each track off of “Youth” has the ability to make you feel in pure bliss. Even their music videos offer the same escape through the cinematic imagery of, well, “Youth.” Wild Cub has quickly gained many fans and continuously attracts more. From their consistent presence on social media, Wild Cub does a great job at keeping you intrigued as they tour around the U.S. Since the start of 2014, Wild Cub has performed on Jimmy Fallon as well as a recent performance on Conan (April 10th). This is definitely a band you would want to keep an eye out on in 2014 as they rise to the top. Website - www.wildcubmusic.com

Photo by Vladislav Grach

#4WILD CLUB

Photo by Merrick Ales

#3MARY SARAH

Head For Cover - Forming only two years ago, band mates Chris Murphy, Dimitry Jeremie, Steve Murillo, Mike Wilson, and Fred Anthony Sosa did a fantastic job of putting their talents and experiences together to create “Last Year’s Dead Weight.” Head For Cover’s current drummer Nick Cardona has joined the band as a permanent member and the group continue’s to make music. The freshness of their band, Head for Cover, embodies the new feelings you get post-high school and it shows through each track. Give Head For Cover a chance and let album “Last Year’s Dead Weight” become your summer anthem as their music brings you back to the memories of high school. Twitter – www.twitter.com/headforcover Facebook - www.facebook.com/HeadForCover Bandcamp – www.headforcover. bandcamp.com Tumblr - www.headforcoverwho.tumblr.com Soundcloud – www.soundcloud.com/ headforcover

Photo by Fredrik Etoall

#6ICONA POP

Icona Pop - This Swedish female duo has made major movement since they dropped their “This is… ICONA POP” album last fall. With an electronic dance/pop sound and fun lyrics, they know how to entertain and it shows through their success in such a short time. This spring, they joined Miley Cyrus on the “Bangerz” tour as they know how to create a party. Just check out songs from their latest album including, “Ready for the Weekend,” “Then We Kiss,” and “On a Roll.” They have made a major splash in such a short amount of time, so there’s no telling what they’ll do next. Last year, Icona Pop caught the attention of many as “I Love It” took over the radio. You know the song … “I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone. I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn… I LOVE IT.” It’s the feeling of not caring and just living for the moment. It doesn’t matter what is going on in life, you are ready to have fun. And, you are going out tonight. You’re confidence is out of the roof and dancing is no longer an option. It’s about being with your friends. It’s about the stranger you meet at the club. It’s about one simple word; fun. Website – www.IconaPop.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/iconapop

#8EMILY KINNEY

Disclosure - British siblings Guy and Howard Lawrence are the brains behind the electronic sound of Disclosure. Slowly chipping away at the UK music landscape, the boys got some radio station backing in early 2013 and endorsement by DJ Annie Mac. 2013’s “Latch” featuring Sam Smith on vocals pushed the duo further into the UK charts; following this up with consecutive top 10 hit singles, “White Noise” (with AlunaGeorge) and “You & Me” (with Eliza Doolittle) from debut album “Settle”. A version of “Royals/White Noise” was performed live at the 2014 BRIT Awards along side Lorde and AlunaGeorge, to a huge crowd reception. With sets at Coachella, Glastonbury and Lollapalooza already on their CV, throw a Grammy nomination in the mix - big things beckon for these beat brothers. Website - www.disclosureofficial.com/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/disclosureuk

Photo by Vladislav Grach

#9COUNT TO FOUR Count To Four - Count to Four is a post pop-punk band from South Jersey / Philadelphia that has a strong focus on musicianship. Count to Four delivers unrepetitive, catchy guitar riffs. Combined with unforgettable, sing-along lyrics and melodic vocals, the band creates a mature, yet altogether familiar sound to the pop-punk genre.

Photo by Corey Hayes

Photo by Edwige Hamben

#7DISCLOSURE

Emily Kinney - Some of you may know her as Beth Greene? Herschel’s daughter? Sure as hell, fans of The Walking Dead will recognise the name Emily Kinney. Not only has she proved herself a successful Broadway and television actress, but her voice isn’t too shabby either. Earlier this year Kinney re-released her first EP “Expired Love”. The 9 tracks on show give us a feel for her simple, folky tone. Using the platform to vent her own personal experiences, Kinney tells the story of past relationships that hadn’t gone to plan. On the back of the series’ success, and having already heard her voice in some episodes of the show, Emily Kinney would be stupid not to cash in on her star factor; but let me assure you, there’s nothing zombie like about this girl. Website – www.emilykinneymusic.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/ EmilyKinneyMusic Twitter – www.twitter.com/emmykinney

Photo by Rachael Wright

#10CHVRCHES CHVRCHES - Yes, that is a ‘V’ in the middle – nonetheless, it doesn’t sound as odd as it looks. It’s pronounced ‘churches’. The Scottish synthpop trio will be one to watch in 2014. Following some independent label releases early last year, the band signed with Virgin Records and released their debut studio album “The Bones of What You Believe” in September. Already toured with Two Door Cinema Club, and opened for Depeche Mode on their 2013 Delta Machine Tour - CHVRCHES are no strangers to the festival circuit. Combining their lively electro sound and vocals; expect to see and hear a lot of them over the next twelve months. Website - http://chvrch.es/ Soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/chvrches Tumblr - http://chvrches.tumblr.com/ Twitter - http://twitter.com/chvrches Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/chvrches Youtube - http://youtube.com/chvrches

BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

Royal Blood - Formed last year, and already boasting a following that includes the Arctic Monkeys; you’d say the future holds great things for the British rock duo. Their blues, garage tone sounds great, and is personified in single “Little Monsters”, released a month ago in the UK - the track is also available on a four track EP in the States. This summer tees up two huge gigs in London’s Finsbury Park supporting AlexTurner and company, which will surely give Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher their time to shine and announce themselves 100% on the music industry. Twitter - https://twitter.com/royalblooduk Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/ royalblooduk Instagram – www.instagram.com/royalblooduk Website - www.royalbloodband.com/

Fozzy - Gone are the speedos, flashing jacket and baby oil. 2014 could be the year WWE wrestler Chris Jericho and his band Fozzy hit the music main event. Already five albums deep, Fozzy have seemed to suffer with the lead singer’s juggling act of pro wrestler and front man. However, 2013 saw a change of priority in Jericho’s intentions. With anthemic tunes “Enemy” and “Martyr No More” already on their playlist, it looks like Fozzy are firing on all cylinders. The band’s currently nameless next album is due out this year. It’s now the time for Chris Jericho to show us for sure that he is ‘The best in the world at what he does!’ Website - www.fozzyrock.com Myspace - www.myspace.com/fozzytour Facebook - www.facebook.com/FozzyRock

Photo by Luke Sutton

#13ST. VINCENT

Photo by Century Media

#12FOZZY

Photo by Black Mammouth Records

#11ROYAL BLOOD

St. Vincent - Annie Clark has been making mainstream media howl for more. She has performed with with Pat Smear, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum Induction Ceremony and her band St.Vincent is a power house in it’s own right. St.Vincent’s new self titled album is out now on iTunes, Amazon.com, Best Buy, and Spotify. Facebook - www.facebook.com/St.Vincent Website -http://ilovestvincent.com/

#14THE 1975 The 1975 - Recognition in the music industry is very hard to come by. Just ask Matt Healy and the boys. After years of setbacks from record company execs, 2012 brought a light to the end of the tunnel for the indie alternative Cheshire outfit. A number of EP’s released over the last two years led to extensive support from the ‘BBC Introducing’ movement. “Music For Cars” was released last March and included the single “Chocolate”; where it all began for the Northern lads. Extensive touring, and support spots with Muse at London’s Emirates Stadium, and the little matter of opening for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park of all places. The band’s self titled debut album was released in September 2013, and went straight in at number 1 on the UK album chart. Looking to crack America, the album made number 8 on the US Rock chart, and by doing so earned a place on the bill at this year Coachella festival. Website – www.the1975.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/the1975

#163 YEARS HALLOW

Photo by Davo Paul

#15THE FALLEN STATE

The Fallen State - The Fallen State is five young men who found themselves together through a mutual love of music and the passion to make the dream a reality. They have built themselves a sea of followers all over the world through rocking out on stages and constant self promotion. The band have just released their highly anticipated self titled debut to swarms of compliments from the likes of Mark Tremonti, 3 Doors Down, Papa Roach and Oleander. They rock hard and their songs are super infectious which will leave a mark on your soul. Smooth vocals and guitar work that will leave you weak at the knees. Website – www.thefallenstate.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/thefallenstate

#17DAISYHEAD

Daisyhead – Daisyhead is the next big Alternative Rock band to break out of Nashville, Tennessee. Signed by No Sleep Records, Daisyhead is composed of 4 members who are looking to become the next best band to ever hit your area. Facebook - www.facebook.com/daisyheadtn

3 Years Hollow - 3 Years Hollow is a five piece band hard rock band that has grown from strength to strength since their debut in 2009. The band started working with Clint Lowery of Sevendust/Call Me No One/HDMS back in 2012 to produce the next generation of 3 Years Hollow. Their music is hard rock full of sweeping hooks and melodic vocals. After the first listen you will be consumed by them. You won’t be able to get enough by the time they are done with you. Website - http://www.threeyearshollow.com Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/ threeyearshollow Pandora - http://www.pandora.com/music/ artist/3+ye... Sonicbids - http://www.sonicbids. com/3YearsHollow Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/J_3YH

#18BUFFALO SUMMER Buffalo Summer - The guys have come a long way since the band’s inception. A fresh new lineup a few years back bas seemed to propel the band from the local gigging circuit to the bright lights of the United Kingdom and beyond. Last year’s self titled album helped put the Welsh rockers on the map. Being picked up for a UK tour with Aussies The Graveltones has opened door after door for this straight up rock and roll outfit. This summer’s European tour with Buckcherry and Skid Row will be a far cry from the Duke and Sin City of South West Wales. Website - www.buffalosummer.net Facebook - www.facebook.com/buffalosummer

BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

T H I S

#19LONDON GRAMMER

Photo by London Grammar

C O N CLUDES London Grammar - In what must be one of the quickest rises to fame in recent time; London Grammar took the UK by surprise last year. Their debut EP “Metal & Dust” was released in February, followed by their debut album “If You Wait” in September. By New Year 2014, the Brit trip hop trio was all over British airwaves. Fronted by the uber-talented Hannah Reid and her bellowing, power vocals they announced themselves on the scene with hits “Wasting My Young Years”, “Strong” and a cover of French electro house artist Kavinsky’s “Nightcall”. A sell out UK tour behind them, London Grammar are currently on a tour of the United States, before heading out on a mass mission of worldwide festival dates. If you’re a fan of Florence & her Machine, you need to check out these three. Facebook - www.facebook.com/londongrammar Website - www.londongrammar.com

#20JESS GLYNE

Jess Glyne - If you’ve not heard of Jess Glynne yet this year, you’ve probably been sleeping under a rock; having lent her vocals to two UK number 1 hits already. Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” and Route 94’s “My Love” both feature the twenty four year old’s strong vocals. Citing Amy Winehouse as one of her biggest influences, what the future holds for Jess Glynne is somewhat of a mystery. The online video release of “Home” gives us a taste of things to come though. A clear element of soul is apparent in her tone, but it seems she can turn her hand to a variety of different styles. Although there’s nothing on paper as of yet, I’m sure we’ll be hearing more solo material from Miss Glynne this year. Facebook - www.facebook.com/JessGlynne Twitter – www.twitter.com/jessglynne

THE TOP

{TWENTY}

ARTISTS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IN TWENTY FOURTEEN

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SHO UNC

Maggie Rose

is a Country music singer and song writer who is currently promoting her latest single “Looking Back Now.” It is thought provoking and is far from the normal Country songs. The Lisa Carver penned tune truly “paints the picture of a woman pushed to the limit,” Rose told Broken Records Magazine during a recent phone interview. She then added that “good music should make your uncomfortable.”

Throughout the song, the character commits “crimes of passion” but as listeners, we are pulling for her to survive. She questions her decision even up to her final moments.

GOOD MUSIC

OULD MAKE YOU COMFORTABLE “Looking back now, I probably should’ve let him run”  - Lyrics from “Looking Back Now”

The treatment for the video wasn’t what I expected. Maggie told me that the “video could’ve been acted out literally throughout but I don’t think we would have done it justice.” Instead the video is focused solely on Maggie as well as three props: a glass of whiskey, a man’s hand, and a gun. While it’s rare to see weapons in music videos, Country music seems like the only place it could fit. Speaking of fitting, the video has been a perfect fit for CMT. But was the gun an issue for the music video channel? “CMT was very excited about the video but they have a rule about guns. You can’t point it at anyone in the video. But I don’t think they realized that the gun is actually pointed at you.” Looking to the future, Maggie Rose is already in the “midst of making record number two.” She’s working hard with Brian Kennedy (Rihanna, Chris Brown) and Dallas Davidson (Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Blake Shelton) ensuring that every song on the new album is a hit song since neither of those two make anything less. Maggie did add that they’ve picked a single and it’ll be released in a few months…maybe sooner. Working with two great songwriters, Maggie must be a bit nervous writing alongside them…no? “…Not if you’re honest about what you’re singing about.” On the new album, Maggie will be recording a lot of songs she has a hand in writing. “Good music should make you uncomfor table.”  -Maggie Rose

The new album will be a departure from Cut To Impress since the debut was a “culmination of life up to that point. It was an introduction. A coming of age. With the new record, I just want to entertain.” And entertaining is what they are doing. There has been days where the three of them wrote all day and ate every meal together. “It’s been a love fest throughout. There’s been no shortage of fun. And no shortage of bourbon”

is evolving with their new record

Evolution

(hed)p.e. is a group that I latched onto very tightly in my high school years. They were one of the earliest “heavy” bands I listened to (not counting classics like Megadeth and Metallica). Needless to say, without dating myself any further, they’ve been around a long time. On July 22, their brand new record, Evolution, is coming out on Pavement Records. This is the (hed)p.e.’s tenth full-length studio album. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the band’s Newcastle-born bassist, Mawk (Mark Young). Mawk mentioned that the band is doing something a little different with the new record. Out of the 12 tracks, 8 rock out with the same “heaviness” I’ve come to expect. The other 4, however, are heavily Reggae-influenced.

in Cleveland, and Jaxon went into a studio somewhere near where he lives in Michigan and recorded guitars along to drum machine beats. I did my bass tracks at the beginning of this year. Half of them were done in a hotel room (until we had to check out and go to the next show), and the other half were done at the side of the stage running a line out of the back of my rig with my headphones jammed in ‘I could walk on my ears while Smile Empty Soul was stage and play this sound-checking. We were just taking album from song any opportunity we could to get these #1 to song #12, tracks laid down. It’s very punk rock and in that order, and about as far away from the major labels as we could possibly get.” walk off.’”

(hed)p.e.’s current lineup consists of Jahred on vocals, Jaxon on guitar, Mawk on bass, and Trauma on drums. Mawk explained that he “got my first bass Christmas of 1981 and it only took me 18 months to convince my parents it wasn’t another fad.” Jahred and Mawk have been with the band since the beginning. Jaxon joined the band in 2004, and Trauma joined in 2009. The band lives all over the country but they are still in constant contact and are working harder than ever to put together great music for their fans. Commenting on the process, Mawk had this to say: “We had the drums recorded at the Mushroom Head Studios

It’s clear to me that Evolution is going to be a defining album for (hed)p.e. As for a favorite track, Mawk states that he doesn’t “have a particular favorite, and for the first time ever I can honestly say that there are no tracks that I would even skip on this album right now. I’ve said it quite a few times at this point: ‘I could walk on stage and play this album from song #1 to song #12, in that order, and walk off.’” It sounds like to me that this band is brimming with confidence and pride from their new record. Be sure to go check them out on tour this summer with Powerman 5000.

by Matt Storm

Introducing...Leah Turner, A New Kind of Country Singer. by Scott Vollweiler California native, and Nashville transplant, Leah Turner, recently released her eponymous debut EP on Columbia Nashville. The five tracks display an edgier side of Country that few female artists are willing to touch. What makes Turner unique is her distinctive raspy vocals. In addition to her recent release, Turner was recently announced as the opener on Brad Paisley’s Country Nation World Tour presented by Kraft. On the day before the tour kick off, Broken Records Magazine had the privilege of speaking with Leah Turner about her distinct sound, prepping for the Paisley tour and more. ON HER DISTINCTIVE SOUND: “What sets me apart is the tone of my voice. I didn’t intend of being distinctive-it’s God given. That was sought out by the lord, not by me. Also, coming from California, you’re influenced by so many sounds and the different feelings being out there. I think that was conveyed in the writing and the production.” ON HER FAVORITE SONG ON THE RECORD: “I do love them all because I wrote them but my favorite is…(pauses)can I have two? (laughs) Besides my current and past singles, “Take The Keys” and “Pull Me Back,” because of course they are my favorites (editor’s note: there are 5 songs on the record she listed two off the bat!), there’s a song called “Beat Up Bronco” that really shows that love can be tough if you hold on and work through it. Then there’s the song “My Finger.” It’s just so much fun for me to sing. It’s sassy and says don’t cheat because we all have rings we can give back. It’s a tongue in cheek way of saying ‘Go stick it where the sun don’t shine’” ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A SONGWRITER ON HER ALBUM: “I think it’s very important. It’s not like I just sat in the room. These were all personal experiences that I went through. “Beat Up Bronco” is about my best friend and her husband. They were like ‘Write us a Country song! Write us a Country song!’ They had a tough time but they stuck through it…just like the car that gets you through your first kiss, your first break-up, or going out with the guys or girls. That’s what love can be like. Even with the good memories or the bad memories, it gets you through it. I think it’s very important for people to know that these very words coming out of my mouth have personal experiences or something close that has to do with me. I hope it touches people and becomes the soundtrack of their lives.” WHEN TO EXPECT HER DEBUT FULL LENGTH: “In about six months I should have my album out. First I have to get my sealegs, or rather my stage legs underneath me. And to watch my newest single, ‘Pull Me Back’ climb the charts.”

For ongoing generations, stepping stones are essential factors to develop a long lasting career. To reflect this method on 31 year old country singer, Sarah Darling, Rising Star (the reality television singing competition) was the by Gerard Ucelli ultimate platform to take advantage of the limelight at hand. “The greatest thing that I’ve learned presence, it creates such an impactful since I’m already so active on social attachment on your brand,” Darling media is that once you build a stated.

Sarah Darling:

What stood out about Darling’s experience on the show is when she was eliminated from the competition; Brad Paisley offered her an opportunity to sing at The Opry, which would result in her 60th appearance performing there.“It was absolutely amazing and still hard to believe. Brad and I performed his song ‘Whiskey Lullaby.’ It was definitely a moment of a lifetime at the Opry,” Darling stated.

A Rising Star On The Opry Stage

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Young Rising Sons

fter signing with Interscope Records, New Jersey’s Young Rising Sons are taking the music scene by storm. Their songs contain a positive vibe that put you in the mood to dance. As their lead single from their recently released eponymous EP “High” gets picked up more on the radio, they are experiencing what it’s like to live their dreams. Broken Records Magazine interviewed lead singer/guitarist Andy Tongren to get to know a little more about Young Rising Sons as they are, well, rising. There are many different motives for why artists do what they do and their motives are emotion driven. “We all play music because

it made us feel something. So, now that we are actually in control of what we are putting out, we figured, why not write stuff that makes people feel good,” Tongren explains. Kicking off their summer tour recently, they have had the chance to do what many musicians hope to do. “It’s easy to get sucked into the music world- in terms of meetings all day and sitting in the studio all day. To actually get out and play our songs is really cool. We get to live it day in and day out. That’s really special.” So what did it feel like signing a record deal with Interscope Records? “It was pretty wild. When we first started playing music, it was our ultimate goal. It was all pretty

surreal when it was happening. It all happened so fast.” As a band, it is a dream come true to get to play many cities, but it can be tough as they start to get their name out there. When it came to crowd response, Grand Rapids, MI has stuck out the most to Andy so far and for good reason. He explains, “There were a lot of kids at the show. As soon as they got to the venue, they would go straight to the stage. Everybody seemed to be excited to hear music even if they didn’t know the band. It’s really cool to see kids going to a show and seeing bands they don’t even know.” So, what does Young Rising Sons have planned for the future?

DREAMING HIGH ON CLOUD NINE

“I think the plan is to release a full length album first thing next year. We’re really excited about it. Our EP is, like you said, more focused on being happy. [However,] it’s important to focus on a range of emotions. We must let fans know that we experience other emotions and that it’s not all highs. We will try to capture that more and go deeper into that.” We all have the artists that we look up to. As a band, it’s only natural to dream about playing with influential artists. So, if Andy could tour with anyone, who would he want to tour with? “The top of my personal list

would have to be the Killers, because I really look up to them as a band that I would aspire to be along those lines. Kings of Leon and NeedToBreathe are others that I really look up to. There’s a lot of good stuff out there that kind of misses the radio- which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing. There are a lot of bands that we really respect.” Speaking of the radio, it is very tough to get airplay on the radio. Luckily for Young Rising Sons they are getting to experience what that is like and what happens after you make it on the radio. “The weirdest thing to me so far is to see the reactions from my old friends. It’s very surreal and

strange to get messages or emails from friends who have heard ‘High’ on the radio, especially old friends and people from high school. It’s kind of something you always dream about.” While they are starting to live their dream, Young Rising Sons are definitely a band to keep an eye on. It won’t be long before they dominate the radio with their recent song, “High” which can uplift anyone that’s feeling down. As the months continue, you’ll hear more and more of YRS as they continue their journey with Interscope Records. By Rebeccah Milburn

How did the band get the name Framing Hanley? How did the band get the name Framing Hanley? “At the time when we signed our first record a lotwe of different bands that had “Atdeal the there timewere when signed our first record “embers” and a “fade” in their bands name (Framing deal there were lot of different that had Hanley was Fade). was just “embers” and originally “fade”Embers in their nameIt (Framing one of those things where weFade). didn’t want to run Hanley was originally Embers It was just problem down the road. oneinto of athose things where we didn’t want to run into a problem down the road. Ashley Hanley was a very close friend of ours. We kinda alwayswas referred to close her as friend the sixth Ashley Hanley a very ofmember. ours. We Shealways was always there, sheaswas partmember. of the kinda referred to her the asixth that was the band. Sheapassed away Shedynamic was always there, she was part of the in a carthat accident in October 2007. It wasaway one dynamic was the band. ofShe passed those things where we feltof the least Itwe could in aofcar accident in October 2007. was one do forthings somebody that so least muchwe to us as of those where wemeant felt the could muchthat less meant the band, was totoname do individuals, for somebody so much us as the band much after her. “framing” individuals, less The theword band, was tois more name line her. of when frame a photograph, thealong bandthe after Theyou word “framing” is more preserving memory. where the name along the linethat of when youThat’s frame a photograph, came from. preserving that memory. That’s where the name came from. What story does the album, ‘The Sum Of Who We Are’ tell? does What the twists and turns does it take, going What story album, ‘The Sum Of Who We back to the idea you mentioned of the highest of Are’ tell? What twists and turns does it take, going back to the idea you mentioned of the highest of

songs the highs and the lowest of the lows? are a the highs and the lowest of the lows? “Those questions go hand in hand because previo this a originally title was go more in reference to the “Those the questions hand in hand because fact that wethe didtitle kick was starter for this our fanto It’s originally more in and reference theco base the whole reason we were fund factisthat we did kick starter forable this to and our many fan so it’s this album. Thiswhole was a collective effort. Thisable album base is the reason we were to fund we’ve is this the album. sum of who we are, us and you – us This andalbum This was a collective effort. the fans sum that were a part that.us And is the of who weofare, andthen youover – us and What time, lyric on a track the there fans was thatawere a part of that that.didn’t Andmake then over When the album, “The sum who are outweighs the make time, there was a of lyric onwe a track that didn’t battle scars and weary wasare about us as towar the album, “The sumhearts.” of whoItwe outweighs the music a battle band and through, ups us scarswhat andwe’ve wearybeen hearts.” It wasthe about as and the downs, leaving our label when we did. a band and what we’ve been through, the ups Right we wentleaving in to do our this album, we knew andbefore the downs, label when we “That did. kind o that notbefore only the brotherhood andthis thealbum, bond that Right we went in to do we knew a pa we had, but where were in thatand point in bond time that that not only the we brotherhood the my w aswe musicians andwhere the music that we writing.in time had, but we were in were that point at lea We that all of the thatmusic was strong enough as knew musicians and that we wereto writing. stand the test of time and just withstand all this We knew that all of that was strong enoughpoint to stuff thatthe wastest seeming to fall apart. knew weall job stand of time and justWe withstand thisb were than that. And time, we spent stuffstronger that was seeming to over fall apart. We knewdoing we you’v longer on this album then we certainly intended were stronger than that. And over time, we spent being on, or initially planned. album even took longer on this albumThe then we title certainly intended eyes onon, a different meaning of bing a collection of or initially planned. The album title even took on a different meaning of bing a collection of

songs that really described the sum of who we songsare thatasreally described the been sum ofthrough who we far as what we’ve the previous and a half to been three years of making are as far astwo what we’ve through the cause stories of things we years had been through. two and a half to three of making o previous the this album, It’s cool because I really titlethrough. took in so stories of things wethink hadthe been ur this fan album, many meanings than think what itthe even It’s cool because I really titleinitially took meant in so o fund it’s definitely most fitting initially album meant title that manyso meanings thanthe what it even album had on albums far.” title that so it’swe’ve definitely thethree most fittingsoalbum s and we’ve had on three albums so far.” n over make What is it that allows you to stay the course? you get up every you is it that allows you morning to stay what the drives course? hsWhat the When towards what you are trying to achieve with your t usWhen as you get up every morning what drives you e towards ups music? what you are trying to achieve with your e music? did. knew “That’s a lot of things, that’s a loaded question kind know this is oneathing I’ve always had d that “That’s a of. lot You of things, that’s loaded question a passion for. I’ve had this discussion even with n time kind of. You know this is one thing I’ve always had my wife before. When times were tough she said writing. a passion for. I’ve had this discussion even with at least you are living your dream, but at certain ghmy to wife before. When times were tough she said points wished I had retained dream all at thisleast youI are living yournever dream, but atmy certain because then you could never be happy ewpoints we job I wished I had never retained my dream doing anything else. It’s like you did exactly who spent job because then you could never be happy you’ve always dreamed, and hoped to do…. ended doing anything else. It’s like you did exactly who being a traveling musician, had the to stars in my n took you’ve always dreamed, andI hoped do…. when I was a kid. This is what I wanted do ofbeingeyes a traveling musician, I had the stars in to my eyes when I was a kid. This is what I wanted to do

and we reached a level success that many bands and we reached a level even success many don’t get to experience, at athat young agebands on don’t to experience, even at a young top ofget that. There’s the passion that’s there age that on keeps me going. Also a lot of thethat’s time that I’vethat top of that. There’s the passion there invested this…. it’s kind of to keeps meingoing. Also a lot of the thepoint time where that I’ve I’m here until will call. haveoftoto bethe now… there’s invested in this…. it’s Ikind point where no here turning back. It’s tough, have two kids, a I’m until will call. I haveI to be now… there’s wife who’s very supportive, and I knows is a no turning back. It’s tough, have that twothis kids, the who’s one thing that I will always beknows happythat doing. wife very supportive, and this is It’s one gottathing be tough someone that’sdoing. in the that supporting I will always be happy a band today’s and age… but I’m that’s lucky in It’s gottainbe toughday supporting someone have support. So, day I think thatage… support system is aI band in today’s and but I’m lucky another think that’s helped me keep chuggin I have support. So, I think that support system is along and doing this. helped me keep chuggin another think that’s along and doing this. How do you feel you music differs from the rest of the music outfeel now? How do you you music differs from the rest of the music out now? “It helps that we have diverse tastes in the music wehelps listenthat to. Not from member to member “It weonly have diverse tastes in the music but even individually. I listen to everything from we listen to. Not only from member to member Waylon Jennings and Brad Paisley to Matchbox but even individually. I listen to everything from 20 to bands like Thrice all the way to like Waylon Jennings and Brad Paisley to stuff Matchbox Kanye West. I think we’re maybe guilty of letting 20 to bands like Thrice all the way to stuff like our influences creep their guilty way into Kanye West. Isometimes think we’re maybe of our letting our influences sometimes creep their way into our

music even, subconsciously. I’m always looking for inspiration in other artists, because that’s what pushes you as artists to maybe get outside of your comfort zone. Again, I’ve always said this, and I will always say this, if we ever feel like we’re putting out the same album, album to album, that will be the day we walk away from this. Not only would we be doing a disservice to our fans but at that point we’re doin a disservice to ourselves. I think that we have an album in the sum of who we are. You can hear a song like “criminal”, the opening track, and it sounds maybe like a song stylistically that would be completely different than the type of band that would put out a song like “cast away”, which is the title track on the album. We’ve always had a rule, kinda that there isn’t a type of song that we won’t write. We don’t want to cut ourselves off at the knees and ruin what could end up becoming some great song because we feel like it doesn’t sound like up in the beginning. At the end of the day, you know, even if it is completely different than anything you’ve done before, one thing I’ve been happy to read and hear a lot form our fans in response to this album is that it has the Framing Hanley sound. Whatever that is I’m not sure, and I don’t know if it’s because of my voice. I don’t know if its because it’s the same guys playing the music. I don’t know what it is, but it feels good to feel like we have an album that greatly varies from track to track and it can still sound like us. That’s an achievement to me. From listening to Framing Hanley and then learning about you…. I’m a huge incubus and 30 Seconds to Mars fan…. seeing on the Facebook page that your band is influenced by “life”…. because you mentioned your songs are not all the same…. what I noticed is that you are fuel by feelings and you can have feelings at any point of the day, and you’re not repeating these feelings. To me you remind me of Jared Leto or Brandon Boyd, you whole band appears confident and smart. What are your thought on these observations?

we are as individuals, who we are as a band, and i’ve se who we are as artists. Garde every How did growing up in Nashville influence you as Rocks a developing musician? Was there music in your like m home? What “Yeah, my real father was a country musician. I grew up around country music. I’ll always say “All m Guns ’n’ Roses are my favorite band because of Like I s the fact that that’s what introduced me to Rock that h ’n’ Roll. Obviously I’ve heard Elvis and have to say travel I’m a huge Elvis fan, I freakin love Elvis. I think the a tatt extent of rock to me was the stuff my dad listened the m to, ZZ Top and stuff like that. So when I first heard hidde Guns ’n’ Roses and how angry and raw that band There sounded it was something that jumped out at me called as different and something I wanted to do. We own w live in a city, in an area period, where your pizza and I guy’s more likely a better musician than you are. the le So I think that always pushes us as musicians as contin well, you know, knowing the talent that’s around I ran a us and always feeling like we had to get better some because everyone else was. No one else is falling to do down, why should we. So I love Nashville, I love now in this town, I think it has everything to do with who me fr I am as a musician, as an artist. I mean, why I am age, w the artist and musician I am as well. no on their c What other artistic forms do you explore other than you d music? beca put m “I mean I do a lot of writing. I think ultimately I would I think love, when I’m old and don’t have touring bones for th anymore, be able to make a mark for myself at with t least in Nashville where I can always write songs, peop maybe pitch them to other. Producing, that’s good something I’ve always wanted to explore. I’ve and h never been an artist as far as drawing, I think my brother got that gene. It’s always been music for What me. Music and writing period. That was where I always excelled in school growing up was writing, “Foot weather it be stories or poetry. It was always the that s stuff I did well on in school. It was always the writing wrestl side of things for me.” band fan o Who is your favorite author? beca game “I hate to give such an inherit response. Just guy. because the author that I grew up as fan of the obvio most and kinda has the tie with me and my wife as my to an adolescent – Steven King. I read every Steven me fe King novel that came out when I was in school so enjoy of course I’m going to say Steven King naturally.” with m

“Well first off, Brandon Boyd and Jared Leto are two vocalists I certainly look up to and hold in high regard so if your comparing me to them in any way I’m pretty ….. I’ve never heard Jared. I’ve heard Brandon Boyd from two people and I don’t see how in the world, but I’ll take it. It all boils down to feelings when we’re writing and it can be the highest of the highs, like I said, or the lowest of the lows. That comes out naturally in the music. We don’t force ourselves to sound a certain way. We are in a day and age where I think a lot of the bands try and sound a certain What stage would you most love to perform on in way. We don’t want to fall into that trap. Stay true the world? to yourself and your music’s gonna speak volumes . I know we’re writing the best music we’ve written “Red Rocks in Colorado. The incubus performance in our career because of that. We stay true to who at Red Rocks is one of my favorite concerts that

Let’s s would

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d, and i’ve seen. It’s beautiful there. And Madison Square Garden’s obviously another venue that I think every artist dreams of reaching one day. Red ou as Rocks, though, is one that we’ve all talked about… n your like man, I hope we can play Red Rocks.”

ian. I ys say use of Rock to say nk the tened heard band at me o. We pizza u are. ans as round better falling I love h who y I am

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always look at things as the glass is half full and maybe I should. The fact that these dudes have stood by and dealt with the ups and downs of me for the number of years they have, I would probably ask them: how they did it? And if it was worth it? I certainly hope they would say yes What is your most sentimental tattoo? and those dudes are my brothers. To be fair, if I wasn’t part of Farming Hanley when I was asking “All my tattoos obviously mean something to me. that question, if I was you and I was asking that Like I said earlier to start this interview, I was the kid question, I would ask me the same thing: how the that had stars in his eyes about aspiring to be that hell did you put up with these other guys? traveling musician one day. So, there’s actually a tattoo on my left forearm that is my eye, with What do you like most about the music industry? the microphone in the eyeball, so I’m kinda hidden in there, and it says dream underneath it. “That it’s an avenue for music to be heard. Overall, There’s another one of Icarus, and the latin phrase that’s what I like the most.” called Alis Volat Propriis,meaning ‘he flies with his own wings’. I certainly didn’t get here over night What is it like being an artist in the digital age? and I certainly didn’t have an easy path to reach What are you thoughts on the digital age and the level of success that we have reached. I social media? How does it impact bands? continue chugging along. Things never were easy, I ran away from home when I was young. But this is “We have an advantage, obviously, in the internet, something that I always knew was what I wanted but at the same time a disadvantage for some to do. I never really had the support system I have reasons. For me, I’m more interested on seeing now in my life, never had that but it never stopped where we go next. I feel like we are about to leave me from going. I hate how in today’s day and this age, if you will, and venture into something age, where everyone’s a victim of circumstances, new. Everyone’s looking for a way to reinvent the no one wants to own up to being able to control wheel again to kind of fix things. I don’t know that their choices and their life. At the end of the day there’s a permanent fix but everyone’s searching you do have choices. I’m almost three years sober and grasping for those straws to see what they can because I’ve made a choice that I didn’t want to do do kind of repair this. I’m kind of interested in put my kids through things that I saw growing up. seeing where it goes from here. I’m lucky that we I think everyone needs to accept responsibility have people all across the world. Weather it be for their own lives, and just realize you gotta play ten people spread out across the globe or a million with the cards you are dealt. There’s a lot more people spread out across the globe. They’re a people out there that get dealt bad hands than group of people that somehow connected with good hands, and it’s just all how you deal with it words that I’ve wrote about my life or my friend’s and how you make your next move.” lives, and you know, somehow related those songs to their own lives. That’s a special thing that I think What is your favorite thing to do in your down time? we never understood, or looked at as a blessing to doing this. We never came into this… again, “Football, watch football. There’s no off season in when you’re aspiring to do this you never say, ‘oh, that sport for me. Wrestling, I grew up a diehard I wanna be a rock star one day because I want my wrestling fan. One of the coolest things about this music to help people’. You know, that sounds bad band was the number of wrestlers I was a huge me saying that, but obviously when I was young fan of growing up that I’ve become friends with that’s not something that I was looking to do this because of music. Wrestling, football, and video for. I was interested in the partying and the girls games, you know basically I’m a guy… I’m just a and the music. But, you know it reached a point guy. You know, if we’re not on tour, above all that where it was like, wow, there are people that are obviously, I have two little boys that keep me on connecting to songs that are written about things my toes and keep me busy. They certainly keep that I’ve experienced in my life. That’s a pretty me feeling young still. That’s something that I special thing, you know, one of the coolest things enjoy doing more than anything is spending time about music, period. with my wife and two kids.”

on in Let’s say you were interviewing your band what would you ask them?

mance “How do you put up with Nixon? Haha. I’m not that the ‘negative-nancy’ but I am a realist and I don’t

Interview with Singer Nixon by Laura Desantis-Olsson 43

Take it back nine years ago when “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” was played on all the hit radio stations. Everyone knew the lyrics “And Sugar, we’re going down swinging. I’ll be your number one with a bullet.” Fast forward to 2014 and Fall Out Boy is back at it again. Whether you became a fan more than a decade ago when they released their first album Take This To Your Grave or just recently, there’s no denying that Fall Out Boy has had quite a career with many songs that are favored by many.

talked about the main lessons he learned from the popular summer tour that can really be helpful to aspiring bands.With different musical backgrounds, the band has been able to successfully mold into the band that they are now. “It’s helped us to bend around genres a little bit. At first, in the beginning it probably wasn’t helpful for us.. because people were like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know if this makes sense. Jay Z is on a record…’ Where we are at right now, I think people are less defined by genres…” says Pete. “I think one of the things that you have to be open to as a band is adapting; and you have to understand that part of your deal as an artist is to play music and create art that your audience is going to enjoy.” He explains that “at the same time, you have to push the envelope and push people into new areas that, maybe, they would have known or felt super comfortable with.”

After announcing a hiatus four years ago, fans thought that Fall Out Boy were over until they surprised everyone last year with their new album, Save Rock N Roll. They have been playing shows nearly non-stop since then. Starting June 19th, Fall Out Boy will co-headline a tour with Paramore featuring New Politics. As part of the launch of the MONUMENTOUR, Broken Records Magazine took part in the official press release call with bassist, Pete Wentz, to get the details about Fall The MONUMENTOUR will be the last tour for the Save Out Boy’s future plans and information about the tour. Rock N Roll album cycle, so does that mean that Fall Out Boy has already started working on their next you look at their background, just like Paramore and album? “We haven’t officially started working on any many other bands, Fall Out Boy started out playing new music… We have shown each other stuff that we Warped Tour. When addressed about this topic, Pete each have worked on, but we aren’t at the point where

we have put together complete Fall Out Boy songs together. We are trying to figure out the vibe of the next album.”

they will be co-headlining for the first time. As a seasonied touring band, how will this tour be different for Fall Out Boy compared to past tours?

But, of course, they still have over two months to fully focus on songs like “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” or “Alone Together” while touring amphitheaters around the U.S. and other parts of the world. When “A big one is that you really have to maintain some state of hygiene on tour… When I came back from

“This tour will be different for us, as a band, because it’s our first legitimate co-headline [tour] in a long time, if ever. You’re both limited by that and the bar is raised by that. Limited in the way we share the stage equally- time wise and what we put on the stage… The bar is raised, because you have an act out there that could definitely close the show on their own… We know we will be playing in front of a lot of Paramore fans and they’ll be playing in front of Fall Out Boy fans…”

Warped Tour, I was a changed man. I knew you could exist from just baby wipes and water, basically” he explains with a chuckle. “I met a lot of really cool people on warped tour and I think, more than anything, with a tour like that where you’re on tour with so many bands [it] gives you lessons on how you want to act versus how you don’t want to act; and how you want to treat people versus how you don’t want to treat people.” Throughout the years, both Fall Out Boy and Paramore have gained a huge following with millions in each of their fan base. After many fan requests, failed attempts at aligning schedules, and playing occasional dates together, timing finally worked to their advantage and

What can you expect from this tour? Pete doesn’t give too many details, but simply that “... We have a couple of tricks up our sleeve… Expect the biggest Fall Out Boy show of the year or of the album cycle.” You can catch Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and New Politics on the MONUMENTOUR. So, make sure to grab your tickets before it sells out. This will be a show that you defenetley don’t want to miss.

Article by Arin Segal Hunter Hayes recently broke the world record for the most concerts in a 24 hour period by playing 10 shows across the east coast from Friday morning to Saturday morning. The shows celebrated the release of his latest album called ‘Storyline’ and benefitted his long standing partnership with Child Hungeris. We caught up with him over the phone on a Saturday afternoon to chat about the album, breaking the record, and what signifies summer in his mind. Broken Records: For the last album, you played and recorded almost every instrument. This time around was the process the same? Hunter: It was totally different for several reasons, one of the biggest though I can credit is just passionately pursuing a different record on this go around. I guess – just the whole second record – everybody talks about the sophomore thing and the pressure and the time crunch and I just essentially wanted to make every effort humanly possible to avoid that. And more importantly, just to avoid making a record that sounded exactly like the first record. I wanted to make a little bit of change. A lot of change actually [and] a lot of evolution, the effort to say no to anything we’ve done before. Not just for the sake of saying no [to] doing stuff that we’ve done before, but doing it differently as much as possible just for the sake of a new record. It’s gotta be new; it’s gotta feel new. It’s gotta be brand new and the band actually played on this record. My touring band [is] a phenomenal group of musicians and they’re not just good musicians, they’re very creative. They definitely have a voice [and] a personality to their playing. That’s very discernible, you can hear the difference. I felt also, we’ve now played together for about three years, but I feel like I’ve been playing with them almost for my entire life and there’s just a certain magic to that feeling when you’re with your buds and you feel like you’ve been a part of the group for forever. That brings a little spark in the studio. That’s a totally different way of finding music; as a band and not only as a group of musicians who just met and are working in the studio together, but a group of musicians who know each other backwards and forwards and that was a whole new dimension that I’ve never been able to open up to that I wanted. This happened specifically on this record. Broken Records: So let’s talk about breaking the world record, what was that like to be playing shows constantly and going from city to city in 24 hours?

Hunter: It was awesome. It was so awesome. Everyone was so nervous and scared and rightfully so. It’s quite the task to take on, but it literally, I’ll tell you the first hour and a half was the most stressful because our travel plans were by air and they changed literally every three hours for the 24 hours before we started the actual attempt and then they changed within the first hour drastically. So I think that stressed everyone out, but apart from that we were early from the second show to the tenth show. We were hours ahead of schedule by the time we finished the whole thing which I think just speaks for how well – not me – but the rest of the team was prepared. They really had a plan and they had backup plans and they had backup plans for backup plans. For me, I was surprised with how little stress it was vocally and interview wise. I was surprised with the fact that it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The whole thing was just a blast. It seriously is one of my favorite memories in my entire career and it ranks up there with my top three. I don’t know necessarily what’s in that top three and I’m giving space for – we’ve done some cool collaboration and what not – but that was magical. It was just absolutely brilliant. I mean, we did ten shows. I mean, essentially [what] happens is when we get off stage, we look forward to the next night. We get on the bus and we can’t sleep because we’re so excited [and] the adrenaline is still pumping from the show. That never gets old, you don’t get used to that. You go on stage and you’re still excited, and I think ten shows of that was just a rush, it was brilliant. Broken Records: What says ‘it’s summer’ to you? Hunter: What says ‘it’s summer’ to me – and I guess this is kind of weird – is we get to change our show entirely. We go from arenas into fairs and festivals, and I love playing outdoors, I absolutely love it. It’s more of a, I don’t want to say party atmosphere, but it is. It’s kind of a celebration really and in an arena setting, you can go through all the emotions and you can create these totally different waves of emotion through the show. Outdoors, it’s a different kind of wave I guess. It’s a wave still, but at the same time there’s a lot of energy at an outdoor show and I love playing outdoors. So we completely redesigned the show, we’ve got rehearsals actually for that tour in a couple weeks. So essentially when our production starts changing and we start going into rehearsals for our summer show, that’s when I feel like it’s summer because I’m going to spend the rest of the summer outside which is kind of nice.

Interview by: Melissa Vandusky With a career that spans over 4 decades, The Doobie Brothers are no doubt icons in the music industry. Even this generation sings along to some of their biggest hits (“What a Fool Believes,” “Listen to the Music,” and “Taking it to the Streets” just to name a few). Their first ever country music album features collaborations with some of country music’s biggest stars; Brad Paisley, Chris Young, Toby Keith, Zac Brown Band, Sara Evans, Charlie Worsham, Love & Theft, and more will be released this fall on Sony Music Nashville. Combine that with a summer tour kicking off this week with fellow music legends Peter Frampton and Boston, and you have one exciting year for this timeless group. Broken Records Magazine had the honor of speaking with The Doobie Brothers’ lead guitarist and vocalist, Tom Johnston. Broken Records Magazine: First off let me start off by saying that I am so honored to be doing this interview. I grew up listening to your music and some of my best memories as a kid have your music as the soundtrack. Tom Johnston: Well my pleasure. Do you ever get sick of hearing that? TJ: If you get sick of hearing that you ought to get out of the business! You guys have been in the music industry for 4 decades. What made you want to do this country music album now? TJ: Well it was brought to our attention by David Huff, who produced it, and we had a meeting with him in a hotel room. I hate to say this, but I can’t even remember which town; I think it was Vegas but I’m not sure. He told us what Sony had in mind. Basically, we have never done anything like this. And it sounded like a pretty cool idea. And as it turns out it was an awesome idea! It was a heck of a lot of fun to do, and the people on it were great to work with. Whoever wrote the song set up and played with the studio band- which was all of Nashville cast. It was phenomenal players; jaw dropping good. So that in itself was a gas. And then the little bit of work that we got to do; most of us didn’t sit there and get a chance to watch when the guest artist actually did their vocals. A couple of times, yes, but overall most of the time because of scheduling and us being on the West coast and them be being back there, or on the road, or wherever the heck, we didn’t get to see that happen most of the time. That actually brings me to my next question. This album has you collaborating with some of country music’s biggest stars; Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Sara Evans. Is there anyone in particular that worked on this album that really stands out for you? TJ: Well yeah. There’s a few actually- not just one. We played live with Chris Young. We went and sat in with him the other night at a gig he was doing on a riverboat in Nashville. We all know him. On that same boat at another time for the CES convention, Brad Paisley was on the stage, so we all got to know him. As far as standing out on the songs, I think they all came out great. I mean I have my personal favorites but at this point in time due to being politically correct, I’m not going to tell you what they are. Ahhh, you’re killing all my questions here! TJ: I’m sorry! But frankly they all sounded great. I met most of these people, either on the Sony boat ride in whatever month that was. I think it was winter because there were tornadoes going on. I heard about that. That must have been quite an experience. TJ: Well they didn’t leave the dock that evening. Probably a good decision.

TJ: It was a Sony event so only the people who are on Sony were there but that encompassed a lot of people that are on this album. And we’ve got others too. We’ve got a gal named Amanda Sudano-Ramirez who is the daughter of Donna Summers who sang on “You Belong to Me,” one of Michael’s songs. I thought Love and Theft did a killer job on “Taking it to the Streets.” And a guy from the Zac Brown Band did a great job on “Black Water.” And I have to say one of the guys that you maybe wouldn’t know as well Charlie Worsham just killed on “Nobody.” Needless to say, Paisley is a phenomenal singer and a monster guitar player and he did both on “Rocking Down the Highway.” Sara Evans did a great job on “What a Fool Believes.” Chris Young, who is a really good singer, did a GREAT job on “China Grove.” Toby Keith sang really, really well on “Long Train Running.” I didn’t know that that was going to be something that he was really into but he was excited about doing it. So that was awesome and very flattering. He is a big star too. I mean some if these people are huge. That’s the pot calling the kettle black. TJ: I mean they are currently huge…how’s that? Well like I said I grew up listening to your music so it’s current for me. You just mentioned a few of the big hits that are on this album. How did you go about choosing what songs were going to be a part of this album? Did you just take the ones that hit the top 10, or were there personal choices from each one of you? TJ: I think Gary Overton had a lot to do with some of that. I think David Huff had an even bigger part as the producer. And he also helped as far as matching artists to songs. He also did a really great job on producing the tracks. The tracks had great elements that these songs have never had before and they worked so well. Some songs were almost redone and I was amazed at how cool it sounded. Every track was cut with a complete band; you had 3 guitar players on every track. You had keyboards on every track (and on Michael’s songs, 2 keyboards), drums, bass, pedal steel; you had elements that weren’t necessarily on the original song. And it took them to a different place. Like I said we had no idea what to expect, but it all came out really cool. We were very happy with the results. It was a very positive thing to do. Anything different in this day and age is always a gas if it comes out positive. If it came out bad it wouldn’t be so great, but that wasn’t the case. It all came out really good. These people all did a great job, and it was really for me a lot of fun and an honor playing with all those guys in the studio. They were just really, really phenomenal players. That’s really awesome! I heard that Michael McDonald was back on this album. How was it working with him again? TJ: We see Michael on a regular basis. We aren’t touring with him but we see him a couple times a year at one gig or another. He’s got a place in Maui and Pat lives in Maui so they see each other fairly regularly. Mike is like the rest of us, we never change and he never changes, we are all the same guys. So when we get back together it’s like we never left and we just pick up where we left off. It’s always a lot of fun working with Mike. That’s great. Let’s talk about this tour kicking off next week. You’re headlining with Peter Frampton and Boston, who I am also big fans of. I think I was born in the wrong generation. I’m only 31. TJ: Oh yeah! So what are you feeling right now? Obviously you must be excited, but what other emotions or preparation goes into doing a tour like this? TJ: For me, it’s the same no matter who you are playing with or where you’re playing. Practicing every day, which is something I never used to do in the old days. I mean we did because we were always playing. I think that’s one of the reasons we never practiced because if we weren’t on the road we were just playing down in the basement on 12th Street. It was just your lifestyle back then. TJ: Yes. Now I practice on vocals and guitar just to keep in shape because sometimes we will have a month off and you can’t not play for a month and expect to go out and just hit it. That would be a disaster. But there are times when we only have a week off so I’ll take 2 days off and not do anything and then go back to practicing again. And then packing…you gotta pack all your stuff for the road. The road hasn’t changed much in all these years other than the mode of transportation. It’s still the same deal. Nowadays it’s the inside of a bus, the hotel, the gig, do it again. In the old days it was all that except we hadn’t started using buses back in the 70s. We had these old WWII aircrafts we were flying in but it’s pretty much the same. It’s all about connecting with the crowd and that’s what keeps us doing this. We love to play live and this band has always been about playing live.

My Myaunt auntactually actuallyhas hasaadrumstick drumstickthat thatyou youguys guysthrew threwout outinto intothe thecrowd crowdatataashow showmany, many,many manyyears yearsago. ago. TJ: TJ:Does Doesshe sheput putitittotogood gooduse? use? Haha. Haha.No. No.Not Notatatall. all. Her Herhusband husbandisisthe themusician musicianininher herhouse housebut buthe heplays playsthe theguitar. guitar. My MyDad Dadisisthe thedrummer drummerininthe the family. family. And Andthey theyhave haveseen seenyou youlive livemany manytimes. times. My MyMom Momwas wasso soexcited excitedwhen whenI Itold toldher herI Iwas wasdoing doingthis thisinterview. interview. TJ: TJ:Glad Gladtotohear hearthat thatthey theyare areinto intoititthat’s that’sawesome. awesome. We Wehave haveaawide widedemographic. demographic. We Wehave havepeople peoplewho whohave havebeen beenaround around since sincethe thegate gatewhich whichmeans meansthey theyare areolder olderthan than30. 30. We Wealso alsohave haveevery everyage ageininbetween betweenright rightdown downtototeenagers teenagersand andthat’s that’s very verygratifying. gratifying. Yes. Yes.I Ithink thinkthat thatyour yourmusic musicisistimeless. timeless. I Idon’t don’tthink thinkthat thatthere thereisisanyone anyoneeven evenyounger youngerthan thanme mewho whodoesn’t doesn’tknow knowaa lot lotofofyour yourhits. hits. They Theyare arestill stillso sopopular popularwhich whichisisreally reallyaatestament testamenttotoyour yourtalent. I talent. Iknow knowyou yousaid saidit’s it’skind kindofofthe the same; same;get geton onstage stageand andperform performand andthen thenget geton onthe thebus busand anddo doititall allover overagain; again;but butwhat whatcity cityare areyou youmost mostexcited excitedtoto perform performininfor forthis thistour? tour? Now NowI’m I’mfrom fromNew NewYork, York,just justsaying…no saying…nopressure! pressure! TJ: TJ:You Youknow knowit’s it’shard hardfor forme metotosay. say.I’m I’mlooking lookingforward forwardtotoplaying playingjust justone onecity citymore morethan thanany anyothers othersbecause becauseit’s it’sreally reallyallall about aboutthe thepeople peopleininfront frontofofyou youand andthat thatcan canbe beininany anytown. town. TJ: TJ:I have I havetowns townsthat thatI like I likejust justbecause becausethey theyare arefun funtotohang hangin. in. But Butthat’s that’snot notwhat whatthe theshow showisisnecessarily necessarilyabout. about. And Andthere there are aresome somevenues venuesthat thatI like I likebecause becausethey theyare arefun funtotoplay playin, in,ififI can I canremember rememberwhich whichones onesthey theyare. are. I like I likeNew NewYork, York,Chicago, Chicago, Austin, Austin,Dallas. Dallas. There Thereare aremany manytowns townsthat thatI like. I like. I like I likeplaces placesininFlorida… Florida…places placesininjust justabout aboutevery everystate. state. I like I likeHawaii. Hawaii. We Wejust just got gotback backfrom frombeing beingininAustralia Australiaand andNew NewZealand Zealandand andthere therewere wereplaces placesover overthere thereI really I reallyloved. loved. Once Onceagain, again,for forususit’s it’sallall about aboutthe thepeople peopleininfront frontofofususwhile whilewe weare areplaying playingand andconnecting connectingwith withthem. them. Your Yourmusic musicover overthe thecourse courseofof44decades decadeshas hasreally reallyinfluenced influencedso somany manyartists. artists. Are Arethere thereany anyartists artistsor orbands bandsthat thatyou you are areaabig bigfan fanofofthat thatinfluence influenceyou? you? TJ: TJ:Oh Ohyeah. yeah. But Butmost mostpeople peoplearen’t aren’tgoing goingtotoknow knowwho whothey theyare, are,especially especiallyififthey theyare areyour yourage. age. I Imight! might! TJ: TJ:AAlot lotofofpeople peoplethat thatinfluenced influencedme mewere wereBlues Bluesplayers. players. The The33Kings; Kings;Albert, Albert,Freddie, Freddie,and andB.B. B.B. James JamesBrown. Brown. Even EvenElvis Elvis Presley Presleywhen whenI was I wasaakid. kid. Little LittleRichie Richiewhen whenI was I wasaalittle littlekid. kid. And Andititgoes goeson onfrom fromthere. there. Hendrix Hendrixand andCream Creambecause becauseI was I wasaa big bigRock Rockand andRoll Rollfanatic, fanatic,asaswell wellasasan anRR&&BBfanatic. fanatic. I got I gotinto intoaalot lotofofPunk PunkBlues Blueswhen whenI was I wasinincollege; college;Mississippi MississippiJohn JohnHurt, Hurt, Lightnin’ Lightnin’Hopkins, Hopkins,those thosekind kindofofguys. guys. That Thatwas wasallallacoustic acousticstuff. stuff. The TheMeters Metersfrom fromNew NewOrleans. Orleans. Dr. Dr.John. John. ItItjust justgoes goeson onand and on onand andon. on. There Thereare arejust justmany, many,many manyplaces placesthat thatI have I havegone gonemusically musicallytotowhere whereI am I amtoday. today. That’s That’sawesome. awesome. You Youhave havebeen beendoing doingmusic musicfor foraavery verylong longtime. time. IfIfyou youweren’t weren’tdoing doingmusic musicwhat whatwould wouldyou yoube be doing? doing? TJ: TJ:That’s That’saagreat greatquestion. question. You Youknow knowI did I didgo gototo44years yearsofofcollege collegeinintraining trainingtotobe beaaGraphic GraphicDesigner, Designer,sosomy myguess guessisisthat’s that’s probably probablywhat whatI would I wouldbe bedoing. doing. I didn’t I didn’tplan planon onbeing beingininthe themusic musicbusiness businessititjust justhappened. happened. Interesting! Interesting! Good Goodfor foryou! you! Well WellI Iappreciate appreciateyou youdoing doingthis. this. I Iknow knowyour yourschedule scheduleisistight tightand andI Ithank thankyou youso somuch muchfor for your yourtime. time. TJ: TJ:Well Wellititwas wasaagreat greatinterview. interview. Thank Thankyou youfor forhaving havingme meon. on. Of Ofcourse! course! Maybe MaybeI’ll I’llcatch catchyou youwhen whenyou youcome comearound aroundtotoJones JonesBeach BeachJuly July13 13with withmy myDad. Dad. TJ: TJ:Yeah Yeahthat thatshould shouldbe becool. cool. We’ve We’veplayed playedthere thereaamillion milliontimes timesit’s it’saagreat greatplace. place. Great Greatplace placetotosee seeaaconcert. concert. Hopefully HopefullyI Iwill willsee seeyou youthere! there! Thanks Thanksso somuch muchagain againfor foryour yourtime. time. TJ: TJ:Thank Thankyou! you! Have Haveaagreat greatday. day.

What does this album represent for Sylar as a band?

As a drummer, which song do you enjoy playing the most?

“It represents a lot for us, as for musically.. Comparing it to out first album. We got to do what we wanted. There’s a lot emotionally and lyrically. It’s what we wanted to do over what we thought we had to do. It’s way more genuine than anything we have released.”

“Live/Breath one of my favorites. There’s a whole lot going on. It keeps me feel busy.”

What was one of the biggest challenges when producing To Whom it May Concern? “Finding the direction. The first night in the studio was a stressful night. Our mentality changed when we were in the studio. We Had to decide on the sound and decide if we wanted to stick to that decision.

What does this record mean to you personally? “It’s my first record release on a major label. I sit and watch them [bandmates] write the music. I relate a lot to the music just like the fans and supporters do.”

Is there a specific track that has the most meaning to you? “Prescription Meditation has a deeper meaning for me and is very relatable.”

If you could film the next music video anywhere in the world, where would you want to film it? “I want to do a home video to show where I grew up in Queens, New York. Well, we just filmed that for our newest video.”

Who has been your biggest support as a musician? “I’m going to say my best friend, Thomas. That kid is as close to a brother as it can get. He shows me how grateful I should be.”

Which artists have you been the most influenced by / that you look up to the most? “As a band, there are many, but I’d say Linkin Park is very high up there. The fact that they take hiphop and blend it with aggression of heavy metal is inspiring.

SYLAR’S THOMAS VEROUTIS ON THE MAKING OF TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN REBECCAH MILBURN INTERVIEW’S WITH THOMAS VEROUTIS OF SYLAR. Post-hardcore band Sylar is debuting their album,To Whom It May Concern this Spring on Razor and Tie records. This Queens-based band has made great headway in 2014. We interviewed their drummer, Thomas Veroutis to get more insight on the album and Thomas’ experience. Are there any struggles that motivate you to play music? Anxiety motivates me to become better because it’s the extra voice in your head. It emphasizes the negative in my life. It pushes me to be better, because I don’t want to live that way. No one likes to admit it, but when you’re open about it- it makes it easier.

Where do you hope to see Sylar at five years from now? “I want to see ourselves progressing. Flying from show to show on a bigger scale and see how we can progress to reach fans. You can only limit your dreams with your mind.” With a good personality and positive vibes, Thomas gave an ending shout out to all the Sylar fans and supporters. “Thanks to everyone that has hit play on any of our songs. We couldn’t ask for more,” he said. If you haven’t listened to the album yet, give them a chance and hit play.

“QUEEN OF BLUEGRASS” Rhonda Vincent addresses question of Country vs. Bluegrass A

Article by Luis Vazquez • Photos by Webster PR

country female singer from Kirksville, Missouri is putting an end to the question of genres in country music. She continues to look for that next unique touch to her next project. Two weeks and a #1 ranking was all the time it took to confirm that Rhonda Vincent is beyond labels. Rhonda the “Queen of Bluegrass”, took the time to address the question of Bluegrass vs Country. She shares her experiences with two icons of Music, and why they are great artists, and better people. Rhonda also explains how faith and fate provides the most interesting ending to any story. Rhonda is a bluegrass artist. While working on her latest project, an idea formed while performing at a tribute to George Jones, who had passed, at the Grand Ole Opry. “We were on stage doing a George Jones song, “When the grass goes over me” and a thought came.” Rhonda recalled. “How fun would it be to do a traditional country album. I got the idea to merge the two together. The question of what type of artist Rhonda was soon answered.Her two disc set album containing six country and six bluegrass tracks was intentional. Her attempt to close the subject for good. “Its an illustration I wanted to make for quite a long time. My voice has always been the same since I was a little girl.” The days when she was asked to “Get the Bluegrass out of your voice” was quite a jolt. “I was quite conflicted. I didn’t hear no difference.” This was confirmed after assembling a bluegrass band that opened shows for George Jones. The feedback from fans told her what she suspected all along. “We came off stage and we heard “We love your country music” and I just performed with a Bluegrass band. From that point on it was just the perception of the listener.” Rhonda has been pleasantly surprised several times through her career. This album hit number one in two days, unseating Alan Jackson, who had held that slot for four months. “It’s the fastest selling record to date for me.” This has happened before. In 2012, Rhonda returned to her home church in Kirksville to record a gospel album in the place where she grew up and where her mother still resided. It was something that

“She did all these things and was a performer. I get that from my mother and grandmother.” was not financially motivated but by her faith. “It’s not just the songs, but what we truly believed.” The idea was to sell this project at shows only. But it took a life of its own. “I was astonished. It was one of the most special projects I ever released.” Rhonda explained. “It reached number one on the bluegrass charts and that was extra special.” Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are country artists that have experienced great success beyond their demographic. Rhonda has been able to do the same as she has been able to appeal to a broad audience. “We are family entertainment. I grew up with a musical family that displayed a lot of styles. It was all considered country music.” Rhonda shared. It had to be surreal working with artists like Dolly or Willie. Dolly had quite an impact on Vincent’s career as she explained. “I admire her in so many ways. What you see is what you get, what she seems.” Rhonda admitted. “I try to emulate that. I remember in 2005 when I had a life threatening illness. When I left the hospital and got home, she was there, 500 miles from Nashville. “I had to come and make sure your ok myself.” That’s Dolly. Willie surprised me watching him sing and not knowing how our voices would blend.” Vincent remembered. “It was like, Wow, he can sing with anybody. He picked up the guitar and starts playing and its like so amazing. Then I get an e-mail from Willie saying, “Lets do this again.” and I was like OMG., Willie Nelson e-mailed me and wants to do it again. I was so amazed.” Rhonda has a work ethic that originates with family. Whether it was her grandmother “I call her the original meals on wheels.” The idea that a single

woman would just cook for many at her expense. Or her mother, Who owned multiple beauty salons, worked as an EMT, and headed a housing board. “She did all these things and was a performer. I get that from my mother and grandmother. My father often said. “Don’t let anyone say you cant do anything.” That being established, Rhonda Vincent is back on top. She has thought out of the box again and the results prove that she can and will do anything and the people will respond. She is an total artist and an excellent one, and that’s all that matters.

BROKEN RECORDS | JUNE 2014

Written by Cindy Vasko Before Charlie Daniels was his own brand, and back in the day, he performed on three of Bob Dylan albums in the 1960s and early 1970s. These early Nashville sessions certainly imprinted on Charlie, and so much so, that the Charlie Daniels Band (“CDB”) pays tribute to Bob Dylan with their recent album release, Off the Grid – Doin’ It Dylan. Ten Dylan songs, with the signature CDB stamp, are included in the collection: “Tangled Up In Blue,” “Times They Are A Changin’,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” “Gotta Serve Somebody,” “I Shall Be Released,” “Country Pie,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall,” “ Just Like A Woman,” and “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn).” Broken Records Magazine had the pleasure to speak to Charlie about Off the Grid, Bob Dylan, the Macy’s New York City July 4th fireworks event featuring the CDB song, “My Home,” the tour, and the Grand Ole Opry. When asked about the evolution of Off the Grid, Charlie noted, “I was asked to do some music for a television show calledHell on Wheels. The show took place in the 1800s, so we were limited to the use of instruments from the 1800s – acoustic instruments. We never played all acoustic. When all six of us in the CDB heard the result, we said, ‘hey, let’s do a new album of new music;’ so I said, ‘let’s do Dylan because you never run out of material.’ [Dylan] is a bottomless well [of music]. We wanted to do an album that was obviously Dylan material, but with the CDB make on it. It was not a hard decision [to record this album].” What is it about Dylan that resonates with Charlie? “His uniqueness,” Charlie proclaimed. Furthermore, “In my lifetime, if I put my thoughts and theory toward this, I would say Dylan was the biggest innovator in pop American music in my lifetime. He was before the Beatles; he was before almost all of the people that we consider innovators of popular music. Bob Dylan changed [music] before anyone else thought about it. He did things nobody else thought of doing. If he recorded a song that was too long for radio play, then so be it. If his guitar sound was not perfect, then so be it. This is what you get. This is me. This is Bob Dylan. That’s the impression I have. There is a great freedom involved.You are not forced into a three minute, fifteen second block for the expression of your life. This is one of the great things I saw about Dylan. I said, ‘I want some of that. I want that freedom,’” Charlie explained. CDB is in the midst of a busy Off the Grid tour. The tour schedule is quite demanding between now and September, and according to Charlie, CDB will “shut down in January and February, only to start all over again [after February].” In addition to his Off the Grid tour, CDB will be part of the 38thAnnual, Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks event in New York City. The new CDB recording of “My Home,” will be synched to the largest display of fireworks. The event will featured as a national telecast. Charlie agreed that being a part of this event, is “a great honor.” Charlie is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and when asked what the Opry meant to him, without hesitation, he said, “Everything!” Charlie recounted, “I told the crowd on the night I was inducted into the Opry that the Bible says, ‘God will give you the desires in your heart,’ and tonight, this promise came true. The Opry [membership] had been such a big desire of my heart. I was seventy years old before I became a member of the Opry. I did not think it was going to happen. I am honored by it. God is good.” Being in the country music business for more than fifty years, Charlie is not slowing down, and stated, “I love what I do. I am enthralled with the idea of getting on stage and entertaining people. I get a chance to do this 110 times this year. It is a blessing.” As a closing statement to his fans, Charlie declared, “We’re still cooking and rocking and looking forward to seeing you along the way. To read more about Charlie Daniels and purchase Off The Grid: Doin’ It Dylan, also available on iTunes, visit his website at www.charliedaniels.com. Charlie is on Facebook at charliedanielsband. Follow Charlie on Twitter @charliedaniels.

dolly parton

Written / Arranged by : Laura DeSantis-Olsson & Francesco Paladino //

Photography by : Vladislav Grach

ince becoming active in her career in 1955, Dolly Parton has composed over 3,000 songs, generated 110 career charted singles across 40 years, achieved 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum, and multi platinum awards, and has sold over 100 million records world wide in all-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits, collections, paid digital downloads, and compilations. Dolly has received 46 Grammy Nominations, tying with Beyonce Knowles and putting her in 8th place overall. She has earned 8 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 7 Academy of country music awards, 3 American Music Awards, and has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country Charts. In addition, as an actress, Dolly Parton has starred in 11 feature films as has received 2 Academy Award nominations. Broken Records Magazine had the privilege to hear Dolly Parton speak on her work and personal life, which gives insight in to her staying power as a musical artist as well as her intrinsic positivity. Her unique diction remains true to her character weather she at home in her own living room, or while she is performing.

On May 13th, 2014, Dolly Parton’s 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke, was released. As strong as the albums before it, this culmination of songs include newly written tracks by Dolly, featuring musical guests from Kent Wells to her long time friends Kenny Rodgers and Willie Nelson, “I think your gonna enjoy those two especially. I love working with both of them. I’ve known em both since I was a young girl. And so we’ve all grown old together but we’re still hangin in.” In addition, Blue Smoke also includes cover songs “Don’t Think Twice”, written by Bob Dylan, and “Lay Your Hands On Me”, written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, but reworked by Dolly into a gospel song. A description of the new album is best expressed by Dolly, herself, from the liner notes, “Every time I do a new album, I try to think of what my fans (you) would like to hear from me right now. Well, right now I’m at an age where I feel I have lived a lot and long and have accomplished so much of what I set out to do as a youngster. Thank God and you for allowing this to be so. On this CD I think there are all of the colors of my life in all the areas of music that you’ve allowed me to dabble in through the years. You will hear my old world mountain voice on songs like “Banks of the Ohio” and “If I had Wings”, my tender side on songs like “Miss You-Miss Me” and “Unlikely Angel,” my country/bluegrass side on songs like “Home,” “Blue Smoke” and “Don’t Think Twice” and my funny young-in-cheek side on “Lover du Jour.” The duets with Kenny (“You Can’t Make Old Friends”) and Willie (“From Here To The Moon and Back”) speak for themselves, but also speaks to that side of me that says friends are so important. “Lay Your Hands on Me” and “Try” really lay out my spiritual and inspirational side and my never-ending desire to try to uplift mankind. I think all of my colors are in here. It was fun to do and I get a chance to work with a lot of the same musicians that perform in my road show so that makes it even nicer cause we all can get excited together knowing that we’re gonna get to perform these songs together on stage. It’s always fun just to write em, sing em, and get out there and do em.” In regard to the songs Dolly feels the most

BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

connection to on the album she responds, “Well, It’s like I’ve always said about my songs, their my children and I hope to have em support me when I’m old. That’s kind of one of my favorite jokes. But it’s true. And so their like your kids, you know, you love em all. Some of em are a little more special and you can sense that and know that, doesn’t mean you love em less. But some of the songs I really enjoy singing. I love the song “If I had Wings” cause I love to sing that kinda song. I love to write that kind of song, it’s got that old world feelin of the songs I used to sing growin up. It’s got a little bit of that spiritual flavor to it. And I love the little song “Miss You-Miss Me” cause it came from a very personal place with something goin on in my own family and I think so many people can relate to it because there are so many people divorcin and the kids always wind up sufferin the most. So those two are real special to me but I enjoy doin songs like the rewrite, reworking, of “Lay Your Hands on Me”, the Bon Jovi song. When I first heard that song years ago, I thought, wow, that sounds so much like a gospel tune, like askin God to lay his hands you. I grew up in a Pentecostal church where we believed in healing and layin your hands on. You know, praying for people who were sick and all that. I called Jon Bon Jovi and asked if he’d be opposed for me workin in that, turning it into a gospel tune. And I called Richie Sambora, whose cowriter on it. So we all three got together and everybody threw in their thoughts and their ideas and they certainly condoned my thoughts and ideas. So that one was like this is gonna be a big surprise to people. People are gonna be shocked when they hear this one.” In regard to “Banks of The Ohio”, Dolly mentions, “I’ve been singing that song and it was just an old folk ballad which they say is from a true story like so many of those old, hundreds of year old songs are. So I just always like it, but it was just such a man’s song to me, you know cause it was just about a guy that killed his girlfriend. And it was just kinda.. like when other people listened they were like that’s weird for her to be singing that. So I decided that I was just gonna write a little part as if I was as journalist, or reporter goin in to interview somebody in the prison and I thought that would make a cleaver little way for me to say, “and then he said, and she said he said.” So anyway, it just seemed to me like it would leave it more open for other women to sing it. Even though I wrote that little part, I’m sure though the years if a woman decides to sing it, I bet they’ll use that and I hope they do.” Dolly Parton has been writing and recording music for fifty years. A lot has

changed in regard to the recording, marking, and touring aspects of the business from what she was accustomed to as a young artist, “Oh Lord, everything is so different than it was when I first came to Nashville. In 1964 when I came here it was so different. You would just go in the studio, and most of the stuff was live. You’d do like a three hour session, you’d maybe have five songs and hope you get em in and go from one song to the next. People didn’t do all the stuff they do now. You don’t even have to be in the studio to record. They can do the music the protools and all the technology, you can sing from your living room. So it’s completely different. But I still, when I record my album I still love to go in the recording studio with my band, which is mostly the same people that I travel with, or bring in some of the great musicians from around the country, especially outa Nashville. And so I still like doin it, like we used to years ago, just so I can keep that feel cause I’m just an old timer. I think it’s wonderful all the new technology and all this new age stuff but I’m still and old timer in that way. I still love to really feel the music and work with the musicians and get in there and sing and do it like we used to as we did. Even the sell of everything, the way people market the music, is just completely different. I don’t know if I’d have ever made it in this new day and age if I was starting right now. You can cover more ground in ten minutes, this day and time, than you used to be able to do in ten years time. So I think it’s great that people are so aware, and everything can be had at the moment. So the fact that I’m still around, I try to surround myself with younger, talented people. Myself, I’m kind of an old timer, but I’m not old in my thinkin. Like I say, I’m as old as yesterday but I’m as new as tomorrow. So I try to get myself in a good position to where I can still get my message out, get my talent out. So I’m just thrilled that I’m still hangin in there.” Despite all this change Dolly has managed to keep her finger on the pulse of what attracts and audience and has remained connected with her original fans as well as continuously gaining new ones. She explains, ““Well first of all people are gonna always be people. We’re gonna have the same thoughts, the same heartaches, you know. And everybody, no matter what’s goin on in the world, we have our true feelings weather its our faith in God, our faith in family, our love for one another, love for our children. And I just love life. I’ve kept a good attitude about it, who knows why we’re really here. So I figure we need to make the most of everything we can while we’re here. I had just enough talent, you know to get out there and make a livin at it. I always said I had more guts than I had

“I’m just thrilled that I’m still hangin in there.”

“One of the things I think about is just how fortunate that I have been to have been able to actually see my dreams come true”

talent. My mother was always very musical, and so I just wanted to make a career out of doin this. And I just love people and I’ve kinda always allowed people to know me, and I think people think of me more like an aunt or a sister cause they’ve grown up with me. And one of the reasons I think I have a lot of younger fans is a lot of the old ones have their children and they play the records around home, they kinda grow up with me too. With the little kids, with my imagination library where I give books out to children, and the fact that I was on Hannah Montana and I was Hannah Montana’s aunt on that very hit show. So that gave me a whole new little audience. So, I’ve just always managed to be on the job to be there. I didn’t want them to forget me so I tried to stay out front.” Like she is currently doing for Blue Smoke, when Dolly prepares to take an album on tour, she mentions there being a lot of work involved, “I tell ya it is really a good year and a half of work before you actually hit the road. Because first of all you’ve got to decide if you really want to do the tour. Second you’ve got to decide what you want the show to be, what the show needs to be. Then you’ve gotta get with your promoters, you’ve gotta get with the people that have to try to sell it, and to see what time of year’s the best time to go. Then you gotta get in and work for weeks and weeks and weeks rehearsin the show and it’s only after you hit the road that you can really rest. I’m serious. I always think oh Lord just let us get on the road so I could get some sleep and get some rest. So all you do after your whole show is together, once you’ve got your lighting, your sound, and your people and all that, you know which is just major, major work to be done by so many people. But then after that all we have to do is a sound check in the afternoon and the show at night and the rest of the time we could pretty much rest and read or write or do whatever you want to do but your show is together. But it’s a lota work, but it’s a joy.” Dolly mentions that touring, as compared to thirty yeas ago is, “better now because you already built and audience so you know your gonna have a crowd. I use to worry if anybody was gonna show up. So more than anything that’s a great relief to think oh yeah their tellin the tickets are sellin really good. It’s fun for me still because I just love the audience, I love to perform. Of course I love to write songs better than anything but then again I love to go sing em, I love to get out on stage and perform em, so it’s kinda like a all around thing for me. But I still enjoy it as much as I did in the old days.” In retrospect of her adorned, fifty year career, Dolly gives herself some recognition, ”Ha, well I’d tell her I’m pretty proud of her. When you get older you really reflect and you really think so many things, and one of the things I think about is just how fortunate that I have been to have been able to actually see my dreams come true cause I know so many people that can’t say

BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

“I still feel like that same little girl, I’m still dreamin, dreamin big” that. I know so many people that are far more talented than me, that’s worked just as hard, and came to town, even some of em round same time I did and never really made it big. So you wonder and you kinda go back to that Chris Christopherson song, “Why Me Lord”. You know, you just really think about all those things. But more than anything, I just think that little girl that headed out from the Smokey Mountains that moved here back in ’64’ to try to make those dreams come true and now here I am at 68 years old and I’ve seen so many of em come true. But what’s so funny, I still feel like that same little girl, I’m still dreamin, dreamin big, I’ve still got new dreams to dream, new dreams I hope to come true so I just love the music, I just love to write, love to perform and I hope to be doin this till I just keel over dead in about 30 years, singing all the songs I’ve written.” For new aspiring artists, as Dolly was when she began to dream, she would tell them, “Well, as I’ve often said, I try not to give advice, I just try to pass on some information if there’s anything I can’t. You know, I think it’s true with everything, like those old sayins of, “to thine own self be true.” I really think there’s so much to that. That people really need to know who they are, what they really want, and know what the strength of whatever their talent really is. And I think you need to be willing to sacrifice for that if you have to. You’ve gotta protect it, but you’ve gotta fight for it. And if you really are that good and you really have that much faith in it, if you really stay at it long enough, chances are it’ll happen. And if it don’t, I’ve always said if your really dreaming an impossible dream, maybe you should know that it’s ok to change dreams in the middle of stream if it’s somethin you see that’s not gonna happen. It’s still good to rework it and rethink what, you know, and apply what you’ve learned from the other stuff to a new dream.” As Dolly light heartedly projects, it will be wonderful to have her sing and write music for another thirty years to come. The words of her fans say it best how much she is loved:

“She’s one of my favorite people because she comes across as so real and so down to earth… and she just says it right off the cuff. And it’s like almost 90 percent of it is quotable, it’s like, “Why didn’t I think of that?”. That’s why I like her cause I just feel that what you see is what you get.” - Chris Rivera, Artist “I love her story, you know. She started out from very humble beginnings and she worked her way up and she built a musical empire. She’s such a sweet heart and she’s so talented, and she’s such a great song writer. I just always looked up to her as a woman and as a singer. I was little, I was probably in elementary school when I heard her for the first time. I first heard coat of many colors and then when I realized she wrote “I Will Always Love You” I had this whole other respect for her.” - Leanne Elizabeth, young singer / songwriter “I’m Martin Little, farmer. I’ve been a country western fan all my life. Always like Dolly Parton because she does the songs that I understand and ya understand every word she sings in em.” - Martin Little, farmer

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“She’s my priority. She’s on my mind 24/7.” 66

JESSIE JAMES

Comin Home with a Diaper and Formula

Armed with diapers, a bottle of formula and a baby on my lap I sat down and chatted with Jessie James Decker. Don’t worry, we spoke over the phone. The hyphenated star just became a mom and released an EP, Comin Home. This was my first interview as a new father. So, I knew this would be a bit of an untraditional phone interview.

The Country singer, who by the way can really sing, chose her favorite track off the record, “Breaking Your Heart.” “It defines me as an artist. I›m so happy and in love in my marriage so sometimes it›s hard for me to write anything that›s bad because I›m never sad. I had a really pull some of these emotions from a past relationship,” said Jessie.

I spoke with Jessie James in 2009 for the July 2009 (Volume I/Issue 2) issue of Broken Records Magazine. At that time, she was promoting the single “Wanted” and riding high on her music on the Confessions of a Shopoholic soundtrack. Fast forward five years and both of our lives have changed. It’s like Jessie and I have had parallel lives. I got married. So did Jessie. I became a parent and Jessie did too. Jessie’s spouse played in the Super Bowl and mine just watched it on the couch with me. Okay, so our lives are a bit different, but that’s not to say that Mrs. Decker isn’t the happiest person on the planet.

So the old songwriter mentality popped into my head and I asked about the old motto, which is “Do you need to be in love to write a love song? Do you need to be sad to write a sad song?” Jessie’s response was, “It definitely helps make it real. In the last three years, I’ve been so madly in love and haven’t felt an ounce of sadness but you know I have to write from experience. I can’t necessarily go in and just write and say ‘let’s pretend I have a broken heart today’ because it’s not going to work. But I was able to pull from those emotions because they kind of did come into my current life. I‘m pretty much saying ‘When I was younger you broke my heart and now you’re coming back into my life. But I’m married and I’m happy. You’re trying to come into this and now I have to break your heart because it isn’t happening. I’m happy so you know it’s kind of little bit of the past little bit of the present!”

Jessie James’ latest EP, Comin Home, was released independently and the 26 year old wouldn’t have it any other way. “There are so many independent artists who don’t have labels,” the singer explained. “I just wanted to make the record I wanted to make. I didn’t want to or have to ask people’s opinions anymore,” she continued. James knew this record was going to “showcase” where she was musically. There’s nothing more real than a newborn baby interrupting a “professional” and “serious” journalistic conversation. In between my questions and Jessie’s responses, Vivianne, Jessie’s daughter, would sneeze. We’d both laugh and totally change our conversation. Music became the backburner topic and babies were number one. Vivianne’s sneezing habits echoed Jessie’s (sneezing over and over), just like my son Noah. We even discussed birth weights. Mrs. Decker was shocked to know that Noah was 8 pounds, 13 ounces but noted that “Vivy”- that’s nickname that her mom gave her- was 8 pounds, 2 ounces but had to be delivered two weeks early. “They were afraid she’d outgrow my body. I’m 5’1” and petite. She would’ve been 10 pounds if we waited and she went naturally.” Once the initial conversation about our babies was out of the way we went back to the world of music.

As for my favorite track on the EP, “Mama Wrote You A Lullaby,” Jessie James co-wrote this song because she wanted to write her a lullaby. James wanted a song she could “play for her to put to sleep” so she could “feel cozy knowing it’s her mama’s voice.” It was also meant for Vivianne to know how “special she was that I wrote her a song before she even came out.” For all the sport’s fans reading this, I’m sure you know that Jessie James is married to Eric Decker, the new wide-receiver for the New York Jets. Decker’s Denver Broncos made it to the Super Bowl in NY/NJ this past February but lost. Although the result wasn’t what the Decker’s had hoped for, Jessie still loved the experience of being at the Super Bowl. Now the Decker’s get to enjoy the NY/NJ area for some time since Eric Decker has been signed with the New York Jets. Jessie had no opinions on being a part of a roster with Michael Vick but is eager to see how the team progresses this year. Jessie James is involved in her singing career and a TV show. But she assures us that none of those matters to her as much as her little girl. “She’s my priority. She’s on my mind 24/7.” by Scott Vollweiler

Cover Story

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Cover Story

Take the vocal prowess of Paramore, the sonic landscape of Anberlin, and then send them to high school; youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have the four siblings known as ECHOSMITH. The Sierota siblings; Noah, Graham, Jamie and Sydney, range from ages 15-20 years old. Since forming in 2009, the foursome have toured the country and released their major label debut Talking Dreams (Warner Bros. Records) in 2013. 69

Cover Story

"The truth is, to really be cool, it is about being yourself and accepting who you are and who you are not. -SYDNEY SIEROTA

Cover Story

bout a w o n on't k d e w s 5 thing MITH S O H EC uld! o h s y l l tota but we

CD 1 1. Nothin To Lose 2. Let Me Go, Rock ʻNʼ Roll 3. Cʼmon and Love Me 4. Rock And Roll All Nite (Live) 5. God Of Thunder (Demo) 6. Beth 7. Hard Luck Woman 8. Reputation (Demo) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 9. Christine Sixteen 10. Shout It Out Loud (Live) 7211. Strutter ʻ78

12. You Matter To Me (Peter Criss) 13. Radioactive (Gene Simmons) 14. New York Groove (Ace Frehley) 15. Hold Me, Touch Me (Paul Stanley) 16. I Was Made For Lovinʼ You (Single Edit) 17. Shandi 18. A World Without Heroes 19. I Love It Loud 20. Down On Your Knees 21. Lick It Up 22. Heavenʼs On Fire

Review by Matt Storm. KISS is a band that needs no introduction. Their new record “KISS 40: Decades of Decibels” is a 40-year retrospective of this epic and talented band. Itʼs chock full of goodies including studio favorites, live tracks, and both previously released and unreleased demos. The mix of live, studio and demos gives the album a variety unlike that of other anthologies. This collection doesnʼt pull its punches and gives you everything to know and love by one of the greatest rock and roll bands to walk this spinning blue rock. Some of my personal favorites are “Rock And Roll All Nite (Live)”, “Lick It Up” and “Psycho Circus.” The previously unreleased demo of “Reputation” was a wonderful treat. The almost rockabilly guitar and backbone of drum and bass make for a fantastic voyage. The guitar solo about halfway through is intricate and engaging. The vocals as expected are tight and playful. All around an A+ track. This album is perfect for the KISS mega fan in all of us. KISS is also going on tour this summer with Def Leppard, another rock and roll giant. These musical badasses are also doing something big for our veterans–they are hiring 2 of them as roadies as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring 500,000 Heroes Program. The tour kicks off in West Valley City, Utah on June 23rd and ends in The Woodlands, Texas on Augus 31st. For more details on the tour visit http://www.kissonline.com/tour where all the show dates and locations can be found. Tickets are currently on sale.

CD 2 1. Tears Are Falling 2. Reason To Live 3. Letʼs Put The X In Sex 4. Forever (Remix) 5. God Gave Rock ʻNʼ Roll To You II 6. Unholy (Live) 7. Do You Love Me? (MTV Unplugged) 8. Room Service (Live) 9. Jungle (Radio Edit) 10. Psycho Circus 11. Nothing Can Keep Me From You

12. Detroit Rock City (Live) 13. Deuce (Live 2004) – UNRELEASED COMMERCIALLY 14. Firehouse (Live – 1999/2000) 15. Modern Day Delilah 16. Cold Gin (Live 2009) – UNRELEASED COMMERCIALLY 17. Crazy Crazy Nights (Live 2010) – UNRELEASED COMMERCIALLY 18. Hell or Hallelujah

LINDSEY STIRLING BRINGS HER SECOND WORLD TOUR TO NEW YORK CITY Images and Review by Vladislav Grach.

fter performing at New York’s Webster Hall 2 years ago Lindsey Stirling made her way back to New York City during her second world tour with an electrifying performance at Terminal 5 that her fans will probably be talking about for months. The story of Lindsey Stirling is one that offers an experience that everyone could relate to. Lindsey’s story is that of perseverance, courage and hope. And all of those personal traits turned her into an artist that cannot be compromised. Support from within Stirling’s fan base on YouTube and across other social platforms brought the dynamic violinist a lot of star power. Her fans who were with her since her debut on America’s Got Talent literally watched Stirling transform into a star before their very eyes. She came from humble beginnings and transformed into a breakthrough artist who is without a doubt somebody that will be watched in the years to come. “Two years ago at Webster Hall it was the craziest experience because I put the show up for sale and I had no idea how to sell tickets because I’ve

never had to sell tickets before. And I honestly didn’t know if anybody would show up. And then long and behold the show was sold out. I remember backstage the audience was chanting my name and I’d never heard that before, ” Lindsey reflected, “It’s really incredible to think about the fact that especially at that time I was trying to figure out how I was going to share my art. I was basically turned down by every record label but you guys decided that I had something to offer. You guys were my support from the beginning and I couldn’t have done it without you. It was here in New York City where it all began,” she continued midst interruptions from the audience members who were now chanting her name again. The AJR Brothers, a sibling trio who grew about performing on the streets of New York City opened the concert for Lindsey Stirling with a set of dynamic and catchy tunes. They spoke about living in New York and being street performers who started mastering their craft at a young age. At a quarter to 9 o’clock Lindsey Stirling made her entrance behind a see through curtain. She played a short introduction medley while her shadow looked tall and danced behind the curtain. The curtain dropped and LED monitors turned on to reveal pattern after pattern of beautiful arrangements. Lindsey was front

lit now and she was looking great. While performing beautiful rendition after beautiful rendition on her violin Lindsey Stirling also danced and displayed a hip hop edge that she’s very well known for. And if you don’t know; Lindsey choreographs beautiful dances that channel a mix of blissful ballet and heavy hitting hip hop. Right before performing ‘Night Vision’ Lindsey Stirling changed into a costume that really set the tone for that song. She changed into a neon green body suit that was glow in the dark. She also switched violins, this time, a beautifully crafted violin with radiant orange glow in the dark outline.

If you’re going to see Lindsey Stirling during her 2014 World Tour then expect an amazing show. You can expect to see extremely cute videos of Lindsey as a child and they will have you feeling like you’ve known Lindsey since she was a child. You can expect to see a dance battle that will showcase the talent of the dancers on tour with her. You can expect to see an energetic performance from a very charismatic person who has a lot of love to give. Go see Lindsey Stirling during her 2014 World Tour in your area. “I believe every person in this room is sexy. I have come to the conclusion that the most important quality of a person is confidence. When a person has confidence they know how to carry themselves. And that causes people to gravitate towards them. I also like to call that swag,” said Lindsey Stirling.

“It was here in New York City where it all began” BROKEN RECORDS | JULY 2014

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