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Mar 26, 2011
PLUG’D IN The Hard-Rock'n Bi-Weekly Magazine R.I.P. “The Bieb”
Inside This Issue: Impact: Beefcake the Mighty of GWAR This Is: Forever The Sickest Kids Dear Dead Abby Spotlight On: The Last Level
Justin Bieber Dead? Find out more in our exclusive interview with GWAR Bass– pounder Beefcake The Mighty
On Tour: James Cassells of Asking Alexandria De-motivation Posters
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Impact: Beefcake The Mighty of GWAR Interview by Mark Kohl and David Barber For over 25 years the intergalactic Gwar has been maiming and slaying all around the world. Gwar fans travel for miles to see their dramatic stage show, outrageous costumes, and for the chance to get covered in their victim‟s blood. I recently had the chance to see down with the bass master of Gwar, Beefcake the Mighty and it was one wild ride! M.K. PI: We are sitting down with the bass master of Gwar, Beefcake the Mighty. Beefcake what can we expect from Gwar tonight? BC: You can expect the usual fucking blood and chaos. We‟re gonna kick everyone in the fucking head as we usually do. You know a good rock show. PI: After a slaughter such as tonight, do you quench your thirst with an Earth-made alcoholic Beverage? BC: Oh yes! (PI) Which ones do you prefer? (BC) My current favorites are Vodka, orange juice, and cranberry juice, also known as Madras, Jack and Coke, and the ever present beer. I‟ll be guzzling that constantly. CONSTANTLY!!! PI: How do you explain the mass of people that come to see you guys play night after night? BC: I know we play off the human race as being stupid but apparently they are not so stupid. They know a good bargain rock show when they see it and they come to see it. People love Gwar. It‟s a good time. It‟s fun. It‟s an escape from their hum drum lives and their ugly wives and brotha‟s running around with knives. You know what I‟m saying. They come because it‟s Gwar. It‟s a good time until you‟re killed and then it‟s over. PI: It‟s been 25 years now…are you any closer to getting the “maggot worm”? BC: Nah. We‟re stuck here man. We‟re fucked. Even when we do get off this planet we realize it‟s the only planet with sex, drugs, and rock and roll on it so we have to come back anyway. We‟ve managed to find means of escape on occasion but we keep coming back because it‟s really dull out there. Everything has gotten all P.C. out in space. We know we can come here and there are sluts, booze, drugs, and shitty bands that we can poke fun at. This is kind of like our playground now.
Wayne Lozinak
PI: How does it fell to have stayed in the music scene for over 25 years? BC: Ummm…It feels sticky. It‟s painful in the rectum region. The music business is a horrible thing. Don‟t leave your children grow up to be musicians. They‟ll be poor and stupid and worthless human beings. The business has changed a lot and luckily Gwar is what Gwar is or we would suffer like everyone else, but we don‟t because we are Gwar and everyone comes to see Gwar. We are the kings of walkups. We may only sell 300 presale tickets and the promoter is pulling his hair out and then 800 people walk out and he‟s buying us champagne. It‟s good to be Gwar! PI: Obviously we know what occurs during Gwar‟s nights but what do you guys do during the day? BC: Not a whole lot. The same shit you do really. We wash our underwear if we have underwear. We pick our toenails and eat the contents like you do. You know we are simple, simple folk. We visit the local brothels and give them
new strains of diseases they never knew existed. And then we generally relax and enjoy the day…with drugs….and hookers! PI: The world is full of “POP” music now. Is there anybody in particular that you‟d like to spend the evening doing some “sword-poking” with? BC: I would love to open hand slap Justin Bieber until his head is unrecognizable. I don‟t even give a shit. I see him and I don‟t want to punch him. He‟s not worth punching. I just want to bitch slap him until his head is just paste. I don‟t think it would take that long so it would probably be disappointing because it would be done so quickly. I‟d just have to kick his body down the street for a while. PI: In the world of “POP” is there anyone that you can tolerate? BC: I can tolerate just about anything if I am drunk enough or if some hot chick is blowing me and is like “OH MY GOD. I love this song.” Then I‟ll go oh yeah I love it too. At least until she is done. I don‟t really listen to much shit because it is shit and if it is “pop” it is double shit. I hear bits and pieces of it and its all total crap. I mean Black Eyed Peas, come on. That is the most worthless fucking excuse for a musical act I‟ve ever seen in my life. It is just a musical act. It is not a band and they are fucking horrible. It astounds me how people just pay money and worship these things because they are shoved down their throats. Everybody else likes them so I must like them too (mocking them.) It‟s just absolute udder useless dribble. Its crap and it sucks. PI: Throughout the years you guys have pulled numerous political figures up on stage to dismember. If there is one person you think should be president who would that be? BC: Lemmy doesn‟t qualify because he‟s not an American citizen. FUCK! It really doesn‟t matter. I don‟t give a shit. I don‟t vote. It just doesn‟t matter. It has never mattered in my life who was president. Although whenever there is a republican president in office it is always good for Gwar. Even though the masses vote for them, the masses also want to see them die hideously on stage as well. The worst republican that you could get in office would be the best for us. Fucking Sarah Palin all the way man! Sarah Palin should be president because then it would truly be idiocracy in this country. PI: I‟ve heard rumors that there is a long ongoing feud between you and Oderus. How have you and Oderus been getting along? BC: There‟s no feud between me and Oderus. We‟re fucking brother‟s man. We‟re the two quickest to fight side by side against anything and anybody whether we‟re right or wrong. Me and Oderus are great chums. We‟re drinking buddies. We‟re whore masters together. We dare each other to do more drugs than the other. Fuck man we‟re bros. PI: How come Earth‟s people‟s sense of fashion and clothing has never affected you? BC: Why would it. Who gives a fuck? People are stupid and they dress stupid. They are fucking stupid, stupid, stupid! Nothing earthlings do affect us on that level because we don‟t really care. We march to our own drummer. PI: What is mankind‟s greatest accomplishment? BC: Chicken Fried Steak! PI: What is mankind‟s biggest fail? BC: That‟s a tough one. Probably existence. They are not very good at it. They tend to kill each other and themselves at an alarming rate but yet they still breed faster than they die. I guess that‟s a pretty good accomplishment but pretty much everything that the human race has ever done is pretty fucking lame.
PI: What is your favorite type of Pornography? BC: I like two chicks butt to butt with a big fucking double dong dildo just pounding. And they can‟t be skinny or fat either, but they have to have a little jiggle when they hit together. That‟s good shit. That‟s real good shit! PI: Is there any chance of an updated live DVD release from Gwar any time soon? BC: There is a chance…YES! PI: What is on the horizon for Gwar in the future? BC: Probably just more of the same. Fucking polluting our minds and bodies with elicit substances. Raping, Murdering, and Pillaging. Dancing with the Stars. Anything that we can‟t do on television. Anything and everything that we can get our dirty, grubby cock beaters on we‟ll take it, do it, mold it, and break it. PI: In your opinion, which is sharper…The pen or the sword? BC: Obviously the sword because you can kill the guy with the pen and then take his pen and write about how much of a dumb ass he was for thinking that the pen was sharper. You could always use the pen to write about things that might upset people or over throw governments or whatever but it‟s still a fucking pen isn‟t it. I‟ll take on bare handed anybody with a pen any day and show them that the fist is mightier than the pen even though the sword is mightier than the pen. The head butt is mightier than the pen. I have gas that is mightier than the pen. The pen isn‟t shit. Now the pencil is nasty. You can get a little piece of lead that breaks off and it will be in your skin forever. And the sharpie isn‟t even sharp. Neither is the Shar Pei. PI: Thanks Beefcake for sitting down with us and giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In. BC: What? Now you look here, I don‟t go that way…or do I? It‟s been a fucking pleasure. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to check on the doings of Gwar.
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This Is: Forever The Sickest Kids Interview and Photos by Liana Marie I cannot put into words my time spent with Forever The Sickest Kids. This was by far the most fun I‟ve had doing an interview, to date. The guys of FTSK were great and absolutely one of a kind. They definitely know how to keep a smile on your face. Congratulations to them on releasing their 2nd full-length album on 1-03-11. I‟ve been a fan of the guys since “Underdog Alma Mater” in ‟08 until this very day. I can‟t wait to see what surprises they have in mind for the future. PS- If you buy Dentyne Fire gum with the intention of starting a bonfire you‟re headed for a great deal of disappointment. Just saying. Here‟s what Forever The Sickest Kids had to share with us…L.M. This is Liana Marie of Central Pa Plug‟d In magazine here with…(J) Jonathan (K) Kyle (C) And Kent. (PI) Of Forever The Sickest Kids. PI: Any Significance behind titling your band Forever The Sickest Kids? J: Ah Yes. One time we got a food ticket and we threw up on it. At that moment we knew we were going to be called Forever The Sickest Kids. (C) It was originally going to be Forever The Sickest Ticket. (J)...But that had way too many words in it. (K) And that was gross because people thought it was ticks; blood ticks. (C) So we just went with Forever The Sickest Kids. PI: That‟s an awful long band name do you find yourselves abbreviating it a lot? J: FTSK? Yes. We either abbreviate it as FTSK or FT-SK. (K) & Where the “S” is actually the numeric 5. So, F-T-S-K.. But it‟s 5. (J) Orrr we do the F-T-Ke$ha S; with the dollar-K. (K) Oh, Ke$ha “s”. (J) F-T-Ke$ha S-K. Do you understand? (PI) Yes, I got it. We‟re on the same page. (Laughter) (J) “Boom Boom Pow...” she wrote that. (PI) Wait, No she didn‟t! (J) AH! No she didn‟t. PI: So, where are you guys from and is it the same place in which you grew up? J: ....Yes. (PI) Okay, well where are you from? (J) Dallas, Texas. (PI) Oh I see...Hence the Dallas Cowboys sticker. (J) Its the only state where the flag can fly at the same height as the American flag. ...Random Fact. (TM) And It‟s the real state where Forever The Sickest Kids goes hard in da paint. FTSK: Ohhhhhhh! (Laughter) (K) We go hard in the paint in Pennsylvania, too. M: Hello, I‟m a late arrival; Mark Stewart. (J) And I‟m Jonathan. (K) I‟m Kyle. (C) ...And I‟m Kent. PI: What was your favorite television show as a kid? M: Dang. Probably Sonic The Hedgehog or Mighty Max. (J) Hunky Bruster. (K) As a Kid? (PI) Yes. (K) Recess. (C) I Like Darkqueen Duck. (FTSK; All Together w/ accent) Better watch out badboys! (K) Can I change my answer? (PI) Yes. (K) Bobby‟s World. PI: What was your favorite band growing up? M: Pantera. (PI) Yeah? Is that still your favorite band today? (M) Oh. I don‟t know if you could consider them my favorite band today, though. No, probably not. (J) TC Marching band of 1994. (M) They were SOL-ID. (J) Do you remember that one song? Burr ra-ta ta ta ta-ta ta ta ta burr rat-ta ta ta ta-ta ta ta ta (K) Can I change my answer? (J) I
wasn‟t done. Hold on! Either that marching band or The USC Marching band of ‟96. (K) What Song? (J) Burr ra-pa tap tap ba-ta tap tap ra-pa tap tap ba-ta tap tap...One of those 2. (K) Oh and I wanted to change my answer to the previous question to “Saved By The Bell.” Scratch the other 2. (PI) ..And what‟s your favorite band? (K) I have to think about it. (PI) Okay. What about you Caleb? (C) This sounds really weird but I was really into a lot of punk rock. But I was also a big fan of System Of A Down...which is funny, now. But they were awesome. (PI) What‟s your favorite band today? (C) I like Songwriters. Bob Dylan‟s my all-time favorite. (M) Speaking of Songwriters there is a new solo artist coming out; who I think will be huge... Brandon Chamberlain. (J) At Bran-dizzle. (M) At B-r-a-n-d-i-z-z-l-e. You gotta check him out! He‟s my new favorite artist. (J) I didn‟t get to give my current favorite band. (PI) Oh, I‟m sorry. Go ahead. (J) Uh. Silly Bandz. (PI) (laughter) That‟s a band? (J) Yeah. (C) Excuse me. I want to say that I have a crush on Jenna from Tonight Alive. This is Caleb speaking. (K) Okay, I‟m ready. I‟d say Forever The Sickest Kids used to be my favorite band. And now it would be F-T-S- 5; numeric 5-K. PI: Have you always desired to be a part of the music world or did you have other aspirations? M: That‟s a funny story. (K) We‟d love to tell you about it. (M)...Maybe some other time, though. (J) Since we only have 5 minutes we better skip this question. (M) Because if we started answering that questions we‟d get stuck on it for....a long time. (C) Check this out. This is what I call “Go interview, go.” What was the question? (PI) (Repeats question) (C) I think we all wanted to do this as soon as we all realized we could make money doing it. Thank you! (K) Can we come back to that question? (C) Keep going! We can do it. PI: Has anyone ever discouraged you or told you that you weren‟t going to make it this far? C: Yes. Uh, Kyle‟s dad. (M) Yeah. FTSK: (Laughter) (J) I got a tweet that said “This album sucks.” That discouraged me. (M) We almost cancelled the whole tour over that tweet. The Ho-tour. (Southern Accent) We almost cancelled this ho-tour. (J) The ho-tour is the next tour with Breathe Carolina. PI: Having as big a fan base as you do have, there is always going to be those few people who aren‟t a part of it... How do you deal with that? J: Um. My dad always said that when building fans make sure the base is made either out of steel or aluminum. So, the larger the fan...the bigger we want to make the base. (K) Because when trying to create a fan...base...(J) ... because I weld. I‟m probably 1 of 5 members in the band that welds. (K) It all seriousness when trying to create a fan base and stuff you have to take into consideration that you have multiple speeds; 1, 2, 3, and then 0. They always put 0 right next to 3...(J) It really goes..3,0,1,2. So, you go to the left for 3 or 1,2. (C) The Faster the fan the bigger the fan base. (M) ...And if the fan isn‟t working...Do you watch WWE? (PI) No. (M) Or WWF? (PI) No. (M) Okay. Well, there‟s this group called “DX” and there slogan is called “Suck it!” (Positions hands in an xshape on lap). So, you do that. (PI) Oh, so that‟s how it goes? (M) Yes. (J) To be honest, there‟s not correct number of blades to have for a fan. So, you can have anywhere from 2-20 blades on a fan. But if you have 20 blades, you need a huge fan base. (K) Tell her how to mount the fan. (All Laughter). (K) No. On the wall...or ceiling. (More All Laughter) (K) What? When we were building a house I had to put like 6 fans in the ceiling before. It was awful.
PI: So, what do you hope your human-fans gain from your music? M: A smile. If they are going through a hard time we hope that our music gets them out of it. We do not want them to get any diseases from our music. (J) Can you repeat the question? (PI) (Repeats question) (J) Well, when we‟re talking about what fans gain from our music and what we hope they gain from our music...we‟d love tell you that but there‟s a problem. (PI) What‟s the problem? (J) Well, see we‟d also love to tell you that. So, I‟m going to let Austin take over. (A) Well there‟s just a problem with us. You know? We all got together and talked about it today... (J) Yeah. That‟s when we brought it to the table. (A)Mark had a few good points when he brought it up. (J) He addressed it. (J) I mean that‟s why it is...how it is. PI: How‟s tour with Good Charlotte treating Forever The Sickest Kids? J: Good Charlotte has something that they call “Posi Tweets.” And if you follow them on Twitter you‟ll know how easy it is to be lifted up by those guys. (A) First time I saw them it was me and Caleb Warped Tour 2000 and I was crowd surfing during their set. During the Bamboozle tour they kind of became our older brother band. So, they took us out and we‟re just stoked about it. PI: Which song do you enjoy performing live, most? M: “Don‟t Mess With Texas” or “Keep On Bringing Me Down.” (J) Either “Cop Car” or “Get Over Yourself.” (K) “I Guess You Could Say Things Are Getting Pretty Serious” and “She‟s A Lady.” (A) We have a song that you can actually download on itunes called, “Middletro.” (K) “Middletro” is a good one. FTSK: (All agrees). (C) “6 Foot 7 Foot.”
PI: Are you guys working on anything, currently? FTSK: uh ho! YEAHHH! Woooooo! (J) SO TUESDAY MARKED THE BIG DAY for all of us. MARK GOT POTTY-TRAINED..(M) Yep. (J) CALEB GOT HIS FIRST TATTOO..and FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS released their 2nd full-length album. (J) (Laughter) THREE-ONE-ELEVEN. FTSK: OH MY GOD. I CAN‟T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT. PI: How do you feel about the final product? ...OF THE ALBUM. M: We‟re definitely stoked of everything. The fans have been amazing. We put a lot of work into this album and the love that our fans are giving back is definitely worth all the time we spent on it. We‟re overwhelmed. (J) We never thought that we would get this kind of reception from an album. PI: What can we expect from Forever The Sickest Kids in the future? J: Robots and aliens. (M) World tour. (J) Wor-ld tour. (K) We‟re all tour. (J) We are all tour her. We‟re all tour her what she is to us. PI: Well thanks for giving us the opportunity to chat... (FTSK) WOOOOOOOOOO! (Claps). (PI) ...and Get “Plug‟d In.” (FTSK) Thank YOU! (Continues Clapping).
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Dear Dead Abby Brought to you by It’s All The Hair Rage Designs
From The Grave Abby was born and raised in the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The oldest of eight, she constantly had her younger brothers and sisters asking her questions about everything from how things work to why that boy threw dirt on her. She’d try to steer them straight with her advice, though sometimes she could be a bit sarcastic. Abby also had an uncanny ability to see the truth in people, despite what they tried to portray with their lies. Unfortunately, this led the locals to believe that she was with surrounded with dark forces. The summer before her final year of school, Abby was sentenced to death by hanging, without a proper trial, simply stating that she was a witch. Abby can’t recognize the faces of her family through death, but she answers questions, thinking it might be one of her siblings needing her guidance.
Q. We are at war now in Libya. It never ends. Should Americans mind their own business and worry about our problems here at home first? A.C. A. Technically, we aren't "at war." I believe the United States should mind their own business, and try to fix our own problems first, but due to our dependence on oil, we have footing there trying to protect our interests; oil. Basically, we are there to try to prevent genocide. African countries have some really bad dictators right now who kill thousands of people for no apparent reason, but the United States doesn't do anything about it. It's simply because Libya has oil, and we need it. I think we should focus on turning things like waste products into energy sources so we don't have to butt into Middle Eastern countries' business. Q. My Ex-girlfriend is a lying, cheating whore. I think she deserves to be taught some kind of lesson. What do you think? S.L. A. Karma. What goes around comes around. You get what you give. Threefold. Etc.... It is not your place to teach anyone a lesson, neither is it anyone else's place to teach you one. She could catch an STD and get knocked up, then deliver a premature baby with birth defects and have to take medication for her disease the rest of her life. Or she could be in a horrific accident and be horribly disfigured the rest of her life. I firmly believe people will get what they deserve, one way or another, but you don't need to do anything about it. The morals and decency or people in the modern generations is slowly fading away. Look what's on tv, the lyrics to songs, movies, and what is generally accepted by people. Some don't know any better, some don't care. Besides, she's your ex. Leave it be. Q. This girl @ work complains about everything. It drives me up a wall. How do I nicely ask her to shut the fuck up? D.W. A. Don't listen to her. Or tell her it could always be worse. People don't realize how incredibly lucky they are sometimes. Look at what just happened to Japan, and look at Libya. Look at the poverty stricken and the sick. You can easily point out why she shouldn't be complaining in a nice way. If that doesn't work, just flat out tell her that her constant complaining really annoys you and makes her seem like an ungrateful little wretch, and no one will be there to listen when she really has something worth complaining about. Q What is your favorite television show and why? H.B. A. What part of "I'm dead" don't people seem to understand? I don't watch TV, I don't keep up with the latest fashion, I don't care who the greatest singer is, etc.... Q. Why is the TV show Jersey Shore so popular? K.L. A. See above answer. I DON'T CARE! Most likely though it's because people like to see smuts that make them feel better about themselves. By watching someone else's train wreck of a life, they don't feel so bad about their own.
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On Tour: James Cassells of Asking Alexandria Interview by Vikki Sin With two CDs set to drop and a highly anticipated tour that‟s selling out shows, England natives Asking Alexandria are hard at work taking the metalcore scene by storm. To support the April 5th release of their second studio album „Reckless and Relentless‟, the band has set out on a North American tour of the same name, with an energetic and brutal lineup including Emmure, Chiodos, Evergreen Terrace, and Lower Than Atlantis. I caught up with drummer James Cassells before their second show on the tour, March 11th at the Crocodile Rock in Allentown. There was no shortage of head banging, black n blue eyes, and ice packs that night, and the sold out crowd loved every minute of it. But despite all the attention, James was quick to dismiss the label of „rockstar‟, proudly showing off a large paper „A‟ that a fan had made them hanging in their bus. Here‟s what he had to say about life in Asking Alexandria V.S. PI: This is the second night of your Reckless and Relentless tour, and you‟re selling out shows so far. So, how does it feel? JC: It feels great. It feels awesome. It just feels really good to be back in America, really, because we‟ve spent a lot of time abroad. But yea, it‟s awesome. Really good. Really happy with how it‟s going. PI: Who are the bands/artists that influenced you, growing up and currently? JC: For me, I listen to a lot of metal and nu-metal and stuff. I know a lot of the guys in the band listen to rock stuff, like Queen and Aerosmith and stuff. For me it was more the sort of heavier side of music that influenced me. PI: You guys have a lot of techno influences? JC: Yea, that was something I sort of got into when I was about 16-17, started going to clubs and stuff. When I was younger, I didn‟t really listen to a lot of it. PI: On the „Life Gone Wild‟ EP, you cover two Skid Row songs. Is everyone in the band a really big fan of Skid Row? JC: Yea, yea. We all love Skid Row. At the moment, for me, I‟m getting into a lot more music. Some more 80‟s metal. It influences a lot of our new album. PI: Do you think that hair metal will ever make a comeback? JC: I don‟t think it‟ll make a comeback, and if it does it‟ll have to be in a different form. It can‟t be the same. You couldn‟t re-release those tracks and expect them to do well, they‟re classic. It‟d have to have a heavier twist or like a different twist on it, which is kind of what we‟re trying to do. Our new album has got more hair metal sounding stuff but it‟s still really heavy.
PI: So, you‟re not going to start wearing spandex and teasing your hair? JC: (laughs) No, I don‟t think so. If we do, it‟s just for fun. PI: I know you get asked this all the time, but I have to ask about the name. Where did it come from, because I read a couple different things on where „Asking Alexandria‟ came from? JC: There‟s so many rumors out there, and to be honest, we started most of them. Everyone‟s always asking about the name. (PI) I‟ve heard you give different answers. So you won‟t ever tell anyone? (JC) See the laminate that you‟ve got? (Points to the press pass, which has a picture of a tattooed girl with thorny vines wrapped around her) She‟s now Alexandria. We got to design someone to fit the part. She‟s just a hot tattooed girl. (PI) So, it just came about, the name? (JC) Yea, it literally just came about. The band was already named it before I was in the band. To be honest, Ben (Ben Bruce, founder and guitarist) made it because it sounded cool. But now we have a back story and it‟s going to be, not the face of the band, but the symbol is going to be that girl. (PI) Everyone loves a hot tattooed chick right? (JC) Sure! PI: You guys are from England and you spend a lot of time over here. What do you find that the main difference is between touring over in England and touring over here? Are the fans any different? JC: Fans here are a little bit more insane, a little more into it. Fans in the UK are crazy but they‟re not going to come up to you. It‟s different, it‟s weird. They‟re very, very similar, especially compared to all the rest of the world. PI: Do you have any crazy fan stories? JC: All the crazy fan stories definitely come from Asia. We did Japan, and Japan was awesome. We went to Singapore and Thailand. Whoa, they were crazy. They were some of the best shows I think we‟ve ever done. They were so good, but the fans were so intense. We finished playing in Singapore and we‟d look outside the green room window and the whole crowd just stood outside the green room looking up, because they know that‟s the green room. We literally would look out and they‟d just start screaming, as if we were about to walk on stage again. In Thailand, we finished playing the show and the van we were in was about to take us to the airport and we were trying to get in and it was just people trying to get in the van and it was just intense. PI: Is that the craziest place you‟ve ever been, over in Asia? JC: Yea, Thailand is pretty crazy. They don‟t see any shows. No bands go there, so when bands do go there it‟s just the best day ever for them so they get crazy. Not like America. So many tours go across America and the UK. PI: So what do you, personally, do when you‟re not on tour? JC: Catch up on old friends, see family, and see my girlfriend. Try and live normally. You get home and you‟re like „This is so fucking good” but then in a few days you‟re like “Oh man, I want to get back on tour again”. Sort of like a love/hate relationship. PI: Tell us a little bit about the „Stepped Up and Scratched‟ remix CD that you guys have coming out. JC: Yea! I mean, I don‟t actually know when it‟s coming out to be honest. We‟ve changed the date so many times; I don‟t even know when it‟s coming out. It‟ll be coming out at some point. (PI) You‟re creating a buzz. (JC) Yea, it‟s going to be awesome. Were working with some really, really great artists on that stuff. (PI) And dubstep‟s on it? (JC) Yea, there‟s dubstep, all sorts of shit. It‟ll be coming at some point. I don‟t know when. But it‟s going to be really good. There are a lot of really good artists working on that, some of my favorite artists in that sort of scene.
PI: If you could tour with anyone, who would you like to tour with? JC: Just for the size of the band, or just cause I want to? PI: Just cause you want to, if you could put together a dream tour. JC: Dream tour…it would be so random. It would be like (laughs) I don‟t even know where to start. (PI) Hair metal? (JC) Yea it would be like a massive hair metal…it would be like someone like Bon Jovi, Prodigy (laughs), Slipknot. Yea, it would be such a weird collection of artists, but definitely those 3. PI: What do you think you‟d be doing if you weren‟t in a band? JC: I‟d still be playing. I was going to music class before I joined the band, so I‟d still be doing something in music, more behind the scenes, still playing drums. Maybe doing a tour or two but I‟d just be a fill in, do regular gigs, not in a band. Definitely be doing that, or teaching. Or else, I‟d just become a crack head and then fail in life. (Laughs) PI: You guys have an intense tour, it‟s like every night. What to do you do to keep up the energy? Is it hard? JC: Oh, God. Especially, like, at the moment I‟m so tired. I‟m really tempted to go to sleep. I did that last night and I woke up even more tired. I had a couple hours sleep and then had to play. As soon as you get on stage really it changes, you get into it. You had to have a really rough night to go onstage and be like „I can‟t‟, like no sleep at all, which has happened a few times. PI: What do you want to say to the people that buy your CD‟s and make you things and wear your shirts and sell out these shows? JC: Just, thank you. Thanks for taking an interest in the band. It‟s awesome. PI: Did you ever think you were going to end up in a band that became this big? JC: No, I didn‟t. I was in bands before, I thought I‟d always have a band to play in but I never thought I‟d be doing it on this scale. Get to see the world, travel around and play sick shows to thousands of people and shit. I never thought that would happen, but it has! (Laughs) PI: Thanks for giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In! JC: Thank you very much.
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Spotlight On: The Last level Interview by Michael Demos Here the scoop…I‟ll never buy a video game from anywhere but The last Level. Why? Plain and simple…They‟re the cheapest and coolest around. Trust me when I tell you they‟re cool. They know exactly what they‟re talking about! These guys live, breath, eat, and crap video games. They also have the coolest looking video game store around! They opened up shop 4 months ago in West Reading, Pa. and it‟s been a revolution ever since. We sat down with Matt Seitz and Shawn Barry and they gave us all the dirt. Here‟s what they had to say…M.D. PI: I‟m sitting down with Matt Seitz and Shawn Barry of The Last Level. Can you tell us what The Last Level is? MS: We are pretty much the “Be All, End All” of video game stores. If you need a game or something game related, there‟s no other store you should go to. We have the cheapest prices hands down, we have the best service hands down, we repair your systems and discs, you can try it before you buy it, we do trades, we do tournaments…There‟s us and no one else! PI: Ok, you‟re the “Be All, End All”. There are already a lot of video game stores that are already established. What makes you different from them? SB: Price makes the difference. When you go into a big corporation store and you‟re spending $60 each game, it adds up. Ours are $56.99. I mean $5 to gamers adds up quickly. We don‟t treat people like a #. We are friendly. We make sure they leave with what they want. We don‟t try to push anything on them. PI: You guys are new on the scene and just opened up your store in West Reading. Why West Reading? MS: We‟ve been open a little over 4 months now and we picked West Reading because, let‟s be honest, West Reading has a lot of high end tail. They have a lot of jewelry, bistros, wine downs, ect. Then you have the skate shop, comic book shop, and now us. What more could a kid want when he comes down the Ave. to shop? His Mom and Dad want to look around for a nice fur coat, but he wants video games. We had to bring some of the excitement back to the Ave. What better way to do it than with games, tournaments, blow outs, midnight releases…you can‟t go any further than us. PI: How has it been business wise for you here in West Reading? SB: Too good! We‟ve been blowing up to the point that we‟ve been shipping so much stuff we‟re not making enough profit off it. (Laughs). (MS) We are expanding and we even had offers to be bought out! Our competitors offered us $250, 000 to shut down and move out! We turned it down of course. We‟ve had 3 different malls ask us to come up and open up stores there. We‟ve had the movie theatre ask us to come and do promotions with them. We have investors asking to invest in us. We just need to keep marketing it right. PI: Tell us about some of the special things you do here. SB: The whole “Try It before You Buy It” thing was something that we took from Game Crazy. We would really like to pay our respects to that store because although they were “Corporate” it was still like a local business. A lot of people aren‟t used to being able to try something out first. It doesn‟t matter if it‟s a new game or shrink wrapped. Who cares! Rip it open, put it in the system, and if it sucks…don‟t get it. We also do tournaments. We have 7 large screen HDTV‟s and we run various games, systems, and setups on. We do Call of Duty, NBA 2K11, ect. We try to switch it up and also take suggestions from our customers as what to play. (MS) We are not as the corporate head. When you
walk into the store…we aren‟t in charge, you are! You want to try the game first? Do it! You want to have a tournament on Friday night? Gather your boys up and do it! You think you‟re better than us? Prove it! Step into the arena, play the game, and have your bragging rights. We have our “Wall of Shame” Everybody who wins a game get their name up on the wall. Anybody that comes in and says “I‟m better than you” I say “Did you beat me in a tournament?” “Shut your face!” (Laughs) If you don‟t come to compete, then you have no room to talk. You go to Game Stop…they don‟t do anything. You walk in there and they shove 35 pre orders down your face, they make you buy 82 games that are overpriced, and they rip you off on your trades. You come here and you are treated like a person. You walk in here we are like “What‟s up Mike?” You walk into GameStop and they‟re like “What‟s up $” (Laughs) You walk into Micro Play looking for a game and they give you a treasure map. Not here…we find it for you. That‟s how we roll. PI: Is there a noticeable reaction from your customers? They can‟t be used to being treated like this. SB: We‟ve been here for 4 months and haven‟t had a single complaint. You go into GameStop looking for something; you‟re going to wait 30 mins before someone notices you. When someone comes here it‟s like walking into a friend‟s house. We aren‟t going to hound you. People are really happy with the way we treat them. They‟re happy we aren‟t sniffing their butts for a membership sale. We do offer a membership. Its 10% off the games and we‟re already about 10% cheaper than everyone else anyways. But we won‟t hound you about it. If you want it cool. Our membership is cool though. It‟s like getting 20% off. We will offer it, but if you don‟t want that‟s up to you. PI: You guys have a lot going on! Tell us about the Warhammer thing. MS: Warhammer is something we brought in about a month ago. We are still all about video games because they‟re our pride and joy and our bread and butter, but there is so much more to games. There more than just the controller and Warhammer is just that. You take the competitive nature and you take it to a table. We made 5 tables with full terrain and armies. You name it, we got it. We do paint and building nights. We host tournaments for Berks County gaming club. They came in here one time and ran an “Old Guys vs New Guys” game. It was 8 on 8 and it was the most intense thing. PI: What are your plans for the future? MS: Blowing up! We want it bigger. We want projections. We have tournaments now with 39 people. We want 60! We want people to want this store so bad that they don‟t ever think GameStop again! Sure we don‟t have downloadable content, but who cares? Come here and get it $5 cheaper! Sure you can‟t get the golden sword that you might use one time, but who care? Try out your game, get it cheaper, and have a good experience. (SB) The downloadable content is bogus. You‟re really not getting anything. You‟re paying them $5 more for what? All you‟re doing is boosting them up. I mean c‟mon…a sword? I‟d rather get my game cheaper.
PI: Do you guys do repairs? MS: We do it all. WII, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, yellow light of death, red light of death, tray and disk errors, blue ray player errors…pretty much all of it. We gut it and we fix it. We don‟t do illegal mods, but we can mod your fans so it feels like a hovercraft. Your system will be so cold you won‟t be able to touch it without gloves! Cheapest price around too! Sony has a flat rate of $120 per repair. Ours is $50 plus $10 diagnostic fee and it comes with a 3 month warranty. We guarantee our stuff. If you walk out of here with a piece of shit, bring the piece of shit back, and I‟ll get you something better! We aren‟t some kid working in a video game store. We are knowledgeable gamers. We‟ve been to tournaments and been around video games forever! We battle too! Come in the store talking crap…you‟re going to have to battle us! If you‟re good, you‟re going to have to beat people who are good too! When you say “I whooped your ass” I know you actually did it! I don‟t give breaks! PI: Thanks guys for sitting down with us and giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In. MS/SB: Absolutely! We got you!
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From The Throne of The Rock God Rants, Raves, Reviews, and News for the Minions
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Upcoming Shows April 1st - TOKKS FAREWELL SHOW... FOR NOW! DEM KORRUPT BOYZ FEATURING T.O.N.E.Z., H8TRID, PHATAL, R.E.G, 7TH LAYER, THE UNSTABLE MINDS, THE PUMPKIN KING, K4AC, OPTIMUS, B-FRESH, SNIPER, THE REAL CHAOS!! TIX $10!! ALL AGES! DOORS AT 5!! April 2nd - A SCENT LIKE WOLVES CD RELEASE SHOW, SEVENTH CORVUS, APOCRYFRIEND, RUN YELL TELL AND AVEIDON!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT 7!! SHOW STARTING AT 7:30!! April 8th - HALF ANGEL, LUSH BUTTON, ARA AND ENGINE PRESS! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT 7:30! April 10th - THE WORLD WE KNEW, FAREWELL TO FREEWAY, RIVERS OF NIHIL, INVARIANCE, AS CITIES FALL, HELL OR HIGHWATER AND CONTENTS OF A DEADMANS POCKETS, TIX $10, DOS $12, ALL AGES, DOORS AT 5:30, SHOW STARTS AT 6!! April 15th - CHINGA, KUATO, OVLO, A WORLD ONCE SILENT, BuryHerAlive! AND MORE TBA! DOORS AT 7:30, SHOW STARTS AT 8! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! April 16th - AMERICAN MYTH, JOHNNY ROCKIT, MANTRA, JONATHAN A ANDRUS AND MORE TBA! ALL AGES! DOORS AT 7:30! April 22nd - WILLIE JACK AND THE NORTHERNLIGHTS, MYSTERY FYRE, HOUSE WITH A YARD, LET'S BECOME BUGS!! DOORS AT 7:30, SHOW STARTS AT 8! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR!! April 23rd - AFTER 3 AM, FOUR YEARS PAST, SIX PENNY, AND 5 HOUR SHOWER!! DOORS AT 7:30, ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR!! April 29th - THRODL, OF THE NINTH CIRCLE, CONFESSIONS OF A LIFETIME, 20TIL8 AND PALE HARVEST!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! May 13th - MANTIS, AIRSHOW, AND LATE NIGHT DJS! May 20th - GRAVEROBBER, UNDER COMMAND, FIREBORN, FLIGHT CASE SYNDROME, MIDNIGHT DECADENCE CD RELEASE SHOW, 20TIL8! Tix $10 advance, $15 at the door. All Ages! Doors at 6:30 June 10th - END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BASH!! UNITED WE FALL, CALL ME CRAZY! June 17th - FOR THE PERILOUS, SAVE THE ZOMBIES, GUN FOR HIRE AND MORE!
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