Rock And Blues International - May 2023

Rock And Blues International

L.A. Guns

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Light Chili

Inside this issue

Robert Jon & The Wreck

Axel Rudi Pell

La Sra. Tomasa

Infected Rain Steel Dan

Tragically Hip and more!

Rock And Blues International

Hello Rock And Blues International readers. I hope everybody had a great April.

Be sure to check out all the tour announcements and ads in this issue. If you’re a publicist and your act doesn’t have a tour announcement in here, then you’re client is really missing out. Don’t leave them by the wayside.

And now on to the May issue of Rock And Blues International. On the cover of this issue you can see the L.A. Guns. The L.A. Guns have a new album titled “Black Diamonds” and it’s fantastic. We have an interview with Phil Lewis, the lead singer of L.A. Guns and Phil gives us a lot of great insight into the new album. Also mentioned on the cover is Robert Jon and The Wreck. Robert Jon and The Wreck have just released their new live DVD Live At The Ancienne Belgique, which was recorded in Brussels, Belgium Robert Jon gave us a call to let us know everything about the recording of the DVD from start to finish. It was a great conversation and we’re presenting it here for you. We’ve also got a great story by Edoardo Fassio about Fabrizio Canale and his new band, Light Chili, that also features his father and mentor Domenico Canale. This cool new duo is stirring up quite a bit of interest in Europe. There are also stories on Battle Born, trueandtrue, The Glorious Bankrobbers, Axel Rudi Pell, La Sra. Tomasa, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Greta Van Fleet, Avenged Sevenfold, Steely Dan, The Tragically Hip and more! We also have a special feature story on the late Houston musician Artie Villaseñor. As you can see, there are a lot of varied genres of music here for you to check out, or as we like to say, there’s a little of something for everyone here. We have even included the current installment of the novella, “The Biker”. Read it and than email us back with your thoughts on this. So far our readers seem to really like this Blues loving Biker.

I sincerely hope that everybody reading this 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. I 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 link to the magazine each month when it is published.

May 2023 Kevin Wildman

Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher

Rock And Blues International

Page 6 L.A. Guns

Phil Lewis Talks About The L.A. Guns

New Release Black Diamonds Out Now On Frontier Records

Page 26

Light Chili

Edoardo Fassio talks about Fabrizio Canale and his new band Light Chili

Page 18

Robert Jon and The Wreck

Robert Jon And The Wreck Release Their Career Defining DVD Live At The Ancienne Belgique

Page 54

Artie Villaseñor

Music Man Extraordinaire

Guitar Stylist, Artist

Artie Villaseñor

(July 1 1951 - May 3 2019)

Phil Lewis Talks About The L.A. Guns New Release Black Diamonds Out Now On Frontier Records

By Kevin Wildman

L.A. Guns have just released their new album, Black Diamonds on the Italian label, Frontier Records. This is the fourth album that the band has released since their reunion in 2017. The fist three were The Missing Peace, The Devil You Know and Checkered Past.

Produced by founding member and guitarist Tracii Guns, this is probably their best release to date and definitely one of their heaviest. It is everything that you would definitely expect to come from Tracii Guns and more!

The entire album was written and recorded just last year and continues on with the journey that Tracii Guns and lead singer Phil Lewis have been on for so many years. One thing that you’ll notice about Black Diamonds is that it is indeed a nod to the 70s and 80s age of power rock, complete with

ballads and songs that will rock you to your very core.

L.A. Guns has already released some videos for songs on the album such as the album’s opener, “You Betray,” along with videos for “Shattered Glass” and “Diamonds.” Other songs on the new album include “Wrong With You,” “Baby Ion,” “Shame,” “Crying,” “Gonna Lose,” “Like A Drug,” and more.

Don’t be surprised if you walk away from your first listen to the album with the thought in mind that this is the band’s best album yet. I think it is. Without a doubt, this new reincarnation of the band is producing some of the best material that they have ever done, but don’t take my word for it, just listen to Phil Lewis, lead singer for L.A. Guns. We were able to sit down and talk to Phil about this new album and he certainly had a lot to say about it and we’d like to present it to you right now.

Ladie’s and gentlemen, this is what Phil Lewis has to say about the new L.A. Guns masterpiece, Black Diamonds.

Phil Lewis: Hello, Kevin. Hi, it’s Phil Lewis.

Rock And Blues International: Hi, how you doing today, Phil?

Phil Lewis: I’m all right. I’m scheduled to have a chat with you about the new album.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, that’s fantastic. The new album is Black Diamond. I don’t think it’s going to be released for another couple of days.

Phil Lewis: No, actually, it was released on April 14.

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

Rock And Blues International: Okay. It’s been a few days, then.

Phil Lewis: Yes, it has.

Rock And Blues International: And what what’s the reception been like to it now?

Phil Lewis: It’s number one on Amazon’s Most Ordered Product or whatever you call it? You know, I don’t know if it’s CDs, or downloads or whatever. But we’re number one on that. And then rave reviews, of course, and how could how could it not?

Rock And Blues International: Exactly. It’s a wonderful album.

Phil Lewis: It is a wonderful album. And we’ll get into that, too. How long have you long have you been listening to it?

Rock And Blues International: I’ve probably listened to it about five times now.

Phil Lewis: Okay, all right. So you can already tell that it’s a very style wise it’s very varied. You’re gonna go from like, you know, like these, these sort of immigrant song type Led Zeppelin, heavy metal, to a kind of a sort of a sort of cheesy, Beatlesy Bangles-esque kind of sing along chorus in songs like “Crying”. And, of course, we make no apologies for that. It’s not that we can’t find a style. We just don’t want to be mono stylistic, I guess, stylistic. And it’s always been that way with this band because, well Tracii and I, we’re children of the 70s. You know, we grew up next to our record players, and you know, like vinyl. A big part, a very important part of our lives. And just variety has always been, I get it, you know, sometimes you get like a Motorhead or an AC DC, you’re never gonna hear a ballad from those guys. And that’s probably just as well.

Rock And Blues International: Well, there’s a lot of variation on this album. I mean, you start out with “You Betray”, which is a really heavy tune.

Phil Lewis: That’s my point. That’s my point. And you know, and I think within five listens, I was going to ask if you have a favorite track, but I doubt if you do by now yet, because it’s so varied. You got so much information going on? It’s probably quite hard to actually pick one good one out.

Rock And Blues International: Well, quite honestly, I kind of lean towards “Shattered Glass”.

Phil Lewis: Oh, really? That’s interesting.

Rock And Blues International: I mean,

I like the ballad type songs.

Phil Lewis: Yeah. Yeah, that was an interesting choice. That’s what the label picked. as well. You know, they picked up on that. I like something a bit more driven. Me personally, I like “Like A Drug”, which is actually the last song on the record. But I like that one a lot. And I can I look forward to pulling that out live. Now we’ve done a couple of these songs live now over this last weekend. We had a bunch of shows in and around the L.A. area, so we ran them up the flagpole. And it’s always a little bit scary. Because, you know, we we’ve never done it live before. We’ve never done it in front of an audience before.

Rock And Blues International: Which songs were those?

Phil Lewis: That’s a good question. Well, to get the full range, we wanted something where were, you know, right now, Tracii’s favorites, essentially, which is “You Betray” and “Diamonds”. And they went down a storm. I never got the vibe like, oh, you know, people getting antsy because we’re playing new shit. Because it’s good and “You Betray” is so quick. It’s kind of over before you know it. But “Diamonds”, I have a very specific audience participation part. That even though they don’t know the song, I’m going to teach them a part of it. There’s going to be coming up three minutes later, in the middle of the song, which is just made for audience participation and it was gangbusters.

Place just exploded, erupted. It was rapturous. It was really, really. All three shows that we did with the new songs were bloody amazing.

Rock And Blues International: Were those the only two songs you did off the new album?

Phil Lewis: Well, yes, I mean, you say, only two, but you got to remember, it’s really difficult for us to put, to place new star in a set because like it or not, we are something of a nostalgia band. And if we don’t play “Electric Gypsy”, or “Never Enough” or “Ballad of Jane”, there’s going to be a problem. So it’s always a bit of a juggling act.

Rock And Blues International: I don’t think you could ever do a show without the “Ballad of Jane”.

Phil Lewis: Exactly, exactly. So it’s really difficult for us because we’ve got four albums now post reunion, and we’d like to play a little bit off of each one. But spaces are getting very, very scarce. And quite often when we’ve got something like a short 60 minute set, it’s lucky that we can even do one, let alone two. But that’s where we’re at with it. Those are the two that we’ve picked, and they’re going down great. I’m really we’re really enjoying playing them. I really enjoy singing them. So yeah, it’s all very, very good.

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

Rock And Blues International: I hadn’t seen the video for “Diamonds” but I had seen one for you “You Betray” and for “Shattered Glass”. Is there a video in the works for “Diamonds”?

Phil Lewis: Yeah, that’s already made. It’s a it’s kind of a sort of event, higher Goth kind of, like Count Dracula in his big chamber and his big chair and with his band and it is the basement somewhere in Transylvania, where it’s really a soundstage in LA, to be honest, but that’s the vibe. And it turned out pretty good. There’s a young lady involved in it and she’s been involved in our video team for a while now. And her dad is one of the producers of our videos, who works closely with our label in Italy, Frontiers. They’re all Italian and they’re just great, great people and they’ve got great energy and enthusiasm. So she’s in it. She’s plays a troubled soul. Sort of somehow manifest around loosely around the lyric of the song, but not really, but it makes some fine visual. So yeah, you should look that up after we speak.

Rock And Blues International: Okay. Is she the same lady that was in “Shattered Glass”?

Phil Lewis: Yep, her and her friends are in “Shattered Glass” and she was in it when we released the album “Checkered Past” about a year ago... 18 months ago. She was in the acoustic video that we made “Let Down”... “Not Let You Down”. I can’t even remember the name of it. But yeah, so she’s been around for a while as her brother, dad and so his boss. They’re all part of this, this really nice Italian satellite team in L.A. that we’ve been working with for a while now. And I’m gonna say I’m pleased with the work and I enjoy them as people.

Rock And Blues International: Well, before we start into the songs, why don’t we talk about Frontiers? What made you select them to sign to.

Phil Lewis: Well, that you know, all that stuff is all sorted out with before I even came back to the reunion. He’s deep in bed with Frontiers. Not just with L.A. Guns, but he does do two or three different projects for them a year. Like for example, Frontier, he’s doing the Todd Kerns record. Todd Kerns of course is the guitar player. He goes out with Slash, a local Vegas guy. Tremendous musicians. So incredibly gifted, just all around cool guy that has been friends of the band for a long time. And of course, Tracii would do stuff with Sweets. And so he’s always got stuff going on. And I think he’s actually already had us lined up in a pretty ironclad multiple album deal before I agreed to do the reunion and it sounds Ooh and Aah, but the numbers are so small it’s really pretty insignificant. We spend more. I’ll give you an example. When we recorded, “Cocked And Loaded”... it’s a slight deviation from your question here. But we had four studios, going simultaneously in Hollywood, at $300 an hour. Recording, finishing up “Cocked And Loaded”, the money was astronomical we were spending. Now, we spent more on catering on “Cocked And Loaded”, catering, like, you know what catering remains right, than we spent recording the last four post reunion records. We spent more on lobster than we did making these albums.

Rock And Blues International: That’s great. So everybody put on a couple of pounds.

Phil Lewis: Right! Yeah, you know, so it’s, it’s, it’s not a big deal. You know, we know we’re not going to sell millions of

albums. We did back then. Which is, you know why it was it was so flush. But that’s, that’s really not why we’re doing it. But yeah, Frontiers are a good label. They’ve been supportive of the band and I think they like having us on the label. We’re a little bit edgier than a lot of their acts. And I think it gives them a little bit of street cred. Having a band like us on in this label, and I’m alright with that. They’re okay, they treat us right. It’s not bad. It just is what it is. You know, Tracii is such a prolific writer, whether we were contracted to put an album out or not, he’s still gonna write one. So it’s good that we have an outlet for it.

Rock And Blues International: Well, how much of the writing process are you involved in?

Phil Lewis: We’re all involved and contribute to the writing process. It but it mainly starts with Tracii and his musical ideas. But of course, like Johnny and Ace, they both are great, they’re both good songwriters, too, so they’re bringing stuff in. Adam Hamilton, who plays drums on this record, actually wrote a song, I can’t remember what song it is. But he wrote the drums first, and sent the drum track to Tracii and said, Alright, put some guitar around this and it was a challenge that Tracii rose to. And it was a song before you know it. I work closely with a guy in New York called Mitch Davis, who I record my vocals with. And he’s very involved in the writing process as well and has been post reunion. And like Adam, very much an integral part of the band, but behind the scenes, you know, like invisible members. So that’s the dream team. And I’m real happy to be part of it. You know, it’s nothing specific. If somebody’s got an idea for a lyric, it can be the bass player, if I could have a suggestion for a bass part. You know, as a singer, that’s totally fine. Because that’s the way we roll. You know, someone’s got a good idea. We’ll try it. It’s like any idea. Actually, we give it five minutes and see how it sounds. And if it sounds good, great, we move on. And if it’s, I don’t know, I’m not feeling it, then we dump it and we move on anyway. It’s a very democratic process.

Rock And Blues International: All right. Which songs in particular on here were you heavily involved in? I mean, I know you’re involved in all of them. But I mean, as far as the writing.

Phil Lewis: Right, which one am I more emotionally involved in.... very much “Diamonds”. That was something that you know, I knew that because here’s the thing about “Diamonds”. It’s a power ballad. Can you tell me the last new recent release power ballad? You can’t. There isn’t one. I can tell you and you might be able to see if you can get something, I believe the last massive power ballad was “The Flame” by Cheap Trick. Is there any, can you think of anything since then that that could qualify as a as a big power ballad?

Rock And Blues International: Not

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

really. Everything seems to be so homogenized now.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, yeah. So, you know we dug up something, a real old fashioned concept of the power ballad. And it’s not trendy. It can certainly age your band. I mean, it clearly we’re an 80s band. That’s very obvious from the style of that song, and we make no apologies for it. We just thought it was a be a great idea. You know, it was a ballad that changed our lives for the better. I mean, when “Ballad of Jane” dropped and it hit the jackpot for us, it was it was an amazing moment. And it was funny, because we at one point... Tracii didn’t want “Ballad of Jane” on “Cocked and Loaded” because he thought that it would mess up the vibe. It would mess up the bad boy, the tough guy image that we sort of manifest for ourselves. It’s very much in his vision, in his division of his. His vision of this band didn’t include a sappy power ballad. But, you know, fortunately, it did make the album and he’s the first to admit that the he’s glad that it did. So it’s just like a little homage to that. And I’m real proud of that one. That’s a song... “Even if I win, baby, I’m gonna lose”. I was scared to death of that song. I was scared to death of how we were approaching it. And I was scared that I was going to let the band down because I wasn’t going to be able to sing it in the style that the song deserved. It really needed that Robert Plant, full voice, high falsetto style for that song. And when I flew out to Mitch... Mitch and I’d been working on the other songs for a few days. And that one came up and I said alright, let’s put it up. Let’s see what it’s like. And I’ll have a stab at it. And the first part was alright, that’s easy, because it’s kind of low range. And you know, I can do that. But the high part... when that came in, that kicked in at the end of a long, hard day in the studio, I couldn’t touch it. I couldn’t reach that note by an English country mile. I mean, it was it was bad. And immediately I was like, Oh, shit, shit. We’re gonna have to rewrite this but Mitch, calm has ever said look, I stwe’ve had a good day in studio, we’ve got three or four done. Just go home, just go back to your hotel, chill out and get you know, have a nice dinner. Think about it, but don’t stress about it. And we’ll start it first thing tomorrow, which is exactly what we did. And I went in and first thing the following day, I knocked out the park. So I’m incredibly emotionally invested in that because it just is it blows me away that I could do that. And there’s no computers. There’s no tricks on it. There’s no autotune, it’s really me singing. And the same thing for our live show. Sometimes I digress a little bit here and I don’t want to go too far with this, but quite often at the beginning of our show I will say look boys and girls, it is very, very sad to announce that our digital feed has been corrupted, and our laptops on the fritz So tonight we’re just going to have to play 100%

Live, are you okay with that .Ah, but yes to go back to that song. In the studio, no tricks, no effects, no, no autotune. That’s really me. And that blows me away. So those two, I’m big time invested in, but I just love it all. And I’ll tell you, what was what was amazing about it. When we recorded “Checkered Past”, it was during the pandemic. So we’re all locked down. We’re all at home with our laptops and interface. So at no point will we ever in the same room writing and recording these songs. It was written and recorded, entirely remotely. Isolation Boulevard. And so, you know, I’m amazed that it turned out as good as it did, because I like it. There’s some great stuff on it. And you know, you’d never know, unless I pointed out, where’s this

one? Oh, my, this was organic. This is us all in a room, cooking, and laughing and burping and telling jokes and making changes. It was like it was real, real camaraderie. And oftentimes, on the tour bus. You were out on the road, and we’ve got a bit of a deadline. So it’s just like, Well, fuck it. We’ll just record some guitars and bass while we’re out here, and oh, my god, that was so much fun doing that, and being immersed in something organic, as opposed to digital like the album before. And I think that’s also another thing that charms me about this record. Because we were all... we’re all tight. We were all on the road. We’re all having fun. And it sounds like

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

it, It sounds like it’s... I can hear it. Just generally speaking, you know, the conditions couldn’t have been more opposite than the record before it.

Rock And Blues International: So it kind of breathed new life into the band as well.

Phil Lewis: Yeah.

Rock And Blues International: Great.

Phil Lewis: Yeah.

Rock And Blues International: Now I hate to use the word comeback but everywhere you read about the band, it says oh, these are the comeback albums.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, right.

Rock And Blues International: How do you think this album stacks up against the previous three “The Missing Piece”, “The Devil You Know” and “Checkered Past”?

Phil Lewis: I think that’s an extension of them, I think the four are all part of a series and it basically records our development. Even now musically, like the first two are very musically progressive. It could be early Black Sabbath, it could be early, early Zeppelin. And you know, it meanders musically. It goes all over the place and in a really, really good way. It’s adventurous. We’re working it all the way up to this diamond, “Black Diamond”, which is so much more polished. And there really isn’t the same pomp as the first two post reunion records, but I do consider it very much part of a series I just think of this as being... you know when you say comeback... I think of

this being L.A. Guns 2.0. It’s, it is me and Tracii which is the nucleus, the same nucleus as L.A. Guns Original. But we’ve just been around the world and we know each other so much better. We’ve done so much. We’ve grown so much. It just, it is. It’s the same guys, but it’s a different band. And as much as incredibly proud as I am of our early work, the debut album, “Cocked and Loaded”, “Hollywood Vampires”, I think, and you know, it’s no big deal. But I honestly think that the post reunion stuff is infinitely better. And I, yeah, if a genie could give me a wish, I could say well these, these four can just be our first four. Leave it at that. I’d love that. And that’s how I see it. But in terms of competition between the post reunion, nah, not so much, but I do think this is the best one. I do think this is the slickest one. “The Devil” was so much fun to make. I mean, it was such a romp it was to get into that sort of, you know, 70s style, Black Sabbath. style of music. It was so much fun. And I’m proud of that. But now we’ve gotten a lot slicker. The songs are shorter, and more to the point. And just as much fun but not quite as not quite as theatrical.

Rock And Blues International: All right. Can we talk about some of the meanings on some of the songs? Messages that may be in the songs are just lyrically? Yeah, let’s start off with the first one “You Betray”.

Phil Lewis: Yeah! Well, Tracii was in Denmark, prior when we were recording in pre production, and he was writing from 9am to noon, every day. He was locking himself away, in his studio over there. And it was a very good release for him. Because, to be honest, things weren’t going incredibly well for him over there. And it didn’t take a genius

to figure that out listening to the music he was providing. There was definitely a fair bit of sadness, and frustration and anger in the stuff that he was sending, very much, specifically, that one.

Rock And Blues International: And it’s a pretty rough song. It’s pretty much... it’s really in your face.

Phil Lewis: Yeah. And, you know, when he saw the lyrics, he was relieved. He was so happy that it was in the same wavelength, the same frequency as the music. And you know, that’s what we do. We interpret each other’s work. And that one, we hit it, it was what it needed to be, as you say, in your face. It needed that aggression, that disbelief of this betrayal is really what we were going for lyrically. And I think it cuts like a knife.

Rock And Blues International: Did you do the lyrics on this?

Phil Lewis: I was involved in it, but I didn’t. I can’t take full credit. I mean, once again, it goes back to Mitch Davis, who’s heavily involved in it, but I didn’t write none of it.

Rock And Blues International: Really? Okay. How about the song “Wrong With You”?

Phil Lewis: “Wrong About You”.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, “Wrong About You”.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, yeah. That was a lot of fun. Mitch is a really good jingle writer. He writes for advertisements. He’s written for Apple. He’s written for a bunch of corporate stuff. And he’s by no means a metal singer. He’s not a rock singer at all. He’s got a very, very unique style. But you know, he certainly knows my voice and what I can do. And he just wanted to come up with a... He wanted to come up with something slick and that bursts. The way it’s phrased is... it’s fantastic. I mean, it could come from Hamilton. It’s so cleverly phrased for the verse. And then with the big bang chorus, “I think the boys are wrong about you”. I mean, we could just hear it when we were sitting there writing it, putting it together, it was just... this is going to be huge for that one. “Diamonds”, well, you know was another one of those melancholic pieces that Tracii had delivered. And it was heart wrenching, even without any vocal. If you just heard the music, without any singing, it breaks your heart, because it’s that moving. So obviously, it needed to be something along those lines, and going back to the broken, the “Shattered Glass”, the broken sense. The feeling of being broken. Yes, we are broken, but we can still shine. And that is absolutely the message of the song “Diamonds”. And the other stuff, I don’t know, the other stuff was more kind of like, write by numbers. You know, let’s put a rock song here. Let’s put a fast one here. A, again,

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

one here. But those ones that we’ve just discussed. Those are the deep cuts, in my opinion.

Rock And Blues International: Well, you said your favorite was “Like A Drug”.

Phil Lewis: Yeah.

Rock And Blues International: Tell me about that. Why is “Like A Drug” your favorite one?

Phil Lewis: Because it was one of those that we recorded on the bus, on the tour bus. It was a song that Tracii and I didn’t write. It was it was a song that Ace, Ace Von Johnson, our guitar player brought in. And it was, it was refreshing to have a different style. You know, we’ve always had two guitar players in L.A. Guns, but we’ve never done the two guitar player thing, you know, the harmony thing like Thin Lizzy might do or Metallica might do it. They’ve always sort of been doing separate parts. Whereas this one was very much in harmony. And I haven’t heard Tracii play in that style. I really enjoyed it. He plays just a brilliant solo on it, and it’s got the bridge in it. The breakdown in it is... it gives me chills. And so yeah, I like it because it’s incredibly different. And I find it refreshing from the rest of the record. And the same thing about “Crying” too, which is a Johnny Martin composition. Also, Johnny’s a Ramones guy, he’s a pop guy, power pop guy, and we could do with a bit of that, and we do it pretty well. So you know in terms of writing it, bringing stuff in is absolutely fully democratic.

Rock And Blues International: All right. When you went it went into record. What was the hardest song for you to do?

Phil Lewis: Oh, “Gonna Lose”, “even if I win, baby I’m gonna lose. I am not sure the what the end is in sight we ended up with “but even if I win, baby I’m gonna lose”. That chorus. It scared the crap out of me. I can’t believe I did it.

Rock And Blues International: Well, we talked earlier about it. You said you nailed it the first time though.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, to be honest. I’m not sure if I could do it again. I’d be scared to death to have to go out and play it every night. But yeah, that’s one. And you know Mitch Davis again... He just absolutely... He believed in me. He said you can do this. You got it. You’ve sung higher than this before. You know, just don’t look it in the eye. Just get in there. Get behind that mic and hit it. And I did.

Rock And Blues International: Well, you know, with some songs, you nail them

the first time in the studio, but the idea of playing them live every night can just blow out your voice.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, sure got to be very, very careful with stuff like that, you know, it’s not. It’s not my... it really is something that that I’m amazed that I could do and it’s not something that I thought I could do. It’s not something that I can do that I’ve done regularly. Some songs you don’t do, just as you mentioned it. We mentioned Todd Kerns. He can sing like that he could sing like that all night. He’s that good. I just, I’m just not that good. I’m more of kind of a Rod Stewart kind of a singer than I am a Robert Plant, kind of a singer if you get what I mean.

Rock And Blues International: Sure. There are two distinctive different styles.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. So every now and then, you know, when this old Rod Stewart can pull off a Robert Plant. It makes me feel good.

Rock And Blues International: Well, even Robert Plant has trouble doing Robert Plant now.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, God bless him. And I’m so proud of him for not even trying, you know, he ain’t got nothing to prove. He’s already proved it. You know, he’s the blueprint for rock and roll singers and always will be and no, you can’t do that in your 70s It’s ridiculous. And he’s always been a smoker. He still loves the music. I love the work he’s doing with Alison Krauss. He’s still good. It just it’s not as you know, as brash and as brilliant as it was on Led Zeppelin II.

Rock And Blues International: On the songs from the other albums, the other three albums that you do, how much liberty do you have in revamping them a little from the original version when you’re performing them?

Phil Lewis: Well, I mean, the two that we do, we do “Speed” and then we do

“Cannonball”, which is from the last one... from “Checkered Past”. So as I say, you know if we can get a couple of songs, new songs from this one into the set, that’s great. But we still want to include the others from the other record because they’re important. A song like “Cannonball”, a song like “Speed” are very, very important that they’re sort of synonymous now with what we’re doing and certainly the band we are post reunion. In terms of modification I gotta say, like once it’s perfect, I mean, you don’t need to redesign the wheel. These songs are so good as they are you know, maybe there might be an opportunity to extend a song if you know, wanting to jam out if you got some guys up wanting to play guitar and do a jam but no, in terms of arrangement, these are tidy pockets these songs, and we tend not to fuck with it. It is already perfect. Oh, isn’t that beautifully poor?

Rock And Blues International: Well, it’s gotta be really hard for you guys to put together a setlist? I mean, if you have a twohour show, it’s one thing but if you have an hour...

Phil Lewis: I know, 60 minutes it really is excruciating. It’s like culling children. It’s a horrible thing to do.

Rock And Blues International: When someone listens to this album for the first time, what do you want them to come away with?

Phil Lewis: Okay, I want them to come away with Oh my, here’s a guy. Here’s some guys that really know what they’re doing. And they, they, they’re good at what they do. And because every song is a little bit different. They’re not stale. They’re not boring. Here’s a band that sounds... sounds retro. It’s definitely an 80s Rock Band, but somehow it doesn’t sound dated. These are the things... these are the thoughts that I would like, say somebody in their mid 20s, mid 30s listening to it for the first time might think about, and if they did come to that

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

conclusion, then our very job is very much done. And you know, some of it’s a challenge. Some of it’s not going to be as immediate as others, like I’ve gotten a lot of criticism from the effect of the vocal on “You Betray” because it is so industrial. It is so Nine Inch Nails. And it is it’s sort of the antithesis of “Sex Action”, which is, you know, we haven’t really done industrial vocals like that. And it freaks a few people out. It’s freaked a few people out. But you

know it. It’s okay that you don’t have to love it. It’s not ABBA, which I can’t stand. But it’s not immediate. It’s alright to listen to it a few times. I remember listening to the early Sabbath and Zeppelin albums. So oh, this “Hang Man”. I mean, it was brilliant, of course, but say, well, it’s got a fucking banjo in it on my metal band with the banjo in it. You know, stuff like that. It was challenging. And I like to think of us as having that same pioneering spirit.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, that third Zeppelin album was a little departure.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, just to say the least.

Rock And Blues International: So, when you got the songs, did you just got the rough cuts of it to begin with or did you get scores?

Phil Lewis: I get it every stage. I get like a rough guitar track. I get a rough mix with drums and guitar. And I get some rough ideas. And yeah, so it’s not like it’s all done and then they hand it to me. I’m very much aware of how this stuff is taking shape.

Rock And Blues International: Well, when you got maybe a couple of songs...

Phil Lewis: I’m not like Frank Sinatra. Okay, baby, what we got?

Rock And Blues International: No, no, but I mean, when you were presented with the songs, was there one or two that you when you first heard the music for you just went? Holy shit. That’s just wild.

Phil Lewis: Yeah, yeah, all of it.

Rock And Blues International: All of it, every song,

Phil Lewis: All of it, every song. And I’ll double down on that. Every song that they’ve laid on me since the reunion has blown my mind... has been, oh, fuck, this is so good. I’m really, really going to enjoy this. And the other thing is because they’re so good, I become a much better singer. You know, I’m a much better singer than the guy that sang “Sex Action”. Never enough, it’s just like they’ve matured so much musically. And I like to feel that it’s been somewhat contagious and stepped up my game a bit. I mean, Tracii, has always made me step up my game. I mean, he’s just so good and so focused and dedicated. You can’t be anything but that when you’re around him, when you’re working with him, because no one’s is as driven and focused as he is, and it’s inspiring. To your question, I just love it all. But you know, when we heard, when he sat down and he played us the rough idea of the ballad, of the “Diamonds” ballad. You should have seen the look on his face. He was so proud of himself. He was beaming and with good reason. I mean, he really did such a great job on it. And just magic to be around that and to see him being that happy. And we’ve been friends for a long time. He changed my life. And we’ve had our ups and downs but we, we understand how important each other is, in our lives and in our careers. And I just love to do, I just know, I don’t always like him. But I always admire his professionalism and devotion to the craft.

Rock And Blues International: Well, you said that he helped you step up your

continued on next page

L.A. Guns

(continued from previous page)

game on this. What would what one thing or two things in particular did he really help instill in you that that you’re thankful for?

Phil Lewis: Well, you know, he sits at home and he plays guitar six hours a day. And he doesn’t even know he’s playing. It’s just it’s so instinctual for him to do that. That, and then while he’s playing six hours a day, he’s finding out these ideas by accident and making a note of them and putting them away and saving them for what might be something useful, like a tailor saving swaths of cloth, you know, it’s just like all that might be good. I’ll save that for something. And he just got this catalog of ideas. And he’s the kind of guy if we had to write and record an album in a week, we could do it because he’s got so much stuff going on up in his head and ideas on his phone. I’ve never known anyone like that. And he just loves to play that guitar. He just loves the music. And he just loves it. It’s just he was born to do this. And when I’m around that kind of devotion, of course it’s contagious. And, you know, like, I wouldn’t, I would never have the guts, the gall to do anything half ass around him because that’s just not his style. It’s not. I’ve never seen him musically do anything half-assed. And I’ve always been quite inspired by that. Even in the early days when he was young, in his early 20s, he was very, very driven, very focused, very smart about it. So yeah, I mean, nothing, he didn’t sit me down and go, Phil, Phil, you can hit an F, but I know you can hit high C, and nothing like that. Just the vibe just being around him. And his focus makes me want to compliment his style, that he wants me to be a singer. He’s that good.

Rock And Blues International: Well, what was some of his reactions when he heard the final vocals on there? Because it sounds like he’s mainly the The Music Man and you and your buddy are leaning over towards the vocals. So were there any extraordinary reactions when he heard the song with the vocals?

Phil Lewis: Yeah, yeah, I mean, he’s, he was blown away. And he absolutely told us and told me how happy he was and continues to do so. It was great. Yeah, he loves the way it turned out. And as he should, because these rough ideas of his have turned into these epic, beautiful songs. And I gave it 1,000% And Mitch did. Johnny did. Ace did. Everyone had such a good feeling! And yeah, it means a lot to me, his opinion, and how he feels about something. Obviously, you can tell. I’m very respectful of him as a musician, as an artist. So when he does say, “Fuck, that’s great”, It blows me away. And he’s not dashing. He’s never like that. He doesn’t sugarcoat, he doesn’t bullshit. If he didn’t like it, he’d say it. He goes, Oh, that!, He has criticized in the past certain things, maybe like made me go and redo a chorus because

he thinks I could do it better. But no, there was nothing that needed changing on this and yeah, I just wish you could have been on the bus. You know, when the power ballad “Diamonds” made sense. And we were all sitting there going, Oh my God, we’ve nailed it. And that’s how we feel at night every time we play it. Especially with the audience participation. It’s going to be a monster when people learn this song and know this song. I think it’s going to be an important song. Certainly. It’s already an important song for us. I think it’s going to be an important song for our fans.

As you can tell here, Phil definitely believes that this is the best L.A. Guns album

to date. While there were definitely some great songs in the past for L.A. Guns, there is without a doubt more great songs on this release as well and he just can’t wait for all of you to get your hands on a copy of Black Diamnds as soon as you can. You can expect to see L.A. Guns on the road soon touring in support of this new album, so keep your eyes peeled for the adverts. In the meantime, get yourself a copy and start rocking to the sounds of Black Diamonds today. L.A. Guns are Phil Lewis (vocals), Tracii Guns (Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Mellotron), Ace Von Johnson (Electric Guitars), Johnny Martin (Bass, Electric Guitars), Shawn Duncan (Drums - Live) and Adam Hamilton (DrumsStudio, & Strings).

Robert Jon And The Wreck Release Their Career Defining DVD

LiveAtTheAncienneBelgique

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

By Kevin Wildman

California Blues-Rockers Robert Jon and the Wreck have just released their first ever live DVD Live At The Ancienne Belgique that the band recorded in Belgium. As it says in the title, he show was recorded at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels during their sold-out show there on June 29th of last year. Without a doubt, this is the career defining video of the band in action performing all their hits and fan favorites. The show was recorded at about he 50th date of a 67 performance tour that took the band across 9 countries in 75 days. By that time the band was chomping at the bit to let go with the performance of their lives and when you see the video, you’ll swear they accomplished that. The video is being released through Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. The music on the video spans the bands entire repertoire from their 2013 debut to their most recent 2022 release performing such hits as “Shine A Light On Me Brother to their most recent singles, “She’s A Fighter” and “Waiting For Your Man.”

“A lot of time and effort went into our show at the Ancienne Belgique,” comments frontman Robert Jon Burrison. “We had been meaning to make a live album for years, so we saw this as an opportunity to document and release unique, more evolved versions of our songs.

Since the band formed in 2011, they have been on the road dazzling audiences around the world with their renowned Southern Rock sound infused with the Blues. Performing on the video are Robert Jon Burrison (guitar and lead vocals), Andrew Espantman (drums, background vocals), Henry James Schneekluth (lead guitar, background vocals), Warren Murrel (bass). The newest addition to the band is keyboardist Jake Abernathie, who recently replaced Steve Maggiora when he departed the band to join up with the band Toto.

We had a chance to sit down and chat with Robert Jon recently and he had a lot to tell us about the recording of the video and life on the road. We actually

caught up with Robert Jon as he and his band were loading in the studio to start recording their next album

Rock And Blues International: Hello Robert.

Robert Jon: Hey, is this Kevin.

Rock And Blues International: It’s sure is.

Robert John: Hey, Kevin, this is Robert Jon.

Rock And Blues International: Hi, how you doing today?

Robert Jon: Good.

Rock And Blues International: How things out in California?

Robert Jon: Things are great. We just loaded into a studio and we’re getting the day going.

Rock And Blues International: What, another album in the works?

Robert Jon: Yeah.

Rock And Blues International: It just

doesn’t stop, does it?

Robert Jon: Nope, But we love it. So, you can’t beat it.

Rock And Blues International: All right, well, you’re releasing a concert video, and I’ve been watching it. It’s really good, I really enjoyed it. The cinematography is great on the thing.

Robert Jon: Thank you.

Rock And Blues International: Lots of camera angles. Just watching the videos stirs up a lot of interest. It looks like the crowds are just really getting into it as well. And it looks like the band is even enjoying it more than the crowd.

Robert Jon: Well that’s what we tried to do.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah. Well, tell me a little bit about how that came about, how you wound up in Belgium to record a live DVD as opposed to the United States?

Robert Jon: Well, we had been... we’ve been touring out in Belgium, in that

continued on next page

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

area in Europe for that matter for quite a few years and we felt like out there would be the place to do it? The place that we could get some people out and have a really good time and make it unique as well, just because we are from the States, but recording a live record out in Brussels in the center of Europe would be a great opportunity. So we kind of went with it. We had the plan really kind of in COVID, and so we had to move it around for a couple of years there. But I’m glad we did. You know, just it just made us better musicians and well prepared.

Rock And Blues International: Well, I believe this recording was like 50 dates into the tour already.

Robert Jon: Yeah, it sure was.

Rock And Blues International: So did that ease the tension of doing the live album, as opposed to the first date or second day to the tour?

Robert Jon: Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, your kind of already on a.... Your already trucking. If it was like the first day of the tour there would probably be some nerves we get to work out any kinks that there might have been for 50 shows before we actually do it. So it was the right way to do it. That’s for sure.

Rock And Blues International: How many changes did the setlist go through before you decided on the lineup for this show?

Robert Jon: Man, I think we kind of had an idea of what we were going to do so we kind of stick true to it as much as possible as much as we can let ourselves. We usually don’t play the same set every single night, but for that run we kind of made sure we were playing stuff that we were going to put on the live record just to have it in the hands so we don’t have to think too hard.

Rock And Blues International: Did you add songs onto the setlist for this show that you hadn’t been performing on the tour or was it pretty much everything you’d been performing in just a different order.

Robert Jon: Yeah, pretty much everything we had been performing, just moved around a little bit.

Rock And Blues International: And when you’re performing is there a lot of variation in the performances of the songs from show to show? And if so, what did you do on this one or change on this one or add to this one that you thought really enhanced the performance?

Robert Jon: For this live record, we played all those songs, how we would play them in any venue across the world. We wanted to share with people what we do and the difference between the studio versions and what happens when we play them live and play them for years and how they change and really what to expect if someone were to come to see a show. So a lot of the changes that we made were year long in the making, you know from playing

songs for six years or so and how they’ve evolved and how they… what they become.

Rock And Blues International: You had some new singles that you’d also played on this. Can you tell me about the new singles that you just released?

Robert Jon: Yeah, we went into the studio before that tour to record a couple of singles and, we had a blast doing it and we wanted to feature them on this record because they were new and they were exciting for us and they’re great live tracks.

Rock And Blues International: Like “She’s A Fighter”, “Waiting For Your Man”, and the title song from “Shine A Light On Me Brother”?

Robert Jon: Yeah, “Shine A Light On Me Brother” had been out for a little bit and we toured on that one, but that was the first tour that we were playing “Waiting For Your Man” and “She’s A Fighter” on the road. They were high energy and the crowd was loving it, so we decided to add those to it as opposed to just playing old tracks.

Rock And Blues International: Selecting song for the set must be a bitch now that you’ve got four or five, six albums out. How many albums do you have now?

Robert Jon: Man, I think it’s seven or eight,

Rock And Blues International: Seven or eight. Okay,

Robert Jon: Yeah, I have to check for you. But I’m pretty sure it’s around there.

Rock And Blues International: Okay, how hard was it to pick a setlist?

Robert Jon: Oh, man. Yeah, every time we record a new record or a new song, the setlist gets harder to pick. We want people to come to the show and hear their favorites and we also want to show them new songs and we want to play the new songs ourselves because they’re exciting. They have a little more excitement to them when they’re new for the band. But, you know, I mean, I would hate to go see a band that I love, and they only played new songs that I barely know.

Rock And Blues International: Right

Robert Jon: Which I think is the case for everybody. So, you know, it’s a delicate

continued on next page

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

process for sure, but we’re figuring it out still.

Rock And Blues International: Tell me about some of the songs on here and why you selected them.

Robert Jon: Sure, “Cold Night” is on there and we’ve been playing that for probably the longest in our repertoire, and that one really hasn’t had the full potential of letting people experience the live version properly in the past. We’ve, we have the studio version on a record called “Glory Bound” and that song has really just taken off to another level in how we do it live, so it was awesome that it was on there. And the same thing kind of goes to “Blame It On The Whiskey”. We’ve been playing that song just completely different than how we originally recorded it for so long that we wanted to share that version, as well as “Hey Hey Mama”. And then there’s a track off of the new live record called “The Death Of Me” which we turned into a whole different kind of vibe as well. You know, it’s really just the difference between how we play live and where the song ends up after years of being on the road and transformation that songs we have.

Rock And Blues International: You’ve added a new keyboard player to your band, I believe. Did you normally tour with keyboards before or was this a new thing for you?

Robert Jon: Yeah. Yeah, we’ve always had a keyboard player in the band. His name was Steve Maggiora and he’s been with us since the very beginning and over that year he had moved on to a little band called Toto. And so we were kind of in the transition of him moving on and finding a new keyboard player. Steve is featured on the live record and it’s kind of like the last hurrah And we have a new keyboard player now, his name’s Jake Abernathie and we’re in the studio with him right now and we’ll be on the road with him for the foreseeable future.

Rock And Blues International: Well, the keyboard solo on his performance is

just fantastic. I really like that.

Robert Jon: Yeah, it’s great.

Rock And Blues International: You even had Jeff Glixman fly out for this show. How instrumental was he in the recording of this show?

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, extremely instrumental. We recorded four records with Jeff Glixman up in Burbank as a co producer and we recorded at his house. His house was transformed into a recording studio. He was pretty close to the band and the sound of the band for many years. We flew him out to run live recording of the record, and we didn’t trust anybody else with that other than him, so we had him fly out and help us out with it.

Rock And Blues International: Were there just certain things that he can do that you didn’t trust anybody else to handle”.

Robert Jon: You could say it like that, yeah. Yeah, there’s a certain ear that he has and he knows, He helped produce a quite a bit of the songs that we play and he was the right person for that job and we thank him for it.

Rock And Blues International: When people watch this video... if someone has... if this is the first exposure they’ve had to your band, what do you want them to take away from this video or your music in particular,

Robert Jon: We want to have a good time, we want everyone to come out to the shows and have a good time. Forget about whatever’s going on back at home or whatever they have to worry about or stressing about. We’re just there to play music that we love and to have a good time with everyone that’s involved. And we feed

off the energy from the crowd just as much as we hope they feed off our energy. We’re all there together for two hours and they’re there just forget about what’s on the other side of those walls and just have a good time.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, it was a pretty lengthy performance on here. Close to two hours, it kept me interested through the whole thing.

Robert Jon: Awesome. It’s our first official live record and DVD that we’ve been preparing for our whole career, so we’re really excited about it. And we’re back in the studio recording another record right now. We’ll be on the road quite a bit in the meantime, so there’s a lot a lot of things coming out in the future, too.

Rock And Blues International: You’ve got a tour starting at the end of this month.

Robert Jon: Yeah.

Rock And Blues International: How do you how do you balance that with recording?

Robert Jon: I’ll let you know afterwards. There’s a lot of work happening, there’s a lot of things moving, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without the five of us doing it all together, keeping our heads on straight and working together and being brothers. So if anyone had to do this by themselves, then we wouldn’t make it.

Rock And Blues International: What’s the hardest part of touring for the band?

Robert Jon: I think it’s been, I mean,

continued on next page

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

for a few of us. I mean, I have a young son now, he’s only 14 months. And it’s been being away from family. For the most part, the constant travel and being on the road, but there’s a joy that comes out of being on the road, too, So it’s finding that balance, and figuring it out as you go.

Rock And Blues International: Well, it had to be rough when you were on tour for the recording of this video, because how many dates you do... something like 67 performances in 75 days? That had to be pretty tiring?

Robert Jon: Yeah, it was, but we set out with the goal and the mission, and, you put your head down and you move forward and keep on swinging. You have a job to do and you do it.

Rock And Blues International: Do you take family along with you or is it pretty much just you.

Robert Jon: No, it’s just us guys in the band, in the van, man. You know, in the future I hope that we can have the logistical ability to have family on the road when it seems fit. As of right now we’re just hitting it as hard as we can and so that way in the future we can.

Rock And Blues International: What’s the easiest part of touring for the band?

Robert Jon: Playing shows every night.

Rock And Blues International: Once

you hit the stage, do you forget everything that’s been going on during the day, and it’s just the music at the moment.

Robert Jon: Yep that’s exactly what it is. You know, there were a couple of days that we had rough days, but once we hit the stage, it all goes away and we’re there to do what we came to do, and have a good time with the people that chose to come that night.

Rock And Blues International: Well, when you say, when you say rough days, what do you mean?

Robert Jon: Well life still happens when you’re on the road, so there’s a lot of things that can happen, whether it’s with people on the road or with people back at home that need help and situations that you can’t control. And you have to work through. You have to work through life while you’re on the road. I mean, life doesn’t go away. So if you’re looking for an example, we had to move out of out of the place where we lived. We got that news while we were on the road so people back at home have to help find where you’re going to move to, and you can’t be there. So that’s what I mean, as far as every day is different, you never know what’s going to happen. But once we hit the stage, that’s our full commitment and priority for those two hours.

Rock And Blues International: Right. Do you see a big difference between the European audiences and the American audiences?

Robert Jon: We do, but we also have been starting to play shows in the states where we’re seeing the same excitement. With the European audiences for years we’ve noticed they come for the music. Everyone in that building is only there for the sheer love, that means it. You know, there’s a lot of time in the states where you have a feeling that half the people, they’re just there to hang out with their friends and get a buzz on, which is great. I’m guilty of that, too and I don’t think it’s anything to be guilty about. But there’s just more and maybe more respect for the music itself out in Europe. As the shows in the states keep getting bigger and more important we’re seeing that happen in the states now too going from the bar sets to the venue’s. It’s always changing, so I have faith in my states to see the same excitement and the same joy as we see out in Europe.

Rock And Blues International: How big was this venue that you were at? Approximately how many people did it hold?

Robert Jon: You know what, I will probably botch this and someone will hear this and say that’s completely wrong, but I feel like it was the cap of that room was 350 to 400 people.

Rock And Blues International: I know you coming through Houston. We’re based out of Houston and I see you’re playing the Continental Club here on the sixth of June, I believe? Or maybe it’s the sixth of May, I think. It’s is a decent sized venue. It’s a bit small. It’s certainly not a coliseum or anything.

Robert Jon: Well, hey, a packed small room feels better than an unpacked big room, in my opinion.

Rock And Blues International: When you play in certain rooms, does the room Inspire? Sometimes does the room inspire your performances? If you look out at 300 people, it’s one feeling, but if you see 1000 people, does it put added pressure on you in the band?

Robert Jon: I think it’s the opposite. I think the more people in the room takes the pressure off, at least for me, and everyone in the band is different. We’ve talked about it, but the more people in the room, the less pressure I have, it feels to me. The less people in the room, I feel like there’s more pressure and I’ve always felt that my whole career, so I don’t really know what it means or how to explain it.

continued on next page

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

Rock And Blues International: Right.

Robert Jon: That’s what I feel. And then there’s other people in the band where they would rather play for five people than 1005 as far as the pressure and the nerves, and the mindset, so everyone’s different when it comes to that. I mean, we’re still artists though and we’re still performers and I think every performer gets a little, a little tingle right before you hit the stage, no matter where you are. I don’t think it’s good. I think that’s what keeps you on your toes and alert and being the best that you can be.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah. Would you like to talk a little bit about the other musicians in the band and how they affect the performance and what special qualities they bring to the performance?

Robert Jon: Sure, well I’ve been playing with Andrew Espantman, our drummer for over 10 years. He was playing with me before the band was even created. And he’s the backbone. He’s the lifeline. I don’t know what I would do without him. He’s the one that keeps the music going, the heartbeat, if you will, in order for the rest of the band to keep moving. He’s the heartbeat in the back and we have Warren Murrel on the bass and I don’t think anything would ever get done in the band itself if it wasn’t for Warren, but he provides such a experience and such an energy on the stage that keeps you moving. If you’re ever having a bad day or you’re not feeling like the stage is what you want it to sound like, you just look at Warren and everything’s better. And then we have Henry James on the electric guitar for lead guitar and he’s just a maestro man. He’s a killer player and we’re all blessed to be playing music with him anywhere.

Rock And Blues International: He was doing some extraordinary work on this album.

Robert Jon: Yeah, incredible.

Rock And Blues International: That’s solo he does was fantastic as well. He did several solos. But there was one solo in particular, towards the beginning of the

video that he just really shined on.

Robert Jon: Yeah, he’s amazing and it’s a pleasure every night to be playing with him. There’s some times where we just watch him. We take our liberty with solos and space and everything and sometimes I get mesmerized and I forget where we are in the song because I’m just watching him play. And now we have Jake Abernathie on the keys. He’s not on the video, but he’s a member of the band now and he’s a great spirit as well, just a great player and all around great vibes are happening. So, you know, like I said earlier, without these five guys we wouldn’t be able to keep going at our speed and do what we’re doing.

Rock And Blues International: Well that brings us to you. You’re pretty much the frontman of the band. You’re out there. If anybody’s going to take any heat for performance, it’s going to be you.

Robert Jon: Oh, yeah, I know.

Rock And Blues International: So what kind of added pressure does that do to you?

Robert Jon: You know, pressure is always going to be there, I tend not to think about it too much. I think the biggest change in how I perform, and what I do is when my son was born. Leaving him for months on end, I wanted to make sure that I was doing the best that I can and making sure that was my full priority along the road, performing to the best of our abilities. Now we’re sacrificing our lives and our families to be out here on the road and if we’re half assing anything, or if we’re not doing the best we can, there’s no reason for

us to be doing it. If we’re not having a good time with what we’re doing, I’d rather be home with my kid. So the pressure comes from just being on the road and doing the job that you set out to do and having the best time you can do it and because if you’re not out there giving 120% every night, then there’s no reason to be out doing it.

Rock And Blues International: Right. Well, it’s a good thing you stepped out from the drums and stepped to the front of the stage because you’re an excellent guitarist and you’re an excellent vocalist.

Robert Jon: Thank you very much.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, you don’t run into a whole lot of drummers that do that much lead singing on it. Phil Collins may be being an exception to the rule.

Robert Jon: Sure

Rock And Blues International: But what’s your feelings about making the transition from drummer to guitarist and how long ago was that?

Robert Jon: It was easy. I went to college. My first year out of high school, I went to college for drums. I went to Cal State Long Beach as a percussion major and it took about half a semester for me to realize I did not want to be a professional drummer. It was a lot of fun throughout high school and leaving GarageBand and doing everything, but I’m perfectly fine with moving on and singing and playing guitar and letting people who are much

continued on next page

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

better than me at drums be the drummer. I’ll still get behind the kid every now and then just for fun. But yeah, it wasn’t a hard decision for me.

Rock And Blues International: The guitar you’re playing in the video, the white one. What kind of guitar is that?

Robert Jon: That’s an Eastman. It’s called the Juliet and Eastman released them just about eight months prior, and they let us take them on the road and Henry has one too. It’s a red one and we just fell in love with them. It’s a great guitar. It’s comfortable, it’s light and I love it. So I have two now and one lives in Europe. One lives in the states and it’s my main guitar right now.

Rock And Blues International: Do you keep a backline in Europe so you don’t have to take anything?

Robert Jon: It’s a slow process, but we’re slowly leaving stuff there because sometimes flying over there with 11 pieces of gear, it gets a little pricey. So more and more we do it. It makes more sense to leave some stuff out there.

Rock And Blues International: Yeah, especially the amplifiers. That gets to be a little costly to transport.

Robert Jon: Oh, yeah, we’ve always had amps out there. We use the backline company that we used forever, so it’s just the guitars and the keyboards that we fly with. But we’re starting to leave some stuff out there for the use that we need.

Rock And Blues International: Were you using the Orange amp that I saw on stage?

Robert Jon: No, that was Henry. Henry had an Orange amp. He’s got a Supro and an Orange that he runs through. He runs through both of them and then I use a Supro Black Magic.

Rock And Blues International: Any pedals?

Robert Jon: Yeah, I have two, I have a Fulltone, Fulltone Fat Boost that I just use for lead lines. And then I have another Fulltone and I am terrible with gear. I don’t even remember what it’s called, but that’s kind of my main sound that I have on most of the time, just to get that added crunch. And that’s it. That’s the only two I use.

Rock And Blues International: No, that’s good. I see some of these guitarists out there and they’ve got a giant board with 20 pedals on it. Sometimes I wonder how they keep up with what they’re playing. I guess some of them have switchers where they can hit one and it locks three or four of them together to get a special sound out of it.

Robert Jon: That’s a mad scientist. That’s what I come up with.

Rock And Blues International: Who are your inspirations in guitar?

Robert Jon: Oh, man, my inspirations came from mostly songwriters more than guitar players. I’ve always loved

listening to radio. The songwriters are more my thing and learning how to play the songs, if you will, more than just the straight lead player where I come from.

Rock And Blues International: I really enjoyed the concert. I think I’ve watched the video through, like three times now. I was really... I was really mesmerized with how many camera angle changes you were going through. It was constantly changing. The music was constantly evolving. There are some videos I see and they put the camera on someone and it sits on him for like a minute and a half longer than it should. With yours, It was like seconds for each thing. You get a vocal part out, it would shift over to the guitar, he’d finished playing a lead or something and we’re over at the bass player. It’s just close ups of the face, going back and getting the whole band, a little shot of the crowd here and there. It was just constantly evolving and constantly changing. What are your views on the cinematography for this video?

Robert Jon: What I can say is that it helps that the person that edited the video was our drummer Andrew, so he knew exactly what parts are highlighted during the songs. We didn’t have an editor that didn’t know the songs or doesn’t know the band. Andrew spent hours and hours and hundreds of hours editing that footage to make sure that it was exciting and energetic. And I think that definitely helped the edit of the whole thing. I don’t think he’ll ever edit another one in his life because of how much work it took, but he was the one that put it together. He didn’t film it. Obviously he’s playing drums but he did edit it and I think he did an amazing job and I think it’s realized that someone in the band had a part of editing it than some other guy behind the desk that doesn’t know us.

Rock And Blues International: Well, yeah, it went from key part to key part to key part. I’ve seen some videos where you’re wondering why the camera is on someone when you hear you hear a lead guitar playing, and it’s just focused on the drummer or something. How many cameras were using for this shoot?

Robert Jon: I think it was a fivecamera shoot. I think it was. I wouldn’t say I’m 100% on that. I wasn’t really involved in making that happen. But I’m pretty sure it was five cameras.

Rock And Blues International: Did you use a Belgium company to do this?

Robert Jon And The Wreck

(continued from previous page)

Robert Jon: Yeah, it was a company out in Europe that we got highly recommended to and they were they were great. It was awesome to work with them.

Rock And Blues International: So when are we going to see the next live video single released from this shoot?

Robert Jon: I think it’s next week, or this week, really? And then the whole thing comes out, I believe, at the end of the month.

Rock And Blues International: I imagine it’s something that you all have a lot of anticipation to see what the reaction is going to be?

Robert Jon: Yeah, yeah. It’s great. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

Rock And Blues International: If there’s anything you could change about this, what do you think it might be?

Robert Jon: I would have worn a different color shirt.

Rock And Blues International: A different color shirt. Why is that? What was wrong with the one you had on?

Robert Jon: Oh, I don’t know. I was just kidding. Well, I didn’t have the psychedelic one. Yeah, I didn’t have the tie dye button down ready to go. You know, I don’t know if I would have changed much. I think we went out there did exactly what we were trying to do. And I think the product is exactly what we were hoping for. And I’m excited that we made it happen. It was a lot of planning in the process. We talked about it before COVID was even a thing. And so we had to wait around to make it happen. And I even think that made it better. You know, so there’s not much I would change on it. I think it’s exactly what we wanted and the representation of who we are, and who we were at the time. It just keeps going to keep getting better.

Rock And Blues International: Well, you made a statement there about you think maybe even going through the COVID

helped it. Tell me a little bit what you meant by that?

Robert Jon: Well, you know, in COVID, we weren’t able to play live and it was really hard on us because that’s what was our lifeblood for so long. I don’t think we ever really truly realized how much playing live affected who we were and our music and why we do what we do, so there’s a there’s an added admiration and appreciation for the live show that maybe we... I wouldn’t say took for granted but didn’t realize, before COVID, realizing that that’s really truly what keeps us going is being able to play live. If we sat in the studio all the time and never played live, I don’t think that would work very well for me. We had a lot of time to work on ourselves, work on ourselves mentally, working ourselves musically, and become better musicians and not just sit around and watch Netflix. So I think we became better people out of it. I wouldn’t go through it again for that reason. But that’s what I believe that we came out of it with and so we can only add to a better live record.

Rock And Blues International: So it’s safe to say that you’re more of a live band as opposed to a studio band. The studio band is just the means to an end. But the live performance is the lifeblood of the

band.

Robert Jon: You got it.

Without the doubt, Robert Jon and The Wreck is a well-oiled and seasoned unit. Just watching the video you can tell that these guys have dedicated their lives to this craft and are having the times of their lives delivering the best of the best to their fans. The only thing more energetic than the crowd in this live concert video is the band themselves. No doubt during the recording of this video, the band was having a blast on stage delivering one of the best performances of their lives to an over-enthusiastic crowd. We’re sure that once you watch this video you’ll be come a fan of Robert Jon and The Wreck if you weren’t one already. On Live At The Ancienne Belgique Robert Jon and The Wreck put on a nearly two-hour performance that will leave you screaming on your couch for more. And without a doubt, next time the guys roll into your town you’ll be heading out to their venue to take a live performance in on your own. The video is fantastic and you’ll just love it. It will definitely leave you wanting more. In the meantime, you’ll have to just settle for their new career-defining concert video Live At The Ancienne Belgique. Get yours today!

Light Chili: Light As A Duo, Spicy Like Calabrian Blues

By Edoardo Fassio

Almost a decade has passed since a very young Fabrizio Canale enjoyed success in half of Europe. In his early twenties, he had already graduated with honors directly from the street university.

True Calabrian by birth, at the time Fabrizio was living in Turin, a choice determined mostly by sentimental reasons, but also because he considered it “a culturally stimulating city”. Guitar on his shoulder, harmonica in his pocket and a cardboard suitcase tied with string, he regularly departed from his adopted springboard into the world, armed with everything he needed to play the blues. Gaining unexpected popularity even in Poland, where he obtained the recognition of the jury and the public at the Bluesroads in Krakow and won the first prize at the Galicjia Blues Festival in Krosno. Interest following the release of his 2014 debut album Someday It Happens led him as far as Australia and New Zealand, where he met and started a fertile, unpredictable collaboration with Kara Gordon, the internationally renowned Maori guitarist.

Now Fabrizio is joined by his very first musical mentor, Domenico Canale, in a line-up, Light Chili, which simply doubles the self-production of live energy of the one-man band. The father-and-son duo, in turn, have an interesting story behind them. It started as an acoustic offshoot of Bad Chili, the quartet created by Domenico, a gritty singer, harmonica player and violinist, together with guitarist Rodolfo Megale, which shared stages and dressing rooms at festivals in Southern Italy with personalities such as Joe Bonamassa and Ana Popovic. The tasty mix of blues, funk and rock suggested the band’s name, but even the “light” version served by dad and son Canale is hot like a bowl of chili and spicy like the cuisine of Reggio Calabria. And no less genuine.

Light Chili was baptized at the Ferrara Busker Festival, the world showcase of street music. The twosome visited all of Italy and made it to Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal. They played at festivals of arts and street theater and, alongside Australian juggler Chris Blaze McCarthy, in some irresistible “Fire & Music Shows”.

The brand-new EP Second Confession, which follows the brilliant Dedicated, released in 2020, marks the beginning of the collaboration with Trulletto Records. Here, Domenico and Fabrizio give proof of technique, experience, inventiveness, and passion, especially in the elastic opening track “Why”, in the contagious Mediterranean funk “Give It Up”, in the Irish pub jig “Country Mano” and in “Troubles All Over My Mind”, their personal touch on a topic that the Delta bluesmen have lived with for more than a century. The very same thing that has been worrying mankind since the dawn of time.

Light Chili: Leggeri come un duo, piccanti come il blues della Calabria

By Edoardo Fassio

Quasi un decennio è passato da quando un giovanissimo Fabrizio Canale riscuoteva successo in mezza Europa. Poco più che ventenne, si era già laureato a pieni voti all’università della strada.

Calabrese verace, all’epoca Fabrizio era domiciliato a Torino, una scelta determinata per lo più da ragioni sentimentali, ma anche perché la riteneva “una città culturalmente stimolante”. Chitarra in spalla, armonica in tasca e una valigia di cartone legata con lo spago, partiva regolarmente dal capoluogo sabaudo, il suo trampolino di lancio, con tutto l’occorrente per fare il blues. Riscuotendo una imprevista popolarità perfino in Polonia, dove ottenne il riconoscimento della giuria e del pubblico al Bluesroads di Cracovia e conquistò il primo premio al Galicjia Blues Festival di Krosno. L’interesse seguito alla pubblicazione, nel 2014, del suo album di presentazione Someday It Happens, lo portò a spingersi fino in Australia e Nuova Zelanda; qui l’incontro e la fertile, imprevedibile collaborazione con Kara Gordon, chitarrista maori di fama internazionale.

Ora Fabrizio è schierato a fianco del suo primo mentore in musica, Domenico Canale, in un set, Light Chili, che raddoppia l’autoproduzione di energia live della one-man band. Il duo di padre e figlio ha a sua volta una interessante storia alle spalle. Era nato come costola acustica dei Bad Chili, il quartetto ideato da Domenico, grintoso cantante, armonicista e violinista, insieme al chitarrista Rodolfo Megale, che aveva condiviso palchi e camerini dei festival del Sud Italia con personalità come Joe Bonamassa e Ana Popovic. Il saporito mix di blues, funk e rock aveva suggerito il nome alla band, ma anche la versione “leggera” servita dai Canale è sanguigna come un piatto di chili e piccante come la cucina di Reggio Calabria. E non meno genuina.

Il battesimo dei Light Chili era avvenuto al Ferrara Busker Festival, vetrina mondiale della musica da strada. Lo spettacolo visitò tutta l’Italia e fu esportato in Estonia, Polonia, Repubblica Ceca, Austria, Germania, Svizzera e Portogallo. Partecipò a rassegne di arti e teatro di strada e, con il giocoliere australiano Chris Blaze McCarthy, a certi irresistibili “Fire & Music Shows”.

Il nuovissimo EP Second Confession, che segue il brillante Dedicated uscito nel 2020, segna l’inizio della collaborazione con Trulletto Records. Domenico e Fabrizio vi danno prova di tecnica, esperienza, inventiva e passione, soprattutto nella elastica traccia di apertura “Why”, nell’infettivo funk mediterraneo “Give It Up”, nella giga da pub irlandese “Country Mano” e nella personale riconfigurazione, in “Troubles All Over My Mind”, di un tema con cui i bluesmen del Delta convivono da più di un secolo. E il genere umano dalla notte dei tempi.

The Wait Is Over! The Soundtrack Of “La Usurper: The Musical” Arrives To All Digital Platforms with

The film’s soundtrack and music were produced by 20X Grammy® and Latin Grammy® winner Sebastian Krys.

“La Usurpadora: The Musical” starring Isabella Castillo and Alan Estrada.

The renowned label Rebeleon Entertainment and Virgin Music US Latin PRESENT TODAY the soundtrack of the film “La Usurpadora: El Musical”, based on one of the most successful soap operas of all time, which for its film version stars Isabella Castillo and Allan Estrada. “La Usurpadora: El Musical” also arrives today in theaters in the United States and will premiere in theaters in Mexico next Wednesday, April 12.

One of the main attractions of the film is its music, a soundtrack full of emotions, meticulously produced by the winner of 20 Grammy® and Latin Grammy® awards, Sebastian Krys, which today is made available to the public by the renowned Rebeleon Entertainment label. and Virgin Music US Latin.

The soundtrack of “La Usurpadora: El Musical” is made up of thirteen songs that exhibit prodigious voices like those of Isabella Castillo, Cecilia Toussaint, Alejandra Guzman, Valentina, Alan Estrada, Susana Zabaleta, Jesus Ochoa and Juan Pablo Monterrubio. among others and that with the production of Sebastian Krys, they reach a maximum level in their invoice. An example of this is the simple medley of the songs “Vuelve” and “Cosas Del Amor” that became hymns of the romantic scene in the voices of Ricky Martin and Ana Gabriel, and that today with the fabulous interpretation of Isabella Castillo, Alan Estrada and Valentina, assure to relocate the two songs in the first places of preference among lovers of Latin pop.

Soundtrack of “La Usurpadora: The Musical”

1. La Vida es Un Carnaval – Isabella Castillo

2. Mi Tierra – Isabela Castillo & Cecilia Toussaint

3. Con Zapatos De Tacón – Alejandra Guzman

4. Desconéctate – Isabella Castillo, Alejandra Ley, Juan Pablo Monterrubio, Lorena Narcio

5. No Basta – Isabella Castillo

6. No Me Ames – Isabella Castillo & Alan Estrada

7. No Podrás – Susana Zabaleta

8. Dame Otro Tequila – Isabella Castillo, Susana Zabaleta

9. Bidi Bidi Bom Bom – Alan Estrada, Lorena Narcio, Alejandra Ley

10.Una Ilusión/Gira Que Gira – Isabella Castillo, Susana Zabaleta, Alan Estrada & Juan Pablo Monterrubio

11. Mala Hierba – Isabella Castillo

12. Vuelve/Cosas Del Amor – Isabella Castillo, Alan Estrada & Valentina

13. Si Tú No Estás Aquí – Isabella Castillo & Alan Estrada

Credits:

Produced by: Sebastian Krys, Matt Walden, & Doug Emery except “Mi Tierra”

“Mi Tierra” produced by Sebastian Krys, Matt Walden, & Jose “Pepe” Ortega.

Co-produced by: Daniel “Vago” Galindo.

Click to listen to the soundtrack of LA USURPADORA: THE MUSICAL @ https://lausurpadora.lnk.to/soundtrack

Click to listen to the medley “Vuelve / Cosas Del Amor” @ https://lausurpadora.lnk.to/soundtrack

Click to see the video of “Vuelve / Cosas Del Amor” @ https://youtu.be/bPJpZ_BhFu4

Engineered by: Sebastian Krys, Daniel “lazy” Galindo, Lee Levin, Camilo Velandia, Doug Emery.

Mixed by: Sebastian Krys & Daniel “Vago” Galindo.

“La Usurpadora: El Musical” is the first musical in which Sebastian Krys has lent his extraordinary talent. The acclaimed producer and engineer spent four years shaping the film’s unmistakable soundscape and drawing on the ’90s inspiration on which the film is centered, he meticulously curated a selection of some of the biggest Latin hits of the era for the band. sound, re-recording each song with the film’s cast and breathing new life into it with vibrant arrangements that will appeal to listeners of all generations.

Join the conversation using the hashtag #LaUsurpadoraTheMusical. Follow La Usurpadora: The Musical on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/LaUsurpadoraTheMusical/ TikTok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@lausurpadorathemusical Twitter @ https://twitter.com/UsurpadoraMusic

La banda sonora y la música de la película fueron producidas por el ganador de 20X Grammy® y Latin Grammy®, Sebastian Krys.

“La Usurpadora: El Musical” protagonizado por Isabella Castillo y Alan Estrada.

El reconocido sello Rebeleon Entertainment y Virgin Music US Latin PRESENTAN HOY la banda sonora de la película “La Usurpadora: El Musical”, basada en una de las telenovelas más exitosas de todos los tiempos, que para su versión cinematográfica está protagonizada por Isabella Castillo y Alan Estrada. “La Usurpadora: El Musical”, llega también hoy a las salas de cine de los Estados Unidos y estrenará en teatros de México el próximo miércoles 12 de abril.

Uno de los principales atractivos del filme es su música, una banda sonora llena de emociones, meticulosamente producida por el ganador de 20 premios Grammy® y Latin Grammy®, Sebastian Krys, que hoy pone a disposición de todo el público el reconocido sello Rebeleon Entertainment y Virgin Music US Latin.

La banda sonora de “La Usurpadora: El Musical”, está compuesta por trece canciones que exhiben por lo alto voces prodigiosas como las de Isabella Castillo, Cecilia Toussaint, Alejandra Guzman, Valentina, Alan Estrada, Susana Zabaleta, Jesus Ochoa y Juan Pablo Monterrubio entre otros y que con la producción de Sebastian Krys, alcanzan un nivel máximo en su factura. Un ejemplo de ello, es el sencillo popurrí de los temas “Vuelve” y “Cosas Del Amor” que llegaron a convertirse en himnos de la escena romántica en las voces de Ricky Martin y Ana Gabriel, y que hoy con la fabulosa interpretación de Isabella Castillo, Alan Estrada y Valentina, aseguran reubicar las dos canciones en las primeros lugares de preferencia entre los amantes del pop latino.

Banda sonora de “La Usurpadora: El Musical”

1. La Vida es Un Carnaval – Isabella Castillo

2. Mi Tierra – Isabela Castillo & Cecilia Toussaint

3. Con Zapatos De Tacón – Alejandra Guzman

4. Desconéctate – Isabella Castillo, Alejandra Ley, Juan Pablo Monterrubio, Lorena Narcio

5. No Basta – Isabella Castillo

6. No Me Ames – Isabella Castillo & Alan Estrada

7. No Podrás – Susana Zabaleta

8. Dame Otro Tequila – Isabella Castillo, Susana Zabaleta

9. Bidi Bidi Bom Bom – Alan Estrada, Lorena Narcio, Alejandra Ley

10.Una Ilusión/Gira Que Gira – Isabella Castillo, Susana Zabaleta, Alan Estrada & Juan Pablo Monterrubio

11. Mala Hierba – Isabella Castillo

12. Vuelve/Cosas Del Amor – Isabella Castillo, Alan Estrada & Valentina

13. Si Tú No Estás Aquí – Isabella Castillo & Alan Estrada Créditos:

Producido por: Sebastian Krys, Matt Walden, & Doug Emery except “Mi Tierra”

“Mi Tierra” produced by Sebastian Krys, Matt Walden, & Jose “Pepe” Ortega.

Co-producido por: Daniel “Vago” Galindo.

Ingeniería por: Sebastian Krys, Daniel “vago” Galindo, Lee Levin, Camilo Velandia, Doug Emery.

Mezclado por: Sebastian Krys & Daniel “Vago” Galindo.

“La Usurpadora: El Musical” es el primer musical en el que Sebastian Krys ha prestado su extraordinario talento. El aclamado productor e ingeniero pasó cuatro años dando forma al inconfundible paisaje sonoro de la película y aprovechando la inspiración de los años noventa en la que se centra la película, realizó meticulosamente una selección de algunos de los mayores éxitos latinos de la era para la banda sonora, grabando nuevamente cada canción con el elenco de la película y dándoles nueva vida con arreglos vibrantes que atraerán a los oyentes de todas las generaciones.

LasPlataformas Digitales Un Lanzamiento Exclusivo De Rebeleon Enterainment Y Virgin Music US Latin

Clic para escuchar la banda sonora de LA USURPADORA: EL MUSICAL @ https://lausurpadora.lnk.to/soundtrack

Clic para escuchar el popurrí “Vuelve / Cosas Del Amor” @ https://lausurpadora.lnk.to/soundtrack

Clic para ver el vídeo de “Vuelve / Cosas Del Amor” @ https://youtu.be/bPJpZ_BhFu4

Únete a la conversación utilizando el hashtag #LaUsurpadoraTheMusical.

Sigue a La Usurpadora: El Musical en Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/LaUsurpadoraTheMusical/ TikTok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@lausurpadorathemusical Twitter @ https://twitter.com/UsurpadoraMusic

¡La Espera Ha Terminado! La Banda Sonora De “La Usurpadora: El Musical” Llega Hoy A Todas

New Music From The U.K.

Battle Born Releases Their New Album Blood, Fire, Magic and Steel

BATTLE BORN are set to make their presence felt in 2023 with power metal hymnals of war, dragons and inner courage that take place in the land of Skyrim’s Windhelm, Eastmarch. Following their signing with Los Angeles label Prosthetic Records and UK touring throughout 2022, the Southampton, UK power metal band will release their debut album, Blood, Fire, Magic and Steel, on May 12.

Since their 2019 inception and 2020 self-titled debut EP, BATTLE BORN has garnered a dedicated following in the burgeoning UK power metal scene and beyond for their approach to both storytelling and songcraft, as well as their undying reverence for traditional heavy metal. Previously released singles in the form of Bring the Metal Back and album track Fire Storm showcased BATTLE BORN as a step ahead of genre traditionalists, with wide eyed theatricality and grandiose flair being put at the forefront of their sound.

The group efforts of Blood, Fire, Magic and Steel’s meticulous creative

process was vital to bringing their world of swords and sorcery to life, with production and engineering credits including Kurt Fagan at The Ranch Production House and mixing and mastering by Orden Ogan’s Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann at Greenman Studios.

BATTLE BORN’s affinity for European power metal is evident across the 11 tracks on offer, just take one listen to their foray into balladry on The Endless Grey or late album mini-epic Ride North for Winterhold’s majesty, with an emphasis on lavish orchestration throughout. Where others might slip into imitation or retro nostalgia, BATTLE BORN deftly pay their respects to a long running genre whilst injecting a youthful verve in the process.

Blood, Fire, Magic and Steel is visually captured in eye watering fashion by graphic designer Stan-W Decker (Blue Öyster Cult, Powerwolf, Dragonforce), perfectly echoing the wars waged in the band’s bold and daring world. BATTLE BORN’s Blood, Fire, Magic and Steel is not only an invitation to join forces with the

quartet on their perilous mission, it also finally answers the question, “What would Skyrim’s greatest band sound like?”.

BATTLE BORN is:

Jack Reynolds - vocals

Will Kerr - guitars, keyboards

Tom O’Dell - guitars, vocals

Charles Lamacraft-Perrett - drums, vocals

New Music From Norway

Norwegian Post-Hardcore Outfit trueandtrue Release Their New Album

FORGIVENESS/PLEASURE

Album Out May 5th

FOLLOW TRUEANDTRUE:

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/trueandtrueband

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/trueandtrueband/

With their second single “Forgiveness / Pleasure”, fresh Norwegian posthardcore outfit trueandtrue delivers a stellar introduction to their music with their spoken-word based verses and fast paced melodic choruses.

With their second single “Forgiveness / Pleasure”, fresh Norwegian posthardcore outfit trueandtrue delivers a stellar introduction to their music with their spoken-word based verses and fast paced melodic choruses.

The fresh quartet trueandtrue from Oslo, Norway delivers drifting and

energetic indie / post-hardcore. With their second single “Forgiveness / Pleasure” you get a stellar introduction to the band.

The music is playful but stil wellrooted in it’s genre that serves a hardhitting, emotional and exploratory soundscape.

The combination of whimsical guitar parts and spoken-word style vocals creates an exciting universe you don’t want to leave.

The band states:

“Forgiveness / Pleasure feeds the listener an energetic guitar-based

instrumental that is coloured by the narrated vocals that have surrendered to the idea of nihilism.

The calm intro depicts hopelessness and deep emotions before it gets carried into its main part with the instrumentals picking up the pace, turning the vocals more aggressive, carrying the listener forward.”

FFO: La Dispute, mewithoutyou, Touché Amoré, Basement, Defeater

ABOUT TRUEANDTRUE:

trueandtrue (Oslo, Norway) plays driven and energetic indie/post-hardcore.

Playful, yet genre-conscious, you’re served a hard-hitting, emotional, and exploratory soundscape. The combination of intricate guitar parts and spoken vocals creates an exciting universe where you’ll want to stay put.

For fans of bands like La Dispute and mewithoutyou, trueandtrue’s music is sure to end up on your favourites list.

With their debut single, “Draw a Line”, the group shows itself as an exploratory and uninhibited band.

The single has received warm reviews from, among others, disharmoni.no and Reflections of Darkness, as well as being featured on national radio and podcasts.

“ ... a very promising start to something we have high hopes for. We’re simply looking forward to what’s to come!” - disharmoni.no about «Draw a Line»

TRUEANDTRUE IS:

Vocals / Guitar - Vincent Engebretsen

Guitar - Simen Vinje

Bass - Nicolay Kjærnet

Drums - August Røse

Photo Credit: Dávid Bodnár

Med deres andre singel «Forgiveness / Pleasure» leverer ferske norske post-hardcore-antrekk trueandtrue en fantastisk introduksjon til musikken deres med deres talte ord-baserte vers og raske melodiske refrenger.

Med deres andre singel «Forgiveness / Pleasure» leverer ferske norske post-hardcore-antrekk trueandtrue en fantastisk introduksjon til musikken deres med deres talte ord-baserte vers og raske melodiske refrenger.

Den friske kvartetten trueandtrue fra Oslo, Norge leverer drivende og energisk indie/post-hardcore. Med deres andre singel “Forgiveness / Pleasure” får du en fantastisk introduksjon til bandet. Musikken er leken, men fortsatt godt forankret i sin sjanger som serverer et hardtslående, emosjonelt og utforskende lydbilde. Kombinasjonen av lunefulle gitarpartier og vokal i spoken word-stil skaper et spennende univers du ikke vil forlate.

Bandet uttaler: «Tilgivelse/glede gir lytteren næring til en energisk gitarbasert instrumental som er farget av den fortalte vokalen som har overgitt seg til ideen om nihilisme.

Den rolige introen skildrer håpløshet og dype følelser før den blir båret inn i hoveddelen med instrumentalene som øker tempoet, gjør vokalen mer aggressiv, bærer lytteren fremover.»

FFO: La Dispute, mewithoutyou, Touché Amoré, Basement, Defeater

OM TRUEAND TRUE: trueandtrue (Oslo, Norge) spiller dreven og energisk indie/post-hardcore.

Leken, men likevel sjangerbevisst, får du servert et hardtslående, emosjonelt og utforskende lydbilde. Kombinasjonen av intrikate gitarpartier og muntlig vokal skaper et spennende univers hvor du ønsker å bli værende.

For fans av band som La Dispute og mewithoutyou, vil trueandtrues musikk garantert havne på favorittlisten din.

Med sin debutsingel, «Draw a Line», viser gruppen seg som et utforskende og uhemmet band.

Singelen har fått varme anmeldelser fra blant annet

disharmoni.no og Reflections of Darkness, i tillegg til å bli vist på nasjonal radio og podcaster.

“ ... en veldig lovende start på noe vi har store forhåpninger til. Vi gleder oss bare til det som kommer!”disharmoni.no om «Draw a Line»

TRUEAND TRUE ER:

Vokal / Gitar - Vincent Engebretsen

Gitar - Simen Vinje

Bass - Nicolay Kjærnet

Trommer - August Røse

Ny Musikk Fra Norge

New Music From Sweden

Sweden’s The Glorious Bankrobbers Have Just Released Their New Album Back On The Road Released on Sound Polution Records

The Glorious Bankrobbers formed in 1983 and despite some fits and starts throughout the next decade the band had some huge European Tours, a hit single and an appearance on MTV’s Headbangers Ball! The guys have split up and reformed here and there over the years but continued to rock some amazing tours and festivals while releasing new and reissued albums.

Considered forefathers of the Swedish sleaze rock sound, sopwaning such glorious godsons as The Hellacopters, GB churn out catchy hard rock anthems that will take you right back to those halcyon days of hairspray heavy metal.

Glorious Bankrobbers were formed in Stockholm in 1983, and their debut album was released in 1984 on Planet Records and produced by Kee Marcello (Easy Action, Europe). However, the band’s manager at the time sold all their promotion records in secondhand stores

for beer money, and GB never got any reviews or radio airplay. Unfortunately, they broke up soon after the release.

The group members played in various other bands for a couple of years, but joined forces once again as Glorious Bankrobbers in 1989 and released the album ‘Dynamite Sex Dose’ (needless to say, without their former manager). The video for the song “Dynamite Sex Dose” got played at heavy rotation on MTV’s‘Headbangers Ball’, and GB also got signed bySweden’s biggest live promoter, Ema-Telstar. They toured heavily both in Sweden and Norway both headlining and as support for major acts like Europe and Yngwie Malmsteen.

In late 1990, the American manager Rick Shaw took the Glorious Bankrobbers for a two-week promotion tour in N.Y.C. where they, among other gigs, played as support to The Sweet at The Cat Club. They also played the legendary New York City music club

CBGB’s and the gig was released as a live album, ‘Glorious BankrobbersLive at CBGB’s N.Y.C’.

Unfortunately, the band didn’t get a major deal in the USA on that trip, but they did manage to turn down playing support to Alice in Chains! Much later, GB got a US deal and their two first albums were released on Demon Doll Records. The singer then left the band and started singing with the Norwegian band Backstreet Girls. The rest of the band reformed as Mental Hippie Blood with new singer Michael Oran, and released two albums under that moniker.

After many years apart, GB got back together again and in 2007 they released the album ‘The Glorious Sound of Rock’n’Roll’ on the label Sweden Metal Records. The band started touring and playing festivals with, among others, Nazareth, The Quireboys and Mustasch. However, in 2012 their drummer “Oden” tragically died and once again the band was put on ice.

Until now!!!

Glorious Bankrobbers are back and have recorded a brand-new album that will be released by Bollmora Rekords and distributed by Sound Pollution. April 21st, ‘Back On The Road’ will be released on vinyl, cd and all digital platforms. GB have also made three videos to support the album release.

The Glorious Bankrobbers bildades 1983 och trots några anfall och starter under det kommande decenniet hade bandet några enorma Europaturnéer, en hitsingel och ett framträdande på MTV:s Headbangers Ball! Killarna har splittrats och reformerats här och där genom åren men fortsatte att rocka några fantastiska turnéer och festivaler samtidigt som de släppte nya och återutgivna album.

GB anses vara förfäder till det svenska sleaze-rocksoundet, som försvinner med så härliga gudsöner som The Hellacopters, och tar fram medryckande hårdrockssånger som tar dig direkt tillbaka till de där halcyondagarna av hårspray-heavy metal.

Glorious Bankrobbers bildades i Stockholm 1983, och deras debutalbum släpptes 1984 på Planet Records och producerades av Kee Marcello (Easy Action, Europe). Däremot sålde bandets manager vid den tiden alla sina marknadsföringsskivor i secondhandbutiker för ölpengar, och GB fick aldrig några recensioner eller radiosändningar. Tyvärr bröt de upp kort efter releasen.

Gruppmedlemmarna spelade i olika andra band under ett par år, men slog sig återigen samman som Glorious Bankrobbers 1989 och släppte albumet ‘Dynamite Sex Dose’ (onödigt att säga utan deras tidigare manager). Videon till låten “Dynamite Sex Dose” spelades

Sveriges The Glorious Bankrobbers Har Precis Släppt Sitt Nya Album Back On The Road Släppt

På Sound Polution Records

kraftigt på MTV:s “Headbangers Ball”, och GB blev också signerad av Sveriges största livepromotor, Ema-Telstar. De turnerade tungt både i Sverige och Norge både med headliner och som support för stora akter som Europe och Yngwie Malmsteen.

I slutet av 1990 tog den amerikanske managern Rick Shaw Glorious Bankrobbers för en två veckor lång kampanjturné i N.Y.C. där de bland annat spelade som support till The Sweet på The Cat Club. De spelade även den legendariska New York City musikklubben CBGB’s och spelningen släpptes som ett livealbum, ‘Glorious Bankrobbers - Live at CBGB’s N.Y.C’.

Tyvärr fick bandet ingen större affär i USA på den resan, men de lyckades tacka nej till att spela support till Alice in Chains! Långt senare fick GB ett avtal i USA och deras två första album släpptes på Demon Doll Records. Sångaren lämnade sedan bandet och

började sjunga med det norska bandet Backstreet Girls. Resten av bandet reformerades som Mental Hippie Blood med nya sångaren Michael Oran, och släppte två album under den monikern.

Efter många års mellanrum kom GB tillbaka tillsammans igen och 2007 släppte de albumet ‘The Glorious Sound of Rock’n’Roll’ på skivbolaget Sweden Metal Records. Bandet började turnera och spela festivaler med bland annat Nazareth, The Quireboys och Mustasch. Men 2012 dog deras trummis “Oden” tragiskt och återigen lades bandet på is.

Tills nu!!!

Glorious Bankrobbers är tillbaka och har spelat in ett helt nytt album som kommer att släppas av Bollmora Rekords och distribueras av Sound Pollution. Den 21 april släpps ‘Back On The Road’ på vinyl, cd och alla digitala plattformar. GB har också gjort tre videor för att stödja albumsläppet.

Ny musik från Sverige

German guitar wizard AXEL RUDI PELL shares “Diamonds And Rust”, a new digital single and visualizer. The song is taken from the upcoming ballads album, The Ballads VI.

AXEL RUDI PELL says:

“A true classic in music history. Original artist Joan Baez has given this song very personal and emotional lyrics. There are already many cover versions, but an ARP typical interpretation could not be missing. We definitely had a lot of fun recording it.”

Ballads play a very special role in the history of rock music.

For one, they document the emotional side of the genre and show that behind (almost) every rocker’s hard chest beats a soft heart. Secondly, those quieter songs are being played by radio stations without rock-affinity – and are loved by listeners for their emotional depth. Additionally, in an increasingly hectic world, ballads offer brief moments of pause, of reflection on the essential things in life.

So, it is no wonder that the ballad compilations of AXEL RUDI PELL are an absolute success. Over 250,000 copies have been sold of The Ballads I (1993) to The Ballads V (2017) alone. And nine of the current Top-10 most streamed Pell songs on Spotify are ballads! So it comes as no surprise that fans of the Bochum guitarist and songwriter regularly push for a continuation of this release series.

On April 21, 2023, The Ballads VI will be released on CD, double vinyl LP, and digital download, as always, via Steamhammer/SPV, and will come with a few small surprises.

?Not only is The Ballads VI the latest edition of the popular ARP ‘The Ballads’ series, but also the direct successor to his latest studio album, Lost XXIII, which landed at #2 on the official German album sales charts in April 2022. This exciting new compilation comes with a total of 13 ballads “made by ARP,” five of them being brand new recordings.

AXEL RUDI PELL sums up his growth as a songwriter and musician:

“Looking back, there is not a single ballad during the almost 35 years of my solo career that I need to be ashamed of, quite the contrary: some of them are still among my favourite songs today.”

The Ballads VI Track List:

1) Revelations (new instrumental)

2) Diamonds And Rust (new cover version)

3) Morning Star (new song)

4) Dust In The Wind (new cover version)

5) Hidden Secrets (new instrumental)

6) Gone With The Wind

7) She’s A Lady

8) Room With A View

9) Fly With Me

10) As Blind As A Fool Can Be

11) I Put A Spell On You

12) Beyond The Light

13) Quarantined 1

The Ballads VI will be released in the following formats:

-CD DigiPak (incl. poster)

-2LP Gatefold (trans orange black vinyl)

-CD/LP bundle with shirt (only at the Steamhammer Shop)

-Download and stream here at https://axelrudipell.lnk.to/TheBalladsVI

AXEL RUDI PELL Tour 2023:

DE-Cologne - Essigfabrik

14.05.

AXEL RUDI PELL is:

Johnny Gioeli - Lead and Backing Vocals

Axel Rudi Pell - Lead and Rhythm Guitars

Ferdy Doernberg - Keyboards

Volker Krawczak - Bass

Bobby Rondinelli - Drums

AXEL RUDI PELL online:

WEBSITE @ https://www.axel-rudi-pell.de

FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/axelrudipellofficial

Legendärer Gitarrist AXEL RUDI PELL teilt neue Single „Diamonds and Rust“ & Visualizer

Europäische Tourdaten begannen im April!

Neues Album, The Ballads VI, erscheint am 21. April auf Steamhammer/SPV Anhören https://youtu.be/HtEtot-B_0c Hier vorbestellen/sparen unter https://axelrudipell.lnk.to/TheBalladsVI Sehen Sie sich hier das Video zu „Diamonds and Rust“ an https://youtu.be/HtEtot-B_0c

Der deutsche Gitarrenzauberer AXEL RUDI PELL teilt „Diamonds And Rust“, eine neue digitale Single und Visualizer. Der Song stammt vom kommenden Balladen-Album „The Ballads VI“.

AXEL RUDI PELL sagt: „Ein echter Klassiker der Musikgeschichte. Original-Künstler Joan Baez hat diesem Song sehr persönliche und emotionale Texte verpasst. Es gibt schon viele Coverversionen, aber eine ARP-typische Interpretation durfte nicht fehlen. Wir hatten auf jeden Fall viel Spaß beim Aufnehmen.“

Balladen spielen in der Geschichte der Rockmusik eine ganz besondere Rolle.

Zum einen dokumentieren sie die emotionale Seite des Genres und zeigen, dass hinter (fast) jedem Rocker die harte Brust ein weiches Herz schlägt. Zweitens werden diese ruhigeren Songs von Radiosendern ohne Rock-Affinität gespielt – und von den Zuhörern wegen ihrer emotionalen Tiefe geliebt. Darüber hinaus bieten Balladen in einer immer hektischer werdenden Welt kurze Momente des Innehaltens, des Nachdenkens über die wesentlichen Dinge des Lebens.

Kein Wunder also, dass die Balladen-Compilations von AXEL RUDI PELL ein absoluter Erfolg sind. Allein von The Ballads I (1993) bis The Ballads V (2017) wurden über 250.000 Exemplare verkauft. Und neun der aktuellen Top-10 der meistgestreamten PellSongs auf Spotify sind Balladen! Kein Wunder also, dass Fans des Bochumer Gitarristen und Songwriters regelmäßig auf eine Fortsetzung dieser Release-Reihe drängen.

Am 21. April 2023 erscheint The Ballads VI auf CD, DoppelVinyl-LP und digitalem Download wie immer über Steamhammer/ SPV und wird mit ein paar kleinen Überraschungen aufwarten.

The Ballads VI ist nicht nur die neueste Ausgabe der beliebten ARP-Reihe „The Ballads“, sondern auch der direkte Nachfolger seines neuesten Studioalbums „Lost XXIII“, das im April 2022 auf Platz 2 der offiziellen deutschen Album-Verkaufscharts landete Diese aufregende neue Compilation enthält insgesamt 13 Balladen „made by ARP“, davon fünf brandneue Aufnahmen.

AXEL RUDI PELL sums up his growth as a songwriter and musician:

„Rückblickend gibt es in den fast 35 Jahren meiner Solokarriere keine einzige Ballade, für die ich mich schämen müsste, im Gegenteil: Einige davon gehören noch heute zu meinen Lieblingssongs.“

The Ballads VI hier vorbestellen/speichern https:// axelrudipell.lnk.to/TheBalladsVI

Die Balladen VI-Trackliste:

1) Revelations (neues instrumental)

2) Diamonds And Rust (neue Coverversion)

3) Morning Star (neues Lied)

4) Dust In The Wind (neue Coverversion)

5) Hidden Secrets (neues instrumental)

6) Gone With The Wind

7) She’s A Lady

8) Room With A View

9) Fly With Me

10) As Blind As A Fool Can Be

11) I Put A Spell On You

12) Beyond The Light

13) Quarantined 1

The Ballads VI wird in den folgenden Formaten veröffentlicht:

-CD DigiPak (inkl. Poster)

-2LP Gatefold (transorange-schwarzes Vinyl)

-CD/LP Bundle mit Shirt (nur im Steamhammer Shop)

-Hier herunterladen und streamen unter https://axelrudipell.lnk.to/ TheBalladsVI

AXEL

DE-Berlin - Huxleys

05.05. SE-Malmö - KB

06.05. SE-Stockholm - Fryshuset

07.05. SE-Gothenburg - Pustervik

09.05. DE-Hamburg - Fabrik

10.05. DE-Hannover - Capitol

11.05. DE-Karlsruhe - Substage

12.05. DE-Leipzig - Hellraiser

13.05. NL-Drachten - Iduna

14.05. DE-Bochum - Zeche (sold out)

AXEL RUDI PELL ist:

Johnny Gioeli - Lead- und Backing-Vocals

Axel Rudi Pell - Lead- und Rhythmusgitarren

Ferdy Doernberg - Tastaturen

Volker Krawczak - Bassgitarre

Bobby Rondinelli - Schlagzeug

La Sra. Tomasa Unveils Their Own Version of The Iconic Song

“Por Si Acaso No Regreso” by Celia Cruz

Web @ https://lasratomasa.com

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/lasratomasa.official/ YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC96Q7Ki2GoRwrwSzeLTtvwg

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lasratomasaoficial

Listen HERE AT https://youtu.be/DWQgy2iDmfA

La Sra. Tomasa, known for their unique and authentic music style, has struck the perfect balance between modern electronic and urban trends and the timeless essence of Latin music. With over a decade of experience under their belt, the Barcelonabased group has become one of the most internationally renowned bands, having performed at major festivals across Europe, including Low Lands in the Netherlands and Sziget Festival in Hungary, as well as in the Americas, having just wrapped up a tour in

Mexico and performed at SXSW, the biggest music festival in the United States. The band continues to expand their international reach with upcoming performances at the Ho Chi Minh Festival in Vietnam, as well as in New York, Bogota, and Medellin.

Now, La Sra. Tomasa showcases their creative prowess with a reimagined version of Celia Cruz’s “Por Si Acaso No Regreso.”

This new take on one of the great Cuban songbook’s anthems remains true to the Latin

essence of the original song while integrating urban sounds like Drill. It is a tribute to the salsa queen that brings the great world of traditional Cuban music and Latin folklore to new audiences. Accompanying the release is a retro-looking music video directed by J. Tilouni and Maker Fly, set in Mexico City.

This new release is just a taste of what La Sra. Tomasa has in store for 2023. “Por Si Acaso No Regreso” is now available on all digital platforms.

Nueva Musica De Cuba

La Sra. Tomasa Estrena Su Propia Version De La Popular Cancion De Celia Cruz “Por Si Acaso No Regreso”

Web @ https://lasratomasa.com

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/lasratomasa.official/ YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC96Q7Ki2GoRwrwSzeLTtvwg

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lasratomasaoficial

Escucha el tema AQUÍ @ https://youtu.be/DWQgy2iDmfA

La Sra. Tomasa se ha convertido en una marca única, que certifica la autenticidad y originalidad de su propuesta musical. Es en el poder de la fusión musical donde encuentran el equilibrio perfecto para hacer brillar su esencia tomasera, potenciando sus habilidades para adaptarse en tendencias más modernas de la música electrónica y urbana o al sentimiento atemporal que conté la música latina.

Con más de una década de trayectoria, La Sra. Tomasa se ha posicionado como uno de los grupos con más proyección internacional. Destacan sus actuaciones en gran parte de Europa tocando en festivales de referencia como el Low Lands de Holanda o el Sziget Festival de Hungría. També al

continente americano, donde cerraron su última gira en México y actuando en el SXSW, el festival más importante de música en Estados Unidos. En los últimos meses, La Sra. Tomasa sigue haciendo crecer su proceso de internalización con actuaciones en el festival Ho Chi Minh Festival (Vietnam) y pronto también en Nueva York, Bogotá y Medellín.

Ahora el grupo barcelonés nos demuestra su fuerza creativa con el remake de “Por si acaso no regreso” de la gran Celia Cruz. Una renovada versión tomasera de uno de los himnos del cancionero cubano. Sin perder la esencia latina de la canción, integran sonoridades urbanas como el Drill, rindiendo homenaje a la reina de la salsa y

acercando a nuevos públicos el gran mundo de la música tradicional cubana y folklore latino. Acompañando esta canción, y como no puede ser de otra forma, presentan este videoclip con aspecto retro dirigido por J. Tilouni y Maker Fly en Ciudad de México.

Con este pequeño regalo, La Sra. Tomasa calienta motores para este año 2023 que tan solo ha hecho que más empezar, pero que promete ser uno de los más intensos de la banda. ¿Estáis listos para descubrir todo lo que La Sra. Tomasa está preparando?

“Por Si Acaso No Regreso”, ya disponible en plataformas digitales.

Their New Album Currency // Castration Will Be Out June 6

SHARE “FOG OF WAR” MUSIC VIDEO AT

https://youtu.be/VYhdmx_Ib6g

Pre-Order / Pre-Save Currency // Castration Here: https://orcd.co/geld-cc

Photo Credit: Anita Shao

On Currency // Castration, Australia’s GELD render the dissociation and alienation of modern living with exacting precision. The album unfurls like a series of infinite reflections breaking down into fractal chaos—it becomes increasingly unclear whether one’s suffering comes from the outside world, or from the confines of one’s own skull. They’ve distilled a despairingly hellish vision of the world into a thundering crack to the temple, a naked and unsparing fusion of hardcore’s bleakest violence with metal’s ruthless strength-through-conviction.

Cutting their teeth in the gutters of Melbourne’s teeming punk and hardcore scene, GELD established themselves as the forerunners of a new breed of deranged aggression with their first LP Perfect Texture (Iron Lung Records and Static Shock Records). This record was followed in quick succession by the EP Soft Power and LP Beyond the Floor, releases which saw the band progressively push their sound towards a heavier, dirge-inflected register. On GELD’s third LP—and first with Relapse Records— their miasmic excess gets a facelift. The result is a stripped bare, streamlined take upon hardcore in its purest form, reconstituted into a heavy, psychedelic dose of amphetamine thrills.

GELD are thuggy and unshakably, unsettlingly real. Vocalist Al Smith’s vernacular is existential yet anti-philosophical. On their lead track “Fog of War”, Geld inverts classic tropes of anti-war rhetoric and turns them inward, facing the listener with the terror of being subject to the whims of a world that has long since spiraled out of anyone’s control—least of all your own self. Listen alongside its arresting video directed by James Gorter.

Recorded across the Southern Winter Solstice of June 2022, Currency // Castration is GELD’s most collaboratively written record to date. Although the writing process began with an initial desire to write a raging, straight-forward post-pandemic hardcore EP, this attempted exorcism of GELD’s isolationdriven fascinations quickly spilled out into a full-length’s worth of material, taking upon a fervor and mind of its own. While oft compared to the athletic determination of Equalizing Distort-era Gauze, the brutish nihilism of Die Kreuzen, and the motorikflying-off-the-rails, oddball sensibility of Hawkwind, GELD’s approach to hardcore on Currency // Castration bears closer spiritual resemblance to the throbbing, crushingly direct orientation of industrial dance music. Each song is executed at the edge of the band’s compositional ability, surgically worked and reworked with the sole purpose of maximizing the percussive tension between momentum and inertia, creating a wall of sound which offers catharsis only

through the direct build up and release of a maddening energy.

With Currency // Castration, GELD offer no promise of a higher purpose or resolve. Rather, they lean into dissociation, finding truth and meaning in the transcendental joy of simply escaping, surviving, existing. Their sound will find a welcome home with those who have found their purpose in the dejection of outsider music and outcast art. Currency

12 - Castration

“Fog of War” Lyrics:

Fear of unknown worlds

Forced to march into death

You’re void of all hope

Across a front, a burning field

An unknown test in front of you

Who will make you walk?

Into the fog of war

Terror shakes you to the core

You’re void of all hope

Terror shakes you to the core

Who makes you walk into…?

Geld Live Dates: Tickets / Info Here

Apr 28: Melbourne, VIC - Howler

Jun 03: Sydney, NSW - Metro Theatre

Jun 09: Northcote, VIC - Northcote Social Club (Record Release Show)

Jul 15: Brisbane, QLD - The Triffid

Jul 21: Melbourne, VIC - Bendigo Hotel North American dates TBA…

Photo Credit: Nat Enemede

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON enter the world of League Of Legends and present their epic fifth single, entitled “Legends Never Die”! The band transforms the song - which gained hundreds of millions of streams with its original version, sung by the incredible Against The Current - into a metal delight, bringing it back to life with the incredible vocal lines of Melissa Bonny.

It’s the next step in their journey that takes them from the depths of Moria up to the Iron Throne, showcasing the metal side of well known songs from video games, TV shows and big movies. The multi-talented quartet that consists of members of Feuerschwanz, Amaranthe and Ad Infinitum will release their highly anticipated debut album, Metamorphosis, on May 12, 2023 via Napalm Records.

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON on “Legends Never Die”:

“‘Legends Never Die’ - exactly one month until the release of our debut album “Metamorphosis”! To shorten the waiting time we present you today our version of the mega hit from “Against the Current” and invite you into the gaming world of “League of Legends”! Can you hear us screaming out your name?”

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON started with a bet between AD INFINITUM singer Melissa Bonny and Hans Platz, the guitarist of FEUERSCHWANZ. Whoever lost owed the other a “dare”. Hans won and challenged Melissa to record a metal version of their first ever single, “Jenny Of Oldstones” ( https://youtu.be/uO4qhtGij_0 ), and the rest is history! Exploring the fantastical lives of famous pop culture heroes since their childhood, the multitalented musicians transform soundtracks of internationally recognized movies, TV shows and video games into powerful metal tracks on the debut album Metamorphosis.

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON don’t just limit themselves to cover versions, but also include new, original songs dedicated to their favorite warriors. Marching into the great worlds of The Lord of the Rings, the band paints the Grammy-nominated soundtrack “May It Be” ( https://youtu.be/ UbbzVj8xYLE ), featuring Charlotte Wessels (ex-DELAIN), in a new light, while the mystic song “Misty Mountains” (feat. EVERGREY’s Tom S. Englund) of The Hobbit film trilogy underlines the tragic story through melodic folk vocal lines and rousing guitar riff choirs.

Like the seven untamed seas, the melodies appear in energetic and rousing waves, while others head towards the shore in an exciting, elegant and soulful rhythm. Exploring the untouched sides of these multifaceted selected songs, the multinational band shifts the world famous soundscapes into new adventures, taking listeners back to forgotten times. Just like the moon, every song has an unexplored side, now discovered by THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON.

Pre-Order your copy of Metamorpho-

Metamorphosis Pre-Order Now At

https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/thedarksideofthemoon sis NOW!

Tracklisting:

1. Legends Never Die

2. The Gates of Time

3. Misty Mountains (feat. Tom S. Englund)

4. Double Trouble / Lumos! (Hedwig’s Theme) (feat. Rusanda Panfili)

5. First Light (feat. Rusanda Panfili)

6. New Horizons (feat. Fabienne Erni)

7. The Wolven Storm (Priscilla’s Song)

8. May It Be (feat. Charlotte Wessels)

9. If I Had a Heart

10. The Hanging

Metamorphosis will be available in the following formats:

- 1-CD Digisleeve in Cloth Bag (incl. Pendant, Leather Cord & Keyring, Patch, Signed Card) – limited to 300 copies worldwide (Napalm Records shop exclusive)

- 1-LP Gatefold (black)

- Shirt “Metamorphosis” + Digisleeve

- 1-CD Digisleeve

- Digital Album

[1-CD Digisleeve in Cloth Bag (incl. Pendant, Leather Cord & Keyring, Patch, Signed Card) – limited to 300 copies worldwide) – Napalm Records shop exclusive]

Catch THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON at their first ever live appearances, supporting Feuerschwanz and Warkings on four shows of their almost sold out tour:

11.05.23 DE – Bremen / Aladin

12.05.23 DE – Hanover / Capitol

13.05.23 DE – Cologne / Carlswerk

14.05.23 DE – Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON are:

Melissa Bonny – vocals

Hans Platz – guitars

Morten Løwe Sørensen – drums

Jenny Diehl – harp

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON online: FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/ INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/tdsotmofficial/ HOMEPAGE @ https://www.darksideofficial.com

NAPALM RECORDS @ https://label.napalmrecords.com/the-dark-side-of-the-moon

Tree

11. Jenny of Oldstones

Since their formation in 2008, Moldovan progressive modern metal unit INFECTED RAIN have become one of the most exciting new acts in the heavy music world. In November 2021, in support of their much acclaimed fifth studio album, Ecdysis (2022), the band fronted by multi-talented vocalist Lena Scissorhands – one of the

fastest-rising leading ladies of the genre –offered an exclusive concert stream, entitled The Devil’s Dozen. It was available online for only eight days. This Friday, on April 14, 2023, INFECTED RAIN will release their memorable live momentum that is The Devil’s Dozen, in DVD/BluRay + 2CD Digipak formats via Napalm Records!

To celebrate their first live record in style, and following previously-released live versions of “The Earth Mantra” and “Storm”, today, INFECTED RAIN have unleashed a new live performance video for “Freaky Carnival”, taken off their 2017 album 86!

photo credit: Victoria Wonka

INFECTED RAIN

(continued from previous page)

Vocalist Lena Scissorhands says: “We’re excited to announce the release of our live version of ‘Freaky Carnival’ from our upcoming Blu-Ray show, The Devil’s Dozen.

This song has always been a fan favorite and we wanted to give it a new life by recording a live version to capture the energy and rawness of our live performances. We had an amazing time performing this song for the live audience and we’re thrilled to share that experience with our fans through this single release. We hope this live version of ‘Freaky Carnival’ will give fans a taste of what’s to come with The Devil’s Dozen and get everyone pumped up for the release of our full show on Blu-Ray.”

Dive deep into the history of INFECTED RAIN like never before with their breathtaking full show spanning the past 15 years of the band’s history, with incredible production and special effects, and including rare song material! Featuring songs such as “Freaky Carnival”, taken off their 2017 album 86, and stage warrantors such as “The Earth Mantra” and “Storm” (released on their critically-acclaimed album Endorphin), the release showcases the band’s metamorphosis throughout the years and celebrates INFECTED RAIN’s impressive career, songwriting and live skills to date.

The Devil’s Dozen electrifies with otherworldly live momentum by one of the most impressive modern bands within the extreme metal scene; unleashing resonating riffs, cosmic electronics, progressive grooves and Lena’s treasure trove of vocal abilities. The band’s upcoming DVD/BluRay is a must-have for every modern metal fan, as it demonstrates ultramodern brutality without sacrificing emotion and melody, performed live by a top-notch, high-voltage and enthralling live act!

The Devil’s Dozen will be released as Digipak, 2xAudio CD, 1x BluRay, 1x DVD on April 14, 2023 via Napalm Records.

Pre-Order The Devil’s Dozen Here At https://lnk.to/IR-TheDevilsDozenLive

Get infected by the band’s highvoltage live performance and catch them on their upcoming HEYDAY Tour in 2023 at the following dates below!

Scissorhands comments:

“We’re thrilled to be kicking off our HEYDAY Tour and bringing our music to fans across Europe. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to connect with people through our music and share in the energy and excitement of live performance. We’re looking forward to delivering a high-energy, unforgettable experience for everyone who comes out to see us. We’re grateful for the support of our fans and can’t wait to rock out together on this tour.”

INFECTED RAIN – HEYDAY TOUR 2023

14.08.23 PL – Poznan / Klub Pod Minog_

18.08.23 DE – Sulingen / Reload Festival

19.08.23 DE – Lüdenscheid / Bautz Festival

20.08.23 NL – Amsterdam / Q-Factory

23.08.23 BE – Kortrijk / DVG Club

24.08.23 DE – Trier / Mergener Hof

25.08.23 DE – Wörrstadt / Neuborn Open Air Festival

26.08.23 DE – Roth / Wallesau ist Blau Open Air

01.09.23 ES – Vitoria /

Urban Rock Concept

02.09.23 ES – Vigo / Sala Master

Club

22.07.23 SK – Skalica / Orlovna Club

24.07.23 AT – Vienna / Viper Room

26.07.23 DE – Munich / Backstage Halle (Free & Easy)

27.07.23 DE – Cham / L.A.

28.07.23 DE – Erfurt / From Hell

29.07.23 DE – Ottobeuren / Schlichtenfest Open Air

11.08.23 PL – Krakow / Klub Za_cianek

12.08.23 CZ – Jaromer / Brutal Assault

13.08.23 PL – Wroclaw / __cznik

05.09.23 ES – Madrid / Revi Live

06.09.23 ES – Barcelona / Sala Bóveda

07.09.23 FR – Toulouse / Connexion Live

08.09.23 FR – Crest / Bridge to Hell

09.09.23 FR – Lyon / Rock n Eat

10.09.23 IT – Milan / Legend Club

12.09.23 IT – Rome / Traffic Live

14.09.23 CH – Lyss / Kufa

15.09.23 AT – Salzburg / Lake Rock

16.09.23 DE – Lindau / Club Vaudeville

21st Annual Blues From The Top Festival, Three Big Days! Presented By The Grand County Blues Society

Music Fans, Don’t Miss The Best Grassroots Festival...

21th Anniversary of Blues From The Top Music Festival

June 23-25, 2023 #ElevateYourBlues @bluesfromthetop

Grace Potter, The Record Company, Devon Allman Project with special guests Anders Osborne, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, Drive By Truckers, Galactic, Samantha Fish featuring Jesse Dayton, Blood Brothers with Mike Zito and Albert Castigila, Cedric Burnside, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Carpenter, Robert Jon & The Wreck.

The 21st Annual Blues from the Top Music Festival is presented by the Grand County Blues Society, and takes place at Rendezvous Event Center (78821 US Hwy 40, Winter Park, CO 80482) in downtown Winter Park on June 23-25, 2023. Tickets on sale now at www.BluesFromTheTop.org.

Festival Details: This Grassroots Festival has earned the reputation for showcasing some of the best national talent in the business. Rendezvous Event Center at Hideaway Park, the home of Blues From The Top, is centrally located in downtown Winter Park, Colorado, making BFTT a truly one-of-a-kind event with amazing views of the Continental Divide. Blues From The Top has grown exponentially since it’s conception in 2003 and has evolved into a true blues and roots music event, providing a welcoming atmosphere for all types of music fans.

The event’s producers, along with our volunteers and amazing ski-town community, create a utopia of great music and a great vibe for festival attendees. #ElevateYourBlues #BFTT. Visit the official website at BluesfromtheTop.org.

Make it a Staycation... Come up Thursday, June 22 by 6pm for a special FREE concert at the Rendezvous Event Center featuring Tenth Mountain Division in downtown Winter Park. Music continues nightly throughout town over the weekend.

continued on next page

GRACE POTTER PERFORMING ON SATURDAY JUNE 24

Grace Potter is a Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and internationally-acclaimed rock musician. She formed Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in 2002 while attending St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals toured extensively, playing festivals and venues throughout North America. Potter released her latest album Daylight (Fantasy) in 2019, garnering two Grammy nominations. Described by Spin as “one of the greatest voices in rock today” and by SF Weekly as “the whole package,” Potter continues to impress both audiences and critics with her musical achievements and captivating live shows. Potter plans to release new music and tour extensively in 2023, as well as continue to pursue her passion for filmmaking, podcasting, and writing.

DEVON ALLMAN PROJECT PERFORMING SUNDAY JUNE 25

The modern rock troubadour, Blues award winning singer, songwriter, guitarist and torch-bearer for the legacy of Allman Family music has led bands such as Honeytribe, Royal Southern Brotherhood, and the Allman Family Revival. In 2017, Devon assembled the Devon Allman Project, commencing a 2018-19 world tour with Duane Betts as a special guest. Following that successful run, he and Betts announced the formation of the Allman Betts Band, reuniting with Oakley and recording their debut album at the famed Muscle Shoals studio. Devon is excited to introduce the Devon Allman Project to everyone at Blues from the Top. Devon has put together a special show and has asked a few of his long time friends to join him. DAP will be joined by Blues from the Top favorites including Anders Osborne, the legendary Jimmy Hall, and blues guitarist Larry McCray. You can bet that this will be a magical evening of soulful Rock n Roll.

21st Annual Blues From The Top Festival

(continued from previous page)

“For the last thirteen years we’ve been coming to Blues From The Top. It’s the best music festival in the Rocky Mountains.” Jamie Caffrey

Ticket Prices & Details: Festival-goers may choose from General Admission or V.I.P tickets. For the best price, buy tickets early; as we get closer to the festival date, the ticket prices will increase. Tickets are available at BluesfromtheTop.org.

About Grand County Blues Society: The Grand County Blues Society (GCBS) non-profit (501c3) was created in 2002 to enhance the cultural existence of Grand County residents and to be a beacon for our friends and visitors that love escaping to the shadow of the Continental Divide. For well over a decade, the GCBS has produced twenty-one Blues Festivals, over two hundred and eighty five individual blues concerts, and has continued its support of our primary programs.

Check Out The Music: The Grand County Blues Society has been a pioneer in the realm of blues music education. School-age kids across Grand County are lucky to have been immersed in the blues. Not only have they been entertained by all the programs that have come their way, they have also been on the stage, creating their own “bluesical” and giving performances on the festival stages over the years.

Blue Star Connection (BSC) is our most notable program and in it’s nineteenth year, has supplied over ninety two Children’s Hospitals with valuable and plentiful collections of musical instruments for their music therapy departments. BSC has also gifted over eight-hundred individual children personal instruments. We continue to support the music therapy industry with constant fund-raising and an all-out effort to continue the mission of BSC. Music Therapy needs an advocate, and we are proud to be considered a front-runner. We have done all of this with an all-volunteer board, and a very loyal and generous membership. Visit GrandBlues.org and BlueStarConnection.org for more information.

About Winter Park, CO: Conveniently located sixty seven miles west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains. The Winter Park Area is trademarked as “Winter Park, Colorado Unfiltered.” Visit PlayWinterPark.com. #ElevateYourBlues @playwinterpark @bluesfromthetop

http://www.grandblues.org/bluesfromthetop

http://www.facebook.com/bluesfromthetop

http://www.instagram.com/bluesfromthetop

SAMANTHA FISH (FEATURING JESSE DAYTON) PERFORMING JUNE 24

The first-ever collaborative album from Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues is a body of work born from a shared passion for pushing the limits of blues music. As one of the most dynamic forces in the blues world today, Fish has made her name as a multi-award-winning festival headliner who captivates crowds with her explosive yet elegant guitar work, delivering an unbridled form of bluesrock that defies all genre boundaries. Dayton, meanwhile, boasts an extraordinary background that includes recording with the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, touring as a guitarist for seminal punk band X, working with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and releasing a series of acclaimed solo albums. Produced by the legendary Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Death Wish Blues ultimately melds their eclectic sensibilities into a batch of songs both emotionally potent and wildly combustible.

MIKE ZITO AND ALBERT CASTIGLIA “BLOOD BROTHERS”

(Performing Sunday June 25)

Both Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia are celebrating their most-recent albums: Zito’s double live set, Blues for the Southside (released Feb. 2021), debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues Chart; and Castiglia’s latest solo disc, I Got Love, (released in May,2022) also charted very high. On their last “Blood Brothers” tour, fans got to see Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia come together to create a special musical journey unlike anything seen before in the Blues and Roots genre. Mike Zito won the 2022 Blues Music Award for “Blues Rock Album;” and Albert Castiglia won the BMA for “Blues Rock Artist.” With both artists on the exciting Gulf Coast Records label, it only made sense to join forces and give the fans what they’ve long been clamoring for: “Blood Brothers.”

Music Man Extraordinaire Guitar Stylist, Artist

Artie Villaseñor

(July 1 1951 - May 3 2019)

My phone was ringing over and over again as world class musicians, artists and songwriters were calling to let me know that one of the most respected guitar stylists alive had just passed. Among those calling was Robbie Parrish the well respected drummer and tuning expert. “John, I have some really bad news Artie Villaseñor is no longer with us.” Another call was from artist/songwriter Evelyn Rubio who shared, “Artie and I were just practicing on some new ideas just recently, oh my God he’s gone.” Devastated alone would not be the word that fellow musicians would use, hurting beyond belief is what was coming through along with incredible shock. You see Artie was not just a usual, typical musician. No Artie Villaseñor was much more than that, his soul the very spiritual essence that inhabits blessed individuals was on stage incredibly visible through his presence. This presence could be witnessed in more than one area. It could be seen in his stage performances plus within the off stage creative process itself, inside recording studios and in his conversations. Recently, in March of this year, 2023, Artie’s daughter Nina would marry and Dad would not be there but then again yes he would be. You knew he was there because you could feel the musical heritage throughout the entire Villaseñor family on that marvelous occasion. Previously: It was late spring in Houston Texas and the place to be was Sambuca’s downtown Houston. This night the Evelyn Rubio Band would feature this great guitar stylist. The place was packed with upscale diners and downtown executive professionals that were not going to fight the early evening traffic out to the burbs for a while yet. The music started and the unmistakable signature style of Artie Villaseñor filled the air. The crowd had been rather talkative up until this point in time but the cool, crisp ear pleasing presence of Artie’s notes were now filling the air. No matter what song was announced Artie had it down. That was Artie, always prepared and on the mark. Music News & Rock and Blues International publisher Kevin Wildman was there. He was shooting footage of the performance. Kevin shares, “Artie was the consumate’ artist.

He never overplayed his parts, nor did he ever upstage anyone. He was an integral component of any band he was on stage with never above being an equal member of the band, that was Artie.”

On the personal side no one that night could have been digging the gig more than Artie himself. It was noticeable in his facial expression and his remarkable delivery. Noted festival producer and former band member Lupe Olivarez remarked, “I met Artie in either ‘83 or ‘84 through my sister’s boyfriend. Artie was older than I was and I was continued on next page

Music Man Extraordinaire Guitar Stylist, Artist

Artie Villaseñor

(July 1 1951 - May 3 2019)

looking for a lead guitar player. So I met him and immediately connected with his style, his quick wit and sense of humor. I must say that If you didn’t know him you could probably think he was some kind of a hard ass by his remarks but actually the man was just the opposite. If he liked you that was how he would be with you. He liked to kid around a lot. We assembled a band named The Basics. We chose the name because at the time many bands were incorporating all kinds of different sounds and we just wanted to keep bringing audiences basic rock sounds and to our good fortune the people agreed. The Basics shot up in popularity. We recorded at SugarHill Studios in Houston and not long afterward we found ourselves on Spanish Star Search. We were traveling together and you can really get to know somebody when you travel with them. Artie had what I call the “it” factor. This really cool vibe, this really cool “in there” kind of charisma. For example even though he could beat the shit out of me verbally for not practicing enough I knew he was right so it wasn’t derogatory, it was a compliment. He was noticing that I could give more and he wanted to it develop. It did and I to this very day thank the man from the bottom of my heart for those pushes. Without his special kind of encouragement I don’t think I would have accepted the push. He loved his craft no doubt about that at all.” The renowned engineer producer Andy Bradley at Wire Road Studios had this to say, “I worked with Artie when the Basics recorded at SugarHill. My observation then and it remains to this day is that Artie was a thorough musician. He presented great guitar work but I think equally notable beyond his craft the man was a great human being. No matter where we ran into each other either inside or outside of the studio he was always personable, friendly.“ Sonic sound producer and professional drummer Robbie Parrish had this say, “Since I was sixteen I wanted the world to hear Artie Villaseñor perform and even now at sixty five I still feel that way and soon finally a new album will allow that hope to be realized. He was such an interesting individual. To this day I don’t know why but Artie would bring projects that he was working on to me and ask for my input. I was deeply flattered, I wasn’t on his creative team but yet he would show respect like this to me, he would do this with all of us. That’s the kind of guy he was.” Professional music photo journalist Jaime Zamora met Artie in 1988 through the Zenteno family, more precisely through Norma. He became close friends with Lupe Olivarez and Artie. He noted that rom the very beginning he appreciated Artie because in Jaime’s words “Artie was technically speaking, great. His sound was different, it stood out. You could tell it was coming from deep within. He made it look so freaking easy and with his signature sun glasses in place well they rounded out his presence. The man continued on next page

Music Man

Extraordinaire Guitar Stylist, Artist

Artie Villaseñor

(July 1 1951 - May 3 2019)

was cool to the max. He was a bright light within the business. He had this certain something, charisma, that spoke to you both with words and without. I will never forget that my wife and I had just seen him perform prior to his passing and then soon after he was gone. A tremendous shock. When I got the news I was at my local pub and lost it big time. I was so broken up that I went outside to let it all out. People were coming out and checking on me and consoling me and all I kept thinking about is how loving this man was to all of us.”

Artie’s daughter, Nina, recalled that he had a gig at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and all he had to do to stay in Vegas was sign the paper but he didn’t. More importantly he wanted to be with his family back in Houston. He wanted to hold on to his family ties. He even had an impact on his grandchildren and although his name was Artie the kids were calling him Grandpa Party, the name stuck, everyone loved it. One of the songs Artie wrote is titled “Nina” and when Nina talked to him about walking her down the aisle he said he wasn’t going to do that because he was going to play her down the aisle. Artie passed before the wedding took place but true to form he was there. The family played the recording as Nina made her way to the alter. It was quite fitting. Artie was music, there was no separation between his music and his family. Everyone there was in agreement, Artie was there. Now with new upcoming album being released, “Love Is Love” Artie will remain with all his family and friends just as it should be. Writer’s note - A common thread that ran through each interview was the fact that to each person Artie Villaseñor was the embodiment of what every musician should be: professional, talented, a team player and caring. In addition he was this cool cat that had it working. This man aka: “Sancho” was certainly all of these things. If heaven really does have a rock and roll band well it definitely is one helluva band as the lyrics go and we all know who’s playing lead. RIP Mr. Villaseñor.

GRETA VAN FLEET’S NEW ALBUM STARCATCHER DUE JULY 21 ON LAVA/REPUBLIC RECORDS

GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ROCK BAND UNVEIL NEW SONG

“MEETING THE MASTER”

Listen/Share The album’s first single “Meeting The Master” at https://gvf.lnk.to/meetingthemaster

Follow Greta Van Fleet Online at: Website @ https://gretavanfleet.com/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/gretavanfleet/

YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX2_tsfS1lWaNg26UUuWrxA

Twitter @ https://twitter.com/GretaVanFleet

The bands notes, “‘Meeting The Master’ peers into an esoteric world heeded by the word of a wise teacher. Sung in the voice of a devout believer,

TikTok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@gretavanfleet and eventual group exclamation, the song details the love these fervent followers have for their teacher and their firm belief in his vision. It’s an exotic

spiritual journey. A dark comedy that inevitably ends in chaos.”

continued on next page

Photo credit: Neil Krug

GRETA VAN FLEET

(continued from previous page)

The album is written and recorded by the band—lead singer Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist/keyboardist Sam Kiszka and drummer Danny Wagner—alongside Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile). Recorded at the legendary RCA Studios in Nashville, the band utilized the large recording room to capture the pure energy of their worldrenowned live performances.

“We didn’t really have to force or be intense about writing, because everything that happened was very instinctual,” Jake says. “If anything, the record is our perspective, and sums up where we are as a group and individually as musicians.

Throughout the ten-song collection the band explores the duality of fantasy versus reality and the contrast between light and darkness. “We had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,” says Wagner. “We wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.”

The band took multiple concepts from critically acclaimed sophomore album The Battle at Garden’s Gate and brought them into Starcatcher, although Sam’s take on the new record’s big ideas hint instead at new beginnings. “When I imagine the world of Starcatcher, I think of the cosmos,” he says. “It makes me ask a lot of questions, like ‘Where did we come from?’ or ‘What are we doing here?’ But it’s also questions like, ‘What is this consciousness that we have, and where did it come from?’”

The band is best known for their renowned live performances, selling over one million tickets worldwide. They sold out their entire 2022 arena tour, holding a special energy between them and their devoted fans. With Starcatcher the band aims to capture that energy in the recording studio.

Most recently, the band performed at the inaugural Lollapalooza Mumbai and completed an extensive U.S. arena tour in March. Greta Van Fleet returns to the road next month for the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta and Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis. See below for a complete tour itinerary.

Starcatcher follows their acclaimed sophomore album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, released in 2021 to extensive chart and critical success. The album debuted at #1 Billboard Rock Album, #1 Billboard Hard Rock Album, #1 Billboard Vinyl Album, #2 Billboard Top Album Sales and in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The debut LP from the band, Anthem of the Peaceful Army was released in 2018 to countless accolades including #1 Billboard Rock Album and Top 3 on the Billboard 200. Their From The Fires EP, released in 2017, won Best Rock Album at the 61st Grammy Awards.

Forming in Frankenmuth, Michigan in 2012, Greta Van Fleet consists of three brothers—vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka and bassist/ keyboardist Sam Kiszka—as well as

drummer Danny Wagner. Together they have performed across multiple continents, sold over 3.5 million records worldwide and performed on late night television shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

1. Fate Of The Faithful Waited All Your Life

The Falling Sky

Sacred The Thread

Runway Blues

The Indigo Streak

Frozen Light

The Archer

Meeting The Master Farewell For Now

GRETA VAN FLEET LIVE

May 5-7—Atlanta, GA—Shaky Knees Festival

May 5-7—Memphis, TN— Beale Street Music Festival

September 16-17—Asbury Park, NJ—Sea Hear Now 2023

September 20, 2024—Mexico City, CDMX—Foro Sol

September 27, 2024—Mexico City, CDMX—Foro Sol

GRETA VAN FLEET—STARCATCHER

Lee Pardini And Dawes Release New Song, “What It Takes”

Acclaimed Jazz Pianist Joins Forces With Fellow Memmbers Of Dawes For Brand New Collaborative Single

LISTEN TO “WHAT IT TAKES” @ https://orcd.co/lpd-whatittakes

Acclaimed pianist Lee Pardini has joined forces with his fellow members of Los Angeles-based rockers Dawes for a brand new collaborative single out now. Composed by Pardini and featuring original lyrics by Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, “What It Takes” is available now via GroundUP Music at all DSPs and streaming services.

“To me, this song always felt like city life,” says Lee Pardini. “Tough, relentless and a little menacing, yet extremely rewarding if you can persevere. That’s the tone that I think was captured in the original instrumental version on my EP, and that’s exactly what Taylor picked up on before approaching the lyrics. Maybe because we are in a band together, or perhaps because we are the same age and share similar musical ideals, but I knew we were in perfect synch as soon as Taylor showed me the lyrics and melody he composed. He got it. It’s special to me that we’ve collaborated like this, but also very special to be able to release this with the band. We’ve worked up our own unique live version of ‘What It Takes’ that absolutely has its own vibe. The openness and willingness of my bandmates to venture into this territory further solidifies everything I love about being in Dawes.”

“This is a lyric about the demands a city makes on you,” says Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith. “Especially the city I’ve grown up in – Los Angeles, CA. Anyone who lives here is constantly fed this message that your success depends on whether or not you’re willing to push your commitments to the absolute extremes. And that all might be true for all I know. But by the time we reach the chorus, this song becomes a kind of resistance to that idea. Recognizing that, sure, maybe sacrifices need to be made. But where is the line for when that sacrifice is too big? I think as a new father this idea has been knocking around in my head for a while now. But it’s not a song about parenthood. It’s a song for anyone who’s wrestling with ideas of dreams, grace, and boundaries.

“The words all kinda wrote themselves when I sat down with Lee’s original music for this piece – Lou’s Theme. I’ve always loved this track, as I’ve always loved every note of Lee’s music. He creates such a rich emotional soundscape that the themes and mood of the lyrics felt kind of inevitable some-

continued on next page

Photo Credit: Alex Kweskin

Lee Pardini And Dawes

(continued

from previous page)

how. In the best way. I couldn’t be more proud of the tune, but also excited about those of us in the Dawes universe continuing to find new ways to all make music and get it out into the world.”

Lee Pardini has proven to be one of the most prestigious players, a prolific session musician – known for his work with Dawes, Chris Stapleton, Roger Waters, Phil Lesh, Cass McCombs, Jonathan Wilson, Aimee Mann, Jason Isbell, and Theo Katzman, to name only a few – and multi-talented member of Dawes for more than half a decade. 2021 saw Pardini make a remarkable solo debut with Homebodies, released via GroundUP Music, the groundbreaking label founded by Snarky Puppy’s Michael League. A master class in improvisation and band dynamics, the album sees Pardini performing original compositions backed by a star-studded combo that includes visionary guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Makaya McCraven), bassist Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello), and Dawes drummer Griffin Goldsmith. Despite his seemingly nonstop schedule, Pardini swiftly followed Homebodies with 2022’s Leon Keys EP, this time showcasing his lifelong passion for tight grooves, Japanese electronic music, and classic Eighties funk and soul.

Last year also saw the release of Dawes’s critically acclaimed eighth studio album, Misadventures of Doomscroller, available everywhere now via Rounder Records. Produced by longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson (Billy Strings, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), Misadventures of Doomscroller represents an adventurous new turn for Dawes, evincing a more ambitious, exploratory approach towards recording than ever before. The album includes such singles as “Ghost In The Machine,” “Everything Is Permanent,” “Comes In Waves,” and the epic opening track, “Someone Else’s Café / Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” all available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Official performance videos as well as a complete in-the-round performance of

Misadventures of Doomscroller in its entirety – all directed by Caitlin Gerard at Hollywood, CA’s historic EastWest Studios – are streaming now via YouTube.

Dawes is currently traveling the US on its “An Evening With Dawes US Tour 2023,” continuing through a homecoming finale at Los Angeles, CA’s The Theatre at Ace Hotel on May 5, 2023. Highlights include stops at such

historic venues as Madison, WI’s soldout Majestic Theatre (April 14) and San Francisco, CA’s The Fillmore (April 26), as well as a special two-night stand at the world-famous Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA (April 27-28, 2023). Additional dates include shows with Turnpike Troubadours, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and top-billed festival appearances. For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit https:// dawestheband.com/tour/.

CONNECT WITH LEE PARDINI:

WEBSITE @ https://www.leepardini.com/ FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/pardimusic1 INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/lee.pardini/ YOUTUBE @ https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PL52RKVKBFM31ZYKhB95rESJIZsNdaYOmR

CONNECT WITH DAWES:

WEBSITE @ https://dawestheband.com/ FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/Dawestheband

INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/dawestheband/ TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/Dawestheband

YOUTUBE ™ @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7eHJIOAAgIUxlE8iODk7w

Blues Powerhouse

Vocalist Eliza Neals Is Out On Tour

Eliza Neals “United We Stand”/”Ball And Chain” @ Lizzie Rose Music Room April 2023 View @

https://youtu.be/W4BBqG4YYGA

http://www.elizaneals.com

http://www.facebook.com/ElizaNealsRocks

http://www.instagram.com/elizaneals

Standing before one of America’s truest art forms with an unconditional passion to give the Blues everything she’s got, Eliza Neals — a Detroit born, blues-rock star on the rise — honors the gut-wrenching, soul splitting intent the American roots of contemporary blues represents with inspired songwriting and criticallylauded live performances.

Neal’s original compositions helped win her a 2018 Detroit Black Music Award for “Blues Artist of the Year” and she’s won a Detroit Music Award five different times. Eliza has garnered seventeen Independent Blues Awards nominations along with “Get Ready To Rock UK’s” Best Artists awards in five categories.

Neal’s latest single, “Candy Store” (released this past February), follows in the footsteps of Ruth Brown, Koko Taylor and Etta James. After catching the ‘Pawn Shop Blues,” a “Sugar Daddy” strolled into town but now there’s not enough honey to save him. This tongue-n-cheek gem takes ‘playing the dozens’ to new heights. “Candy Store” will make you laugh until your sweet tooth falls out.

Eliza’s history of performing and/or opening for legendary musicians goes back many years, from Detroit’s songwriting godfather, Barrett Strong; to, among others, George Clinton, The Four Tops, Kenny Olson, Tony Joe White, Lance Lopez, Mike Zito, Tommy Castro, Walter Trout, Poppa Chubby, Albert Castiglia, Micki Free, Victor Wainwright, King Solomon Hicks, Peter Keys and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame bluesman, Joe Louis Walker.

Neal’s full-length release album Black Crow Moan was named a ‘Top Album of 2020’ after landing on so many ‘Best Of’ lists. B.B. Kings Bluesville (Sirius XM) has featured sixteen of Eliza Neals in regular rotation since she released her incendiary album Breaking and Entering, quickly thrusting her onto the national blues scene. Her soulful blues ballad ‘Another Lifetime’ reached #6 on Bluesville’s Rack of Blues, while Black Crow Moan reached #9 on ROB. ‘Sugar Daddy,’ released in 2021 reached #5 and remained on ROB for twelve weeks, finishing #12 in the Top Fifteen Blues Songs of 2021 on ROB year-end list. “Queen of the Nile”, Eliza’s latest ballad from her criticallyacclaimed 2022 album Badder to the Bone, is currently in heavy rotation and reached #5 on ROB. Eliza’s albums have ascended to the4 Billboard Top #25; she’s also had five singles and albums in the top five spots on Amazon and ITunes for over three months.

Neals — bandleader, songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist, producer, and record label owner — has had a cadre of amazing

musicians back her up over the years. “The best in the business” is what people say, with Neal bringing an all-star line-up wherever she performs. Audiences are thrilled with her band and plethora of special guests. Her radio charting and press is great; seeing Eliza Neals perform live is even better. Her shows are exciting, intoxicating and jam-packed with sultry powerful vocals, spirited moves, and soulful piano playing while leading her stellar band and never missing a beat. Phil Ohlinger, President of the Ohio “Big Bend Blues Bash” who booked Eliza, said, “in seventeen years we have had some great women vocalists perform, but not one has outperformed Eliza. I think we have a new crowd favorite!”

Eliza Neals started out singing and performing with her sisters and eventually was told, “you have to get a degree to live under this roof.” Eliza chose opera studies, graduating from Detroit’s Wayne State University (WSU) with a Bachelor of Arts degree and Minor in piano. Touring and performing with the WSU Concert Chorale in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium and UK’s Glastonbury as a Mezzo Soprano Opera singer was thrilling, but eventually the blues chose Eliza (and vice versa).

Back in Detroit, Neals sat in and performed at live music venues like Floods, Old Detroit, Burt’s Warehouse, The Rhinoceros, Soup Kitchen, Bakers Keyboard Lounge and more, honing her voice, signature style and piano chops. A chance meeting with Motown Legend Barrett Strong Jr. led to Eliza signing with his record label, where she learned to produce and arrange (vocals to strings) in his multi-million-dollar studio. Eliza and Barrett became good friends; he showed her the many hidden secrets of a Motown-trained singer, songwriter and performer. Soul legends Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight were previous artists Barrett Strong had produced, making Eliza Neals the last Motown-trained R&B vocalist from Detroit, and landing her in some very special company.

Neals relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey from Detroit to be closer to the East Coast’s big-city blues scenes.

June 8 (Thur) - Westland MI@The Token Lounge

June 9 (Fri) - Evansville IL@Mojo’s Boneyard Sports Bar

June 10 (Sat) - Springfield MO@Stomp The Blues

July 23 (Sun) - Portsmouth NH@Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club

August 4 (Fri) - Port Sanilac MI@Port Sanilac Blues Festival

August 5 (Sat) - Pomeroy OH@Big Bend Blues Bash

August 26 (Sat) - Long Branch NJ@Long Branch Jazz & Blues Festival

Dec 1 (Fri) - Bradenton FL@Bradenton Blues Festival

Dec 7 (Thur) - Brunswick GA@The Blue Door

Dec 8 (Fri) - Ormond Beach FL@Blues & Brews Bistro

Dec 15 (Fri) - Biloxi MS@Ground Zero Blues Club

Freedom Heartsong, SoCal-Based BluesRock Singer/ Songwriter/Guitarist, Releases New Single, “Will Power”

Watch The Video Ïor “Will Power”

https://youtu.be/lVUlaxRPgfA

http://www.freedomheartsong.com

http://www.instagram.com/freedomheartsong

http://www.facebook.com/freedomheartsong

http://www.freedomheartsong.com/epk.html

Freedom Heartsong, innovative singer/songwriter/guitarist, releases new single, “Will Power” (Sony/Orchard, Dark Star Records).

“Will Power is exceptionally special to me, as it really exemplifies the heart and soul of my musical sound,” Heartsong tells AntiMusic. “That stompin’, bluesy, swampy goodness is prolific in many of my favorite influences, and I wanted the entirety of the song to have that feel. The intro came to me a while back, while I was going through all sorts of tough times in life. It was kind of a personal anthem and mantra for a bit, reminding me that whatever comes, I won’t give up or quit, and will carry on with persistence and determination.

“The rest of the song tells the story familiar to anyone who might find themselves in a tough situation, feeling weighed down and worn out. In my experience, the only way out of a situation or feeling like that is to harness the energy of your “will power” and direct to the most constructive channels possible. To pick yourself up off the ground and keep going. It also is very specifically talking about changing behaviors or patterns that don’t serve you anymore as you evolve, and addressing unhealthy recurring cycles, through conscious

thought and effort.

“This is a song of motivation, persistence, determination, strength, and courage, and a reminder that we have the power within us to overcome any obstacle. “When the future looks just like the past, I don’t want this feeling to last, so I reach way down deep in my soul, and pull out that will power gold.”

Freedom Heartsong is a Los Angeles based singer, songwriter, multiinstrumentalist, and multimedia artist. In 2019, he signed a global distribution deal with Sony/Orchard, Dark Star Records, who released his first album “Get A Heart On” in 2020. That same year, he became the #1 artist on the label, and also one of only two artists submitted for a Grammy consideration, with his song, “Ecstatic Magic.” In 2021 Heartsong was again on the Grammy ballot with his single, “Evil Grieves.”

Blues is at the foundation of all of Freedom’s music, and the heart and soul of his sound. His original music, solo, and power trio live performances bring blues-y, soulful, rockin’ and rollin’ tunes, filled with positive energy. Heartsong has performed at a variety of notable venues — from The Mint and The Viper Room in Los Angeles, to The Cutting Room and Otto’s Shrunken Head in New York City; and on bills with the likes of The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, All American Rejects, Neon Trees, and Sugar Ray, to name a few. He has garnered artist endorsements from Blackstar Amplification, Warm Audio, and Thimble Slide.

Freedom’s album “Get A Heart On” was produced, mixed, and engineered by Barry Pointer (John 5 and The Creatures, Glen Sobel, Todd Morse) at Riott House Studio and mastered by Mike Wells Mastering (Green Day, The Mother Hips). In 2022, Heartsong released a full-length album, “The Humane Experience,” which he produced, and which was mixed and engineered by Benjamin Cunill of Left Coast Recording, and mastered by twelve-time Grammy nominee and four-time Grammy winning engineer Gavin Lurssen (George Harrison, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper, Robert Plant).

An all-around self-taught creative, life experiences and the learn-bydoing approach have been essential to Freedom’s growth and development. In addition to music, throughout his entire life, he has made countless artistic creations in a wide variety of disciplines, including design, sculpture, woodwork, ceramics, painting, photography, printmaking, and poetry. From the rainforests of Costa Rica, to the cultural art and music centers of Africa, to the legendary clubs of Los Angeles and New York City, a rich diversity of cultures have influenced him along the way.

With an international presence in the music and art communities, Freedom’s fans and artwork can be found in many countries around the world. His work is infused with socially-aware messaging and poetic meaningful lyricism, overflowing with good vibes. He creates music with the loving intention of inspiring all people to be their best selves and enjoy life to the fullest.

Catch Freedom Heartson On Tour

May 5 - Solvang CA@High Roller Tiki Lounge

May 6 - Morro Bay CA @The Libertine Pub

May 18 - Hayward CA@The Bistro

May 19 - Orangevale CA@The Boardwalk

May 20 - Modesto CA@Persuasion Brewing

May 31 - Solvang CA@Lost Chord Guitars

June 2 - La Honda CA @Apple Jacks Inn

June 3 - Carmel-by-The-Sea CA@Barmel

June 4 - Santa Cruz CA@Shanty Shack Brewing

June 5 - Pacifica CA @Winters Tavern

July 7 - Paso Robles CA @California Coast Beer Company

July 15 - Willits CA@Shanachie Pub

July 28 - Colorado Springs CO@COATI

July 29 - Denver CO@Your Moms House

Aug 11 - Aurora IL@Bollydoyle Pub

Oct 6 - Bisbee AZ@The Bisbee Grand Hotel

Dec 7 - Napa CA@ Jam Cellars

Avenged Sevenfold Announces Fall Leg Of ‘Life Is But A Dream…’ North American Tour With Special Guest Falling In Reverse

Multi-platinum headliners and famed heavy metal rock group

Avenged Sevenfold announced the second leg of their extensive Life is But A Dream…North American tour – featuring support from Falling In Reverse. The tour is produced by Live Nation.

Fans will have the opportunity to hear the group’s first single in seven years, “Nobody”, and their new album Life is But A Dream… for the first time live during the 30 show outing.

To date, Avenged Sevenfold have sold over 10 million albums worldwide and earned two consecutive No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart (2010’s Nightmare and 2013’s Hail To The King) to go along with over a billion video views and a billion-plus Spotify streams, as well as multiple No. 1 singles on rock radio. The band (comprising M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ and BrooksWackerman) are equally known for their spectacular live shows, selling out arenas and headlining the world’s most prestigious rock festivals as well as always being at the forefront of rapidly changing technology, cultural mile markers, and new ways for communities to engage.

FOLLOW AVENGED SEVENFOLD:

Website @ https://www.avengedsevenfold.com/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/TheOfficialA7X Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/avengedsevenfold/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/AvengedSevenfold/ YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCFcqi7MrlzIp9RMTtUlxE8g

AVENGED SEVENFOLD LIFE IS BUT A DREAM…NORTH

AMERICAN TOUR DATES LEG 1:

Tue Jul 18 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

Wed Jul 19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center

Fri Jul 21 – Québec City, QC – Videotron Centre

Sat Jul 22 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

Mon Jul 24 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre

Wed Jul 26 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre

Fri Jul 28 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Sat Jul 29 – Minneapolis, MN - Target Center

Mon Jul 31 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre

Wed Aug 02 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre

Fri Aug 04 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place

Sat Aug 05 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome

Mon Aug 07 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

AVENGED SEVENFOLD LIFE IS BUT A DREAM…NORTH

AMERICAN TOUR DATES LEG 2:

Sat Sep 16 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – NEW SHOW

Sun Sep 17 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – NEW SHOW

Tue Sep 19 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion – NEW SHOW

Wed Sep 20 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – NEW SHOW

Fri Sep 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena – NEW SHOW

Mon Sep 25 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino

Amphitheatre - St. Louis, MO – NEW SHOW

Tue Sept 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center * – NEW SHOW

Thu Sep 28 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena^ – NEW SHOW

Sat Sep 30 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre – NEW SHOW

Mon Oct 02 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome – NEW SHOW

Tue Oct 03 – Portland, OR – MODA Center – NEW SHOW

Sat Oct 07 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union

Amphitheatre – NEW SHOW

Sun Oct 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre –NEW SHOW

Tue Oct 10 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater – NEW SHOW

Thu Oct 12 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell

Pavilion – NEW SHOW

Fri Oct 13 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater – NEW SHOW

Sun Oct 15 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena – NEW SHOW

*Not a Live Nation Date

^Without Falling in Reverse

Napalm Records & Long Branch Records Tour Update

Upcoming US Shows from MOONSPELL, SIAMESE and CONAN

Beginning April/May 2023!

Slumber and Vintersea and can’t wait see you, under the spell!!!”

MOONSPELL “American Full Moon” 30th Anniversary

Tour with special guests Eleine & Oceans of Slumber

MOONSPELL “American Full Moon” 30th Anniversary Tour with special guests Eleine & Oceans of Slumber

4/29 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Monarch

4/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Warehouse on Watts

5/1 – Greensboro, NC @ Hangar 1819

5/2 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade

5/3 – Orlando, FL @ Conduit

5/5 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar*

5/7 – Dallas, TX @ Trees*

5/8 – Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot Brewing*

5/9 – Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live*

5/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ 1720*

5/11 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick*

5/12 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge*

5/13 – Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom*

5/14 – Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt*

5/16 – Denver, Co @ Oriental Theater

5/17 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater

5/18 – Joliet, IL @ The Forge #

5/19 – Ft. Wayne, IN @ Piere’s #

5/20 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Underground #

5/21 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus #

5/22 – Quebec, QC @ Source De La Martiniere #

Portuguese dark metal phenoms MOONSPELL will at long last make their return to North America! Originally planned for last year, the band is bringing their ‘American Full Moon’ 30th Anniversary tour to the US and Canada - celebrating three decades of evocative and mesmerizing artistry. Direct support on the tour comes from Eleine, with Oceans of Slumber and Vintersea (select dates) rounding out the bill. The upcoming trek kicks off in Brooklyn, NY on April 29 and concludes in Boston, MA on May 23.

MOONSPELL lead vocalist Fernando Ribeiro says:

“Touring North America and Canada made us a stronger band on stage and we’ve learnt a lot about music, fans and hard-work overseas. We see this 30 years tour as an opportunity to repay all the amazing fans over there who don’t get to see enough of us or hear enough of our music. We’re so proud we could bounce back from hardship and book this tour alongside the amazingly beautiful bands Eleine, Oceans of

5/23 – Boston, MA @ Sonia #

*- w/ Vintersea

#- No Oceans of Slumbers

MOONSPELL are:

Fernando Ribeiro – Vocals

Ricardo Amorim – Guitar, Backing Vocals

Pedro Paixão – Keys, Guitar

Aires Pereira – Bass

Hugo Ribeiro – Drums

MOONSPELL online: WEBSITE @ https://moonspell.com

FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/moonspellband

INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/moonspellofficial continued on next page

Napalm Records & Long Branch Records Tour Update - (continued

from previous page)

Metalcore maestros SIAMESE are coming to North America this spring as support on Bury Tomorrow’s ‘The Seventh Sun’ tour. The Copenhagen based quintet have captivated fans with their melding of modern metal musicianship with orchestral instrumentals and pop production. Most recently, the band collaborated with ten56. frontman Aaron Matts on their new single “The Shape of Water”.

The upcoming tour kicks off in Los Angeles, CA on May 2, and concludes on May 20 in New York City. Rounding out the tour package is support from Hollow Front and Afterlife.

SIAMESE “The Seventh Sun USA & Canada Tour”? as Special Guest for BURY TOMORROW

5/2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex

5/3 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

5/5 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater

5/6 – Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live

5/7 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock)

5/9 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Hell)

5/10 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground

5/11 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East

5/12 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI (The Annex)

5/13 – Chicago, IL @ Park West

5/15 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

5/16 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground

5/17 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount

5/19 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs

5/20 – New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre

SIAMESE are:

Mirza Radonjica – Vocals

Andreas Kruger – Guita

Christian Lauritzen - Guitar, Violi

Marc Nommesen - Bass

Joakim Stilling – Drums

SIAMESE online:

FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/siamesedk

INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/siamese_band

WEBSITE @ https://bio.to/siamese

United States metal fans - bow down and hail CONAN! England’s doom metal masters will hit American shores this spring in support of their highly acclaimed latest album, Evidence of Immortality, out now on Napalm Records. Kicking off May 5 in Chicago, IL, the band’s headline tour - featuring special guests THRA - will hit a slew of cities before coming to an end on May 25 in Seattle, WA.

CONAN says: “We toured the USA three times in 2019, then Covid ruined everyone’s life. We are super excited to be back, and cannot wait to see you all.”

CONAN USA Tour Dates with special guestsTHRA

5/5 - Chicago, IL - Reggies

5/6 - Detroit, MI - Sanctuary

5/7 - Youngstown, OH - West Side Bowl

5/9 - Boston, MA - Middle East (Upstairs)

5/10 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus

5/11 - Philadelphia, PA - Warehouse on Watts

5/12 - Baltimore, MD - Metro

5/13 - Raleigh, NC - Pour House

5/14 - Piedmont, SC - Tribble’s

5/15 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl

5/16 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia

5/17 - Austin, TX - Lost Well

5/19 - Albuquerque, NM - Sister

5/20 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Underground

5/21 - Los Angeles, CA - Resident

5/22 - Oakland, CA - Golden Bull

5/23 - Sacramento, CA - Café Colonial

5/24 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall

5/25 - Seattle, WA - Northwest Terror Fest

CONAN are:

Jon Davis – Guitar, Vocals, Chris Fielding – Bass, Johnny King – Drums

CONAN online:

WEBSITE @ http://hailconan.com

FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/hailconan

INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/hailconan

NAPALM RECORDS @ https://label.napalmrecords.com/conan

Mike Oldfield’s Iconic & Influential “Tubular Bells” Celebrated With 50th Anniversary Edition Due May 26th

On May 26, Mike Oldfield’s iconic Tubular Bells will be reissued on double vinyl to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Available to pre-order now, this special collection, which will also be available digitally, features an unreleased demo made five years ago which, at the time, was intended to be the start of a new 50th anniversary version of the work. Then, Oldfield retired, and the eight-minute introduction was shelved. Now seeing the light of day, “Tubular Bells 4 Intro,” is the conclusion to this historic album’s incredible life and may well be the last thing to ever be recorded by Oldfield.

With the whole project overseen by Oldfield, the 2LP 50th anniversary edition of Tubular Bells contains a brand new half-speed master of the original 1973 mix of the album mastered at Abbey Road by Miles Showell and a second record that unites several beguiling versions of Oldfield’s masterwork for the first time.

Receiving its first outing on vinyl is “Tubular X,” Oldfield’s take on Mark Snow’s iconic “X-Files” theme, recorded in 1998. There is the “Tubular Beats” remix collaboration with YORK as well as the original “Mike Oldfield’s Single (Theme From Tubular Bells)” which was made in response to an unauthorized American single containing an excerpt from “Tubular Bells.” And, for the first time since a very limited run in 2012, Oldfield’s stunning “Tubular Bells/In Dulci Jubilo (Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games)” is also included.

Tubular Bells is a cornerstone of popular culture. But, before its world fame, the 16 or so million sales, the Royal Mail stamp, its selection for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, originally, there was the music.

In 1973, a young, largely unknown 20-year-old Mike Oldfield released his debut album – two long suites of music, with virtually every instrument played by Oldfield himself. It also happened to be the debut release of a brand new label – Richard Branson’s Virgin Records. This coming together was an ambitious and brave collabora-

tion for both parties, but became one of music’s great partnerships setting Oldfield on the path to being one of Britain’s most renowned and celebrated musicians, while Virgin Records would become one of the most iconic and influential record labels in the world, which would not have been possible without the success of this record. Tubular Bells became a phenomenon, topping the UK charts and winning a Grammy. Its popularity and notoriety was secured by its main theme being featured in “The Exorcist,” the 1973 film which became a global sensation.

Mike Oldfield says… “Listening again to the musical outpourings of an angst-ridden teenager, it is hard to believe that was actually me, 50 years ago. The music doesn’t sound that angst-ridden, but only I know the years of work and stress that produced Tubular Bells. This was all live, first take performances with no second chances or studio trickery as we have become so used to today. Little did I think when I was making Tubular Bells that anyone would ever hear it, let alone be celebrating it five decades later! Thank you to everyone who has listened over the years.”

TUBULAR BELLS – 50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION TRACKLIST

Double LP (V2001-50LP)

LP1

Side One

1. Tubular Bells – Part One (2023 Half-Speed Master by Miles Showell)

Side Two

2. Tubular Bells – Part Two (2023 Half-Speed Master by Miles Showell)

LP2

Side One

1. Tubular Bells 4 Intro (previously unreleased demo 2017)

2 Tubular Bells/In Dulci Jubilo (Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games)

Side Two

1. Tubular X

2. Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield & YORK Remix)

3. Mike Oldfield’s Single (Theme From Tubular Bells)

Steely Dan’s Sprawling Sophomore Album, “Countdown To Ecstasy,” Remastered From Original Analog Tapes For Vinyl Reissue Personally Overseen By Donald Fagen; Due May 26th Via Geffen/UMe

Steely Dan’s sprawling 1973 sophomore LP, Countdown To Ecstasy, with such standouts as “Bodhisattva,” “Show Biz Kids” and “My Old School,” sung by founding member Donald Fagen who took over as lead vocalist, will return to vinyl on May 26th via Geffen/UMe, continuing the extensive reissue program of the band’s classic ABC and MCA Records catalog. The series, which began in November 2022 with the Dan’s legendary debut LP, Can’t Buy A Thrill, is being personally overseen by Fagen, and returns the group’s first seven records to vinyl, most of which haven’t been available since their original release.

Countdown To Ecstasy has been meticulously remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes and will be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl at 33

1/3 RPM. Additionally, the album has just been released as a limited edition premium 45 RPM version on Ultra High-Quality Vinyl (UHQR) from Analogue Productions, the audiophile in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds. Analogue Productions is also releasing this series of titles on Super Audio CD (SACD).

Pre-order Countdown To Ecstasy now: https://steelydan.lnk.to/ CountdownToEcstasyPR

Additional albums will roll out periodically over the next year and will include 1974’s jazzy Pretzel Logic, their first Top 10 album with the massive hit, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number;” 1975’s swing-pop perfection Katy Lied, with highlights “Black Friday,” “Bad Sneakers” and “Doctor Wu,”

and the addition of Michael McDonald on vocals; 1976’s guitar-driven The Royal Scam, featuring “Kid Charlemagne” and “The Fez;” 1977’s platinum-selling jazz-rock masterwork Aja, which includes the three hit singles –“Deacon Blues,” “Peg” and “Josie” – and the elegant title cut; and their final album for MCA, and last for 20 years, 1980’s brilliant Gaucho, with “Hey Nineteen,” and “Time Out Of Mind,” featuring Mark Knopfler on guitar.

All albums are being mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes except for Aja, which will be mastered from an analog, non-EQ’d, tape copy, and Gaucho, which will be sourced from a 1980 analog tape copy originally EQ’d by Bob

continued on next page

Steely Dan

(continued from previous page)

Ludwig. (There’s no evidence the original tapes containing the flat mixes of Aja and Gaucho were delivered to the record label and it’s presumed the tapes no longer exist.)

Lacquers for UMe’s standard 33 1/3 RPM 180-gram version will be cut by Alex Abrash at his renowned AA Mastering studio from high-resolution digital files of Grundman’s new masters and pressed at Precision. They will be housed in reproductions of the original artwork.

The 45 RPM UHQR versions will be pressed at Analogue Productions’ Quality Record Pressings on 200-gram Clarity Vinyl, packaged in a deluxe box, and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a certificate of inspection. Each UHQR is pressed, using handselected vinyl, with attention paid to every single detail of every single record. All of the innovations introduced by QRP that have been generating such incredible critical acclaim are applied to each UHQR. The 200gram records feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable.

Led by the songwriting and virtuoso musical duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan released an extraordinary run of seven albums on ABC Records and MCA Records from 1972 through 1980. Filled with topline musicianship, clever and subversive wordplay, ironic humor, genius arrangements, and pop hits that outshone the

Top 40 of its day, their records, which were as sophisticated and cerebral as they were inscrutable, were stylistically diverse, melding their love of jazz with rock, blues, and impeccable pop songcraft.

Steely Dan’s second record, Countdown To Ecstasy, released on ABC Records in July 1973, found the band exploring more of their rock side and reverting to its original five-man lineup, with original vocalist David Palmer departing and Fagen taking over lead vocals. As Becker and Fagen wrote in the liner notes for the 1998 CD reissue of the album, “Countdown To Ecstasy is unique amongst the Steely Dan albums in that it is the only one written and arranged for a working ensemble. For this reason, the arrangements were influenced for the better by the known instrumental textures and musical personalities of the band itself, and also for the worse by the horror and prolonged ennui of the odious weekend outings forced on us by our manager during the very recording process itself.” Much of the material was honed live onstage as a result of the band’s hectic tour schedule following the success of Can’t Buy A Thrill.

Upon its release, Countdown To Ecstasy was well received critically but was not an instant commercial success, despite eventually going on to be certified gold. Nonetheless the press was impressed with the band’s second outing: Robert Christgau raved in Creem about their “studio-perfect licks that crackle and buzz,” while Billboard exclaimed, “this fine group with its enriched vocals and fine instrumental playing, has emerged as a powerful new group.” Rolling Stone declared, “the Steelies strike gold and really boogie.” Fifty years on and the album

only continues to grow in stature amongst fans and critics, with inclusion in best of all time lists, and perfect score retrospective reviews from Rolling Stone, All Music and others.

The Steely Dan vinyl reissue program follows 2021’s release of Steely Dan’s Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! and a live version of Donald Fagen’s acclaimed solo album, The Nightfly Live, which were both released via UMe on 180-gram vinyl, CD, and digital. The first live Steely Dan album in more than 25 years, Northeast Corridor: Steely Dan Live! was recorded across tour dates at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, The Met Philadelphia, and more, and showcases selections from Steely Dan’s extraordinary catalog of slinky grooves, sleek subversive lyrics, and infectious hits. Fagen’s The Nightfly Live was performed live by The Steely Dan Band.

ABOUT STEELY DAN

Steely Dan helped define the soundtrack of the ’70s with hits such as “Reeling in the Years,” “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Peg,” “Deacon Blues,” “Babylon Sisters,” and “Hey Nineteen,” culled from their seven platinum albums issued between 1972 and 1980 (including 1977’s groundbreaking Aja). Both their sound and their notoriety survived the ’80s despite Walter Becker and Donald Fagen occasionally surfacing for a solo project. They reunited as Steely Dan in the early ’90s, touring successfully throughout the decade and releasing a live album in 1995 (Alive In America). In 2000, they released their multiGRAMMY® winner, Two Against Nature, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Over Half A Billion Streams Propels The Tragically Hip’s

Best-selling Compilation Yer Favourites To Diamond Certification Status

Yer Favourites Set For Release On Vinyl For The First Time Ever On June2

THE TRAGICALLY HIP ARE THE ONLY CANADIAN BAND TO OBTAIN FOUR DIAMOND-CERTIFIED ALBUMS

YER FAVOURITES IS THE SECOND BEST-SELLING COMPILATION ALBUM EVER IN CANADA, ONLY BEHIND THE BEATLES’ 1

PRE-ORDER HERE @ https://tth.lnk.tt/YerFavouritesPR

Follow The Tragically Hip: Website @ https://thehip.com/

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/TheTragicallyHip/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/thetragicallyhip/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/thehipdotcom

Tik Tok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@thehipofficial

The Tragically Hip’s best-selling greatest hits compilation, Yer Favourites, will be available on vinyl for the first time ever on June 2. Originally released digitally and as a two-CD set on November 8, 2005, Yer

Favourites, for which tracks were selected by the band’s fans directly via their website, has soared past Diamond continued on next page

The Tragically Hip

(continued from previous page) status at 14X Platinum (Diamond is 10X Platinum) and has over half a billion streams globally. The Tragically Hip is now the first Canadian band to achieve four Diamondcertified albums. Yer Favourites is the second best-selling compilation album ever in Canada* only behind The Beatles’ 1.

As a nod to fans for their continued support and in the lead-up to the band’s fast-approaching 40th anniversary in 2024, the Yer Favourites vinyl release will be split into two double LP sets on 180g vinyl, Volume #1 and Volume #2, each packaged in a single sleeve in an effort to reduce packaging and make the release more affordable for fans. Yer Favourites has been entirely remastered for 2023 and now includes the original versions from Fully Completely that were not found on the CD version of Yer Favourites released in 2005. This special vinyl release is a must-have for any new or long-time listener of The Tragically Hip. Each volume also includes a 24 x 36 fold-out poster.

The Yer Favourites vinyl release is set to be followed by a deluxe edition of Phantom Power later this year. In 2024, to celebrate four decades of The Tragically Hip, the band will release a deluxe set of their breakthrough album Up to Here, a previously announced fourpart Amazon documentary, and much more.

In 2021, The Tragically Hip received the Humanitarian Award Presented by Music Canada at the 50th annual JUNO Awards; and in 2022, they were inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame for Humanitarianism in pursuit of social and environmental justice. They had previously received a star on the Walk Of Fame in 2002 for Arts & Entertainment. For more than three decades, The Tragically Hip’s tireless activism and philanthropic pursuits have raised millions of dollars for multiple social and environmental causes, such as Camp Trillium, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Sunnybrook Foundation, WAR Child, the Special Olympics, and the

Unison Benevolent Fund. A quintessential band whose music captures the essence of being Canadian, they used their enormous megaphone in 2016 to spotlight the country’s systemic mistreatment of indigenous peoples. The legacy of the band’s frontman, the late Gord Downie, continues with The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund, which aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Critically acclaimed for over three decades, The Tragically Hip has been at the heart of the Canadian musical zeitgeist, evoking a strong emotional connection between their music and their fans that remains unrivaled. A five-piece group of friends, including Rob Baker (guitar), Gord Downie (vocals, guitar), Johnny Fay (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar), and Gord Sinclair (bass), who grew up in Kingston, Ontario, The Tragically Hip have achieved continued on next page

The Tragically Hip (continued

from previous page)

both mass popularity with more than 10 million albums in Canada and over 1.5 million sold in the U.S, as well as peer recognition through 15 Juno Awards – picking up the distinguished Humanitarian Award in 2021 which recognizes Canadian artists or industry leaders whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada and beyond. Their studio catalog includes their self-titled debut album The Tragically Hip (1987), Up To Here (1989), Road Apples (1991), Fully Completely (1992), Day For Night (1994), Trouble At The Henhouse (1996), Phantom Power (1998), Music @ Work (2000), In Violet Light (2002), In Between Evolution (2004), World Container (2006), We Are The Same (2009), Now For Plan A (2012), Man Machine Poem (2016) and Saskadelphia (2021). A National Celebration was the final show of The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem Tour, recorded on August 20, 2016, at the K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, and is their last performance as a fivepiece band. Through their career, the band became a cultural touchstone in Canada. Despite their accolades and numerous recognitions, they will always be proudest of the humanitarian work they have done over the years through numerous charitable organizations and causes.

*Tracked by Music Canada as

the second best-selling compilation album ever in Canada as of April 6, 2023.

Fifty Mission Cap

Yer Favourites Vinyl 2LP Volume #2

Track Listing:

LP1 – Side A

Yer Favourites Vinyl 2LP Volume #1

Track Listing:

LP1 – Side A

No Threat Grace Too Music At Work

38 Years Old Gift Shop

LP1 – Side B

Ahead By Century

Vaccination Scar

Three Pistols

So Hard Done By Fiddler’s Green

LP2 – Side A

Looking For A Place To Happen

Cordelia

It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken

Blow at High Dough

Wheat Kings

LP2 – Side B

Fully Completely

New Orleans Is Sinking

Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin’ Man

Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)

Lake Fever

Poets

Fireworks

Twist My Arm

LP1 – Side B

Bobcaygeon

Nautical Disaster Highway Girl

Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park

LP2 – Side A

At The Hundredth Meridian Long Time Running

The Darkest One

Locked In The Trunk of A Car

LP2 – Side B

Little Bones

Boots Or Hearts

Scared

Something On The New Maybe

The Biker, The Blues & The Highway

The question is: Should a man stop to help a perfect stranger? Well a man has to have his priorities right? So I see this damsel in distress and I stop to assist. I don’t know what motivated me to be so friendly but something I saw motivated me to stop. Perhaps it’s that spirit that lives inside all bikers, you know the one that says help all other bikers when you can. Ya, that’s my story and I am sticking to it. You see the poor girl had a flat tire and I had a can of Fix-A-Flat. As I pulled up I was a bit concerned that she might be scared of this rumbling Harley and the older man on it but nope she smiled and said, “flat tire.” I told her I had a can of Fix A Flat and went about taking my pack apart. You might think it’s a bit weird for a scooter tramp to pack that stuff but trust me that’s as valuable as a master link if you break down in the middle of nowhere. So I added a touch of the sealant and her tire came right up. She had picked up a small nail but now she could at least roll the bike home easier or ride it if she wished. She thanked me and asked if she could at least buy me lunch for my kind consideration. Well who was I to offend such a sweet innocent young thing so of course just to be courteous I said yes. She told me she lived just above the next rise about maybe a mile or so ahead. She hopped on her bike and off she went. I rolled my pack back up, strapped it down, hit the start button and Big Red came to life. She was definitely ahead of me but it only took a moment or two to catch up. She signaled to turn by pointing to the right. I shook my head yes and proceeded to scan the area. All I saw was some commercial buildings and a funeral home and true to form, true to what can happen on the road yep we were going to the funeral home. When we pulled up a man probably in his sixties came out the front door. His forehead was furled as I think he was trying to figure this scenario out and quite frankly that made two of us. Anyway I shut my scooter down and she leaned her bike up against the mortuary’s covered overhang where the hearse would normally be located. As I approached she was talking to the man and when I got there now he was wearing a smile and extended his hand and thanked me for helping his daughter. He motioned to come in and I thought oh man this will be a trip and a half. However, it was cool in its own strange way. So we went inside down a hall past some viewing rooms (no bodies there on this day) and into their home. There was a mature lady sitting at their kitchen table and she put her newspaper down and gave me a glance. The man told her what had happened and she thanked me too. The young lady, I still didn’t know her name, invited me out on their back patio and wow was this cool. A bird’s eye view of this calm lake with an outdoor fire pit immediately in front of us. She told me her name, Shirley, and then told me about a restaurant she likes in the little town close to where they live. It was a corner café kind of place a small place, American cuisine, clean, the sun was shining so we sat outside. The waiter was a nice young man, maybe high school age, I believe he was a bit worried about being around me, maybe due to the unshaven look I was toting

continued on next page

The Biker, The Blues & The Highway

around and of course the loud entrance my bike makes when I pull up. Shirley and I did at bit of chit chatting, then ordered and while we were waiting I learned that she was home from New York where she was/is a student at Julliard. That was interesting. She was studying composition and arrangement as a major and percussion as a minor. I asked her what led to her enrolling into Julliard and she told me that her music teacher not only encouraged her but wrote to the Dean too. I was blown away, totally blown away. I asked if she was a prodigy and she said that some have said that but she’s not so sure. She was wearing humility rather well, an attractive quality. Then she asked me about me and I just said that I was a biker in search of good American roots music. She came alive, I mean she became really excited. She said ok you asked me how I got into Julliard now you tell me how a man happens to be out traveling the country in search of good roots music. I answered by saying first of all for as long as I can remember I have loved the blues. For years I did not know that I liked the blues until someone told me that was the kind of music that I would listen to most of the time. From there as I got older I would frequent blues bars and couldn’t get enough. I think my candor threw her back in her chair a bit as her body language changed significantly. After a moment passed by she asked how much I knew about the blues culture and its origin and once again I blew her away as she realized I really was and to this day remain sincerely into it. A nice young girl for sure but as she began to talk about the blues she became text book about twelve bar blues and variations of both major and minor chords. I stopped her short and said I don’t know about all of that but I do know that any real bluesman or woman will tell you it’s about the feeling, the blues is a feeling not a subject to dissect. Once again she had that look of amazement at my candor. She smiled and said she wanted to learn more. I told her to start in Memphis in early May when the Blues Foundation holds their annual Blues Music Awards. You can see multiple styles in one night or stay and see the off main stage shows that pop up on Beale Street with some of those that received their award the previous night. I told her that there was woman named Big Mama Thornton who sang a song named Hound Dog. Elvis Presley had heard her doing it in Memphis and recorded it and the rest is history. About maybe eight to ten years ago the famous movie producer Martin Scorsese shot a documentary named “Lightin’ In A Bottle” you can rent it. In that famous documentary the musical director brought in a lady named Macy Gray and the song he wanted her to perform was that very song “Hound Dog”. He only gave her one piece of advice, do it your way, whatever way that is. She did and that song, which you can hear on You Tube, was way cool. Macy brings it to life and that is what the blues is, it’s that feeling. Shirley was getting into this information to the max and I wondered if I had turned somebody onto the blues? I took out my cell phone and opened iTunes. I played BB King performing “Rock Me Baby All Night Long” at the Royal Albert Hall. In this selection BB throws the lead guitar part to Derek Trucks and the vocals to Susan Tedeschi and then he motivates them to perform from their hearts. Next BB gets the audience to participate as well and the place was jumping. She was smiling, she was getting it. You learn that when it comes to the blues that good blues music can be found everywhere and that’s because it is built into our soul. In the movie “Crossroads” Ralph Macchio plays the part of a Julliard student that has mastered the exact components of history’s greatest classical songs yet he strays continued on next page

Page 3 - The Biker, The Blues & The Highway

while in front of his professor and jumps into the blues. That’s because if the blues is in you it’s in you, it just happens. If you are lucky what is in you comes through, if you are really into the moment your emotions take over. That’s the way it is meant to be performed. Just let it roll. One of the best examples of what is known as traditional blues can be found on Trudy Lynn’s “ Royal Oaks Blues Café “ Trudy Lynn is a living legend, she is the epitome of the word blues. For example on track six “Street Walking Daddy” her emotion hints that maybe there is some kind of history with these lyrics. The woman isn’t just singing, she’s feeling a visual picture and it naturally comes through within the song. All of us have experiences that while maybe not exactly like anyone else’s if you have ever been jilted or found yourself short you have experienced the blues big time. A man named Albert Cummings penned a high energy blues rock track titled “Blues Makes Me Feel So Good”. He sings about the connection a person makes when the blues erupts from your soul, you feel it. I could tell she was mesmerized with what she was learning, we paid the bill and moved on. Outside we said goodbye and went our separate ways. I had miles to go before the sun would set and some of the best scenery was coming up. Time to check the gas and oil and take a look at the play in the bike’s chain, yep everything looked so it was a good time to head out. About fifty miles down the road the early evening sun was quickly approaching the black dark highway illuminating the spotted center line endless row of dashes. Dusk was cutting through the tall trees. You could see far ahead and it was a good time to be alive. The scooter was purring like a content kitty and the thought that crossed my mind was maybe this is heaven on earth. Thoughts of the daily grind I had left behind filled my head. There are times when I miss what used to be but nothing compares with exploring every inch of the United States on two wheels. Multiple cultures, subcultures, the various accents, types of regional food, weather, beers, but most of all it is the new friendships. The being free kind of camaraderie that envelopes as you keep moving along. On this particular day my thoughts were on potato salad, yep potato salad. Soon I would be pulling up to a family farm and Bob and Sue always welcomed me back to their place. This included Sue’s notable potato salad and Bob’s secret shine recipe. Bob and I have swapped more lies at their place than one can imagine in just a day or two. A really nice place to relax. Everybody deserves a friendship like this one, it does a person right. I drove up the long driveway off of the dirt road I had just left and there was Bob smiling with his continued on next page

4

The Biker, The Blues & The Highway

hand on the brim of his hat. Later he would tell me that they could hear the distinctive sound of my shovel preceding me as it rolled across the valleys. Nice folks. We visited and I stayed the Night. Interesting couple. They both had good jobs in a major metropolitan city but simply stated got fed up with it, cashed in and bought their remote country residence. Boy did they ever. They bought about two hundred acres with about a third that could be harvested and the balance was good grazing land. Tall trees, fresh water. All they added was a touch of solar energy just to stay modern. Sue has an MBA but prefers gardening and logging. Yes, logging, you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it first hand but that’s Sue. She can handle a pick ax with the best of them and can gouge those hauling spikes deep into the fallen trees so the tractor can pull them to the loading area. Bob had been a financial investment advisor and the rat race was more than he wanted to do for a career. So they sold out, packed up and it seems to me they are quite happy these days. That evening a husband and wife blues duo stopped by with guitars in hand and soon maybe eight to ten more folks arrived bearing appetizers, beer, and smoke. Good smoke too. Man this universal sound, this musical culture called the blues was uniting so many good people. The performing artists for the night began the evening with their rendition of Canned Heat’s version of “Going Up The Country”. A sort of anthem for those alive in the late sixties, early seventies, a Woodstock kind of feeling right out of the gate. Then to keep everybody in the same mood they performed “Almost Cut My Hair” which was made famous by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Just about everyone was shaking their heads saying things like oh God I remember this like it was yesterday. Then to liven things up they gave us Johnny and June’s “Jackson” which was appropriate about being a bit rebellious but coming to a mutual understanding. The evening could not have been any better. Friends of like mind, comfort food, libations darn good live music and that’s the point. Camaraderie, the being free kind of camaraderie, the being with people of like mind is probably as close to heaven on earth as one may experience. It feels good, you are relating to the same things, the same content much like in this magazine. We are like minded and this resource brings us contemporary knowledge and smiles. We need both of course. I don’t know what happened to live and let live. Some circles are defiant these days much more so perhaps than decades ago. Some things however have not changed like going up the country to get away. It’s your thirst for peace and freedom that’s the driver. It’s your motivation and when you experience music that reflects the human spirit and it hits home with you that’s the coolest thing since sliced bread. Go ahead set yourself free with a loved one. Even if its just in your backyard over a weekend, get next to it because you are going to be alive for some time but your gonna be dead for a lot longer. Monthly troubles such as bills are always going to be there. Setbacks happen but they do go away. In one way or another set yourself free from the ties that bind you to sadness. Just as the song suggests go up the country, you need to get away because what you find there is cool to the max. I am doing it and it is indeed cool….