Lee DeWyze, Buckcherry and Toby Keith Issue by Broken Records Magazine

Broken Records Magazine

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Broken Records Magazine

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Broken Records Magazine

Contents

Magazine Volume II/ Issue 4

July 2010

FEATURES

49 32

51 Adam Lambert 18 Country Throwdown

Buddy Guy 32

Cover Stories

Lee DeWyze & Buckcherry

We Are The Fallen 20 Incognito Bandito 49 5

pages 42 & 38 cover photo by Kristin Tully

Broken Records Magazine

Sons of Sylvia

VOLUME II/ISSUE 4 Owner/Editor-in-Chief Photos, Layout Design: Scott Vollweiler

Assistant Editor: Nicole Seblano

Associate Graphic Designer: Adam Loftman

Staff:

Departments Warm Is

Ups True?

7 19

Main Support

Headliners

Live

Reviews

Unsigned Spotlight 61 BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Kristin Tully Ray White Gerard Ucelli Marie Scarsella Kayla Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill Joshua Kail Kyra Kverno Luis Vazquez Paul Seach Janine Scamardella Lindsay Shapiro Meghan Messana Alaura Christine Arin Segal Mikel Schardt Jill Bednar Ray Decker Greg Rothberg Broken Records Magazine is published by Broken Records Publishing. Broken Records Magazine and all its subsidiary companies are governed under state law. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to intern for any of the Broken Records companies, please email us @ BrokenRecordsMagazine@yahoo.com All Logos are used with permission and are owned by the respective artists. Broken Records Magazine prints every 2 months, 6 times a year. To see more photos or to purchase other copies please visit us at: BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Meet New Buzz Artists

WARM UPS By Kayla O’Neill her and just wanted to show our appreciation" The bands debut album, Revelation, came out in April and is already a success. The band chose to name the album this because the song Revelation on the album is a true story and has special meaning to each member. Not only did they debut their own album but they also appeared on Carrie Underwood's new album Play On with the song "What Can I Say". After recording the song with her, another amazing opportunity came for Sons of Sylvia, Carrie asked them to open up for her on tour. Austin told us, "It felt like we were in a crazy dream; kind of like winning the lottery. Carrie had become a good friend of ours and of course we said yes without hesitation". The Sons of Sylvia are certainly on their way and if you're wondering what's next for them, you're not alone. Austin explained, "We don't even know what's next for us. We definitely have some stuff in the works but we can't say exactly. It's a long way away."

The newest music trio to step on the scene is Sons of Sylvia. The trio are the brothers who won the show "The Next Great American Band" competition in 2005 under the name “The Clarke Brothers.” With their debut album, Revelation, out now, their song with Carrie Underwood on her album, Play On, and their recent tour with her, Austin, Ashley and Adam Clarke are certainly on their way to Country music stardom. Recently, Broken Records Magazine had a chance to speak to Austin and he filled us in on everything from when they won the show to their tour with Carrie. When the Clarke Brothers won the Next Great American Band competition in 2005 it jump started their careers. When asked what he believed the bands greatest accomplishment was, Austin spoke of winning the show. When the band decided to change their name, they got it from their motherwhose name is Sylvia. "We did it to honor her. When we were growing up we had a huge family and she was a saint and never complained. We really love

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AGAINST THE WALL and everything when they write. From Pantera to Meatloaf to Phil Collins, they have something for everyone. When potential fans see Against the Wall at a live show, they often ask them why they are the opening band. The fans always get blown away and have a great time at their shows. Dan J. also wanted to thank everyone for taking the time out for listening to them or seeing them at a show. They appreciate each and every fan that they have. You can find out all of the upcoming info for Against the Wall at www. myspace.com/atwband or follow the band on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Shon E. Richards

From right here in New York City, Against the Wall is wrapping up their month and a half tour. After the tour, they will be ready to get back into the studio and record the next Against the Wall album and will be heading back on tour at the end of this year. They enjoy being out on tour and traveling. Against the Wall loves the party experience of touring and meeting new people. They just love hanging out. Their debut album The Truth is now available on iTunes and through their website. Dan Jakubovic (vocals, lead guitars) describes this 13 song album as a “very versatile album.” He says some songs are “heavy,” some are “progressive,” some are “simple,” and some are “ballads” and softer. They are influenced by anything

By Greg Rothberg

By Greg Rothberg Hailing f r o m D e n m a r k , New Politics is the newest thing to hit the music scene here in the United States. New Politics got their time in the spotlight in their hometown when they sent their songs into a competition and they were selected as the winner from out of 972 other bands. One year later, New Politics is touring the U.S. There single “Yeah Yeah Yeah” is a song that should be checked out by everyone. David Boyd, singer for New Politics, describes this single as “catchy…has alot of fresh energy, and that this song works”. Now residing in Brooklyn, New York, New Politics are ready to take over the United States. They have been BrokenRecordsOnline.com

compared to the sounds of Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys, Nirvana and The Pixies. As far as seeing them hitting the stage live, David says that “New Politics likes to have fun and go crazy. T h e y love to perform live and t h e y d o n ’ t h o l d back.” N e w Politics tells their fans to

be prepared for craziness at their shows. They are not afraid to flip off or climb on top of their speakers. They are looking forward to touring the U.S. and meeting all of their fans.

Broken Records Magazine

Articles By Arin Segal Sweet Nothing? I don’t think so.

From an Honor Soceity tour, an album release to the Battelfield tour, comes Ashlyne Huff. Father Dann Huff has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Celiene Dion, and Mariah Carey and the musical talent has trickled down to Ashlyne. Her unique voice and catchy music makes any girl-and even some guys- want to keep listening. When speaking with Ashlyne she said her biggest goal is “to tell everyone’s story in some way.” She then went on to say how although she may write about experiences she has, its “more how to explain or sympathize with someone going through the same ordeal or

someone who has never experienced it at all.” Her favorite song on the album is “Sweet Nothing,” an autobiographical song about a guy who was once something special but is now a sweet nothing. She, on the other hand, is just simply sweet. It is one of her favorite songs to perform solely because she gets a chance to sit down and see the audience and their reaction to her music. The only true way to describe songs like “Comeback,” “Heart of Gold,” and “Sweet Nothing” is Country written Pop. The lyrics are clear but set to a pop sound.

Photos Courtesy of the artists

Brotherly Love

“We bring families together,” said guitarist Jeremiah Ricks as we sat in the Nokia Theater in NYC. Not to be taken too literally, he meant it in a sense that their music is what anyone ranging from age 12 to 112 would like. A fresh Pop sound-combined with catchy, understandable lyrics brings these two sets of Virginia Beach, VA brothers together. It

is only fitting that they have opened for teen sensations Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez and now have taken on a slightly older but still young audience as the openers for Jordin Sparks. With a goal to get a song in top 5 on radio, it seems logical that they open for a multitude of artists to get their name out there. When talking to Jeremiah 4 months after talking to Jeremy and 8 months after seeing them in a small church room with 20 other people as part of a super small

venue tour with 5 other bands, it is safe to say their biggest goal needs to be reconsidered because it will be achieved in the near future. Their song “Speakers” is being added to more and more radio stations each week and is the song that, Jeremiah said, the band would love to be the one to break top 5. From their almost weekly funny videos on YouTube to songs that sound the same live or on their album, Days Difference comprises the goods to be a successful group of grounded guys.

Broken Records Magazine

SWIMS WITH THE SHARKS

by Luis Vasquez BrokenRecordsOnline.com

anessa Brown is speeding like the speed of light. Her debut album “Traveling like the light” is making fans on both sides of the Atlantic. An excellent student who passed on Oxford to pursue song writing, VV found that she could match her lyrics with an equally talented voice and the world was her oyster. But VV does not take for granted her success. She works at it and hopes for the best and this even-keel way of looking at things have served her well. “I go in with the state of mind that I don’t expect. It’s been a surprise it’s been a success around the world, France, England, America. It’s slightly different from what’s out there at the moment. I guess in 2010 I feel the need to go out and show off the record.” Born in Northhampton, England, she was not so much influenced by her parents but given the room necessary to pursue things on her own volition. It’s a bit strange to take Jazz and classical piano lessons on weekends if it wasn’t forced. Not for VV. “My parents-my mother plays piano and a little guitar and my dad tries to sing opera in the kitchen. But I think for me. My parents were very open minded and artistic people and teachers as well. I was in a home where I could be myself and find myself.” VV started with a passion for intellectual things. Despite considering herself “Nerdy,” she also had a love of Hip-Hop and lyrical battles. It’s something she took a loving to immediately. A love of melody and writing as an expression was the first step ultimately to a music career. “Songwriting happened extremely naturally from when I was very young. I didn’t want to be a pop singer. I wanted to be a film composer. Songwriting was the very first thing before I discovered my voice. I had the passion from an early age so it was very easy for me to not go to the university.” VV doesn’t believe in cheating the public. She knows what she brings to the table and works hard at producing things that are highly original in sound and word. With the depression in the music industry, VV as an Indie artist had something the public liked. It’s all in the approach sometimes. “Well, I’m from England where we’ve had the culture of bands forever so I’m quite lucky there. I’ve always been around a culture that where the music conditions are always right for creative artists. I do think in 2009 it was an exceptional year especially for females where things have gone on an international level. It’s because of the state of sales, music companies we use the net and are forced totally take on the opinion of the people who buy the music. You can’t force feed the public anymore. The public generally will gravitate

Broken Records Magazine

to things that are much more credible. VV has used personal experience to draw from in expressing herself through her music. But don’t think that she lays it all out there. Music is a business and there has to be a bit of mystery. VV is a believer in the written word and by reading between the lines you may understand her more if not a complete picture. “People speak to lyrics automatically out of memory. I personally feel that melody is more important. Usually I express things in melody that catch people. People tend to remember melody first. Before they know what the song is about. I think the melodies we provide are the greatest vehicle. People think my lyrics are about my life but not necessarily who I am as a person. Perhaps it can help or inspire someone.” VV will be touring the United States and along with writing for artists and television series, she is in demand. She is the shark in the water. Something you recognize at first glance but with the lack of understanding of the beauty of its being just below the surface. “I’m obsessed with music in a very dangerous way. Music means everything to me. I really can’t answer why it other than I know I can do it. My music travels for many sedimental reasons. You can’t just choose one reason. I wake up in the morning and discover new reasons why I like to do it. It’s kind of intimate. I will do this until the day I die. Life doesn’t get destroyed, it gets converted. I hope for my career to be around a long time, expressing my like images and pervertions and making music in whatever shape or form until I die.

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Interview by Arin Segal

Billy Burke, better known by his teenage following as “Charlie Swan,” the lovable but naive father of “Bella Swan” from the hit movie series twilight, is a recording artist with a brand new album.

How would you describe the new album and what is your favorite song? I don’t know if I really have a favorite song. The whole album has such a great vibe to it and yet within that vibe there are so many different tracks. There’s a song called Vodka Knows and it’s always been a favorite of mine and I wrote it quite a long time ago. The album is a collection of 12 songs, 8 of which I picked out of a catalogue that I’ve written in the past 19 years and then I wrote four brand new songs before I put the record out because I didn’t know I was going to do this so it kind of came out of the ether. If I was going to put out a record I wanted a collection of some of my old stuff and some of my new stuff. So Vodka Knows being one of the old ones I really like that and this song called Seeing Angles which was inspired by my daughter and I really like that one too.

Do you think you might go on tour when you get a break in your acting schedule? I have every intention of doing that if I can get some time. Right now its not looking like I’m going to be able to do that with the schedule ahead, I’m pretty much booked with movies until about next spring, so maybe next summer.

How has Charlie changed since the last movie? To be honest not a lot. He is still oblivious to what’s going on, still cares very deeply about his daughter, he still would do anything to protect her, he is still deeply frightened by the experiences that he doesn’t know about that are going on in her life and we just pick up where that left off.

Does the relationship with Bella stay the same? I think it gets a little richer every time now that she’s been up in Forks for a little longer and they’ve gotten very comfortable with each other. As with any relationship that is reunited after years, the more time you spend together the more comfortable you Have you recorded any songs for get with each other and I think that’s what has happened with Bella and the Twilight movies? No. They have managed to put Charlie. together some great soundtracks to the movies with some great artists Other than the Twilight Saga and not that I wouldn’t let them use movies, what other projects are one of my songs, I just don’t think you working on? that this particular record would be I’m doing this television series, that fitting style and vibe wise for the Rizzoli & Isles, and then I’m off to do a SUPER SECRET project that I movie. can’t talk about yet but you will hear about in the next few weeks, and then Team Jacob or Team Edward? I don’t have an opinion but Charlie its off to do the next two Twilight Swan would definitely lean towards movies in the fall. Jacob.

Broken Records Magazine

Cruel Black Dove

It must be noted when a band can take a different approach while often winging it they find that they have carved a new path for their talent and creative juices to flow. Cruel Black Dove is just such a band. On this evening at the Bowery Ballroom, the chemistry which was quite apparent in sound-check confirmed who is in charge. The group was formed and revolves around lead singer Anastasia Dimou, who along with bassist Shirley Ho, drummer Jonathan Nanberg and guitarist Alan Veucasovic, Cruel Black Dove has made a name for themselves in three short years. One of the reasons they stand out is because they refuse to be labeled and Anastasia in particular believes in the balance of variety. “I hate to pigeon-hole because I think the labels we create for this and all kinds of bands in music are limiting and our sound really varies. I would describe it as blood pumping through your veins. It’s heavy and at times big and bold and atmospheric and at other times it can be a little more moody so we really run the gambit.” The method of choosing such a foursome was tedious at best. It coincided with Anastasia’s move to Los Angeles. It was essential that the band was of the same mind and goals. It was BrokenRecordsOnline.com

by Luis Vasquez a slow process but the personalities involved complemented the powerful sultraic vocals of Ms. Dimou. When the pieces came into play something magical emerged from the daily grind of auditions which disqualified far more than it qualified. “We met a lot of people. I put out my feelers first. I wanted to play music in Los Angeles at the time. I met guitarist/keyboard player Alan. That was an instant sort of reaction. We wrote a song the first day. Jonathan the drummer, he walked in; he was amazing. He blew our mind. He was nice, normal, cool, and funny. With Shirley, we had a rapport. Even though I thought she hated me, I knew she was reliable and now she’s like my sister.” Shirley concurred, “I thought she hated me too. (laughs) It’s a girl thing. It’s funny because I was in a band a few years ago and I decided to start again. They were actually the second band I e-mailed. I saw they had similar music tastes and their music and samples sounded great.” Cruel Black Dove is in the midst of working on a new project. Yet currently they have ridden the success of their two EP’s –the latest called the “The Myth and the Sum.” The origin of the name is more a compilation of ideas fused together into something that could represent their respective views. “We were just thinking of names, words that worked well together for me. I’ve always liked doves, the imagery. We added Black for a little drama and cruel for a little story; an interesting paradox. The symbol of rebirth and the spirit behind it. But we had to make up a story because we’re more than just happy good times.” Cruel Black Dove has found that their music translates overseas as well. They toured in Iceland and found that they appreciate the view Europe takes towards music. “It was pretty packed

for a decent sized venue. I think people started to really get into it.” Anastasia adds, “Here people are a little more subconscious and are not as willing to say what they like until they know everyone else likes it. In Europe it’s like “F- you, I like this. That’s kind of the way we are.” The origin of the bands members forms of expression sometimes resided in other areas. Shirley Ho, for example was born in Taiwan where she was influenced by Hip-Hop, very popular on the island. “I did fashion for a while. I went to art school. Music is something that’s very direct. It speaks to a lot of people.” Anastasia adds, “I write most of the lyrics and Allen does a lot of the songwriting, but everyone contributes something.” However the thing that drew Anastasia to the thoughts of a career was bred during her childhood. It was the young woman who put her headphones on and stared at the ceiling seeking that connection to her peers. It was at an open mic that the idea became solid matter. “I thought I would be a doctor. I did the open mic thing and found it to be fun and cool and I really liked it and OMG like no one is like booing me off the stage so this is good.” Anastasia is at home in the city. Having been raised in Deer Park, Long Island she worked for her dreams in a poor family. She found that music has a defining edge for her and she is not ready to give up on it now. “I would be really bored and unhappy if I wasn’t releasing some kind-it’s weird-but I have to make music. It’s half we want to make a living off of it. I want to play huge crowds because I love to interact with people. I make friends with other creative people. Making a song is an itch that I have to scratch. It drives you fucking crazy to get to the perfect song. It’s the chasing of the elusive dream”

SARA WATKINS SARA WATKINS

Broken Records Magazine

by PAT SLYMAN In this generation, and especially in this country, you can find any type of music you are looking for and even some you aren’t. In a time pop music is can barely be classified because of the immense amount of music people are listening to, you do not here much of what Sara Watkins has to offer. Sara Watkins is a 29 year old fiddler reigning from Vista, California. Sara has been playing music her entire life, forming the band Nickel Creek with her brother and a friend when she was just 8 years old. Sara and older brother Sean were heavily influenced by bluegrass and country music that their parents instilled on them at a very young age. Nickel Creek began as an opening act, playing traditional and country standards, they opened for numerous bands before landing their own spot. While on a world tour, Sara met up with John Paul Jones after an England show. John is a fan of Nickel Creek, he and Sara got to talking and when Sara mentioned she had been working on a solo album, Jones insisted she let him produce it. “John’s a really great guy, he loved Nickel Creek and everything we were about.” Sara said, “He wanted to work with me on my solo album, but made sure not to interfere and to let me do it my way, the way he enjoyed seeing me play for so long.” When Sara began work on the solo album, she admits it was not easy. “I had been a member of a band for so long, and one of the best parts, I feel, was the songwriting process, because it was such a group effort. One of us would pitch an idea and we’d all work with it and see what came out. When you’re making a solo album, it’s a tough process because you want each song to sound a certain way, and you want the lyrics to fit in with the music, when you’re doing this all on your own it becomes tough at times, but it’s all part of the process.”

Sara’s self-titled solo album released in April of 2009. Since then, she has been touring as a solo artist, entertaining fans worldwide with her wide range of talents that include the fiddle, ukulele, guitar, and singing. “Being on the road is fun, you get to meet and perform for all sorts of people, and see so many great sites, I especially enjoy making stops in New York. I must stress though, how important home life is. Having been on the road touring most of my life, the breaks in between where I can just be home and relax for weeks at a time is just great, and it helps me reset myself for whatever is coming next.” Sara is constantly working, whether on the road or home she is always writing new songs or thinking of new ideas that will eventually become songs. “That’s the beauty of being a musician, you never stop learning, and that’s so important. When I tour or do a project and I’m paid for it, that payment , ultimately, is to fund my next project. When I’m finished with one song, one album, one instrument; I move right on to the next one. No matter what your situation is, as people we should never give up that urge to constantly be learning new things.” Sara has great love for, and enjoys keeping in touch with her fans. She has her own facebook and twitter accounts. Although she updates the twitter more often, “Not only is it easier, it’s more convenient for me because I can easily update from my cell phone while on the road.” Sara is currently on tour and her self-titled album is available to purchase anywhere from her website, to wherever cds are sold.

Broken Records Magazine

Who is The Summer Set you may ask? The Summer Set consists of brothers John and Stephen Gomez, Brian Dales, Jesse Bowen and Josh Montgomery. This band has found a way to bring something new and vibrant to the table. People everywhere can be easily found singing along to their catchy new CD “Love like This”. One member mentioned “While writing songs we try not to go for one genre in particular but try focusing on the lyrics”. This CD reflects and sums up the average life of all teens- road trips, dating, parties, and being young. This up and coming band found themselves, as they said “lucky” to be chosen for the AP tour. They traveled across the country with bands Never Shout Never, Hey Monday, Every Avenue, and The Cab. The Summer Set’s song “Chelsea” has become a hit and also based on true events. John Gomez told us about Brian Dales’ crush on Disney star, Chelsea Staub, which he wrote for her before they began dating. “I guess writing a girl

song, actually does work,” Gomez joked. When coming down to writing, the band had trouble with some of the bridges of their songs. “It was a bit of a setback but the criticism helped,” stated Gomez. During the tour the band has experienced the good time and the bad times, from Brian jumping off stage and breaking his ankle to just enjoying life on the road. The band proves that even with a lot of setbacks, they are devoted to their music and nothing will hold them down. Lead singer, Brian Dales was even featured on the April edition of AP Magazine. They hope to travel internationally to the U.K. but are also rapturous about touring in Canada and U.S. for now. The Summer Set will also be doing the Warped Tour this upcoming summer. They plan on staying on tour for as long as they can. Their goal on tour is to try to share the experience; the fans are what make their dreams possible. With this new band having such individuality, it’s hard to see what fresh and unique album’s and tour ideas The Summer Set has coming for us in the future.

By Natalie Clark

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Featuring Music’s Biggest Stars

Main Support GLAM IT UP WITH

ADAM LAMBERT By Gerard Ucelli Photo by Scott Vollweiler In the past year, Adam Lambert has been a huge topic of conversation in the aspects of music and personal controversy. Regardless of what opinion is approached towards him, one can’t deny how fast his music career launched after being the runner up on the 2009 season of American Idol. In the past year along, Lambert has released an album, For Your Entertainment (2009), performed on the AMA’s, and is currently starting up his Glam Nation tour. Not bad for a rookie in a complicated process of a game better known as the music industry. When the conference call took place with 40 different publications on June 2nd, every company only was required to asking one question and for someone like Lambert; an interview can possibly turn into a whole book (satirically speaking of course). “I definitely always loved like the big pop tours. People like Michael Jackson and Madonna and my first tour I ever saw was Paula Abdul,” Adam Lamber remembered. “People that put on a show you know what I mean? They take their music and they create a visual and a story and a theme. They kind of interpret maybe a song both musically BrokenRecordsOnline.com

and visually to give it a context and that’s something that’s really important to me. Also I think that my background in musical theatre came through a lot with this production. I definitely wanted it to be first and foremost about the music, but a close second is giving an audience something to look at and give them a reason why ‘ok this is the next song’,” said Lambert. Looking toward his musical future, we wondered how the second albums is kind of like the hit or miss for a musician’s career. In the music industry, this is so true because the second album is proven to evaluate consistency. It also distinguishes between people who are consistent and just a fluke. What made our question even more valid is that it was specifically directed at American Idol contestants. So the issue was, how Lambert’s music could surpass the dreaded sophomore slump? “You know it’s funny I think that my first album was completed in 3 months and I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish in that little amount of time. I think the second album is even going to be better with a little more time to spend. This is certainly a lovely luxury and I think that now I’ve been also able to be on the road for a year. I think I learned more about the business and about myself as an artist and audience expectation. I think I’m going to be more artistically educated this time around,” said Lambert. Then eventually, it came

down to my question relating to Lambert’s roots in American Idol. I asked him to explain the process of an American Idol contestant breaking out to the music industry. “I think that all the people that go through this show kind of have that in common. We all have experienced the process and it’s funny because American Idol is an amazing platform with a great challenge and experience. It teaches you a lot, but the actual recording industry is a whole other world so I think everybody has to make that adjustment. All of a sudden with all the choices you make realistically you’re dealing with a record label and a management company. It’s different than taking matters into your own hands on a reality competition show,” said Lambert. Lambert, who is currently headlining his first tour, titled the “Glam Nation Tour,” is all about the glitz and glam of the business. Can he withstand the pressures of the business or will he become just another American Idol runner-up? Stay tuned!

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Is It True?

Is it true that American Idol winner, David Cook, is recording his follow up to his platinum debut for RCA Records?

TRUE! Thanks to Broken Records Magazine’s Twitter

followers, we have found out that David Cook and his band is holed up at Emblem Studios with producer Matt Serletic. 19

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EXCLUSIVE

interview with drummer,

Most people know about everything that happened with Evanescence and certain people moving on and certain people leaving. What was your reason for actually leaving? I can’t actually talk about it. I’ve been legally told that I can’t talk about it. We have contracts and stuff saying if we leave the band we were not allowed to talk about whatever happens internally within the band. So I don’t want to get in any trouble with stuff that I shouldn’t be talking about. Doesn’t that sound weird though that it seems like a business rather than a band? When the band was formed back then, it was how it had to be at the time. They needed some people to help them out on the road and we had been with them in the club days and stuff. We were the hired guys, but we were already friends so it was easier to make it look like a band. It works like that sometimes and that’s why we did it completely different this time. From what I read so far on the internet and interviews and seeing things through TV shows, you guys actually seem like a close group of friends rather than just hired guns like you said. It looks real because it actually is, so it’s easy for it to come off like that because we are actually really good BrokenRecordsOnline.com

ROCKY GRAY

friends. If we didn’t have a band today, I would still want to hang out with these guys right now. After Ben [Moody] left though, were you still in touch with him and is that what made it easier forming a new band? Yeah, we stayed in touch. He decided he wanted to jam with us again and it was easy for us to say “no problem, let’s do this.” There didn’t have to be much of an agenda at all. It was like “do you guys want to hook up and do something?” and I was like “of course.” That’s all that had to be said. Were good to go from then on and whatever happens was cool with us. As you said you were friends with the guys like Amy and Ben beforehand. Were you guys actually jamming as a band well before they got signed? I played on one of the first demos, but I didn’t really know Ben. That’s how I got to know Ben- playing on the demo. That was a “Hey…I need somebody on this track and the studio he was at knew me so they called me. It was just like that. Ben has been around in the scene. I was in “Living Sacrifice” at the time so he would come to see the band and stuff. John actually played with them a lot longer than I did, but that was with Living Sacrifice so I was busy a lot and they had other drummers and stuff like that and I might have started playing with them

right before or right after they started working with the label. It was like “We need someone to play with us.” Obviously coming from the American Idol background, I had read that Ben had met Carly [Smithson] through a mutual friend. Did you actually get to meet her and how long after was it that you actually get into practice with her? It all happened really fast. He called us and said that he had hooked up with Carly and they talked and everything was going amazing and we should do this. We were like “okay.” So not long after- I mean probably a matter of weeks. We played “Barracuda” and this was a great decision for everybody. We are all where we need to be. We played together and everything flowed really well. The guys already get along anyway. It was always having the new person you don’t really know. Carly has that type of personality where she can get along with everybody pretty much. I mean it was very easy for us to just feel that we know her for a long time already. Do you look forward into this next band? I’ve got to be skeptical. #1: it’s another female singer- hopefully I don’t have the same situation I just came out of and #2 here’s a girl from American Idol- how could she be schooled singing rock music? Were you skeptical at all? I really didn’t know what to expect. Before we jammed together, all I had to go by was what I saw on the Internet. That’s not the greatest thing to judge somebody from. You never know what kind of day they’re having. It sucks doing that, but I was open to that. I understood that just watching the stuff on YouTube was not going to really do it. The deal was done. When we got in a room, she came dressed in a black hoodie and all dressed in black. From YouTube, you’re not going to expect that. I don’t know what I was expecting. It wasn’t that though. She came in as one of the guys, great personality. Once I got to know her a little bit and hanging

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out with her and playing some songs with her, I really feel like I didn’t have to worry about anything. It’s such a new thing and everything feels so different with this than what we had going on before and there really wasn’t a lot of “I need to worry about this” with a female singer and all this stuff, we just made this band totally different then how the other band was even made so I really didn’t have feelings like that. Everybody is so comfortable with everybody in the band. Even though a lot of us have known each other for 10 years, but this band feels like we’ve been together for that long. In this short time we created a lot of history together. It’s real different. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to find new people that feel like you have been friends with forever. We’ve been blessed to have an opportunity like that because that just doesn’t happen often. I was wondering how come a label like Wind Up didn’t say “Hey you’ve got former Evanescence members-obviously we’ve been friends with you at one point. Why don’t we sign you” but you guys went to Universal Republic. Was there anything like that or was Republic like “I want you guys?” I believe that’s the way it worked. It worked out like that where Republic came to us and it was really the first one right off the bat that got what we were trying to do and you can’t beat Universal. It’s amazing and we definitely were happy a label like that had any interest for us. That’s beyond amazing as if they would want to give us a shot. Describing the difference on making albums in the past and now making this album, what was the differences right off the top and tell me about the writing and recording process. How long did it take to write and record? Was it recorded in New York or Los Angeles? Give me all the details. We wrote and recorded everything in L.A. in NRG Studios with Jay Baumgartner, Dan Certa and ourselves producing and mixing the record respectively. We came in with the writing process and we were like “ok let’s get some songs together.” Me and John are still in Little Rock, Arkansas. We would bring as much as we could

“It looks real because it actually is, so it’s easy for it to come off like that because we are actually really good friends. If we didn’t have a band today, I would still want to hang out with these guys right now.” -Rocky Gray 21

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in home to L.A. to just get a head start on everything. So we started writing immediately in Little Rock, but we got from home to L.A., me and John would stay at Marty’s house so were all together. It was just 6 weeks of everyday something new pretty much. Just from what we brought from Little Rock. There might have been 4 songs written in Little Rock; the music for it and it kind of flashed out when we got to L.A. and things like that. Then Ben would bring stuff from home and show it to us and show how to use it. Having a record written in 6 weeks is crazy. It happened fast because I think there was so many writers and from the ideas. Then we give our demos to Carly and she was coming back with vocals, vocal ideas, and lyrics. Then I’m bringing lyrics and Ben’s bringing lyrics. There’s so many writers in this band that it’s a lot easier to get stuff done in a short period of time. It was easy. It wasn’t a struggle trying to get songs. I mean we had tons of songs. I can’t even remember how many songs we had. It’s taking all those songs and going “here’s the songs we need to concentrate on and we’ll make those the best songs they can be and going from there.” So that was easy and we had electronic drums that I could play right after John would write a guitar part, he would write a whole song with guitars, and I would write a whole drum track to it and then we would hand it to Marty cause he’s right in the next room and he’s putting bass on it so a whole song could be done in one night. In our pre Production time, it’s super easy to finish something. The basic idea is done in one night. We took a while recording. We wanted to take our time and make it the best one we could. I mean there was a lot of ideas. Ben had a lot of string ideas and choir ideas and stuff like that. We get all of those fleshed out and David Campbell would have string sections and stuff ready for us and that’s the basics of it. There’s a lot of time taken on vocals. There has to be certainties where Carly loves it on the demos and stuff, but when you get to the studio, you can feel it a lot more in the studio and you can get more comfortable BrokenRecordsOnline.com

with the songs. There was a lot of time as you can tell. The vocals are awesome on the record and were really proud of her. You were talking about how you record with electric drums. Evanescence obviously had that very digital drum sound. Were you looking to try and span away from that and use more live drums this time around or was it like “let’s just keep it a mixture of sequenced drums that are processed with live drums?” There are minimal amounts of electronics. There’s a lot of electronics still, but as far stuff that is strictly a loop or something like that on the record, there’s only two songs. Well on the record there’s really only one song, where there was electronic loops only. It would the first verse, the second verse, than the real drums would come in and stuff like that. This record is 95% real drums on the whole thing. You have been getting a lot of love from old Evanescence fans becoming We Are The Fallen fans. Obviously you’re going to see some people who are comparing and it’s going to be negative. What do you say to those people who won’t have that open mind to say that it’s two different bands? What do you say to those people who are being way too negative to the comparisons? There’s not a lot you can say to them because like you said there already close minded so whatever you would say to them they would just come back with something else that doesn’t make any sense. So there’s really nothing you can say to them. We just let the music speak for itself and a lot of times they come around. We’ve seen it happen. During this whole time we’ve been out, we’ve seen some of those close minded people come around and be like “what’s up, I actually do like this.” Maybe in time they’ll come around, but if not that’s fine too. There’s always going to be haters. I think we are doing good with all the new fans we are getting and the close minded people are going to miss out on this.

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PHIL VASSAR interview by Ray White The piano is a huge element in your music. Where does that influence come from? Elton John, Billy Joel, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder. My dad loved those guys, he had a lot of that old school stuff around when I was young and it really taught me to listen to music. So I grew up listening to all of them. When did you first start playing piano? Around my freshman year in high school. I never took lessons or anything. I really just wanted to play. I heard Lionel Richie’s “Easy Like Sunday Morning” and I thought I have to learn how to play that. And that was it, how it started. You co-wrote with other artists on a lot of songs for Traveling Circus. Is it easier or more difficult for you collaborating on a song with someone else? I love to co-write . A lot of the projects lately I’ve been writing by myself, so it was fun to get back with my cowriters, hang out and have someone in the room with me instead of being by myself. Is there anyone you especially enjoy writing with? There’s so many. My best friends are songwriters, Tom Douglas, Charlie Black and Tim Ryan. I was married to a songwriter, so we wrote a lot of songs back when we were still together. I really like it, especially since songwriting is my passion. What’s the big thing that makes Traveling Circus stand apart from your previous work?

Well, I love the fact that all the guys from my band played on it. That’s something special that we did it all together. My childhood friend Jeff Smith, who’s also in the band helped out a lot. It was just really special this time around. When you’re collaborating on a song, how does that change the dynamics in the studio? It doesn’t usually make too big of a difference. Usually if a songwriter is working with an artist they just pass the song off and say it’s yours now, do what you have to do. So they weren’t in the studio trying to direct, telling you it needs to be this way or that? Oh no no no, it doesn’t work that way. I have worked with writers who do that and it was the last time I wrote with them. But you kinda know already, guys who say just go cut it the way you want to cut it. Everybody is usually happy with the way things turn out. The track “Bobbi with an I” from Traveling Circus is hilarious, and the video is as well. Is there a real Bobbi with an I out there? Oh yeah, there is. Believe me, I’m not that smart to make up that stuff. A lot of people just did not get that song. I don’t understand it, I think it’s as simple as it gets. I think a lot of people have just lost their sense of humor, it’s just gone. Like they’re looking way too deep into everything? That’s exactly right. It’s about as on the surface as it gets. It’s just fun, all

about having a good time. I’m not trying to save the whales every time I write a song. You casn’t do that, it’s no fun. In addition to your own records you do a lot of songwriting. Is that your true passion in music? That’s hard to say, I don’t think so. I grew up wanting to perform more than anything. It’s what I really wanted to do. Each aspect, writing, recording and performing have their own special place for me. But being on stage, singing and having folks sing back to you, it’s really awesome. Part of your upcoming tour takes you over to London and other spots in the UK. How are fans across the pond, in comparison to country fans here in the US? I think they’re not so much country fans over there, they’re music fans. They really just like singer/ songwriters, which is really cool. That’s my kind of place. Europe’s a lot of fun, so is Australia. We love playing in different parts of the world, but it’s always good to get back home.

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By Ray Decker BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Broken Records Magazine

Gary Cherone is known to be a very versatile singer and songwriter. Van Halen recruited him because of this reputation, and it was unfortunate for them that it didn’t work out (don’t worry, there will be no Van Halen questions asked here). For the diehard fans of his and Extreme it worked out for the best because, much to their delight, Extreme is reunited. I was fortunate enough to talk with Gary about Extreme’s future and the music he is making now. Gary mentioned that “we never really broke up because of a fight or anything; we just went our (separate) ways. We always kept in touch.” Extreme’s Reunion was always going to happen according to Gary as he stated “It was never a matter of ‘if’ as much as it was going to be a matter of ‘when.’” They finally reunited for an album in 2008 (Saudades de Rock) followed by a tour. This happening after playing reunion shows, many one-offs, starting in 2004. They had a successful tour that included playing dates with King’s X and Ratt. Gary stated, “we saw King’s X in 1991 in London. We met the guys, we were big fans. We always wanted to tour with them and it never happened. So when we got back together, they were the first on our list. That tour was tremendous.” And the dates with Ratt happened because Nuno Bettencourt happens to be good friends with Warren DeMartini. When asked how the current state of the music business has affected Extreme and winning over new fans Cherone stated, “When we got back together and did a new record, we had the artist development and were fortunate enough to have toured the world… what was wild to experience was there was this new generation of kids under 20 years old and they were turned on by the technology we are talking about now. One of our songs is on Guitar Hero, so there is always this crop of young fans on one side of the stage that are looking at Nuno as a guitar god. We were fortunate enough to have “More Than Words” in a bunch of movies. So there’s different avenues for music to be heard other than radio.” With their tour over

and Nuno on the road with Rihanna, Extreme has a live album and DVD coming out called “Take Us Alive” which Gary was very happy about. “Don’t ask me why we haven’t done this before, but we’re ecstatic that it’s finally going to come out. We had a good show; we ended the tour in Boston, our hometown. Everyone played well and the good thing about this CD – we do pretty much the spectrum of Extreme from the first record to Saudedes de Rock. We feel like we played some of the old songs better now than when we did those records.” When asked about another tour, Gary went on, “Nuno’s on the road with Rihanna, so it depends on the length of her tour. . . This is a long shot, but we’re talking about doing a string of dates for Pornograffitti’s 20th anniversary.” As far as doing another Extreme album, Gary says “Absolutely! That’s stuff we both can do. Me and Nuno write stuff and he’s on the road right now, but in between legs I’ll go out to L.A., he’ll come up to Boston. There’s a plan of definitely writing another record. Just to be on the record, even though it was a reunion record (Saudades de Rock), we considered the band coming back (together) and this was the first of many.” While Nuno is on tour, Gary mentions that he is not sitting still and waiting for the next Extreme record. “While Nuno’s on the Rihanna tour, I’m just finishing up a record with my brother Mark – he plays guitar. . . The project is called HurtSmile. I just got off the phone with Bob St. John, whose going to be mixing this record. He’s kinda always been the 5th member of Extreme. He’s done all those records with us. Hurtsmile is the name of the band and the record should be coming out in the summer. This is rock – probably more stripped down than Extreme.”

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Broken Records Magazine We have all been to plenty of concerts before. The band, the lights, the crowd, it is all so electrifying to say the least, but it always seems to run in the same routine. The band comes out, they play the music we all love so much, and then it’s on to the next show. Once in a while, however, an artist appears who decides to take w h a t is “routine,” and shake it up, doing things their own way perhaps to gain a different reaction from fans. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? You be the judge of that. You buy two tickets online, you show up to your hometown arena at the time the show is going to start, you are satisfied with your seats, you’ve got your snacks, all you’re waiting on now is the show you paid to see, then something happens. Suddenly, the lights go out, a smoke filled stage lit only by dim, neon lights, becomes occupied by a tall man in a long trench coat, black boots, a western-style hat, and a face completely covered with paint. No, you are not at a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” nor are you seeing “Wicked” on Broadway, you are at a concert featuring famed guitarist John Lowery known best to his fans as John 5. John 5 has achieved worldwide success, and question with his gritty, yet virtuosic guitar playing, dark , hard rock music, perfectly unique stage tactics and attire that are all sure to make his audience get their moneys worth. Some may question his technique simply because it is nothing like the music industry has ever seen. Just a look at his album covers and parents will second guess buying the record for their children. But when given a closer look, behind what may be referred to by other generations as “devil’s

music,” and behind a face full of spooky paint designs and attire you might not find anywhere but New York City at midnight, there is an awesome guy that was willing to explain it all. Born in Michigan as John Lowery, John became intrigued by the guitar at the age of seven. Having been influenced by such bands of that time as the Monkees, and Kiss, and even musical television shows such as “Hee Haw,” John immediately knew he wanted to be a guitarist, “It just seemed so cool, watching those guys do it, I knew early on it was what I wanted to do”. Seeing the dedication he had, John’s parents bought him his first guitar, “My parents always backed me in my playing, just as long as it didn’t interfere with my school work.” In 1996, after playing for a number of years, John moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his dream. After playing in his first band called “Alligator Soup,” John met some very important people, including ex-Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, this was great for John, and it was to become his first form of commercial success with a band called 2wo. Ironically, 2wo was only together for two years; however they did produce one single that obtained limited commercial success, “I’m a Pig”. 2wo was on a world tour as part of the Ozzfest lineup, but the tour had been cancelled, signaling the end of 2wo. However, John 5’s career had only just begun. It’s clear to see that John has always been drawn in by the heavy metal and dark underground music that all parents hate. So why the makeup? Why the costume? Why the stage act? John responded: “Well having been such a huge music fan my entire life, I’ve been to plenty of concerts, and followed artists just like any other fan does. Any fan can put in their favorite record and listen to music for free, when they pay money to see their favorite artist live, they deserve more than just music, they deserve a show. You go to some concerts these days and sadly you can’t tell the band from the audience despite the fact that they’re holding instruments and microphones, everyone

Broken Records Magazine looks the same. The attire is my way of being an individual, and rather then just expressing myself through my music, I do it through my appearance as well, and the fans seem to love it.” In the years following 2wo, John’s name could be seen and heard just about everywhere having teamed up with such artists as David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson, Meatloaf, and currently, Rob Zombie. When asked about playing with such huge names, John replied: “It’s quite an honor, you know, to listen to these guys and look up to them, even learn from them. Then being asked to play for them is just unbelievable, and when you team up with someone, musically, and you feel such awesome chemistry, you just go with it, and that’s when the magic happens.” This led me to ask John which of his fellow musicians was his favorite to play with. “It’s hard to say, I had a lot of fun with everyone I’ve had the pleasure to team up with over the years, I guess it’s just the thrill of being on stage that’s able to connect any musicians alike, so yea, I guess you could say I was just always having fun, whoever I surrounded myself with at that time.” Most of us know John primarily through his ties with Marilyn Manson, so I felt it my duty to ask about the details of their relationship. “Manson’s an awesome guy, I had a lot of fun playing with him, and we learned a lot from each other. A lot of our fans feel that our run together wasn’t long enough. But I’ve played with so many people over the years and when it’s time to go separate ways is when I go. Manson’s a great friend of mine and we keep in touch, but musically we’re just not on the same level anymore. He’s doing his own thing and I wish him all the best and I’ve got plenty going on with my solo career as well as with Zombie.” Currently, John is working on more than one project. He recently released his fifth solo instrumental album titled “The Art of Malice”; he is also the proud endorser of Fender’s J5 signature Telecaster, which reflects his image just as much as the music that he makes from it. John is also still an active member of Rob Zombie’s band playing lead guitar and backing vocals. Zombie is currently on tour and John 5 can be seen along side of him every step of the way. BrokenRecordsOnline.com

To add even more prestige to such a successful musician in the rock world is John 5’s signature guitar. Teaming up with Fender in 2004, John has built his own custom telecaster guitar, made exactly to his liking with a sound any hard rocker is sure to fall in love with. As far as the display of the guitar, John likes to keep it simple: “I’m more about the sound as far as customizing guitars I plan to use, the looks are still for my taste, I just didn’t go all out on it. The Tele I use most of the time is black on black as you can imagine. I asked Fender to install a Fender USA Enforcer humbucker as the bridge pickup, I use that one far more often than the single coil at the neck; it gives me the perfect tone for soloing.” O t h e r notable features about the axe are the rosewood fingerboard, and the dualvolume system, which allows you separate volume control for each pickup. This comes in handy for those players that enjoy the sound of both pickups simultaneously. The Fender J5 Telecaster is perfect for any true John 5 fan looking for that vintage sound that John himself coined.

‘Victory’

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For

Taproot has been a consistent band in the nu-metal scene since 2000 when they came out with their mainstream debut Gift. Ever since then they have went through a different record label, which is now Victory Records, a new member, Nick Fredell in replacement of Jarrod Montague, and a progressively heavier sound album after album. In the year 2010, they have delivered with great success on their new album, Plead The Fifth. All of the songs were absolutely profound in their own way, but there is always that one song that completely stands out from the rest. This time it is not their single, “Fractured (Everything I Said Was True).” I’m not taking away from the single at all; however the best song off of Plead The Fifth is arguably “Release Me.” “I think that’s one of the songs that stand out. Everyone liked that song out of Plead The Fifth. It can be really heavy and beautiful or really ugly and beautiful at the same time,” said Dewolf. Taproot has always been known to having this aggressive edge in the nu-metal scene where even though certain songs contain catchy melodies, there are other songs that possess this legitimate force of anger that comes off technically proficient for a whole album. When the question was asked on how Plead The Fifth was compared/contrasted to their other albums, aggressiveness was definitely one of the factors brought into place. “I think it is definitely a firm thing. We made a conscious effort to go back to the first and second album. A way to bring it back is this baritone, more aggressive than the last two albums,” said Dewolf. As stated earlier, Taproot has recently signed with Victory Records this past year after dropping from Atlantic Records back in 2006. Any type of starting over always turns out to be a turn for the better because the past experiences usually provide bands a learning experience of what to do and what not to do. As far as Dewolf’s opinion on signing to Victory Records, there were no complaints to put it at best. “It’s been very cool. They have been working really hard for us and we have been working hard for them. Now

Guitarist, Michael Dewolf discusses signing to Victory Records, Plead The Fifth, and more

we are bringing back heavier sounds,” said Dewolf. Starting out in music, there is this feeling of inspiration from at least one other band that had this infinite amount of impact to contribute in pursuing a dream. A relatable topic was presented to Dewolf when he was hypothetically offered of which bands he would dream to open up for that hasn’t happened already. “I know we had a chance to open up for the Deftones. Alice in Chains would be nice,” said Dewolf. It should be considered second nature that whenever a band releases a new album, a new tour will come right after. In Taproot’s case the tour details that were given as far as who else would be playing. “The rest of the tour has bands like Ice Nine Kills, A New Revolution, and besides some local bands, that’s pretty much the rest of the tour,” said Dewolf.

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Leslie West

Over thirty years ago, Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi teamed up to form Mountain. Now, more than three decades later, with his original band mate gone, Leslie West is still making music and hoping that it gets through to the younger generation in today’s world. Leslie has been playing guitar for over fifty years, since he was eight or nine years old. He taught himself how to play after seeing Elvis Presley perform on the Jackie Gleason Show, which his uncle wrote. He originally wanted to see the show because he wanted to meet Jackie Gleason, who wasn’t able to do the show the day that Leslie was there. He was fairly upset by this, but still stuck around to see Elvis, and has been playing guitar ever since.

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Meghan Messana Leslie never really had any family roots in music, but was instead influenced by famous musicians at the time, such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards. The first band he was in was called The Vagrants, but he wasn’t too happy with the direction that band was going. Really, he didn’t think they had much of a direction at all. He says the band “was like a bunch of high school kids,” and he didn’t like what they were doing so he went his own way with Felix. Mountain formed with N.D. Smart on drums and Steve Knight on keyboard, and had quite a run for some time, along the way becoming one of the most famous rock bands in America, led by who is now known as one of the most influential guitarists to ever play. Being a famous musician for over thirty years would probably jade most people, but not Leslie West. A rather humble man, Leslie genuinely loves to make music, and as great of a musician as he is, he isn’t really too phased by it. When asked how it felt to be a huge influence to so many people, he seemed indifferent towards the concept. “Hey, it’s great if someone feels that way,” he said, “but it’s not like I wake up in the morning and go ‘Hey! I’m gonna influence people today!’” He was, however, happy to see Mountain’s music still around today. Their song “Long Red” has been sampled in both Jay Z’s “99 Problems” and Kanye West’s “Barry Bonds.” He enjoys seeing the music from back then coming full circle, including Mountain being featured in both Guitar Hero III and Rockband. He hopes that these video games will become the new radio for this generation, since most radio today, according to him, is “f**ked.” He feels honored that his songs are on these games, since getting your songs on either one is not an easy feat. As happy as he is to be on Guitar Hero and Rockband, Leslie admits to being terrible at playing both. Leslie is, however, proud of his line of Dean Leslie West Signature Guitars. Dean [Zelinsky] originally called Leslie at a time when he was supposed to go on tour with Michael Schencker, which fell apart before it could begin. Dean wanted to make a Leslie West guitar, and Leslie, never having one before, wanted to create

a new guitar that he loved instead of simply putting his name on one that already existed. He worked with Dean to create a guitar, and today there are four different models of it. When asked what makes it different and better than other guitars, Leslie talks about the pickup. He used to play a Les Paul Junior, which has a P-90 pickup. He says that it “was very loud, but had a terrible hum.” Together with Dean, he made a pickup that kept the sound but eliminated the hum, which is known as the Mountain of Tone Leslie West Pickup. Regarding his amps, he now uses Budda Amplifiers, which only use 35-40 watts, unlike the original Marshall amps he used to use. Leslie says, “you don’t need a ninehundred horsepower car to get you where you’re going,” and that the same concept applies to amplifiers, basically saying that extra power is unnecessary. Mountain had broken up and reunited on more than one occasion, but Leslie doesn’t think another reunion is going to happen anytime soon. He says the band broke up for “internal reasons,” and mentions the death of Felix [Pappalardi]. Although he and Felix weren’t speaking at the time, it was still an awful thing to go through, since they were close friends. He says that what happened to Felix wasn’t entirely unexpected, and jokingly (or maybe not so much) tells me to “never give your wife a gun!” These days, Leslie is still touring and making albums. He just started working on a new album under Mascot Records, which will feature several guest musicians. The album is set to come out in the fall. He still tours, but it’s not as easy for him as it used to be. As Leslie gets older, traveling takes more of a toll on him, and he says that these days musicians get paid to travel, not paid

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to perform. As hard as it may be, Leslie still travels constantly, telling me of a trip to New Zealand he’ll be taking in August to attend a music festival. After over thirty years, Leslie’s music is far from dying out, but is instead living on through a new generation and its culture. Radio today may suck, but be rest assured, Leslie, no one will forget where great music came from.

“

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”

-Leslie West

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Broken Records Magazine From what I understand you are a Stratocaster man. What separates the Stratocaster from any other guitar for you? I’ll be 73 now, and you know in the beginning, when John Lee Hooker and them were playing, if you dropped a guitar it could crack open like a baseball bat. People then were playing for the love of making music and not to make a living. They couldn’t afford to break the guitar and then buy another one. The Stratocaster can handle the wear and tear. You can drop it and it won’t shatter like shattered glass. I knew I couldn’t play the guitar real well, so I had to focus on showmanship, and so I was really rough on my guitar. The Fender can suffer the wear and tear. Now I play the Gibson and Fender. How often do you play guitar outside of performances? Me and B.B. King were just talking about that. I don’t rehearse as much as I should. I know it’s a bad habit and what I tell young musicians is that it’s never too late to learn. Don’t feel like you know everything, there’s always something to learn. So I like to listen to new music and find out what’s out there. I play by ear, I don’t read music. I got a guitar sitting here in my room right now but I haven’t played it yet. When I go on stage and I hear my band playing, that’s when I really play. How and when did you first start creating a distorted sound? You know that’s a good question. I don’t really know. I came to Chicago and there were so many good guitarists, that they were all just dancing around me. I had to find a way to join the crowd and I wasn’t a very good guitar player. So I had to find a way to create my own sound. Do you ever play acoustic guitar anymore? Oh yeah, every once in awhile. I’ve got a couple of CDs. I think there’s one with me and Junior Wells and another called “Sweet Tea” that are both almost all acoustic. Do you have any favorite contemporary blues guitarists?

Oh…you know, I love them all. We could end the interview with this question. I listen to all of them. You know I’m from Louisiana and you know about gumbo. Well gumbo is a food where you just throw in the scraps, whatever you can find, and boil all of the odds and ends and you’ve got gumbo. Music for me is like gumbo. I like everything, even country western. I like to hear what’s out there and try to learn something new. What do you think about the music industry and the future of music? It’s kind of scary because technology is playing a big part. People don’t even sing directly on the track. People are doing it for the love of money and not for the love of music. You won’t find a blues guy doing that. I remember in the 50’s and 60’s, deejays would play a track and have you come up to the mic and lip sync. Back in the Chess days I would cut a track, go to the bathroom,

come back, and they’d be playing my track, and I’d be like that don’t even sound like me. I tried that in the early days, but I just don’t like to record that way. Which of your records would you say is your best or favorite? I let the public decide that. But I guess my biggest are “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues” and “It Feels Like Rain,” those two people really liked. I won an award for “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.” What do you go home and listen to? I’ve been listening to a lot of spiritual music. I was talking to B.B. and he’s been listening to a lot of spiritual music too. During the doo-wop times you’d have people like The Temptations, 5 or 6 guys making music with no band. Their voices were the instruments; they were the piano, the guitar, etc.

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GET TO KNOW: DAN LAVERY of Tonic’s bassist discusses his feeling to be back in music, new album and more A musical lifestyle for anyone to live in is considered their “drug of choice.” Once someone is into music, they are generally hooked on it. In those terms of being “hooked” can mean different elements. Whether it would be to pick up an instrument for a transition to constantly practice or just following bands for the way they do it, music can potentially be addicting. For Dan Lavery, bassist of the band Tonic has just gotten back into doing music by contributing to Tonic’s 4th album, Tonic (2010) after an 8 year delay from the band. To come back into music- after such a long time- can form many opinions on the overall aspect of music and personal self as well. “It feels great. To me it was meant to be. It all happens really quickly (to write a song) it’s just fun,” said Lavery. That was obviously a personal side from Lavery when it comes to getting back into music. In a way it’s like someone being sober for so long, but all of a sudden, he/she goes back into their old ways. This scenario is completely different because going back to old ways in music especially after a delay is remotely positive. Something that can be unfortunate for anyone who is older and into music can easily see how much it has changed. “It’s hard to even say what rock music is. It’s now blended together in a form of pop music.

Some of the biggest rock bands are full of synthesizers and drum programs. To say in the 70s, rock music was like Led Zeppelin and it’s obvious,” said Lavery. Tonic (2010) was released on May 4th and to be very quick with a review from it: I found it great! I asked Lavery the story behind “Release Me” which is also the lead single from Tonic, he explained the meaning of why that was chosen as a single. “That was chosen as a single because it had the same flavor as the old stuff. This is definitely the most ‘Tonic’ out of all the songs. The whole idea is about growing up with children and families and making sure you have a solid grasp on what certain responsibility is,” said Lavery. It is an unofficial common trait for all musicians to have. That would be to have the chance to work with other musicians that one either liked or have influenced him/her to get “hooked” on to music. When this topic was presented to Lavery, it took seconds for him to answer as far as a band that would open up for them and a band they would open up for. “After our last record came out, we played with Stone Temple Pilots. We have a lot in common with the same roots. I’m always open to finding new bands that have something to say with a cool way to say it,” said Lavery. With STP out touring, maybe we can see a happy reunion.

By Gerard Ucelli BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Broken Records Magazine

Regina King

Interview by Ray White

Actress turned director talks about her directorial debut. How did you get the opportunity to direct the new Jaheim video, especially since you haven’t directed before? Well, we met each other on the Monique show, and he asked if I would be in his video. I told him I would be in it if I could direct it. He said to write a treatment and we would go from there. So I listened to the song, wrote a treatment and talked with him about it, he liked the treatment sent it to the label and there you go. Do you have a preference to one or the other now that you’ve done both? I wouldn’t say I had a preference either way, but directing is something new for me. And it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. So I’m really excited about it because it’s new. How much different was it for you being the director and being in charge, as opposed to being in front of the camera and taking direction? It wasn’t too bad, because I brought on people I have worked with before. So when you have people around you can trust, it makes the situation a lot more pleasant and more effortless. It

was a very positive atmosphere all around. I surrounded myself with experienced people that I knew. Are there any directors you’ve worked with during your career that have had more of an influence of your directorial style? I don’t really think there was one that had more than the other. But I’ve picked up things from all of the directors I’ve worked with over the years. But one thing I’ve picked up from all the directors I’ve worked with is if you have a distinct vision to begin with, it makes everything else easier. And it helped a lot that I am a fan of Jaheim. His music inspires me. If it had been another artist, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to star in their video, let alone direct it. So what was your vision for the video for “Finding My Way Back”? I thought it was really important to make a video that told the story of the song. Not like so many videos you see now where it’s just cars, jewelry and girls half naked. I didn’t want it to be the same video you see on TV year after year. It should tell a story, like how videos used to be

before they turned into what they are now. So what else do you have in the works for the future as a director? I am working on getting the rest of the money to finance a movie project I’m working on as a director. I’m really trying to get it done this summer. Directing the video for Jaheim has really lit a fire for me. I’m hooked now and am putting almost all of my energy into this upcoming project. It’s really exciting.

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Plan Their

WORLD DO The legendary Rock band built from the whims of the people, will release their fifth album,

All Night Long

on August 3, 2010. We got to speak with lead singer,

Josh Todd,

on past history, their best album, why they are representative of real Rock and Roll, and their views on the oil tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.

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OMINATION

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Josh’s opinions are straight and to the point just like the band that brought us Buckcherry in 1999 and Timebomb in 2001 and reformed to present 15. It’s always good to start at the beginning, so Todd will tell us a little about the start of Buckcherry. “Keith Nelson and I met through our tattoo artists. We started writing songs. Eventually we thought it would be a good idea to start a band. We had good song writing chemistry. Now twelve years later and five records deep here we are. The goal was to make music that we love. To be as huge as we can be with a catalog of music of one band for a long time.”

The advent of Grunge changed the rock scene and Josh Todd felt it was time to shake up the mainstream view of the genre. He was successful in getting attention on their own with their look but more important, their music. Josh explains. “There was a huge void for Rock and Roll music. People were actually laughing at us when we started because it was nothing but grunge. It was guys wearing Polo shirts and Buddy Holly glasses and here I was with my full-length fur coat, Cowboy hat and polo around my neck being flamboyant. You know, not giving a f**k. That was the key to our success at that time. It cut through all other stuff-it just wasn’t mainstream at all.” iTunes once nominated Buckcherry as the best rock group while the band also worked the marketing aspect person to person. “‘iTunes has good taste,” Josh adds.

“When we started there wasn’t any of that social networking. We worked Myspace a lot and grassroots marketing and really let the people dictate the success of the singles that was in all of that. That’s why the record sold so many copies. It was really organic. No one in the music industry cared about us- that we were coming back with a record. It was the people that put us back on the map.” The refitting of the band and its comeback assured, by its fan base saw, Buckcherry produce its best effort to date. It was in 2006 that 15 was released. After five years it was a sweet return for sure. “It started with 15,-still to this date our highest selling record. Our manager started elevenseven because no one would sign us. It had a distribution deal Atlantic at that time. We could put a record out. Now, the music label has grown. It has so many acts and has became a good Indie label.

“Here I was with my fulllength fur coat, Cowboy hat and polo around my neck being flamboyant. You know, not giving a f**k. That was the key to our success.” -Josh TODD BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Live Photos: Jill Bednar

Promo Photo:PR Brown

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We get to call our shots and put pressure on ourselves. We know who we are. We didn’t re-invent the wheel. We don’t want people telling us anything. Anytime one of those big labels got involved to tell us what to do, we never had success commerciallywhich is all they wanted. I never understood that.” The fifth album is a source of excitement for Josh Todd and the others. He tells us why we should be looking out for this record and where they would prefer to be in 2010. “From top to bottom, it’s our most rocking record-not a ballad on it. It’s very heavy and contains a lot of Rock and Roll anthems on the record. We hopefully will get back to Australia and South America, and we spent a lot of time in Europe touring. That’s what we want to do.” The recent events in the Gulf- the biggest discharge of oil ever in our ocean- is a cause of concern for most

of the Southeastern states in The United States and beyond. The band recently put a song together to make people aware of the tragedy and raise money for those who were affected. “I don’t know if I’m big on social issues but you got to be a walking dead person not to know what the f**k is going on with BP and how bad we are treating our world and each other. We wrote a song called ‘Our World’. It’s about a lot of things like killing in the Middle East, fighting for oil, Global warming, and all that’s coming to a head. Disaster happens in the Gulf Coast and I

rewrote a couple of lines and a verse- it’s so fitting for the time. We gave it to iTunes and the proceeds go to helping people who are having a hard time as a result of this.” Simply put- after twelve years, Grammy nominations and four successful albums, what is left for this veteran band to accomplish? Josh Todd leaves us with this: “The future of the band…World Domination.”

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Interview By Scott Vollweiler BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Live Photos by Kristin Tully 42

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Wearing his heart on his sleeve week after week, Chicago’s favorite son, Lee DeWyze, has become our American Idol. While Broken Records Magazine has covered many of Idol’s winners and contestants, never before have we spoken to anyone like Lee. During press hour of the Idol’s Live Tour stop at the Nikon at Jones Beach Ampitheater in Wantagh, New York, I sat with the “Idol” champ and during one of my questions, the usually emotional singer, got choked up and had to stop for a moment to wipe his tears. Going back to the moment when you heard Ryan Seacrest announce that you are the American Idol. Tell me what went through your mind and how you felt. Lee: It felt good. That’s why I auditioned, you know? To get to that point. That’s the way it went and I’m glad that it did. Now I get to do the things I want. Did You have one of the subliminal blankouts that all the Idols say they had? Uh, Yeah. You don’t realize the magnitude at that moment. It kind of just hits you. Like WOW. It was intense. It was cool. It was fun. How’s the progress of the album so far? I can’t say who we’ve been working with but we’re pretty far. We are doing good. We’re writing songs; working stuff out. The whole process is obviously something that is going to take some time but I’m doing a lot of the writing

and I’m working with some audience when you’re being great, amazing people. I’m you. gonna put out an album that I’m happy with. The one thing that confused me, as well What kind of direction as many of the viewers, are we looking at? Will why did you choose U2’s it be the style we saw “Beautiful Day” as your on Idol? coronation song rather No. More like Folk, Rock, Pop. than say an original You know? song? Ie: “A Moment Like This” from Kelly You never had a Clarkson or “Inside problem showing your Your Heaven” from emotions on TV. I’m Carrie Underwood. sure looking back it We didn’t choose that. was like ‘wow. I really showed it a lot.’ Do you Really? think always showing The reason we did a cover how you felt and your song…only they know why. So awesome musicianship it wasn’t an option like ‘do you made America fall in want a song written for you’. love with you? So for the songs that were in I think that my thing has always front of me, I chose “Beautiful been that whether I’m onstage Day.” or on Idol, that I’ve always put 100% of my emotion in every You have probably song. It doesn’t matter what waited your entire life I’m doing or what the song is, to go out on tour and I put everything into it. For me, play throughout the US. everyone saw that it wasn’t Now that you’re getting fake; it was genuine. I try to your chance, what are be an honest and genuine you looking forward to person. It’s easier for me to the most on the road? connect with people in the Playing for the big crowds is

Broken Records Magazine enough. And making the album because I’ll be making the album on tour. So this is why I do this. What more can you ask for? Now technically, this is your first major tour and your headlining. Isn’t that a weird feeling? It’s a really weird feeling, especially when you put it that way. Yeah, it’s a weird feeling. When it’s my turn to get up there, it’s on for me. Just good ol’ times. Now, here is the big question for you. How has your life changed since the end of Idol? Everything. Absolutely everything in my life has changed. I’m the same person that I always will be but its like…I’m getting opportunities I’ve never gotten before. I’m performing in front of thousands. It’s like [chokes up]…[under his breath] it’s just a trip [wipes his tearing eyes]…it’s

“ I’ve always put 100% of my emotion in every song. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or what the song is, I put everything into it.

crazy and the wackiest part about the whole thing is that it has gone so fast. You know? One minute you’re doing this and the next your doing something else. Wow! Like whoa…slow down a minute. But I love it; I’m loving every minute of it.

For More Idol’s Live Tour Coverage, turn to page 60. To See The Video Of This Interview, Please Visit Our Brand New Youtube Page: Youtube.com/BrokenRecordsMagazin (Notice there is no “E” at the end of Magazine)

”

-Lee DeWyze BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Broken Records Magazine

Live Music At Its Best

Live Reviews

Review by Arin Segal

Photos by Scott Vollweiler

Expectation Exceeded! It is not often that you to go to a concert and see four artists who all sing wonderfully without tracks behind them. Jordin Sparks, Kate Voegele, Days Difference and Ashlyne Huff accomplished just that. The night started with Ashlyne Huff who is a new addition to the tour. Her set in New York was acousticafter she begins regular tour rehearsals, it will change slightly and begin to feature more songs with a full band and dancers, which will include a cover of “Breakeven” by The Script. Ashlyne is a fresh face with a new pop sound and a sincere personality. She writes all of her own songs about personal experiences, hers and others. People may remember her from the Honor Society tour a few months ago where she also was the first opener. She is definitely one to see. Notable songs she performed during her fifteen minute set were “Heart of Gold” and “Sweet Nothing.” Next up was

Days Difference. The band consists of two sets of brothers: Jeremy Smith (lead vocals, keyboard), J o n a t h a n Smith(drums), Micah Ricks (bass guitar) and Jeremiah Ricks (lead guitar), from Virginia Beach, VA. They create a pop band that takes on a slightly different tone. Their melodies are catchy and creatively written. The young and talented foursome put together a set that no one wanted to end. From interactive songs to beats that just made you want to dance, these four guys have talent and relate to their fans. They even load all their equipment off the stage and into their trailer; now that is down to earth! Days Difference performed “Sunrise” and “Radio Song.”

Broken Records Magazine

A case of Bieber Fever

Rounding out the opening acts was Kate Voegele. Kate may be known for her role on “One Tree Hill” where she plays a singer much like herself. Kate’s stage presence was flowing all the time and she is a wonderful singer. Her poignant cover of “Hallelujah” was spot on and the crowd wanted so much more. Kate even brought out her younger sister, Courtney. to play violin for a song and the melodic quality was a perfect addition. This was the first time Courtney ever got to play on stage with Kate; when talking to her after the show, Courtney was ecstatic. To close her set, Kate performed her latest single, “99 Time.” The Nokia Theater crowd sang along to every word. Before the headliner could come out, Nickelodeon’s newest teen stars, Big Time Rush, came out to introduce Jordin Sparks. Sparks had done the same for Big Time Rush earlier in the day when they performed. Jordin entered with energy and the crowd was definitely ready. When two of her backup singers came out with soldier’s helmets in a sea of fog the show was on. She opened the show with her lead single from her latest album, “Battlefield.” From there, a collection of glowing mic stands, vibrant colors, crystal covered mic stands and crazy glasses during songs “One Step At A Time,” “Young and In Love,” and “Tattoo.” She finished the night on a high by closing with “No Air.” Jordin is the definition of stage presence, great vocals and a creative show. After Jordin finished it was a race to get to the merchandise table as fast as possible. Throughout the night the three warm up acts mentioned they would be at their table post show signing autographs and taking pictures. They meant it, they were there until the tables were being cleaned up and they were kicked out! The combination of energy from fans, great vocals from the performers and emotion they bring to each song makes this show one of a kind. BrokenRecordsOnline.com

As if homemade T-Shirts and radio contests weren’t enough of a giveaway, the ultra high-pitched screams of 20,000 plus people at Milwaukee Summerfest meant Justin Bieber was in a 5 mile radius. Walking in 2 hours before show time it was a sea of neon shirts signs and body paint with ‘Bieber Fever,’ ‘Bieber’s Baby,’ ‘HUG ME!’ ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ and other song related sayings. The line for lawn seats had started up early in the morning and the line for prepaid seats was almost as long! The security team was playing games moving the barricades so far before they would truly start scanning tickets. Finally in the stadium it was a race to seats in any area with one goal in mind, ‘will I get a good picture of Justin? ‘ At exactly 7PM it was time for opening act number 1, The Stunners. These 5 girls infused pop songs with Beyonce style dance moves. Their 5 songs added more energy to the already screaming crowd. After them was Jessica Jarell, another solo artist who recorded a song with Bieber for the album. Her fun, pop sound warmed up the crown even more. By 7:30 the ‘openers’ were done and the crowd was ready for Sean Kingston. His DJ came out, spun some songs and introduced Sean. His high energy, Jamaican feeling set went for about 45 minutes and by that time the screams had only gotten louder and the heat was looming in the air. Radio 103.7 came out to prep the crowd for Bieber 30 minutes before he went on. After every song when there was a pause the crowd started to chant and cheer. It was like a mob was ready to go on stage and pull him out. Finally at 8:45PM the X-Box styled entrance played on the screens and the backdrop and none other than Justin Bieber walked out with his swagger in tow. Strobe lights smoke and Bieber defined the set. 8 back up dancers; a full band and ultra-high energy songs overpowered the earsplitting screams. Ballads sung to fans, duets with Sean Kingston and Jessica Jarell, and acapella songs by the back up dancers don’t even begin to describe the show the 16 year-old put on. With two large screens projecting YouTube videos during costume changes, a live video feed during songs and images for the opening acts it was the perfect combination of music and technology.

Justin Bieber photo credit: Scott Vollweiler

by Arin Segal

Broken Records Magazine

APPEL FARMS

ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL

By Alicia Gallagher Alarm doesn’t go off; I pull myself out of bed, its 9:30am. I was supposed to meet my ride to Jersey an hour ago, and find out a friend catching the same ride had also missed the window...now in Brooklyn subject to New York City transportation. We had to take the subway to Penn Station, then the Long Island Railroad to a bus, then a bus to the middle of nowhere, nothing but haystacks and a Wawa, the place where we were to then catch a cab. The Appel Farm Art & Music Center’s website had listed a few numbers for cab companies that would be available to take us the rest of the way. I called the numbers I had been given. Two out of the three were disconnected, and the last was the answering machine to an elderly lady. Shit. So I walk over to the Wawa in hopes to find a valid cab service. Angela, a friendly Wawa employee, who had just ended her shift, offered to take us the rest of the way. God bless. Fast forward... A half an hour later, we’re in front of the Meadow Lake Stage,

Photos By Kyra Kverno

just in time for Buddy Miller. I’m also just realizing the insulated bag which I had so neatly packed with fresh fruit, water, and other goodness was no longer with us. My friend conveniently recalled leaving the bag in a car seat in the back of Angela’s car; a donation to the sweet Angela from the Wawa and her baby. I still had enough time to grab a $12 souvenir cup of lemonade (free refills), and find the photographer whom I was collaborating with (she hadn’t missed her ride). For those who don’t know, the Appel Farm Art & Music Festival is an annual one-day festival that happens the first Saturday, of every June, at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, which is near Elmer in Salem County, New Jersey. This years line-up included 61 North, Richard Shindell, Enter the Haggis, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, and the Avett Brothers. Buddy Miller began the set with his solo acoustic “How I Got to Memphis”. Not only is Buddy

Miller an acclaimed music producer, songwriter, but also an amazing guitar player, singer and performer. In despite of the beating sun, causing us all to profusely perspire, no one paid any mind, he had certainly stolen our attention. Patty Griffin and her band joined him for the duration of his set, the band only stepping off for one or two songs. Throughout the set, Buddy religiously changed his guitar. They went on to play songs like, “Gasoline and Matches”, and “Written in Chalk” from the record also titled, “Written in Chalk”, which Buddy did with his wife, Julie Miller. Buddy, Patty, and the band were perfectly in sync musically in both spirit and sound. They seem to be having a good ‘ol time right out of the gate. At one point Patty conjures herself a couple pairs of wooden salad tongs and tapped them against her sides as she smiled and danced. Too soon, but not disappointingly so (only in knowing there was more Buddy and Patty to be had), Buddy handed the stage over to Patty Griffin.

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Buddy Miller produced Patty Griffin’s most recent record, “Downtown Church”. Patty, well known for her incredible songwriting and storytelling, took a different approach with this record. After having worked with Mavis Staples, she was inspired to do a record covering gospel songs, such as, “Waiting for my Child”, “Wade in the Water”, as well as Big Mama Thornton’s, “I Smell a Rat”. Only two songs were her own. Patty strapped on her guitar for most of her set, offering a more complete Patty for those who know and love her. She began with “Standing”, a track of “Impossible Dream”. While mostly playing songs from “Downtown Church”, such as “If I Had My Way”, “Move Up”, and

remained on stage along with Patty’s band which included Doug Lancio (who is also Patty’s band leader) on electric guitar, Marco Giovino on drums, Frank Swart on upright bass, and John Deaderick on keyboards. I could’ve left after Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin and felt my journey well worth it, but the night was not over. I had just enough to time to get another lemonade and smoke a cigarette. The Avett Brothers closed the festival with the energy of a tireless punk band kicking off a ho-down. They played many songs from “I and Love and you”, such as “Kick Drum heart”, and even a few from “Mignionette” and “Four Thieves Gone”. Seth Avett did a solo of “Ballad of Love and Hate”, and I

“Never Grow Old”, she also played a song from “Children Running Through”. She introduced it as “the only legitimate love song” she’s ever written, “Heavenly Day”, which she had written for her dog. The audience sang along knowing every word, although it was impossible to hear anything but the sweet swoon of Patty’s voice. Buddy Miller BrokenRecordsOnline.com

think I actually witnessed a few grown men crying and singing in the sea of the crowd. At the end of the day, in despite of seven hours of travel time, and having arrived late, and sadly missing Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (although those who hadn’t missed her raved about her performance), the trek was one I would make again with no regrets. I don’t believe there was a soul who left disappointed. Town Hall NYC, New York, Just a few days later, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller in my neck of the woods, only 45 minute travel time. While many of the songs were ones that were also performed at Appel Farm Art and Music Festival, Patty so kindly pleasured the crowd with songs like “Love Throws a Line” from her Impossible Dream record. Shawn Colvin graced the stage with her presence performing with Patty on a couple of songs. Most notable, was when both she and Patty sang, “Mary” from Flaming Red, which was a rare occasion indeed. I’ve seen Patty play several times and had never had the chance to hear her play it live. I left the show thinking, “I now can die”.

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? O T I D N A B O T I N G O C N I Who is

Review and Photos by

Scott Vollwei ler 49

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The mystery began about a week before the show. Who or what is Incognito Bandito? As posts appeared on Toby Keith’s twitter and websites, questions arose. It seemed obvious when the ads for an Irving Plaza show featuring Incognito Bandito began appearing with his photo and statements like "the best $25 you'll ever spend that the 1,000-capacity New York City club would be hosting a tiny concert featuring the country star. With that being said, I still wasn’t sure when I walked into the show who or what I’d be seeing. I was hoping it would be Toby- but would there be special guests? With the crowd chanting “TO-BY. TO-BY” for minutes at a time, the crowd’s anticipation kept increasing until, alas, Toby hit the stage with his worn Takamine guitar and baseball cap. We all were itching for the songs we all loved by the star…but we quickly realized, this wasn’t going to be a “normal” Toby Keith show. Toby was backed by a six-piece band consisting of two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and a multiinstrumentalist on saxophone, organ, harmonica and pedal steel. They opened with a revised version of Johnny Paycheck's "11 Months and 29 Days," followed by Roger "Chug-a-Lug." Two songs in and neither song was a Toby hit. It turned out, all but two of the tunes from the almost two hour gig was cover songs. Keith paused to tell the Country crowd, "This ain't about Toby Keith sh*t. This is about some of the greatest session players in the world." He then went on to explain that the men and woman backing him have played on almost all of his albums and they decided to book a barelypublicized club date just for fun, figuring, "If they (the audience) show up, they show up. If they don't…f 'em!" It was great seeing Toby in such a tiny venue especially knowing that two days later, his latest amphitheater tour would start in New Jersey. As the incognito show continued, it was an unpredictable ride through nearly every branch of Americana music. Jack Greene's country hit "Statue of a Fool" moved BrokenRecordsOnline.com

into Three Dog Night's "Shambala" before the band grooved into the slow, bluesy feel of Johnnie Taylor's "Last Two Dollars." Right before Toby continued the set with Waylon Jennings' "Waymore Blues," Keith declared "Most of this roots music ain't got a lot of changes in it, you just gotta get the groove really f’ing good." The “Bandito” slid into the one and only Willie Nelson's nocturnal standard "Night Life" and then geared up for funked out version of "Harper Valley PTA,"- the only down point of the show. Keith then exclaimed, “How about that for one rehearsal?" after the song's ending. The last portion show seemed to jump from roots music more mainstream rockin’ bluesy tunes. The band played Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown," a slide-guitar driven ZZ Top's "Mexican Blackbird" and one of my personal favorites, Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." After ending the set with a Chuck Berry’s stomp "Memphis, Tennessee," the band left the stage grinning ear-to-ear.. Of course, the band would not be finished just yet. Banditos came back on stage after the entire crowd shouted “Band-It-O! Band-It-O! Keith explained, "These are the songs we love and grew up playing." To close out the show, the band kicked back into funk mode one last time for "Polk Salad Annie," announcing it as “You’ll probably see this on the menu of your local restaurants.” While Toby Keith is a gigantic superstar in the Country Music field, he was just another bar singer for the night. On a regular gig, most eyes are on him and he never gets outshined. On this odd night, his spectacular session players proved why his albums have been debuting at #1 for the last 10 years. When the night ended, so did the parallel universe where Incognito Bandito was just a normal band-at least for now. Toby has now gone back to filling arenas and being the superstar he is. But for all of us at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza this night, we were the truly lucky ones.

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Interviews By

Photos By

Ray White & Scott Vollweiler

Jill Bednar, Ray White & Scott Vollweiler

he experience of a lifetime. The first ever, and hopefully many more to come, Country Throwdown tour rolled into town. Not knowing what to expect from a festival style Country Music tour, a few of us from Broken Records Magazine entered threw the gates at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. We arrived eatly knowing we had tons of work to do. At the show, Broken Records Magazine had its very own merch booth. We met tons of great people; some of which decided to dance in front of our booth. The local Country radio station that sponsored that Throwdown date, 92.5 XTU, had set up a radio satellite across from the booth. Their intentions were to get the passer-bys to dance. Mission accomplished. For over three hours straight, groves of Country fans flocked to the group and jumped into the line dancing area- without missing a step. The line dancing was only a small porttion of our fun and long day. The promoters promised eleven hours of music. They sure did deliver. The wonderful thing about this unique tour was that we got to enjoy and interview some well known artists as well as the up-and-coming lesser known artists; all of which were more than happy to talk to us and involve us in their experiences and Montgomery Gentry thoughts of a one of a kind tour.

ELI YOUNG BAND

What’s the best part of being on a major country festival? I think for being on this major country festival it’s a prosperous nation between fans. You have your Jamey Johnson fans and your Montgomery Gentry fans or Little Big Town’s music or our music. They get here early and they get the experience and are a part of all of that. For me personally that’s about it. You know were getting in a lot of markets that BrokenRecordsOnline.com

we’ve never played before and it’s awesome. It could be on a traveling tour that makes these places and don’t tell us to do what we do. Before the tour actually started who you were most excited to see after today? Jamey Johnson. I think that there’s a really cool vibe that happens with this show. We’ve done a few shows with him before and I was really excited to be able to see the show at all during the tour. They get up there and play their show and have a good time. . Obviously what happened in Nashville(theflooding)washorrible. What was your reaction when you first stopped in Nashville?

We live in Texas but a ton of our connections are up in Nashville. I think for us we were really surprised how under reported it was in Nashville. We are finding all of this stuff out from Twitter and other different sources, but there was the bomb scare going on in New York City at the time and it was on front page news. A lot of people lost their homes and some people lost their lives being that the city and the important part of all of us with this genre of music and seeing it in that much destruction.

Have you ever Googled yourself? Yes. Without a doubt! Just on this tour, my mom is Googling the crap out of me. I Google myself. I sang with Jamey Johnson in Cleveland and I wasn’t sure if my camera got it or not. That’s when the Re-Googling started because we are trying to see if anyone captured it from the audience and they did. It’s awesome. It’s been funny to see if anybody got you sounding like a chipmunk. I just made that up, but you never know. How does it feel to be on a major country festival? Freaking incredible! It really is. I use to space out at Spanish class in 8th grade and this is what I use to imagine. What got me through college was this dream- picturing this one day. This is just a shot to get our name outside of Nashville and my hometown. My hometown is Dallas, Texas and it’s a big city and they can’t all buy CD’s I guess. Were having a great time doing it and they are treating us just like if we were anybody else on the tour.

Was there anybody you were looking forward to seeing on a daily basis that you’ve gotten to see and did they meet your expectations? Beyond. Little Big Town. I’m really excited about. At the very beginning it was so cool. It’s like a high school cafeteria and now were talking to them and there talking to us and now were all sharing random moments. It was that moment where you sit there and go “it’s so worth it.” When did I expect I was going to eat pizza on Little Big Town’s bus? Now you’re in Jersey obviously. When you think about Jersey, do you think country? No. I think of Real Housewives of New Jersey or The Situation. When I was little, to be from Texas, when I would go visit family up in California, girls there would be like “So you’ve rode a horse before?” This is awesome though. They think it’s so cool that we are up there as unknown. Walker Hayes will be like “when we get up there, no one cares about us. Just scream for us because no one else is going to.” Were all honest because we all know where we are as far as headliners. It’s been awesome because I don’t know what it is. I didn’t know people would enjoy country music and look at our parking lot it’s packed. People are camping and there are cowboy hats left and right.

What’s the best thing about being a part of the Country Music Throwdown? It’s an awesome feeling to know I am a part of this. Ashley Ray We’re sharing memories and miles together, but we’re meeting new people. All of the artists out here are so

cool. They come and hang out on the songwriter bus, nobody has an ego here. We’re building so many new relationships. Before the tour started, was there anyone on the bill you were really looking forward to seeing? Well I’ve seen Eric Church perform a million times. His show seems to be getting progressively better, and I didn’t think that could happen. But I had never seen Jamey Johnson, I could learn so much from that guy,

HEather Morgan

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Jamey Johnson and Heidi Newfield

everyone could. What’s been the highlight of the tour for you so far? Definitely the moments on the bus. Playing together, writing new songs, it’s made more open to music than I was. It’s cool to be around so many people that just love music. And some of them were in the same spot I am now in my career, so I’m able to get some great advice from them. makes me happy.

Broken Records Magazine What’s the best part of being on a major county festival tour? It’s the fact that it’s a major country festival tour. It’s a huge tour. It’s Emily West n e v e r been done before. I mean it’s amazing that it’s taken so long for country music to have this big of a show which has 12 bands. And with Warped Tour, obviously the people that started Warped Tour started this. It’s fascinating to see all of the country music people coming together and really enjoying each other. That’s the best thing. I think we live in a world where you think we would be in competition with each other all the time, but it’s like we want each other to win. You know were just like rooting for each other and I’ve gotten to know everybody been around since I was in high school as far as listening to music goes. Like Montgomery Gentry and obviously I’ve been a huge fan of Little Big Town. They have given me a lot of advice and they’ve become my friends. I feel like “oh yeah they’re my friends.” Before this tour started, were there any people you were looking forward to seeing and have they met your expectations? I was anxious to see Little Big Town. To be honest, I’m quite fascinated with Jamey Johnson and how still that man can stand and have the crowd’s roaring. They just feel his music and he stands there and sings to them and they just go nuts. He’s a great performer. BrokenRecordsOnline.com

HEidi newfield What’s the best part of being on a major country festival? I love it you know-seeing all of your peers and friends. This particular tour is so cool because it’s such a wide range of diverse artists and brand new artists that no one has ever seen before and heard from radio yet. They’re brand new and there just coming up, but they are ridiculously talented so were getting to know of people who are fabulous. Then there are established artists like myself who have been around for a while and build a following. We are all able to hang out. Were riding together and jamming on stage together. It’s the way it should be. There is a lot of friendship and writing songs and just having a ball together. Was there anyone specifically you were looking forward to seeing? Well I’ve seen pretty much everybody What’s the best part of being on a major country festival tour? The bus I’m on- which is called the low-rider bus but the blues version. It’s just guitar and songwriting. It’s real chill. After the show, they put up a barbecue, they put up a PA and everybody talks. You would think “rock star” but it’s not.

on this tour so it’s like yeah I’m looking forward to all of them. I’m a big Jamey Johnson fan. I love what he does. I love the no-nonsense mentality. He’s real country. He’s proven that you don’t have to pop it out necessarily and dress it up. Just be who you are. If it’s real, people will dig it. Obviously we are up in New Jersey. You don’t expect New Jersey to be very country. Do you think we did our job bringing the country? Are you kidding? It’s awesome. First off, you have a great station up here so that really helps since there’s such a big media. People still listen to the radio and that’s their way of finding out who’s doing what. It’s kind of like being from California (my hometown); a lot of people go “How did you get into country music being from California?” They automatically think there’s a stereotype just like here. Frankly, a lot of our shows so far and my shows throughout my career, when we go out to the Northeast, it’s the most outrageous, fun, and rowdy fans.

Cory Branan

Johnson. That was the first time I heard him and he delivers blue-collar country. No smoke in Before the tour started, even mirrors or no gimmicks and was though you didn’t know too many blown away by that voice and the artists, was there anybody here band. I went back to the bus after and I was so excited. I was like “oh you were excited to see? Honestly, it was almost a blank for my God people are supporting this me. I was floored by was Jamey kind of country music?”

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Eric Church

Little Big Town

What’s the best part of being on Buxton Hughes a major country festival tour? R y a n The best part would be in two parts. B i n g h a m One, you get to meet all these great and The fans and come out to shows. People D e a d are so appreciative this week. The Horses. most fun we have every day is signing and people come out and say Now that hi and people who actually buy our L y r i c record. I love the camaraderie out S t r e e t here on this tour. I think the fans are R e c o r d s picking up on it. People can feel the has closed, vibe and it’s different. It’s not like its w h a t some type of throw together. Well it happens next? is Throwdown (no pun intended). I’m still great friends with everybody Before the tour has started; did you that works there. The thing is the have anybody you were looking music industry is not in a good forward to seeing? place. It’s almost if no one is buying Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, any records and the industry is

Tyler Reeve What’s the best part of being on a major country music festival tour? This tour is different than a normal or a major tour. This has never been done and it’s really cool. I keep describing it as a child going on band camp but for grown-ups. The first couple of days I would be out and I’d see Jack

that’s happening. I said make my album for sale when I’m out there. I need something to sell. I’ve been on the road for four years with nothing to sell, but you lose a lot of money in hopes of making the bigger money and you keep waiting and waiting.

Are you still on the Disney label? No we’re completely off it. We have four different labels that are interested. Right now we just want to go in and record. We’re trying to figure that out on our own and wait. We want to be at a label. We shutting down. That is a joke but definitely do.

(Ingram) or Jamey (Johnson) or something. When you see them it’s kind of awkward, but then you’re all hanging out drinking beer and sharing burgers and sitting on the bus ride writing songs. From us opening the show to Jamey kicking off the end of the night, it’s crazy because everybody is so normal. You can mark my words...In the next 3-5 years, this is going to be the biggest ticket tour anywhere. I’m not just talking about country but this tour and the way that it’s going for people that want to be

on this; this is going to be the ticket in the industry that everyone wants to play on and the tour that everyone wants to see the music. We played the first note of the entire history of Country Throwdown so that’s cool for us, but we drag the grill behind our bus. We roll that out every night and kick off the after party and set up some burgers and dogs, have some margaritas, and beer. All the artists come and hang out and sit around. We set up a PA and we jam on some songs and have a good time.

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Troy olsen

Dave Pahanish

What’s the best thing about being a part of the Country Music Throwdown? Over the last few weeks, since everyone is traveling together, we’re all getting to know each other. It’s turning into a big family. There’s been a lot of cool collaborations. There were 2 songs written on our bus yesterday alone. I’m on the songwriter bus, so you’ve got 9 of us all together. So you know some songs are gonna happen. Before the tour started, was there anyone on the bill you were really looking forward to seeing? Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town…I was excited to see everybody. It’s an awesome lineup. They all have great sets. Anything wild going on off stage during the tour? Yeah, last night we had a massive dance party on the bus from about 1am until 5. Just full on, in the front lounge dance party. Dancing to everything under the sun, we had about 4 iPods going back and forth, it was awesome. You’re in New Jersey today, when you think Jersey, does country music come to mind? No it doesn’t. We’ve been looking out the bus windows and I have never seen so many rednecks out there partying their asses off in my life. It’s like we’re parked in the middle of Alabama. I don’t know where they came from, I can see downtown Philly from here. Where are all these trucks covered in mud coming from? They are having a great time out there. BrokenRecordsOnline.com

What’s the best thing about being a part of the Country Music Throwdown? The camaraderie, I’m getting to meet and work with people I might not normally have had that easy of an opportunity to. Like Eddie Montgomery and Little Big Town; you get to see them everyday. It’s amazing how well everyone gets along; its kind of like a traveling carnival vibe. Before the tour started, was there anyone on the bill you were really looking forward to seeing? Little Big Town. Their music is more like a derivative from 70’s classic rock, that’s what I grew up listening to. They just captured that sound and made it appeal to the country fans. I really was excited to meet and get to know them. What’s been the highlight of the tour for you so far? All the jamming and bonding after hours. It’s so great hanging out with all of these guys. And being on the songwriter bus is awesome. We sit up at night just bouncing ideas off of each other, playing together. Its great. You’re in New Jersey today, when you think Jersey, does country music come to mind? I don’t. I actually used to live in Jersey, but that was light years ago. It is weird though, we’ve had our biggest crowds up north, not in the south

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Gerard Ucelli & Justin Sarachik Photos by:

MM: I really love the dudes from Dance Gavin Dance. I would say they are the most talented musicians on this tour. They’ve been around for quite a while.

Lindsay shapiro

Silverstein BRM: How did you find out about Scream It Like You Mean It? Paul Koehler: Our booking agent brought it to our attention and said that they might be interested in having us. We talked about it and thought it was a great idea. Especially with the economy being the way it is- it’s all about supplying a tour for the fans that has a lot of value and a lot of good bands of one genre or around that. It’s really fun and it’s more of an all day thing; it’s not like you’re just going to see a couple bands. You get a little bit more bang for your buck and were pretty excited about that idea.

out as a band we wanted something to have some meaning. Growing up, we would read poetry, and when we first started, his work was scattered upon the basement we were rehearsing in so it’s kind of looking at that inspiration.

I Set My Friends On Fire

We Came As Romans

BRM: How did you find out about Scream It Like You Mean It? Matthew Mehana: I got an e-mail BRM: Anybody on this lineup one day from my booking agent and you’re a fan of and looking forward he was like “Yo you’re on it.” to seeing? PK: I’m really excited to see Emery- BRM: Anybody on this lineup we toured with them years ago. We you’re a fan of and looking forward ran into them all over the world at to seeing? different times. We got to reunite with them. BRM: According to the internet, the band derives its name from author and musician Shel Silverstein. Is this true and what does he mean to you? PK: We named the band after the author, Shel Silverstein. Basically with picking the name and starting

BRM: Where did you get the name I Set My Friends On Fire from? MM: I actually got that from a line in one of our old bands’ songs. There was lyric that didn’t exactly say “I Set My Friends On Fire,” but it had to do with setting a girl on fire. Just recently, I realized it’s a big innuendo for smoking weed. Another synonym for friends is buds.

BRM: How did you find out about Scream It Like You Mean It? Andy Glass: Well, our manager, Matt, he sets up all our tours and stuff. I’m pretty sure he set this one up. He was like “Yeah dude I got this big festival that’s going around for the summer and stuff like that.” That’s how I first heard about it and we got it all planned out and mapped out. BRM: Anybody on this lineup you’re a fan of and looking forward to seeing? AG: Honestly, I’m stoked for basically every band. Like Close To Home- we grew up with those dudes who weren’t signed or anything.

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They’re an awesome band and we’ve toured with them and were all best friends. I love Sky Eats Airplane; we’ve been hanging out with them the whole time. We’ve gotten the Ivoryline CD through their management and I’m stoked to see them. I’ve always been a huge fan of Emery. Some of I Set My Friends On Fire, I’ve talked to. The dude in From First To Last is playing guitar with them. Dance Gavin Dance, I’ve been listening to forever too, and they’re just awesome. Silverstein, I’ve been a huge fan of for a long time. It’s such an honor to play. I’m stoked on it and every band is. BRM: How did We Came As Romans come about? I read that first you were called This Emergency? AG: Yes, we were called This Emergency and we had some member switches and so we were just picking random names. It’s funny actually because I found out a story in the Bible. It’s kind of weird. It was Rome back in the day in this evil place and they were like tortured and persecuted like Christians were considered different. Eventually there was one Roman named Paul and he was doing all of this stuff. He eventually became blind and they cast him out. The only people that tended to him were the people he was persecuting and he eventually regained his eyesight back and saw the whole world as to love one another. So We Came As Romans is like opening your eyes and

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Close To Home

just loving everybody so it’s kind of a cool idea. It’s weird how it worked out with the random pick, but then it became something more. BRM: How did you find out about Scream It Like You Mean It? Nick Stiens: Our manager called us and said “there’s a bunch of bands getting together and they were doing a tour.” We heard the lineup so BRM: How did you find about we were right on. We’re definitely Scream it Like You Mean It? stoked at the opportunity to be with Zack Ordway: We originally friends of ours and other bands. weren’t on the tour. LD: We came here and were like BRM: Anybody on this lineup “Hey let’s start playing shows.” you’re a fan of and looking forward Elliot Coleman: No one has noticed to seeing? yet that were sneaking on. NS: Silverstein has been always influential on us. I grew up listening BRM: Anybody on this lineup to them. We even have them on one you’re a fan of and looking forward of our songs. We went out on tour to seeing? with them a couple of months ago Bryan Zimmerman: I love We and it’s awesome to be back on tour Came As Romans. They are not on again because they’re such good this tour, but they are playing this dudes. When you’re a fan of a band show which is The Devil Wears and you get to go on tour with them, Prada. it’s always a good time. LD: Us and We Came As Romans are sort of like the together bands on BRM: Does Close To Home as this tour. I guess we try to go with your band name have a significant them. meaning to you? NS: It’s actually lyrics from a song BRM: Where does the name, Sky back in the day and came up with the Eats Airplane come from? name and it stuck ever since which LD: It totally makes so much sense. is dope. It’s a huge name behind it. No it comes from absolute dog shit. We all have different things from We just kind of came up with it the years that have meaning to, but because it sounded different. We had when I joined years ago, I always a bunch of kindergarteners pick it for loved being “Close To Home.” It’s us. We had all these kid words like always good being on the road with airplane and sky. people back home. That’s what I take from the band.

Sky Eats Airplane

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SEASON 9 LIVE at Nikon at JONES BEACH Interviews By Scott Vollweiler Photos by Kristin Tully the first place we played, how crazy the people were afterwards when we were by the buses. Then at the next venue, everyone was just so chill and relaxed. How was it the first time you saw a sign in the crowd saying “We Love You!”? Tim: It was man! It makes your heart race faster because you know they are there but it the back of your mind your thinking they could be there for anyone.

what do you look forward to the most on the road? Big Mike: I’m just enjoying every moment. In my life right now, it’s important to enjoy and everything and every moment and not to look to far ahead. I love our press hour. I love when we first get to the venue. I love sitting and having lunch with the other Idols. Like today when we were riding on the bus, we were watching 8 Mile. We decided to have a rap battle on the bus. It’s all just

What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Tim: Hallelujah. Will Idol survive after Simon’s exit? You have probably looked forward Tim: It will last because the to touring your whole life. Now contestants will always be there. It that you are getting the chance, will just be different. what do you look forward to the You have probably looked forward most on the road? Tim Urban: Each specific venue. Each to touring your whole life. Now show is just so different. I remember that you are getting the chance,

good fun. Who was the best person in the rap battle? Big Mike: Lee was pretty good. Andrew was quite serious too. It was me, Andrew, Lee and Katie Steven’s brother. He was good too. It was just all fun. What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Big Mike: “This Woman’s Work” was a good song for me. It was a

You have probably looked forward to touring your whole life. Now that you are getting the chance, what do you look forward to the most on the road? Casey James: Well everyday I get to play in front of people. It’s a blessing to me. It’s what I love to do. It doesn’t matter if its 5 people or 500 people. What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Casey: That’s hard. It changes day by

day. I really loved playing “Jealous Guy.” I liked playing “Hold On. I’m Coming.” There was so many. I really liked the songs I got to do on the show.

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good week for me the first time and then when I got to bring it back to save me for another month and a half, it was good. It’s one of my all time favorite songs and the fact that I got to play it during my wife’s first weeks at the show, it was cool. You have probably looked forward to touring your whole life. Now that you are getting the chance, what do you look forward to the most on the road? Didi Benami: Well I’m looking forward to today’s show in NY since it’s sold out. I’m also looking forward to going to Knoxville because I was raised there and the LA show. It’s just an amazing experience. What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Didi: “Terrified” by far. It’s exactly the kind of music I want to play. It’s the kind of music I want to get across. The lyrics really mean something to me and it’s a beautiful song. Will Idol survive after Simon’s exit? Didi: I don’t know. I hope it does because it’s a great platform for a lot of people to get out there that would get the chance otherwise. How has your life changed since your face first appeared on Idol? Didi: Well my phone has gotten a lot more text messages. I feel like I’m living in a dream and I feel like I’m much more in touch with my emotions because

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Aaron: I think if I went back to Nashville, I think I could get in some doors. Idol has given me that platform.

your thrusted into the spotlight. It’s just insane. It’s something I’m not used to. You have probably looked forward to touring your whole life. Now that you are getting the chance, what do you look forward to the most on the road? Aaron Kelly: I look forward to just getting meet all the fans and seeing all the different venues. I mean Jones Beach is just beautiful. I’ve never seen a stage surrounded by water. It’s really awesome. What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Aaron: “You’ve got a way.” It was my best night because it was Country week and I got to show what kind of artist I was. If I would to put out an album, that’s what I’d want it to be. How has your life changed since your face first appeared on Idol?

I heard that a few of your “crashed a wedding.” What was the deal with that? Andew Garcia: The wedding was fun. We just started singing. It was cool. We were eating and someone came up to us and was like “Oh you guys are from American Idol. I love you guys. We’re having a wedding right now.” We went in there and all went crazy. It was open bar so we had a blast. You have probably looked forward to touring your whole life. Now that you are getting the chance, what do you look forward to the most on the road? Andrew: Yeah man! I look forward to seeing the people. I like seeing what each city brings. And so far, every show has been going crazy. What I love about that is, they show so much love for you and all you can do is give it all on that stage. I’ve got nothing but love for everyone. What was your favorite song to play throughout your time on the show? Andrew: I’d definitely have to say Chris Brown’s “Forever.” When I saw that song I was like ‘This is the music I’m gonna make.’ I love that you can do it with full production and then you can break it down to just acoustic and strings and still have that feeling.

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Unsigned Spotlight by Gerard Ucelli

PROCESS OF FUSION Staten Island State Of Mind

Patrick Wakie – vocals/bass, Justin Sarachik – keyboard/ vocals, Rose Couchon – guitar, Dylan Klein – guitar, Emmanuel Mavarkis – drums You guys recently released State of Mind on March 31st. Talk about that and what was your “State of Mind” on it? Justin Sarachik: Well recording was really cool because it was something I wanted to do my entire life. To finally go in the studio and actually get it done is pretty amazing because you actually have that finished product and a CD and hand it out. It’s like your resume of music. Patrick Wakie: We learned a lot from working on a CD. To talk about State of Mind it’s a concept that originally has been about 2 years in the making and we just progressed as a band just like the rest of the album. Dylan Klein: We had Terri. She was our last drummer since last July and it seemed like we had our fit. It was good that she was able to lay out the CD. Some things just couldn’t work out, but we are still happy with her and wish her the best of luck. Rose Couchon: It was also helpful in the recording process as a guitarist. I learned that you got to have everything down and have it as tight as can be. Emmanuel Mavarkis: I have some big shoes to fill.

How does the songwriting process work for Process of Fusion? Patrick Wakie: It works in a few different ways. I will or someone else will bring a riff or something else to the table. Then we would sit down and be like “I like this here” or “I like that there”. When I write on guitar I show it to Dylan Photo by Scott Vollweiler and then he takes it and makes it his own and writes the part over mine. We show the rest of the band then we do drums. Vocals and lyrics usually previous acts, there is a lot of people come last. have been coming inside to see us. Everyone is here to listen to our How many people on average music and that is an amazing feeling come to your shows? I know over In the next year what are your goals the months you branched out to a musically? lot of people? Dylan Klein: To stay realistic it Dylan Klein: Usually, the shows would be writing new stuff. Big that a lot of people come to are the bands can crank out a CD and support ones that are spaced out. Prior to the it for like a year. You can’t be like CD release show, we haven’t played that. You got to stay on top of it. since January. That gives us time to Justin Sarachik: Mine would be promote it and people to come to. playing bigger venues, working and Justin Sarachik: I’d say the average trying to be something more than we show is 30-50 and then the big ones are. That’s really the only ticket to have 50-100. success I would say. Patrick Wakie: One thing that is Manny Mavarkis: Maybe we can cool is that we don’t really have a go on a little tour. I have to get number. At shows even when there’s everyone in the band to get a tattoo not a lot of people standing for the that’s my goal in a year.

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End of Eternity Forever Ends Now

Photo by Scott Vollweiler Mike Cacciapuoti – vocals, James Battle – bass, Chris Warner – guitar, Sean Battle – guitar, Phil Fomina – drums On Facebook, you guys have this teaser for your song, “Forever Ends Tomorrow.” What is that song about and are we expecting any other teasers soon? Mike Cacciapuoti: Well we released another teaser last night which was guitars and had Chris Warner on guitar. How “Forever Ends Tomorrow” came about was me and Sean sent songs back to each other and he gave me a real raw demo. When I listened to it, I thought it was really cool and it gave me a vibe. I just thought if the world ends tomorrow what would you want to do and look back and be like “sh*t, I wish I would have done that”. The 8 song demo is going to be released in June. Do you have a name for it and if you do, why was it used? Mike Cacciapuoti: Well the title track that’s going to be released t is “Forever Ends Tomorrow”. The album is also named that because after we came up with that one song we kind of realized the songs we have been writing for years since 7th grade surround that. For months, we have been coming up with stuff that isn’t good. This ties everything together. Who did your End of Eternity photo design for Facebook? That was really good. Phil Fomina: That was me. I went on Google with my creativity and I thought what really represented E.O.E. (End of Eternity). Skulls and Death and forever ends tomorrow. James Battle: There’s a lot of symbolism in the logo. We didn’t want to be too controversial with the symbolism BrokenRecordsOnline.com

so we had to tone down the symbolism so it wasn’t as controversial. We like to leave the interpretation up to the listener. Sean Battle: The album cover is going to be different from that though. Chris Warner: It’s going to have a lot of symbolism. At this moment, I’m still in the creative process of designing it. What’s the new E.O.E. compared to the old E.O.E. cause I know you guys have been around for a while? Mike Cacciapuoti: I really can’t speak because I’m the newest guy to this band. I’m still the baby. Sean Battle: There’s been a huge lineup change from when we first started. When we first started we were more thrash Metallica worship. Then we went into kind of a straight Avenged Sevenfold worship which we kind of stepped away from because too many people said that. Now this new album has a lot of different metal influences and when we wrote more of the newer songs were going to come out with more of our influences. Chris Warner: Basically when we weren’t playing, we were all branching out and discovering different genres of metal and we gained all different influences and when we all got back together. Sean Battle: The next songs we release have influences in metal core and doom metal in other songs. Mike Cacciapuoti: It’s going to be new. A lot of people put us in the metal core genre. It’s going to be different.

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