Highwire Daze Issue #151

ISSUE 151

33RD ANNIVERSARY ISSUE NOV | DEC 2023

POWER TRIP COVERAGE WITH

PLUS: CONMAC, KID PHANG, KURT DEIMER, LAST NIGHT OF SOLACE, MOURNING MIST, PAUL LIDEL'S SCREAM THERAPY, THE READY SET, WE ARE THE BLACK THINGS, WEDNESDAY 13, WILLA, YUNGBOI GOTHIC, AND MORE...

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PAUL LIDEL’S SCREAM THERAPY “Self titled” CD

Catalog # PER6032 UPC -670573060321

Featuring Paul Lidel (Dangerous Toys, Dirty Looks & Broken Teeth) www.perrisrecords.com CDS DISTRIBUTED BY SELECT-O-HITS

& ALLIANCE

Please pick up any of these CD’s at the following locations: Amoeba Music - Hollywood, Bionic Records - Buena Park, CD Trader - Tarzana, Freakbeat Records - Sherman Oaks, Fingerprintz Music - Long Beach, Toxic Toast Records - Long Beach, Glass House Records - Pomona, Black Hole Records - Fullerton

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HIGHWIRE DAZE Sponsored by THE SANDGAARD FOUNDATION

Publisher Highwire Daze Magazine A General Partnership

INTERVIEWS with...

Power Trip Coverage with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Tool and more..................................12 Doro......................................................................16 Nikki Stringfield....................................................20 The Ready Set.......................................................24 Kurt Deimer...........................................................28 Mourning Mist......................................................34 Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy.................................36 Last Night Of Solace.............................................40 Conmac..................................................................44 Kid Phang..............................................................48 Willa and Yungboi Gothic.....................................52 We Are The Black Things.....................................55

Editor Ken Morton Managing Editor Danny S. Pasley Senior Photographer Jack Lue East Coast Editor Jupiter Lee Contributors Ken Morton, Jack Lue Jupiter Lee, Vivian Ortega James Grover, Joe Schaeffer Linda Emord, Chris Vinan Alison “MetalBabe” Cohen Proofreading Editor Jason Harary Cover Art by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography Cover Photos by Jack Lue HIGHWIRE DAZE www.highwiredaze.com email: ken@highwiredaze.com Copyright 2023 Highwire Daze Magazine Opinions expressed within this publication do not neccessarily reflect those of the publisher.

All rights reserved. Nothing may be produced in whole or in part without the express and written permission of the publisher.

NIKKI STRINGFIELD POSTER by JACK LUE...............32/33 CONCERT REVIEWS Wednesday 13.......................................................56 Melatonin Girls.....................................................58 Arizona Avenue.....................................................59 Standby..................................................................60 Hvnted, Aurora View, Mechanical Roots..............61 ALBUM REVIEWS Rolling Quartz.......................................................62 SKETCHES BY THE EDITOR................................................... 8 IN MUSICAL ORBIT BY JUPITER..........................................12 Tim Steele review

Supporting Noise Pollution Since 1990!

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November/December 2023

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Sketches By The Editor

Welcome to Highwire Daze Issue #151 - our 33rd Anniversary Issue! Thank you for picking up this latest edition of Highwire Daze, featuring our coverage of Power Trip with Iron Maiden as well as an interview with Nikki Stringfield from The Iron Maidens! And it’s always an honor to interview Metal Queen Doro Pesch, whose brand-new album Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud is one of the year’s very best!

One of the reasons I still enjoy doing Highwire Daze is discovering and writing about talented new bands and artists. Last Night of Solace is one of the most exciting metalcore bands I’ve heard in a long time - Thriller and InVogue Records take note - these guys are amazing! I will be flying out to Dallas, Texas review their show at Trees on December 2nd. I have never been to Texas, so Editor Ken with Doro Pesch to this should be a lot of fun. Conmac is another dynamic artist on the rise - after hearing his songs Snakes and Makeup, I had to discover what this Vermont-based singer/songwriter was all about. Kid Phang is a local artist ready to break out in an epic way, whose songs such as Fade Away and I Know are absolutely intriguing. Other California artists well worth checking into are Willa and Yungboi Gothic from Redding. All are interviewed in this issue!

Hope everyone is discovering great new music in 2023. See you all the flipside in 2024!

The Wright Wave Radio at Live 365

Down In Wuhan

Presented by Jonathan D. Wright

New original 12 song Hollywood Hard-Rock album Down In Wuhan released world-wide in 2023!

Established October 2012

Produced by: Tone Raven Available Now. Everywhere.

World-Wide on all major platforms. iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and CD. youtube.com/toneraventunes

Playing all of your rock, pop, and new wave favorites 24 hour a day, 7 days a week! http://www.thewrightwave.com/

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November/December 2023

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TO END THE OPIOID CRISIS.

The Sandgaard Foundation supports nationwide efforts to decrease the habitual use of prescription pain medication, prevent addiction, and support victims and their families. We do this by actively supporting initiatives that create positive changes to help end the opioid epidemic.

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In Musical Orbit by Jupiter Jupiter at

Highwire Daze Online Crew

East Coast Editor Welcome to my page.

It’s Jupiter Lee - East Coast Editor. Check out my record reviews here and be sure to add me on Facebook! Link is at the end of my column...

Earth Wave Tim Steele Adobo Records From Maryland comes the new release by singer / songwriter and multi - instrumentalist, TIM STEELE. He calls it EARTH WAVE. Many will remember STEELE as a member of The Ravyns, who has a song called Raised On The Radio on the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack. Coming out of the gate

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with a hot rock and roll groove is track 01 Let Her Down.

It’s got a cool radio-friendly hook with bass guitarist R. LEE TOWNSEND (The Ravyns) and STEELE working especially well together. Track 02 Being Next To Her has a fresh, smooth melodic approach to it . Track 03 You Won’t Be Lonely has some smooth jazz type changes with its mellow undertones and creates a steamy late nite vibe. Track 05 What Would Jesus Do? is more of an acoustic, percussive drum oriented tune and contains a tasteful edge. Track # 06, Silver Moon has a very nice melody with an easy, laid back feel featuring KYF BREWER (The Ravyns) on concertina.

Falling into a lighter groove is track 08 You And I and features DAN PELLEGRINI on the piano and organ. The final tune Someday features RICKY WISE on lead vocals and has a nice hook. Great tune! There are many guests on the album.

I would reference STEELY DAN, perhaps some TOM PETTY. At just over forty minutes, EARTH WAVE contains an array of different moods with some very unpredictable moments. You can follow TIM STEELE here:

https://adoborecords.com/

JUPITER on Facebook

:

https://www.facebook.com/profile. php?id=100042121189738

November/December 2023

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available on CD and VINYL

themilitants.com

Judas Priest at Power Trip Photo by Jack Lue

Goldenvoice presents Power Trip: The Empire Polo Club Indio, CA, October 6-8, 2023

Judas Priest Coverage by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue A massive wall of sound emerged in the desert at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA with the arrival of POWER TRIP. The highly anticapated three-day historic event took place October 6, 7 and 8 bringing together six iconic bands for what was certainly the hottest ticket in town.

On the schedule were: Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden (Friday, October 6), AC/DC and Judas Priest (Saturday, October 7) and Metallica and Tool (Sunday, October 8).

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This unique night-time desert setting with unmatched concert production amplified the experience beyond the traditional stadium or parking lot concert norm with three double-billed headlining performances. For fans seeking an unforgettable weekend escape, Power Trip was the place to be! Here are some of the highlights from Power Trip including Jack Lue photos!

Right off the bat on a Friday night, two absolute legends shared the stage. Where else in the world would you find the mighty Iron Maiden actually opening a festival? Their set was an absolute grand slam, from the opening refrains of Caught Some13

Iron Maiden

Tool

where In Time to the vast closing reveries of Wasted Years. Iron Maiden just announced their Back To Future Past World Tour, featuring a local stop at The Kia Forum on October 8th, 2024! Guns N’ Roses then played a stunning performance, showing why they are one of the most revered bands on the planet.

Judas Priest, scheduled to be released on March 8, 2024 through Epic Records! And then AC/DC was up, unleashing their first show since 2016! What a glorious comeback to witness!

On Saturday, the one and only Judas Priest unveiled a set of fan favorties, opening with Electric Eye, and then proceeding to pulverize the crowd with selections such as Heading Out To The Highway, Firepower, Turbo Lover, and You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’. And for an encore, Glenn Tipton arrived on stage to perform kickass renditions of Metal Gods, Breaking The Law, and Living After Midnight. Be on the lookout for Invincible Shield - the upcoming nineteenth studio album by 14

Sunday presented two powerhouse bands making for a stunning conclusion to Power Trip. Tool presented a gripping set of hard raging rock, thrilling fans with songs such as Fear Inoculum , Stinkfist, Invincible, Swamp Song, and Ænema. And then closing out the weeking for the almighty Metallica, presenting a show that was nothing short of epic!

Congrats to Goldenvoice, the six amazing bands, and the music fans who arrived from all over the world for making Power Trip an event for the ages!

https://powertrip.live/ November/December 2023

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Doro The Conqueress

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Joe Schaeffer

The legendary Doro Pesch has returned with the almighty Conqueress - Forever Strong and Proud! Now available worldwide via Nuclear Blast Record, the latest and greatest magnus opus presents an artist at the very height of her creative energies. The album release also celebrates the 40-year anniversary of the Metal Queen and is not only a musical journey but a testimony to resilience, strength, and unwavering passion. Highwire Daze interviewed Doro a few months prior to the unveiling of Conqueress - Forever Strong and Proud to find out more about the brand new album, which includes two tracks featuring the one and only Rob Halford from Judas Priest as a special guest vocalist.

Read on...

Let’s talk about your amazing new album Conqueress Forever Strong And Proud. First of all, the single Time for Justice, give me a little background on that song and the lyrics and everything.

Actually, I’m so happy that we chose this as the first single and, yeah, I think the time is really crazy. So I think the lyrics, it’s Time For Justice! And then we did a great video.

It’s kind of like a Mad Max style. I always wanted to do something like this and then the song fit perfect. I don’t know if you’ve seen the video yet. It’s on YouTube and everywhere, and I think it came out so great. I was with these great people: they call it Wasteland Warriors and I met them in Wacken, which is one of the biggest metal festivals in Europe. I was there, I guess, maybe 20 times and we will play this year, next week, actually, we will be headlining the first day, the Wednesday 2nd August. These people I met there many years ago, and I thought, man, I would love to do something together and really build a show and then for this song, we could do it. We had a great video director, so I think it came out really good. I’m really happy that’s the first song. We’ve played it live a couple of times. We just did a couple of festivals and, yeah, I think the fans really liked it. Everybody was singing along and, yeah, I’m really happy that this one is the first single. I didn’t expect it, I had some other songs which I thought, man, this could be a first, cool single, but everyone was for this song, so I said, okay, good.

Let’s talk about Children Of The Dawn and the story behind that song.

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Yeah, that is one of my favorites. That’s the reason why it’s the opener. I think it’s a very epic, grandiose anthem. I wrote it with our bass player and we had this idea and the melodies and then the lyrics came, and I think it’s something maybe different for me. I love anthems, but that’s a different kind of style. I would love to do this as a video as well and as a single, but I think for an opening track, it’s great. It’s always used in my subjects, it’s always about fighting the good fight. That’s the story behind Children Of The Dawn as well, that you always have to keep strong and fight for what is right. There’s a nice anthem - kind of like a theme going on which the guys are singing and I like that when there’s a choir of strong men behind me, that’s a lot of fun. It just feels good.

Heavenly Creatures - Tell me about that song and about your love for animals.

Yes, it was written many years ago and actually I love animals so much, but when you’re on tour all the time, it’s difficult to keep pets and animals. I grew up actually with horses and dogs and I adopted two horses a little while ago and they are in Austria actually, and people take care of them and give them food and medication, all that good stuff, what makes these two horses happy. I thought many years ago, I don’t want to participate in any harm of animals and that’s the reason why I turned vegan and all my leather clothes, actually it’s vegan leather and I think it looks as cool, it feels great and no animals were harmed and killed. Then I thought I want to take it one step further and write a song for the animals and that’s Heavenly Creatures. Actually, I wrote it with my former producer from the early 80s, maybe you guys remember the album Hellbound, and True Steel. We had a great guy working with us, Henry Staroste was his name and we wrote many, many songs together. Then when I started recording this record, I was checking out all these demo tapes and then Heavenly Creatures, which had a different title, different lyrics. I listened to it, I thought, I definitely want to record it now. It is for the animals and I know many, many people in the world, they feel the same and we are pretty much all connected and I love when people save animals from bad situations. So I’m all participating in that.

Living After Midnight and Total Eclipse of the Heart, two covers you did with Rob Halford. What was it like working with Rob on these two songs?

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Actually, Judas Priest, that was my very first big tour in Europe. It was in 1986 and Priest was my favorite band and Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio and David Coverdale - they were my total inspirations, my favorite singers. So this tour was unbelievable and we always meeting each other on festivals and stuff. Then last year we played one festival together, it was Hellfest in France, which is, by the way, a great festival, huge and really great. I met Rob there and then we talked a little bit and we were hanging out in the dressing room and then we said, you know, man, we know each other for such a long time, we should do something together and I said, yeah, I’m just working on a new album and I would love (to record) Living After Midnight because that was my favorite Priest song. Actually I sang it many times in the early 80s and Rob said, hey, that’s a great idea and I have one song I always wanted to do with you - it’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart - that’s a killer song.

I thought, wow, I can totally imagine this as a nice duet and then we first did Living After Midnight, and actually the record was done. I delivered the record to the record company and then Rob said, hey, what’s up with Total Eclipse Of The Heart and I thought, oh, yes, you want to do both and he said yes. Then we did both and I love it and Living After Midnight is the next single, it will be out, I think, next week, and Living After Midnight and Total Eclipse Of The Heart, that will come out in a couple of months and I think it came out so great. You can really tell that Rob Halford loves that song and to me, it was a total honor to do something with Rob Halford, man, my idol, my hero, it’s like I’m still in awe. I’m still so happy, that’s great. I tell you, all my dreams came true when I started music. I never even thought of that I would meet all these great people and bands and then I had the great chance to tour with everybody or to work in the studio and it’s awesome. I tell you I’m so glad and I’m so grateful and this is just the icing on the cake.

Next year, Burning the Witches celebrates its 40th anniversary. Looking back, what do you think of that album in retrospect and the fact that it’s been 40 years?

Man I still love to play all these songs. Actually, in some countries, it even came out in ‘83. That’s the reason why we celebrate this year, the 40th anniversary. I never thought it would do so good and it came out and I thought maybe all our friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents, they would buy the album and then in one month, I think we sold 25,000 copies, which was unheard of, like, back then.

I had no idea that people would know about our little band and then we played in England and we did some festivals, and then we went to another label, it was Burning the Witches was on a small label, was called Mausoleum in 18

Belgium. Then we went to Polygram and we did our second album, Hellbound, and that really took off and then the third one was True Steel. That was actually our first tour with Judas Priest in Europe and with W.A.S.P. in England.

Then I came to America and I did a little promotion tour.

Only three days in New York and I fell in love with America in New York. I always wanted to go to America, and this was the trip which changed my life. Then after two days, I knew I wanted to stay, and I stayed and then we did this legendary album Triumph and Agony in 87 with All We Are and Für Immer and I Rule The Ruins. I started applying for the green card and now, for over 30 years, I’m a proud green card holder, and eventually I want to become an American citizen. It all started with Burning the Witches, and we had no idea. It was just like just making a record for fun. We had not in mind or didn’t even plan anything big, but I guess maybe it was meant to be.

Do you have any messages for your fans out here in the United States?

Yes. My dear fans and friends, metal heads rock fans, I love you so much. I always have. This will never, ever end, I promise and I hope you guys like the new album, it’s called Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud. We will play live in Atlanta, The Prog Power Festival on the 6th of September. I played there before, it was awesome. So I hope I will see you there and I’ll see you all over. I wish you all the best. Keep up the good work. Stay metal, keep on rocking and I love you forever.

https://doromusic.de/ November/December 2023

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Nikki Stringfield presents Apocrypha

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue After gaining notoriety internationally touring with renowned tribute band The Iron Maidens as well as rocking out within the ranks Heaven Below, Nikki Stringfield has released her very first full-length solo endeavor. Entitled Apocrypha, the stunning album features hard rocking originals as well as a thrilling cover of the Seal classic Kiss From A Rose. Also featuring the participation of Patrick Kennison (Lita Ford/Heaven Below/The Union Underground) on guitars/backing vocals, Jesse Davidson (Ryder Waite) on bass, and Shad Wilhelm (Heaven Below) on drums, Apocrypha is destined to enrapture all types of music fans. Highwire Daze recently caught up with Nikki Stringfield to find out more about Apocrypha, her 10-year anniversary with The Iron Maidens, news on an upcoming Heaven Below release, and more...

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Apocrypha?

There’s not a concept or story exactly, but the album was written during the pandemic when the future was uncertain. I didn’t know if the world would ever return to the way it was before, so a lot of the subject matter turned apocalyptic. I was watching a documentary and it talked about the Apocrypha, which are the ancient texts left out of the Bible. I looked into it more, and the word “Apocrypha” literally translates to “forbidden text” in Greek. I loved how that sounded, and since my EP had a pretty long title (Harmonies For The Haunted), I wanted a simple, one word title this time.

Select two songs from Apocrypha and what inspired the lyrics?

Lunacy has to be one of my favorites, musically and HIGHWIRE DAZE

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lyrically. This song was written during the beginning of the pandemic and we were stuck at home while politics were really dividing everyone. I saw how people wanted to blame each other for anything and everything, but never look take a look at themselves, especially with social media. The Spell is similar to Lunacy, but talks more about how things are like modern day witch trials/hunts now where you’re guilty until proven innocent.

What made you decide to do that amazing cover of Kiss From A Rose by Seal and has anyone from Seal’s team heard or commented on it?

Thank you! I’ve always loved that song and I’ve been dying to cover it. I knew we could rock it up and put our twist on it, and I’m so happy we did! We haven’t tried sending it to anyone in his team yet, but we’re planning on it. We may end up doing a music video for it down the road.

How did your recent solo shows go and what were some of the highlights?

It was incredible and it went better than I could have imagined. I have some incredible musicians sharing the stage with me (Shad Wilhelm on drums, Jesse Davidson on bass, and Patrick Kennison on guitar/ backing vocals.) We had my friends SkumLove and Emily V open up the night. I had about 15-20 friends/ family and Patreon fly in from all over the country, so that was awesome! It was so fun to finally be able to bring these songs to life for the first time on stage, and a huge shout out to Saint Rocke for making it happen!

I’ll be playing more shows starting in December!

How has it been like working with your Heaven Below band mate (and husband – congrats!) Patrick Kennison on your solo album?

Thank you!! Patrick and I have always worked great 21

together, especially on music. He produced the vocals on my EP, and he really added a lot more to this album with vocals, bass, and guitar. I wrote the core skeletons of the songs, but he really helped spice them up.

What was it like doing a residency with Patrick Kennison at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood and what were some of the highlights?

I think those shows really prepared me for taking the stage as a solo artist! Performing acoustic is so different than with a full band.. you’re totally stripped down and everyone can hear any little imperfection. We had a lot of fun with our Hard Rock shows and it was fun playing for a much different crowd, many of whom are on vacation and want to hear different songs than we usually play! I used to live down the street from there so it was pretty surreal to see us up on the big screen outside on Hollywood Boulevard.

You performed with Sara Baldwin at DiPiazza’s in 2021 at one of the very first live shows that was allowed during the pandemic. What was that experience like to perform again after all that time?

It was so refreshing and gave us hope again that live shows could make a come back! And of course it was a blast to share the stage with Sara and enjoy live music again!

How did you wind up in The Iron Maidens and how does it feel knowing you just celebrated your tenyear anniversary with the band last year?

It’s crazy how time flies! I moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and didn’t know anyone at all. I went to NAMM through my music industry professor and networked/ met so many people there. I joined an original band and met Courtney Cox and Nita Strauss through them. Nili Brosh was also playing the Dave Murray position at the time, and I was asked to fill in for a show, which turned into many more shows. The 3 of us basically rotated out shows with different set lists for a while until Nita went to Alice Cooper, and I became full time. I’m thrilled to still be a part of it!

Have you had any feedback from any member of Iron Maiden regarding the band or your performance?

The band has had Bruce and Steve at their shows before I joined the band and they basically gave the 22

thumbs up! Hopefully we’ll have that happen again!

What is currently going on with Heaven Below?

We’re finishing up our new album The Majestic Twelve and hoping for a March/April release! We just have to get my guitars and vocals finished up in the studio.

What has it been like to work on photo sessions with Guns N’ Roses photographer Jack Lue? I am so thankful to get to work with Jack Lue on so many shoots! He always chooses the coolest locations and knows the best angles. Somehow, every shoot gets better and better and I don’t know how that’s even possible!

Are you involved with any other bands or projects not already discussed in this interview?

Not at the moment.. I’m not sure I could handle much more haha.

Any messages for your fans who are reading this now?

Thanks so much to everyone who has checked out Apocrypha and I hope to see y’all out there on the road! Cheers!!

https://www.nikki-stringfield.com/ November/December 2023

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The Ready Set in Cherryland Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue

The Ready Set is best known for super infectious pop tunes such as Love Like Woe, Young Forever, and Give Me Your Hand (Best Song Ever). Founded by Jordan Witzigreuter in 2007, The Ready Set has just released a brand new album entitled Cherryland! The band premiered a few tracks at a recent live show opening for Boys Like Girls at the massive Hollywood Palladium. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Jordan right before the announcement of Cherryland to discuss his new songs, the legacy of having a hit single such as Love Like Woe, working with Lindsey Stirling, and more!

First of all, you just released a song called ‘Act 2’, tell me a little about that song and the story behind it.

That one actually is like one of the more interesting ones to me right now. It’s one of the newest ones I’ve actually been working on. It’s like a continuation of the song I put out in 2016 called Disappearing Act and it wasn’t really even on purpose. I realized I was writing the verses and stuff about this thing that felt like a continuation of what I was saying in that song. And I love a good call back to an old song. I guess a little bit of all ‘The Ready Set’ law, so to speak.

Teammate is such an amazing song. Why don’t you tell me the story behind that one?

That one, I remember, I wrote that song and a couple other ones, but I distinctly remember writing that one when I was sick, I had COVID. And for some reason I got really lucky, where like that week I had it, was just this insanely productive but terrible feeling weak. I was just writing a ton of stuff and I was like, “Oh this is cool.” I think I caught a wave of inspiration somehow. And that song just almost feels like...

I think when I was writing it, it kind of seemed like I was writing it from the perspective of somebody else to me. It sounds like it’s kind of about helping somebody through something. Which I guess to an extent, it is, but it almost felt like therapeutic in my mind towards myself. Which I realized that about halfway through it. I was like, “Oh, ha. I think it’s about me.”

And then the other new song Who You Really Are. Tell me about that one.

That one I was actually extremely anxious about putting that song out specifically because at least to me, stylistically, it feels really far from I guess the previous Ready Set stuff I HIGHWIRE DAZE

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had done. It’s just like way more jarring and like production heavy and stuff like that. And then I realized it actually reminded me a lot of the very, very first stuff that I ever made when I was 17, when I was still trying to figure out how to make songs. And I was just like throwing this stuff at the wall and seeing what works, and realized it’s like a more nuanced version of that. And I think lyrically it ties into the chaos of how it sounds because it’s really just about, I guess just like internal conflict. For me it was about just the process of trying to make something and trying to do new that’s meaningful to me in a different way than the other stuff was. Where if I’m putting out new stuff, I want every single bit of it, every lyrics to have some sort of depth at least to me, where it’s just all poignant type of stuff. I don’t know if I always succeed at that but it was cool to see the reaction to that one. Actually, people all just seemed like into it and it kind of made me feel really good about the rest of it, because I’m like, “Well, people are into the chaotic one.”

Think I might be good to go with all the rest of them that are all over the place stylistically. So it’s a cool little re-entry into the world.

Is there any story behind the title to your upcoming album Cherryland?

Yeah, it’s kind of a whole thing. A lot of the songs, actually all the songs kind of tied together in a way. There’s a lot of recurring themes, and it’s really just about - I guess escapism sort of. Like over the past few years just feeling like sort of... I feel like a lot of people relate to this - just this weird sort of trapped thing in this weird cycle of just like, “What am I doing, what’s the point in such a weird nihilistic thing.” It’s sort of, a lot of it is just about finding a way out of that, and finding a greater purpose, I guess. And for me, I think my way by working through that was making a lot of these songs. So the idea of it is just like a big escape and a big revelation of whatever the next chapter is. As far as right now, that’s my explanation of it. But I feel like once I listened to it front to back, and have it a 100% there, I’ll probably have some other weird revelation about it. But that’s sort of the gist of it.

Yeah, that’s what it seems like right now. But yeah, that’s sort really the pervasive theme throughout the whole thing.

It’s kind of like all things, kind of a little more moody maybe in some other stuff, but it’s so... There’s still positive uplifting things that I think it’s something that’s built into me 25

to put into songs. I don’t really know why, but it just ends up there. But yeah, I’m really excited about it. It’s been a while.

I didn’t realize it been that long since I even put an EP out or anything. So it’s nice to be putting out some new stuff, doing a couple shows here and there, and just having fun.

So, you’ve done a few shows since the pandemic. What has it been like to be back playing live shows again?

It has been really fun and it’s very inspiring to me actually.

Part of the thing that made me want to jumpstart back into putting stuff out was when I announced being on the When We Were Young show and seeing people react to it, I was like, “Oh, wait people care. That’s very cool.” And then I was like, “Okay, well I’m going to do some collab songs with other artists.” Like I did one with my friend Little Hurt and then another band called Daisy Grenade, who I’ve been writing with and producing some of their stuff, and put out those. And it’s kind of just like dipping my toes back into it. But around that, I did a headline show in LA and one in New York, and one in Chicago. And then did the festival in Vegas. And just all the shows like the energy was... It blew me away and I was like, “Yeah, there’s something here that’s always going to be there.” Like I love playing shows, I love doing that thing. It felt like a piece of me was put back together in a way. So it’s been really, really cool. I have a couple more this year, and I’ll see what next year holds.

I saw in one of your recent credits that you worked with Lindsey Stirling. What was that experience like?

She’s awesome, man. I’ve done a handful of songs with her. Actually, the first one I did was a few years ago. It was just for a Christmas album she was putting out, and we had Alex from All Time Low feature on it. And it’s a very happy Christmas song, and she’s great. We just kind of like she’ll just come over and we’ll just start building a track and writing some stuff, and then she just rips violin over it and it sounds perfect on the first take. She’s incredible. Always a pleasure working with her. She’s the best.

When you look back at ‘Love like Woe’ what do you think of it now in retrospect and the fact that you’re going to be playing it for the rest of time?

It’s actually a good question. I remember when I first put it out, I had this thought. I was like, “Man, I hope this isn’t that thing where it’s like that song is going to be around for that long and it’s going to be a song I have to always play.”

Knowing full well that that’s just how that goes, and that’s just what it is. And I think, for a while I think a lot of artists probably go through this thing where they just shy away from the big song. But at this point now, it’s just a song that just has existed for over a decade, and people still connect with it, for one reason or another, and it’s fun to play live.

And if it makes people happy then, it makes me happy too.

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It’s also to me, that song is sort of this weird testament for me personally, to sort of just going with your first instinct on things. Because that was truly one of the quickest songs I’ve ever written. And granted, it’s like, it’s a really simple song. But I remember writing it, it took no time at all and I was like, “Okay, this is cool.” It just sat on the hard drive and then all over sudden people are like, “Yeah, we should put this on the radio.” And I was like, “Okay, good luck with that, it’s not going to work.” And then it did. So, that always stays in the back of my mind where even if I’m working with other artists, I’m like honestly you don’t have to overthink everything, you can really just throw stuff at the wall and see what works and maybe you end up with something really cool. You didn’t realize it was cool. And yeah, now I’m thankful for all that stuff that happened. It really fully, fully changed my entire life. And I feel very, very lucky for that.

Do you have any messages for The Ready Set fans who are reading this right now.

I do. First of all, thank you always for sticking around. I am often very inactive online. I try to limit that a little bit more than I used to, but I appreciate everyone’s jumping back in when things happen again, everyone coming to the shows and stuff. So it’s been really, really amazing. And to see people who’ve been around since the beginning is incredible and I am always deeply appreciative of that. And I appreciate you all very, very much.

https://www.instagram.com/thereadyset/ November/December 2023

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OO NN! For more info, check out: suzyandthesubstitutes.com

Live from the

Sunset Strip

Into The World

of Kurt Deimer

Interview by Ken Morton In a world that seems to be spiraling out of control, Kurt Deimer is a man with a very clear mission: Work Hard, Rock Hard (also the name of his recent EP), play hard and spread positivity. Even within the realm his latest single Doom, there is inspiration to be found within the powerful lyrics and dynamic soundscapes. Working with the likes of Phil X of Bon Jovi and producer Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, James Brown and the Rolling Stones), Kurt Deimer has created an exhilarating collection of songs within a short two year span. All this, and he has his own horror movie franchise entitled Hellbilly Hollow coming soon to a theater near you!

Highwire Daze recently interviewed Kurt Deimer while he was on the road with the mighty Mushroomhead to 28

discuss his brand new single Doom, the creation of Hellbilly Hollow, working on the iconic Halloween horror movie franchise, touring with legendary acts such as Skid Row and Yngwie Malmsteen, and more...

Is there any overall story or concept behind the lyrics for Doom?

Well, Doom I wrote for my movie Hellbilly Hollow and for the ending scene. I wanted it to be great for a horror movie, but I also wanted to write about doom and how drug addiction can really create doom in one’s life. I wanted to also share that message with the fans in addition to having it be an epic song for a horror movie because both scenarios tend to encompass the word doom. That’s why I did that, and hopefully it resonates with people. I’ve known a lot of people that have died from heroin addiction. People get addicted to all kinds of drugs and it can really just take November/December 2023

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the zest of life away from you and create that doom effect.

That’s where that all came out of my brain and what I was thinking when I wrote it.

The song was co written by Phil X of Bon Jovi. What was it like working with Phil X on this song as well as on your previous Work Hard Rock Hard EP? Phil’s amazing. I can write lyrics, send them to Phil.

They’ll resonate with him or they won’t, he’ll fill a vibe or I’ll give him, like, on some songs, a voice memo of what I’m feeling as far as a guitar sound or how I want the song to go. We’ve just written so many good songs together, and when our double debut album comes out, first quarter, pretty much everything on. It’s going to be Phil X and I and Chris Lord-Alge and what we’ve been working on so hard for the last couple of years, because I’ve only been touring for two years now and really have only been in the music business now for two years. Movie business for music, too. We’ve come a long way in a short period of time, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without Phil X. You mentioned Chris Lord-Alge. What was it like working with what has it been like working with Chris and what has Chris contributed to the overall songs?

Chris has been amazing. He has a lot of great ideas. We work together really well. We’ve become great friends and I think you’ll see when this album comes out, no matter how it’s received all over the world, that it is a work of art. It really conveys who I am as an artist. I mean, I wouldn’t be where I am today if he didn’t listen to my demo I brought to him in early 2020, and he didn’t give me a chance to work with him. I basically have learned how to retrain my voice and everything in his studio. It’s been a real pleasure and we’ve become good friends, let alone people that work on music together.

Tell me a little about Hellbilly Hollow and is there a release date set yet?

No, there’s no release date yet for Hellbilly Hollow, but I’m kind of waiting for it to come out till next year because I just shot a movie in March with Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley. Lin Shaye from Insidious and Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary and Bill Mosely from the Rob Zombie movies who I modeled my character in Hellbilly Hollow after. I’m starring in this film Scared to Death with them and I play a character called the Grog and once the Grog comes out to the world, Kurt Deimer, aka the Grog, they’ll know who I am, then Hellbilly Hollow will come out and they’ll know already who Kurt Deimer is, and then they’ll see this trippy movie. We’re kind of glad Hellbilly Hollow didn’t come out yet because I think it’ll be even better received once this movie with Bill and Lin come out because I’m sure that’s going to go to theaters near you here pretty soon. That’s the plan for both of those.

Previously, you worked on the Halloween 2018 movie.

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What was that experience like and did you get to meet Jamie Lee Curtis at all?

I met her briefly at the after party because we had the premiere out in LA. At the Chinese Theater and I got to meet her briefly there. The day of the shoot, though she wasn’t part of that scene. I spent the day with Michael Myers, with James Jude Courtney, who played him in the movie, and we just hung out at the gas station. We were on site at some gas station in South Carolina and it was amazing, man. It’s what motivated me to want to do my own horror franchise in Hellbilly Hollow and to be a part of the original franchise in the reboot of it that many years later. It was just an honor because I can say I’m one of the few people that have been killed by the Michael Myers from the John Carpenter franchise. It was huge, and it’s a big reason why I ended up doing Hellbilly Hollow and Scared to Death and many more movies to come. .

How did your recent tour with Skid Row and Buckcherry go and what were some of the highlights for you?

It was amazing. They’re great guys, and it was a great bill, just the three of us. We played first every night, but it was great venues, great crowds. We got a lot of great new fans, sold a lot of merch, it was just a good fit because we have our own style of rock. Buckcherry has their own style, Skid Row has theirs. People got to hear all the songs they’ve heard over the years from those two great bands, and then they got to hear a new band that they’ve never heard before - and as we’re building our following and it was a great forum for that. We had some really special moments with the fans and really helped build our following even quicker by being a part of that tour. It was pretty epic.

We played some really cool venues.

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You’re in the midst of another tour right now with Mushroomhead. What has that experience been like so far?

Great. Especially with my horror connections and doing movies and being out with Mushroomhead and their killer stage show, and then we got Hellzapoppin right before them and then us right before that and Fleischkrieg before us. It’s a great bill. People can hear some great rock and roll.

They can see Mushroomhead again and it’s just a perfect fit for kind of what my niche is right now. I mean, I’ve got other types of movies besides horror planned, but those are the first two coming out that are big since Halloween. It was a great forum to be able to go out and talk to the fans.

We played the trailer from Hellbilly Hollow when we can, and it’s just a great night of rock and roll and even though all three bands are different, we all have our own style and people get a variety of just punch you in your face rock and roll. Everybody’s been very receptive.

You toured with Yngwie Malmsteen. What was that experience like?

I met Yngwie the last night of the tour. We took a picture and really, we got new fans everywhere! People were like, oh, you’re just going to go out with a guitar shredder and it’s a different audience, but every night we got new fans there as well. Every tour we’ve been on, that’s the reception we get. It’s like, I’ve never heard of you, but I love you. You’re my new favorite band. It’s been amazing.

You said you didn’t meet Yngwie until the final night of the tour?

Yeah. No, Yngwie has his routine. He’s a great guy. I appreciate him having us out, but I’m a very polite, chilled guy. I want my band to come in and my team to come in and not create any problems and we’ll take the space we’re given, we don’t bitch, we just play, we just rock out with whatever room we have and I’m just thankful that we got the opportunity to go out on tour with them. I’ve only been touring two years and to go out with Geoff Tate first, then get on Shiprocked, and then tour with Yngwie, then tour with Drowning Pool, then tour with Skid Row. It’s pretty amazing for two years.

What would you like a listener to remember the most after you’re experiencing your music for the very first time?

That my lyrics come from my heart, from my soul, it’s my therapy. It’s getting stuff I’ve learned from life and living it to the fullest, because you only get one chance to live in life.

That the more you give, the more you get in life and that hopefully, my lyrics resonate with you, depending on which song it is. That you can 30

take it home with you and think, okay, I get this. I can do this, I can be strong, I can fight for what I want to do with my life. And that’s what I try to always write about: positivity, motivation, all those kind of things. My grandfather was a motivational speaker, and I told my grandma, who lived to be 106, that she went around the country with him, and I said, I do what Grandpa did. I just do it in music. Now, the way I want to present it to people is rock and I think people come away with that. Certain songs touch certain people, but we’re all different, we all like different things, and people are seeing that, okay, there is this new style of rock that Kurt Deimer is bringing to the world. I don’t try to be anybody other than myself, I bring a lot of energy to the stage, I lay it out there for you and people are really digging it. That’s what I hope, they dig it, they like the music, and then they take the message, and it can live inside their soul.

https://www.kurtdeimer.com/

IT’S BACK!!! ΛIЯ-IK

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All New Interviews, Album Rankings, Debates, Metal Music tributes and More!

Tune in and Subscribe and Watch the 1st Episode of Season Two for the Interview With

Black Heroin Gallery

Airing 11/19/2023 Interview with the Canadian Black Metal Band,

Darkness My Desire

Channel @TheMetalBlock380

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! November/December 2023

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Exploration Into The Darkness

with Mourning Mist

Interview by Ken Morton Italian Doom Metal Icons Mourning Mist were formed in 2013 by Ecnerual, a graduated classic-violinist. Musically inspired by the Italian dark sound of the ‘80s and early English ‘90s death/doom acts, Mourning Mist present a unique and original take on Doom Metal. Traveling down avant-garde and progressive territories they employ Violin infused sorrow to deliver top notch Doom Metal. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2015 to international critical acclaim for its dark and unique sound.

Mourning Mist return with their highly anticipated sophomore release Amen. Fanatics of legendary acts such as Candlemass and My Dying Bride will want to explore the vast and epic passages found within the realm of Amen!

Highwire Daze recently interviewed Mourning Mist co-conspirator Herr Kvasir to discuss their dark auditory entreaties!

Read on...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Mourning Mist, 34

and how long the band has been together.

I am Herr Kvasir, guitars, bass and vocals in Mourning Mist. I’ve been in the band since almost the beginning, 10 years ago.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?

The band is based in Italy and more closely in different places throughout the country making our rehearsals a bit difficult but at the same time taking inspirations from different places.

The scene is pretty good and healthy considering we are not in the golden ages of the underground anymore. Many good bands which get signed by American or North European labels and this is something that seldom happened in the past.

A weak point is the audience at gigs it seems like people are interested only in big festivals. Are we becoming too much of a social media person and forgetting to show up for real when we get a call from the battleground?!

How did you wind up signing with the legendary underground label Moribund Records?

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Me and Odin (the label’s mastermind) have been in contact for years and taking into account that we share the same view and passion for the underground, the deal came across quite naturally. Moribund previously released also Abhor and Profezia, some other projects of mine.

Select two songs from Amen and what inspired the lyrics.

Well hard to pick two cuts, I mean Amen is a concept album about the spiritual bewilderment of the nowadays mankind.

Not very difficult to have inspiration for such topic, we face the sad reality day after day; I feel we are very superficial and with a lack of firm and deeper principles. Money unfortunately rules instead of true values.

How influenced was Amen by the pandemic – if at all. The original release date is October 2020 – right during the height of pandemic madness.

It was entirely written before the pandemic and the original release on vinyl came just with that bad period. Nothing to do with the Chinese virus.

Who did the cover art for Amen and how much input did you have on it?

It’s a picture taken by me of a mausoleum we have near our rehearsal place, a place of historical and spiritual strength.

It’s near Orvieto in the central Italy. Funny enough I’ve seen American bands using pictures of that place for cover art but for us it has a special meaning: that is really where we come from.

Has Mourning Mist ever played live or is that something you would like to do in future days?

We’ve never played a gig in the proper sense of the term but we play live every time we play together. Rehearsals might happen in the woods or open air on the top of old ruins. This is how we like to play and it happened we gathered a small audience made of people that happen to be there. They obviously didn’t know who we were or which “band” they were seeing live.

When you look back on the first Mourning Mist Self-Titled album in 2015, what do you think of it now in retrospect?

It’s a good album, I still like it but of a different genre. In retrospective I’d have made other choices production wise, but the tools and budget were limited back then.

Keep in mind that Mourning Mist is a band we created with the primary intention of having no musical boundaries and this resulted in 2 albums quite different from each other.

I like to fit our self titled first record in the avantgarde/black/ doom Misanthropy Records roster. If you are familiar with the second half of the ‘90s you know that avantgarde had a different meaning back then. Think about like Monumentum, Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende.

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Our second album Amen is more on the classic doom or obscure NWOBHM side, like Witchfinder General and alike.

Anyway, both the albums are well seasoned with the violin that gives a more personal touch to the music. At the end of the day, I hope we really sound Mourning Mist.

How close is Mourning Mist to writing and recording all new material?

Not far away, songs and part of the recording are there but no stress at all which means we set no deadline.

What is going on with your other bands Abhor and Profezia?

Constantly too much going on, I am a music freak dwelling in a cave where records and dirty used guitar strings cover the floor! Abhor will celebrate 30 years anniversary in 2025 and we are planning something cool. A new record and some repress came out some months ago. Profezia is a bit on hiatus while Scolopendra, a grinding necrophagiesque death metal creature is alive (undead?!) and well. Check them out!

What’s up next for Mourning Mist?

It depends what our inspiration will be for the time to come but most probably getting finished with our 3rd record, a boulder of heavy rock doom with a wise use of the wicked violin.

Any final words of wisdom?

Do what thou wilt...

http://www.moribundcult.com/ 35

Rock and Rage with

Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy

Interview by Ken Morton - Live Photo by Joe Schaeffer

Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy has arrived upon the scene, and they are ready to rock and rage the entire planet. Paul Lidel is best known for his time spent within the ranks of Dirty Looks and Dangerous Toys - as well as recent projects such as Broken Teeth and 99 Crimes. The debut magnum opus Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy has been unleashed worldwide via Perris Records, featuring exciting grand slam songs such as Rabbit Hole, Jagged Edges, Run, and the stunning title track. Highwire Daze recently caught up with Paul Lidel to find out more about the Scream Therapy project and his participation in so many other absolutely amazing bands!

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Scream Therapy?

I think we all have a tendency to push things down, to suppress negative thoughts and feelings, and every so often those things need to come to the surface. To me that’s what Scream Therapy is about, letting out those feelings and thoughts that we suppress. The song came first, and I realized that it really kind of summed it all up, sometimes just screaming and shouting can be just what I need to feel better, and writing these songs was definitely very therapeutic for me because I had a bunch of stuff pushed down in my subconscious that all came out with a lot of force. So the band is called “Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy” because that’s exactly what it is, my Scream Therapy.

Select two songs from Scream Therapy and what inspired the lyrics?

Well, the song Scream Therepy is about not holding things in, and letting out negative emotions in a healthy way.

I think a lot of people can relate to that because a lot of us 36

tend to suppress our emotions and show the world a happy face, when inside, we’re feeling anxious or stressed out. The photo on the album cover is meant to represent that. It represents the calm face that we would like to show the world, while inside there is some screaming going on!

The song, Jagged Edges is an apology to a loved one who has been mistreated. The lyrics “I try and try to be gentle and kind because I worship the ground where you walk, but, November/December 2023

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sometimes I slide from Jekyll to Hyde with no warning at all” is my apology to my sweet wife, for any time that I say things that I shouldn’t, and later regret. I think that most of us probably feel this way at some point, and feel bad that our jagged edges can cut the ones we love sometimes.

How did you wind up signing with Perris Records back in the day?

I first started working with Tom Mathers and Perris Records back when I had a called band Broken Teeth. Since then Perris Records has released albums by my previous bands Adrenaline Factor and 99 Crimes. It’s a great working relationship, I am always allowed complete artistic freedom and they are great to work with.

How would you describe the music of Scream Therapy for fans of your other bands Dangerous Toys and Dirty Looks?

I thought about that question when we were finishing up the album, and here’s what I came up with.

Imagine a band with the swagger and sleaze of early GnR, Crue, and Aerosmith, the musical darkness of Alice In Chains mixed with a marriage of old school rock bands like Maiden, Priest, Ozzy, Van Halen, Pantera and AC/DC, playing aggressive and instantly memorable songs about insanity, murder, and the destruction of the human race.

99 Crimes was such an amazing band and the Self-Titled album rocked in an epic way. Will there be any more 99 Crimes albums and what do you think of that album looking back?

Since I was the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for 99 Crimes, I consider Scream Therapy to be a continuation of that band with different players. I am proud of that album and I learned a lot in that band. The players I have with me now, Frank Kriege on drums, Joe Giordino, on bass and Lee Young on guitar, are all killer players, and the band is very strong.

When you look back on the Dirty Looks major label debut, what do you think of it now in retrospect and your days on a major label?

I feel like the Cool From the Wire album has stood the test of time. I still enjoy listening to it, and in someways have a new appreciation for it having had several years to step back from it.

At the time everything was happening so fast. I was never able to listen to the album objectively. Being on the same record label as some of my favorite bands, like Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC, seemed very surreal to me at the time.

And seeing our video on MTV for the first time, was a real rush! Before that album, I didn’t have much experience in the studio, and getting to record with the same producer HIGHWIRE DAZE

November/December 2023

that recorded Randy Rhoads on the first two Ozzy albums was a real thrill. After that album came out, we went from touring up and down the east coast, to touring all over the United States and Canada and I would get a kick out of seeing people singing the words to the songs in all the different cities that we played.

How did you wind up in Dangerous Toys and looking back, what do you think of the first album you did with them entitled Pissed (and working with Billy Sherwood of Yes on the album as well)?

Dangerous Toys was my favorite band, and I got the opportunity to meet them while Dirty Looks were on tour. After Dirty Looks disbanded, the Dangerous Toys guys asked me to move to Texas and join the band. I have now been in the band for 30 years.

I thought the Pissed album was great! Billy Sherwood and Tom Fletcher were a pleasure to work with. We had a lot of fun recording it, even though there was an earth quake that kind of wrecked the studio. The guys in Dangerous Toys were and still are some of the nicest guys I’ve played with.

Are you currently working with Dangerous Toys or Dirty Looks in any capacity?

Yes, Dangerous Toys still plays all over the US. In the last few months we have played in Colorado, California, Massachusetts, and Texas. We will be on the Monsters of Rock Cruise in 2024. We are working on new songs and have been playing several of the new songs in our live set. There are plans to have a new release soon.

In the past few years, Dirty Looks has played three shows 37

in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, the first of which was at the Selinsgrove Speedway, and was recorded for a live DVD, and a live album. We also played two shows at the Susquehanna Valley events center, a show in Philadelphia, and the Monsters of Rock Cruise last year.

What are some of your favorite shows you have ever played on the Sunset Strip with any band?

I actually haven’t played that many shows on the Sunset Strip, although I did like to spend time there when I was between tours, it was pretty crazy back in the day. Dirty Looks played at The Whisky on our first tour, and Dangerous Toys just played there a couple months ago, which was kind of nostalgic to be back there after so many years.

How did the Scream Therapy show at Acadia in Houston go and will there be any other live shows in the future?

It was amazing! The crowd loved the band and the songs, even though the album was not released yet. We had a film crew there, and will be using footage from the show in a video for one of the singles called Rabbit Hole. We are in the process of lining up, more shows, and have plans of playing live often.

What’s up next for Paul Lidel’s Scream Therapy?

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Right now we are working on getting the word out about the band and the album. We’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction to the album and having the first single go into heavy rotation and climbing to number four on a major Baltimore radio station like 97 Underground has been very encouraging! This weekend we are shooting a video for the third single Run! The single will be out on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music on November 3, and the video will be out shortly after that. The Scream Therapy album is available now on CD at PerrisRecords.com. We have two songs available for streaming now, the title track Scream Therapy and Rabbit Hole. The entire album will be available on streaming in early December. We are setting up live shows, have already started work on the 2nd album, and are getting ready to be very busy in 2024.

Any messages for fans who have been following your music career throughout the years?

Yes, I am extremely grateful to everyone that has taken the time to listen to music that I’ve been involved in, or has to come to see me play live. I think some people would be surprised to find out how much their support really means.

https://www.paullidelsscreamtherapy.com/ November/December 2023

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LAST NIGHT OF SOLACE: RAGING METALCORE FROM TEXAS

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Cheyanne Singleton

Last Night of Solace is an amazing metalcore collective ready to break out way above and beyond the great big state of Texas! The band recently issued their debut album entitled Too Far Gone, jam-packed with intensively heartfelt songs that will make you want to jump headfirst into the nearest mosh pit. With tunes as memorable as Shards, Writhing, Archetype, and the devastating title track, Last Night of Solace is an entity you’ll remember long after Too Far Gone spins to its thrilling conclusion. Highwire Daze recently interviewed lead vocalist Cameron Foley to find out more about this exciting new band on the rise. Read on…

We’re here with Cameron from Last Night of Solace. First of all, give me a little background on the band and how long you guys have been together.

With this project, we’ve been around just a little bit over a year. I met all of the guys in various different places in life.

I met our guitarist Jeiden when we were in high school actually. So, I’ve known him quite a while. He was in one of my first projects that I was ever in. Met my other guitarist Kennedy from Guitar Center. We and him worked there together. And then my drummer Seth, I met through a mutual friend at this boat club that I’m a part of because we go sailing together.

Where are you guys based out of and what is your local music scene like there?

We’re based out of Dallas, Texas and to be honest, I love the local music scene over here. It’s great. We’ve fought tooth and nail, played those smaller shows that nobody’s at and it’s gotten us to where we’re over here opening for some of our idols and gotten us a bunch of great opportunities. I’m super appreciative of the Dallas local scene and I think it’s honestly a great place for any musician to start out.

Let’s talk about your album Too Far Gone. First of all, is there any overall story or concept behind that title, Too Far Gone? I know it’s one of the songs as well.

That title our drummer actually came up with and the song itself. I ultimately wrote the lyrics for that, and I think the lyrics for that song also fit in and kind of follow along with the rest of the album. It all follows this same kind of theme and that’s fighting yourself and finding out who you are.

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body is really too far gone. Even though we may have dark times in our lives, there’s always a way to come back from that and always a way to find yourself. The song Too Far Gone itself is about my experience with social media and kind of losing myself in that, and ending up basing my entire life and ideology around getting likes and about getting engagement and all that. But that’s not really a life, at least for me, that’s worth living. It started to really drag me down and I wrote that song about breaking free from that and about finding myself outside of just what other people want me to be. You know what I mean?

I just got through watching your video for Writhing and it’s such a powerful song. Give me a little background on that song, including what was the inspiration behind the lyrics.

So that song in particular – I actually wrote that about two years ago. It was one of the first songs that I was really coming up with before the whole project was finalized. The lyrics at least I wrote by myself. And then once we got down to it and we got into the process of finishing up the album, I thought those lyrics would be a perfect fit for the album.

And all in all, the song itself is really about losing yourself to depression and trying to find a way out of a hole. Because I feel like I speak for everyone when I can say we’ve all had times in our lives where we feel like we’re just trapped in this pit that we can’t get out of. And the song is about trying to find your way out of the pit, you know?

Absolutely. We’ll talk about a few more songs. Shards, tell me a little about that one.

So that’s definitely one of our favorites to play live. I really love that song. That’s the first song me and Jeiden sat down and wrote together. We wrote that actually before we had our final lineup and actually, we wrote that before this band was even a thing. Me and him just wrote it together and it ended up being kind of the concept for what the whole project itself – the whole band was going to be. And that song, it takes a lot of inspiration from progressive metalcore acts like Erra and Architects. Basically, the whole 2010’s modern metal sound. And on top of that, the lyrics, my guitarist really wrote it. Started to write the lyrics about how he was going through this really rough time. I’m not going to get into it because it’s more his personal business, but just a really rough time with family, stuff like that going on. And I kind of just piggybacked off of him and my own experiences and the whole idea of shards of glass and feeling like you’re crumbling into shards of glass, feeling all of this pressure 41

and all of this stress and all of these things just coming in down around you all at the same time and feeling like glass breaking. And that’s really where I came up with the idea for Shards being the name of the song and also the overall vibe and tone of the track.

Archetype, tell me a little about that one.

Archetype is about a toxic relationship and that’s another one of my favorites to play live because it’s one that usually a lot of people can relate to. It’s about being trapped in this relationship with someone you really like, that you’re seeing them slowly lose themselves and slowly just not be who the person you fell in love with is. Watching them start tearing down their interpersonal relationships, watching them alienate the people around them that care about them and want them to succeed. And that’s ultimately what I wrote that song about, feeling trapped watching someone you love lose themselves and then realizing I don’t have to be in this situation. I can be fine on my own and I’m not required to take care of this person anymore if they aren’t willing to help themselves.

How did Tom Barber from Chelsea Grin and Lorna Shore become involved with The Paths?

We wanted this first album that we dropped to have some really good solid features on it from people we really respected in the scene. And I just simply reached out to Tom Barber because I’ve been a big fan of his work. I think he’s one of the better heavy vocalists in the scene period. Like his work with Darko and Chelsea Grin and Lorna Shore is all really amazing. And I wanted his vocals on my song. So I hit him up and was basically just like, “Hey, I’m a big fan of your work, wanted to see what you thought of the song and if you might want to hop on it with us.” And he sure enough was happy to hop on the song with us. Within a week he tracked everything and sent it back to us and that was that.

How did Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens become involved with your new single Fractured and what was it like working with him?

I met Kellin Quinn backstage at So What Music Fest 2023 alongside our head of media. We chatted a little bit about both of our bands and performances and I asked Kellin if he’d be interested in hopping on a song with us. He gave me his contact info and then a few weeks later I sent him the song. Kellin immediately got back to us and sent us the stems for his feature the next day. Kellin was super supportive, humble, and easy to work with.

Tell me about the other band Lanticblue and how your other band compares to Last Night of Solace.

So, it is a bit of a tricky question. Lanticblue is essentially me and my drummer’s side project. We have some great friends in the local scene, and they needed a drummer and 42

a bassist, so we wanted to help them out and be part of the project. Lanticblue, I would say is more traditional deathcore or I would say progressive deathcore, think Invent Animate, or After the Burial, but like with more vocals, I would say akin more to like early Chelsea Grin. It is at least how our new stuff is turning out. But Lanticblue is a fun project. It’s been around a lot longer than Last Night of Solace has in the local scene. Our vocalist in that project, Kirby has gotten us some great connections and he’s been super helpful to us and it’s always a great time playing with the boys in Lanticblue.

What is it you would like a listener to remember after hearing the music of Last Night of Solace for the first time?

Honestly, that’s a good question and I’m glad you asked it. I want a listener to hear one of our songs and to really just vibe with it. I want somebody to listen to it and for it to actually change how they might see things or help them get through a rough time in their lives. Because that’s really what the music is about. It’s about talking about these heavy topics and expressing it through music. And I hope that listening to some of these songs that I’ve created can help people go through their trauma or whatever they’re dealing with in their life as much as it’s helped me writing them.

What’s up next for Last Night Of Solace?

As of right now we have an album’s worth of songs recorded and we plan to have several major releases early next year as well as several regional tours. We’re in the market for a larger support tour as well.

https://www.instagram.com/lastnightofsolace/ November/December 2023

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An Introduction to CONMAC Interview by Ken Morton Photos by Dara Mathieu Conmac is the creation of Connor Aiken, a recording artist based out of Vermont ready to take on an entire world with his emotionally driven indie pop. Connor has just released an expanded edition of his Chains EP and is about to unveil a stunning new single entitled Knife. Highwire Daze recently caught up with Conmac to find out a whole lot more about this amazing new artist on the rise.

Read on...

First of all, where are you based out of, and what is your local music scene like there?

I’m based in Vermont, and the music scene here is very, very underrated, I would say.

There’s a lot of very talented people here, and we don’t really get a lot of attention that we deserve. A lot of the artists here are just so talented.

Why don’t you give me a little background on Conmac and how the project came into existence?

All right. So Conmac is my artist name. It was always like a nickname for me. I’ve had it my whole life. And so I decided when I started making music that I wanted to use it because it’s me. And the project Chains originally started as an EP, so there was only going to be very few songs on it. I wanted to make the project because I had recently gone through a breakup, and it was a very hard, very stressful, very lonely time for me. And so the only thing I had was the music. So I needed a way to get all of my feelings out, and what better way to do that than put it all into music for other people to hear and relate to and just feel? And so I wanted to get my emotions out into songs that other people can listen to, and if they’re going through the same thing or something similar, they can 44

also relate to it. So, that’s how the original EP came to existence.

And then after the first EP came out, I wanted to keep adding to it because a lot of it was helping a lot of people. I was getting messages every day from people saying that they’re going through the same thing and that my music was speaking to them, and that they really found it meaningful to them and their personal lives.

And so I wanted to keep it going and make even more music that people can relate to and hopefully help even more people.

So the title of the album Chains kind of connects into that you’re trying to break the chains, is that correct?

Yes. That is spot on..

The song Snakes is absolutely amazing, and the video’s pretty cool as well. Give me a little background on November/December 2023

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that song and what inspired the lyrics for you.

So Snakes was one of the first songs that was made after the breakup. It’s basically after the breakup, I felt very alone, and it felt like I had nobody, and people were only... It was like a wake-up call. People were only messaging me, or my friends were only messaging me because they wanted something from me, but when I needed their help, they would do the bare minimum. So, like snakes, I’m starting to see all the snakes in the grass. So I was blinded for so long, just not realizing people’s true intentions, and a lot of people were showing their true colors during this time.

And so the whole point of the song is to show that I’m starting to see it now. Like I’m really starting to see how I’ve been treated by these people, and even though I’m treated this way by other people, I still want to be there for them and help them. One of the lyrics in the song is something about dying for someone and how I know that I’m stupid for doing that.

It’s just who I am as a person to help people who even did me wrong in the past.

Where was the video of Snakes shot at?

The video was filmed in Fairfax, Vermont, in a big open secluded field, and the director of the video is Matt Vinci, he’s a very talented director and deserves all the recognition for making the video come to life Well, you couldn’t set that grass on fire for real so.

Oh, yeah, no. So we didn’t do that. That was all special effects. I did the special effects for that video.

Let’s move on to another song called Makeup. Why don’t you give me background on the lyrics to that song?

Makeup is kind of like a metaphor. They’re masking themselves. Like they’re being so fake that you can’t even recognize them. It is getting harder to see them as a person because of how different they act around other people or in different scenarios. It is all about just how much people like to change the way they are around certain people. And the feeling you get when you can see that happening right in front of your eyes. It’s a weird feeling.

Before we move on to the upcoming single, why don’t you select any other song off of Chains and what inspired the lyrics for you? Maybe a song you don’t talk about a lot.

There’s this song called Glass, and it’s very underrated.

Again, this is another song that was written right after the breakup. And it’s like when you can see right through HIGHWIRE DAZE

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someone to the point where it’s like they’re glass, you see everything that they’re doing and you know why they’re doing it, why they put on this facade on the internet, or why they’re doing a certain thing. You know, what their true intentions are. And so the chorus, when I say I can see right through you, like your glass, I know why this person is doing the things they are doing, and they’re not good at hiding it. And I think the message in that song can be used for relationships, friendships, really any sort of relationship.

Let’s talk about the new song Knife and the inspiration behind it.

Okay. So Knife is the upcoming single that I’m dropping with a music video. I’ve been promoting it for a very long time now since the album released. And Knife is about just how I was backstabbed by a lot of people. But in this scenario, my significant other is stabbing me in the back, and I saw it coming, and I’m going to have to be the one that has to take that knife out of my back and keep going. So, it’s basically when something bad happens to you, someone turns their back on you, or someone does you dirty, it’s up to you to move forward and keep going.

When you look back at that first recording, what do you think of it now in retrospect?

I think The World Goes On, which is the title of the album, that was my first project. That was my first full45

length album. And I think that, if you listen to that album and you listen to Chains back to back, the improvements, the lyricism, the just overall craft has exceeded the last album by a long shot. But that album did a lot for me, it showed everyone what I could do with what I had. I do all of my music in my bedroom: I record, I mix, I release the music, I do all the promo, I do everything on my own.

And so that was my first album that I did everything on my own. And it was like a big stepping stone for me. And it definitely paved the way for Chains for sure.

I saw some pictures on your Instagram that you performed live. What was that experience like to perform your music live, and what could one expect from a live Conamac show?

Performing live is definitely one of my most favorite things. There’s no better feeling than looking into the crowd and seeing people sing the words that you wrote in your room. Like there’s no better feeling than that. Performing is just so energetic. It’s so fun, everyone’s having a good time. It’s just a great place to be. And something that people can expect from a live Conmac performance is a lot of energy vocals, just having a good time. And I love to interact with the crowd. I just want to make sure that everyone has a good time and gets all of me when I’m on the stage.

If you could open for any band or artist, either now or from the past, who would it be and why?

All right, so I would probably say The Kid Laroi. I’m 46

a huge fan of him. He’s done a lot. Especially you can definitely hear the influence in my sound from him. But I would love to open for The Kid Laroi. I feel like his fans would enjoy my music because it is kind of in the same genre. We talk about the same things. Yeah, that’d be a dream.

If the music of Conmac was a donut, what kind would it be and why?

Honestly, I would say a jelly donut, and here’s why. Because when you look at me from the outside perspective and you’ve never heard my music before, I look plain.

“Oh, it’s just another artist.” But once you take a bite, you know what I mean? Once you get into it, and you hear what I have to offer, and you hear the things I’m talking about, it’s a surprise. It’s a good surprise.

Are you involved in any other bands or projects outside of Conmac?

At the moment, I am not, but it’s not something I would be opposed to if the opportunity came up and I was interested enough in making that happen. Yeah. I wouldn’t mind.

And then, what’s up next for you?

Up next for me, we have the Knife music video dropping.

And then after that, we’re just going to keep making music, keep spreading positivity, keep helping people that need help, and we’re just going to keep growing.

https://www.instagram.com/itsconmac/ November/December 2023

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The World of Kid Phang

Interview by Ken Morton Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

King Phang is an artist who dares to be different - whether he is experimenting with hip-hop, punk, indie alternative, or slowcore, Kid Phang delivers songs filled with personality and intrigue. The creator behind Kid Phang is Matthew Sanchez, and the latest single is a cinematic reverie entitled Fade Away. Highwire Daze invited Matthew Sanchez over to Dystopian Studios in Downtown LA for a photo shoot and interview to find out more about the world of Kid Phang.

Read on...

vibe of the whole TDE like Top Dawg Entertainment camp, just that sound. And I tried to make a song in that it wasn’t really about anything. I just wanted to rap on that. And it turns out to be like my most, highest charting songs in a sort of way.

We’re here with Kid Phang at Dystopian Studios. First of all, where are you based out of, and what’s your local music scene like there?

I’m based out of Upland, California, which is around the Inland Empire. And the scene there is like I’d say more rockish, punk sort of bands - and I kind of do whatever I want, so it’s kind of hard to fit in there sometimes but I try my best.

I am a Rockstar. Tell me about that and that statement.

Well, I just feel like I’m a Rockstar. Honestly, that whole title literally does not match with the song at all. I didn’t know what to call it, and that’s just what I was feeling like at the time. And when I made that, it was in no plans for it to be an album or I wasn’t even making an album, I released it on a compilation, but I reworked it and made it sound more rough and more... Just rerecorded my vocals and everything. And I released it onto that, and I felt like it was a good transition from the smooth stuff that was coming from the first four or so tracks into like a completely just out loud, just crazy sound. I like having a, let’s say a little bit of a story on the albuma. That’s what I’m trying to do with hopefully if I make another one.

Let’s talk about the new song Fade Away. Is there any overall story or concept behind the lyrics for your single Fade Away?

When I write lyrics, I just get pieces of what’s going on in my life, or how I feel in my life, or like felt in the past, and I just try to describe that feeling. It doesn’t have to necessarily be my story, but I just try to write, let’s say, a feeling, and I just write based on that. And with that, it’s just like the feeling of being a burden, to your significant other and just feel your love fading away or their love fading away from you. So I just try to I guess, cope with that.

Tell me about, I Know.

I Know, it was about a feeling of just, I never really made a love song before, so I decided to make that. And it’s like a love song made from a person who feels they’re a little insecure and feels they’re too shy or a little bit of a nerd. And I made it for that. And I, now, whenever I think of that song, I just dedicate it to my girlfriend. So yeah, it’s a really nice song. I originally made it just the first part, and then I made a beat switch into a rap saying as if, maybe it didn’t work out sort of thing. I like that song in general. It’s a really cool song.

The video is just so stunning and cinematic. Who directed the video, and where was it filmed?

It was co-directed by - he’s an acquaintance, his name is Jacob. He goes by Hysterics Footage. And we made that video around downtown Upland. I think it was just mainly downtown Upland and just the Upton scene in general, which is where I base a lot of my videos from.

What could one expect from a Live Kid Phang show?

Expect a lot of different stuff. Expect me, not just standing around, expect me to play some instruments and do some crowd control, basically. If you want to be in a Kid Phang show, you got to be a participant basically.

Your previous album, Kill Phang, let’s talk about a few of the songs on the album. They’re all quite different from Fade Away. Let’s talk about the song Killa and the inspiration behind it.

Honestly, with Killa, it was originally meant for my brotherin-law because he likes to rap and all that, and I wanted to give him the beat, but I liked it too much that I secretly made a song over it and it’s just like that vibe of, I’d say like the HIGHWIRE DAZE

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If you could open for any band or artist, either now or from the past, who would it be and why?

If I were to open for any artist, I feel like I would open for someone, let’s say like, Tyler the Creator or even someone like The Garden, which is a band I’ve been really into like recently. And I base a lot of my stuff out of that whole kooky sound they make. So, I’ve really been into punk and just hip hop and just trying to combine any sort of thing. I like shoegaze as well. Like, I’m a really big fan of that and Slowcore. That’s what Fade Away is, like a Slowcore song.

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If the music of Kid Phang was a donut, what kind would it be and why?

I don’t even know what kind of donut it’d be. I’d just say it’s a chocolate donut with cream filling on the inside, probably. Maybe with some sprinkles on top.

And the sprinkles represent the different aspects of your music?

Yes. What’s up next for you and Kid Phang?

For me, nothing much not, too focused on my other stuff. For Kid Phang, expect something next month.

What would you like a listener to remember after hearing your music for the very first time?

That once they hear one song, they’re going to be like, “Oh, okay. He just makes this kind of music.” But once they listen to another song and then another song, they’re going to be like, “I don’t even know what this guy makes. He does whatever the hell he wants.” That’s what I really want. So, I have versatility, and I’m not just like a one-trick pony.

https://kidphang.com/

Thursday December 21, 2023 7:45PM w/ Bulletboys Thursday January 4, 2024 8:00PM w/Hookers & Blow Friday April 26, 2024 7:00PM w/Leatherwolf

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Willa and Yungboi Gothic

on the Escape Route

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Willa and Yungboi Gothic are two artists from the Redding music scene whose recent collaboration on Escape Route has made listeners above and beyond their Central California hometown stand up and take notice. Willa on her own is an indie pop music artist on the rise with an impressive collection of songs while Yungboi Gothic presents his very own imaginative take on emotionally driven trip hop. Escape Route is the ultimate breakup song - and this collaboration is far and away from the relationship these talented individuals share together in real life. Yungboi Gothic and Willa recently did a photoshoot with Jack Lue at Dystopian Studios in Downtown LA. Here an interview Highwire Daze conducted with the duo on location right after their shoot. Read on...

We’re here with both Willa and Yungboi Gothic at Dystopian Studios. Willa, give me a little background on yourself, where you’re based out of, and how long you’ve been singing.

Willa: Yes. So I’ve been singing basically my whole life since I was 12. That’s when I wrote my first song. And then about a year ago I started taking music pretty seriously in Redding, California. I started working in a couple studios and then just continued the production process and writing process and just continued from there.

What was the very first song you ever wrote? How old were you and what was that song about ?

Willa: So the the first song I ever wrote, it’s called Head Over Heels. I wrote it when I was 12 years old in math class. And I had a friend who wrote songs as well. We were both in like seventh grade and she showed me her song and inspired me to write one. And I just wrote it about what I thought love could be like when you’re 12 because obviously when you’re 12 you’re not going to be falling in love very quick. But I ended up writing about that, and then from there on I just continued writing songs in math class and then now I’m writing them in studios. So it’s pretty cool.

Let’s talk about the, current song Escape Route. First question. What was the inspiration behind that song?

Willa: So that song was actually written based off of a poem that I wrote. It was sitting in my notes app for months and I took it to the studio. We had a beat prepared and I ended up just overlaying the poem I’d written over the song and it just kind of became what it is. And yes, it’s a pretty quick song, but it’s just a lot of poetry that I put into my music. So that’s kind of how that one came to be.

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And what was it like having Yungboi Gothic here on your song, especially since it’s not really a romantic song.

Willa: No. It’s a very sad song. But when I met him, he was one of the first people that I actually showed the song to and I thought it’d be a really interesting kind of strategy to put him on the song just because I wanted to do a remixed version. I wanted to make it more listenable because I feel like a lot of people, they like sad music, but it’s harder to just like jam out in your car to it. So I thought it’d be fun to put him on it and see how it sounded that way. And it actually worked out.

How did you feel about your part in the song, especially since it’s probably the opposite about how you feel about her.

Yungboi Gothic: Oh, yes. The way I look at it’s like we are 53

just singing it together towards someone we don’t like, or something . But it was really fun to do together. We aimed for like a Blackbear vibe for my part, and I think we like hit it pretty good. I’m happy with it. It was one of the funnest like collaborations I’ve done and I think it came out really well.

The whole remix in itself sounds really cool and different than the original and I think that’s fun.

Have you guys had a chance to perform it live yet?

Willa: Yes, actually. So on my birthday I dropped my EP and during the release show we kind of surprised everyone by bringing him on stage so that they could hear the remixed version before it was even out. So instead of singing the original version of Escape Route, we sang the version with him on it.

He jumped out there as a surprise guest and everyone really liked it.

Yungboi Gothic: That was super fun.

You recent EP Blueprint For Breakups which has the original version of Escape Route on it. What is the Blueprint For Breakups?

Willa: I think the point of Blueprint For Breakups is that there really is not a blueprint for breakups. There’s no right way to handle heartbreak or love or anything. And I think if you put yourself in this box of trying to heal in a linear way or figure out love in a linear way, it’s never going to work. And there’s no right way to do it. It’s going to be messy and hard at times, but everyone finds their way through it. So the kind of idea of Blueprint For Breakups is that there’s not really a blueprint, but if there was, I hope that the songs can help anyone who’s going through something similar to what I’ve been through.

I think you have a new song about to come out called Pretty Boys. Tell me about that song.

Willa: I feel like with the EP that I just released, a lot of the songs are about heartbreak. They’re sad, and I wanted to create a song that felt redemptive from the album. And so Pretty Boys is definitely more upbeat. It’s more of a power anthem for girls who have been heartbroken instead of feeling sad about what you’ve been through. It’s kind of taking back like your power and heartbreak and healing from it. So it’s kind of a message to Pretty Boys just saying like, Hey, like watch out for them and just if you encounter one, and if you get broken by one, you’ll heal from it and own it. So yes.

Now from Pretty Boys to Toxic, But I’m Fine.

Yungboi Gothic: Very fitting.

A good jump there, which is Yungboi Gothic’s new song. Tell me a little about that song and the inspiration behind it.

Yungboi Gothic: That song I wrote with my friends and we kind of just wrote like she wrote. A way to explain, it’s like it’s an anthem for bad habits in a way because we’re expressing all these bad habits in the song, but kind of making a lighter situation of it. It was a lot of fun. It’s different than my old music. A lot of my older music’s like sad. Even if it 54

is upbeat in a sense, it’s like it has a sad pinpoint to the song or the message. And this message was really just more about flexing and having fun and like, not caring about what people perceive of you . We didn’t really have a song base. We just all of us wrote it like in one sitting. So it was really fun.

Do you think you two will be doing any more music together since this first collaboration worked out so well?

Willa: I think we’ll definitely write more songs together. It’d be fun since he hopped on my last song, it’d be fun to maybe hop on a track of his and see how that sounds.

Yungboi Gothic: I think that’d be great.

What’s up next for you?

Willa: Yes, so Pretty Boys drops August 25, so that’s kind of my main focus right now. But I’m in the studio every day writing new music. So hopefully a lot more singles are going to come after the EP. So that’s kind of what I’m working on right now.

https://www.instagram.com/trulywilla/ https://www.instagram.com/yungboi_gothic/ November/December 2023

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WE ARE THE BLACK THINGS “Cast Of A Dark Shadow”

by Highwire Daze Magazine

4 to 5, turns Raven’s Cry into We Are The Black Things.. New edition keyThings boardist,”The boardist,” The Owl”joins Owl”joins forces with Raven’s Cry, Cry, and a “new band,” named We Are The Black Things emerges.

Tone Raven guitarist of the band Raven’s Cry met future Keyboardist Rae”Owl”Starling at a function called “The “The Burke Party Band”.

Band ”.

“I met Rae Owl Starling to be, future band mate in We Are The Black Things, Things, I met Rae at the Burke Party Band Jam’s at Sound Arena on Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood between the months of October 2017 and May of 2018. Rae was dropping into the jam party band.I let him know then and there, Raven’s Cry at the time, I wanted a keyboardist,and would he consider joining us? He said he would, at the time we were a 4 piece in Raven’s Cry, Cry, and by the time 2018 was coming up, I had been in Raven’s Cry for 19 years in Hollywood! I inevitably asked Rae Owl Starling to join, after I changed the name Raven’s Cry to We Are The Black Things on March 8 2018. I changed the name, and I asked him to join the band. We performed our first show at Whisky A Go Go as We Are The Black Things, Things, opening for Dio Disciples,” Disciples ,” confesses Tone Raven.

Channeling Tone Raven, Raven, asks Highwire Daze Magazine?

Magazine?

“Yes,” replies Tone Raven guitarist/vocalist founder of the band on that fateful March 8 2018 evening at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood California!

“Yeah, I changed our name. I had been “Flying The Colors” for Raven’s Cry for a long time, and it really just came down to the simple fact of change. I’m a Changeling, I always want to evolve and be my best current self. That’s what the music speaks through me.

So I record new music always in at my digital studio, and that’s what keeps me going in the now. Like Mr.Scary Mr.Scary,, my mentor taught me.We me.We Are The Black Things.

Things. I saw on the light of the marquee of the world famous Whisky A Go Go. Go. I changed the name right then and there on March 8 2018 at the Whisky A Go Go.I Go.I went to sign a contract for Raven’s Cry and changed the name to We Are The Black Things.

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let them know, at the Whisky A Go Go ahead of time to keep the contract blank, name wise. I drove to Whisky A Go Go and made it happen.

The rest is history. Yeah, I taped my treck to the Whisky A Go Go club. I fully know I wanted a cleanse, like a change of relationship. A new name We Are The Black Things,, I saw in lights,” Things reveals Tone Raven.

Highwire Daze Magazine: Magazine: How have you been?

Tone Raven: Raven: Great, writing and recording our new follow up album to the Down In Wuhan Album, the title’s a secret, but I’ve been working on it for the past year and a half.

Highwire Daze Magazine: Magazine: What’s the material like?

Tone Raven: Raven: It’s expanded epic conceptual street rock, seriously straight up no gimmicks,songs.Very lyrical songwriting with epic guitar music, vocal parts. It will be the follow up to to Down In Wuhan, Wuhan, which we are extremely busy, our current album Down In Wuhan released late 2021. It’s so great to be witnessing history in the making with We Are The Black Things, Things, (Excitedly expresses Tone Raven).

Raven).

Highwire Daze Magazine:How’s Magazine:How’s the new material Tone Tone??

Tone Raven: Raven: Well it’s insane.We’ll let the music do the talking. I will say this 18 straight months of writing and recording is paying off. We’ll see if it fly’s. We’ll let the heart of the listener be the judge of that.

Tone Raven: Raven: (Extra Thoughts!) We Are The Black Things.

Things.

Oh God, You just can’t write this in a book, in a book. Let’s just be in the thrill of the moment for a minute or two!

We Are The Black Things Frank Garrett - Bass Rae “Owl” Starling - Keyboard Luthario Mitcho - Turntable Carrie Cane - Drums Tone Raven - Guitar/Vocals

http://www.wearetheblackthings.com youtube.com/toneraventunes facebook.com/ravenscrymusic contact booking: toneraven@yahoo.com 55

Wednesday 13 Celebrates

Murderdolls

with Kickoff Show at The Whisky 10/20/23 Review by Alison “MetalBabe” Cohen Photo by Jack Lue

Wednesday 13 started his career in 1996 with Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13.

13. In 2002 he started Murderdolls with Joey Jordison (Slipknot) and Ben Graves,, and they released the first Murderdolls album Graves “Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls.”

Murderdolls.” Over the next 21 years, Wednesday branched out on his own with 11 studio releases, (side projects Bourbon Crow/Gunfire 76), 76 ), and released a second album with Murderdolls called “Women “Women and Children Last” Last” in 2013. I’ve been following Wednesday 13 since 2004 and have seen 30+ shows all over the US and in the UK. Wednesday 13 kicked off their long-anticipated 38 city tour to a sold-out crowd at The Whisky on Friday, October 20th. The first show was filled with die-hard fans and newbies alike. The word has been spreading fast about Wednesday 13 in recent years and the crowd continues to grow as people creep out to see what the fuss is about.

Murderdolls/Wednesday 13 staples Roman Surman and Jack Tankersley are in the current band, along with Troy Doebbler (bass) This was the debut of new drummer Mike Dupke, (Phil X/Dee Snider/Jizzy Pearl) who was handpicked and recruited by the “Duke “Duke of Spook” Spook” himself for this tour.

The band rocked 20 selections from the Murderdolls Murderdolls’’ albums. It was an intense high-energy show from the first note of “Chapel “Chapel of Blood” Blood” to the end. I’ve been following Wednesday 13 since 2004 and have seen them all over the US and the UK. Tonight’s show was one of the best I have seen. The crowd was insane… Screaming along, pounding their fists in the air, bouncing, sweating, and moshing the entire night.

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They encored with their rock n’ roll anthem “I “I Love to Say F*ck” F*ck” with Wednesday donning a middle finger umbrella as the entire Whisky bounced up and down with their middle fingers blasting in the air. They ended the night with “Dead “Dead in Hollywood.”

Hollywood.” “D-E-A-D “D-E-A-D that’s how I want to be. You’re so dead In Hollywood.”

Hollywood.” The Sunset strip definitely was NOT DEAD tonight!

The Rhythm Coffin opened the show with their brand of Skeleton rock. It’s always a treat to see Carrie and Gereg Grimm onstage with their assortment of stage props and actors. Unfortunately, half of Moldovan metal band Infected Rain got caught up in customs because they didn’t get their Visas in time. They had to miss the first five shows of the tour, but picked up again October 27th in Roseville, CA, and our photographer Jack Lue went to San Diego on the 29th to see Infected Rain.

Rain. American alternative metal band Gemini Syndrome was a perfect fit for direct support.

The show was dedicated to Joey Joey,, with heartfelt sentiments from Wednesday Wednesday,, who led us in a touching chant “Joey, Joey, Joey” Joey” before playing “Nowhere “Nowhere.” .” Wednesday hopes to record a song for Joey called “I “I have this knife”” based on their mutual love for the movie Texas knife Chainsaw Massacre.

Massacre.

Wednesday comments: “After “After 21 years since its release, and the recent sad and premature passing of Joey Joey,, it only feels right to go out and celebrate these songs. songs. “ Check out Wednesday 13 and Murderdolls if you like fun horror rock, scary movies, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Whether you are bouncing and singing at a live show, or listening on your own, this up-and-coming band is definitely worth it.

(RIP Ben Graves/Joey Jordison.)

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MELATONIN GIRLS

THE VIPER ROOM, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA., SEPTEMBER 23, 2023 Review and Photo by Chris Vinan Photo Editing by Panayotis Fillipis There’s something undeniably magnetic about Melatonin Girls, Girls, the punk band that’s been rapidly rising in Los Angeles’ gritty music scene. Their recent performance at the iconic Viper Room in Los Angeles was nothing short of electrifying, showcasing their literal use of electricity to create a gritty sound and unapologetic attitude.

Drawing comparisons to the likes of Julian Casablancas,, Melatonin Girls have easily managed to carve cas out a niche for themselves within the punk rock genre.

Their sound is raw and unfiltered, characterized by jarring guitar riffs and smooth vocals with a bouncy rhythm that keeps your head funkily throbbing along.

Their frontman, Jacob Mandel, Mandel, demands your attention from his very first note of the night.

Guitarist Moi Rivera and bassist Gabriel Bordeau are particularly striking. With their piercing gaze and ability to let loose into the music, they command the stage with an intensity that is both captivating and intimidating. Jacob Mandel’s vocal style and filtered layering is reminiscent of Casablancas’ signature drawl, but with a fierce edge that sets him far apart from any style.

Drummer Ethan Padilla was impressive as he endured the marathon of a set. His ability to bounce between sounds and maintain the band’s sprawling sound was an incredible feat.

Melatonin Girl’s set at The Viper Room was a perfect showcase of their industrial cool aesthetic. The dimly lit, gritty surroundings of the venue complemented their music perfectly, creating an atmosphere that felt both intimate and electrifying. It’s the kind of place where you can imagine the walls eating you and digesting you to the melody of the energy from every chord and lyric.

One of the standout tracks of the night was Good 58

Graces, a funky punk anthem that had the crowd Graces, dancing along. The song’s infectious energy and catchy hooks are a testament to the band’s songwriting prowess, which is both raw and refined in all the right ways.

While Melatonin Girls may not be a household name just yet, their performance at The Viper Room suggests that they’re well on their way to making a significant impact in the scene. With their undeniable talent, unique sound, and captivating stage presence, it’s only a matter of time before they take their place.

https://www.instagram.com/melatonin_girls/ November/December 2023

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ARIZONA AVENUE MOLLY MALONE’S LOS ANGELES, CA., OCTOBER 21, 2023

Review by Ken Morton – Photo by Linda Emord Another Saturday night in the City of Angels, and it was time for Highwire Daze to discover some new talent in this town. One of the very best places to see up and coming independent rock and roll is Molly Malone’s – a cozy Irish pub located on Fairfax Avenue in the heart of Los Angeles. Arizona Avenue was in the club, ready to rock the room with some pretty cool indie tunes.

A band that kept showing up in my Instagram feed, I checked out their debut single Ethan’s Oblivion, Oblivion, and decided it was time to discover what Arizona Avenue was all about.

Opening their set with the single Ethan’s Oblivion right away, this very solid tune gained the audience’s attention at once – and the band would wind up delivering the rocking goodness tenfold. When charismatic vocalist Lukas Connor spoke in between songs, one noticed right away the English accent – an L.A. transplant via the UK, Connor’s singing channels Brit-pop infections with a dash of groovy grunge – making for an ultraHIGHWIRE DAZE

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dynamic frontman performance. The band would even perform a standout song entitled London during their set.

Arizona Avenue presented several memorable tunes throughout their time on stage, with Given Up, Up, Evil Eye, Eye, and Everything Is Breaking leaving quite an impression.

Throughout the show, lead guitarist Ethan Alcoran really stood out with his imaginative guitar work. Bassist Keanu. (be sure to add the Period) and drummer Justin LaRoche unleashed a vibrantly energetic rhythm section that rocked the club with skilled precision.

Closing the set with a rapturous rendition of the Foo Fighters’’ classic Everlong Fighters Everlong,, Arizona Avenue placed their own indelible stamp on the classic rock song. With a band this massively talented and more singles to be unveiled soon, it will be exciting to see what the future has in store within the rocking poptastic streets of Arizona Avenue!

Avenue! Stay tuned!

https://www.instagram.com/arizonaavenueofficial/ 59

STANDBY THE WHISKY, WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA. NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Review by Ken Morton Photo by Chris Vinan Photo Editing by Panayotis Fillipis In a few hours, the legendary KISS would be playing their final Los Angeles show at The Hollywood Bowl - which this reviewer was NOT going to miss. Local band Standby played across town at the Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip right at the 6PM breakfast hour, and the omnipresent Highwire Daze was there as well to cover the show.

With influences ranging from classic rock, grunge, punk and well beyond, Standby does it all, and this young band performs with a good amount of passion and conviction. KISS may be at the End Of The Road, Road, but Standby is just beginning, and their lively show at The Whisky was a lot of fun to watch!

Performing a set packed with both promising orginals and dynamic covers, Standby absolutely rocked the early arrivals! Opening with a standout track entitled A New Place, Place, Standby then proceeded to auditory surf with their rambunctious rendition of Surfaris Surfaris’’ classic Wipeout Wipeout!!

Their very own songs Undefined Life Story and All For Nothing present a band ready to write their own interesting chapter in music. Their covers definitely are all over the place, and it’s pretty excited to hear this power trio rip and roll through classic songs from much revered acts such as Led Zeppelin,, Nirvana Zeppelin Nirvana,, Neil Young, Young, and Pearl Jam. Jam. The three members from the Standby brigade are charismatic and massively talented, featuring the participation of Eddie Dolak on lead vocals and guitar, Tre Poutre on bass, and Trevor Quinn on drums.

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At the moment, the audience is mostly parents, friends and family, but it won’t be long until Standby is gathering up fans from far and wide. Stay tuned, because judging by the exhilarating show at The Whisky, Whisky, there is no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more from Standby in 2024 and beyond...

https://www.instagram.com/ officialstandbyband/ November/December 2023

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Hvnted, Aurora View, Mechanical Roots The Viper Room, West Hollywood, CA., November 10, 2023

Review by Ken Morton Hvnted Photo Courtesy of L.A. Rock Collective On a Friday night at the notorious Viper Room on the Sunset Strip, three of the very best local bands on the Los Angeles music scene shared the stage for an amazing night to remember. Celebrating the release of Hvnted’s brand new single Fiend Fiend,, the event brought together many fans and friends as well as the support of The L.A. Rock Collective..

Collective First up was Mechanical Roots, Roots, presenting their own epic brand of rock and roll! Each and every song performed could be all over the radio airwaves, with standouts such as Spitfire Spitfire,, Sticks and Stones, Stones, and Out Of Sight Out Of Mind reigning supreme. Fans of acts such as Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin will be over the moon when discovering the dynamic music and energetic live show Mechanical Roots has to offer! I am surprised these guys aren’t already signed and playing Danny Wimmer rock festivals!

Aurora View was up next, and their provocative set of indie rock was nothing short of mesmerizing. With an absolutely compelling front man that lays it all out on the line with the imagination of a young David Bowie and brilliant musicianship throughout the entire performance, Aurora View was like witnessing a thrilling sonic advenHIGHWIRE DAZE

November/December 2023

ture explode right in front of your face. Playing selections from their recently issued SHMR endeavor, songs such as the chilling Skiin and the super infectious Lovesick were absolutely wondrous to behold! Last Night I Watched Myself Sleep was another stunning highlight from the set.

Aurora View is Dylan Handrich (vocals), Aaron Handrich (bass), and Kyle Roy (guitar) with Simom Beck playing as a guest drummer.

Hvnted is definitely one of the most exciting local bands on the L.A. music scene today with a story to tell as well as an exhilarating live performance packed with songs that will jangle on in your head long after the very last note is played. Kicking off the set with Fiend Fiend,, a grand and glorious rager of a single, Hvnted unleashed a fun and frenzied set of tunes to a very packed Viper Room.

Room. Combining the infectiousness of pop punk with combustible inflections of the heavier side of music, Hvnted deliver the goods tenfold and sent the room spinning with standout songs such as I Miss You and Painkiller Painkiller.. Each and every member delivers explosive performances that would play well in an arena-like setting - and here we all were seeing an epic show like this within the hallowed walls of The Viper Room!! Expect 2024 to be the year Hvnted take off into Room the stratosphere! Hvnted is: Will Swanson (vocals), Jack Cotter (bass), Seamus Neal (drums), Abe Flores (Guitar), Shay Shuster (Guitar).

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ALBUM REVIEWS

Fearless Rolling Quartz Mirrorball Music Review by Ken Morton Rolling Quartz is a South Korean rock band that debuted in December 2020 They recently toured the States, captivating live audiences with their astounding shows.

Fearless is the first Rolling Quartz single to be released after their USA tour, and it’s an absolute rager! Not K-Pop, but hard rock in the grand tradition of Halestorm and The Pretty Reckless, Rolling Quartz slam it out of the ballpark and beyond with this fierce and vibrant song!

There a glorious sense of liberation to be felt while experiencing Fearless - and although the song is both Korean and English, the emotions ring out loud and clear in the universal language of music. All this, and the dynamic personalities and massive talents of each and every Rolling Quartz member absolutely shines through. Fearless is an epic rock and roller that will make you want to take on the world - which Rolling Quartz is well on the way to achieving right now! https://www.instagram.com/rolling_quartz/

Rolling Quartz at The Wayfarer Photo by Jack Lue

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November/December 2023

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