Rock and Blues International August 2020 by Rock and Blues International

AUGUST 2020 ISSUE 1

Rock And Blues International Clay Melton

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE HED (PE) J BALVIN CLEVE BAKER JAMES BAY DEE SNIDER PAUL McCARTNEY THE BLUES FOUNDATION THE ROLLING STONES TOOTS and the MAYTALS and some great Blues News!

PREMIERE ISSUE!

Blues Music Producer Expands Holdings Builds A Second Studio In The Mountains of New Mexico Richard “Rich” Cagle recorded Johnny Winter in Houston Texas quite a long time ago and would go on to further his Montrose Records presence by introducing such talents as Carolyn Wonderland, Annika Chambers, Julia Cozby, and very soon bluesman Sam Barlow. As well as producing Rich is also the front man for his well known blues rock band “Richard Cagle & The Voodoo Choir”. The band’s latest release “DOS” spun on over 220 radio stations after being cut at the new Montrose Records West recording studio located in the gorgeous mountains of Ruidoso New Mexico. The release would go on to win top honors in its category at the annual New Mexico Music Awards located in Albuquerque that same year. Additionally, veteran talents such as Brad Absher and Davi Jay would record with Rich both scoring high marks with the press and radio for their products. Brad for his blues release and Davi for his blues soul funk release. The studio rests near the top of a mountain just outside of Ruidoso and its log cabin exterior fits right in with the location. Inside, the studio is large and comfortable, outside the view is to die for, it rocks big time. Visitors, artists, come from hundreds of miles away to perform at Sacred Grounds, a regional, favorite night spot, including major artists from Austin (Joe King Carrasco) as well as Houston’s (Steve “Harp Ace” Krase). Very soon the final touches will be in place on a new blues rock album by El Paso Texas singer/songwriter Sam Barlow. The new album will feature blues rock to the maximum and present another top quality experienced bluesman. Another Montrose artist Julia Cozby would not only score high points with the music industry but would also release a new story telling music video that generate over 44,000 views in less than 60 days. Davi Jay’s album would spin on over 200 stations world wide and Brad Absher would go on to represent Texas at the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Learn more about Montrose Records at www.montroserecords.net 2 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Rock And Blues International August 2020

Welcome to the Premiere Issue of Rock And Blues International. I have been publishing magazines for 38 years now, and to tell you the truth, I find myself really proud of this first issue. It has definitely been an experience getting this one off the ground. Don’t be alarmed by the title. It is not strictly “heavy metal” rock or “traditional” blues. Rock And Blues International will indeed touch on all styles of music genres. It seems that Rock and Blues has touched a lot of different styles of music over the years and we will too with this new publication. Don’t be surprised to find a little Pop, Reggae, Country, Alternative and other types of music mentioned here. When the British Invasion first hit America in the 60’s, it was filled with Rock and Blues as they performed their own interpretation of American Blues and Rock. Bands following in the vein included The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and hundreds of other bands. Along the way, the American bands tried to copy the English and European bands. The music world has now become an amalgamation of different types of music blended together. Rock And Blues International will be featuring bands from all over the world. In this issue we have music originating in The United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, France, Columbia, Australia, and Mexico, just to name a few. Some of the artists you will read about in this issue include: Clay Melton, The Blues Foundation, Cleve Baker, Neil Barnes, Bert Wills, Alice Cooper, The Bee Gees, Bu Ju Banton, Ghetto Kumbé, GoGo Penguin, James Bay, Toot And The Maytals, Hed (PE), Limahl, J Balvin, Luis Fonsi, Scorpions, Tetrarch, Paul McCartney, The Buckleys, Sam Johnson, Mushroomhead and many more. Wow, if that isn’t an amalgamation of different types of music, I don’t know what is. I sincerely hope that everybody reading this new publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http://www.rockandbluesinternational.com. We would also like to encourage you to email us for a free subscription to Rock And Blues International as well. Just email us at rockandbluesinternational@gmail.com and in the subject line simply put “Sign Me Up” and we’ll email you a copy each month when it is published.

Kevin Wildman Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher

Rock And Blues International Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher

Web Address Http://www.rockandbluesinternational.com Mailing Address Box 1162, League City, TX 77573 Phone 281-650-1953

For Advertising email us at rockandbluesinternational@gmail.com or call 281-650-1953 For A Free Subscription email us at rockandblues international@gmail.com and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Contents

VOL. 1 NO. 1

AUGUST 2020

ISSUE NO. 1

CLAY MELTON Fresh, Crisp, Blistering This Blues Rocker Is Turning Heads

NEIL BARNES

Neil Barnes Talks About His life And “Bald Guy With A Lot On His Mind”

26 26

J BALVIN Architecturla Digest Announces J Balvin As July / August Cover Star New Album “Colores” Out Now!

TOPS

Tops Enlists Patrick Holland For A Remix Of “Colder & Colder: New Album “I Feel Alive” Out Now

40 40

JAMES BAY James Bay Releases New Single “Chew On My Heart”

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Contents

VOL. 1 NO. 1

AUGUST 2020

Subscribe Now!

ISSUE NO. 1

(HED) PE (HED) PE Annouches Twelfth Studio Album “Class Of 2020”

68 SEETHER Seether Returns With First New Album In Three Years “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”

In This Issue: 2 5 8 9 10 12 13 14 16

18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29

Richard “Rich” Cagle The Blues Is Just Cool, Period Quinn Deveaux Bert Wills Clay Melton Uli Geissendoerfer Cleve Baker The Blues Is Alive - Past, Present, & Future -Blues Festivals Across TheWorld The Blues Foundation The Well-Organized Blues Organization That Has It Working Neil Barnes Testament Vocalist Chuck Billy The Jayhawks Sondre Lerche Jordan Lehning Limahl Luis Fonsi J Balvin 2020 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Suzanne’s Band

30 Benee 31 Worldwide New Book Releases by -Edoardo Fassio -WS Holland & Ron Haney 32 The Suffers 34 Tops 36 Elvie Shane 37 Ghost Liotta 38 The Northern Belle 39 Sam Johnson 40 James Bay 42 Kiki Valera 43 Ghetto Kumbé 44 Scarlet Pleasure 45 GoGo Penguin 46 Sinego 47 The Buckleys 48 Mounika 50 Hands Like Houses 51 Bu Ju Banton 52 Control Future 53 Penny and Sparrow 54 Toots And The Maytals 56 Lucy And The Rats 57 Deaton Lemay Project 58 EJ Marais

59 60 62 63 64 65 66 66 67 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 76 78 79 80 82 85 86 87 88

Steven Bruce Paul McCartney Alice Cooper Scorpions Glass Animals Thomas V. Jäger Dead Girl’s Academy Disciples Of Verity Kill The Lights Tyler Carter (Hed) PE Inter Arma Low Cut Connie Mushroomhead Tetrarch Dee Snider Seether Onslaught Exit The Acacia Strain The Rolling Stones The Bee Gees Pixies Go-Go’s Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

The Blues Is Just Cool, Period. It was an extremely hot afternoon and I spotted a gin mill with an open sign on, a dive bar in a small strip mall. Ahhh, air conditioning and cold refreshments. As I opened the door and walked in I could see the bar on the far back wall with a jukebox hanging on the wall on the left hand side. Anyone that knows me knows I cannot help myself when it comes to day drinking and music. After all, if I wanted to watch television I could do that at home, but a good juke sound system cranked up in the middle of the afternoon with a few cold ones already inside, well very little soothes like that combination. In my case it’s the blues and on this particular afternoon I dropped a five in the box and made my six selections. About this time a young man about half my age came in and happened to sit on the same end of the bar as I had gravitated to and he nodded and said hi. The music began, it was John Lee Hooker’s “The Healer”. Soft and smooth with that very familiar John Lee Hooker voice and on this rendition the lead guitar work was none other than Carlos Santana. The bar maid delivered my bar mate his craft beer and asked me if I would like another. I was drinking single malt scotch and smoking a 52 ring Macanudo. I smiled and nodded, she was easy to look at and with that music coming across strong what’s not to like? The next song came up, Albert Cummings and his “Blues Makes Me Feel So Good” track. A completely different style of the blues, upbeat with emphasis on a blues rock guitar feel. Too cool to be sure. The young man to my right was getting a bit antsy which turned out to be curiosity. He asked me who was laying down the music and I told him Albert Cummings. He said he had never heard of him but he would listen to more of his music now. I said to the young man that the man specializes in the blues, quite the

crowd pleaser. He looked at me, furled his eyebrows, and said, “the blues huh, my Dad likes the blues.” I asked him what he liked and he said “rock and some hip hop.” I thought for a minute and then asked him if he liked Jimi Hendrix and he said sure. What about Stevie Ray? “Yes, him too.” So I asked him one more, what about Eric Clapton? He said “without a doubt” and then I laid it on him, all of them blues artists you know. There was this puzzled look on his face and he said “really,” and I said “yep, definitely.” So it goes with the blues, the blues is just cool, period. The next song up was “Statesboro Blues” by the Allman Brothers and I thought the young man would go completely insane. He said he had heard “Stormy Monday” and liked it a lot, but this was the first time he had heard “Statesboro Blues”. It was time for

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

more scotch and about that time the bar maid came back and slid a five dollar bill to me. She said the man and his wife at the other end of the bar really liked the music and would I mind punching in some more. No problem. When Jimi’s “Red House” came on, man you would have thought we were holding church that afternoon. You talk about a place coming alive, the blues will do that to a joint. It will reach up and let you know you are human for sure. The place got really quiet when the song ended, the only sound you could hear were the smoke eaters snapping as my cigar smoke rose up and into their filters. The next cut that filled the place was Buddy Guy laying down “Damn Right I Got The Blues”. Someone asked the bar maid to turn it up a notch and she did, the place was humming to the max. The young man close by me said it was time for him to go and off he went out the door and out of sight. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how it goes with folks that like the blues, but don’t know that is what they are listening to. The blues has been with us for a long, long time. It never goes out of style, it’s just cool, period. In cities like Chicago their annual blues festival draws literally hundreds of thousands of blues fans every year. There’s over one hundred blues festivals around the nation in any one calendar year and off shore the largest blues festival in Europe, the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland for instance, sells out the very next day after the current show ends. It’s interesting because it doesn’t matter what the language is because the message of the blues is universal. You don’t hear the blues, you feel it. You feel it deep within. It was a good afternoon. Good music, good view, good scotch, and a good cigar. Try it sometime. After all you can work any day, but there is just something special about screwing off on a weekday when you should be working.

New Blues Release

Soul, Country, Blues, and R&B Connoisseur QUINN DEVEAUX Pens Stark and Somber Blues Song “Holiday” Written in Response to Need for Social Justice “Book of Soul is an aggregation of DeVeaux’s influences in soul, roots, and R & B but also taps into his own personal stories.” - American Songwriter “…if there’s one thing we need right now, it’s a little bit, or maybe a lot of soul.” - BlackBook “His tone is made for singing soul, and his delivery is smooth as butter. In fact, it’s hard to imagine him being anything other than a soul singer.” - Glide Magazine Nashville musician QUINN DEVEAUX has just written and released the soulful blues song “Holiday,” offering a musical look into his sense of grief and loss and the passionate need for positive change during these uncertain times. Referencing the 14 year old black child who was brutally murdered in 1955 for offending a white woman, QUINN DEVEAUX - Photo credit: Elena Kulikova Quinn sings, “I can’t forget the face of Emmett Till transformative moment. / And all the faces they take from us still,” in honor of the child’s lasting impact on the Civil Rights’ movement. Quinn’s poignant track “I am working on a new record that includes ‘Holiday’ and provides even more power by the accompanying video of his weighty other songs that are a bit smaller in scope. I wanna tell more personal and heartfelt solo performance. stories, and it’s surprising how hard that is to do. It seems like telling your own story would be easier, but I find getting to the truth of my A song that chronicles the crimes and injustices lodged on own experience is a trying exercise and I get drained and have to start African Americans throughout the ages, “Holiday” is a song that over constantly. A song like ‘Holiday’ is pain I’ve felt for years, and resonated heavily with him as he wrote it. Quinn explaines to anger I’ve felt for years, frustration and love I’ve known for years, and American Songwriter who premiered the video t, “I had the melody to wake up every day and expect yourself to pull it all out is tough. and theme for ‘Holiday’ a while ago, around when Tamir Rice was murdered in 2014 by Timothy Loehmann [who mistook the 12yo’s toy But over time, you get somewhere. I hope that we can keep the gun for a real one]. Whenever I would hear about a black person being pressure on these lawmakers and keep having these conversations murdered by police or profiling/random/racist gunman, a little piece of with each other. This is the best way to start making it safe for people the song would come to me and then a little more. When I heard about of color in America.” George Floyd [whose death at the hands of a Minneapolis cop sparked About Quinn: the current #blacklivesmatter riots], I finished the song. The systemic racism people of color face is ever present and I wanted the song to be Quinn spent his early years in Gary, Indiana (birthplace of The true to that fact. I wrote several more verses that I may add later, but Jackson 5) living with his grandmother, a former jazz singer. Though these are the verses I was feeling most in this moment. Unfortunately, Quinn’s early years were rooted in church choir, blues, old-school it does feel like a song that I may be adding to. But I am greatly country and soul were in his blood. In his early 20s, Quinn headed heartened by the conversations I have been a part of about how to west to Oakland with just a guitar and his golden voice, settling in the move forward making communities more safe for people of color. I Mission District, where he became a founding member of the local have also been glad to see efforts in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the group Blue Roots. country where legislators are being pressured to make changes to the structure of the police force. But the underlying problem carries on.” He then went on to form Quinn DeVeaux & The Blue Beat Review and released a string of well-regarded albums that garnered The video features Quinn in his home in Oakland, playing the accolades from the Bay Area music press. His most recent album, solemn blues track on acoustic guitar while plaintively singing, “it ain’t changing fast enough for me.” Unfortunately, it’s a timeless song Book of Soul (Released February 2020), was recorded over two days in Oakland and three days in Nashville, where Quinn currently that would ring true in Emmett Till’s day as well as in the current resides. modern climate of social injustice. Quinn knows all too well the need for moral and spiritual awakening in society and hopes this is finally a View the new video here: https://youtu.be/b8TqvjPrrTQ 8 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

August 2020 â&#x20AC;¢ Rock and Blues International

CLAY MELTON Photo and Cover Photo by Hannah Wolf

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;¢ August 2020

Fresh, Crisp, Blistering This Blues Rocker Is Turning Heads Fender Stratocaster plugged in and turned up to 10 fuels the Guitar Driven Blues Rock sound which is the ground work for the hard hitting, personal, yet universal lyrics from the artist Clay Melton who was “Born in Louisiana, raised on Texas side”. Clay Melton’s sound is being described in three words: fresh, organic, and blistering. A 3 piece getting in the room, turning up and making it happen. Plus the man naturally delivers stage presence that is reminiscent of mega stars of the past including the notable presence of a young Elvis Presley. Audiences routinely stand and applaud as Clay delivers a complete evening of top shelf entertainment. In pre-virus days Melton’s mesmerizing combination was drawing blues rockers to such-notable performance hot spots as the Chevrolet Main Stage at the massive Texas State Fair. The problem at the time was Clay having enough down time to pen the experiences around him as he toured across the U.S. Now with the pandemic at hand this mid-twenties driving blues rocker is not only writing future hits but recording them as well as shooting music videos while all the while preparing special online episodes of streaming adventures to continue sharing the live music experience during this time of crisis. People talk about roots - Imagine riding along with your Dad at the age of nine or ten and your Father is pumping out some Hendrix while the two of you are tooling along in the family car. Now envision that casual introduction to blues rock taking root at that young age. That is precisely what happened to Clay Melton. That experience drove him to sounding out Hendrix tunes on an out of tune toy guitar with 4 strings on it; and eventually to repeatedly ask and hope for a guitar. He got his wish at age 11 and soon began to take lessons. Fast forward to age 15: Clay is unexpectedly asked to join the Dallas International Guitar Festival for their Top Ten Guitarist under 20 competition. That competition immediately impressed festival talent buyers and soon would open the door

Photo by Hannah Wolf

Photo by Trish Badger

to the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival in Texas. Where Clay would make several Main stage performances by the age of 16. It was clear from there on in that this fresh sound, this new presence possessed something truly special. Most recently, the Houston Blues Society by way of special function introduced Clay to Milton “The Gentleman” Hopkins. Milton Hopkins spent eight years of his life traveling on the bus with B.B. King playing rhythm guitar for the man. It was indeed a treat for Melton to be with this blues icon. Clay shares, “ Milton and his wife were really cool with me. Milton even opened up and shared some of his performance memories. He shared how prepared a bluesman had to be to run with the King. He shared that being ready for change on the fly in the middle of a live performance was a common requirement. He told me that when the king deviated from his normal show routine everyone in the band had to scramble through their chart books (which were phone book thick) and find the tune B.B. was calling out on the spot. You can be a real slinger, really know your stuff, but if you lack the organization and discipline to keep up with the man and his band you weren’t going to be there long. Milton was on the bus with B.B. King for eight years. People talk about roots, this

man lives it. Whenever I write, I feel what I want to present, it comes to me, I capture it, I write it down, and own it. However, gaining insight like this from a man that paid his dues is a blessing. The blues is more than a song, it’s a connection to a community of those that get it. Page break? Clay Melton continued I am blessed to have had this man share his personal road experiences with me. Ever since I picked up the guitar I could feel it, I could feel the blues. I was young I didn’t know what it was but it wanted to come out. It was in there, I could feel it. Now, years later I have my own sound, my own songs, and with people like Milton opening up with me I am getting an even deeper thirst than I have ever had before.” What’s Happening Now? - Time is moving forward and it’s taking this new sound and stage presence with it. Currently Clay Melton is scheduled for a live video shoot at Houston’s revered venue White Oak Music Hall on August 8th. The technical team is headed up by five time Grammy winner for sound reproduction Malcolm Harper of Reelsound Recording. Directing the video will be the much in demand Brandon Bond, President of Brandon Bond Films. While this video will exclude the presence of a live crowd Clay hopes capturing the live performance in audio and video will bring some joy to all the music lovers out there missing their favorite venues and live bands. While proper non-disclosures are in place, it can be leaked that it will be a shoot that features a driving, riveting delivery by Clay that will be captured live and then disseminated on a major platform internationally. After the shoot Clay settles in to produce his new upcoming combination tell all and live performance streaming series. On top of that a new album is in the works featuring ten new, fresh blistering tracks from the blues rocker.

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Las Vegas - Noted Composer/Jazz Pianist Uli Geissendoerfer Showcases Weekly Jazz Sessions

It is only befitting that the Entertainment Capital of the World would host the crème’ de la Crème’ of jazz within its marvelous boundaries and so it is that Maestro Uli Geissendoerfer resides in Las Vegas Nevada. A number of years ago after completing his contract with Cirque du Soleil the German born prodigy approached the owner of The Dispensary Lounge with an inspiring idea. “Let’s host a weekly jazz performance from right here in the lounge. We can name it The Jazz Club and it will draw professional musicians and Las Vegas of course has quite a number of extremely talented and disciplined jazz musicians.” Adele, the owner of The Dispensary, was immediately excited about the prospects of having someone with such credentials and respected reputation approach her with such an idea. It was a marvelous idea and yes it could work. Uli had fallen in love with American jazz years before, he was accomplished, respected, and previously he had approached his colleagues at the University of Las Vegas Nevada prior to this meeting about having such a nightspot in Las Vegas. The mere idea of resurrecting the jazz scene in Las Vegas was just too irresistible for Uli and his colleagues. The idea was launched and Adele is the first to say openly that their presence is a blessing for all of Las Vegas. If you are traveling to Las Vegas make plans to take in The Jazz Club inside The Dispensary. Bring your camera, as you never know who will be stopping by, after all it is Las Vegas.

We asked the Maestro to share his perspective “Growing up in Munich, Germany, I was immersed in much different music than you would think. Yes, Beethoven 12 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Rachmaninoff, Wagner, Mozart and Haydn were often listened to staples in our household, but the really influence came from the radio. Wolfman Jack on AFN forces radio, the weekly Hit Parade, then the Little Richard record given to me by a friend, and quite frankly the daily innocent, but very deep explorations into one’s own musical soul sitting at the little white upright of my mom’s, the bangin‘ on my drum set, the listening to my dilettante comrades, that all had this thing in common, which was, figuring out music through your own volition. Books and Records were great, but where is your own sound? To a large degree I still believe that this is why I play the way I do. Honoring the past and learning from it, but in honesty rather develop your own idea, even to the point that I might do the same thing that was before or it might even be on some scale inferior. However, it is one’s own voice. Now fast forward some 40 years, I amassed lots of music, knowledge about it and tools to present it to others may it be an audience may be a student. The core is still there, this indescribable feeling to get lost in music. This may be the main reason why I started The Jazz Club at the Dispensary Lounge some 8 1⁄2 years ago. Creating a place of comfort for the musicians and the listeners. Where being wallpaper or mere entertainment was neither the goal nor the expectation. I want to create tangible music, straight from the heart, drawing the listener in and creating a collective listening space is the goal and which we could successfully share with so many with the help of such great artists as Las Vegas hosts. Artists that both reside in Nevada and those that visit our city either for pleasure or to perform here.” - Uli Geissendoerfer

The Golden Voice of Blues Radio Cleve Baker

On the eastern seaboard of the United States, in the Carolinas to be more exact, comes the highly celebrated blues radio show “Confessing The Blues”. At the helm of the internationally syndicated radio show is the larger than life presence that knows his blues and delivers sounds that exemplify the blues genre as a whole and its numerous sub-genres as well. The man’s name is Cleve Baker and his weekly shows are far from boring. His on air presence, his on air demeanor, sets him apart from others within the genre. With comments such as “Hey now people” capped off with sweet morsels of interesting tidbits of information the man entertains from the very beginning of his show all the way to the end. Cleve Baker has crafted a radio show that presents the latest in blues along with very interesting “in the know” comments in between. Every week he interviews either a well-known established blues artist or a rising presence. He asks them about themselves, their history, and their latest release. Cleve’s down home, southern, laid back presence draws answers from his guests that you wouldn’t normally expect to learn on the radio. Listeners can actually feel the host and his guest being quite comfortable with each other. This happens because Cleve is contemporary, involved, as he can be found either hosting the world famous Big Bender Show in Las Vegas, attending the Blues Music Awards, or scouting the annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Artists know that this man is the real deal and that counts. He does his homework, he’s into it, and his guests appreciate him. When asked about his love and respect for the blues Cleve shared these

sentences, “Blues came a callin’ at an early age in my Grandfather’s tobacco fields. Granddad’s help would sing work songs and field hollers as they primed tobacco walking bent over in the long, long rows of those tobacco fields. That’s where my fascination and my appreciation of Blues music began. The spirit of the music has been with me ever since. Living, Loving, Fighting, Forgiving, Ruin and Redemption are the stories of living life. Blues Music encompasses those stories in song. And those songs spawned Confessing the Blues Radio.” It is this writer’s belief that the early life influences that Cleve walked into has fueled his never ending thirst for more. This insatiable thirst in turn motivates his enthusiasm for the people and the music they make which comes through every week on his “Confessing The Blues” radio show. Here’s the link to “Confessing The Blues”, check it out, it’s cool. www.confessingtheblues.com

International blues recording artist Evelyn Rubio with Confessing The Blues radio show host Cleve Baker August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

The Blues Is Alive - Past, Present, & Future Blues Festivals Across The World Yes Folks, The Blues is very much alive. In fact, we didn’t really know how alive it was till be started putting together this list of Blues Festivals from around the world. Blues Festivals are alive all over the world. From the United States to Sweden to Brazil to India to Mexico to Australia to the United Kingdom to Nepal (yes, Nepal), and more, Blues Music is being celebrated the world over. I realize that at the time of this writing, Blues Festivals may not be taking place as scheduled due to the Covid 19 outbreak, but when everything returns to normal, we fully expect to see these great festivals emerge again.... There will probably be even more festivals than we have listed here right now. Blues is one of the most enduring genre’s of music on Planet Earth. It will give us another great reason to celebrate this beloved genre of music. Long Live The Blues!

Blues on the Red (Texas – United States) Blues Town Festival (Netherlands) Blues, Brews, & Barbeque (IL) (Illinois – United States) Blues, Brews, & Barbeque (CA) (California – United States) Bluesapalooza (California – United States) Bogalusa Blues & Heritage (Louisiana – United States) Boogie, Blues, & Brews (Texas – United States) Bonita Blues Festival (Florida – United States) Boogaloo Blues Festival (United Kingdom) Boogie, Blues, & Brews (Texas – United States) Boomtown Film and Music Festival (Texas – United States) Boundary Waters Blues Fest (Minnesota – United States) Bourbon Street Blues Festival (New Jersey – United States) Bradenton Blues Festival (Florida – United States) Bricktown OKC Blues Fest (Oklahoma – United States) Briggs Hill Farms (Pennsylvania – United States) Bronze Blues & Brews Festival (Oregon – United States) Buddy Guy’s Winter Blues Fest (Illinois – United States) Buenos Aires Blues Festival (Argentina) Buffalo River Blues Society (Arkansas – United States) Bukka White Festival (Mississippi – United States) Byron Blues Festival (Australia) Cajun & Blues Music Festival (California – United States) Canal Bank Blues Festival (Ontario – Canada Canal Winchester Blues & Ribfest (Ohio – United States) Canton Blues Fest (Ohio – United States) Carlisle Blues Festival (United Kingdom) Carolina Bues Festival (North Carolina – United States) Chereokee Jazz & Blues Festival Clinic (Indiana – United States) Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival (Maryland – United States) Chicago Blues Festival (Illinois – United States) Cincy Blues Fest (Ohio – United States) Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival (Florida – United States) Cocoa Village BBQ & Blues Fest (Florida – United States) Columbia Blues Festival (South Carolina – United States) Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival (Texas – United States) Crescent Blues & BBQ (Louisiana – United States) Crossroads Blues Festival (Illinois – United States) Daytona Blues Festival (Florida – United States) DC Blues Festival (District Of Columbia – United States) Delta Blues & Heritage Fest (Mississippi – United States) Denton Blues Festival (Texas – United States) Destination Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Doheny Blues Festival (California – United States) Downtown Vacaville Blues Fest (California – United States) Edmond Jazz & Blues (Oklahoma – United States) Erie Wild Rib & Music Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Eureka Springs Blues Fest (Arkansas – United States) Exit 56 Blues Fest (Tennessee – United States) Festival Internation de Jazz Festival International Jazz & Blues (Mexico) Festival on the Eno River (North Carolina – United States) Flagstaff Blues Festival (Arizona – United States) Flood City Music Festival (Pennsylvania – United States)

The Blues Is Alive! All Over The World!

Alley Fest (Texas – United States) Alpena Blues Festival (Michigan – United States) Amal’s Blues Fest (Sweden) Animas River Blues (New Mexico – United States) Asociacion Musical Blues Hondarribia (Spain) Austin City Limits Festival (Texas – United States) Barnesville BBQ & Blues Festival (Georgia – United States) Baton Rouge Blues Festival (Louisiana – United States) Bay Front Blues Festival (Wisconsin – United States) BayFest Music Festival (Alabama – United States) BBQ & Blues Festival (Florida – United States) BBQ Rib Fest (Indiana – United States) Beacon Hill Blues Festival (Oregon – United States) Beale Street Music Festival (Tennesse – United States) Bean Blossom Blues Festival (Indiana – United States) Bedford Blues & BBQ (Texas – United States) Best of The West Nugget Rib Fest (Nevada - United States) Big Island Jazz & Blues Festival (Hawaii – United States) Big Muddy Blues Festival (Missouri – United States) Bikes, Blues & BBQ (Arkansas – United States) Bisbee Blues Festival (Arizona – United States) Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival (Oklahoma - United States) Blast Furnace Blues (Pennsylvania – United States) Blue Mountains Music Festival (Australia) Blue Water Blues Festival (Nebraska – United States) Blues & BBQ Festival (Colorado – United States) Blues & BBQ Blues Festival (Arkansas – United States) Blues At Bridgetown (Australia) Blues at the Beach Festival (Virginia - United States) Blues On The Beach (Mexico Blues at the Crossroads Festival (Indiana – United States) Blues Cafe Festival (Wisconsin – United States) Blues Festival Barbeque (United States) Blues For A Cause (Arkansas – United States) Blues From The Top (Colorado – United States) Blues in the Natural States (Arkansas – United States) Blues N Brews Festival Blues on the Fox Music Festival (Illinois – United States) Blues on the Hill Music Festival (Texas – United States) 14

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Folsom Rhythm & Brews (California – United States) Force 3 Radio Fest (Arkansas – United States) Ford Park Pavilion (Illinois – United States) Forth Valley Blues Festival (Australia) Frankford Island Blues Festival (Ontario – Canada) Garvin Gate Blues Festival (Kentucky – United States) Gloucester Blues Festival (Montana – United States) Great Blue Heron Music Festival (New York – United States) Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Greeley Blues Jam (Colorado – United States) Hammond Smokin’ Blues & BBQ (Louisiana – United States) Heritage Music Blues Fest (West Virginia – United States) Himalayan Blues Festival (Oklahoma – United States) Himalayan Blues Festival (Nepal) (Nepal) Honesdale Roots & Rhythm Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Hot Springs Blues Festival (Arkansas – United States) Int’ Jazz, Blues, & Gospel Festival (Nevada – United States) Jack’s Mountain Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Jackson Blues Festival (Missouri – United States) Jackson Rhythm & Blues Festival (Mississippi – United States) Jammin in J.C. Blues & Barbecue (Kansas – United States) Keeping The Blues Alive Festival (Netherlands) King Biscuit Blues Fest (Arkansas – United States) Kitchener Blues Festival (Canada) La Voix du Blues Festival (France) Lancaster Roots & Blues (Pennsylvania – United States) Las Cruces Tour de Beer (New Mexico – United States) Little Walter Music Festival (Louisiana – United States) Liverpool Sound City Festival (United Kingdom) Long Beach Blues Festival (California – United States) Louisville Blues-N-Barbecue Festival (Kentucky – United States) Lowcountry Blues Bash (South Carolina – United States) Lucerne Blues Festival (Switzerland) Luckenbach Blues Festival (Texas – United States) Madrid Blues Fest (New Mexico – United States) Magic City Blues Fest (Minnesota – United States) Mahindra Blues Festival (India) Mississippi Blues Festival (Brazil Mississippi Valley Blues Festival (Indiana – United States) Mount Dora Blues & Wine Fest (Florida – United States) Mount Helena Music Festival (Montana - United States) Mountain of Blues Fest (New Mexico – United States) Music City Blues Spring Festival (Tennessee – United States) Musiques Music Festivals (France) Mystic Blues Festival (Connecticut – United States) Narooma Music Festival (Australia) New York State Blues Festival (New York – United States) North Atlantic Blues Festival (Maine – United States) North Liberty Blues Festival (Indiana – United States) NY State Blues Festival (New York – United States) Ogden Music Festival (Utah – United States) Omaha Summer Arts Festival (Nebraska – United States) Parkfest Bues Festival (Virginia – United States) Paxico Blues Festival (Kansas – United States) Pennsylvania Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Phoenixville Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Phuket Blues Festival (Thailand)

Pittsburgh Blues Festival (Pennsylvania – United States) Port Fairy Blues Festival (Australia) Prairie Dog Blues Festival (Wisconsin – United States) Reeper Bahn Festival (Germany) Rentiesville Blues Festival (Oklahoma – United States) Rhythm & Roots Festival (Rhode Island – United States) River Front Blues Festival (Montana – United States) RiverEdge Park (Illinois – United States) Riverfront Blues Festival (Arkansas – United States) Riverfront Blues & Music Festival (Florida – United States) Robb Bower Blues Bash (California – United States) Rollin on the River Blues Festival (Indiana – United States) Roots Festival (Kansas – United States) Roots N Blues N BBQ (Montana – United States) Rose City Blues Fest (Oregon – United States) Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival (California – United States) San Diego Blues Festival (California – United States) San Felipe Blues & Arts Fiesta (California – United States) San Francisco Boogie Woogie Festival (California – United States) Santa Cruz Blues Festival (California – United States) Seafood & Blues Fest (Florida – United States) Second Saturday Music Festival (Arizona – United States) Silver City Blues Festival (New Mexico – United States) Simply Texas Blues Festival (Texas – United States) Sixth Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival (Illinois – United States) Smokin’ on the River BBQ & Blues (Indiana – United States) South Bend Blues & Rib Fest (Indiana – United States) South West Blues Fest (Florida – United States) Southern Arizona Blues (Arizona – United States) Spirit Of Kansas (Kansas – United States) St. Georges Blues Fest (Delaware – United States) Sunflower Blues & Gospel (Mississippi – United States) Sunshine Blues Festival (Australia) Swan Age Blues Festival (United Kingdom) Tall City Blues Fest (Texas – United States) Tampa Bay Blues Festival (Florida – United States) Telluride Blues & Brews Festival (Colorado – United States) Tenby Blues Festival (United Kingdom) Texas City Festival (Texas – United States) The T-Bone Walker Blues Fest (Texas – United States) Thredbo Blues Festival (Australia) Thunder Bay Blues Festival (Ontario – Canada) Trance Blues Festival (Colorado – United States) Utah Blues Festival (Utah – United States) Viva Big Bend Music Festival (Texas – United States) W.C. Handy Blues Festival (Kentucky – United States) Wallace Blues Festival (Indiana – United States) Wasaga Beach Blues Festival (Ontario - Canada)) Waterfront Blues Festival (Oregon – United States) Western Maryland Blues Fest (Maryland – United States) White Mountain Boogie & Blues (New Hampshire – United States) Wickham Blues Festival (United Kingdom) Winter Blues Fest (Indiana – United States) Winter Blues Fest (Oregon – United States) Winter Blues Festival (Iowa – United States) Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Fest (Washington – United States)

The Blues Is Alive! All Over The World!

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

The Well-Organized Blues Organization That Has It Working If you are from the rock world you may not be familiar with the Memphis based international organization known as The Blues Foundation. They’ve got so much working that I don’t know if I can share it all within this one short article. All their programming and activities are created and managed to fulfill their mission of preserving, celebrating, and expanding awareness of the blues. First, let’s look at it from the music lover’s perspective, who don’t see any of the behind the scenes preparations but do attend two major events and love them both. One comes to life every January and it is known as The International Blues Challenge. The meat of all of this really and truly happens away from Memphis and around the world at over 175 International Blues Societies. These independent blues organizations are affiliated with The Blues Foundation via a special membership category. Last January over 850 top blues men and women in 232 blues bands and solo/duo groups from all corners of the world were chosen by their local affiliated blues societies to take on the challenge in Memphis. You talk about riveting performances – this event will knock your socks off guaranteed! Literally thousands of music lovers roam an area of Memphis known as Beale Street. The blues clubs up and down Beale offer their stages to this international bevy of star-studded entries. Judges from various industry disciplines are chosen and approved and then educated regarding how every act should be rated. The clubs fill up for four nights in a row with eager patrons, the performers, and the judges. Club goers are free to move up and down Beale Street

taking in whatever type of sound they want to hear. All of this culminates at the Historic Orpheum Theatre where the top 16 finalists perform head to head with hopes of being named the ultimate winners in the band and solo/duo categories. This is a mega-mammoth event and it is cool to the max.

Blues people are some of the coolest people in the world and if you can imagine dining with them and snapping photos both before and after the event takes place well music lovers that attend come back on a regular basis. Albums and singles are submitted to The Blues Foundation prior to the voting period and then a nomination phase begins culminating in 5 nominees in each of 25 categories. Finally electronic balloting is received by the membership and each member has the right to cast a vote in each category with the membership votes determining the winners. Then the big night arrives, the tables fill up, and the professional video cameras begin rolling. You just feel good about being around people that have the same things in common with you as you do. It truly is a gala. I see colorful suits and tuxes

The second major event sponsored by The Blues Foundation is known as The Blues Music Awards, which is my favorite. The coolest cats and crazy mommas from around the globe attend this gala and the sites and sounds bearing Evelyn Rubio and Annika Chambers an international flavor on the men and the women dress to the nines. come to life. Picture it like the annual Grammy event you see on television every The International Blues Challenge in year, only this event is about presenting its own members with distinct category statues. Memphis is held in January and the annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis are presented in May. Just like a diamond there are many facets that make up this genre defined as the blues. Traditional blues, blues rock, and more. I recently wrote an article about encountering a young man in a bar and when he heard the music I was playing on the jukebox he asked who it was and what genre was it. As our conversation went along I listed out top musicians and asked the young man if he liked them and he liked them all of course. Then I laid it on him, all blues. He was blown away but digging this new bit of information while smiling away. Almost all of us like the blues and to think that we can go to a place and be with others like ourselves is quite the thought. Click on The Blues Foundation website (blues.org) and see how deep their roots go, it will blow you away. See you in Memphis!

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Neil Barnes 18

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;˘ August 2020

Neil Barnes On Neil Barnes

The 1970’s and the Teachers I owe 99% of how I learned to play from Gary Smith, the Godfather of the South Bay Area blues scene. Gary took the time to show me the how-to’s and the don’t-do’s of the Blues harmonica, along with the approach to the music I love. I also spent a lot of time going to see Charlie Musselwhite everywhere he played in the Bay Area. I finally got the nerve to ask him for a private lesson (I really was wrapped around the axle on third position) and imagine my surprise when he said “yes” and showed up at my parent’s house. Charlie patiently played guitar to my caterwauling harp until those 3rd position mechanics started to sync in. I’m forever grateful for that time with one of my true heroes. Charlie continues to inspire me to this day. People who strongly influenced my musical direction were Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, Charlie Musselwhite, Lee Oscar, The Band (Levon Helm), Robert Montes and Bob Gomes. Robert and Bob are childhood friends who were playing music in bands way before I started playing. Their band Jackson Street Band (w/ Dave Gonzales) opened up regularly for the touring bands coming through the Bay Area. Through them, I was able to hang out stage-side to Freddie King, Albert King, Albert Collins and many, many, more. LOT’S of great nights at the BODEGA, Campbell! A up close musical education I would not trade for anything. The 1980’s and Joshua’s Blue Monday Parties During the early 1980’s I formed my own band, Bar-B-Q Barnes and the Rib-Tones. We had a regular slot at JOSHUA’S, San Jose. It was a downstairs venue and always had a pretty big crowd. We also had an on-going slot at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. The band featured Hap Scott on bass and vocals (rest in peace, Hap), Larry Calley on lead guitar (Larry, I miss you’re playing!), rock solid Robert Montes on drums, Bob Gomes on the B3 and Sid Morris on piano. That was a damn good band if I say so myself. A B3 with Leslie and a stand-up piano. What a sound and what an aching back every single gig was like moving an apartment! For a number of gigs, I was able to get Sonny Lane and Johnny Waters to come in from Oakland. For the 2nd Fountain Blues Festival in San Jose, Sonny helped me enlist Francis Clay (Muddy Waters Band, James Cotton Band) and Luther Tucker (Little Walter Band, James Cotton Band.) The night they played with my band at Joshua’s was like “Fathers and Sons”. God, I was thrilled. Both Francis and Luther were easy going, no airs despite their legacies, and real gentlemen. Sonny Lane and I became close friends. It wasn’t until you get to an age where one starts to look back and reminisce that I realized what Sonny had done for me by getting these guys to play with my novice

ass and allowing me to be on stage with them. I’m forever grateful Sonny. You really are royalty. I also performed as “The Duo” with Greg Hartman. Simplified and easy. A guitar and harp. Greg is a purveyor of the “Piedmont” style of guitar playing and sing’s with a mature. Playing with Greg stretched me to expand my harp playing and to play music that could be said was obscure at that time, but is front and center right now. Vinyl and CD’s In 1980, I had the pleasure to cut a 45 with my own songs, “Blues for Breakfast” and Close Call”, on my own label Rib-Tone Records. This session included the great Little Willie Littlefield on piano (Google him!), Ron Thompson on vocals and slide, Junior Watson on guitar, Bill Stuve on bass and Robert Montes on drums. Little Willie Littlefield held court at the Red Stag in San Jose taking requests and covering a lot of Nat King Cole standards. I doubt any of the patrons were aware of his true stature in the music world. I spent time chauffeuring Little Willie to many of his gigs and we became good friends. I learned some valuable insights into the music business as well as an appreciation for his outlandish behavior. He was chief character amongst a cadre of characters! A couple of years later, more vinyl, an EP called “Bar-B-Q Barnes and the RibTones” with more original songs. Once again Robert on drums, Junior on guitar, Bill on bass and the addition of Sonny Lane on guitar, Bob Gomes on B3, Hap Scott on vocals and the legendary Mark Naftalin on piano. (God, I love that piano and B3 combination.... ) I have remained friends with Mark. My wife and I traveled to Cleveland when he was inducted into the 2015 Rock‘N Roll Hall Of Fame along with the other members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. It was Mark, fooling around one night drawing, who provided me with the cover art and cd title for “Bald Guy With A Lot On His Mind”. The 2014 “Hyde and Seek” Project includes reworking of songs from the New Orleans great, Alan Toussaint/Lee Dorsey, some Gospel classics, and even a rocker (“Ain’t Not Rest For The Wicked” Cage The

Elephant) that I wanted to rework with a Gospel approach. The session featured Earl Thomas, Lady Bianca (Sly and the Family Stone, Frank Zappa, Van Morrison), Ron Thompson (John Lee Hooker band leader), Rev. Paul Smith (Ike & Tina Turner, Natalie Cole), Oshmin O. Oden and Winfred Williams. Present Day Currently I am spending a lot of time focusing on creativity in the studio. The juice for me is in choosing the material and the musicians, going in and exchanging ideas around an original song or reworking a cover into something of our own and then getting it recorded. My recent projects include producing and playing on the “Lady Bianca Sings, Hold On Just A Little While Longer / Gonna Have A Mighty Good Time” digital 45. This was a full on Gospel production and I am very proud to have been involved. I am currently releasing a CD under my own name, “Bald Guy With A Lot On His Mind”. This includes some of my originals and reworking of some wonderful obscure songs form Chuck Berry to Ray Charles. The sessions were done at Greaseland Studios, Hyde Street Studios and Jon Atkinson’s Big Tone Records. They recordings include all the A-Team of the Bay Area: Kid Andersen (Rick Estrin and the Nightcats) , Sid Morris, Johnny Cat Soubrand, June Core (Charlie Musselwhite band), Mike Phillips, Vance Ehlers, Robi Bean, Lauren Halliwell, Kyle Jester and Ron Thompson (R.I.P) That brings us to today and I’m still striving to make and play legitimate roots music. Neil Barnes www.NeilBarnesMusic.com

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New From Audible

Testament Vocalist Chuck Billy Lends Voice to Megaforce Records Founder Jon Zazula’s Audible Release of “Heavy Tales” Book Audible Edition of “Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula,” Read by the Author Himself, Just Released Iconic Testament vocalist Chuck Billy, who graciously penned the foreword to Megaforce Records founder Jon Zazula’s Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula, also lends his voice to the upcoming Audible edition’s foreword, available today in as exclusive preview. “I asked Chuck to write the foreword because we are friends, tried and true for 35plus years,” Zazula says. “We have been to hell and back together - mostly having a good old time, especially when we proved to Atlantic Records that metal of this kind would sell in record stores throughout the land. Chuck, his co-captain Tiffany, Marsha and I continue to enjoy each other’s company whether traveling or simply just listening to music.” The audio edition of Zazula’s acclaimed autobiography features more than two hours of bonus material and is set for release on July 21. The bonus material expands upon the book, with Zazula - known the world over as Jonny Z - offering further insight into his life and career, and more behind-the-scenes stories, through material culled from a never-before-heard question and answer series with the Brothers Grimm radio show on CraniumRadio.com. Released last year in physical format, Heavy Tales is the detailed, story of how Jonny Z founded legendary New Jerseybased label Megaforce Records with his wife, Marsha, and built a dynasty unmatched by others, forever changing the scope of heavy metal. Born in 1952, Zazula began his extraordinary journey as a renegade youth who went from living on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, to later working on Wall Street, and eventually (and unexpectedly) transitioning into the music business and discovering Metallica, Anthrax and others. Today, Jonny Z remains one of the most respected names in heavy metal.

After Wall Street, Jonny Z began selling records at a flea market store in 1981 to put food on the table for his family. Dubbed Rock N’ Roll Heaven, the store eventually blossomed into a major record store that influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from unsigned underground band called Metallica. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny and Marsha founded Megaforce Records the following year and released Metallica’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All. Through this release, Megaforce cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for heavy metal. The bands they would go on to work with released some of the most important albums in heavy metal history, giving it its Golden Era.

Lived by Jon Zazula, please visit www.jonzazula.com, www.facebook.com/ heavytales and www.instagram.com/ thejonzazula.

Pick up a physical copy at https:// www.amazon.com/Heavy-Tales-MetalMusic-Madness/dp/B085WB1L96/.

Heavy Tales details the stories of how Jonny Z worked miracles by managing and releasing albums by Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Raven, Ace Frehley, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits and others. The stories told in Heavy Tales were captured and compiled by Harold ClarosMaldonado, a lifelong fan of heavy metal who originally contacted the Zazulas to write a report on early Metallica. After several discussions, Zazula felt Claros-Maldonado would be the ideal partner to help him tell his story in the book. For more information on Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Photo: Eddie Malluk

Alternative Country Rock

Collaborative New Album XOXO Out Via Sham/Thirty Tigers The Jayhawks Release Cinematic “Dogtown Days” Video Filmed During Quarantine The Jayhawks have released a cinematic new video for “Dogtown Days”, the new song off their new album, XOXO (via Sham/Thirty Tigers). Filmed in May during quarantine, the video tells the story of two friends on a road trip to see The Jayhawks, illustrated with social distancing filming techniques and vintage 1985 footage of the band soundchecking. Billboard featured it, saying “XOXO contains the jangly, guitardriven, instantly catchy tunes the band is renowned for...that welcoming, identifiable sound is especially evident on ‘Dogtown Days’...” “Rick Fuller, Rick Lawrence and I filmed The Jayhawks sound checking for New Band Night, 1985 at the 7th St Entry in Minneapolis,” explains “Dogtown Days” video director Philip Harder. “35 years later I wove this rare outtake footage and mic check banter into a fictional story of two friends on a road trip, filming 8mm and selling merch for a young band called The Jayhawks. Actors Em Prozinski (Tim O’Reagan’s neice) and my son Otto Harder were filmed separately by their parents. We took notes on actions and reactions for Em and Otto, and there were a few scenes that were split-screened in edit to allow them to appear to be a foot apart.”

View the “Dogtown Days” video via YouTube: https://youtu.be/JHdY_Q70F-I

After 30 years together, The Jayhawks have delivered their most diverse and wide-ranging set of songs to date. XOXO marks a new era for the band, with all four members contributing to lead vocals and songwriting for the first time. Showcasing The Jayhawks’ unrelenting ability to evolve while staying true to their authentic sound, the new album reminds us why they continue to be such an influential and respected band. Their latest song “This Forgotten Town”, written by Marc Perlman and Gary Louris and sung by both Louris and Tim O’Reagan, was recently hailed as a “jangly roots-pop gem” by Rolling Stone. Carrying on their success since returning to the core members from the late-90’s lineup, The Jayhawks released Paging Mr. Proust in 2016 and Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim. The culmination of five years spent growing even more together, XOXO is a sonically and emotionally cohesive album that stands as a testament to the band’s consistent forward motion. August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Sondre Lerche Releases New Album

Patience

Painting by: Loribelle Spirovsk The Los Angeles-based, Norwegian-born singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche released his ninth studio album Patience. After living in New York City for over a decade, the album is his first since relocating to the west coast. Recorded mostly in Norway, the inspiration for this record comes from a recently discovered love of ambient music, running marathons and a quest for serenity. In conjunction with Bandcamp once again waiving their share of sales today, 50% of all album sales from Patience will be donated to WP4BL (White People 4 Black Lives), an organization working in solidarity and coalition with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles in order to build power to challenge dominant institutions, shift racist policies, and create community-based alternatives to harmful systems as part of a global movement of grassroots organizations. PopMatters said, “Taken as a whole, Please, Pleasure, and Patience represent Lerche’s finest work as a musician.” Frontrunner Magazine said, “Lerche blurs the stylistic lines between casual altpop, jazz and classic orchestra music. The album manages to be both expansive and spacious, leaving room for the foundation of the songwriting to shine.” Recently, Lerche released the fan-sourced official video for “That’s All There Is.” Paste said, “The bittersweetness is musically palpable; the track is bouncy and full of colorful synths, but everything is covered in a nostalgic haze,” while Stereogum said the song “...reminds us how adaptable and exploratory Lerche has been over the course of two decades. Patience is the follow-up and spiritual companion to 2017’s Pleasure and 2014’s Please. Like his previous albums, Lerche continues to work with core collaborators including percussionist Dave Heilman, bassist Chris Holm, keyboardist Alexander von

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Mehren, and producers Kato Ådland and Matias Tellez. The album also reunites Lerche with mixing engineer Jørgen Træen and worldrenowned classical violinist, composer, and arranger Tim Fain, as well as introducing an unexpected but winning team-up with Van Dyke Parks on “Put The Camera Down.” Stereogum recently called Patience “an appropriate title for a moment in history when basically the entire human population is being forced to sit and wait.” “The inspiration behind the theme and feeling of the album comes from the sense of space and time I associate with ambient music and minimalism. Ever since Pleasure came out in 2017, I’ve been running a lot, and I listen to mainly abstract music that helps me lose sense of time and structure when I run, what I refer to as ‘patient music,’” Lerche explains. “Performing the flamboyant and intense Pleasure show 140 times in one year got me into athleticism, and made me passionate about running. Before this, I never did anything remotely athletic in my life. After Pleasure I felt like slowing down everything in my life. I stopped touring for the first time since I was 18. I moved to LA, and I just focused on writing. I needed to make soothing music.” Tracklist: 01) Patience 02) I Love You Because It’s True 03) You Are Not Who I Thought I Was 04) There Is No Certain Thing 05) Are We Alone Now 06) That’s All There Is 07) Put The Camera Down 08) Why Would I Let You Go 09) I Can’t See Myself Without You 10) Don’t Waste Your Time 11) Why Did I Write The Book of Love 12) My Love Is Hard To Explain

Celebrated Producer/Artist Jordan Lehning Announces Theatrical New Album Little Idols Out August 7 Charming And Chaotic Opening Song “Oolaloom” Out Now Nashville composer/producer/artist Jordan Lehning has announced the August 7 release of his cinematic new album Little Idols. As a celebrated producer, Lehning has worked with the likes of Caitlin Rose, Rodney Crowell and Andrew Combs, in addition to writing and tracking string arrangements for Kacey Musgraves, Burt Bacharach, Brett Eldridge, Leon Bridges and more. Along with the announcement, Lehning has released the first track “Oolaloom”, which acts as the opening credits to a whirlwind story that unfolds over the length of the album. “‘Oolaloom’ acts as a prologue in the story of Little Idols,” explains Lehning. “The main character addresses the audience imploring them to ‘sing along a secret song’ that then sets in motion the events to follow. The music was written and recorded first, and once I understood the purpose of the song in the context of the record the lyrics came together quickly. Street sounds can be heard throughout, as well as acoustic guitar, pitched percussion, keyboards, upright bass, strings and winds.” Approaching the process from a director’s perspective, Jordan Lehning crafted Little Idols in the style of a short film while drawing on the focused, deliberate works of filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman. The album takes place over the course of a week, recounting a passionate affair between

a married woman and a single man who grapple with the persisting conflict of right and wrong, free will and fate, connection and commitment. Each song acts as its own scene, illustrated by intimate vocals, breathy woodwinds and sweeping strings that weave through strategic interludes marking the narrative’s forward motion. Beginning with the swirling opening track “Oolaloom”, with an off-kilter time signature that hints at the impending chaos, a flirtatious anticipation builds before erupting with the explosive end of “Passing The Time” and moving into the remorseful aftermath of the album’s second half. The story concludes with “Only That You’re Gone”, as our protagonist pieces his life back together and the closing credits roll. Little Idols is a poignant, literate collection of songs encouraging repeated listens. “You have to be patient watching a Bergman film,” Lehning elaborates. “They’re very still, but they’re brilliant at capturing the quiet amidst the loud. I envisioned this album as something similar, a tonal exploration set within the eye of the storm.”

Photographer Credit: Laura Partain Randy Travis, George Jones and Waylon Jennings. Developing an early passion for classical and experimental music, he studied the subject in college before returning to Nashville to open his own studio. In addition to producing, composing and arranging on a number of notable records, Lehning has played in several bands and released a pair of his own critically acclaimed solo albums, Jordan Sings! and Long Live The Dead, in 2018. Little Idols is his most complete body of work to date and represents the culmination of years spent honing his craft and developing a unique perspective. Little Idols Track Listing 1. Oolaloom 2. How You Been 3. Oh Carolina 4. Passing The Time 5. Little Lie 6. Hey Boy 7. The Quarry Song 8. Treasures Of The Flood 9. Only That You’re Gone Official Website: www.jordanlehning.com

Jordan Lehning was first introduced to music by his father, a legendary producer known for his work with

Listen to “Oolaloom” via YouTube: https://youtu.be/jQsXuPr9ebA

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

LIMAHL Releases “STILL IN LOVE” Single/Video His First Solo Material in Over Eight Years Feeling the creative urge to get back out into the music world with new material, 80s pop icon LIMAHL returns triumphantly with “STILL IN LOVE,” his first foray into the mainstream in over eight years. The video for the heart-wrenching ballad follows Limahl’s predilection for love songs such as his worldwide smash “Neverending Story”, “Only For Love”, and even his flirtatious breakthrough debut “Too Shy” with Kajagoogoo. This time, however, American Songwriter notes that his song “is a soulful and sultry pop ode to the darker side of love, that recurrent backfire of amore, and finding oneself after being crushed by it.” “The song doesn’t beat about the bush,” Limahl explains about the meaning of the “Still In Love.” “It deals head on with that painful, dark side of love that most of us have experienced.” Working with renowned German producer Miro Markus (Culcha Candela, Graham Candy), Limahl sympathizes with his protagonist though he doesn’t currently relate. “Dark days, unable to get out of bed with curtains staying closed… I have definitely been in the same place emotionally with the protagonist though I don’t currently relate,” he explains. “However, what a great feeling it is to have when you get through to the other side and start learning to love yourself again.” Featured in three popular US TV shows last year, Limahl reentered pop culture awareness and he laughs, “my Spotify monthly

streams jumped from 300,000 to 1.5 million!” Half jokingly, Limahl never really left pop culture prominence. His worldwide smashes “Neverending Story” and “Too Shy” (with band Kajagoogoo) were featured on hit television series Black Mirror (Episode: “Bandersnatch”), American Horror Story (Season Nine: “1984”) and Stranger Things (Season Three). Winning the hearts of millions of fans in the 80s as the lead singer of British band Kajagoogoo, Limahl enjoyed the instant celebrity of hitting the top of the charts with their debut single “Too Shy” which was followed by two more Top 20 hits “Ooh To Be Ah” and “Hang On Now” (all of which he co-wrote). Limahl struck out on his own and soon re-emerged in the charts again with his first solo single “Only For Love.” That was quickly followed with the Giorgio Moroder–produced worldwide smash “Neverending Story,” the theme song from the hit film of the same name. The song and video “Still In Love” are now available here: http://ffm.to/stillinlove.

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Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Universal Music Latin Entertainment And Pinkfong Announce Partnership For The Release Of A New Edition Of “BABY SHARK” Featuring Global Latin Superstar LUIS FONSI And Some Very Special Guests! This iconic collaboration joins together record-shattering Luis Fonsi, the artist with the #1 most watched video in the history of YouTube with “Despacito,” and Pinkfong, who currently holds 2nd place with the original version of “Baby Shark.” Together, both videos surpass 12 Billion Views! “Parents and children rejoice as a new edition of “Baby Shark” is making its way featuring Luis Fonsi” - BILLBOARD “This was a very special collaboration for my kids and I; we hope this new version of Baby Shark brings joy and entertains kids and families around the world as much we enjoyed making it.” – LUIS FONSI Universal Music Latin Entertainment, the world’s leading Latin entertainment company and global entertainment brand, Pinkfong, have partnered together to bring smiles across the faces of children and parents all around the world with the release of a new edition of “Baby Shark” featuring Multi-Platinum and 5X Latin GRAMMY winning global superstar; Luis Fonsi.

this massive hit.

“Baby Shark” starring Luis Fonsi also includes a music video where we see an animated Fonsi diving and swimming around with some – unconventional – friends, the lovable family of sharks from the original version. And, as a true testament of being a gift for the entire family, “Baby Shark” features for the first time ever the voices of Luis Fonsi’s children, Mikaela and Rocco, who sing along to the tune of

This new edition of “Baby Shark” is a glimpse into the magic behind the upcoming EP release of ‘MINI STARS Vol. 1’ by Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a music and video collection set to be released this summer showcasing some of Latin music’s most popular artists, including Sebastián Yatra, Nacho, Greeicy, Guaynaa and Joey Montana, as they reimagine children’s classics in Spanish and English.

Rock And Blues International August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

J Balvin

J Balvin by Orli Arias 26

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;¢ August 2020

J BALVIN LEADS 2020 PREMIOS JUVENTUD’S AWARDS WITH 12 NOMINATIONS ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST ANNOUNCES BALVIN AS JULY/AUGUST COVER STAR NEW ALBUM COLORES OUT NOW

J Balvin is revealed as the most nominated artist for Univision’s 2020 Premios Juventud Awards. The award show, aimed at empowering Latino youth, celebrates the current trends in pop culture, music, digital, fashion, television and social media. J Balvin has been nominated for 12 awards around his RIAA 2X Platinum Certified album Colores, an album that has already amassed more than 3+ billion combined streams on digital platforms worldwide and garnered almost one billion YouTube views combined. Voting for the 2020 Premios Juventud awards is open until July 21st.

These nominations come on the heels of J Balvin’s announcement as Architectural Digest’s July/August issue cover star and is the latest accomplishment in the midst of an industrious year for Balvin, the torchbearer of the new state of Urbano. Listen to Colores and vote for Balvin at the Premios Juventud link above, see Balvin’s nominations below and stay tuned for more from J Balvin coming soon. 1. The Traffic Jam (Songs you listen to while stuck in traffic) 2. Can’t Get Enough Of This Song (Songs you can’t stop singing) 3. The Perfect Mix (Best collaboration song) 4. The Perfect Mix (Best collaboration song) 5. The Perfect Mix (Best collaboration song) 6. And Featuring... (The artist that everyone wants to sing with) 7. #Pet Goals (Artists that post with their pets) 8. Trendsetter (Setting Fashion Trends) 9. Sneakerhead (Loves sneakers more than anything) 10. Hair Obsessed (Has the trendiest hairstyles) 11. This Choreo Is On Fire (Best dance choreography in a music video) 12. Video With A Purpose (Video with best social messaging) “Reggaeton’s Global Ambassador” - J Balvin is now one of the top streaming music artists in the world, regardless of language, and has developed a legion of fans represented by over 104 Million social media followers. Hailed by Billboard as “the biggest breakout act Latin music has seen in many years” and Pitchfork as “the face of modern Reggaeton, Balvin is leading a second generation of Musica Urbana stars that have

propelled Latin music to an unprecedented global embrace. Simultaneously, Balvin has become Latin music’s strongest cultural envoy to both the fashion and pop art communities, while becoming one of the music industry’s most in-demand collaborators, and worldwide major festival performers.

2019 saw J Balvin perform in the opening segment of The GRAMMY Awards, named the Premio Los Nuestro “Artist of the Year” for an unprecedented third consecutive time, collect his fourth LATIN GRAMMY and the “Favorite Latin Artist” American Music Award, and become the first Reggaeton artist on Saturday Night Live. Over the summer, J Balvin and Bad Bunny dropped Latin music’s biggest surprise and critically praised album of the year, with the release “Oasis”- which notched eight weeks as the #1 Latin album in the country, landed on numerous ‘Best Album of the Year’ lists and received J’s second GRAMMY nomination. Throughout the year, J Balvin also connected with millions of fans live by taking his stunning “ARCOIRIS (Rainbow) Tour across the United States and throughout the world, while further etching his name in Urbano music history as the first Reggaeton artist to perform on: the mainstage at Coachella, leading EDM festival Tomorrowland, and as the first-ever Latin artist to Headline at Lollapalooza. Most recently, J Balvin took the #1 male Latin artist spot on TikTok, performed in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show alongside Jennifer Lopez to perform his hit song “Mi Gente,” notched another two #1 singles, and appeared on the cover of Billboard.

Having spent 14 consecutive weeks in the #1 position on YouTube Music’s Global Artist chart, and achieving a record-tying eighth video in the exclusive Billion View Club, J Balvin concluded 2019 as one of only two music artists in the world to exceed 10 Billion YouTube views within the year. His dominance was evident on other platforms as well, as he spent the majority of the year as the only Latin artist in the Top-5 of Spotify, was named the year’s #1 overall artist for Deezer and Shazam, and Music Choice’s “Latin Artist of the Decade.” Most recently, J Balvin made a surprise performance appearance in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, notched his impressive 22nd #1 single with “Morado.” PREMIOS JUVENTUD VOTING PAGE: https://premiosjuventud.com/vota/ LISTEN: Colores https://jbalvin.lnk.to/Colores

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Ascap Music Awards

Top Hip-Hop, R&B And Gospel Artists Celebrate 2020 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards With Online Performances, Memorable Speeches And Powerful Tributes In Three-Day Social Media Event, July 15-17, 2020 Cardi B Makes History as First Woman to Win Back-to-Back ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Songwriter of the Year and as ASCAP Female Rapper to Win Most Awards (27) Top Winners Include: DaBaby’s “Suge” (Top R&B/Hip Hop Song), Meek Mill’s “Going Bad” (Top Rap Song), “Deliver Me (This Is My Exodus)” (Top Gospel Song) and Universal Music Publishing Group (Publisher of the Year) Instagram Live “After Party” Hosted by Jermaine Dupri The 2020 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, ASCAP’s fourth successful virtual awards show this year, included powerful performances, meaningful discussions, uplifting speeches, emotional tributes and a lively after party to top it all off. The three-day celebration across digital platforms created memorable moments while giving fans an intimate glimpse of their favorite songwriters and artists in their homes and studios.

year’s winners with a video introduction, saying “As the world stumbles and tries to pick itself up, we must try to offer hope, and healing, and a vision for a better future. That’s where your music comes in. I believe in my very core that your music has the power to lift our spirits, move hearts and minds and inspire real change. That deserves to be honored and celebrated.” https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCqlKjCDnTw/ ?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Cardi B became the first woman to win ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music “Songwriter of the Year” for the second straight year. ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards veteran Anthony Brown and group therAPy gave a rousing performance of his winning gospel hit, “Blessings on Blessings. https:// www.instagram.com/p/CCtNFSVjqb5/ Singer-songwriter Joelle James unboxing her award for “Boo’d Up,” saying, “Thanks for making this special even though we couldn’t be together this year... ASCAP you’re the best. You always make me feel special.” https:// www.instagram.com/p/CCq3adXgnmE/ Singer-songwriter Nicole Bus performing her winning song “You” in a full-circle moment about a year after she opened the 2019 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards show with the same song. https://www.instagram.com/p/ CCrhe2TDUmz/ Producer Hitmaka shared an unboxing video for his awards for Meek Mill’s “Dangerous” and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s “Look Back At It.” https://www.instagram.com/p/ CCv6jevAFs9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Singer-songwriter and rapper Jeremih unwrapped his award for “Dangerous” and “On Chill” with gratitude: “Another one to add to the wall, big shout out to the ASCAP Awards.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CCv7IujgsuG/ ?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Mustard unboxing his awards for coproducing/writing Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up,” “Shot Clock” and “Trip,” and for his collaboration with Migos on “Pure Water:” “It was an amazing year… Thank you ASCAP, I appreciate you always.” https://www.instagram.com/p/ CCrsfzwDdHD/ Rapper Petey Pablo accepted his award for “My Type,” thanking Saweetie for the remix (Pablo’s “Freek-a-Leek” was sampled in the #ASCAPAwards-winning track): “It’s all about making great music that lasts a lifetime and taking a masterpiece and creating a new masterpiece… I want to send prayers to all the friends and family and everyone that has been affected by everything that is going on and

everyone that is still staying strong and musically creative in a crazy time like this.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrGeYCnUib/ Singer-songwriter Shanice accepted her award for her contribution to Chris Brown’s “Undecided,” which samples her 1991 hit “I Love Your Smile.” She recalled: “In the ’90s, that melody brought so much joy to people and in 2020, melodies still put a smile on people’s faces.” https://www.instagram.com/p/ CCrdMyeDYQq/ Gospel artist JJ Hairston expressed thanks for his award for “Miracle Worker” and shared an urgent message: “We gotta keep making good music because it’s important and it’s necessary in this season.” https:// www.instagram.com/p/CCtWiZej33d/ Producer Westen Weiss acknowledged his collaborators in thanks for his Top Rap Song award for “Going Bad” and said: “Also a big shout out to all my peers who also won awards this year — I’m super excited to see all the work you guys have coming...” https:// www.instagram.com/p/CCv8sryAges/ ?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link April Daniels, wife of the late LaShawn “Big Shiz” Daniels, posted an unboxing video accepting the award for “Look Back at It” on his behalf. “I love that my husband is still being celebrated today. His legacy continues… it is amazing to see his catalogue of music still changing the world, still affecting the world, still being recognized even beyond his transition.” https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCv2Gmg0Df/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link As part of the Awards, ASCAP saluted members of the ASCAP family lost over the past year, including LaShawn “Big Shiz” Daniels, Fred the Godson, Andre Harrell, Bill Withers, Betty Wright, Kobe Bryant and Naya Rivera. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCwOB_1A0rY/ ?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 2014 ASCAP Founders Award recipient Jermaine Dupri hosted and DJ’d the official Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Instagram Live after party on @jermainedupri on Friday, July 17, sending virtual attendees off in style. Exclusive photos and videos from winning hip-hop, R&B and gospel songwriters, producers and publishers were shared with the hashtag #ASCAPAwards via @ASCAPUrban on Instagram and @ASCAP on Instagram & Twitter. A complete list of winners can be found on the ASCAP website: https://www.ascap.com/ rsawards20.

2020 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards

As part of its weekly ASCAP Experience: Home Edition programming, ASCAP also hosted a “Leading Ladies of Publishing A&R” panel discussion featuring women executives from three of its top Rhythm & Soul Music Award-winning publishers: Brandra Ringo (Warner Chappell), Ari Gelaw (UMPG) and Jennifer Drake (Sony/ATV). The three A&R executives shared insights on their roles, speaking about what they look for in a new signing, how they fit into a songwriter’s team, the daily joys and struggles of balancing their career and personal lives, and their experiences as women in a male-driven industry. Highlights from both events included:

Words of wisdom from “Leading Ladies of Publishing A&R” on their ASCAP Experience panel: Brandra Ringo (Warner Chappell Music): “You can’t have a plan B, it’s always plan A and go get it;” Ari Gelaw (UMPG): “Trust your process and be a student of the game… Just don’t give up. The people who get there are the people who just didn’t stop;” and Jennifer Drake (Sony/ATV): “Nothing beats the work and fine-tuning your craft. Do it to the best of your ability and then some… Know your craft and make connections in that space.” https://ascapexperience.com/liveagenda?agendaPath=session/296562 ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams set the stage for this

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

BENEE Unveils Official Video For Latest Single “NIGHT GARDEN” “Supalonely” Certified Platinum New Zealand’s sensation BENEE dropped the official video for her latest single, “Night Garden” feat. Kenny Beats & Bakar. The animated video, created by animator and illustrator Alisa, follows BENEE as she goes on a haunting adventure in the Night Garden. “Night Garden” has been praised by Billboard, The FADER, E! Online, Teen Vogue, HYPEBEAST, UPROXX, Stereogum and many more, as E! Online hails it as a “somehow pleasantly paranoid piece,” while HYPEBEAST calls it “seriously smooth” and The Sunday Times praises it as “a spare, strung-out, pop-noir gem.” “Supalonely” feat. Gus Dapperton, which is now Certified Platinum in the U.S., has amassed over 1.4 billion streams worldwide and is currently charting at #10 on the U.S. Top 40 Radio Chart. Earlier this month, Apple Music announced BENEE as the newest Up Next artist, as she made history as Apple Music’s first New Zealand Up Next artist. From her hometown in Auckland, New Zealand, breakthrough popstar Stella Bennett, aka BENEE, remains unphased, unchanged and almost impervious to the cataclysmic success coming her way since releasing her debut EP, FIRE ON MARZZ, last summer. Already her tale is one of eye-watering statistics and achievements. Her story is international and expanding on the hour, across modern and traditional platforms. Her audience seems endless. BENEE, however, remains easygoing, centered and—most importantly—herself. It’s just over six months since the release of her second EP of 2019, STELLA & STEVE, garnered knockout reviews. Breakthrough track

“Supalonely” is a slice of upbeat and original pop—like its creator, a little exotic and cheerfully weird. The song hits like a ray of sunshine, jammed to the hilt with personality and punctuated by BENEE’s verbal tics. BENEE’s music runs the gamut of everything pop can be in 2020 and is filled with her quirks in the experimental indie sounds and the cartoon-ish sprawl of her lyrical imagery. Her fans have a naturally intimate connection with her deceptively easy-going pop and that thing she still loves to call her “BENEE-VISION.”

ADVERTISE HERE Advertise in a revolutionary new magazine that will be taking the music world by storm! call us now at 281-650-1953

Rock And Blues International

Worldwide New Book Releases (Music)

E Tutto Finito Adesso, Behind The Man In Black: Baby Blue (It’s All Over The WS Holland Story. Co-written by Mr. Holland Now, Baby Blue, 2020) and Ron Haney Fans the world over have asked for this book to be by Edoardo Fassio written...now it has! The first hand account of drummer W.S. Edoardo Fassio, an author, a journalist, and a radio programmer, is among the top Italian experts in the fields of the blues and black American popular music. He writes of blues, folk, and jazz for the Italian newspaper La Stampa and, under the alias of Catfish, your favorite Blue-Jay, he is the host of the longest running radio blues shows in Europe. His books, including Blues, which portrays the genre and its songs and voices, and Soul City, which chronicles 30 years of the 2017 Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipient Porretta Soul Festival, have been published by major publishing companies in Italy. He is the Italian translator to Wynton Marsalis’ influential “Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life”. Edoardo Fassio’s books, including the latest Soul Fiction, E Tutto Finito Adesso, Baby Blue (It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, 2020) are available in Italian at all online stores.

“Fluke” Holland’s years with the man in black, Johnny Cash in one of the most accomplished careers in American music. Marty Stuart shares, “Luther Perkins, Fluke Holland, Marshall Grant, and John R. Cash created history by making the rules, breaking the rules, and defying them all over again. They laid waste to any musical boundaries that never enough to cross their path.” From Larry Gatlin we learn, “I have read a lot of books about my friend JR (Johnny Cash) but I have never read one more “uniquer” or more “spot on” as the Brits would say, than ole Fluke’s new book, Behind The Man In Black: The WS Holland Story. Co-written by Mr. Holland and Ron Haney, a career veteran country radio show host in Tennessee the book gets right to it. They share the intimate details of life on the road and back at home with Johnny Cash. Fluke shares the behind the scenes information that every fan will want to know. http://wsflukeholland.com August 2020 • Rock and Blues International 31

The Suffers Release Powerful Plea “Take Me To The Good Times” The Gulf Coast Soul Group’s First Single Since Their 2018 Critically-Acclaimed Sophomore Album “Everything Here”

New Music From Houston The eight-piece Houston-based soul, funk and R&B group The Suffers return with a soulful plea to “Take Me To The Good Times.” The single is their first since the release of their acclaimed 2018 album Everything Here. Garden & Gun said the new song “...evokes the room-shaking shows that music fans have been pining for these last few months.” Listen to “Take Me To The Good Times” via YouTube: https://youtu.be/5j9Vgc2V79s “A little over two months ago, life as we knew it came to a halt. Our tours were cancelled, and the world as we knew it changed,” explains Kam Franklin. “As a band, we honestly thought that last year would be the hardest we’ve ever had to push through. It brought us the loss of our two founding members, our trailer, and 40k worth of instruments getting stolen, on top of all the other ups and downs life has to offer. Through all of that, we chose to enter the recording studio last fall with our head held high, knowing that bigger things were on the horizon. This song is a reward to us for the hard work we put in, but it also serves as a love letter to the road, while offering a promise to return back to it. I only had time to shout out just a few of the cities we can’t wait to visit or go back to, but I could have kept going and going. The last 5 years of touring have taken us to some of the most incredible places. We put a lot of love into this one, and we hope that love is felt as it comes through your speakers. We love you, and we can’t wait to come back and play in your city.”

and creating with love. June is black music month. June is when we celebrate Juneteenth, and after sharing this song with all you, June will hold yet another special memory for us. A memory where we pushed through it all to deliver a little piece of joy to the masses. “Take Me To The Good Times” was written by The Suffers, Steve Watkins (Allen Stone) and Moorea Masa (KD Lang / Moorea Masa and The Mood). The song was engineered and mixed by Matt Pence at The Echo Lab studio in Denton, TX and was produced by Pence, Jason Burt and The Suffers: Kam Franklin (vocals), Kevin Bernier (guitar), Michael Razo (trombone), Jon Durbin (trumpet) Nick Zamora (drums), Jose “Chapy” Luna (percussion), Juliet Terrill (bass) and Travis Thompson (piano).

album Everything Here was met with critical acclaim, with NPR Music stating “...the musicians revel in the multidimensional, multicultural possibilities of their take on soul,” and the Houston Chronicle proclaiming, “On this diverse collection, singer Kam Franklin further embraces her unique star power, backed by the band’s signature blaze of horns.”

Over the years, the Gulf Coast Soul group has toured with Thievery Corporation, Galactic, and Lake Street Dive, and has performed at Newport Folk Fest, Austin City Limits, Afropunk, Xponential Music Festival, and NPR’s Tiny Desk. The band’s sophomore

“While releasing music during the current state of the world feels strange, it’s absolutely necessary. To us, Black Lives have always mattered, but as the rest of the world begins to learn and understand this, we will continue doing what we do best. Leading, listening, August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

TOPS

COLDER & CLOSER TOPS by Justin Aranha

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;¢ August 2020

TOPS ENLIST PATRICK HOLLAND FOR A REMIX OF “COLDER & CLOSER” NEW ALBUM I FEEL ALIVE OUT NOW VIA MUSIQUE TOPS Montreal four-piece TOPS are sharing a new remix of “Colder & Closer,” one of the standout tracks from their newest album I Feel Alive. The track gets a shimmering rework from fellow Montreal DJ/ producer Patrick Holland (aka Project Pablo and Jump Source) who infuses the song with bright, kaleidoscopic soundscapes. The track follows Holland’s project Reality Picture and his remix of Cut Copy’s “Love Is All We Share.” I Feel Alive is out now via TOPS’ own label Musique TOPS. On the new album, their trademark sound of beguiling melodies over softrock grooves, with touches of ’80s sophisti-pop and a contemporary experimental palette is intact, but bolder and more expansive. The songs manage to be both immediately catchy and deceptively deep, with Penny’s literary lyrics adding an extra dimension to the pure pop hooks. Satisfying yet far from predictable, I Feel Alive is a record to be savored, revealing itself slowly, gaining power and poignancy with each listen. TOPS began to write I Feel Alive in Montreal after an extended sabbatical where all members lived in different cities without working on new material or touring. Coming together with a renewed sense of energy, the result is an introspective and resilient album that immediately hits and lingers. The record is their fourth full-length, following 2017’s Sugar At The Gate and follows singles “Echo of Dawn” and “Seven Minutes” from last year. The album also includes previous singles “Direct Sunlight,” which singer Jane Penny described as “a song to remind myself that it’s up to me to choose the perspective that I take,” “Colder & Closer,” which came with a striking Mashie Alamdirected thermal vision video, the upbeat “Witching Hour,” and the album’s title-track. The artwork for TOPS’ fourth LP sets the tone for the music enclosed. Inspired by the work of photographer Thomas Ruff, TOPS’ vocalist Jane Penny stares bare-faced down the lens-simple and unposed, yet striking with starkness and vulnerability. The image captures the fraught nature of being alive, which the 11 tracks on the album explore. Penny’s remarkably expressive voice is front and center. On this record more than any other, she sings with passion and energy, without sacrificing the honesty and introspection that gives her voice its depth. The songs cover a range of experiences but at it’s heart I Feel Alive is a record about resilience, the ways we can grow from for our pain and the strength that comes from learning to stand on your own as an individual. For I Feel Alive, the band members convened in a basement studio in Montreal, recording for the first time with keyboardist Marta Cikojevic who joined the band as a live member

in 2017. “From the first time we practiced with her it was clear that we were in sync musically, and we found ourselves improvising together at the first rehearsal” says Penny. “Having Marta manning the keys allowed me to reach for my flute, and gave me the chance to integrate my flute playing with the writing process, using it as an expressive instrument rather than more production element which it has been in the past.” She continues: “We’d spent a lot of time apart, not working on new stuff or touring, just living life, all in different cities,” says Penny. When we went to make I Feel Alive we all had a good sense of what we were trying to do and a renewed energy towards playing together. The goal was to get in a room together and play, not holding anything back.” “It was a quick process,” says guitarist and fellow song-writer David Carriere. “We would work all day writing a song and then demo them the same evening, relying on our natural chemistry as a band to let the songs come into their own.” The band’s line-up is completed by Riley Fleck on drums. Title track “I Feel Alive” is a bracing pop gem with darker undertones. An ode to new love, Penny sings “I feel alive looking in your eyes” with the exuberance that comes with the early stages of romance, the discovery of a deep love. But love is complicated, and within the joy and happiness is the pain of leaving someone else behind. “When I saw you wanted to spend the night with someone else at home,” she sings, “I knew it wasn’t right.” This honest admission that happiness can come at the expense of others adds another dimension to the song’s ecstatic energy. True love defies us to overcome others expectations, and that’s a good thing. People may be watching, but why should you care. Opposing and it, “Colder & Closer” is a sonic departure, with programmed synths and metallic drumming, the song shimmers. A tribute to seeking meaning in an increasingly confusing world Penny sings “Searching constellations/seeing if the stars align.” But she doesn’t take comfort in the stars, rejecting fate as something arbitrary, though not quite meaningless. “Signs are myths like nations/shapes drawn over crooked lines.”The song is swift and lean, a pop confection, but it’s also ripe with meditations on the social isolation that plagues casual intimacy. It’s a prime example of the way TOPS layer meaning within pop songwriting. Beneath the soaring melodies and crisp production, I Feel Alive balances the giddiness of a new relationship with the agony of leaving old things behind. It’s an introspective record that you can dance to, music that hits in an immediate rush but sticks around, lingering like the memory of a perfect doomed love affair-both the joy and the pain, until it becomes a part of your life forever. August 2020 • Rock and Blues International 35

ELVIE SHANE RELEASES FIRST MUSIC WITH HEARTFELT FATHER’S DAY TRACK “MY BOY” Kentucky Singer-Songwriter Joins Wheelhouse Records Team booked by United Talent Agency and is signed to Nashville based Rome Phrey Publishing. For more information, please visit his Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. The Gospel-born and Southern Rock-bred Elvie Shane seamlessly fuses Country with Soul to create a sound that has graced hundreds of dives, jukes and festivals across the States. Born on a Sunday in the quiet town of Leitchfield, KY, it wasn’t but a week later when he was first introduced to music and the magic that it holds. Tucked firmly in his mother’s arms alongside a hymnal at the small-town Baptist church, Elvie would go on to spend many hours immersed in gospel before returning home. Greeting him in the driveway each Sunday afternoon were the sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Steve Earle and The Temptations pouring out of the speakers of some old Ford his father would be tucked under, fixing up.

BBR Music Group’s Elvie Shane announces his first official song release with “My Boy,” a heartfelt tribune to his stepson. The tender ballad is available everywhere digitally now. After signing with the BBR Music Group/ BMG Nashville family last year, Elvie has found his home with the label’s Wheelhouse Records imprint. Celebrating Father’s Day a tad early, Elvie will do a Facebook Live and YouTube Live today at 11am CT where he’ll sing the family-inspired track. The song, in addition to what it means to his family, holds a special spot in Elvie’s heart as it was the catalyst for Elvie’s career as an artist. A video he posted of the song went viral in 2018 and caught the

attention of many, earning him a publishing deal with Rome Phrey Publishing and eventually his record deal with BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville. “My Boy” shows the softer side of the muscle cars and electric guitar-loving singersongwriter who credits Steve Earle, John Fogerty and Roger Miller as his biggest influences. His music, whether it features tear-jerk moments or heavy guitar licks, is centered around lyrical storytelling with heart, nostalgia and hardship— with a side of food for thought. Information about additional new music is forthcoming.

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Elvie Shane is managed by Maverick,

Quickly drawn to the Rock n’ Roll sounds, it wasn’t until a Baptist Revival that his love of Gospel and Rock would collide—if was there that a young man who recently lost his lead singer heard Elvie sing and immediately invited him to play with his Rock band. Within six days, Elvie learned nearly a dozen new songs and performed his first show and fell in love with the stage. It was with this band that Elvie began songwriting—a talent that he has carried with him for many years. His songwriting ability caught the attention of fans as his song “My Boy,” written about his stepson went viral on the internet in 2018. His picture-based lyrics and knack for storytelling lead to his signing with United Talent Agency and has since opened for Toby Keith, Billy Currington, Brothers Osborne, Cole Swindell, Brett Young, Walker Hayes, and Lady A, to name a few.

Ghost Liotta Release Debut Track “object one” From Forthcoming Debut Self-Titled Full Length Electronic Supergroup of James McAlister (The National), Christopher Wray (Butch Walker), Zac Rae (Death Cab For Cutie), and John Spiker (Tenacious D) Los Angeles experimental/electronic supergroup Ghost Liotta released their single “object one,” taken from their forthcoming self-titled debut full-length. The project is a new collaboration between musicians and producers James McAlister (The National), Christopher Wray (Butch Walker), Zac Rae (Death Cab For Cutie), and John Spiker (Tenacious D), incorporating vintage and modular synths, live drums, and a pedal steel guitar. Ghost Liotta began in 2017 when McAlister, Wray, and Rae were fresh off the road with their respective groups. The group recorded a series of improvised sessions at Zac’s longtime studio The Bank, serving as an outlet where the three could be as creative as they wanted without any restrictions. “The record was collaborative and creative at every possible stage,” says McAlister. “There was space for us each, in our creative voices, to make big statements. I was constantly surprised at how much of a sonic landscape we covered with so few elements. Each part was deeply considered, but still raw and not overworked.” Days before their last stint of recording, the project was abruptly interrupted by a fire that permanently closed The Bank. The music was unfinished and feared gone until a couple of years later when the hard drives were rediscovered and handed over to mixer/ producer and bass player for Tenacious D, John Spiker. “There was no one we trusted with this project more than Spiker,” says Wray. “If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have an album. He kept sending us tracks he’d found in those sessions and we were blown away. He’s truly the fourth member of the band.” The end result is a unique mixture of instrumentation all performed live in the room. The microphones picked up breathing and squeaking of chairs. All of the synths were run through amplifiers, which contributes to the unique character and dimensions of the recordings. Instruments are processed and transformed in unexpected ways and while the music touches on many genres, it refuses to settle precisely into any one box. And speaking of the box, all of the sounds on this album were made outside of it. “There are amazing soft synth plugins out there, but we wanted to make something with the tools we love that exist as three dimensional

Photo by Kristin Burns objects in the spaces we occupy,” Wray says. “Not a single sound on the album comes from a plugin.” Christopher Wray has contributed as a producer, writer, pedal steel, keys, and guitar for Butch Walker, Lykke Li, Sia, Kanye West, White Sea, Alohaha, Sharon Van Etten, Son Lux, and numerous others. He’s also contributed to films such as Captive State, Foxcatcher, The Hunger Games and many more as a modular synthesist and multiinstrumentalist. He frequently works with hip-hop producer T Minus as a co-producer and multi-instrumentalist, and in the last year they’ve worked together with Schoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, and H.E.R. James McAlister is a Los Angelesbased drummer who also has composing, engineering, producing, and multiple other instrument credits to his name. He has worked closely with Sufjan Stevens on his recordings and live shows since 2004. He is also currently a touring member of The National and worked on their last two albums. As a composer, he has most recently released two solo EPs, as well as a collaborative record with Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, and Nico Muhly titled Planetarium. He has collaborated with film composers Rob Simonsen, MIke Andrews, and Bryce Dessner among others.

Cohen, Damien Rice, Dua Lipa, Niall Horan, Annie Lennox, Miguel, Norah Jones, Glen Campbell, Gary Clark Jr, Jason Mraz, and many more. He’s worked on the soundtracks to Ocean’s 13, Ghostbusters (2016), and the Oscar-nominated The Theory Of Everything. Since 2015, Zac has been a member of Death Cab For Cutie, recording and performing with them extensively. He also completed work on his first solo score for the feature Once Upon A River, which will be released in the fall of 2020. John Spiker is a longtime member of Tenacious D, playing bass guitar and serving as producer and mixer for many of their studio records. He’s also produced records for Beck, Beth Orton, and Lonely Island. Recently, Spiker’s talent and reputation for delivering astonishingly creative mixes has caught the ear of Hollywood, mixing projects for Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and John Carpenter. Tracklisting: 1. object one 2. life cycle 3. obe 4. when we sleep 5. boston 6. i am thoughts 7. nonlinear b 8. voices 9. before everything 10. back to dust

Zac Rae is multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer from Los Angeles. Listen to “object one” via YouTube: His eclectic recording and performance credits include: Fiona Apple, Gnarls Barkley, https://youtu.be/-zQrJYlfcnc Lana Del Ray, Childish Gambino, Leonard August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Music From Norway

Norway’s The Northern Belle Premiere New Single, “Late Bloomer” New Album, “We Wither, We Bloom” Out Aug. 28 “A sweet and seductive 70’s influenced track that hooks on first listen. The bright harmonies are immediately reminiscent of Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) and Jenny Lewis, and with enough soul to conjure Sound City meeting Muscle Shoals.” Glide Magazine Check out The Northern Belle’s... New Music To Know via Refinery 29 “Gemini” Premeire via Wide Open County Live Stream via The Boot Feature on The Autumn Roses Interview via Country Music News International Song of the Day via Come Here Floyd Feature on Gas Mask Magazine “Gemini” added to HIGH ROTATION on ABC Country “The feeling of belonging, love, empathy in tragedy, makes you smile inside and out.” - Come Here Floyd “A record that pays tribute to its inspirations while also showing true originality.” - Country Music News International “Has a true homegrown feel with deep, emotional musicality and shiny vocals that would brightly color the darkest of moods.” Gas Mask Magazine “A sweet and seductive 70’s influenced track that hooks on first listen. The bright harmonies are immediately reminiscent of Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac) and Jenny Lewis, and with enough soul to conjure Sound City meeting Muscle Shoals.” - Glide Magazine “The sun shines brightly in the new americana treasure from Norway’s The

The Northern Belle. Photo by Julie Marie Nagelstad Northern Belle.” - Last Day Deaf “Another delightful pop gem.” Refinery 29 “A sugary stream of paisley-patterned melody.” - The Autumn Roses “Sounds like a conversation between Stevie Nicks and Dolly Parton.” - Wide Open Country Written as an examination of personal relationships, the new album by The Northern Belle is aptly titled We Wither, We Bloom. The Norwegian septet is among the pioneers of the nordicana scene that has been gaining momentum in the US the last few years. Fronted by prolific singer-songwriter Stine Andreassen (also of folk quartet Silver Lining) and armed with pedal steel, slide guitar, lush harmonies, a string quartet and their secret weapon, the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, The Northern Belle have developed their own unique brew of poporiented americana and folk music. Imagine Fleetwood Mac fronted by Jenny Lewis in a country mood.

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Brimming with melodic tunes and clever lyrics, We Wither We Bloom is the band’s third studio album, albeit the first to be released internationally. Having made the difficult decision to quit her day job to pursue music, Andreassen and The Northern Belle received widespread praise and a Spellemann nomination (Norwegian Grammy) for the 2018 album Blinding Blue Neon. In the spring of 2019, Andreassen traveled to Nashville for three months to write the follow-up. The welcoming and thriving music scene found east of the Cumberland River sparked a creative songwriting spell that resulted in this inspired collection of tracks. The distance from home allowed for new views on friends, family, love, loss and homesickness, resulting in the band’s most personal album to date. Constantly evolving as a band, The Northern Belle’s sound in 2020 is inspired by contemporary acts such as Erin Rae, Kacey Musgraves, Phoebe Bridgers and Marit Larsen, as well as legends such The Beach Boys, The Byrds and Glen Campbell. All resulting in a record that pays tribute to its inspirations while also showing true originality.

New Music From England Following the success of his breakthrough debut EP Eastcote at the end of 2019, British singer and songwriter Sam Johnson now returns to unveil the first taste of his second EP with his brand new single “The Kids Are Alright” out now. Lifted from his soon-to-be-announced new EP Are We There Yet?, this new release sees the frontman in a far more nostalgic guise. Reflective and progressive in every way, his latest offering looks to combine the emotional weight of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell with the eagerness to communicate of Ben Howard, creating a true coming of age tale beyond his tender years. Speaking about his new single, he said, “I wrote this song whilst looking over my friend Nick Atkinson’s DVD collection for some inspiration during a couple of days in his studio ‘The Barn’ just north of London. I’d gone up there to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and spend a few creative days writing in the countryside. I spotted one of my favourite films ‘Old Boy’ on his shelf, and there in that moment conceived the first line of the song, ‘Old boys, new tricks, and suburban Friday fun.’ From there I started looking back on my teenage years growing up in a small market town on the border of England and Wales and all the mischief my friends and I would get up to. When I then discovered Nick’s copy of the 2010 movie ‘The Kids Are Alright’ it all made sense. It wrapped up the sentiment of the song perfectly for the defining line of the chorus. My friends and I were at times flawed and brilliant, at times stupid and inspired, but all the while we had our hearts in the right places. We were alright. I wanted to write the soundtrack to my youth, and this is it.” Opening up with the lead track “The Kids Are Alright,” his latest EP is set to see him grow more as an artist and a human being throughout. Constructed alongside esteemed studio team The Barn, this initial offering is a song that waves farewell to adolescence, carrying a gilded and Autumnal quality to it.

BRITISH SINGER SONGWRITER SAM JOHNSON RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE “THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT” OUT NOW “I create characters influenced by what I see around me,” he says. “A lot of the lyrics are touchstones of my childhood, and where I grew up...and the people that I grew up around.”

the studio for the very first time. “That was a real moment for me…that developed my backbone. It made me want to have that element of legacy. And he made me realise that it could be done.” A country boy lost in the big city, Sam’s music has taken him from a rural setting to the London metropolis, but he’s driven by an extraordinary sense of purpose. His 2019 debut EP, Eastcote, garnered support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X, as well as the Spotify New Music Friday playlists in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland. Are We There Yet? is a tightly bound EP, one where each passage speaks to the next. Overseen by My Riot at RAK Studios, the production is left deliberately raw, almost unfinished, so that the songs “could breathe, without overcluttering it too much.”

A driven and relentlessly ambitious artist, Sam Johnson’s story also owes a debt to chance. Fate dealt him an unusual card when Kevin Shields – My Bloody Valentine auteur – crossed his path, taking the fledgling talent into August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

James Bay

Photo by JP Boardman

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;¢ August 2020

JAMES BAY RELEASES NEW SINGLE “CHEW ON MY HEART” Returning with his first original music of 2020, three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multiplatinum singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist James Bay is back with a brand new single entitled “Chew On My Heart.” In talking about the song, which is the first single to be released from his forthcoming album, Bay noted, “‘Chew On My Heart’ is a great example of releasing something positive about myself publicly for the first time,” he reveals. “It’s an outpouring of love, and that’s a huge theme across this new music. When I come home from tour, I burst through the door and throw my arms around my girl, and she’ll say, ‘Okay, relax, cool’,” he laughs. “It’s cheesy, but I wrote it from that perspective. It’s the opposite of being guarded.” The official music video for the song was shot last month in Paris via safe social distancing and was directed by Philip Andelman (Taylor Swift, Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer). In 2019, Bay initially started to open up on the Oh My Messy Mind EP. Between the hit single “Peer Pressure” [feat Julia Michaels] and “Bad,” the project generated over 350 million cumulative streams and counting. Inciting critical applause, Wonderland Magazine proclaimed, “The new EP combines delicate guitar riffs with rousing percussion and haunting melodies to evoke highly-charged emotions, while its lyrics explore the intricacies of relationships.” Additionally, He performed “Bad” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and attracted praise from Rolling Stone who claimed, “Bay gives the song his all, offering a raw, impassioned rendition of the song.” Throughout the recent quarantine and lockdown, he took to social media to offer free guitar lessons via Instagram Live on

Wednesdays and Fridays. He has taught fan favorites such as “Let It Go,” “Hold Back The River,” “Us” and more. For as much as James Bay upholds traditions of timeless songcraft, the UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer also confidently challenges himself and popular music. He spikes a triedand-true style with clever lyricism, honest confessions, and instrumental proficiency. On the heels of his platinum- certified 2015 debut Chaos And The Calm, he garnered GRAMMY® nods in the categories of “Best New Artist,” “Best Rock Album,” and “Best Rock Song” for the gold-selling single “Hold Back The River.” Meanwhile, “Let It Go” went triple-platinum. Nominated for dozens of awards, he took home two BRIT Awards, two Q Awards, and top honors at the Ivor Novello Awards and ECHO Awards. Tallying nearly 6 billion streams by 2020, he has performed on Saturday Night Live, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. He also notably dueted with icons such as Alicia Keys on The Voice and Mick Jagger while supporting The Rolling Stones at Twickenham Stadium in London. In addition to selling out shows on four continents, Epiphone honored him with his own Limited-Edition James Bay Signature “1966” guitar. Following the success of 2018’s Electric Light, he deconstructed his sound to its bare essentials on the Oh My Messy Mind EP a year later hitting nearly 350 million global streams. It yielded the hit “Peer Pressure” [feat. Julia Michaels], generating over 225 million global streams and received critical acclaim from Time, Rolling Stone, and Billboard. He spent the majority of 2019 opening for Ed Sheeran on his record-breaking stadium run. Now, embarks on the next leg of this journey led by “Chew On My Heart.” Photo by Oliver Halfin August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Cuban Roots Music

Kiki Valera Releases Traditional Tropical Album “Vivencias En Clave Cubana”

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, sound engineer and producer, Kiki Valera is best known as one of the world’s greatest players of the Cuban cuatro, a traditional string instrument from Cuba (Creole guitar) with 8 strings grouped in sets of two.

“Vivencias en Clave Cubana” is the debut solo album of Cuban cuatro master Kiki Valera, a member of the Familia Valera Miranda, a century-old group and one of the most important purveyors of the Son Cubano. While completely dedicated to the performance of traditional Cuban music, Valera was exposed to Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery and Chick Corea through cassette tapes while in school and those jazz inspirations elevate the quality of his cuatro solos in subtle and beautiful ways. Joined here by childhood friend, reknowned Cuban vocalist Coco Freeman, Valera and his exciting ensemble pair 12 original songs with beautiful instrumental work in ways that will make you dance, laugh, and possibly shed a tear. Cuba’s traditional music has a history of constant evolution from its very beginnings. With “Vivencias en Clave Cubana,” Kiki Valera continues in that spirit. school and those jazz inspirations elevate the quality of his cuatro solos in subtle and beautiful ways. Joined here by childhood friend, reknowned Cuban vocalist Coco Freeman, Valera and his exciting ensemble pair 12 original songs with beautiful instrumental work in ways that will make you dance, laugh, and possibly shed a tear. Cuba’s traditional music has a history of constant evolution from its very beginnings. With “Vivencias en Clave Cubana,” Kiki Valera continues in that spirit. 5-STARS ROOTS MUSIC REPORT

Rock and Blues International

...the kind of stuff that completely knocks gringos off their pins. MIDWEST RECORD

Kiki Valera is a Cuban cuatro master... a joyous, virtuosic romp ofbeautifully penned music performed masterfully. ALL ABOUT JAZZ Among the standout features of this project are Valera’s skillfully arranged songs and superb cuatro solos along with the virtuosic singing and composing of Coco Freeman. www.TIMBA.com

Best 20 Music Albums of 2020 WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL

Historic…breathtaking lusciousness LATIN JAZZ NETWORK This one cooks like fried rice! JAZZ WEEKLY One of the world’s greatest exponents of the cuatro...Valera specializes in son, the infectious call-and-answer Cuban song form, but solos like a jazz guy. THE SEATTLE TIMES WINNER: Golden Ear Award 2019 EARSHOT JAZZ

Music From Columbia Ghetto Kumbé have shared the second single “Sola” off of their upcoming self-tilted debut album out July 31st via ZZK Records. A second preview of what’s to come from the project “Sola” is a dreamy escape from the current state of the world. With everything in the world at a stand still, all confined with the frustration of an unpredictable future, Ghetto Kumbé embarks on an astral journey giving wings to escape the nightmare of chaos and overwhelming feelings during this time. It is a song that makes transcends our minds into something light, like the wind that breaks in the waves, crossing mountains and dreams, free from fear and from this world that is falling apart. According to Edgardo Garcés ‘Guajiro’, director and singer of the band, “Sola” is a way of saying that we have to remove all the bad that is inside us. “It is learning to live with all this, because time passes. Everything we go through, those negative feelings and thoughts, we also have to let them fly.” Ghetto Kumbé brings political content to an Afrofuturist mixture of sounds that spread between Latin America, Africa, and Europe. The track’s hard-hitting yet lighthearted beat is highlighted by an ominous toll, signaling a call to the people to defend their rights and land. The gaita, a traditional instrument originally played by the indigenous people of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, provides a smooth, melodic background layer to lyrics of resistance and African-influenced drum breaks. Oliver Williams aka The Busy Twist (UK) adds his own touch as coproducer of this track and those to come on the upcoming album on ZZK Records. The pre-order for the upcoming LP is available here. Raised on Colombia’s Caribbean coast and united by its capital, Bogota, Ghetto Kumbé combines the rich musical heritage of their home, to invoke the spirit of digital rumba in audiences all over the world. The secret behind their irresistible electronic ritual lies in their powerful percussion base; Caribbean house beats and traditional afroColombian rhythms inherited from West Africa. The album’s co-producer, The Busy Twist, adds all the legacy of UK’s Bass scene to the Afrofuturistic sounds of the 3 Colombians. Inspired by the different revolutionary movements emerging all over the world, Ghetto Kumbé will release their first fulllength album in 2020 on pioneering Latin American electronic label ZZK. Their selftitled debut is visceral, committed, and rebellious, denouncing through frantic rhythms the inequalities and abuses imposed by corrupt governments, while simultaneously enticing listeners to join in the fight. Dance mingles with awareness to create a global community, where family, friends, and strangers come together through our shared love of music and activate change amongst

Ghetto Kumbé Release “Sola” Off Of New Album New Album Ghetto Kumbé Out July 31st Via ZZK Records themselves. Using musical motifs from Africa and Colombia’s Caribbean coast such as the gaita, call-and-response vocals, and an array of hand drums and rhythms, coupled with the elegant electronic production of Tech/House, Ghetto Kumbé creates an Afro-futurist soundscape with lyrics to motivate, elevate, and inspire.

become one of the most important alternative groups to come out of Colombia. They’ve played Barranquilla’s world famous Carnival, Bogotá’s recent Boiler Room, and have even opened for Radiohead. The ancient yet modern sound of the three powerful musicians has made them a legitimate representative of the new Afrohouse scene burgeoning all over the world. Ghetto Kumbé - TRACKLISTING

Their first single to come out, ‘Vamo a Dale Duro’, is a fluorescent criticism of the unjust divide between the poor and the rich, the rising prominence of dirty politicians, and the ethics of the capitalist system while encouraging people to stand up and fight for a dignified existence. The album’s tone fluctuates fluidly between tracks that include ancestral chants, voices both deep and resounding, and anthems to uplift and inspire, as well as features by up-and-coming Réunion island artist Melanie and the Palenque-based folk/hip-hop band Kombilesa Mi. In the Americas, Ghetto Kumbé has

01. Intro 02. Sola 03. Vamo a Dale Duro 04. Djabe (feat. Melanie) 05. Interludio 06. Pila Pila 07. Cara a Cara 08. Tambó 09. Está Pillao 10. Pide Mas 11. Lengua Ri Suto (feat. Kombilesa Mi)

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Music From Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN’S TREND SETTING ALT/POP TRIO SCARLET PLEASURE RELEASE NEW LP GARDEN OUT NOW VIA COPENHAGEN RECORDS / UMG Garden is the brand new album from Copenhagen’s alt pop trio Scarlet Pleasure out now. Just like in the real world, this Garden is constantly developing and even after release, new songs will blossom and will be added to the album during 2020. Watch this space! The first plant in the garden was “Better” and broke through the soil on March 6th. Clash Magazine said this upon release, “A band whose grasp of pop is immaculate.” Another plant was added when the current single, the sun kissed reggae bop “SOS” was released on May 8th. A SEASON OF TELETUBBIES For Scarlet Pleasure, working on the album Garden resembles stepping into a bubble, or a secret garden that serves as a microcosm for the lives, friendship and creativity of the three band members. ”We have been in a secret garden, where imagination, playfulness, naivety is everything and where all the colours are scaled up and you have the nerve to believe in your own genius. This is also how we want our music to feel when you listen. We are not going for social realism. Making this album didn’t feel like having a grown-up job, it felt more like being in a season of Teletubbies”. CELEBRATING HOPE Composed of Emil Goll (Vox/guitar), Alexander Malone (Bass) and Joachim Dencker (Drums) Scarlet Pleasure has created a unique position for themselves by combining a distinct visual profile with their ability to constantly invent new tendencies. ?Scarlet Pleasure have been on a meteoric rise since 2014 with their unique brand of sunny, alternative pop. On a planet far, far away where the grass is always green and the only limit is the blue sky above, the band hopes to bring some optimism back to 2020 with the release of Garden. The first chapter of Garden is named in part for Scarlet Pleasure’s dedication to living green and protecting the planet from climate change. Their “Garden” will continue to be nurtured and grow, as they’ll add new songs throughout the fall. “We’ve created a place of our own where the rules of Earth don’t apply,” the band explains when talking about the making of their upcoming album Garden and the video for latest single “SOS.” “The recent weeks and months of

2020, made us think about marginalised communities and those who are deprived of access to things in life that a lot of us take for granted. We wanted the ‘SOS’ video to transport us all to this place of simplicity and happiness,” Scarlet Pleasure continues. “Yeah someday, it will fall into place See those cracks there in the clouds, it gets better, it gets better.” - Scarlet Pleasure on “Better” On “Better” - the first single released from the new album - Scarlet Pleasure reassures you that everything is going to be all right and that nothing, be it positive or negative, is permanent. ”This is a very simple philosophy for us”, says singer Emil Goll: “We want to celebrate positivity. We want to represent hope, because hope is what keeps you on your feet and from sliding into indifference.” Filmed by Dolcerocca, the video for “SOS” provides the perfect backdrop for the song’s up-tempo, but slow reggae vibe, reminiscent of Sting and The Police. Add to that a subtle touch of the Charles Aznavour classic, “La Boheme,” mixed with Scarlet Pleasure’s irresistible youthfulness, “SOS” pairs perfectly with a fruity Summer-cocktail - and currently #2 on the Danish Airplay Chart. Creative Director Stine Thorbøll (Copenhagen Records) said the concept of “The ‘Scarlet Pleasure Garden’ is based on the idea that life exists on its own planet where the grass is always green and the sun is always shining. The robot vacuum cleaner is your only friend and the routers need water in order to grow. The garden consists of strictly

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

kept boxwood and wavy golf courses alá Teletubbies - a very obvious human attempt to control nature. We really liked the idea of having high energy band performances in that setting.” Additionally, the main inspiration of the video is “high production music videos from the late 90s and the early 00s,” shares Thorbøll. “Both on the overall look of the video and the comical twists. We wanted the band to have a lot of different props to interact with to make the video playful and weird.” GARDEN TRACK LIST: 01: Lost 02: SOS 03: Flying 04: Hello 05: Anyway 06: Better 07: True Romance “Scarlet Pleasure is just revving up the engine of its upcoming record Garden, but the sound of it is already clear and firing its funk on all cylinders, showcasing the trio’s rich blend of R&B and pop glazed with a sweet late 90’s colorful eccentricity in aesthetic.” EARMILK “SOS” is the perfect summer song, and has the perfect chorus to match, with the three-letter hook ‘SOS’ probably being one of the catchiest of the year.” MEOW! MAG UK “The velvet vocals of lead singer Emil Goll are in the same vein as the Weeknd, which makes sense considering the group is mining similar ’80s pop inspirations.” STEREOGUM

New Music From England

Photo by Jon Shard

GoGo Penguin Release New Self-Titled Album via Blue Note Records Praised by The Guardian, Mojo, Earmilk, Jazziz, Glide, BrooklynVegan, All About Jazz, Live for Live Music, and more

production software favoured by many electronic producers, confessing “I spend way more time on my laptop than I do on my drums. The ratio is probably about 90% to 10%.”

Today, UK instrumental trio GoGo Penguin released their self-titled album via Blue Note. The Manchester, England trio has fielded rave reviews for inspiration and originality at every turn since 2013, when they settled on their dream line-up of Chris Illingworth (piano), Rob Turner (drums) and Nick Blacka (bass). They won the Mercury Prize for album of the year in 2014 and have enjoyed a success matched by precious few vocal-free groups post-millennium.

GoGo Penguin’s music has always defied categorization. In their sound, there have been traces of latter day developments in jazz, such as Sweden’s free-thinking Esbjörn Svensson Trio (aka EST), or minimalist classical composers like Steve Reich, John Adams, even Erik Satie. Yet, all in their mid-30’s, you can hear that they have grown up in the golden age of electronica, with echoes ranging from rarefied techno (think Aphex Twin; Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra), and the emotive melodies and crescendos of European house, through to Roni Size’s jazz-infused drum ‘n’ bass.

A big part of GoGo Penguin’s impact derives from the way they employ computer technology to compose with, then find ways to record (and perform) the results on acoustic instruments, with help from a surprisingly limited arsenal of effects pedals and delays. Turner obsessively works with

recording yet,” while NPR brought them in to perform three songs from A Humdrum Star for a Tiny Desk Concert. In 2019, the trio released Ocean in a Drop: Music for Film. The EP drew inspiration from GGP’s celebrated live soundtrack for Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 cult doc Koyaanisqatsi, an original score that they’ve performed for audiences internationally. “A trancelike alliance of technical mastery and instinctual chemistry far greater than the sum of its acoustic parts. GoGo Penguin already feels definitive.” — MOJO “Call it anything you like; GGP’s variety of not-jazz remains endlessly thrilling and one of a kind.”— All About Jazz

The self-titled work follows GoGo “GoGo Penguin’s sound has always Penguin’s critically acclaimed 2018 album A defied neat categorization... they beautifully Humdrum Star. The Washington Post called straddle the line between electronic aesthetics the full-length “the group’s most hypnotic with acoustic instruments.” — Earmilk August 2020 • Rock and Blues International 45

Colombian/Mexican multi-instrumentalist, DJ & producer Sinego shares his first release on Sony’s new ORIANNA imprint with the release of “Duele” featuring Leonardo La Croix. Inspired by traditional Bolero, the romantic Latin music developed in Spain during the 18th century, “Duele” features a deep house production, paired with the horns and melody which is a trademark of Bolero. “Duele,” which translates to hurt, tells a story of heartbreak as sung in Spanish by Leonardo La Croix. Sinego’s artist project aims to mix the core elements of mainstream Latin and underground electronic music, and he does this in an alluring manner. Thus far in his career, among other things, Sinego’s performed at a bevy of international festivals and contributed to breaking the world record for the first track with more than 100 producers. Sinego is a multio-instrumentalist, DJ, & Producer. His Deep House flavored songs have reached more than 3 million streams on Spotify. Sinego earned a music production and engineering degree from Berklee College of Music and a music business degree from Full Sail University in 2016. Immediately after graduating, he started his music project with the objective of revolutionizing the electronic music industry in Latin America. His Deep House, Future Bass, & Chill tracks appeal to both the mainstream public and the dance floor hard-core fans. In a matter of one year, Sinego signed tracks with the largest record labels including Miami Beats (Miami), Atlast Media (Holland), Artist Intelligence Agency (New York), Sicario Music (Mexico), Archipelago Entertainment (Colorado), and Warner Music (Mexico). After successfully getting support from the biggest electronic playlists on Spotify, radio stations all over the world have been giving radio airplay to his new release “Travelers” on stations like Planet Radio (Germany), Blast Radio 102.9 (Panama), and Beat 1109 FM (Mexico). Sinego has achieved substantial success in a short time and has great potential as an iconic figure in the electronic scene in Latin America. His first release “Free” went viral on Spotify and was streamed millions of times in just two months, proving Sinego is ready to conquer the streaming world with pop-influenced electronic tracks.

SINEGO releases Bolero-inspired single “Duele” Available Now On Sony’s New ORIANNA Imprint

ABOUT Sony’s new Latin imprint ORIANNA roots of Latin culture. ORIANNA, meaning “rising sun” was born out of a passion to create a Latin The music of ORIANNA will lifestyle label focused on delivering organic transcend you to the rainforests of Colombia, electronic and experimental music. It is home move you to the pulsating drums of Cuba and to local talent from Central & South America, reprieve your soul in the waters of the the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal; to Balearic Islands. It represents the new showcase the true spirit and the ancestral mindset of nurturing the soul, adhering to a 46 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

meditative state, all the while living fully and dancing till dawn. Our mission is to build a diverse, creative, and positive community that explores the Latin sounds from around the world. Join us.

New Music From Australia

Photo credit: Louis Murphy

moving forward. I find myself remembering these lyrics in moments where I just need to stop, close my eyes, listen to the sounds of world around me and just breathe.” Listen to “Breathe” on DSPs Here: https://TheBuckleys.lnk.to/ BreatheSinglePR

The Buckleys “Breathe” Australian Three-piece, THE BUCKLEYS, Release The Video To Their Second Worldwide Single, “Breathe,” Via Petrol Records / Universal Music Australia / UMe The new soul-stirring track comes nestled in an equally emotive video that showcases a haunting and impassioned side of the band’s pop Americana

trademark which they call “hippie country.” “Breathe” was recorded and cowritten by Sarah Buckley and two-time GRAMMY®-winning producer and engineer Chad Carlson, whose credits include Taylor Swift, Jewel and the Hunger Games soundtrack. “‘Breathe’ is our musical prayer to the world,” explains The Buckleys singer Sarah Buckley. “I wrote this last year at the time when our country was experiencing horrific bushfires. It’s a message of strength, vulnerability, hurt, hope and

The release of “Breathe” follows their groundbreaking world virtual tour where the band became one of the first to capture a global audience and achieved a ‘virtual reach’ of more than 4 million. Presented by Live Nation, the world virtual tour was developed in conjunction with Live Nation and the band’s record label, Petrol Records and US label, UMe. Performing individually curated shows for specific regions of the U.S. (and later, the world) which were streamed through Live Nation and House of Blues’ local affiliates as well as the newly launched Live From Home platform, the rising hippie country siblings were able to recreate the personalized “live” experience during a time of social distancing.

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Music From France

FRENCH LO-FI BEATMAKER MOUNIKA SET TO RELEASE SOPHOMORE LP “I NEED SPACE”

Discreet by nature, Mounika.’s forthcoming album creates a dream-like space with his electro chill beats.

“While Mounika. isn’t normally one to jump on stage when the opportunity presents itself, his technical understanding and sampling abilities have made him a favorite amongst the Soundcloud community, propelling to over 15 million plays for his single, “Cut My Hair” across the globe on SC alone, and in just a few short months. His new opus, “I Need Space,” feels true to his introverted nature, while in a strange way exploring the larger, less comfortable areas of life & ourselves.” -High Times Magazine In June 2017 Mounika. unveiled his debut LP “How Are You” that featured the single “Cut My Hair,” which amassed over 75+ million plays throughout the world organically with no promotion behind it. Now three years later, Mounika. returns with a new project on a base he particularly likes, that of electro chill. Discreet by nature and himself surprised by this craze, Mounika. responds to himself by naming this new opus “I Need Space,” as a nod to his previous album “How Are You.” Listening to these 9 tracks, a dialogue is established between the artist and his inner self. With there being no better way than to start at the beginning, on April 10 Mounika. released the albums’ first offering ‘Intro (I’m Sorry),’ a two and a half minute album foreword naturally aligning itself to infinite visual possibilities. A melancholic, soft and dreamlike atmosphere, a perfect remedy against gloom, for the first time, Mounika. distances himself from his usual creative process: the art of sampling. In “Intro (I m sorry),” it is himself who composes the piano melody and lays his voice on it, then inspired by a track by Chilly Gonzales. The single quickly amassed over one million streams, and landed the #1 spot on the much applauded Hype Machine’s Popular Chart. “Intro (I m sorry)” has been featured in over 3K Spotify playlists (Release Radar + Discover Weekly, Your Daily Mix) and received “Best Release of the week” on Apple, Amazon and other platforms, all organic growth. Mounika. is seduced by this new way of composing and will even end up sticking to it for all the tracks on “I Need Space”, giving this project a very special flavor. All except the track “Tender Love”. The day after the discovery of Ocie Elliott’s track “I Got You, Honey,” he offered to re-release it. After a few reworked samples of which only 48 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Mounika. knows the secret, “Tender Love” became one of the strongest tracks of the “I Need Space” project. Mounika. didn’t hesitate for a second to suggest the track to his long-time friend, the director Louis Faury for the visual. Filmed in 4:3 format, the characters, as caricatural as they are endearing, as well as the photography used, transport us into a timeless sphere, that of love. Watch ‘Tender Love’ here. In this time of self-isolation, the world has taken to Mounika.’s soothing, lo-fi hip hop beats for comfort. ‘Tender Love’ has surpassed over 1.1 Million plays, again claimed the #1 Spot On HypeM’s Popular Chart and has been featured on Amazon ‘Best New Music’ , Apple ‘New Music Daily, ‘ Spotify’s Electric Posé Discoveries , Spotify Summer Vibes 2020, Deezer ‘New Music Friday’ and ‘Chill Relax’. Like a humble celebration in Mounika’s own style, this dreamlike odyssey that is “I Need Space” ends smoothly on

listen” - Magnetic Mag “Delicate and sparkling with intelligence”. -Sun Burns Out “The track blends the line between hip hop and finely tuned sampling to create a chill piece that plays with your emotions in a genuine heartfelt manner.” -We All Want Someone to shout For “The talented French producer Mounika. has this super peculiar lo-fi feel to his music.” -Stereofox “Warm and fuzzy. The groove and chops felt authentic to his sound” -Ear Tapas “Its a heart full piece” -BackSeat Mafia For fans of lo-fi and chill hip-hop beats, Mounika.’s ‘Intro (i m sorry)’ is a must-hear. Led by deep reverb drenched piano keys and hazy vocal samples, it’s best enjoyed during those slow, quieter mornings. Heck, it might just be the most relaxing thing you do all day. -Gems and Secrets “The track blends the line between hip hop and finely tuned sampling to create a chill piece that plays with your emotions in a genuine heartfelt manner.” -We All Want Someone to Shout For “Warm and fuzzy. The groove and chops felt authentic to his sound” -Ear Tapas About Mounika. Mounika. comes from the American version of Godard’s film ” à bout de souffle”. Somewhere in the west of France, in a student’s room, the artist Mounika. is far from imagining the impact that his very first productions will have...

“Roadsky” and “Soft You,” with a tempo flirting with deep house. He then sees in “I Need Space” a “transition” project towards other musical possibilities. This Opus is a nostalgic, introspective and intense journey, taking us on a memory stroll, between happy memories and unfinished dreams... In one image, Mounika’s musical universe would be a rainy cloud which, between two rain showers, lets a summer sun shine through. ‘I Need Space’ Track List 1. Intro (i m sorry) 2. oBli 3. Tender Love X Ocie Elliott 4. 25h12 5. aillerus 6. Deep Water 7. Feeling Good 8. roadsky 9. Soft you “It’s weird to verbalize the clarity I find in the glitches of this record. It’s got a lot of different vibes throughout, but calling it a vibe is definitely accurate, and one that feels like home even on the first

From a young age, Mounika. already had a passion for music, his great curiosity led him to try his hand at many instruments, eventually gravitating towards the piano. Years go by and as he explores the dense universe of electronic music, his thirst for novelty is constantly growing. Iconic artists such as Bonobo, Air, Moby and Wax Tailor were a great source of inspiration. With musical production now an integral part of his life, Mounika.’s intention is to offer a dreamlike space, through his music, as his musical influences have done for him before. Mounika.’s inexhaustible creativity blends with his great eagerness to share his music with the world. Mounika. publishes his first productions on SoundCloud, his delicate, sensitive and melancholic melodies never cease to resonate further and further afield, finding new audiences. In June 2017, together with a group of friends, Mounika. decides to unveil his first album “How Are You” on Spotify, which contains among others the track “Cut My Hair”. In just a few months and against all odds due to the almost non-existent means of promotion, the track amasses 70+ million plays throughout the world and allows him to make a name for himself. It is from this moment that the magic happens, as if Mounika.’s music has the power to touch a part of sensibility in each of us, a universal shared feeling. In one image, Mounika.’s musical universe would be a rainy cloud which, between two showers, lets a summer sun shine through. August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Music From Australia After premiering via triple j’s Good Nights last night, Australian rock favorites HANDS LIKE HOUSES are officially lifting the lid on their new single and video “Space” today. Vocalist Trenton Woodley explains that “Space” captures a particularly mentally and spatially suffocating time for the band experience while recording. Trenton personally found himself going through the motions, grappling with exhaustion, trying to push ahead ahead and ultimately feeling as though he was coming up short of others’ expectations. Lyrically and sonically, the track captures a literal cry for the breathing space he needed. “I think the song really captures that pressure we felt having to refine our raw ideas and work through our differences in taste and personality while recording,” he says. “It’s strange that that sense of emotional claustrophobia has fast-forwarded to this literal one with COVID-19. Since we tracked it, I haven’t actually read the lyrics written down until now and there’s a strange sense of deja vu, like I wrote them yesterday, with full knowledge of everything that’s happened in the last few months.”

Photo credit: Micala Austin

He finishes by noting: “I wanted it to feel tired, not hopeless, worn out but not ready to give up just yet. I didn’t want it to sound like I’d stopped trying. I wanted it to

Australia’s HANDS LIKE HOUSES Release “Space” video feel like coming out of a long silence, to say ‘please be patient. I can get this right. I just need a little faith, a little trust, and a little bit of space to get myself back together.’” Directed by Rhys Graham and produced by Jensen Cope, the “Space” music video draws on the single’s artwork and the lyrical themes of isolation and communication. The clip paints a cinematic portrait of a young woman’s meandering journey as she seeks to take her life in a new direction. “Our character stops off at a couple of isolated motels which lead us into the world of the band... it all very much reflects the idea of the isolation that we’ve all just experienced,” Rhys explains. “We also used a deaf actor to reflect the ways that separation or a different way of communicating is not necessarily a lack of freedom, it’s just a different way of doing things that we are used to. That very much ties in with the emotional space in the song.” “Space” by Hands Like Houses is out now on all services.

HANDS LIKE HOUSES “Space” Link: https://youtu.be/pwPlkNYXnjU 50

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

News From Jamaica

The Jamaican Dancehall Pioneer Buju Banton Celebrates His Birthday With Fans Around The World And Recieves A Special RIAA Gold Album For His 1995 Seminal Album ‘Til Shiloh Island/UMe celebrated the birthday of Buju Banton, the Jamaican dancehall innovator and surprised him at his studio with a specially made RIAA certified Gold album for his boundary-shattering masterpiece 1995’s ‘Til Shiloh, released 25 years ago on July 18 on Loose Cannon/Island Records. Fans from around the globe tuned in, here, to offer birthday greetings and see Banton talk about the album which took inventory of his spiritual faith and shattered the boundary between reggae and dancehall. The event started with Bruce Resnikoff, President and CEO, who kicked off the event with a few remarks. “Buju Banton’s determination and discovery led him to create one of the most seminal albums in the dancehall reggae genre. Critically acclaimed and treasured by fans, ‘Til Shiloh is a lyrically conscious and musically accessible album that is discovered by new fans each year and I am proud to be here to celebrate its 25th anniversary and achievements.” RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier and RIAA Chief Operating Officer Michele Ballantyne joined the event and RIAA Chief Operating Officer/COO Michele Ballantyne, commented, “Congratulations to Buju Banton on achieving a Gold Album Award on ‘Til Shiloh’s 25th anniversary! Remarkably, ‘Til Shiloh is the only RIAA certified reggae album in the past year. We are thrilled to join Loose Cannon, Island Records and UMe to celebrate Buju, whose name has become synonymous with reggae and dancehall, and welcome him to the RIAA certified family!” Originally planned as an in-person presentation in Jamaica, Island/UMe/RIAA quickly shifted to YouTube Live that serendipity made the event accessible to his fans worldwide. As a surprise to Banton, Donovan Germain, owner of Penthouse Records (Banton’s first record label) and one of the original producers of the record, was there to hand Banton a RIAA certified Gold album for ‘Til Shiloh.

Road,” and fan favorites “Murderer,” “Champion,” and “Wanna Be Loved” are the ideal gateway to his hallowed discography. Listen to ‘Til Shiloh via all streaming services, HERE. Darcus Beese, President & CEO, Island Records, added, “Buju Banton’s message transcends his music and his impact shakes everyplace he touches. We’re honored to work alongside a visionary and look forward to continued guardianship of his legacy.” ‘Til Shiloh, named after a saying meaning “forever,” pivoted from Banton’s previous rude-boy style to introspective roots reggae. With Donovan Germain, Lisa Cortés, Bobby “Digital” Dixon, Dave Kelly, Sylvester Gorton and Steely & Clevie behind the board, Shiloh’s introspective themes, innovative use of digital programming and prayerful vibe changed reggae and dancehall permanently.

“Thank you to everyone,” said Buju Banton, who thanked his entire team who worked on the recording. “It is a great day for the album, a great day for reggae music and for us all who labored through those intense days of working on this record. ‘Til Shiloh was my introduction into the American music scene on that level.”

Lisa Cortés, Founder of Loose Cannon Records, who signed Banton to her label and released this masterwork commented, “When you and Germs went into the lab to create ‘Til Shiloh, the creative process took on a special relevance as I witnessed not only the development of your voice but also the elevation in your music of culture, faith and the glory of the people of the African diaspora.”

Described by The New York Times as “an extraordinarily intense performer, and a surprisingly versatile one” and by Pitchfork as “the quintessential dancehall artist,” there is no living artist more crucial to Jamaican music. And ‘Til Shiloh, which explored Banton’s Rastafarian faith on highlights like “‘Til I’m Laid to Rest,” “Untold Stories,” “Not An Easy

’Til Shiloh was acclaimed by BBC as “a very listenable landmark” which “saw the brash ‘rockstone’ deejay turn dreadlocked throwback,” by Spin, which called it the 10th best album of 1995 and his voice “an uncontrollably vibrant lickshot of adrenaline,” and by The Village Voice’s Robert Christgau, who awarded the album an A-minus, as “the most fully

accomplished reggae album since the prime of Black Uhuru.” “My music is an embodiment. A total embodiment of who I am: my perspective, my griefs, how I feel within,” Banton told Okayplayer in 2020. “I am merely a vessel. A servant. And this is my offering. Wholeheartedly.” Buju Banton was born Mark Anthony Myrie as the youngest of 16 children. (His nickname “Buju” came from a Jamaican breadfruit due to his childhood appetite; his chosen surname toasted his deejay hero Burro Banton.) Soon after his first song, “The Ruler,” which he recorded at 16, Banton developed a thunderous rasp that set him apart in his lane. His early underground hit, “Stamina Daddy,” became the title track of his 1992 debut album (later repackaged as Quick). Stamina Daddy’s 1992 follow-up, Mr. Mention, contained seismic singles like “Batty Rider” and “Man Fe Dead,” “Love Me Brownin” and “Love Black Woman,” which were ground-breaking for their feminist purview when this was uncommon from a male singer. In 2019, Banton returned to music on his “Long Walk to Freedom” tour and on June 26, he released Upside Down 2020, his 13th album and first album in a decade on Roc Nation/ Island. “Reggae music’s mission is to uplift, educate and eradicate negativity from the minds of the people globally,” Banton says. A quartercentury after ‘Til Shiloh, this living legend continues to create and remains vital, inspirational and revolutionary.

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Dutch/Anglo Project Control Future is the anticipated musical brainchild of Neus Ruiz, a long-time concert promoter, journalist and head honchita of the Dutch/Anglo underground “Heatwave Magazine whom we find on this album to be quite the ‘accomplished’ multiinstrumentalist as well.

Dutch/Anglo “postdarkwave” Project Control Future To Soon Drop New Self-titled Mini-LP

This is a living room self-accomplished gig with a guitar, six pix, keyboard, fine guests, and a multitude of other instruments armed with layers of feelings, ideas, hopes and shortcomings. Ruiz wastes no time in channeling all her ‘human assets’ to deliver an absolutely stunning piece of effort. For someone who spends a third of her time listening to rock, punk, garage, psychedelic and pop bands for review, you would be surprised to find that she barely touches any of those titles in her music but, goes beyond to an experimental, synth, dark pop side.

Bedrooms have long been the platform to launch some of the world’s finest music and this mini-EP has that pure “DIY” lo-fi bedroom production spirit that many have immortalised on tape from Johnny Cash to Country Teasers; that raw, live energy released on a warm analog tape recorder, with only a few microphones. Control Future captures this bedroom band spirit without the raw, hissy, crackle of “tapes bleeding in the red”. It’s digital but has a DIY approach around sticking a microphone i a bedroom closet or bathroom and laying down and capturing a pure, non-selfconscious sketch — which most of the time if they’re good — are often good enough to stand on their own as a final masterpiece.

Control Future, by the sounds of it, have taken a glorious sketchbook of sound and have developed it into a living Rembrandt without stripping out or burying the original the life-force of the “Live” recording experience, which is often the case sometimes with “lo-fi” multi-track recordings; the original live idea often gets buried in a barrage of overdubs and adding too much. Less is more. And Control Future gets this balance right on their self-titled debut. The LP kicks off with “Edis Dream”; and gothy- eerie and acerbic intro that morphs into a stomping postpunk raveup; something that converges the tinny, low-fi guitar histrionics of early Bauhaus, Lilliput and the Slits, along with a joyous classic Factory Records synth-wave vibe from circa 1982 ala such great label acts like The Names, Crispy Ambulance, and yes a wee bit of New Order too “Digital Love” immediately suggests these Mancunian textures; angular and brittle guitars, and haunting keyboards with a driving beat sounding like it was recorded on top of some roof in 1978. Ruiz’s voice often sounds like the beautifully haunting rasp of Christina Martinez of Pussy Galore s in a grand ballroom with Kim Gordon, Siouxsie, Patti Smith, and Poly Styrene in chorus with the baby grand piano keys that are riddled with glee all over this record. “The Right One “ starts off as a melancholy

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

synth-guitar driven melody that quickly turns into an angsty, punk-poet plea for”Looking for the Right One.” A song that feels like a plea, search, and retreat from finding it. But the search and struggle carry on. And it goes deeper with “Toxic Outbreak” which makes for the perfect soundtrack for the “Black Mirror” TV series. Control Future captures the true dystopian vibe on their self-titled debut with a picture-perfect ‘darkwave’, post-punk, doom-pop bedroom discovery. Sometimes, when you “lock-down” a creative and free spirit long enough, it will often reinforce their self-will and convictions, and this kind of expression of creative struggle, is covered all over this record like a plague. Neus Ruiz and Control Future have created an incredible first effort here which should prick the ears of anyone with musical sensibilities that transcend “tagging” and envoke, pure listening! What we have here is a palletised platter of pure, dark, visceral textures and sounds that are both familiar and fresh. Control Future will enrapture the listener in the ‘here and now’ with brilliant, sonic rays of lush, darker wave frequencies, beaming, from start to finish. Ruiz, left just enough light on this record to see through the dark and creatively confined tunnels of the ‘physical’ world. “Control Future” will freely guide you.

Live From Texas

Penny and Sparrow Announce Full Live Album Live in Texas, 2019 Out on 8/7 Penny and Sparrow have announced their full live album Live in Texas, 2019 will be released on August 7, 2020 with a special double vinyl edition. They’ve also shared the track “Bishop (Live at Paramount Theatre)” which Paste Magazine called “a stirring recording, especially hearing it after so long without live music.” “A few months before the world of touring was out on permanent hiatus, we recorded two Texas concerts front to back,” Penny and Sparrow explain. “Austin & Dallas were the first two cities we ever performed in, and we took the best of each show and stitched them together to make a full length live album.” They continue, “Announcing this comes in the wake of having to cancel an entire tour. As painful as that choice was to make, it feels poetic and good to release a live album. For right now, maybe it can stand in the gap that concerts left. It also feels right to release ‘Bishop’ as the first single. In a moment in time where there is much heartache and the need for national and personal growth, it feels good to sing ‘heal me by degrees.’ We hope this song is a step toward better & we hope you love it.” Since the release of their 2019 album Finch, Penny and Sparrow have been sharing gorgeous live videos, recorded with Southbound Creative, performing songs from the album like “Long Gone,” “Stockholm,” and “Cult Classically.” Their cover of “White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean, who’s music was a major influence on the recording of Finch, was praised by Mxdwn, American Songwriter and Rolling Stone who named it one of the 10 Best Country and Americana Songs To Hear Now saying “folk duo Penny & Sparrow turns Frank Ocean’s ‘White Ferrari’ into a stirring acoustic ballad with this live performance.” Last year Penny and Sparrow’s album Finch debuted at #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and #4 on the Billboard Vinyl Album Sales Chart. NPR Music included the album on their All Songs Considered New Music Friday podcast, naming it one of their Top 6 Albums of the

week. Press has raved about the music as well, with accolades from No Depression, Associated Press, NPR’s World Cafe, Paste and more. Track List: 1. Long Gone (Live at Majestic Theatre) 2. A Kind of Hunger (Live at Majestic Theatre) 3. Gold (Live at Paramount Theatre) 4. Hannah (Live at Paramount Theatre) 5. Finery (Live at Majestic Theatre) 6. White Ferrari (Live at Paramount Theatre) 7. Cult Classically (Live at Paramount Theatre) 8. Kin (Live at Paramount Theatre) 9. Bishop (Live at Paramount Theatre) 10. Fantine (Live at Paramount Theatre) 11. Reeth (Live at Paramount Theatre) 12. Brothers (Live at Paramount Theatre) 13. A Woman Caught (Live at Paramount Theatre) 14. Bones (Live at ParamountTheatre) 15. Each to Each (Live at Majestic Theatre)

16. Honest Wage (Live at Majestic Theatre) 17. Don’t Wanna Be Without Ya (Live at Paramount Theatre) 18. Creature (Live at Paramount Theatre) 19. Gumshoe (Live at Paramount Theatre) Listen to “Bishop (Live at Paramount Theatre)” here: https://youtu.be/K4CX82POtkc

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS RELEASE NEW SINGLE, ‘GOT TO BE TOUGH,’ OUT NOW!

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

New Music From Jamaica

FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN A DECADE TO BE RELEASED VIA TROJAN JAMAICA/BMG ON AUGUST 28

Legendary Jamaican artist Frederick “Toots” Hibbert returns with his first studio release in more than a decade. ‘Got To Be Tough’ is an energizing provocation that renews the near six-decade career of the man who launched a new sound and genre with his 1968 release, “Do The Reggay.” The single comes with the welcomed news of a fulllength Toots and The Maytals studio album release – of the same title as the single – set for global release via Trojan Jamaica/BMG Records on August 28.

“Got To Be Tough” is a reminder that through Toots’ creative veins run all the roots and shoots of the Black Diaspora. Blues, soul, r’n’b, funk, jazz, reggae, African griots – Toots honors, embodies and owns them. Throwing down an authoritative guide: how to survive and thrive among our earth challenges. During a time of global social and political unrest, Toots’ welcomed return and voice couldn’t be more needed or necessary than ever. Harking back to the start of Ska, during the civil rights movement era in America and Jamaican independence in the 1960s, he has sung iconic truths such as “Monkey Man” and “54-46 Was My Number,” a wry but not bitter response to his unjust incarceration for ganja. He hipped our heads in the 1970s with the dynamic pan-Africanism of “Funky Kingston” and the early warning message of “Pressure Drop”; re-defining soul with the “Toots In Memphis” LP in the 80s. Toots has constantly evolved while staying uniquely the same. Since his wrongful 1966 imprisonment – which spawned one of his biggest global hits “54-46 Was My Number” — Toots has gained insight into the corrupt systems that try to dominate our bravest endeavors, and it is in his new resistance music, that his anger at and sensitivity to injustice in 2020 is clearer than ever. Returning with a message, with no apology – a warning, as he repeats for emphasis on his latest single. The multiple GRAMMY® Award nominated and winning musician, vocalist, songwriter, producer and icon has made the wait worthwhile, crafting a stubborn groove, designed to inspire tenacity, while splendidly balancing joy and anger, pain and healing. Produced by Toots himself, who also plays many of the instruments on this album,

alongside Zak Starkey on guitar, drums from one half of Sly and Robbie, Sly Dunbar, percussion from Cyril Neville, and a mighty horn section arranged by Toots himself.

Good Thing That You Call Stand Accuse Three Little Birds Ft. Ziggy Marley Having A Party Struggle

Tough though the message is, your body has to respond to these songs, and your mind will follow. An impeccable performer himself, Toots knows that the dance itself is a primal exorcism; a greater guarantee than any that, helped by heeding this warning, we will live to Do The Reggay into the 21st century and beyond. “Got To Be Tough” the album will be available worldwide from August 28. ‘GOT TO BE TOUGH’ TRACK LIST Drop Off Head Just Brutal Got To Be Tough Freedom Train Warning Warning August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Music From London By Way Of Melbourne Lucy and the Rats return with their second album and produce another fine record of a summer-infused power-pop garage full of hooks and harmonies. Two years have passed since their debut album, and, as the summer slowly starts to kick in, London-based four-piece Lucy And The Rats release another record to soundtrack the hazy days and warm nights. Lucy, originally from the Australian group The Spazzys, has a sugary sweet voice, crystal clear and yet, although the melodies float softy over the stripped-back punk-pop choppy chords, she possesses a strength of personality within the lyrics that belies the first impression. Her songs sing of independence, feelings of settling into happiness within one’s own skin, but always with a bittersweet touch. At times it’s like hearing a young, and perhaps more timid, Debbie Harry and the overall combination, along with her band, comes closest to that of Nikki And The Corvettes Those already familiar with the band will find no surprise in songs like the single September, or in the infectious Time To Time. Simple and catchy, the songs are earworms that quickly work their way into your consciousness and are hard to shake loose. However, the songs that jump out more are those where the band leaves the sweetness to one side in favor of a more urgent rhythm and drive. Pinch Myself comes close to a Ramones-style attack and, given that the band that backs Lucy up also form the backbone of Johnny Throttle, and have also played in the likes of Thee Tumbitas and The Gaggers, it’s logical that once let off the leash, the band run with greater verve and energy. It’s in those moments that they call to mind some of Lookout! Records highlights in bands like Pansy Division and The Smugglers. That said, what also marks the album as a step up from their debut is their ability to balance that sound with altogether much gentler songs such as On Fire and TV on which their fragile delicacy shines through. It’s that equilibrium between the pop and punk that results in a record to keep going back to. Lucky by Lucy and the Rats Her songs sing of independence, feelings of settling into happiness within one’s own skin, but always with a bittersweet touch.

London Power-Pop Darlings Lucy And The Rats Drop Sophomore Effort “Got Lucky” At times it’s like hearing a young, and perhaps more timid, Debbie Harry and the overall combination, along with her band, comes closest to that of Nikki And The Corvettes Louder Than War Jangly guitars blend easily with Lucy’s tuneful vocals, the luscious melodies bouncing around. When the guitars aren’t quite so jangly, they have a bit of a garage edge, too. Jersey Beat Got Lucky is their newest effort and their sophomore full length, falling in alongside great 80’s punk-influenced power pop like Holly and the Italians and Nikki & the Corvettes and 60’s girl-group goodness like The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las. - That’s Good Enough For Me “Good Sunday morning to you…here’s a new song from Lucy & The Rats, it’s called September, although it has a distinctly summery vibe to it. Coming to you from London by way of Melbourne, Lucy & The Rats bring you their latest single, September. Its taken from their new album, Got Lucky, due

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

out July 3rd.” - The 13th Floor “Power pop foursome Lucy and the Rats have shared the video for the song ‘September’. It is the latest video from their sophomore album, ‘Got Lucky’, which will be out July 3 via Stardumb/Dirty Water.” - Punk Rock Theory It’s this gloriously melodic slice of punky power pop, all-girl harmonies and attitude and messy riffs and this tinge of bittersweet that, if anything could, makes you love it even more. Check out the slightly psychedelic-tinged video with the band doing a workout of the song on camera.”- Backseat Mafia “Acidic surf rock power pop with an appropriately hazy fog and bright vocals plus melodic solos to shine straight through it all, “September” wants to be your next backyard cookout jam. Lucy’s performance comes off with just the right amount of bittersweet play as the Rats tag along for the melancholic yet catchy ride.” - A journal of musical things

Prog Music From Houston

The Hollywood Spotlight By Hollywood Steve Rangel

“Day After Yesterday” Deaton Lemay Project Attention all fans of world class progressive rock: your next obsession is here, and it’s called Deaton Lemay Project. DLP is a match made in musical heaven, a pairing of brilliant instrumentalists and songwriters Roby Deaton (keyboards, bass, acoustic and Portuguese guitars) and Craig Lemay (drums and percussion). This dynamic duo fearlessly step onto a path forged by titans such as Rush, Queensryche, and Dream Theater, while establishing a distinct sound and style of their own. Make no mistake about it, progressive rock is the high rent district of rock and roll, and DLP settle into the neighborhood quite nicely. The new CD is entitled “Day After Yesterday”. It’s an impressive collection of twelve original songs, combining instrumentals along with tracks featuring the outstanding lead vocals of Hadi Kiani. DLP also utilize the services of multiple guest guitar players (Josh Mark Raj, Ehsan Imani, and Joel Gregoire). It’s a risky approach in most cases, as it can result in a lack of both cohesiveness and sense of continuity. But the gamble pays off here, as these artists

are perfectly in sync from the word “go”. There’s a lot going on musically, to be sure. But rather than sounding cluttered or frenzied, the finished product is beautifully layered. The lush production and sophisticated arrangements combine with the individual performances to make this effort exceptional in every way. In addition to the obvious progressive rock influences, DLP sports just enough of a 70’s arena rock feel (think Kansas or Styx) to make this product appealing to a broader audience. If your musical tastes tend to run to the adventurous side, you may find Deaton Lemay Project’s “Day After Yesterday” to be one of the most enjoyable listens of 2020. Deatonlemayproject.com

EJ Marais’ new album CUTS will be out August 28th Via La Castanya Alternative-R&B artist EJ Marais has announced the release of his debut LP CUTS, out August 21st Via La Castanya. With the album announcement comes the re-release of double singles from the LP, “Better” and “Love.MP3” (featured On Rosalia’s Spotify Playlist). On the process of creating the record Marais explains, “The album came out of a series of sessions I started in early 2018 together with Ekhi Lopetegi, at the time we weren’t planning to record an album, but an EP. Since then, the album has met many stages and has been the result of perseverance, I think of it as a mix of many stages and resources. It wasn’t recorded in the same place, or mixed and engineered by one person, some musicians have played small parts on it, hence the chaotic credits.

EJ Marais Announces Debut LP Cuts

The general idea was to make a contemporary album that included elements from RnB, pop, or Urban while maintaining a melancholic, singer-songwriter essencence. I felt a necessity to bring real instruments into these songs because I was seeking a human, personal touch. When I put the album together I thought that it would be too eclectic but then I thought of it as a collage between digital samples and real instruments and felt comfortable with that. It was also a process of learning and experimentation, I really liked the possibilities of digital manipulation, discovering autotune and all that... I have always thought that the result of an artist has to reflect the times that we are living. We live in crazy times with constant interruptions, over information and surrounded by the language of advertising and I wanted to make a response to that, to offer a space where people can get lost in. Barcelona as a city has also played a huge role on the album, I was influenced by the freshness of the Urban scene here, especially when it came to mixing genres and taking unorthodox production decisions. “ The eloquent outsider EJ Marais debuts with an LP of contemporary compositions addressing the artist’s everyday explorations of life in the early 2020s. His Instagram description reads Folk / Dubstep / Country which speaks to his postmodern approach to traditional

First Single “Love.MP3” Makes Rosalia’s Spotify Playlist Photo Cred: Alba Yruela

genres, cherry picking elements of bedroom RnB, northern indie and balearic breakbeat, held together with EJ’s unpretentious English accent. Simply titled CUTS, the album is a melodramatic debut from a vocalist, songwriter and producer equally as eloquent with his use of organic instruments, vaporwave synths and tasteful autotune. The lead single from the album, ‘Love?.?mp3 b?/?w Better’ - was originally distributed digitally by TWIN before La Castanya gave it a physical release, attracting international attention to the name of EJ Marais. The double A side contained a pair of understated anthems to end an evening at the club, or soundtrack an afternoon lazed away. Blessed with the rich Mediterranean aesthetic of coproducer Ekhi Lopetegi (Delorean), ‘Love.mp3’ is a lo-fi ballad, a reserved salute to a brand new bae that could have been penned by Homeshake, whilst ‘Better’ recalls the stoned sway of a Channel Orange-era Frank Ocean: 808s, crestfallen digital vocals, an acoustic guitar loop, a touch of the otherworldly pads and samples so unmistakably Delorean. EJ Marais was born in Brighton and currently lives in Barcelona, where he has begun to carve out his career and the crew of collaborators that feature on CUTS. Basque saxophonist Haizea Martiartu appears as a Kenny G to EJ’s Kanye on ‘Bedroom RnB’ and

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

percussionist Ander Agudo adds joyful tambourine and tribal bongos to ‘Discotheque’, one of the certified bangers of the LP. CUTS concludes on an ecstatic high with ‘Feng Shui’, an ideal road trip tune featuring the backing vocals and co-production of Elsa de Alfonso. CUTS is an album that fits the youth of our times perfectly. The album’s opener ‘Glamour Professional’ is a lounge-funk track about the excesses of the night and emotional reliance on apps, EJ adopting the croon of a junior Destroyer, and ‘Smthng About That Style’, a track that has drawn comparisons to MorMor, describes a crush wearing thrifted trench coats on cramped budget airlines. The ambient interlude ‘wetransfer-2sf’ presents the testimony of a victim of online bullying who overcame her tormentors. La Castanya are proud to present the first full length album by EJ Marais: an outsider artist with a whole set of fresh takes on the modern condition. CUTS - TRACKLISTING 01. Glamour Professional 02. Love.mp3 03. That is That 04. Better 05. Discotheque 06. Smthng About That Style 07.Sailor’s Song 08. Bedroom RnB 09. Wetransfer-2sf 10. Cardholder 11. Blanca 12. Feng Shui

Alternative Country Rock

Virginia Country Rocker Steven Bruce Shares New Single From New Album, “Same Time, Same Station” New Single “Rhinestoned” Out Now and “Same Time, Same Station” Out On August 7th “A brilliant solo debut.” - American Songwriter “Stares down loneliness...draws on personal heartache.” - Wide Open Country Fredericksburg, Va. country rocker Steven Bruce has shared a new single from his upcoming album today at American Songwriter, with the outlet praising the release as a “brilliant solo debut” and favorably comparing Bruce to the likes of Gram Parsons, Tom Petty, and Waylon Jennings. Bruce’s debut LP Same Time, Same Place, Same Station is due out August 7. More than a decade before Steven Bruce recorded Same Time, Same Place, Same Station — a classic country-rock record for modern times, rooted in outlaw spirit, autobiographical songwriting, and raw resilience — the Virginia native strummed some of his first songs in his grandparents’ living room, performing Merle Haggard covers and other country classics for two of the most influential figures in his life. “That’s where my passion for music began,” remembers Bruce, who served as a caretaker for his grandparents while still in high school. “Between taking them to doctor’s appointments and grocery stores, I’d sit with them in the living room, playing the songs they wanted to hear. Every time we finished and I went to leave, Nana would give me a kiss and a hug and say, ‘We’ll be seeing you again; same time, same place, same station.’” “They both had asked me, years prior to their deaths, to sing at their funerals,” he adds. “I did for them both.” Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and raised in the surrounding counties, Bruce grew up fast, landing his first barroom gigs as an 18 year-old performer and marrying at 22. A founding member of the country band Whiskey Revival, he wasted little time building his audience and his acclaim, with the group being dubbed the “Best of the Burg” by a local publication. His music career was beginning to take shape, but his marriage was crumbling. By his mid-20s, Bruce was divorced. Less than two years later, his grandparents passed away. To cope, Bruce turned to his favorite music — the cosmic country of Gram Parsons, the burly twang of Waylon Jennings, the heartland rock

of Tom Petty, the modern-day southern swagger of Margo Price — and picked up his guitar, writing a batch of songs that saluted his honky-tonk heroes while establishing a unique, countrified sound of Bruce’s own. There’s plenty of heartbreak and loss on Same Time, Same Place, Same Station. Autobiographical songs like “Shirley Bird” and the sweepingly nostalgic “Keeping Time (Until Then)” pay tribute to Bruce’s grandparents, while “Cryin’ Eyes” — with its mix of pedal steel guitar, loping grooves, and vocal harmonies — turns a tear-stained eye to his divorce. In the spirit of his late relatives, though, the album is also a celebration of life, focusing not only upon its struggles and setbacks, but also its small victories. “Weekend Song” is a roadhouse roots-rocker with plenty of Chuck Berry-inspired guitar riffs, and the spirited “Detours” is a kiss-off to anyone standing in Bruce’s way. On album highlights like “Rhinestoned” — an original song worthy of Gram Parsons’ old-school duets with Emmylou Harris — Bruce even finds a balance between melancholy and resilience, occupying the same fertile middle ground as many of his country favorites. “Everyone grieves differently,” the songwriter admits. “I want this record to serve as a tribute to my grandparents, and a tribute to myself for making it through what I thought were the worst times of my life.”

Steven Bruce by JB Concepts. Helping him through those tough times were a number of collaborators from across Virginia, including producer E.P. Jackson, harmony vocalists Mackenzie Roark and Karen Jonas, pedal steel guitarist Gary Lee Gimble, and drummers Derrick Decker and Seth Brown. Together, the group recorded Same Time, Same Place, Same Station at Fill Your Boots Studio in Fredericksburg, filling the album with Telecaster twang, swaggering vocals, and even a reimagined cover of Jack White’s “There’s No Home for You Here.” Same Time, Same Place, Same Station takes its audience on a rollercoaster ride of human experience, its 12 songs anchored by sharply-written stories about emotional lows, chemical highs, busy workweeks, wild weekends, old flames, new relationships, lovers who leave, and the family members whose influence will forever live on. There’s heartbreak here, but there’s hope, too, with Steven Bruce shining a light on his own experience. “I hope folks listen through this album and it makes them feel like they can make it through whatever may lay ahead of them,” he says. “From my divorce to losing both of my grandparents, life throws you curveballs sometimes. The best you can hope for is to lock in and slam it out of the park.”

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Classic Rock Legend

Paul McCartney Beautiful Night EP Released SET TO FEATURE ON THE FLAMING PIE ARCHIVE COLLECTION: LIMITED NUMBERED DELUXE EDITIONS TO INCLUDE REMASTERED ORIGINAL ALBUM, BONUS TRACKS, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL, EXCLUSIVE BOOKS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, & MUCH MORE TO BE RELEASED JULY 31 VIA MPL/CAPITOL/UMe Paul McCartney released the ‘Beautiful Night’ EP as part of the re-release of his acclaimed 1997 album, ‘Flaming Pie’. Which was releases on July 31st, ‘Flaming Pie’ marks the thirteenth installment in Paul’s GRAMMY Award-winning Archive Collection. The EP recreates the original 1997 ‘Beautiful Night’ maxi single, featuring the remastered Flaming Pie single, ‘Beautiful Night’, a 1995 demo of the song, an alternate ‘Run Through’ recording, and ‘Oobu Joobu Part 5’ - a medley of Beautiful Night-themed chat, alternate mixes and interview recordings of Paul and Ringo Starr speaking about the song.

Beatles’ name: “It came in a vision – a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, ‘from this day on you are Beatles with an A.’”) to the pensive ‘Calico Skies,’ and featuring singles ‘Young Boy,’ ‘The World Tonight’ and ‘Beautiful Night,’ Flaming Pie would represent yet another pinnacle in Paul’s solo catalogue: Released to rapturous reviews, the album would be Paul’s most commercially successful release of the ’90s, achieving his highest chart positions since the ’80s and would receive gold certifications in the US, UK, Japan and more.

A newly remastered music video for Beautiful Night, originally filmed in 1997, was also released . Beautiful Night marks one of the first collaborations between Paul and Ringo Starr since The Beatles. Speaking of his memories of that time, Paul said: “I’d been saying to Ringo for years that it’d be great to do something, because we’d never really done that much work together outside The Beatles. One night Jeff Lynne suggested, “why don’t you get Ringo in?” and I said, “OK!” It just sort of happened. I had this song Beautiful Night which I’d written quite a few years ago. I’d always liked it but I felt I didn’t quite have the right version of it. So I got this song out for when Ringo was coming in, and right away it was just like the old days.” Originally released May 5, 1997, Flaming Pie ended a four-year gap between McCartney studio albums. Recorded largely in the wake of Paul’s involvement in the curation and release of The Beatles Anthology series, Flaming Pie was shaped and inspired by that experience, with Paul remarking at the time “(The Beatles Anthology) reminded me of The Beatles’ standards and the standards that we reached with the songs. So in a way it was a refresher course that set the framework for this album.” Produced by Paul, Jeff Lynne and George Martin and featuring a supporting cast of family and friends including Ringo Starr, Steve Miller, Linda McCartney and son James, Flaming Pie is equal parts a masterclass in songcraft and a sustained burst of joyful spontaneity. With highlights ranging from the uplifting and inspirational opener ‘The Song We Were Singing’ to the raucous title track (named for a quote from an early John Lennon interview on the origin of The

Paul’s critically acclaimed and universally beloved tenth solo album Flaming Pie will be the latest to receive the Archive Collection treatment, released on formats including a 5CD/2DVD/4LP Collector’s Edition, a 5CD/2DVD Deluxe Edition, plus 3LP, 2LP and 2CD editions. ‘Beautiful Night’ EP Tracklisting Beautiful Night (Main Album - Remastered) Beautiful Night (1995 Demo) Beautiful Night (Run Through) Oobu Joobu Part 5: And Now (Jingle) Oobu Joobu Main Theme Beautiful Night Chat Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Chat About ‘Beautiful Night’ Ringo Starr Chat Beautiful Night (Flaming Pie Mix) Beautiful Night (Original Version) Goodbyes Oobu Joobu Main Theme August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Classic Rock Legends

ALICE COOPER RELEASES VIDEO FOR NEW SONG “DON’T GIVE UP” THE TRACK + VIDEO SERVE AS MESSAGE OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THE CURRENT GLOBAL CRISIS Rock legend Alice Cooper has released his new single “Don’t Give Up.” “Don’t Give Up” was produced by Bob Ezrin using remote technology and it’s a spontaneous reaction to the challenges facing us all right now. Alice Cooper felt the need to talk directly to his fans from isolation in his home where he is working to finish his upcoming album. It’s Cooper’s shout-out to keep our heads high, to stay strong, and to fight back together. “‘Don’t Give Up’ is out today,” Cooper says. “It’s a song about what we’ve all been going through right now and about keeping our heads up and fighting back together. And whatever you do — Don’t Give Up!” Two weeks ago, Cooper invited fans to participate in the video that he and band members were filming separately during quarantine. Over 20,000 fans responded, holding up signs and messages of unity — using the song’s lyrics. A strictly limited 7" vinyl picture disc will be released on August 14 via earMUSIC. It is available for pre-order here.

SCORPIONS SHARE NEW SONG “SIGN OF HOPE” PROCEEDS BEING DONATED TO MUSICARES BAND CURRENTLY WORKING ON NEW ALBUM AS 2020 MARKS 55TH ANNIVERSARY OF SCORPIONS Scorpions, one of the most iconic and influential hard rock bands of all time, have released the brand new song “Sign Of Hope.” Scorpions penned the song as a positive message amid all that is going on in the world at the moment and during the recording sessions for their upcoming 19th album. The band is currently in the studio with producer Greg Fidelman. Proceeds are being donated to MusiCares. “We are working on lots of hard ‘n’ heavy rockers for our new album these days,” the band says. “But because of the dramatic COVID-19 pandemic, we want to give you a little ‘Sign Of

Hope’ that came straight from the heart in troubled times. Stay healthy and safe — we love you.” With over 100 million records sold around the world and an incredible catalog boasting classics like “Wind of Change,” “Still Loving You,” “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Send Me an Angel,” and many more, Scorpions remain one of the true voices in rock. In 2020, the band celebrates its 55th anniversary. Founded in Hannover, West Germany in 1965, Scorpions were part of the first wave of metal in the 1970s with their debut album, Lonesome Crow, released in 1972. The band rose to arena status with seminal releases Lovedrive, Virgin Killer, and Animal Magnetism. In the ’80s, Scorpions amassed a string of Billboard chart toppers from Love at First Sting and Blackout, including multiple Top 10 singles “Rock You Like a Hurricane” and “No One Like You,” as well a string of successful singles such as “Send Me an Angel,” “Still Loving You,” and “Wind of Change. The band was also ranked #46 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock and their hit “Rock You Like a Hurricane” also landed at #18 on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs. In 2015, Scorpions released Return to Forever, the same year the band celebrated its 50th anniversary. Celebrated across the globe, the iconic rock act has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and has received multiple honors including World Music Award winners, a postage stamp in Brazil, a Star on Hollywood Rock Walk, and Echo honors. They were also honored with the Lower Saxon State Award. August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

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GLASS ANIMALS RELEASE NEW TRACK “IT’S ALL SO INCREDIBLY LOUD” TAKEN FROM NEW ALBUM DREAMLAND OUT ON AUGUST 7th Glass Animals released their new track “It’s All So Incredibly Loud” taken from their fast approaching third album Dreamland out via Republic Records on August 7th. “It’s All Incredibly Loud” arrives hot on the heels of Glass Animals’ latest scorching, bass-heavy pop-trip, “Heat Waves,” which is currently sitting at #11 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral Chart and in the Top 35 on Spotify’s Global Viral Chart, as well as in the Top 10 at U.S. Triple A and Alternative Radio. “It’s All So Incredibly Loud” swells with anticipation and expectation; its urgent, expansive, club-style keyboard melody teamed with Dave Bayley’s signature dreamlike vocals makes for a heady mix. The song comes with its own visual accompaniment, which is directed by the remarkable talent David Wilson (Tame Impala, Christine and the Queens). The video, in its own beautiful way, draws focus on the inevitable jump-off point and the terrible silence that follows. Dave Bayley explains, “The entire song is only about three seconds of life. I think most people have been in a position where they have had to tell someone something that they knew was going to devastate them. Something that would change their life. It’s about the silence that occurs between those words leaving your mouth and the other person reacting. It’s the most deafening thing I’ve ever experienced. The video is meant to be a metaphor for the build-up before that, and then the sudden explosion of quiet that lasts forever.” Fundamentally a nostalgic memoir of his life so far, Dreamland finds Bayley covering expansive and difficult ground. As a result, the brand-new album is packed full of intensely sensitive and personal experiences, none more emotional than when the band’s drummer, Joe Seaward, was involved in a monstrous bike accident in July 2018, which threatened his life and that of Glass Animals altogether. Born at a time of immense confusion and uncertainty for the band, it’s an album that will be very timely for the world.

Rock And Blues International

Amassing over two billion global streams to date, British four-piece Glass Animals is led by singer, songwriter and producer Dave Bayley with his bandmates and childhood friends Joe Seaward, Ed Irwin-Singer and Drew MacFarlane. Their second album, How To Be A Human Being, was one of the most critically acclaimed and widely adored records of 2016. With praise from various press outlets, including Billboard, Pitchfork, The FADER, The Guardian, The Telegraph and more, it was nominated for the Mercury Prize Album Of The Year Award in 2017. Glass Animals also made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden. As well as producing both of Glass Animals’ studio albums, ZABA and How To Be A Human Being, Dave has worked with a number of artists outside of the band, including 6lack, Khalid, Joey Bada$$, DJ Dahi, Flume and MorMor.

something constructive. “I know that music helps people,” he says. “This is without any irony, it’s therapeutic. I know fans can interpret and use the songs for their own purposes. That feels meaningful to me.” The album began organically, as Jäger often writes and records at home, sketching out song ideas on acoustic guitar into a computer with no set goal for anyone else to hear them. RidingEasy Records chief and Monolord manager Daniel Hall cajoled the guitarist into sending him some of the home recordings he’d been working on, and he immediately pushed for them to be released in this stripped-down form.

Monolord Singer/Guitarist Thomas V. Jäger Releases New Track From New Solo Debut Swedish Doom Trio Frontman Releases Emotionally Heavy Solo Album Thomas V. Jäger is best known as the vocalist/guitarist in Monolord, the hottest, most crushing melodic doom band in the world. So, releasing an intimate, deeply and boldly personal album of acoustic and synth based songs hot on the heels of No Comfort, the band’s most successful and powerful album to date, might seem like a risky move. And yet, that’s not even the most daring and inspiring thing about A Solitary Plan. Rather, this 7-song album is a cathartic depiction of very real and heart-wrenching situations as a means of musical therapy for the artist and, hopefully, for the listener as well. “This album is me venting all of this emotional energy I’ve been carrying around,” Jäger says. “Now I’m feeling more open about it, but at the start I had a hard time talking with friends and family. The record is what came out instead of talking about it.”

The central lyrical theme to the album is a coming to terms with the likelihood of not becoming a parent after wanting to have a family for a long time. “When I put down vocal tracks on the last song ‘The Bitter End’, you can hear my voice is trembling at parts. Every time I listen I get goosebumps, which rarely happens with songs I write.” Other songs also deal with personal challenges, like health scares, existential searching, and death in the family. “Goodbye” is written for Monolord bassist Mika and his wife Emma. “When they had to put down their dog Eskil it affected me greatly. This song is him talking to them and telling them it is gonna be alright.” Heavy stuff, indeed — but in a different way from Monolord’s pummeling riffs. Jäger doesn’t intend for the album to be a “woe is me” exercise, but rather

“I could’ve rearranged them to get a Monolord vibe, but I wanted the basis of just voice, guitar and synths,” Jäger says. “Really laid back and mellow.” He completed the album between tours, with mixing and mastering by Kalle Lilja at Welfare Sounds. Emil Rolof plays a real Mellotron on the title track, all other instruments and voices are Jäger himself. A Solitary Plan is available on LP, CD and download via RidingEasy Records.

“The hazy atmosphere and production echo Monolord’s aesthetics, with Jäger applying the underlying sonic principles of the band to his solo material. Consider the track “A Solitary Plan” to be Jäger’s “Planet Caravan” - even the heaviest and doomiest need to keep it chill sometime.” — Consequence of Sound Monolord singer/guitarist Thomas V. Jäger shares a new track from his forthcoming solo debut today via Revolver Magazine. Hear and share the emotionally powerful album closer “The Bitter End” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.) A Solitary Plan Tracklisting 01. A Solitary Plan 02. Creatures Of The Deep 03. It’s Alright 04. From The Ashes 05. The Drone (Oh Why) 06. Goodbye 07. The Bitter End

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Metal Release

DEAD GIRLS ACADEMY Hits Nearly QuarterMillion Views with Video Metal Powerhouse for New Single, DISCIPLES OF VERITY “This Is War” “This Is War” to Appear on New EP, “Doves In (D.O.V.) Reveals New Glass Houses” Single, “The Flow”

The video for Dead Girls Academy’s “This Is War,” the anthemic first single from the blistering rock ‘n’ roll outfit’s upcoming Doves in Glass Houses EP, has racked up nearly a quarter million views since its release a few short weeks ago. Produced by Malcolm Springer (Matchbox 20, Kanye West), the song rips deep into the heart strings with a strong message of recovery, strength and change. Check out the video for “This Is War” at https:// youtu.be/efvlTF35x1k. Stream/purchase the track at http:// www.smarturl.it/deadgirlsacademy.

“The world is changing right in front of our eyes,” says vocalist and band leader Michael Orlando. “As we fight the novel coronavirus, we must also battle racial injustice and brutality. We must come together to create a world where everyone has equal rights and nobody is profiled because of the color of their skin. We must fight this awful corona virus that killed over 380,000 people worldwide! We must unify and become one! This is war!” Dead Girls Academy was formed in 2017 by Orlando, the former frontman for horror-based act Vampires Everywhere, after recovering from a life-changing bus accident. DEAD GIRLS ACADEMY embraces Orlando’s penchant for pushing the envelope, both in musical style and image. “I’ve always been on the darker side of rock ‘n’ roll and the name fits the sound and overall image,” he says. “It’s a double metaphor - one referring to the feeling of death inside yourself, the second mirroring departed relationships, all congregated under one institution, myself.” Dead Girls Academy immediately toured as support for Falling In Reverse, Motionless In White and Issues. Following their appearance on the 2018 Vans Warped Tour, Dead Girls Academy toured with the likes of POD and Alien Ant Farm, while also performing at America’s top festivals, including Welcome To Rockville, Spring Fling, Inkcarceration, Rock Fest, Epicenter Fest and Earthday Birthday, Like a thrilling mystery film, the band’s 2018 debut, Alchemy, peeled back the layers of fake friends, hangers-on, split personalities and social-climbing ambitions that Orlando found himself surrounded by living in Hollywood. The album produced two Billboard Top 40 chart placements in “I’ll Find a Way” and “No Way Out.” Both songs also reached Top 30 at Active Rock Radio.

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Drummer Morgan Rose Joins All-Star Lineup of Corey Glover, Corey Pierce and George Pond for Guest Appearance on “The Flow” Debut Album, Pragmatic Sanction, Out August 7 DISCIPLES OF VERITY (D.O.V.), the powerhouse newcomers fronted by vocalist Corey Glover, has revealed a new single and lyric video for the song “The Flow,” featuring a guest appearance by Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose, from the band’s upcoming debut, Pragmatic Sanction. Fans were treated to an early taste of the single when it made its debut via Revolver. Watch the video now at https://youtu.be/BEzubY2wpts. “The idea that the world isn’t giving you what you deserve is universal,” Glover explains of the song’s concept. “Given the unrest in the world, today it’s more than an idea.” Rose adds, “Any time you get an opportunity to track music with a legend, you jump. The track f’n rips. Corey sounds better than ever.” “The Flow” is available today on all digital platforms. Visit https:// ingroov.es/the-flow-d to download the single. Pragmatic Sanction is set for release on August 7. Pre-sales are available today via Bandcamp at https://disciplesofverity.bandcamp.com. Fueled by an insatiable urge to create and collaborate, D.O.V. combines the broad range of talent of its all-star lineup - which also includes drummer Corey Pierce (God Forbid) and George Pond (Negative Sky) - to forge a new breed of crossover metal. The band’s debut, scheduled for a late summer/early fall release via The Label Group, features guest performances from numerous Platinum-selling and Grammy-winning artists including Morgan Rose (Sevendust), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy), Tara McLeod (Kittie), JJ Sammataro (Negative Sky) and solo artist Joe Gareri. DISCIPLES OF VERITY (D.O.V.) is: Corey Glover - vocals, George Pond - bass, Corey Pierce - drums Mark Monjoy – guitar, Danny Puma – lead guitar

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KILL THE LIGHTS Cover Testament’s 1988 Classic “Into The Pit” New Fearless Records signing Kill The Lights, which features former members of Bullet For My Valentine and Throw the Fight, have shared their cover of Testament’s 1988-released classic thrash anthem “Into the Pit.” To capture the essence and aesthetic of the time period that the original was released, the band crafted a video that has an authentic VHS vibe. “There were a ton of cover songs options we could have gone with, and we did consider covering a pop song in our style,” shares drummer Moose. “But we decided to cover ‘Into the Pit’ by the mighty Testament purely because it’s a classic song that’s fun to play. We wanted to stay true to the original as closely as possible, to pay our respects to metal royalty. A great song by an amazing band.” The band, which has garnered early acclaim from Rock Sound, KERRANG!, and Metal Hammer, previously shared the video for new song “Shed My Skin.” More information about Kill The Lights’ upcoming debut album will be revealed soon. Kill The Lights is James Clark — Vocals (ex-Throw The Fight), Jordan Whelan — Guitar (Still Remains), Michael “Moose” Thomas — Drums (exBullet For My Valentine), Travis Montgomery — Guitar (exThreat Signal).

TYLER CARTER Shares New Song “Escape My Love” Issues Vocalist To Release Moonshine Acoustic SOLO EP Issues vocalist Tyler Carter will release his Moonshine Acoustic solo EP on June 26 via longtime label Rise Records. The eight song EP shows off the many sides of Carter’s musical personality and features acoustic versions of six tracks from his 2019released debut solo album Moonshine. The EP also includes an unforgettable and haunting cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide” and a brand new and deeply personal song called “Escape My Love.” “‘Escape My Love’ is a song I have kept in the vault for years,” Carter says. “As a songwriter, there will always be songs that may never see an opportunity to come out. I’m happy this one finally found a place. I wrote this song about falling in love with someone who was not yet ready to live their truth — everyone has their time and story to tell, and that’s valid. But it was heartbreak nonetheless and I’ve always put my feelings into my music before anything else.” Carter knows a thing or two about musical diversity. By the time the talented frontman was 23 years old, he had already been a member of not one, but two successful metalcore bands — and had launched a solo career on the side that demonstrated his impressive skills as a pop and R&B singer. The Moonshine Acoustic EP is another stunning entry in Carter’s overall artistic catalog. MOONSHINE ACOUSTIC TRACK LISTING: “Drown” — Acoustic Version “Escape My Love” “Landslide” “Too Tight” — Acoustic Version “Glow” — Acoustic Reimagined “Moonshine” — Acoustic Reimagined “Good Things” — Acoustic Version “Focus” — Acoustic Stripped August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

(HED) P.E. Announces Twelfth Studio Album “Class of 2020”

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

Legendary SoCal artists (HED) P.E. have revealed details for their twelfth studio album, Class of 2020, set for release on August 21 via legendary Californian independent label Suburban Noize Records. The date also marks the 20th anniversary of the group’s breakthrough album, Broke. On Class of 2020, (HED) P.E. gets back to the raw essentials, utilizing oldschool punk-rock guitar tones and aggressive, unfiltered vocal stylings at the core of their trademark sound. Longtime fans will find that Class of 2020 is a return to the classic sound of early (HED) P.E. albums. “We were on the road in the middle of a tour when the COVID-19 pandemic hit full force,” comments frontman Jared Gomes. “Like everyone else on the planet, we were faced with some unprecedented challenges. As a small business owner of an independent band, I was faced with an additional set of challenges with the tour being canceled and making it back home from Rhode Island to Idaho. When I got home, I immediately got inspired creatively and hit the studio to smash out this record. For this one, we took it all back to our roots with a back-to-basics approach to try and capture that true G-Punk sound of our earlier albums.” In an effort to bring Class of 2020 around full circle and connect it with (Hed) P.E’s impressive back catalog, the album cover is an homage to the group’s breakthrough album “Broke”, which celebrates its 20th anniversary a day after the new studio album is released. While planning to the milestone anniversary for (Hed) P.E, Jared was able to connect with former members DJ Product and original guitarist Chad “Chizad” Benekos and rekindle their creative flame. DJ Product created artwork for the Class of 2020 album and added his trademark scratching over some tracks, while original (Hed) P.E guitarist Chizad blessed the band with a blazing solo on “Greedy Girl”. The unholy union that many fans never thought possible came together to connect the past and present incarnations of (Hed) P.E and to enhance “Class of 2020” in a meaningful way. When discussing the album, Gomes talks about the moniker Class of 2020 having dual meaning for him and the band. “I had the title ‘Class of 2020’ as a working title for some time now,” he explains. “We had made hoodies with the Class of 2020 on them, but it was originally intended to be a statement about the band being here 20 years later. A whole new Class of (HED) P.E., so to speak. Once the pandemic broke out, this

title took on a new profound meaning. The Class of 2020 never really graduated. The Class of 2020 will go down in history for several different reasons.” (HED) P.E. are the pioneers of the G-Punk sound, which fuses together punkrock, metal, hiphop and reggae. The band has toured the world for 20 years sharing the stage with the likes of Suicidal Tendencies, System of a Down, KORN, Tech N9ne, Tool as well as the original Black Sabbath on the iconic Ozzfest tour. (HED) P.E. experienced a creative resurgence after signing with Suburban Noize Records in the early 2000s and was instrumental in developing the booming underground scene. Preorders for Class of 2020 are available now at https://shop.srh.com/ collections/hed-p-e-class-of-2020.

Class of 2020 track listing: 1 - First Blood 2 - Watch It Burn 3 - No Days Off 4 - Death Awaits 5 - Last Call 6 - Ole Time Sake 7 - Greedy Girl 8 - Nothing Lasts 4ever (The Ballad of C19) 9 - We The People 10 - Overdue

Inter Arma Release New Single “March of the Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails Cover From New Album, Garbers Days Revisited Richmond’s Inter Arma, reigning masters of the slow build, celebrate their past on Garbers Days Revisited, their new covers record, recorded in between tours in support of their critically acclaimed 2019 full-length Sulphur English! Listen to Inter Arma’s cover of “March of the Pigs” by Nine Inch Nails on YouTube and on all streaming services. Inter Arma Comments: “Hi. We released our cover of Nine Inch Nails’ March of the Pigs this past Tuesday, but felt it would have been inappropriate to latch onto the outrage we’re all experiencing to promote a cover album, even if by happenstance. If you want to hear it, it’s out there. In the meantime, we suggest that you continue to fight against police brutality and institutionalized racism however you can. It’s working. If you’ve got the means, please consider giving a few or a lot of dollars to the Richmond Community Bail Fund and/or BEAM (Black Emotional And Mental Health). Links below. Black Lives Matter. Thanks. https://www.beam.community/donation https://rvabailfund.org/donate” Garbers Days Revisited is due out July 10th on CD/LP/Digital. Physical packages are available through Relapse.com. Garbers Days Revisited, named after the band’s former practice space, was once again tracked at Dark Art Audio in Madison, TN. Inter Arma show off their wide array of influences, tackling covers by Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Cro-Mags, and more. Garbers Days Revisited sees Inter Arma redefining the very aspects of the music that inspired and influenced them from their very beginnings. “Hunter Thompson used to punch out pages of Ernest Hemingway on his typewriter just to get the feeling of what it was like to write that way,” drummer T.J. Childers comments. “The same can be said for anyone learning a great cover song: there’s a lot to be deduced from the information there. Actually learning the songs can lead to inspirational, new musical ideas.” Inter Arma’s inspiration can indeed be felt throughout the 8 tracks therein; from the

Photo Credit: Bibiana Reis

melancholic, spoken intro leading to the explosive, riff-heavy take on the Neil Young classic “Southern Man”, to the nearly pitchblack metallic approach of Hüsker Dü’s “The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill”, every song on Garbers Days Revisited captures the sounds that make Inter Arma one of the scene’s most unique and creative bands. Childers continues, “Covers have been an integral part of Inter Arma since the beginning of the band and some of these songs have a direct lineage while others are a little more... obscure. As timing would have it, we hope this provides a bit of an escape for listeners, given the surreal circumstances we’re in at the moment, because after all, great art should provide an escape which is part of why we chose to do this: sometimes you

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

just wanna be runnin’ down a dream...” Inter Arma Is: Mike Paparo – vocals T.J. Childers – drums Steven Russell – guitars Trey Dalton – guitars Andrew Lacour - bass

Low Cut Connie Release New Song “What Has Happened To Me” From Double Album Private Lives Out October 13 Low Cut Connie released a new song “What Has Happened To Me” from his forthcoming double album Private Lives out October 13, 2020 via Contender Records/ MidCitizen Records. “It’s a heavy song for me. Very freeing. A lot of wild shit happened over the last few years and I just kind of let it all hang out with that one,” explains Adam Weiner. Every Thursday and Saturday at 6:00 pm ET, Low Cut Connie’s “Tough Cookies Starring Low Cut Connie” livestream airs on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and Twitter. In a conversation on NPR’s All Things Considered, Ann Powers said, “He’s hitting new levels of superstardom with these shows... he makes it feel like you’re at Madison Square Garden, all the way up to having audience participation, getting people to sing along.” On May 13, Low Cut Connie performed for frontline workers at the Southern Ocean Medical Center hospital in Manahawkin, NJ. After viewing Weiner’s “Tough Cookies” livestream from their hospital, they invited him to perform one of the first safe, socially-distanced concerts in the country where they performed original material, covers requested by the staff and the hospital’s signature “Song of Hope,” “Here Comes The Sun.” Recently, Low Cut Connie announced his new album with the video for the album’s title track “Private Lives.” NPR Music’s Ann Powers called the song “The freak anthem we need right now” and Rolling Stone said “The

Credit: Donari Braxton

title track is an archetypal upbeat pianorocker from the road-warrior collective, with Adam Weiner celebrating the secret side hustles and quiet eccentricities of the ‘town freaks’ in his native Philadelphia.”

Night with Seth Meyers, and a spot on Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Albums of the Decade list for their album Call Me Sylvia.

Released against the backdrop of a global quarantine, “Private Lives” reminds us that our isolations and connections relate to so much more than the external, physical world. “I’m obsessed with understanding people’s interior lives,” explains Weiner. “In order to explore that idea, I had to create a flow that went in and out of these characters’ private spheres. There had to be a push and pull between their external and internal worlds. I knew if I was going to pull that off, I was going to have make a big album.”

1) Private Lives 2) Help Me 3) Now You Know 4) Run To Me Darlin 5) Take a Little Ride Downtown 6) Wild Ride 7) If I Die 8) It Don’t Take A Genius 9) Look What They Did 10) Tea Time 11) The Fuckin You Get (for the Fuckin You Got) 12) Quiet Time 13) Charyse 14) Nobody Else Will Believe You 15) What Has Happened To Me 16) Let It All Hang Out Tonite 17) Stay As Long as You Like

With 5 albums released to date, select highlights from the band’s impressive career include endorsements from Barack Obama and Elton John, a performance on Late

Private Lives Tracklist:

Listen to “What Has Happened To Me” via YouTube: https://youtu.be/i9P87GXTT3A Watch the new Private Lives album trailer via YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xm4aHciT9hw

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Metal Release

Mushroomhead Release Music Video for “The Heresy”

Photo by Abe Robinson

New Studio Album ‘A Wonderful Life’ out on Napalm Records Cleveland, OH-based masked metal icons Mushroomhead are set to release their new studio album, titled ‘A Wonderful Life’, two weeks from today (June 19) on Napalm Records. Today, the band dropped the music video for their evocative new single “The Heresy”, which can be found via the link seen below. Hair-raising, dynamic, and socially-inclined, “The Heresy” is a melodic, haunting rally cry that showcases the stunning lead vocals of Ms. Jackie. Vocalist J Mann described the track as, “The soundtrack to a dystopian delirium, cinematic and surreal!” The result of more than five years of planning and effort since the group’s 2014 full-length ‘The Righteous & The Butterfly’, ‘A Wonderful Life’ marks the prodigious return from one of metal’s most unconventional acts. Led by anthemic, defiant singles like “Seen It All’ and “The Heresy”, the new album clocks in at a massive 70+ minutes and 17 tracks in total. A complete track listing, as well as additional details, can be found below. For the better part of the past five years, top-charting masked metal machine Mushroomhead have been crafting the epic follow up to their monumental 2014 full-length album, The Righteous & The Butterfly – waiting patiently to drop their next collection of anthems. Mushroomhead make their prodigious return with the new full-length oeuvre, A Wonderful Life, the Cleveland collective’s eighth release of their benchmark career. The album clocks in at a whopping 70+ minutes with its four bonus tracks – leaving a total of 17 stellar compositions in its wake for fans to devour. The band shifts into high gear with introductory track “A Requiem For Tomorrow”, beginning with an ominous choral piece and juxtaposing heavy industrialinspired grooves with melodic synths. This sets the stage for stocky, chant-worthy arena anthems such as “Seen It All” and hair-raising, politically-inclined tracks like “The Heresy” and “Carry On”, both featuring the sinister multi-voice attack of new full-time vocalist Ms. Jackie and returning longtime vocalist J Mann, with an extra punch from fellow new vocalist Mr. Rauckhorst on the latter. Tracks like “What A Shame”, “I Am The One” and “Madness Within” will prove a treat for new and diehard Mushroomhead fans alike – providing the macabre inspiration followers have come to crave with a weighty dose of galloping drums and bone-rattling guitars, to boot. This is accented by the sharp production of band mastermind/drummer Skinny, as well 72 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

as the mixing prowess of Matt Wallace (Faith No More, 3 Doors Down), also recognized for his work on the band’s classic offering XIII. Mushroomhead attacks track after track with a refreshed focus, delivering a carefully-curated selection of certified future hits. A Wonderful Life re-cements the band’s position as one of the most consistently genre-pushing heavy bands of our generation. ‘A Wonderful Life’ The Flood Tracklist: Where the End Begins A Requiem for Tomorrow Confutatis Madness Within To the Front Seen it All (Bonus Track) The Heresy Sound of Destruction What a Shame (Bonus Track) Pulse Another Ghost Carry On (Bonus Track) The Time has Come Lacrimosa 11th Hour (Bonus Track) I am the One

New Metal Release Tetrarch is giving fans a behind-thescenes look at the making of the video for “I’m Not Right,” the first single from the modern metal band’s upcoming sophomore release, Unstable. “We had a great time shooting the video for ‘I’m Not Right’ with director Scott Hansen,” says guitarist Diamond Rowe. “We told him exactly what we were going for and he was able to help us bring it to life on camera. We really wanted to send a message with this video and it’s great to see that people are really understanding where we were coming from with it. Our buddy Sam Shapiro came out and did all of the behind the scenes shooting and he really nailed it! He did the perfect job of capturing the events of the entire day and how this music video came to be.” Within a day of its release, “I’m Not Right” was added to Apple Music’s Breaking Hard Rock and Breaking Metal playlists, Spotify’s Adrenaline Workout, New Metal Tracks, New Blood (where Tetrarch was the cover artist), Heavy Gamer, Metal Charge 180 BPM, Loudwire Weekly Wire playlists, and featured rotation on idobi Radio. The track has also been added to Music Choice and KBear 101 in Idaho. The song is continuing to receive heavy support from Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal since its premiere, where it came in at #12 on Devil’s Dozen after just one day. In addition to being the first single, “I’m Not Right” was the first song the band wrote for Unstable, which is scheduled for release on October 2.“The intro riff for it came very naturally to us and kicked off the writing process,” guitarist Diamond Rowe previously said. “It was heavy and pissed off sounding, which was super cool and really set the tone for the songs that followed.” Lyrically, “I’m Not Right” describes a moment when a person looks in the mirror and does not like what is looking back. Instead of dwelling on negativity, “I’m Not Right” is about seeking the drive to change a person’s situation and become the best version of oneself. Produced by Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Allegeon, Khemmis) and Tetrarch, Unstable amplifies the band’s tried-and-true blend of intense heavy riffage and driving drums with the dark vibes and haunting choruses of hooky modern hard rock. Tetrarch’s influences are evident but never replicated, as they stay true to their own unique sound that will appeal to any heavy music fan. Tetrarch burst onto the scene in 2017 with the release of their full-length album, Freak, produced by Dave Otero. The album immediately reached strong positions on several iTunes charts – debuting within the Top 200 chart, at #3 on the metal charts and #17 on the rock charts. Their lead single, “Freak,” also garnered huge response from Sirius/XM’s Octane, and hit Top 50 on the Active Rock charts. The band toured incessantly following the release of the album, including headlining gigs, slots on major tours and appearances at some of North America’s largest music festivals. Tetrarch is: Josh Fore – vocals/guitar , Diamond Rowe – lead guitar, Ryan Lerner – bass, Ruben Limas – drums

Tetrarch Takes Fans Behind the Scenes In New Video Documenting The Making Of “I’m Not Right” Sophomore Album, Unstable, Scheduled For Release October 2 Watch the official video for “I’m Not Right” at https://youtu.be/YGbXuxGh1Dk

Visit https://youtu.be/c6bUuTvbZXc to watch the behind the scenes footage.

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

DEE SNIDER [Photo Credit: John Raptis] 74

Rock and Blues International â&#x20AC;¢ August 2020

Heavy Metal Legend DEE SNIDER Reveals Music Video for Live Version of “I Am The Hurricane” Headbang at Home with the “I Am The Hurricane” Live Music Video New Live Album & DVD/Blu-Ray, For The Love of Metal Live, out July 31, 2020 via Napalm Records Experience electrifying Dee Snider concert moments and more from your home! Legendary heavy metal frontman, actor and radio personality Dee Snider recently announced the July 31, 2020 release of For The Love Of Metal Live, a larger than life live album and DVD/Blu-Ray set available via Napalm Records. Music lovers around the world are craving the return of live concert experiences, and For The Love Of Metal Live is just the thing to keep live music where it belongs – with the fans! Combined behind-the-scenes footage, various detailed interview clips, insightful personal commentary and electrifying live performances make this release an entertaining experience that every heavy metal fan needs in their collection. Today, Dee Snider has revealed a new live video cut from For The Love Of Metal Live – featuring his energetic performance of “I Am The Hurricane”! The seductive, metallic first notes of the track combine with ominous guitardriven atmosphere as DEE SNIDER dominates the powerful lyrics of the track – denying opposition at his every turn and leaving doubters in his wake. The track takes on a whole new level of confidence in its live setting, as it transforms into an even more heartfelt rallying cry to all to rise above hostility. Dee Snider says about “I Am The Hurricane” Live: “If there is ever a repeated message in my songs it’s this: Stand up, fight back, don’t take any sh*t from anybody, and f*ck anybody who gets in your way or tries to put you down. It’s a message that constantly needs to be reinforced in us all, myself included. “I Am the Hurricane” is that reinforcement!” The For The Love Of Metal Live DVD/ Blu-Ray and accompanying live album

(available in various formats, see below) features audio captured from several Dee Snider festival performances worldwide – from the United States to Europe, Australia and beyond. In addition to tracks from Snider’s solo catalog like “I Am The Hurricane” and “For The Love Of Metal”, Twisted Sister favorites such as “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, and even a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”, the audio portion of For The Love Of Metal Live also features a brand new original studio track, “Prove Me Wrong” – a thrashing, confident metal hit. Select audio editions and the DVD/BluRay also feature additional bonus live material and personal footage, with the DVD/Blu-Ray including even more special bonus interview content. The interviews feature Snider himself discussing his famed PMRC hearing, opening for Motörhead and more. DEE SNIDER fanatics won’t want to miss For The Love Of Metal Live! Dee Snider says about the state of live music in 2020: “While live entertainment has been curtailed for now, we cannot let the spirit of live entertainment die within us. Any music I’ve ever loved and listened to, I always imagine what it would be like live. When I was young and couldn’t go to shows, all I had was what I thought the bands would be like live. We must keep our desire to see and hear the great new music out there in concert, because that’s its true habitat. Bands on stage with fans cheering them on in the audience is the way the rock gods intended it to be.” For The Love Of Metal Live Track Listings: Digital Album 1. Lies Are a Business 2. Tomorrow’s No Concern 3. You Can’t Stop Rock ’N’ Roll 4. The Beast 5. American Made 6. Under the Blade 7. The Kids Are Back 8. Become the Storm 9. We’re Not Gonna Take It 10. I Am the Hurricane 11. Burn In Hell 12. I Wanna Rock 13. For the Love of Metal 14. Highway To Hell 15. Ready to Fall 16. The Fire Still Burns 17. Roll Over You 18. Prove Me Wrong CD 1. Lies Are A Business 2. Tomorrow’s No

Concern 3. You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll 4. The Beast Live 5. American Made 6. Under The Blade 7. The Kids Are Back 8. Become The Storm 9. We’re Not Gonna Take It 10. I Am The Hurricane 11. Burn In Hell 12. I Wanna Rock Live 13. For The Love Of Metal 14. Highway To Hell 15. Prove Me Wrong DVD/Blu-Ray 1. Lies Are A Business 2. Pain of Traveling (Interview) 3. Tomorrow’s No Concern 4. You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll 5. New Record (Interview) 6. The Beast 7. American Made 8. Under The Blade 9. Song Writing (Interview) 10. The Kids Are Back Live 11. Become The Storm 12. We’re Not Gonna Take It 13. WNGTI (Interview) 14. I Am The Hurricane 15. Burn In Hell Live 16. Rock of Ages (Interview) 17. I Wanna Rock 18. For The Love Of Metal 19. AC/DC (Interview) 20. Highway To Hell 21. Credits 22. Ready To Fall (Bonus Track) 23. The Fire Still Burns (Bonus Track) 24. Roll Over You (Bonus Track) 25. Suzette (Interview) 26. Hearing (Interview) 27. Strangeland (Interview) 28. Lemmy (Interview) For The Love Of Metal Live will be available in the following formats: -Deluxe Earbook Edition: CD, Bonus CD, DVD, Blu-Ray & 7" Single with Lyric etching - Limited to 500 copies worldwide -Shirt & Deluxe Earbook Edition Bundle - USA Napalm Webstore Only -8 Page Digipack with Sleeve (CD, DVD, Blu Ray) -8 Page Digipack with Sleeve (CD, DVD, Blu Ray) & Shirt Bundle -2LP Black Gatefold & DVD -2LP Black Gatefold & DVD & Shirt Bundle - USA Napalm Webstore Only -2LP Silver Gatefold & DVD - Limited to 200 copies worldwide (Napalm Webstores Only) -2LP Silver Gatefold & DVD & Shirt Bundle - USA Napalm Webstore Only -Digital Full Length Album Shirt & Deluxe Earbook Edition Bundle USA Napalm Webstore Only

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Muli-Platinum Selling Rock Band SEETHER Returns With First New Album In Three Years Three years after releasing their critically acclaimed record Poison The Parish, multi-platinum selling rock band Seether announces their highly anticipated return with the new album, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum out August 28th, 2020 via Fantasy Records. Translating to “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War,” the album features 13 new tracks, a primal mix of euphoria and misery, undoubtedly some of the strongest material of Seether’s illustrious career, including the beautifully tormented first single “Dangerous” released today alongside an animated music video created by noted Turkish director Mertcan Mertbilek (Santana, Ray Charles, Ravi Shankar, Elvis Costello). See the video for “Dangerous” at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=rPdS8Ij_LuA&feature=youtu.be “These songs are carefully crafted to nestle in your ears like a tiny velvet rabbit clutching a switch-blade,” says front man

Shaun Morgan, his flair for vivid imagery on full display. That bold openness strikes a chord musically and lyrically on songs that explore and eviscerate demons both personal and cultural. “This whole album is kind of me going through that process. I’m exposing myself to a degree I’m not normally comfortable with,” he says. “But I think it’s OK. I’m proud to be a little bit more vulnerable on this album.” Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum, Seether’s eighth studio album, was produced by Morgan and engineered and mixed by Matt Hyde (Deftones, AFI) in Nashville from December 2019 through January 2020. The band

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

is joined on the album by newest member, Corey Lowery (ex-guitarist/vocalist for Saint Asonia and Stuck Mojo) Morgan’s friend of 16 years, who also assistant-engineered the album. “Corey has a lot of experience and is an inspiring guitarist as well; he’s the older brother I’ve always wanted,” Morgan adds. Seether’s rock-solid rhythm section is bassist and founding member Dale Stewart, and drummer John Humphrey (who joined in 2003). The push-pull on Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum is as dynamic as it is memorable as Morgan brings his intimate singer-songwriter sensibility to the band’s heavy rock grooves. Drawing on influences including the dark and raw honesty of grunge’s epic guitar attack and the South African underground punk and metal that Morgan (and Stewart) grew up on, Seether’s sonic brew is unmistakable and timeless. The new album’s haunting, unforgettable “Dangerous” is an instant standout. While the band prefers to leave “Dangerous”

open to interpretation, lyrics like, “It’s so dangerous all this blamelessness / and I feel like I lost all the good I’ve known” are a passionate and pointed indictment of self and society at large. “Beg,” where Morgan snarls, “See hope fading out of your eyes / This time the pain is going to feel unreal,” is similarly unrelenting. The chorus’s point-blank demand, “beg, motherfucker!” is a primal rock rallying cry. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum’s brutal but beautiful lyrics infuse these songs with cathartic urgency like this from the track “Failure”: “I live my life like a broken-hearted failure / I’m trying to shed some light on the scars left by the razors.” With touring paused, the ever-active Seether has posted a series of on-line sessions via social media featuring band members at home, including livestream Q&As and acoustic performances from Shaun Morgan, cooking instructionals with Dale Stewart, crossfit workouts with Corey Lowery and drumming playthroughs with John Humphrey. The “hanging at home” digital series can be seen at Facebook, YouTube Channel and Twitch.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum will be available in CD, vinyl and digital download formats. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum track listing: 1. Dead And Done 2. Bruised And Bloodied 3. Wasteland 4. Dangerous 5. Liar 6. Can’t Go Wrong 7. Buried In The Sand 8. Let It Go 9. Failure 10. Beg 11. Drift Away 12. Pride Before The Fall 13. Written In Stone

ilk faded away, Seether maintains a strong sense of self, ignoring trends and critics in favor of a consummate devotion to their craft. Their impressive sales and chart history includes three platinum and two gold albums, 15 #1 singles (including 2017’s “Let You Down,” 2014’s “Words as Weapons,” and 2011’s “Tonight”); 19 Top 5 multi-format hits, with US singles sales topping 17 million and over 1.5 billion streams world-wide across all platforms. They are also creators of the Rise Above Fest, founded in 2012 to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental illness. Past headliners of the annual gathering include Slash, Godsmack, Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach & many more. Since conception, the Rise Above Fest has turned into a broader movement, expanding its presence at additional music festivals around the globe. All Seether shows donate $1 of ticket sales to benefit the SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices Of Education) organization.

About Seether: Since forming in Pretoria, South Africa in 1999, Seether has amassed a global fan base that has grown organically with the quartet’s sense of purpose and commitment spreading outwards, offering their fans around the world camaraderie, comfort and a sense of personal power. While others of their August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

UK Thrash Metal Innovators ONSLAUGHT Reveal Menacing New Video for “Bow Down to the Clowns” from Upcoming Album “Generation Antichrist” Out August 7 via AFM RecordsU.K.-based thrash metal trailblazers ONSLAUGHT have revealed the second single from the upcoming Generation Antichrist album, “Bow Down to the Clowns,” along with its menacing travelling circus-inspired video. Lyrically inspired by society’s tendency to allow itself to be controlled by others, the video for “Bow Down to the Clowns” offers a literal depiction of dark clowns with a demonic ringmaster pulling the strings on the whole spectacle. “Distraction and control walk hand in hand in the dark world of clowns,” says

guitarist and founding member Nige Rockett. “This track tears through the unnerving facade of political deception exposing the ugly truth for all to see. This is angry music for angry people.” Watch the video for “Bow Down to the Clowns” at https://youtu.be/ lQNNQt2wdtc. “It is basically a twisted take on a political travelling rally,” says bassist Jeff Williams. “Freak shows and clowns, glaring neon and grim hidden recesses. A carnival of mass distractions to enrage and delight the masses to keep them under control and divided through fear, hate and

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

self-righteous superiority…In our circus Dumbo would’ve hit the floor!” Synonymous with the brilliance and endurance of today’s thrash metal movement, ONSLAUGHT is ready to set world on fire once again with one of the most ferocious thrash metal albums ever made in Generation Antichrist, set for release on August 7 via AFM Records. A lyric video for the first single from Generation Antichrist, “Religiousuicide,” made clear the band’s stance on organized religion through intense imagery as intense as the music and lyrics. Watch the video at https://youtu.be/jcUrQGZB_yw.

ONSLAUGHT’s long-awaited new album was recorded at Dugout Studios in Uppsala, Sweden, with Grammy Award winning Daniel Bergstrand (Behemoth, In Flames, Meshuggah) at the helm, capturing the innovative band’s classic sound with a pristine modern production. On first listen, tracks such as the vicious album opener, “Strike Fast Strike Hard,” “Bow Down To The Clowns,” and “Religiousuicide” pin ears to the speakers and prove that a move to involve Bergstrand has given ONSLAUGHT an edge that even their definitive ‘80s years couldn’t quite capture. Generation Antichrist is the first album to feature new vocalist Dave Garnett, replacing longtime frontman Sy Keeler. Garnett, who has stepped in on occasion to perform live with ONSLAUGHT, delivers a vocal performance on par with the brutal musical attack that is Generation Antichrist. Pre-orders for Generation Antichrist are available at https://shop.afmrecords.de/onslaught/. ONSLAUGHT was formed in Bristol, England, in 1983 by guitarist Nige Rockett and bassist Paul Hill. Influenced by second-generation hardcore punk bands, the group was also shaped by a desire to incorporate a more metallic sound, quickly developing ONSLAUGHT’s own defined and original style. The band went on to release Power From Hell (1985), The Force (1986), In Search Of Sanity (1989), and after a long hiatus, Killing Peace

(2007), Sounds Of Violence (2011) and VI (2013). By 2019, ONSLAUGHT had been touring for an amazing five years in support of VI and the 30th anniversary of The Force. ONSLAUGHT is: David Garnett – Vocals Nige Rockett – Guitar

Wayne Dorman – Guitar Jeff Williams – Bass James Perry - Drums Onslaught Generation Antichrist AFM Records Release: 7 August 2020

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

EXIST are set to return with their third studio album, Egoiista. Blending extraordinary technical proficiency with eccentric arrangements, and imbued with moments of fusion and atmospherics, Egoiista puts EXIST firmly on the map of modern progressive metal. The first track from the album, Spotlight’s Glow, is streaming everywhere now and the official video can be viewed below. Egoiista will be released on August 28 EXIST’S Max Phelps comments: “Spotlight’s Glow was the very last song written for Egoiista. It seemed to be the missing piece needed to fill out the story, a final “storm before the calm” techy, bombastic fight prior to the album’s more delicate and accepting conclusion. Like everything else on the album it serves a specific purpose in context while also working as its own standalone piece. Lyrically it addresses the ideas that we (as a society) tend to pay more attention to people that are concerned with elevating themselves as opposed to the ones with more noble intentions.” Much of the material on Egoiista first came into being prior to their last album, 2017’s So True, So Bound. Six of the eight songs that make up Egoiista were reviewed, reshaped and additionally given an extra lease of life thanks to new drummer Brody TaylorSmith. The passage of time since the original tracks were sketched out has also allowed time for the skill and proficiency of its architects to develop further. Two additional tracks were written prior to recording that

Photo credit: Jordan Miller/Grant Butler

Exist Announce New Album; Egoiista Due Out In August rounded out the opus into a fully formed collection. The lyrical exploration of the finite nature of life and the fragility of human existence takes on a very personal slant given the health problems that vocalist/guitarist Max Phelps has encountered in the past two years. A life-threatening abdominal aneurysm gave him plenty of cause to reflect on his own life and humanity as a broader concept themes that give Egoiista its foundation.

Egoiista track list 1. Through Suffering He Paints The Universe 2. The Lottery 3. Until The Storm Comes 4. Infinite Monkey Theorem 5. Siblings Born Into Different Dimensions 6. Egocosm 7. Last Flight Looming 8. Spotlight’s Glow 9. Amongst The Trees

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Rock and Blues International • August 2020

THE ACACIA STRAIN RELEASE “Y” SEVEN INCH + DIGITAL SINGLE

BAND ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM SLOW DECAY OUT NOW ON RISE RECORDS Metal titans THE ACACIA STRAIN — Vincent Bennett [vocals], Kevin Boutot [drums], Devin Shidaker [guitar], Griffin Landa [bass], and Tom “The Hammer” Smith, Jr. [guitar] — have dropped “Y,” a new seven inch and digital release through Rise Records. It features two songs: “One Thousand Painful Stings,” featuring Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante, and “Earth Will Become Death.” “Shoutout to Courtney for adding her expertise — and different dynamic — to this song extremely last minute,” says Bennett. “Are we at the bottom? Are we at the end, or are we just getting started?” The Acacia Strain have also confirmed that their eighth full-length album Slow Decay was released July 24 via Rise Records. It will include all the songs in the seven inch and digital single drops that were released between February 28 and June 12, as well as two previously unreleased tracks. The music and the rollout itself adhere to the band’s very specific vision. “The whole concept is reality breaking down around us,” says Bennett about the album. “We’ve done our time on earth, broken through the boundaries of what reality actually is, and we’re now witnessing our

collective descent into madness. Lyrically and sonically, everything reflects that. You’re getting the vision piece by piece. The whole theme is a slow dive. By the same token, it organically becomes one record instead of just one big push out of the gate. As soon as you think you’re getting the hang of it, we throw out a wrench with the full-length. There’s no evidence to suggest we’re aren’t actually in a living hell. The things happening around us could be out of a comic book or a movie. The idea is, ‘This can’t be real.’ Maybe something happened. Maybe we’re all dead and we don’t even know it. Maybe we’re just living in some augmented reality hellscape of actual planet earth.”

(Feat. Zach Hatfield) “Crossgates” “Inverted Person” “Chhinnamasta” “One Thousand Painful Stings” (Feat. Courtney LaPlante) “Birds of Paradise, Birds of Prey”* “EARTH WILL BECOME DEATH” *Previously unreleased

SLOW DECAY TRACK LISTING: “Feed A Pigeon Breed A Rat” “Crippling Poison”* “Seeing God” (Feat. Aaron Heard) “Solace and Serenity” “The Lucid Dream” (Feat. Jess Nyx) “I Breathed In The Smoke Deeply It Tasted Like Death And I Smiled” August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Classic Rock Reissue

The Rolling Stones’ 1973 Classic ‘Goats Head Soup’ To Be Released Via Polydor/ Interscope/ On September 4 FORMATS WILL FEATURE DEMOS, OUTTAKES AND THREE PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD TRACKS INCLUDING “SCARLET” WITH JIMMY PAGE Another prized jewel in the Rolling Stones’ unmatched catalog is to be restored to its full glory and more, with the September 4 multiformat release of their 1973 classic ‘Goats Head Soup.’ The album will be available in multiple configurations, including four-disc CD and vinyl box set editions, with a treasure trove of unreleased studio and live material. The reissue follows the huge success and acclaim for the Stones’ “Living In A Ghost Town” single and their universallyadmired lockdown performance of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in Global Citizen’s April special One World: Together at Home. The box set and deluxe CD and vinyl editions of Goats Head Soup will all feature ten bonus tracks, which include alternate versions, outtakes and no fewer than three previously unheard tracks. The first of these to be unveiled, “Criss Cross,” is available as an instant grat track today with pre-orders of the album, and on all streaming and download services. The official “Criss Cross” video is out now, watch here. Stones devotees worldwide will be thrilled by the inclusion, on the box set and deluxe editions, of the previously unheard “Scarlet,” featuring guitar by Jimmy Page, and a third newly unveiled song, “All The Rage.” The layered guitar textures of “Scarlet” make for a track that’s as infectious and raunchy as anything the band cut in this hallowed era. As well as Jimmy Page guesting alongside Mick & Keith on the track it also features on bass Rick Grech of Blind Faith fame. “All The Rage” has a wild, post - “Brown Sugar” strut and the percussive “Criss Cross” rocks and swaggers as only the Stones can. The bonus disc of unreleased material also sheds new light on tracks such as “100 Years Ago” and “Hide Your Love,” with further unissued mixes by Stones insider and acclaimed producer Glyn Johns. The box set editions of Goats Head Soup will also include Brussels Affair, the 15-track live album recorded in a memorable show in Belgium, on the autumn 1973 tour that followed the album’s late August release. This much-sought-after disc, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, was previously available only in the Rolling Stones’ “official bootleg” series of live recordings in 2012. The Brussels show features the already-classic “Tumbling Dice,” “Midnight Rambler,” “Jumping Jack Flash” and many others, and includes a sequence of tracks from the then-new album. “Star Star” is followed by “Dancing With Mr. D,” “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” and “Angie.”

Additionally, the CD and vinyl box sets offer the original tenRock and Blues International • August 2020

track album in 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res mixes, along with the videos for “Dancing With Mr. D,” “Silver Train” and “Angie.” An exclusive 100-page book will feature a remarkable array of photographs, essays by writers Ian McCann, Nick Kent and Daryl Easlea and faithful reproductions of three tour posters from 1973. As McCann writes: “Goats Head Soup was released with plenty of fanfare. Despite what you may read today, the kids weren’t entirely absorbed by glam rock, metal, prog and Philly soul back in 1973, and they bought the album in their thousands, sending it to No. 1 in the USA and in the UK, their fifth consecutive British chart-topper.” Their 11th UK studio album, recorded in Jamaica, Los Angeles and London as their last collaboration with producer Jimmy Miller, Goats Head Soup came in the wake of the Stones’ landmark 1972 double album Exile On Main St. The new set was introduced by the single that became one of their most exalted ballads, the endlessly elegant “Angie,” completed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during a songwriting sojourn in Switzerland. The timeless love song, showcasing Jagger’s yearning lead vocal and Nicky Hopkins’ beautiful piano motif, topped the charts in the US, where it was certified platinum, and went to No. 1 across Europe, Australia and beyond. “We decided to do something different, and it worked,” Richards told Rolling Stone of “Angie”. “Maybe a lot of people bought it that would never buy a Stones LP.” Interestingly in a recent interview with The New York Times, Bob Dylan chose “Angie” as one of three Rolling Stones songs he wished he had written. Goats Head Soup, with its famous David Bailey sleeve, featured the Stones’ vintage 1969-1974 line-up of Jagger, Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, with the addition of some essential collaborators. On an album on which their trademark rocking sound was often augmented by more low-key, reflective material, there were no fewer than four featured piano players: Hopkins, Billy

Classic Rock Reissue Preston, Ian ‘Stu’ Stewart and Jagger himself. “Angie” was the only single to be released from the LP in the UK, where it spent two weeks at No. 5 in September. In the US, the exhilaratingly funky, horn-filled “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” featuring Mick Taylor’s wah-wah lead guitar, followed it into the top 20 in February 1974. The many other highlights of the album included the majestically brooding opener “Dancing With Mr. D,” the lithely strutting “100 Years Ago” and “Star Star” and the graceful “Winter.” Richards’ rueful lead vocal on “Coming Down Again” featured another Stones stalwart, saxophonist Bobby Keys. “Silver Train,” the b-side of “Angie,” would be revived after a gap of some 40 years, during the Stones’ 14 On Fire tour of 2014, when Mick Taylor reprised his original guitar part in shows in Tokyo and Brisbane. When the album was first released, reviewers lined up to sing its praises. “This is music which could only come from good musicians who know each other really well,” ruled the late and esteemed writer-broadcaster Charlie Gillett in Let It Rock. “The Stones succeed because they rarely forget their purpose — the creation of rock & roll drama,” said Bud Scoppa in Rolling Stone. “It’s deepening and unfolding over the coming months will no doubt rate as one of the year’s richest musical experiences.”

breaker) 5 Angie 6 Silver Train 7 Hide Your Love 8 Winter 9 Can You Hear The Music 10 Star Star ——————————————— 2CD DELUXE CD TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5. Angie 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star Rarities & Alternative Mixes 1. Scarlet 2. All The Rage 3. Criss Cross 4. 100 Years Ago (Piano Demo) 5. Dancing With Mr D (Instrumental) 6. Heartbreaker (Instrumental) 7. Hide Your Love (Alternative Mix) 8. Dancing With Mr D (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 9. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) – (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 10.Silver Train (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix)

Stephen Demorest in Circus said that the album “rushes and rambles with all the power and finesse that have become the signature of the hardworking band in performance.” Forty-seven years on, the expanded reissues of Goats Head Soup prove that’s still true, and then some. THE ROLLING STONES’ GOATS HEAD SOUP WILL BE RELEASED AS MULTI-FORMAT AND DELUXE EDITIONS VIA POLYDOR/INTERSCOPE/ UME ON SEPTEMBER 4, 2020. PRE-ORDER HERE https://the-rolling-stones.lnk.to/ GoatsHeadAlbumPR WATCH THE “CRISS CROSS” VIDEO HERE https://the-rolling-stones.lnk.to/ CrissCrossPR www.rollingstones.com http://www.facebook.com/ therollingstones www.twitter.com/rollingstones www.instagram.com/therollingstones www.youtube.com/therollingstones 1CD STANDARD CD TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart-

1LP STANDARD VINYL Mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix SIDE A 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5. Angie SIDE B 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star ———————————————

2LP DELUXE VINYL Mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix SIDE A 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5. Angie SIDE B 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star SIDE C 1. Scarlet 2. All The Rage 3. Criss Cross 4. 100 Years Ago (Piano Demo) 5. Dancing With Mr D (Instrumental) SIDE D 6. Heartbreaker (Instrumental) 7. Hide Your Love (Alternative Mix) 8. Dancing With Mr D (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 9. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) – (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 10. Silver Train (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) ——————————————— 2LP DELUXE TRANSPARENT VINYL W/ ALTERNATIVE SLEEVE (ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE STONES STORE) Mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Store Exclusive Format pressed on crystal clear vinyl with alternative cover. TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix SIDE A 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5. Angie SIDE B 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star SIDE C 1. Scarlet 2. All The Rage 3. Criss Cross 4. 100 Years Ago (Piano Demo) 5. Dancing With Mr D (Instrumental)

continued on next page August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Classic Rock Reissue 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Gimme Shelter Happy Tumbling Dice Star Star Dancing With Mr D Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 8. Angie 9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 10. Midnight Rambler 11. Honky Tonk Women 12. All Down The Line 13. Rip This Joint 14. Jumpin’ Jack Flash 15. Street Fighting Man

SIDE D 6. Heartbreaker (Instrumental) 7. Hide Your Love (Alternative Mix) 8. Dancing With Mr D (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 9. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) – (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 10. Silver Train (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix)

4CD BOXSET Goats Head Soup Super Deluxe box sets features 35 tracks on three CDs & one Blu-ray disc (Dolby Atmos, 96kHz/24 bit high resolution stereo, and 96 kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1). Included are the new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files, Rarities & Alternative mixes featuring three previously unreleased tracks, “Scarlet,” “All The Rage” & “Criss Cross.” Also included is The Brussels Affair, recorded live at the Forest National Arena in October 1973. The 4 discs are housed in the boxset alongside a 120-page book with an incredible array of photos and 3 essays. 50 Years On – An Appreciation of Goats Head Soup by Ian McCann, Brussels Affair Live 1973 Tour by Nick Kent & The Story Of The Cover Art by Darryl Easlea. The set is completed with 4 x 1973 reproduction tour posters, rolled up within the packaging to avoid creases. TRACK LIST CD1 - 2020 Stereo Mix 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5. Angie 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10.Star Star

CD4 (BLU-RAY) Dolby Atmos, 96kHz/24 bit high resolution stereo, and 96 kHz/24 bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 1. Dancing With Mr D 2. 100 Years Ago 3. Coming Down Again 4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 5. Angie 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star + Original Videos: Dancing With Mr D, Silver Train & Angie

4LP VINYL BOX This deluxe vinyl box set features the new stereo album mix + Rarities & Alternative mixes including three previously unreleased tracks, Scarlet, All The Rage & Criss Cross. Mastered at half speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Also included is The Brussels Affair, recorded live at the Forest National Arena in October 1973 and pressed on 180g vinyl.

CD2 - Rarities & Alternative Mixes 1. Scarlet 2. All The Rage 3. Criss Cross 4. 100 Years Ago (Piano Demo) 5. Dancing With Mr D (Instrumental) 6. Heartbreaker (Instrumental) 7. Hide Your Love (Alternative Mix) 8. Dancing With Mr D (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 9. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) – (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 10.Silver Train (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) CD3 – ‘Brussels Affair – Live 1973’ 1. Brown Sugar

Rock and Blues International • August 2020

TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix SIDE A 1 Dancing With Mr D 2 100 Years Ago 3 Coming Down Again 4 Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5 Angie SIDE B 6. .Silver Train 7. .Hide Your Love 8. .Winter 9. .Can You Hear The Music 10. .Star Star

Rarities & Alternative Mixes SIDE C 1. Scarlet 2. All The Rage 3. Criss Cross 4. 100 Years Ago (Piano Demo) 5. Dancing With Mr D (Instrumental) SIDE D 6. Heartbreaker (Instrumental) 7. Hide Your Love (Alternative Mix) 8. Dancing With Mr D (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 9. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) – (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) 10. Silver Train (Glyn Johns 1973 Mix) SIDE E – ‘Brussels Affair – Live 1973’ 1 Brown Sugar 2 Gimme Shelter 3 Happy 4 Tumbling Dice SIDE F – ‘Brussels Affair – Live 1973” 5. Star Star 6. Dancing With Mr D 7. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 8. Angie SIDE G – ‘Brussels Affair – Live 1973’ 9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 10. Midnight Rambler SIDE H – ‘Brussels Affair – Live 1973’ 11. Honky Tonk Women 12. All Down The Line 13. Rip This Joint 14. Jumpin’ Jack Flash 15. Street Fighting Man ——————————————— CASSETTE (ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE STONES STORE) TRACK LIST 2020 Stereo Mix SIDE A 1 Dancing With Mr D 2 100 Years Ago 3 Coming Down Again 4 Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heart breaker) 5 Angie SIDE B 6. Silver Train 7. Hide Your Love 8. Winter 9. Can You Hear The Music 10. Star Star

The Rolling Stones Goats Head Soup

Classic Rock Reissue

Bee Gees Vinyl Reissue Series To Be Released By Capitol/UMe Worldwide Five Best-Selling Albums From Legendary Group’s Catalog Are Celebrated Anew On Remastered Black And Colored Vinyl Capitol/UMe has releases five remastered LPs from the storied catalog of the Bee Gees, one of music’s most legendary and acclaimed groups. Each LP has been pressed onto both black vinyl and limitededition colored vinyl. The five LPs are, in chronological order, 1969’s Best Of Bee Gees (on black and berry vinyl), 1975’s Main Course (on black and whitewater vinyl), 1976’s Children Of The World (on black and sunshine yellow vinyl), 1977’s double live album Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live (2LPs on black and tangerine vinyl), and 1979’s Spirits Having Flown (on black and blood red vinyl). All five albums have been remastered from the original analog LP master tapes at the iconic Capitol Studios by Kevin Bartley and Ian Sefchick. The Bee Gees’ first greatest hits compilation, Best Of Bee Gees, was released in June 1969, and it features a prime selection of the early hit singles that established the group’s broad musical palette. The twelve gems comprising Best Of are among the most popular songs of the then-burgeoning group’s canon, including the desperately pleading “I Gotta Get A Message To You,” Sir Barry’s classic balladry vocal on “Words,” the harmoniously soulful classic “To Love Somebody,” the pure pop perfection of “Massachusetts,” Robin’s signature vocal on “I Started A Joke,” and the skillful buildup of “Spicks and Specks,” the latter song being the Bee Gees’ first-ever No. 1 record in their homeland of Australia. June 1975’s Main Course, one of the most significant albums in the Bee Gees catalog, marked a new direction for the group, and in turn created the model for their output throughout the rest of the 1970s by featuring a fresh, R&B-meets-pop sound. Recorded in Miami, Florida, and produced by the legendary Arif Mardin, the album’s infectious No. 1 hit, “Jive Talkin’,” carries a rhythm inspired by the sound the group’s car made on the 163rd Street Causeway Bridge as they drove to and from the recording sessions being held at the fabled Criteria Studios. With Main Course, Mardin and the Gibb brothers continued to explore the use of synthesizers instead of strings in their arrangements. It’s also the first album where Barry Gibb’s hallmark falsetto is most prominent, showcasing the impressive depth of his vocal range. The album’s other hit singles include the dramatic “Nights On Broadway” and the always touching “Fanny (Be Tender With My Love).”

The first single from the Bee Gees’ next album, September 1976’s Children Of The World, “You Should Be Dancing,” went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and Canada, and was also a Top 10 smash in numerous other territories. Children Of The World, which attained certified multi-platinum status in the U.S., was also recorded at Miami’s Criteria Studios, albeit this time produced by the Bee Gees, Karl Richardson, and Albhy Galuten. The album’s other key singles include the uplifting ballad “Love So Right,” the provocatively seductive “Boogie Child,” and the harmony-and-synth-driven title track. Released in May 1977, Here At Last…Bee Gees…Live, the group’s first live album, was recorded at The Forum in Los Angeles in December 1976. The majority of this palpable 2LP set was made up of songs that had been big hit singles for the Bee Gees, along with tracks from their aforementioned recent hit albums, Main Course and Children Of The World. Highlighting the group’s magical harmonic vocal blend onstage, Here At Last contains definitive live versions of “You Should Be Dancing,” “Jive Talkin’,” “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You,” “New York Mining Disaster 1941,” “Run To Me,” and many more. Spirits Having Flown, the 15th Bee Gees album, was released in January 1979, and was the group’s first album following the massive success of 1977’s multi-platinum Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The first three tracks released from Spirits Having Flown — “Tragedy,” “Too Much Heaven,” and “Love You Inside Out” — all shot to No. 1 in the U.S., giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six U.S. chart-toppers in a one-year period. In addition, the Bee Gees donated the copyright of “Too Much Heaven” to Music For UNICEF, a charity they founded along with their longtime Manager Robert Stigwood and Sir David Frost. Spirits was a No. 1 album for the Bee Gees in the U.K. and topped the charts around the world. The album was recorded at the group’s favored Criteria Studios in Miami, where Chicago was simultaneously recording their own hit album, October 1978’s Hot Streets. The two groups wound up collaborating on Chicago’s “Little Miss Loving,” while Chicago’s lauded horn section guested on select Spirits Having Flown tracks. continued on next page August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

Classic Rock Reissue The Bee Gees — brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time — have long earned their stature as one of the world’s most popular and bestselling groups ever. Having recorded 22 studio albums and for numerous soundtracks, including November 1977’s monumentally successful Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees infused popular culture with dozens of worldwide hit singles that featured their singular and highly influential three-part harmonies. They achieved nine Number Ones and 23 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” and “Stayin’ Alive” from Saturday Night Fever, in addition to hitting charts around the world with many other classics, including “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “I Started A Joke,” “Lonely Days,” “Words,” and “You Win Again.” Among the honors bestowed upon the Bee Gees are eight GRAMMY Awards®, including The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Legend Award; five American Music Awards; a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music; and a Legend Award from the World Music Awards. The Bee Gees have also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, BMI Icons, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the Dance Music Hall of Fame. All three brothers were honored with a CBE as Commanders of the British Empire in 2002, and Barry was knighted ‘Sir Barry Gibb’ in 2018. BEE GEES: BEST OF BEE GEES [1LP black vinyl and colored berry vinyl] Side 1 1. Holiday 2. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You 3. I Can’t See Nobody 4. Words 5. I Started A Joke 6. Spicks And Specks Side 2 1. First Of May 2. World 3. Massachusetts 4. To Love Somebody 5. Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You 6. New York Mining Disaster 1941 BEE GEES: MAIN COURSE [1LP black vinyl and colored whitewater vinyl] Side 1 1. Nights On Broadway 2. Jive Talkin’ 3. Wind Of Change 4. Songbird 5. Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)

4. Edge Of The Universe 5. Baby As You Turn Away BEE GEES: CHILDREN OF THE WORLD [1LP black vinyl and colored sunshine yellow vinyl] Side 1 1. You Should Be Dancing 2. You Stepped Into My Life 3. Love So Right 4. Lovers 5. Can’t Keep A Good Man Down Side 2 1. Boogie Child 2. Love Me 3. Subway 4. The Way It Was 5. Children Of The World BEE GEES: HERE AT LAST…BEE GEES…LIVE [2LP black vinyl and colored tangerine vinyl] LP1 Side 1 1. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You 2. Love So Right 3. Edge Of The Universe 4. Come On Over 5. Can’t Keep A Good Man Down Side 2 1. New York Mining Disaster 1941 2. Medley: Run To Me / World 3. Medley: Holiday / I Can’t See Nobody / I Started A Joke / Massachusetts 4. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart 5. To Love Somebody LP2 Side 3 1. You Should Be Dancing 2. Boogie Child 3. Down The Road 4. Words Side 4 1. Wind Of Change 2. Nights On Broadway 3. Jive Talkin’ 4. Lonely Days BEE GEES: SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN [1LP black vinyl and colored blood red vinyl] Side 1 1. Tragedy 2. Too Much Heaven 3. Love You Inside Out 4. Reaching Out 5. Spirits (Having Flown) Side 2 1. Search, Find 2. Stop (Think Again) 3. Living Together 4. I’m Satisfied 5. Until

Side 2 1. All This Making Love 2. Country Lanes 3. Come On Over 86 Rock and Blues International • August 2020

PIXIES ANNOUNCE “BOSSANOVA” 30TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED RED VINYL EDITION 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of “Bossanova,” the third studio album by Pixies, originally released on August 13, 1990. To celebrate “Bossanova” hitting its third decade, 4AD will release a limited red vinyl edition on August 7, complete with the original 16-page booklet that was previously available only with the initial UK LP pressing. Produced by Gil Norton, with whom the band - Black Francis (guitar, vocals), Joey Santiago (guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), David Lovering(drums) - collaborated on their Platinum-selling second album “Doolittle,” “Bossanova” was recorded in Los Angeles as opposed to Pixies’ Boston base (with the exception of the track “Blown Away” that was recorded at the Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin during a European tour in 1989). The album features the singles “Allison” (a tribute to jazz and blues pianist Mose Allison), “Dig For Fire,” and “Velouria” (#4 on Billboard’s Alternative chart), plus the first cover to be included on a Pixies’ album, “Cecilia Ann” (originally by The Surftones). “Bossanova” showed a less primal side to the band, with surf and space rock rising to the fore. Lyrically, Black Francis is even more cryptic with a recurring sci-fi theme running throughout, which in turn influenced Vaughan Oliver’s classic planet design for the cover. As one journalist put it, “‘Bossanova’ is a powerful time machine. Listening to the album, one gets flashbacks of what the ’90s sounded, looked and felt like. Even though the decade was far from perfect, it was filled with a feeling of curiosity and optimism especially regarding the future and its technology. Listening to ‘Bossanova,’ one is reminded that the world is a more vital place when people are allowed to dream big, fantasize, and be a little bit crazy.”

Classic Punksters On Showtime

ORIGINAL LA PUNK TRAILBLAZERS THE GO-GO’S RELEASE FIRST NEW SINGLE IN 20 YEARS ‘CLUB ZERO’ RELEASED ON JULY 31st POLYGRAM ENTERTAINMENT DOCUMENTARY ‘THE GO-GO’S’ PREMIERES AUGUST 1 ON SHOWTIME® “The Go-Go’s reveals a story of talent, will, friendship, addiction, and forgiveness. The backdrop of the male-dominated music business highlights that these ladies who have stayed brash and whipsmart have always been entirely punk” –FILM THREAT “Don’t think of the Go-Go’s as a bit of Reagan-era nostalgia, the musical equivalent of a Rubik’s cube. Think of them as a first-tier, kick-ass rock group, period, full stop, the end. Mission accomplished”– ROLLING STONE “…in the fresh bopping beauty of their punk romantic sound, they kicked open a door of perception” – VARIETY “…the group formed in the late ’70s and quickly scaled local line-ups — and eventually, the pop charts — as the first multiplatinum-selling all-female band to play their own instruments, making history and blazing a trail for dozens upon dozens of future artists”– THE WRAP “The first and still only all-female band to write their own songs, play their own instruments and top the Billboard album charts gets a spirited salute in Alison Ellwood’s doc for Showtime” – HOLLYWOOD REPORTER The Go-Go’s, the iconic all female L.A. punk band, released their first new recording in nearly 20 years, “Club Zero,” on July 31st on UMe. The band can be seen working on an early version of the song in their new documentary THE GO-GO’S, directed by Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon, History of the Eagles) which premieres August 1st at 9 pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Propelled by the spirited, melodic punch we’ve come to expect from the Southern California band, as well as a catchy, call-to-action chorus, “Club Zero” will certainly join the ranks among an esteemed catalog of Go-Go’s classics. The self-produced track was created via email exchanges amongst bandmembers and recorded at Lucky Recording in S.F. with Co-Producer/Mixer/Engineer Travis Kasperbauer and in Los Angeles with Lead Vocal Recording/Producer Gabe Lopez. As the band’s stance has always been fervent when it comes to relevant issues, the anthemic, punk-infused paean arrives just in time for a world in desperate need of a voice of optimism and change:

“HEY WE’VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY ‘GONNA MAKE THE WORLD SHAKE’ READY OR NOT HERE WE ARE”

A live version of “Club Zero” featured in the THE GO-GO’S documentary shows the evolution of the track as the band writes and works out the melody in preparation for their performance at their early stomping grounds The Whisky a Go Go on The Sunset Strip. The documentary directed by Alison Ellwood (Eagles, Laurel Canyon) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January to standing ovations and critical acclaim. With full access to The Go-Go’s, both past and present, this candid archive-rich documentary assesses the group’s place in music history as it focuses on their roots as a formidable contender in L.A.’s late ‘70s punk scene, detailing their rise to the top as they become one of the decade’s most beloved acts as well as an unstoppable force. It also examines the personalities and dynamics behind their rise, fall and numerous reincarnations. Until this definitive film, there has never been a serious appraisal of and showcase for The Go-Go’s’ talents or achievements – as musicians, groundbreakers, but even more so, as survivors. To date, The Go-Go’s have the notable distinction of being the only all-female band to write their own songs and play their own instruments on a #1 album. Formed in 1978, they were a vital part of the early Los Angeles punk scene. Following the release of their debut album in 1981, the landmark multi-platinum Beauty And The Beat, they topped the Billboard 200 chart for six consecutive weeks and received a nomination for Best New Artist at The 24th Annual Grammy® Awards. Their 1982 follow-up, Vacation, hit Top Ten on the Billboard 200 and featured the Top Ten title track “Vacation.” Overall, they have sold over 7 million records worldwide and continue to tour with the “classic lineup” from 1981 – Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar), Charlotte Caffey (guitar), Kathy Valentine (bass) and Gina Schock (drums). More recently, Head Over Heels, a musical featuring the songs of The Go-Go’s, had a successful run on Broadway in July of 2018. THE GO-GO’S is fully financed by Polygram Entertainment, the film and television division of Universal Music Group, and presented and produced by Polygram, Universal Music Publishing Group, Interscope Films, Fine Point Films and Fadoo Productions. Alison Ellwood (History of The Eagles, American Jihad) directs the film with Trevor Birney, Corey Russell and Eimhear O’Neill producing. Polygram Entertainment’s David Blackman and Daniel Inkeles are executive producing; the creative team also includes editor Brett Banks and executive producers Brendan J. Byrne. Wally Eltawashy & Arturo Cisneros serve as co-executive producers.

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International

New Unreleased 70-Song Collection, The Mothers 1970, Celebrates 50th Anniversary Of Frank Zappaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heralded 1970 Mothers Lineup Available Now Digitally And As 4-Disc Box Set Via Zapp Records/UMe

Classic Rock Reissue Overseen by the Zappa Trust and produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, The Mothers 1970 collects together more than four hours of previously unreleased performances by the celebrated lineup which lasted roughly seven months: Aynsley Dunbar (drums), George Duke (piano/keys/trombone), Ian Underwood (organ/ keys/guitar), Jeff Simmons (bass/vocals) and Flo & Eddie aka Howard Kaylan (vocals) and Mark Volman (vocals/percussion) of The Turtles who performed under these aliases to skirt contractual limitations of performing under their own names. This iteration of The Mothers, which likely began rehearsals fifty years ago in May 1970, came to an end in January of 1971 when Simmons quit the band during the making of the “200 Motels” movie. The Mothers 1970 encapsulates the band’s brief but productive span, which included two visits to the studio – resulting in the fantastic 1970 album, Chunga’s Revenge – and tours across the U.S., Canada and Europe. Divided into four parts, the collection is anchored by top notch studio recordings recorded at the famed London-based Trident Studios on June 21-22 with a then-unknown producer in the engineer chair by the name of Roy Thomas Baker, several years before he’d go on to have massive success working with Queen, The Cars and Alice Cooper to name a few. An unreleased early mix by Baker of the Chunga’s Revenge track, “Sharleena,” is just one of the many highlights of the studio recordings that also boasts several unearthed rough mixes of the Zappa/Simmons co-write, “Wonderful Wino,” including a rare version that showcases vocals and an alternate guitar solo by Zappa that has been lost to the ages as the original multitrack stems were recorded over. Of the material recorded during this two-day span, “Sharleena” was the only song ever officially released – so tracks like “Red Tubular Lighter,” “Giraffe” and an unheard version of “Envelopes” are completely brand new to fans half a century later. The band’s live prowess is represented with a slew of concert recordings, including the first official release of the oft bootlegged “Piknik” performance originally broadcast on Dutch radio station VRPO, and live performances from concerts in Santa Monica, Calif. and Spokane, Wash. which have been edited together and presented as a hybrid concert since both shows were not fully captured. The release is rounded out with a selection of live highlights recorded around the U.S., interspersed with candid moments recorded in dressing rooms, motel lobbies and the stage by Zappa who took his personal UHER recorder everywhere. All recordings comprising The Mothers 1970 were sourced from their original tapes discovered in The Vault and digitally transferred and compiled by Travers in 2020. Some tracks were mixed by longtime Zappa Trust associate Craig Parker Adams and the collection was mastered by John Polito at Audio Mechanics. It wasn’t until 1971 when Zappa would start documenting his gigs with a _” 4-track recorder so the 1970 tours were not captured in typical fashion. Instead Zappa recorded as much as he could using his personal UHER recorder and it is these recordings that make up the second half of The Mothers 1970. Because of the nature of the recordings it was almost virtually impossible for Zappa to record full shows due to the limitations of the tape recorder and the fact he would often times personally

spool tape on the machine on stage while playing. Occasionally Zappa would have the soundman set up the recorder in the venue to tape the concert. This resulted in ambient recordings which was the case for the Santa Monica and Spokane recordings as well as the live performances that make up the final disc. Similar to the Gail Zappa-created “Road Tapes” live series, these recordings contain audience noise allowing listeners to experience what it was like to be there. The set lists focus heavily on songs from the albums Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, We’re Only In It For The Money, Uncle Meat, the then-recently released Burnt Weeny Sandwich, and early workings of songs that would eventually be released months later on Chunga’s Revenge. Some of the many highlights include the extended guitar workouts, the first version of “Easy Meat” and rare live performances of “Would You Go All The Way?” and “Road Ladies.” Following Zappa’s especially productive year of 1969 (which saw him record and release several albums, including Uncle Meat and Hot Rats, produce Captain Beefheart’s outsider classic, Trout Mask Replica, as well as the one and only album for The GTO’s), the musician disbanded the original Mothers Of Invention and started experimenting with smaller lineups. Through a variety of circumstances and several chance encounters, Zappa began to assemble his new group of collaborators, with the only original Mother being Ian Underwood. As Travers writes in the enlightening liner notes, which also include a wealth of live and behindthe-scenes photos from this era: “It’s no secret that Frank was excited about this group. The cast of characters and their personalities, musically and personally, made for a very eventful and humorous chapter in Zappa’s career. Frank had a blast with these guys. Their sound was unique, their humor was like no other and yet their time was ultimately short lived.” Fleeting as it may have been, this camaraderie is on full display and will now live on forever as the exciting new collection, The Mothers 1970. THE MOTHERS 1970 TRACKLISTING Disc 1 – Trident Studios, London, England June 21-22, 1970 1. Red Tubular Lighter 2. Lola Steponsky 3. Trident Chatter 4. Sharleena (Roy Thomas Baker Mix) 5. Item 1 6. Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal) 7. “Enormous Cadenza” 8. Envelopes 9. Red Tubular Lighter (Unedited Master) 10. Wonderful Wino (Basic Tracks, Alt. Take) 11. Giraffe - Take 4 12. Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal, Alt. Solo) TOTAL TIME: 63:09

FRANK

7. Mother People (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 8. You Didn’t Try To Call Me (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 9. Agon (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 10. Call Any Vegetable (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 11. King Kong Pt. I (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 12. Igor’s Boogie (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 13. King Kong Pt. II (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 14. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are? (Live at Pepperland September 26, 1970) 15. Bwana Dik (Live at Pepperland September 26, 1970) 16. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy (Live at Pepperland September 26, 1970) 17. Do You Like My New Car? (Live at Pepperland September 26, 1970) 18. Happy Together (Live at Pepperland September 26, 1970) TOTAL TIME: 63:34

ZAPPA

FRANK

Disc 3 – Live Highlights Part 2 – Hybrid Concert: Santa Monica August 21, 1970 / Spokane September 17, 1970 1. “Welcome To El Monte Legion Stadium!” (Live) 2. Agon (Live) 3. Call Any Vegetable (Live) 4. Pound For A Brown (Live) 5. Sleeping In A Jar (Live) 6. Sharleena (Live) 7. The Air (Live) 8. Dog Breath (Live) 9. Mother People (Live) 10. You Didn’t Try To Call Me (Live) 11. King Kong Pt. I (Live) 12. Igor’s Boogie (Live) 13. King Kong Pt. II (Live) 14. “Eat It Yourself…” (Live) 15. Trouble Every Day (Live) 16. “A Series Of Musical Episodes” (Live) 17. Road Ladies (Live) 18. “The Holiday Inn Motel Chain” (Live) 19. What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening? (Live) 20. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are? (Live) TOTAL TIME 68:29 Disc 4 – Live Highlights Part 3 – FZ Tour Tape Recordings 1. “What’s The Deal, Dick?” 2. Another M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath (Live) 3. Paladin Routine #1 (Live) 4. Portuguese Fenders (Live) 5. The Sanzini Brothers (Live) 6. Guitar Build ’70 (Live) 7. Would You Go All The Way? (Live) 8. Easy Meat (Live) 9. “Who Did It?” 10. Turn It Down! (Live) 11. A Chance Encounter In Cincinnati 12. Pound For A Brown (Live) 13. Sleeping In A Jar (Live) 14. Beloit Sword Trick (Live) 15. Kong Solos Pt. I (Live) 16. Igor’s Boogie (Live) 17. Kong Solos Pt. II (Live) 18. Gris Gris (Live) 19. Paladin Routine #2 (Live) 20. King Kong - Outro (Live) TOTAL TIME: 74:08

ZAPPA

Disc 2 – Live Highlights Part 1 – “Piknik” VPRO June 18, 1970 / Pepperland September 26, 1970 1. Introducing…The Mothers (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 2. Wonderful Wino (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 3. Concentration Moon (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 4. Mom & Dad (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 5. The Air (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970) 6. Dog Breath (Live on “Piknik” June 18, 1970)

August 2020 • Rock and Blues International