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The Hard-Rock'n Bi-Weekly Magazine The kickass Local Edition
We rock out w/ mike truehart Inside This Issue
Artist spotlight: Mike Truehart of The Dawn of apollyon (part 1), Impact: Johnny Plague, dear dead abby, vikki sin speaks: the do’s and don't’s of stage presence, 5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could happen (Part 2)
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Artist spotlight: Mike Truehart of The Dawn of apollyon part 1 Interview by Michael Demos and Danielle Welgemoed Taylor I recently got a chance to chat with Mike Truehart of Dawn of Apollyon. Mike is guitarist for D.O.A. and a very vocal and active supporter of the local music scene. I’ve have been wanting to pick his brain for a while and see exactly how he got his start, his future plans, and how he feels about all sorts of thing. Here’s part 1 of his interview…M.D. PI: So how long have you been playing the guitar and do you play any other instruments? MT: I've been playing guitar since I was about 12 when my brother got one for his birthday...only I kind of stole it away from him ha-ha. But since then it's been my main focus. I've also played drums, trumpet, and have dabbled a bit into piano. As of late I have been studying mainly classical guitar as well as some jazz. I feel like at a certain point everyone has to step outside of their comfort zone and really challenge themselves in order to better themselves as musicians. PI: What are some of your favorite bands, both local and signed? MT: The response to this could literally take up probably the entire magazine. My favorite local bands are pretty much everyone that we have ever had the pleasure of sharing the stage with: From This We Rise, Rivers of Nihil (we didn't share the stage with them, but they're great friends of ours), 20til8, Saturnalia, No Remorse For The Fallen, Apocryfiend, Moments of Silence, CHINGA!, Ambient Ruins, Screams of The Insane, The Way, Slapjaw, Relic, Meet At Sundown, Deception Theory, Save The Zombies, Imora, Throdl...the list could literally go on and on. As far as 'signed' bands are concerned, if we're strictly talking about just metal: Daath, Opeth, Mastodon, Behemoth, At The Gates, Chimaira, Between The Buried and Me, Divine Heresy, Fear Factory, Meshuggah, The Devin Townsend Project/Strapping Young Lad, In Flames, Trivium, Lamb Of God, The Human Abstract, Unearth, Sylosis, Machinehead, Mushroomhead, Pantera...just like the local pages, this list is pretty much never ending...But I'm really into a lot of different musical tastes I guess you could say. My iTunes play list covers pretty much every genre there is. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Jazz, Blues, and Classical music. PI: How long have you been friends with Chaz Squillace and what are your thoughts on him? MT: Chaz and I have been friends for close to two years now. He is one of my closest and best friends, as well as probably one of the best, explosive, heavy handed drummers that I know. Besides
being a great drummer he's just an insanely talented person, and gives 110% to whatever it is he does. He's a great guy, and his band kicks ass; and yes Doug, I know you'll be making fun of me for this. PI: What is your favorite venue to play at? MT: A venue is a venue. A stage is a stage. Not to say that we've played them all or anything, but we just love to play anywhere that we can. If there are people and we can get up in their faces and share the experience of live music with them, we're going to love it. But without a doubt, our favorite place to play is back home in Reading. PI: Death Metal Jeff or the Fuck Yeah Guy? MT: No comment. I don't want either of them to devour my soul! They're both awesome guys, and obviously, widely known as two of the coolest peoples at local shows. PI: What do you like to do when you're not playing music? MT: Practice...practice a lot ha-ha. I also enjoy working out, cooking, going out to see new things and places. Believe it or not the whole band spends a lot of time together, so we pretty much see each other and hang out every day. It's cool to be a part of such a well-knit group of friends. PI: Have you been in any other bands previous to Dawn of Apollyon? MT: Yeah, I've been in quite a few. None that necessarily came into full existence within the local music scene but I think DOA is the largest thing that any of us as musicians have done. Jim and I were also in Of The Ninth Circle. Chris was in a local indie project called The Scarlet as well as a few others. Bryan, we just made play bass. And that's pretty much his story. PI: What are some of your goals for the next year? MT: It's funny...DOA hasn't even been around for a year. It's crazy to think about now that we look back upon it because we've played so many shows and gotten so far as a band within the little time that we've been a unified band. The next year is going to be quite the pivotal point. People are either going to love us or hate us. DOA and original vocalist, Mike Hart, parted ways [We've recently begun working with a new vocalist...look for an announcement soon!]. This brought kind of a dark shadow over our heads, at least with how we got
viewed when fans didn't get to hear the whole story or explanation of why we all decided to party ways. But, in light of the situation, we began to write darker, heavier, and faster music. So...the fans are going to have that to look forward to. We will be in the studio again with Mike Radka on December 6th and 7th to record a quick two song EP that we're still trying to decide what we're going to do with. We have a lot of big things in the works but we don't want to discuss them all so that we don't jinx them ha-ha! For now, it's just business as usual. Play as hard as we can and as many shows as we can [possible tour dates this summer] and just have a good time doing it. You can't really do anything else other than try to have fun. PI: What are your views on the local music scene and what do you think all local bands should do more of? MT: I'm very honored to be a part of such a good scene. I think that the local scene in Reading/ Berks County/Pennsylvania in general has been on the upswing lately and it's an exciting thing to see. There are so many good and upcoming bands now. Unfortunately there's the whole economy crisis going on...so it's hard to get a ton of people out to shows like there were back in like, 2006. But I think that's finally starting to turn around. The bands coming out now are more original. It's not the same repeated generic breakdown crap anymore. People are starting to become musicians, and that's exciting. I think local bands should find what makes them happy, and play that. Don't sell out to try to become the next biggest thing. Don't follow the trend. Then you're just a grain of sand on the beach. Try to stand out and do something different. I think a lot of bands take themselves way too seriously too. These bands need to have fun. Another big piece of advice I want to give is to make small, realistic goals. Don't make your first and foremost goal to get signed and tour the world...because chances are, that's not going to happen for a long time. So shoot for something a bit closer to home; recording a demo, playing x number of shows in x number of cities within x number of days, print merch, so on and so forth. Taking all those little steps one at a time will lead to a much further destination than you would have if your only goal was to 'get signed and tour the world.' PI: Where did you get the name Dawn of Apollyon from? MT: Originally the name of the band was Apollyon. Apollyon is a mythological and biblical creature. In modern times, Apollyon was looked upon as the Angel that brought forth the end of times. However, it was never said if he was the one that was bringing forth all the plagues, or if he was being forced to do it. So the name of Apollyon kind of has a dark, mysterious name to it and we thought that represented the band well because we could take it in any direction that we wanted to from there on. We then ran into some legal issues because of books and movies having a similar name so we were forced to change it. We didn't want to change it to something too far off from the original name so we added 'Dawn of' in front of it. It still brings forth that dark, mysterious message. Our EP and LP named releases will also have to do with the end of times as well, just to fit into suit well.
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Dear Dead Abby 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. My Mother is coming to visit us for a week over Christmas. She will be staying at our house. She and my boyfriend do not get along at all. Any tips on how to make this Holiday more bearable? C.C. A. They can either coexist peacefully for the holidays, or someone can leave. It’s really quite simple. Adults should be able to put their differences aside for the sake of their loved ones. They should at least be able to be civil to each other. What if things progress between you and your boyfriend to where he becomes your husband? Does she intend to be the mother in law from hell? It’s natural for a mother to think that no one is going to be deserving of their children anyway. They both need to accept that the other is in your life, and not leaving it anytime soon, so they need to make the best of it, and eventually even possibly find things about the other they actually like. Q. My girlfriend and I just broke up. We had a huge fight and she slashed my tires and scraped up my car. The cops came and arrested her and now they want me to press charges against her. Personally I think she deserves it. What should I do? P.B. A. Why did you break up? Did you do something to her or does she think you did something to her that would constitute revenge? Haven’t you ever heard the phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”? Women are emotional creatures that quite often do things that cannot be explained. Sometimes we don’t even remember why we did something, just that it seemed like a good idea at the time. However, it is not to be taken as an excuse. People still have knowledge of what is right and wrong, and can base their actions accordingly. Think carefully about what you do. It has no effect on you whether you press charges or not, but it could impact her future. I don’t know you or what kind of person you are, but something like this cannot be taken lightly. Perhaps you could make a deal where you won’t press charges if she agrees to pay for the damages to your car. Ultimately, it’s up to you. I would look back on the relationship and ask myself if that’s really how I wanted to end things. Q. I like to cut myself. My friends think it’s weird. I don’t see anything wrong with it. I’m not trying to kill myself. I just like the way it feels. Is there something wrong with me? Anon A. Yes. I should hook you up with the freak that likes to put fish hooks through his balls. He doesn’t see anything wrong with that either. To each their own, right? Q. Christmas sucks. I wish we could replace it with some new Holiday. If you could replace it what would be your new Holiday? S.D. A. Public Hangings. Q. My best friend’s girlfriend just told him she is pregnant. He seems really happy. Thing is…I know for a fact she cheated on him at a party and it’s around the same time she got pregnant. Do I tell him? I don’t want to see him get hurt, but I also don’t want him to raise a baby that might not be his. Help! N.F. A. Well, you could casually mention about a “friend” of yours going through a similar situation. Gauge what you tell him by his reaction. I wouldn’t tell him at first though. I would tell his girlfriend to tell him herself, or you’ll do it for her. Or, you could mind your own business. I absolutely loath people that stick their nose where it doesn’t belong. They would be attending my holiday listed above.
1402 N. 9th Street Reading, PA 19604 Fri. December 9th: NORTH END – You You Dark Forest – Pride Of A Lion Sat. December 10th: HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS FESTIVAL : Featuring : SUFFOCATION + Revocation – Divination – Believer – Rivers of Nihil – Black Anvil – DeMilitia – Pale Harvest – March To Victory – Metrix and more Sun. December 11th: ROOKIE OF THE YEAR and THE ICARUS ACCOUNT + Mechanical Kids – The Riot – The World Outside – The Trace (formerly Sandlot Heroes) – Sides Of A Circle Wed. December 14th: The Slackers / The Pietasters + The What Nows ?!?! Fri. December 16th: KORPIKLAANI + Arkona + Polkadot Cadaver + Forged In Flame Sat. December 17th: JIM BREUER and Jim Breuer as HEAVY METAL MAN part of THE HEAVY METAL FAMILY MAN TOUR Comedy and Rock together! Sun. December 18th: Christmas with CKY and family. ONLY area show. Fri. December 23rd: The Winter Solstice Jam 2011 with: Flux Capacitor – Good Lovin’ Jam Band – Psycadelphia + Ross Garlow (acoustic)
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Impact: Johnny Plague Interview by Danielle Welgemoed Taylor I was able to interview the one, the only Jonathan Cooke aka Johnny Plague of deathcore band Winds of Plague. I played a show in Allentown, PA at the Croc Rock on November 26 with Winds of Plague as a part of Thrash and Burn Tour. We talked about his feelings on tour, the weirdest show they've ever played, and the meaning behind some of the songs‌ D.W.T PI: How are you doing today and how is Thrash and Burn Tour going so far? JP: It's going really well. I'm enjoying every second of it. The bands are all enjoyable to be around. We've befriended all of them, but Volumes is probably my favorite band to play with on this tour. PI: What song has the most meaning to you and why? JP: All of the songs have some sort of meaning behind them. We don't usually write songs about nothing. I think as far as most meaningful, it would definitely be a hard decision. PI: What show has been the weirdest, craziest, or strangest for you since you've been signed? JP: Definitely a show we played in Atlanta a few years ago. One of our fans told us that a ghost would ruin our set, and we managed to get through our set, but some weird shit happened after the show. Ha-ha. PI: Where did the name "Winds of Plague" come from? JP: Well, we were originally Bleak December, but decided to change it to Winds of Plague after an Unearth song, Endless. [Growing wings of sorrow/have brought you the winds of plague.] PI: What venue has been your favorite to play so far since you've been a band? JP: I honestly couldn't tell you. They've all had their fair shares of pros and cons, and the fans have always been awesome. It would just be too hard to choose just one. PI: If you could give advice to all unsigned bands who want to make it big, what would it be? JP: Don't do it just to get signed or make it big. Don't expect to make tons of money either. It takes a lot of hard work but if you're doing it for the sake of playing music and you put your mind to it, it'll happen.
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No matter what kind of a musician/band/rapper you are it‘s important to take into account the entertainment value of your performance. Some people will argue that that shouldn’t matter, it’s about the music only, and blah blah blah. Now of course it should be about the music, but you shouldn’t underestimate that while people are tuned in audibly, they want to be entertained visually, even if just a little. There is, after all, a reason why shock rock is such a popular ticket. I still say Kiss only made it that far because of what the look like. Having an act that people want to pay money to see is vitally important if you’re going to make a living in this fickle industry. Now, not everyone is going to fall under the pig mask/soda spraying clowns/guillotine on stage sect, but what you have to realize is that even if it’s 3 dudes on chairs with instruments, it’s all in the way you present yourself. Your goal is to captivate that audience in some way shape or form that has them leaving the venue going “Man, I really want to fucking see them again.” First of all, be present. Music should be your escape. It’s generally the fans escape and that’s why they came to see you play, so give them what they came for. Whatever bullshit you have going on, put it aside for that time frame and be fully tuned into your performance. Make eye contact, jump around the room, get in people‘s faces if you have to. Put everything you’ve got into it. Always play like you’re playing to a roomful of A&R reps from all the top record labels that have ever existed. Because, well, you never know. This is especially important for acts that use no props, costumes, paint, masks, etc. You have to work all the juju on your own. In a group, one person lagging can bring the whole mood down. If you’ve got 2 guitarists head banging their hearts out, and your bass player is just standing there doe eyed staring at the door, people are going to be a little distracted. Me personally, I love a band that coordinates guitar whips and little steps and movements like that. It adds a really cohesive element that drives the music home. Originality is key when you’re incorporating other elements into your show. Do something no one’s ever seen before. If you look like you’re biting someone else’s style, people probably aren’t even going to give you a chance. Nobody wants to see another Slipknot clone or a slightly different spin on ICP’s face paint. Bring something different or don’t bring anything. There’s a fine line between tongue-in-cheek performances and making a mockery out of things. Make sure the level of campiness matches your songwriting style. There’s such a thing as too much. If you’re rapping on a serious note about how tough life was growing up in suburbia, and you have 12 strippers in cheap costumes flinging candy at the crowd, it’s probably going to look super cheesy. Consequently, that may work for a group rapping about dead bitches. You have to really, really own it if you’re going to go really far with your act. Commit to it. Keep with the same tone for every show too. Don’t play a show on Friday where you’ve got an entire sideshow
act, and then Saturday come out in jeans like nothing happened. Stick with the schtick, as it were. Could you imagine Alice Cooper without the…well, everything? Above all else, it’s obviously about giving 110%. It’s true that if you put your heart and soul into something, it shows, and that’s what people want to see. And if people want to see you, that’s really all a performer could ask for. That, and lots of press. That being said… Inspiration for this column came mainly from the following Eastern P.A. bands that give you your money‘s worth: The Curse of Sorrow- for image, movement, and audience participation. Wolfpaceveryone loves strippers and masked men. 20til8, because throwing cake at the crowd IS metal. Dual Diagnosis- for having no special image or props, but a really present and entertaining vocalist Check them out (on Facebook AND in person) Contact Vikki @
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5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen (Part 2) By: TE Sloth, David Wong #3.The Real Rage Virus- As seen in ...28 Days Later What is it? In the movie, it was a virus that turned human beings into mindless killing machines. In real life, we have a series of brain disorders that do the same thing. They were never contagious, of course. Then, Mad Cow Disease came along. It attacks the cow's spinal cord and brain, turning it into a stumbling, mindless attack cow. And, when humans eat the meat ... How it can result in zombies: When Mad Cow gets in humans, they call it Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Check out the symptoms: Changes in gait (walking), Hallucinations, Lack of coordination (for example, stumbling and falling), Muscle twitching, Myoclonic jerks or seizures, Rapidly developing delirium or dementia Sure, the disease is rare (though maybe not as rare as we think) and the afflicted aren't known to chase after people in murderous mobs. Yet. But, it proves widespread brain infections of the Rage variety are just a matter of waiting for the right disease to come along. Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse: If the whole sudden, mindless violence idea seems far-fetched, remember that you are just one brain chemical (serotonin) away from turning into a mindless killing machine (they've tested it by putting rats in Deathmatch-style cages and watching them turn on each other). All it would take is a disease that destroys the brain's ability to absorb that one chemical and suddenly it's a real-world 28 Days Later. So, imagine such an evolved disease, which we'll call Super Mad Cow (or, Madder Cow) getting a foothold through the food supply. Say this disease spreads through blood-on-blood contact, or salivaon-blood contact. Now you have a Rage-type virus that can be transmitted with a bite. Just like the movie. With one bite, you're suddenly the worst kind of zombie: A fast zombie. #2.Neurogenesis- As seen in ...Laboratories around the world. What is it?
You know all that controversy out there about stem cell research? Well, the whole thing with stem cells is that they can basically be used to regenerate dead cells. Particularly of interest to zombieologists like us is neurogenesis, the method by which they can regrow dead brain tissue. You can see where this is going. How it can result in zombies: You wanted the undead to make an appearance in this article? Well, here you go, you creepy bastards.Science can pretty much save you from anything but brain death; they can swap out organs but when the brain turns to mush, you're gone. Right? Well, not for long. They're already able to re-grow the brains of comatose head trauma patients until they wake up and walk around again. Couple that with the new ability to keep a dead body in a state of suspended animation so that it can be brought back to life later, and soon we'll be able to bring back the dead, as long as we get to them quickly enough. That sounds great, right? Well, this lab dedicated to "reanimation research" (yes, that's what they call it) explains how the process of "reanimating" a person creates a problem. It causes the brain to die off from the outside in. The outside being the cortex, the nice part of you that makes humans human. That just leaves the part that controls basic motor function and primitive instincts behind.
You don't need the cortex to survive; all you need is the stem and you'll still be able to mindlessly walk and eat and enjoy Grey's Anatomy. This is how chickens can keep walking around after they've been beheaded (including one case where the chicken lived for 18 months without a head). So, you take a brain dead patient, use these techniques to re-grow the brain stem, and you now have a mindless body shambling around, no thoughts and no personality, nothing but a cloud of base instincts and impulses. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we like to call a real, live, undead fucking zombie. So there. Think about it. Under every legal system in the world, all rights and responsibilities are terminated at death. All it takes is someone with resources and a need for a mindless workforce of totally obedient slave labor. How long until somebody tries this? We're betting somebody in the world, maybe North Korea, will have a working zombie by Christmas.
#1.Nanobots- As seen in...Michael Crichton's novel Prey, The PS2 game Nano Breaker What are they? Nanobots are a technology that science apparently engineered to make you terrified of the future. We're talking about microscopic, self-replicating robots that can invisbily build--or destroy-anything. Vast sums of money are being poured into nanotechnology. Sure, at some level scientists
know nanobots will destroy mankind. They just can't resist seeing how it happens. How it can result in zombies: Scientists have already created a nano-cyborg, by fusing a tiny silicone chip to a virus. The first thing they found out is these cyborgs can still operate for up to a month after the death of the host. Notice how nano scientists went right for zombification, even at this early stage. They know where the horror is. According to studies, within a decade they'll have nanobots that can crawl inside your brain and set up neural connections to replace damaged ones. That's right; the nanobots will be able to rewire your thoughts. What could possibly go wrong? Chances this could cause a zombie apocalypse. Do the math, people. Some day there will be nanobots in your brain. Those nanobots will be programmed to keep functioning after you die. They can form their own neural pathways, meaning they can use your brain to keep operating your limbs after you've deceased and, presumably, right up until you rot to pieces in mid-stride. The nanobots will be programmed to self-replicate, and the death of the host will mean the end of the nanobots. To preserve themselves, they'd need to transfer to a new host. Therefore, the last act of the nanobot zombie would be to bite a hole in a healthy victim, letting the nanobots steam in and set up camp in the new host. Once in, they can shut down the part of the brain that resists (the cortex) and leave the brain stem intact. They will have added a new member to the unholy army of the undead. Now, it should be more than clear by this point that our goal is to be responsible researchers. We don't want to create a panic here. All we're saying is that on an actual day on the actual calendar in the future, runaway microscopic nanobots will end civilization by flooding the planet with the cannabalistic undead. Science has proven it.
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