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Hey rockers Yes, it’s been a long time coming but finally StageDive is out and about! Welcome to what we believe to be the next generation in music magazines! We’ve crammed all the content we can into this, our first issue! A BIG thank you to all our content writers - without your love for music, dedication and input our magazine would have gathered more dust, and would simply just not be possible.
The Team
Stage Dive Magazine Postal Address: Editor PO. Box 74101 david@stagedive.co.za Lynnwood Ridge Gauteng Art Director 0040 Klement Marais klement@stagedive.co.za SOUTH-AFRICA Advertising Manager david@stagedive.co.za Webmaster web@stagedive.co.za
I hope you enjoy our online format. It’s our way of saving the planet by conserving a couple of trees, but still deliver the best, and freshest music news to you: the deserving fan! Thats all for now, have a read and let us know what you think! Keep rocking!
David P.
Copyright 2010 Stage Dive Magazine - Disclaimer No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying without permission. Any opinions expressed on this publication are not necessarily the opinions of all members of Stage Dive Magazine or their agents, customers, servants officers, or employees. Stage Dive Magazine and their agents, customers, servants officers and employees liable from any damages that may occur from, errors contained in the content located within the domain www.stagedivemag.com, or damages resulting from content published in StageDive Magaizne.
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Other Contributors Belinda Glenn Theresa van Tonder Ian Gertenbach Mareli du Plooy Michelle Marais Liam Lynch Adriaan Louw Kevin Knight Bill Whitmire Sean Metelerkamp Jeffrey Fiterman Ben du Plessis
Fax: 086 650 4707 Email: info@stagedive.co.za Web: http://stagedivemag.com
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What happened to The Mayfield Four? We broke up in the Spring of 2002. We had a six year run as a band. It was a lot of fun, but it was time to move on. I am very proud of both Fallout and Second skin. That was a special period from a creative stand point. Why did you decline Slashes offer to be lead singer of Velvet Revolver? They simply inquired as to whether I would be interested in auditioning. I just wasn’t ready to jump back into the rock scene at that point. Not to mention, I felt like they needed someone more dangerous for the gig. I’m about as dangerous as a bunch of kittens. It was a huge honor to be considered. I love the legacy of Slash, Matt and Duff. Great talents. What was it like to do backing vocals on the Sevendust song “Sorrow”? It was fantastic. Those guys have always been so cool to me. I sang my parts is Spokane when we returned from a tour. My brothers 3 year old listens to that track everyday. He calls it Blue Myles (The Sevendust CD cover was blue) How does suffering from tinnitus affect your musicality? It doesn’t affect my musicality. It just means that I can’t listen to my amps at the volume I used to. I miss being able to crank’em up to eleven Apparently there are rumors that you might be doing some solo stuff in the near future, can you tell us more about that?
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Yeah. I am working everyday putting together a record. I am not sure how it is going to turn out stylistically since I have around 35 songs written that cover a lot of ground. A lot of people have mentioned that they would like to hear more of Blues element, so I am going to include that for sure. Between that project and the next Alter Bridge record, I am writing constantly. I have been locked in my studio 8 – 12 hours a day at this point. I love it! So will there be a Creed reunion? Yep. They are heading out from August through September. What was your highlight of the Blackbird tour? Probably the last tour we did in the UK and Europe. So many of those shows left a lasting impression on me. If you could meet one artist dead or alive, who would it be and why? Having the opportunity to meet and play with John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page covers that for me. Unbelievable… Whats the biggest crowd you ever played to and what does it feel like to have so many people scream your name? Some European festivals can exceed 60,000 people. At that point it’s just a sea o faces. Some of them might scream your name… Some of them scream “Slayer!” Either way it’s better than the sound of crickets.
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Words: Michelle Marais Photo: Sean Metelerkamp
The Belly of the Beast bores yet another as Cape Town’s congested music scene surprise us with an addition to their fertile pack in the form of a rock quartet. Hailing from Stellenbosch, the act classifies their sound as “Party Rock & Roll”. Stage Dive Magazine spoke to them in a quest to see how much truth lies in abovementioned. Teejay Terblanche on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Gerdus Oosthuizen on lead guitar and backing vocals, Reyno Buckle on bass guitar and backing vocals and Odendaal Esterhuyse on drums. Prior to their inception in 2007, New Holland’s Oosthuizen and Buckle both played rolls as members of Sondag Sensasie. Being given the opportunity to play slots on the MK Eerste Avontoer, Oosthuizen and Buckle were joined by Fred den Hartog (Die Helde, Thieve) and Dries Bester (Die Helde) to form a band whose sound Oosthuizen defines as “impromptu acoustic-rock”. Sondag Sensasie dismantled only to have Oosthuizen and Buckle join up with Terblanche and Esterhuyse a week later. In that same year Die Groot Gees Rock Fees II hosted in Stillbaai served as platform for New Holland’s debut performance. The combination of their addictive hooks, alluring looks and enticing stage persona engulfed the audience and took them on an excursion to Party Central… but so did numerous acts part of the MK Tweede Avontoer. On asking them how to avoid producing generic music Oosthuizen said that he believes New Holland to be a band true to itself which produce music from the heart. Odendaal echoed this by stating that they are currently playing around with ideas on how to improve their onstage performance in order to keep it fresh. The month of May 2008 had the boys enter Sunset Studios to work with engineer Jurgen von Wechmar. The sessions gave birth to their first single “Shine” which was play-listed on national radio station 5fm it also featured on the Top 30 and Top 10 lists of local and campus radio stations.
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The thought provoking “Inside Out” was included in the Bellville Rock City compilation and the exposure served them well. September 2008 saw the release of New Holland’s debut album “01”. Comprising of catchy beats, simplistic compositions and infectious melodies reflective of the radio friendly era we (choose to) live in, this studio offering is a hotch-potch of sub-genres. With songs like “Uhuru” hinting at the bluesy rock onslaught of Taxi Violence and the melodic rock element on “City Lights” being reminiscent of Aking it is ‘clear to hear’ that the foursome has latched onto local. The four-piece lists The Cinematic Orchestra, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs and MGMT as inspirational international sounds. Diverse it is as are the tracks featured. They work well as separate entities but questions regarding the tightness of the album as a whole spring to mind. Presenting: The Notorious Unbridged Gap! Ever-so-often a band delivers on one front but fails to do so in full on the other. With their emotive lyrical content and inviting performances New Holland creates a kaleidoscope of subject matter dubbed “Party Rock & Roll”… but when the party dies little white space is left for the music to seep through and stand on its own. Soft-soaping is unnecessary so here’s the bottom line: Mass media mediocrity is no more a mere wolf lurking in the shadows cast by originality, it sits right here at our pious table, drinking our holy wine, mingling about in its mask of commercial accessibility. The promise of a new album come September cherish the hope of an unveiling of sorts and it is up to New Holland to reveal to us what sets them apart from the mediocre masses all donning guitars and liquor-stained skinny jeans.
DIE HEUWELS FANTASTIES
Words: Michelle Marais Photos: Liam Lynch
Saturday afternoon and the pace of The Mother City picks up as the day draws to a close. Past and Present argue back and forth. Die Heuwels Fantasties have a performance tonight. There is only one way to settle the dispute: “Ching”, “Chong”, “Cha!” Past, being anti-attendance slices the tension with a ‘Bellville ROCK City’ but Present strikes back with an ‘Email… no PAPER trail’. “Technology rocks!” Present chuckles and off they go. The temporary disbandment of respectively Fokofpolisiekar and Lukraakitaar in conjunction with the hiatus created in the music market by the lack of Electronica orientated acts down South presented a golden opportunity and saw Hunter Kennedy (Fokofpolisiekar and aKing) and Pierre Greeff (Lukraakitaar) combine forces. The initial idea was to move away from the typical sound produced by both these seasoned musicians in their previous bands. In a quest to achieve this Johnny De Ridder (Fokofpolisiekar) joined Greeff and Kennedy as producer resulting in the birth of something other than what we’ve come to known peculiar to Bellville, something other than Rock. Consisting of Kennedy on vocals and bass, Greeff on vocals and guitar and De Ridder on guitar and as producer Die Heuwels Fantasties define their sound as Electronica/New Wave/Pop. 2008 saw them release two singles for free download to the public on the internet. Both “Oorlewing 101” and “Vinger Alleen” reached #1 on various campus radio stations and the trio enjoyed some well deserved media attention. “Pille vir Kersfees” a limited edition memory stick containing 4 tracks and 3 videos saw the light of day at the end of that same year. Their self-titled full length album hit the shelves early 2009 and the merry manner in which the melodic element marries the introspective lyrical content impressed fans and music critics alike. “Die Heuwels Fantasties” is an assortment of collaborations including the likes of Francois van Coke and Laudo Liebenberg. Questions concerning the motive behind this approach sprung to mind. Was this a sales gimmick or a way for the three-piece to perfect their sound? Kennedy commented: “Hmmm, Die Heuwels Fantasties acts as a platform. We perform alongside these bands most of the time and it was inevitable that these guys would join us on stage, so we thought “Why not?” I think it is for variation. I hope there will be many more. A band isn’t always its members. Die Heuwels Fantasties is definitely more of an ‘idea’.” The accessibility of technology has it’s pitfalls in that every Joe Soap in possession of a keyboard and a semi-decent music programme have the opportunity to release at least one song. But polluting our sacred ‘Scene’ with singles is cruel. We need to filter out the fly by night endeavours of over-zealous musos in order to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Keeping the new stage dynamic in mind, a mediocre performance at a recent awards ceremony was a far cry from what the album evoked and left me disappointed. It felt unrehearsed, either that or these boys where marching to the beat of their own drum. In retrospect the poor performance might be attributed to a combination of both the abovementioned factors. Where we once were easily mesmerized by the glistening beads of sweat dripping from the face of an alluring frontman we have to realize that Electronica is a different genre all together and it brings forth a different form of visual stimulation. “Our VJ edited stock video footage to accompany each song,” Kennedy states. “This particular visual element adds another dimension to our performance. It is difficult though. The screens are expensive and event organizers are seldom keen to hire them for performances. Obviously the music plays an enormous role and I believe it lies in the attitude with which you approach it. The audience needs to see that you are having a good time. Me? I’m still working on my vibe. I’m f*cking shy when it comes to singing, because I f*cking can’t!” he laughs. An answer open to (mis) interpretation… that was my cue. Not so long ago the thought of a cloned sheep named Dolly had us question our morality (mortality for some) but in an era of male pregnancy, space reconnoitering and Instant Oats the idea of music produced in the absence of tangible musicians seem less alarming. How insignificant has the musician become? Kennedy puts me at ease: “Will CG characters completely replace actors or machines replace factory workers? Maybe not in my lifetime, but it is possible,” he replies. I blissfully ignore the latter part of his statement as I latch onto those glistening beads. That night Past and Present were joined by Future. ”Guess what?” He spoke of sourcing a thousand walkmans which will include a Die Heuwels Fantasties mixed tape containing house remixes and covers. “Maybe some MP5 players containing a video album and behind the scenes footage”, Future continued as Kennedy walked past making his way to the stage. “Exciting times”, Kennedy said. Exciting times indeed.
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INTERESTS Into: Rural living. Tattoos. Sobriety. Art. Not Into: Intensive agriculture. Western medicine. Television. Makes Me Happy: BBQ. Offroading. FAVOURITE BANDS 1. CCR 2. Mike Doughty 3. Lynrd Skynrd 4. Tragically Hip 5. Hammel on Trial 6. David Wilcox 7. Hayseed Dixie
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Hey guys! You each have to sell yourselves to the public in one sentence, any way you want to. Go on, prostitute yourselves! Go! ONE DAY REMAINS: Making pretty music for your pretty person made by average looking people... As usual, the question as to how the band came up with its name arises. What precisely does the name mean? I can see people being confused as they might perceive the name of the band to be negative whereas the overall message and attitude of the band is positive. Can you give us a little more insight into that? The name was taken form the Alter Bridge album and title track ‘One Day Remains’. The song basically represents everything the band stands for. There are absolutely no negative connotations in it. We believe that one should seize the day and make the most for themselves by doing positive things to achieve that. Now, the band has toured with big South African acts such as Prime Circle, Cutting Jade, Perez, Crash Car Burn and Lonehill Estate. What was it like playing with all these guys? If you were all entered into a battle cage-death-fight thingy who would win? That’s a tough one... I think if we took all the positive aspects from those bands and threw them in a pit, we would have a killer combo of music that could tear everything apart!!!
You guys are sponsored by Jaded Ink. How on earth does a sponsorship like that work? Do you think it’s plausible to get a tattoo on your eyeball? Would you respect someone who did, if that were possible? Jaded Ink have been awesome with us, in our opinion, they are the best around at the moment and we basically get ink and show it off and tell people where they must go to get inked. If someone got a tat on their eyeball, I would be extremely worried... Don’t know if it’s possible but I would like to see it! In terms of a solid fan base, how has the band been coping with that? Are people digging your guy’s songs and vibe? How’s the groupie situation? Our fans are die- hard and we can’t thank them enough for that. All the rockers dig the heavy stuff and all the girls dig the more soft songs... We don’t take much notice of the groupies, it’s the music that counts at the end of that day Your first single is called The Need. Speaking of needs, what is one thing you guys could not go without? It could be something spiritual, physical or the fact that ATMs exist. (You gotta be able to bomb something.) Our tour van, it’s brand new and if something happened to that we would all be screwed! And of course our equipment and Curly Pops! Thanks a lot for your time, One Day Remains, and here’s hoping many days remain in your already promising career. Shout-outs? We want to thank Jade and Murray at Jaded Ink for all the support, Fiat for helping with the van and all the peeps that have stuck by us and to you guys for giving exposure. If I left anyone out, sorry... next time! Keep rocking!
Words: Ian Gertenbach Photo: Gresham Records
Originally originating from the original origin of Tableview, Capetown, One Day Remains have certainly hit the local music scene with a noticeable banging sound. After extensive member changes, the band settled on it’s current lineup, and has released debut album Sins, Convictions and Confessions, which has given rise to radio-friendly and popular singles The Need and Never Say Die. Underneath all the glitz, glamour and copious rolls of sticky tape is a bunch of down-to-earth chaps who just want to make good music that people will enjoy. On this regard, they have certainly succeeded, and were kind enough to let me ask them the usual daft questions.
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Deserted island 3 item question: what would you bring? I always have trouble answering this question. I have contemplated this endlessly, and I can only ever get my list down to 14 items. And 13 of those are all different kinds of cheeseburgers, I can’t tell you what the 14th item is. Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music? We are all pretty average American dudes. We party, laugh, watch movies, do things for fun, ya know, like most other humans.
You guys have a very unique feel, where does this inspiration come from? Many things inspire us, more than just other bands. As far as how we sound, it was definitely a case of 4 guys with a drastically different tastes in music, coming together, and writing songs together with no rules. We didn't seek out to make the type of music we make, we didn't really seek out any genre in particular. We partied a lot, jammed a lot, and IPS became what it is today. What’s it like being signed by Island Records? It’s really exciting, and really scary. Its scary to be on a label that has such a huge roster (fallout boy, the killers, plus all the Def Jam artists) its intimidating knowing that there's a bunch of old guys that totally don't get it expecting your band to make them rich. It’s definitely a love/hate thing. As much as the label can drive you crazy sometimes, they are totally necessary for a band like us. Without they're financial backing, we would have never had enough money to take this over seas, or quit our jobs to do this full time. It was a huge help early on. At times like this, when we are home writing, it can get a little frustrating having people foaming at the mouth for a new "single". We all stay grounded, as long as we remember to listen to nothing they say, and don't pick up our phones when they call, and make the music we want.
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What’s the worst thing that ever live? When I was 16 I played drums in this hardcore band. We used to trash our gear a bit at the end of the show. As it got towards the end of the last song I started to rustle my drum set around a little. When I pushed one of the cymbals over, I didn’t push it hard enough so it didn’t fall over. It rocked forward, then rocked back right at me, hit me in the face, and broke my nose. How did you get your lucky break? Lucky breaks don’t exist. We live in the age of the Internet. If you do something extraordinarily well, someone well find you online. Believe me, they are all looking. What’s you typical song writing procedure? Our song writing procedure is anything put typical. There’s no set way. If we think of something, we put it down on the computer, or jam with the others on it. Just whenever something comes to mind we roll with it. I feel like forcing a certain formula would kill the creativity all together. Plus, we smoke to much weed to hold any sort of concrete regime for anything. Can we expect to see ever see you live in SouthAfrica? That would be awesome. Not sure it’s going to happen anytime soon. I don’t know much about South-Africa, but I’d assume it’s not cheap to fly too. We have been to a lot of countries this past year, but there are tons we haven’t been to yet. I just put South-Africa at the top of the list. In what genre would you classify IPS? It’s a mix of so many things; it’s probably easier to say what IPS isn’t. We are definitely not classical, or death metal. Well, maybe a little death metal.
Deserted island 3 item question: what would you bring? A friend, a sandwich, and a huge case full of anything else I would ever need on that island. Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music? Going to clubs, going to shows, playing with light, doing drugs... Music isn’t our hobby, it has become something much more than that. What’s the worst thing that ever happened on stage? I broke my leg doing a flip off a sidefill, you should learn to do a flip first and then try it at a show.
You guys have a very unique feel, where does this inspiration come from? I think it comes from the fact that we are 4 people with very different tastes and backgrounds, and we’ve always wanted to do something unique right from the inception of this band.
How did you get your lucky break? Having friends that are amazing musicians and doing all the small things that add up to a big thing correctly. What’s you typical song writing procedure? Drink a bunch of absinthe, maybe listen to some Emmy Lou Harris and see what happens... Every song has a different approach though, there is no typical way to song writing in our case.
What’s it like being signed by Island Records? We’ve got a great team on our side ... Yeah there is some bullshit you have to work through that is to be expected when you are dealing with such a large business but you do what you can and as long as you have the songs to back yourself up you’ll be fine... It’s only when you don’t have any good content that the label starts to turn into a rabid wilder beast or just doesn’t answer your calls anymore. Can we expect to see ever see you live in SouthAfrica? F**k yes you can! In what genre would you classify IPS? What genre would you classify it as? Because I have no fucking clue. Genres are boring... I would classify us as good music, relying heavily on technology (synths, programs etc..) Sometimes it’s heavy, sometimes it’s downright popppy (with 3 p’s)… We are like collage artists, taking bits and pieces from all the various types of music we love and forming our own mix of sounds…
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By Belinda Glenn If you’re anything like me, you have music playing constantly. Silence makes me twitchy, which may also explain why I talk too much, but that’s a separate issue. Sometimes the music is playing softly in the background while read my book on the couch, and other times it’s so loud I’m sure the drivers in the cars around me are expecting a taxi and not a Tazz. It all depends on what I’m up to and how I’m feeling. I think it’s fairly safe to say that when something plays as large a role in your life as music does, it’s bound to have an influence on your moods. When I was living in Ireland, I could be feeling great but as soon as I heard the opening notes of ‘Africa’ by Toto I would be so completely overwhelmed by a sense of homesickness and love of my country that I could be reduced to tears…or Castle drinking, which is worse. So how exactly does music affect our moods? Research has shown that music affects the body and the brain in three ways simultaneously: (1) Music’s rhythms affect your heartbeat. The heart tends to speed up and slow down to match the pace of the music that’s playing. Rhythms also alter our brain waves and breathing patterns. Other types of music induce us to move our bodies. In addition to hearing music, we feel the vibrations of music and other sounds on our skin and in our bones. It is the impact of these vibrating sounds on the body that subtly alters our mood and many of our body functions--particularly blood pressure, pulse and body temperature. (2) Melodies stay in your head like a second language. Music with strong, hummable melodies takes on a greater meaning--and affects your mood just by recalling them. (3) Harmony affects your emotions, helping you to release painful or angry feelings or boost happy feelings. Some scientists have even suggested that music can be used as a form of therapy to treat patients suffering from depression. Not all music will affect you in a positive way and the same band or song may influence people differently. It all depends on the individual. The lyrical content of a song can also have quite a strong influence, because even sub-consciously we pick up on what is being said. Music can certainly have a cathartic effect, which is why the blues were invented in the first place – what better way to get rid of your pain than to sing about it? Often, as much as music influences our moods, the way we are feeling at a given moment, affects our choice of what to listen to. When I’m happy or getting fired up to go out, I generally go for upbeat stuff with a good melody. I make my own mixes of my favourite songs for these occasions. These are some of my favourite happy songs: 1. ‘Being Bad Feels Pretty Good’ - Does it Offend You Yeah! 2. ‘I Bet it Stung’ - Teagan and Sarah 3. ‘Devil’s Crayon’ - The Wild Beasts 4. ‘Stars and Sons’ - Broken Social Scene In my more introspective moods I listen to albums more than individual songs. Sometimes these albums or songs from them, mirror my state of mind at the time I listen to them. I guess I find comfort in knowing that someone else out there goes through the same stuff as me sometimes. The songs all have a lot of heart, thought and emotion behind them and seem to come from a deeper place: 1. Chris Letcher – “Frieze” 2. Radiohead – “OK Computer” 3. Sting – “The Soul Cages” 4. Bon Iver – “For Emma, Forever Ago” When I’m angry or feeling the need to jump around a lot, I like to listen to heavy stuff like most people I guess. I don’t have a lot of heavy stuff in my collection but here are some that get me gritting my teeth: 1. Metallica – “Garage Days Revisited” 2. Rage against the Machine – “Rage against the Machine” 3. Battles – “Mirrored” 4. Bad Brains – “Quickness” Then there are those mellow Sundays or quiet evenings in, when you’re at home and hanging out or reading a book. This is when I listen to a lot of Jazz or chilled folk albums: 1. Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Jean Luc Ponty – “The Rite of Strings” 2. Richard Bona – “Munia” 3. Mick Christopher – “Skylarking” 4. Nick Drake – “Pink Moon”
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Martin Schofield – guitarist for Wonderboom and Flash Republic, and allegedly the man behind the mask of Martin Rocka and the Sick Shop: If I’m feeling upbeat or wanting to party, I listen to the new Prodigy album – I’m just loving it at the moment. Otherwise any old school rockabilly or rock n roll gets me in the party mood. When I’m sad or feeling mellow, I like to listen to cheesy lounge and swing tracks. And if I’m angry, I guess I listen to metal like everyone else, especially Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power” Brett Langton – drummer for The AK Massive: I listen to the Deftones when I’m angry, but feeling capable of solving the problem, sort of a motivational band if you will. My favourite song is ‘Seven Words’. If I’m feeling sad I listen to Pink Floyd – “Wish You Were Here” and Radiohead – “In Rainbows” for deep melodic tunes to soothe the soul. And when I’m happy I listen to Bob Marley, Pixies, or Queens of the Stone Age, which are all vibey happy upbeat songs. James Flames – bass player for Martin Rocka and the Sick Shop: When I’m happy, I listen to Fat Boy Slim or ‘Indestructable’ by Rancid. If I’m sad, I listen to Belly or ‘Exit Music’ by Radiohead, and if I’m angry, it’s Metallica or Prodigy. I choose this music to reinforce the mood I’m in, even when I’m sad…it’s called wallowing! Giselle: I listen to Panic! At the Disco for an instant pick me up, especially on a Friday afternoon at work to get me in that weekend mood. Taryn: If I’m feeling sad, I’ll listen to Live or REM because they remind me of a difficult time in my life. And when I’m happy, anything with a punk beat or hard rock will make me happier. Johann: When I’m angry, I listen to ‘The Poison’ by Bullet for my Valentine or Killswitch Engage. ‘Hive’ by NonPoint always puts me in a party mood when I’m on my way out, and ‘Feel it All’ by Feist is great when I’m happy. If I’m feeling sad, I listen to ‘Revelry’ by the Kings of Leon. Marcus: If I’m playing a soccer game against bitter rivals, I listen to ‘Steel Man Soon’ by Springbok Nude Girls - it makes me wanna kick things! If I’m happy then I often listen to early Bob Marley stuff - it just makes me happier. I also use this as the soundtrack when I launch one of my rare spring-cleans. If I’m sad? Keane – “Under the Iron Sea” has got to be one of the best break-up listens ever. And Josh Ritter. Lately, I get home, and if I’m in a good mood, I put Jim Neversink on and it gets even better. And me? Well, I’ll listen to the Springbok Nude Girls all day every day and just keep smiling. But if I’m in a particularly good mood, ‘Genie’ by SNG, ‘Best Side’ by Wonderboom, ‘Shake It’ by Metro Station or any Sugardrive will just make it better. Like James, I’m all for the wallowing so when I feel sad, I listen to Damien Rice, or Coldplay, especially the song ‘Shiver’ and anyone who’s watched Grey’s Anatomy knows that ‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol is officially the saddest song ever. Good angry songs are anything by Rage against the Machine and ‘Gang Gang’ by SNG. And if you need to vent post-break-up there’s nothing quite like ‘Santa Monica’ by Everclear, ‘Angels of the Silences’ by the Counting Crows or ‘Twisted’ by Skunk Anansie. My getting ready to go out songs are ‘Matchbox’ by the Kooks, ‘King of the Rodeo’ by Kings of Leon and ‘Hosanna 101’ by Paul E Flynn and the Seeds of Doubt…always guaranteed to get me dancing around the lounge while the cat looks on in bewilderment. And that Toto song still gets me every time.
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By Belinda Glenn The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (or RJA), burst onto the Florida music scene in 2003. Formed by vocalist Ronnie Winter and Duke Kitchens (guitar, piano and vocals), the band spent the first 18 months of their existence without any significant intentions regarding their future, which changed after friends convinced them to start performing live. The name The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was chosen in a completely arbitrary fashion - random words were written on a board and blindfolded band members selected the three words that make up the name. Apparently the thinking behind this was that the focus of any band should be on making music, rather than trying to choose a deep and meaningful name. Indeed, it seems RJA has placed a lot of emphasis on writing songs with meaningful content. After signing with Virgin in 2005, RJA released their debut full-length album “Don’t You Fake It” in 2006. It was this album that featured the hit single, ‘Face Down’, a single which certainly raised the band’s profile not only in the US but here in South Africa too. In fact, many South African listeners had never heard of the band until this single hit our airwaves with great force. The song speaks out against domestic abuse, and is typical of the band’s catchy combination of pop-punk, pop, screamo and metal. The single was inspired by Winter’s experiences of domestic violence during his troubled childhood, and cannot help but tug on the heart strings even as you sing along. RJA also set themselves apart as a band with a social conscience. They have headlined Take Action! Tours which campaigned against teen suicide and cruelty to animals. In 2007 they also helped to raise funds for a school demolished by a tornado. And in an obvious extension of the hit ‘Face Down’, they became part of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s campaign. All the while they were coming up with material for their second studio album, “Lonely Road”, which was released on February 3rd 2009. They seem to be the epitome of a hard-working young band, worthy of admiration and respect. And yet their dealings with South Africa would certainly not indicate any respect for their fans, or the organisers of Coke Zero Fest 2009. The band was one of the last additions to the line up to be announced ahead of the April festival. The inclusion of RJA in the line up was met with glee by many young South Africans, who were not entirely convinced by the more mellow sounds of indie super groups Oasis and Snow Patrol, who were headlining. It stands to reason that a concert of this nature is primarily aimed at the youth market and the inclusion of a young screamo band such as RJA was a clever ploy on the part of the organisers - Snow Patrol for the more mature audience members and RJA for the eyeliner wearing kids. All target markets covered.
Its hard to know then who was more devastated when, mere days before the Johannesburg leg of the tour, RJA announced they would no longer be performing. Contracts had been signed, performance fees allegedly paid. Citing personnel changes as the reason for pulling out of the shows, one still has to wonder about the professionalism of a band who would let fans and concert organisers down so spectacularly, so soon before the shows. There was certainly no possibility of a replacement international act being found at such short notice (and of course it didn’t help that Bullet for my Valentine opted to pull out at the last minute too) and one wonders how many young music lovers simply opted not to go to the concert because of this withdrawal. Impact on Big Concerts’ bottom line aside, you have to feel for fans who had been looking forward to this event with great anticipation and were so sorely disappointed. Not a word of apology was mentioned in the press release from the organisers regarding the matter, and RJA did not respond to interview questions sent to them by Stage Dive. So what has happened to the band that displayed such integrity and social conscience? Where is their work ethic, professionalism and above all, concern for their fans? If RJA truly are experiencing immense difficulties at this time, naturally we wish them well. But it will be hard for South African fans to forget how easily they were set aside.
Face Down with SA Fans!
Band Members Ronnie Winter – Lead Vocals, Guitar Duke Kitchens – Guitar, Backing Vocals Joey Westwood – Bass, Backing Vocals Jon Wilkes – Drums, Backing Vocals Elias Reidy - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Track Listing 1. “You Better Pray” - 3:35 2. “No Spell” - 3:03 3. “Pen & Paper” - 3:24 4. “Represent” - 3:24 5. “Pull Me Back” - 3:10 6. “Step Right Up” - 3:47 7. “Believe” - 4:14 8. “Pleads and Postcards” - 3:28 9. “Lonely Road” - 4:14 10. “Senioritis” - 2:20 11. “Godspeed” - 5:38 (Reidy recorded the whole CD before leaving the band)
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So, you want to be a rock superstar and live large, the big house etc etc (if you don’t get the song reference, you’re probably not off to a great start). You’ve got the talent – or at least your mom said so – and you think you could be the next big thing to come out of South Africa. All you need is some other guys to jam with you. But how to take that all important first step?` By Belinda Glenn According to Sean Wienand, of Headline Artists in Cape Town, most musicians he’s met have missed some of the most fundamental and relevant aspects of the business and these usually predate the first rehearsal...a mindset and a level of dedication: “The most significant area of requirement for any successful musician is a hunger... a hunger that is all-consuming and, more importantly, unwavering. Most budding musicians are completely ignorant of this. They think they’re hungry, but the first time they encounter hardships, the wheels start wobbling.” He suggests that musicians are usually ill-prepared for the hardships of the industry. For instance, according to Wienand, it is rare that musicians can sustain a love-relationship and still maintain consistent growth in their career. Their partners will be ok for the first few tours, but when they see that their iconic rock star partner is away for a couple of months a year, bringing home very little money (at least for the first few years) and is exposed to unlimited temptations during those absences, the rock-god halo starts to tarnish. As Wienand says, “This business requires a stamina that often seems in short supply amongst musicians - they want the ‘sex, drugs and rock-’n-roll’ dream, but don’t prepare themselves for what they may have to do to achieve it.” If you’re confident that you have the hunger needed to make it through the tough times, then you may be wondering what the actual logistics are of starting a rock band. Wienand advises that “the mechanics of starting a band, as with most pursuits in life, are pretty straight forward: choose the best possible musicians (cause you’re gonna be living in each others pockets for a long time); prepare your material VERY well; rehearse like you’re training for the Olympics; and choose a team of professionals to support and nurture your career.” It may seem silly to point out now, but you need to make sure that the people in your band are up to scratch in terms of skills – it’s no good choosing your best mate to play bass when he has less talent than a chimp, because somewhere down the line you’ll end up having to kick him out of the band if you want to make a success of yourselves. Awkward. To this end, Donovan Campbell, guitarist from Paul E Flynn and the Seeds of Doubt, suggests making an ad for recruits that you stick up at local music shops: “List your influences and any other requirements e.g. own transport, own gear, sense of humour, long walks on the beach etc.” Campbell also points out that a place to rehearse is essential. Yes, even the greatest bands rehearse. No one gets that good without putting a little effort in. The location of your rehearsal room should ideally be somewhere where you are not going to be interrupted by noise complaints. So your bedroom is probably not the greatest. It may seem like a pain but ensuring that you stick to a schedule of regular rehearsals is crucial, especially for bands that are just starting out. This is your opportunity to work on the material you already have, and come up with new songs – after all, there’s not much point in having a band if you’ve got nothing to play. Obviously you want to have some fun while you’re rehearsing or playing, but try and keep your wits about you so that every song you create doesn’t end up a drunken cacophony… as Campbell says in his tongue-in-cheek fashion, “Don’t get too pissed at rehearsal. Smoke doobie afters”…wise words indeed.
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In terms of marketing your band and arranging performances, there are two routes you can take. The first is probably most likely to work for a freshly minted band – do it all yourself. Make fliers, create a Facebook group, sms everyone you know – basically do whatever it takes to get your band’s name out there. Contact the venues in your area and find out how they go about booking live acts. Ideally, you should try and get a few tracks onto a demo disc or loaded onto your website so that venue owners can get an idea of what you sound like. They’re unlikely to book you just because you say you’re great! And understand that you need to be reasonable in your expectations – your first few gigs may be more about getting exposure and experience playing live, than about getting heaps of cash. That will come later. You hope. The second route is to sign with a management or booking agency and let them take care of all the details. This will make your life a lot easier, and it’s generally the route taken by established bands. Naturally though, these agencies will require that you pay them a certain percentage of your earnings. Make sure you are quite clear about the details of your contract with them to ensure that it’s fair to both parties. Figure out who the key people are in these agencies and send them invites to your gigs or direct them to your website to have a listen – you need to market yourselves to them as you would to venues or fans in order to get them interested and wanting to sign your band. So you’ve got the right attitude, an idea of how to get the best people in your band, and some sense of how to get your first gig. I think you’re as ready as you’ll ever be. I’ll leave you with a parting shot from Donovan Campbell: “Never trust drummers as they’re bound to break your heart.” Something to think about.
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Reviews: Klement Marais Device: Ipod Touch – Apple Inc. If ever you are blessed with the opportunity to hold one of these bad boys, grab it, feel it, and admire the elegance of the first faultless touch screen mp3 player. This astonishing little device does more than what you can ever imagine. The Capacity: 8 – 32Gb iPod touch is the first iPod to use the revolutionary 'Multi-Touch' touch screen Connectivity: USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi technology. It’s also the first iPod to include standard Wi-Fi for full web browsing. Battery: 36hrs audio, 6hrs video Other than being exceptionally user friendly it can also be customized with apWeight: 115 grams plications that will blow your mind. You can watch movies, listen to music or play Cost: R3,227 - R5,919 console quality 3d games. Apple certainly outdone themselves with the Ipod Touch. If you are serious about music you better put on those running shoes and RATING 9.5 run to the nearest stockist.
Device: Walkman x1000 - Sony Capacity: 16 – 32Gb Connectivity: USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi Battery: 33hrs audio, 9hrs video Weight: 98g Cost: TBC
RATING 9.0
Device: Zune - Microsoft Capacity: 8 – 120Gb Connectivity: USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi Battery: 30hrs audio, 4hrs video Weight: 128g Cost: R1,613 - R2,299
RATING 8.5 Device: Sansa Fuze - Sandisk Capacity: 2, 4, or 8 Gigabytes Connectivity: USB 2.0 Battery: 8.2hrs audio, 6.5hrs video Weight: 59.53g Cost: R1,109 - R1,669
If you where born in the era where Mr. T from the A-Team was your hero you will undoubtedly remember the Sony Walkman. The walkman was invented by Sony in 1978, this was the year people started taking music on the go. Today there is a new X-1000 Walkman. It was released worldwide June 2009 and already it’s making waves. The cover flow is very similar to the Ipod Touch, in fact it’s actually slightly better. It’s smaller and has built in noise reduction. The sound is the expected Sony master quality. This is the first device to stand up against the mammoth Ipod Touch. At this stage the Sony lacks in applications in comparrison to the Touch. But on every other level it’s the same, if not better.
Personally I have never been a big Microsoft fan, because as we all know, Windows is about as reliable as a drunken hobo on crack. However, this device might just be different. Even though this device does not have an equalizer the sound is unexpectedly good. The buttons take a while to figure out as most people are used to Ipods. Although the Zune is better than the Ipod on a syncing level, I still don’t feel that they will dent the Ipod Market. If for some reason you don’t want to buy an Ipod, this might be one of your best bets. One thing that might cause you to take this u-turn is the fact that this device comes standard with a FM radio receiver with RDS (Radio Data System) This allows you to see the station name rather than the frequency. The Sansa Fuze is one of the Zunes biggest competitors. However this device comes in smaller capacities, it comes with a MicroSD expansion slot. Sandisk the creator of this device is also the leading company when it comes to memory cards and flash discs. This device also comes with a FM Radio a voice recording option. (That is both great features) This Sansa also supports both .tmp3 and .wma files. It’s really small and glossy, and when you touch the navigation button it lights up in a very amusing blue light. This device has a stupid interface when compared to other devices, but since this device is one of the more competitively priced mp3 players on the market it’s definitely a good buy.
RATING 8.0 Device: Ipod Classic – Apple Inc. Apple being the juggernaut it is, single handedly taken over the market with this revolutionary device. The Ipod Classic is essentially the “Miss Popularity” of mp3 Capacity: 80 – 160 GB players. This Ipod was designed with no more than music in mind. Unlike the Connectivity: USB 2.0 Ipod Touch it’s not as customizable but can take so much more songs. The video Battery: 36hrs audio, 6hrs video quality is surprisingly good, I would not recommend you watch a full length movWeight: 140g ie but it’s certainly enough for music videos. The shear capacity of this device Cost: R2,733 - R5,696 makes up for what it lacks. In future Ipod classics we would like to see better responsiveness on the click wheel, especially during cover flow. They should also provide you with a protective case as part of the deal. Use this device with some RATING 8.0 decent headphones and you will never look back.
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Photo: Kevin Knight Words: Klement Marais
How did you guys come up with the name Burn Halo? I like the idea of what a halo signifies. It’s very pure. Very angelic. The “burn” in the name comes from the burn or glow around an illuminated halo.
You guys achieved so much since you started in 2007, any big plans for the near future? Our plans are to stay on the road. Just keep up the hard work. Hopefully keep getting the great support tours that we’ve been getting.
Why did Island Records decide not to release your album? Right before we went in to mix the album, my A&R was let go from the company. There are so many cutbacks in the industry now a days. They did let me finish the album, but no one there wanted to step up and take on the project.
OK guys, your song “Save Me” was featured in the video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, do you have the game? Your favorite wrestler(s)? My favorites don’t wrestle anymore. Bret “the Hitman” Hart of course. The Rockers were cool too. I liked the old school rivalries. The Macho Man/Ultimate Warrior. The Macho Man and Ricky Steamboat. Mr. Perfect was pretty bad ass too!
Do you feel you guys might be better of with Rawkhead Rekords? I feel like we are way better off working this thing on an indie under the radar right now. It’s given us the opportunity to really map out our schedule and get things going the way we want to. Sometimes you have a clash in ideas with the bigger labels and don’t have as much say in how things go. Any chance we will get to see you live in South-Africa? I really hope so. I’ve always wanted to make it down there. Once we get ourselves established over here in the states, I think our international touring will become much easier.
What was it like to tour with Rev Theory, Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach in March 2009? It was all great. They are all great bands and friends. Just a really good opportunity to let us get out there in front of such large crowds. Especially having them be the right crowds for our band and our songs. Thanks guys, for taking the time to do this, you kick ass! Any inspirational words for the you and struggling musicians out there? Keep working hard and keep your paths straight!
Name: Dean Butterworth Age: 32 Years Playing: 19 Star Sign: Libra Origin: England Drumheads: Evans Symbols: Paiste Kit: Tama Star Classic Sticks: Pro-Mark naturals Current band: Good Charlotte
Other Bands: (Played with and recorded) What is like to be the official drummer for Good Charlotte? Awesome!!!
What was your most embarrassing stage moment? Maybe dropping a drumstick during a song.
You worked with some really amazing bands, who would you consider the craziest on tour? Everyone of the bands has had there crazy moments.
On an average set, how many drumsticks do you use? I sometimes break 1 or 2 per set.
What was it like to record “Lies for the Liars” with the Used? I loved making that record my good friend John Feldmann produced it and The Used are great guys! Who would headline your perfect show? Jeff Buckley What did you think of CokeFest 2008? Coke Fest was amazing. Great line up. We had a blast Any advice for aspiring drummers? Practice!
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What is the worst thing about being famous? There is nothing bad about it for me, but then again I don’t feel famous. I feel grateful for my awesome music career. Do you have any cool stuff happening in the near future? Good Charlotte is recoding our 5th album at the moment. I’ve been working with lots of other bands on there records. The Veronica’s, Sugar Ray to name a couple. I’m always busy playing drums.
Morrissey, Ben Harper, The Used, Cute Is What We Aim For, The Veronica’s, Slapbak, John Lee Hooker, Nancy Sinatra, Goldfinger, Hilary Duff, Buckcherry, The Matches, Kevin Martin of Candlebox, Kellie Price, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Missy Higgins, Colin James, IV Xample, World Anthem, Rosey, Luis Fonsi, Medeiros, and many others.
Consumers nowadays are faced with the overwhelming task of sorting through stacks of truly terrible music in order to find something that won’t make their ears bleed. This already massive should not be made more difficult by the arrival of new “artists” such as Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Minnie Driver and Paris Hilton. These “singers” only scratch the surface; a parade of (horribly lied to and mislead) Hollywood stars has attempted to cross the rickety bridge from acting to pop music. In 99 out of 100 cases, this was not a wise career move. So we decided to compile a list of the top male actors who think they can sing: Robert Downey Jr launched the album Broken and Man Like Me from “The Futurist” in 2004. In 2006, Downey was cast as the title character in the comic book adaptation Iron Man which premiered in the summer of 2008, this clearly shows he should stick to acting. They don’t even list much of it on wikipedia about his sining and I think it’s for the best. The songs are so boring, I don’t want to write anymore.
Just because Murphy does some spot-on impressions of singers like Stevie wonder and James Brown that does not make him a singer. He released his debut album “How Could it Be” in 1985. He ended up with 3 albums. Murphy ranks as the highest grossing film star in history, having a total of 37 films to date, his films grossing over $3.4 billion in the US alone, averaging $104 million per film. Verdict: poor music.
Russel Crowe the singing gladiator and a friend formed a band, “Roman Antix”, which later evolved into the Australian pub rock band 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts (TOFOG). The songs aren’t have bad actually. On his album “Other Ways of Speaking” he actually sounds like a rockstar. Its a compination of Radiohead, Butthole Surfers and 100 other simmialar artists. I actually look forward to a next album, not.
With track names like “Arm Wrestling Woman” and “Don’t Lose Me Boy” Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael are obviously on a very strange path of destruction. The Bacon Brothers released more than 5 studio albums some as new as 2009. Most of the songs sounds like it’s straight out of Hazard County, but if Country music is your thing maybe you should invest in the latest album. Not bad for 14 years later?
Keanu Reeves - bass guitarist and back-up vocalist for Dogstar. Keanu is obviously a modern day Mcguyver, not only can he can stop rigged public transport and he also plays in a awesome band. In 1995 they opened for Bon Jovi in Australia and New Zealand and shared a stage with David Bowie. They only release 2 full albums the latest in 2000. Their last performance was in October 2002 in Japan, thank the lord.
Although everybody knows that John Travolta sing we still believe there is a spot for this man. At some point in everybodies heard songs by the popular musical Grease. Mr. Travolta played the lead character singing and dancing the night away. In those days, such a “celebrity” could easily become a pop-music “star” by releasing an album. John Travolta release close to 10 albums, latest being “Hairspray” in 2008.
With two albums below the belt this ninja only recently decided to sing. Seagal release 2 albums to date, Songs from the Crystal Cave in 2005 and Mojo Priest in 2006. He music is very diverse and actually not bad. I’m not just saying it’s good because he might kick my ass. Oh by the way It was allegedly at the age of seven that Seagal first began studying martial arts. http://www.stevenseagal.com
Not only did the Hoff act next to superstar Pamela Anderson in the hit series “Baywatch” he also sings from the heart. Unfortunately for the celebrity judge on America’s got Talent the music lacks everything. If ever you feel down do yourself this favor. Go to the popular site www.youtube.com and type “David Hasslehof music video”. Erm, go Germany?
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Are you an unsigned band, wishing to join a major label, or someone thinking about starting a band? Maybe you are just someone who likes to know what goes on behind the scenes after your favorite band walks off the stage. Well, read on..... I wouldn’t be able write this article without telling the story of a legendary songwriter who literally sold his soul and his song to Gallo Africa for a couple of shillings and then died penniless while his song became a world wide anthem. The story begins in the mid thirties with a kid called Solomon Linda, who, together with some of his friends, decided to move from Zululand to Johannesburg wanting a better life for themselves. While in Johannesburg Solomon wrote songs about life, money and apartheid, and in two years time they had an established following and became a very cool urban act. These boys were later known as Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds. In 1938 a talent scout saw Solly and the Evening birds. They were taken to a recording studio in Johannesburg owned by Eric Gallo. Working with Eric, was Griffiths Motsieloa, the first ever black producer in South-Africa. Solly and the Evening Birds recorded a couple of songs under the direction of Motsieloa, but, in 1939, after numerous takes, “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight”, was born. Gallo knew right there and then that they had a hit song, because the album was shipped to England and shipped back in the form of ten-inch 78-rpm records that went on sale at the same time that Hitler invaded Poland. The song became so popular that the need to reproduce the album caused the original copy to disintegrate. Pete Seeger, with a feeble looking career got hold of the song “Mbube”, through his friend Alan Lomax, which would later be known as the father of world music. After listening to the song, and thinking that he would be able to sing it, he took pen to paper and translated the song. “Uyimbube” was incorrectly translated into “Wimoweh” which he and his band, The Weevers, performed.
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The Tokens discovered this song and then gave it to George Weiss, who had also co-written “Can’t help falling inlove with you”, for Elvis Presley to re-write. He ripped the song apart, took out the screaming and hollering and then put it back together. One thing remained, Solomon’s “miracle melody” which then became the centre stage and tune of the song. Now the new words were sung: “In the jungle, the mighty jungle...” Mbube, became Wimoweh, which then became The Lion Sleeps tonight. In July 1961 the song was recorded in Manhattan with an orchestra, a song so powerful that Brian Wilson couldn’t carry on driving while listening to it, a song that was called a “mother f*cker” by Carole King. By November 1961 the song hit number 1 and in a month, the cover done by Karl Denver was number one in England as well. This song, Mbube, Wimoweh, The Lion Sleeps tonight, was surely heading for immortality. Miram Makeba sang her version at JFK’s very last birthday party, Apollo astronauts listened to this on the takeoff pads. The Springfields, The Spinners, The Tremeloes and Glen Campbell, all covered this song. This list can carry on, but the main question at hand is, why aren’t we hearing anything of Solomon Linda, the writer of this song, anymore? Where was he when this song exploded throughout the globe? The harsh truth is that Solomon Linda left that recording studio with about only 10 shillings, no contract and no royalties for the song. All the money the song produced locally went into Eric Gallo’s pocket. If Eric Gallo had more than two brain cells paired with some insight into the future he would have made a whole lot of money, but instead he made a deal with TRO’s Howie Richard and kept the privilege to administer ‘Wimoweh’ in South Africa and Rhodesia. The song, ‘Mbube’ was never copyrighted, and assigned to the alias Paul Campbell that was used in those days to claim royalties from songs that were re-written in the public domain.
Although ‘Mbube’ wasn’t part of the public domain it was the next best thing, a song that was not copyrighted, and with no interest in taking care of the benefit of the writer. The royalties were split up with 50% between Richard and his partner and the other remaining 50% between the adapters of the song. From here on out, the anti-apartheids activist, Seeger wasn’t happy with the arrangement. He felt that Solomon, as the author of the song should get the money. After excruciating court cases, Elizabeth, Delphi, and Fildah, Linda Solomon’s daughters were granted R10-million in a settlement on 17 February 2006. Solomon died with less than a R100 in his bank account. “He was happy,” his daughter Fildah told Rian Malan. “He didn’t know he was supposed to get something.” So, whose fault is it really? Are all record companies bad? I spoke to a music journalist, a manager of a very well known band, an owner of a record company, the frontman of a band, and the owner of the first music consultancy business in South Africa.... First, a little bit of history on everybody: David Chislett: I have been in the business since 1987 when I started playing in my first band. I have worked as a musician, promoter, manager, publicist, journalist and booking agent in that time. So I have dealt with labels as a manager, a journalist and as a musician. Sibu Molefe: I have been an artist manager now for 8-9 years managing the careers of some successful artists and by that virtue have had to deal with record companies. Sean Else: I was a member of Eden for six years, and then became an owner of Mozi records. Jaques Olivier, a.k.a Jakkals: Ex vocalist for heavy metal band Misericord, and now the frontman for Afrikaans Rock new kids on the block Wolraad Woltemade. Deon Maas: Co-owner of Meerkat Media, a music consultancy company, the only of its sort in South Africa. Also worked with Tusk Music from 1992 -1998 and Gallo records from 2000 – 2003. What would you say are the main bad things that record labels do that artists/people are not aware of? David Chislett: Everything! Artists most often seem to think that a record deal is the end of their woes as a struggling musicians when all it is, is a tool. Most often the conflicts I hear about between artist and label is founded on the ignorance of the artist. They sign things with out bothering to find out what they mean and then cry later and now suddenly the label is nasty and corrupt when in actual fact the artist has been stupid and naïve and is no being nasty and bitter. Deon Maas: In my opinion there are two main things. Record companies have exploitive contracts which are unbalanced in favour of the record company, and they don’t keep their promises. But, the artist has to remember the fundamentals of capitalism. For one to make money someone else is going to get ripped off. This is normal.
Have you ever had any bad experiences with a record company? Jakkals: Yes, we signed Misericord with AlterEgo in 2005. Big promises about Nuclear blast in Germany and other apparent connections that they had. We received one piece of feedback that we sounded like some other band signed to them Clawfinger if I remember correctly and they were working on it but nothing ever happened after that. Marketing budgets that were never allocated to the release of the album and never became a reality. Distribution that was promised to certain shops that never happened. Port Elizabeth and the Cape was a prime example. None of our fans on Twilight-x could get hold of the album down there. We were also promised the setting up of sales on a MP3 website that never happened. Also they apparently issued 5 copies to a very well known DJ to TuksFM. When contacting him about it he didn’t want to get to involved and couldn’t remember correctly so as to say I doubt it but I don’t want to get people into trouble. It’s all Water under the bridge now and so is the label but I will think twice before signing a contract with a label again. Like Deon Maas says when you speak about record labels and bands haul out the KY and the condoms because someone is going to get poked badly. 9 out of 10 it will be the band. Sean Else: I wouldn’t say we had a bad ordeal, just disappointed in what they promised, and what was delivered at the end of the day (banners next to the highway etc.). We were still young and naive though and believed every word they told us. We made the same mistake most young artists make – we thought that being signed means you are going to be successful. The excitement was so much that we never made sure that those promises were put down on paper – in our contract. There was also a complete misunderstanding of what we as artists thought should be done and what the label wanted to do. It is frustrating as an artist to deal purely with business minded labels. Please explain to me what the manager’s role is when dealing with a record company. Sibu Molefe: When the deal is signed the manager’s role turns into a maintenance role with the record company. Amongst other things the manager makes sure that all the promises the record company has made are kept like marketing the artist’s album, shooting music videos, radio placement or sample, posters are up at retail, album is released on time and that royalties are paid on time. Also it is important that the manager builds relationships with the people that work at the record company.The manager must be level headed but firm when required to protect his or her artists. David Chislett: The manager is the buffer between the artist and the label. In essence it is the manager’s job to understand the legalese, the contracts and the objectives of the record label and to make sure that he can get the most and the best out of them on behalf of the artist. The manager needs to build a solid relationship with the label based on mutual understanding and mutual respect in order to be able to effectively get the best out of the label of the artist.
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Tell me more about your marketing structures for your clients. Sean Else: We try and offer the full range where budget allows. It differs with each CD and artist – marketing an established artist is completely different to marketing a new artist. With new artists it is incredibly important for the public to start putting a name and a face to the songs they like so they can go out and buy the artist instead of just listening on radio. Therefore we completely believe in very strong music videos and we are not scared to put money behind them. We normally make two or three, and not always the strongest one first. I storyboard, direct and edit the video’s myself. With an established artist, like for example Bok van Blerk, we’ll produce one massive video, and a smaller one to follow up. If you music videos are of high quality and the broadcasters like them – you are ensured free airtime on television. Airtime in prime spots can cost up to R70 000 for 30s. The other thing a good music video does – it makes people watch it over and over to the end – getting to know and like the song at the same time. Our other marketing structures are standard above and below the line; Below the line; Hitting radio stations, clubs, magazines, newspapers, digital sites etc. hard with the CD and first single. Above the line; Campaigning on T.V., radio etc. Please name and explain the different type of deals that record companies, your record company (Sean Else) offers. David Chislett: There are many, many hybrids available but the four mains types are: Artists Deal You sign to a label for a specified period (between 3 and 5 years) in order to produce a specified number of albums (between 1 and 5). The label pays for all recording and manufacture, distro and marketing and gives you a royalty (around 10 -12 %). The label then owns the master of all your recordings into perpetuity. Licensing Deal You pay to record and manufacture your CD’s. You then give the right to distribute and market these to a label. Terms of these differ according to how well you negotiate. You receive a royalty of around 23% on sales. You effectively license the right to distribute your music to a lable, you own your master recordings. JV Joint venture. Her you and record label are equal partners, spending equal amounts to record, press, market and distro an album. Once costs are covered, profit is split 50/50. 360 deal Here the label does everything in-house from recording to booking shows, making merchandise etc. They also own all the rights to all that intellectual property. Essentially, the label become a one stop shop for your music career and ALL income streams in it. Sean Else: Shortly - Our artists sign a standard deal where they start of on 12% royalty on an album – BUT, we reward our artists as sales grow. We have a sliding scale where their royalty grows by 1% with certain figures reached in sales (etc. 20 000 – 1% etc.). We also pay them industry standard of 50% on all digital sales as well as all mechanicals due – this is very important for us – writers and contributors should be rewarded and credited where due – we have a system where we work out the exact percentage any writer/s wrote on a song – even if it’s one line or an idea – we pay them.
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This takes out any finger pointing later and builds great working relationships. We also ensure that our artists understand exactly what stands in the contract and advise them to a lawyer to help them understand it. What is the estimated industry norm for these different types of deals? Deon Maas: 1. Artist Deal – 12% 2. Licensing Deal – 23% 3. Joint Venture – 50% 4. 360 Deal - Anything goes! Sibu Molefe: On the artist deal the artist royalty should be between 8-12% and licensing deal 18-25% - remember it’s a negotiation so it would be anything between. Can you explain to me what intellectual property entails? Deon Maas: If you wrote and created an original song you own those lyrics and music into perpetuity. What would you say is the best for today’s artists, doing it on your own or being signed? Why? David Chislett: No, you don’t. You can do it all your self. BUT if you do start to become successful, it is EASIER to effectively sub contract some things to big companies that specialise in those areas: like distribution and marketing. Deon Maas: Remember, as a band when you do your own thing, you run the financial risks on your own, but then again, you also reap the financial awards on your own. Can you think of any facts about record labels that other artists aren’t aware of? David Chislett: Artists seem to be unaware of the fact that every cent a label spends on you, they will recoup unless you specifically negotiate that they won’t in the contract. They are not fairy godmothers; they are more like loan sharks. Even from some of these questions I can spot the biggest problem with musicians and many people in this business: everyone seems to think for some reason that the record labels OWE artists and are ripping them off. While it is true that many deals are exploitative and dodgy, the artists still sign them. Now whose fault is that? If more artists bothered to research the business they are in, understood publishing, distribution, intellectual property, royalties, how much things cost and marketing, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Instead for some perverse reason, artists seem to think its cool to be ignorant of business and therefore continually shoot themselves in the foot. The music biz is simple: a guy with lots of money pays for EVERYTHING for some other guy to make a record. Before profit is shared, the 1st guy wants to make all his money back, with interest, and then profit. That is it. Now if you let the first guy, he is going to claim all sorts of things before profit, making his risk smaller and smaller. That is a basic fact of ALL business. But in the music biz, the artist doesn’t bother to check on the terms of the deal, and then complains. It stupid and un-cool and I have never understood how artists can still complain so much when all it does is reveal how DUMB they are!
Jakkals: Ja screw the record labels and do it on your own. Save money and record your album yourself, package it yourself, do the video yourself and get on the road and gig and market yourself. Then one could look at a Joint venture agreement between the band and A label they cant make a quick rand off you they got to put their money where there mouth is. If you are willing to work hard you will achieve results. The internet is your platform and your music your voice, and I believe you can do a lot more without a label then with a label alongside you. But yet again maybe somewhere in a far corner of this earth there is a decent record label who actually cares about the existence of your poor peasant band. Sean Else: Too many too mention – but the most important thing an artist should understand when going into a contract with a record company is that they should understand their own needs and understand what is being offered on contract – NOT VERBALLY – ON PAPER! They cannot turn around and point fingers if they signed their names on the dotted line. It is like buying a house – make sure what you sign away and what you get in return because you are bound to your contract. The other thing artists should realise is that once they’ve signed they can’t just sit back and expect everything to happen. Their careers are a business which they should keep on working at and the success, music, live tours etc. should be driven by them and not the record company. Record labels aren’t baby sitters. The more they put in, the more they get out. Deon Maas: Record companies normally don’t have the KY jelly and condom dispenser in their lobby so it is much better to take your own. It is also a very clever idea to get all the promises they make signed in black and white. Another thing, if you are having sex with your record company’s appointed PR person at some stage it is going to blow up and your band’s marketing is going to suffer because of this. If you want to become a rock star to get laid and loaded, it will be better to get a job at a abattoir. That way you won’t be disappointed. True musicians succeed because of their love for music. So there you have it. Educate yourself before signing up with a record label!!
Broken, Bones and the will Capacity to disappear in misery saves Soaking, pain as a thrill, hate to instill Compassion's a cage Forgiving the father Read the story on my skin I'll be the martyr Falling from his grace again Sunken, sooner or later We crawl our way back into our favorite hole Drunken, swallow the savior And follow him to hang from the highest pole Forgiving the father Read the story on my skin Tell me more about the man I should have been I'll be the martyr Falling from his grace again This is where the end begins
Do you want to chat to music execs face-toface? Check out SA’s First Independant Music Conference: Music Exchange this March. Want to win tickets? Enter online!
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Thanks guys, for taking the time to do this, you kick ass! First of all, you guys are one of those bands you have to tap your foot to no matter where you are, who comes up with those awesome melodies? Well Rob is the melody master so he does. I think that I am in one of the most talented bands on earth. You guys have spent the entire year of 2008 working on the fourth studio album, are you getting the feedback you expected? So far we have only been playing one song live “Blood On My Hands” and it seems to be going over great. Kids are kicking each others asses to it. What can fans expect from your new album “Artwork “? “ARTWORK” is dirty, loud, dark, heavy, catchy and raw. It’s quite a bit different from the previous albums but you’ll know it’s THE USED you’re listening too and you’re going to love it You guys have to come to South-Africa, do you think this can be arranged? *Wink *Wink... We have had offers but the timing wasn’t right so I think we will be coming there soon. We’ll keep you all posted. Since we have not had the opportunity to see you guys in SA yet, how much of your sounds/effects are produced on a live show? Hmmm I think that when you see us you will love it. We give it 110% every time we play. Who do you guys enjoy touring with most? Well we love The Bled they are always fun to tour with and they like to party and so do we.
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We actually recently interviewed Burn Halo a band you toured with, did you guys get along? They seemed cool, we only hung out for a sec but they are nice guys. If you have to spend 23 days on a deserted island what would you take? My band. I love them and I can’t survive without them Have you guys ever been stalked by psychos? Absolutely haha. There’s always a few crazy ones that follow us all over the world but they’re cool. We once saw an article that were Bert apparently said “I once spent £80 on a drop of blood”. What was that about? Yeah, he was trying to buy weed and when he opened up the package it was a napkin with a drop of blood on it, so he got ripped off, Ha ha ha. What advice would you give a young musician who dreams of becoming a famous rock star? Just work hard, be open minded to all types of music and be original. Thanks guys, we think you are brilliant, please don’t ever stop feeding us with your music. Thanks for the interview. Our album “ARTWORK” will be out this summer so get ready to get your face rocked off.
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Carolina Liar is a 6 piece rock band founded in Los Angeles. Chad Wolf (lead vocals) is native to Carolina although most of the members are actually from Sweden. For those silly readers who are uncertain of who this band is, simply turn on the radio, wait 10 minutes and you will hear their number 1 hit single “Show Me What I’m Looking For”. Luckily for us, we got to chat to front man Chad Wolf and here is what he had to say: Hey Chad, thanks for chatting to us, you kick ass! First of all “Show Me What I’m Looking For” was featured on the iTunes Music Store as the Free Single of the Week, how did this affect your sales? This was huge for us! We gave away a massive amount of songs and it seems to be giving us some big exposure Will you guys tour South-Africa for the new album? We would love too. We just have to figure out how to make it happen!
Why exactly the name Carolina Liar? There was a music producer who called me the biggest liar he’d ever meet because of the place that I grew up had these crazy things always happening basically he thought everything was a lie. One day he asked where I was from again. I told him South Carolina at that point he said “why don’t you call your band Carolina Liar?” And from that point the name stayed. What changed after you guys signed with major label Atlantic Records? Everything that you could imagine that a major label brings to the table Atlantic has. Big videos, bigger and bigger shows crazy amount of travelling too no time for day jobs any more. Right now we are really living a dream ! How much time have you guys spend together as a band? Right Rickard and I have spent almost a year together the rest of the at least 7 months solid
What do you do when you are not with the band? I work in the studio on new songs productions on other artist anything I can get my hands in Why do you think Kamikaze pilots wear helmets? That is one of the best questions I have ever been ask... I guess its part of the ceremony. I could only imagine if one were to face death in jet plane one would prefer to meet him prepared and a helmet seems to be very appropriate. What are your plans for the near future? I just want to keep working We just got confirmed for vfest in the UK so that’s one of the next big shows Thanks so much we appreciate your time, any last words for your fans in SA? We will be coming to show how grateful we are for every one finding us and giving us this life that we live now! Thank you so much.
Photo: Jeffrey Fiterman Words: Klement Marais
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Do you consider Anbelin to be a fully Gospel band? Nope.
Thanks Deon we appreciate your time, first of all what changed for you guys since you guys signed with Universal Republic Records in 2007? The radio thing has been the biggest change. Universal has definitely opened that door wide for us.
Do you prefer music with a positive message? I like songs that I can identify with. They don’t necessarily have to be positive. Some of my favorite songs are downright depressing, but the lyrics are something I’ve experienced before, so I love listening to someone else sing exactly what I felt. Apparently you guys plan on launching a new album in 2010, have you guys started seriously working on it yet? There have been a couple of songs written, but we have been touring too much to really get serious. We plan to get together in July to do some writing.
Do you play any other instruments? I’m trying to pick up piano, but it is really hard to continue lessons Will you tour South-Africa for the new album? on tour. I’m thinking of getting more into guitar since there is I hope so! We love going anywhere new. always one around the tour bus. What’s your favorite thing to do when you are not with the band? What bass equipment do you use and why? I ride my bike a lot when I’m home. I also collect vinyl. I’m conMy head is an Ampeg SVT Classic and my cabinet is a classic stantly adding to my collection. 8X10. I’ve always loved the Ampeg sound. It’s classic and powerful. I also use Fender Jazz basses. What’s the funniest thing a crazed fan ever said to you? I think it was something to the effect of “I’m not a crazy fan, but Thanks so much Deon, you kick ass. Do you have any advice for a can I come on your tour bus and see where you sleep?” young bassist? Practice as much as possible and play to other people’s songs. How many hours a day do you spend behind your bass guitar? There is always something new to be learned. Not nearly enough. I should really practice a lot more than I do.
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With a name so original such as HOLLY and the WOODS… Who would not want to know more about this already successful band making their way to one of the best in SA. Not only their name, but their sound is so unique and fresh, something SA hasn’t heard before.
us by buying songs via Mobile Downloads and Online Downloads, so the album is doing very well.
With Melissa as songwriter and vocalist and Craig on rhythm guitar, the body of the band is made up by Chad on drums, Gary on Bass and John on Lead guitar.
How and where did the band start? What inspired you?
This 5-piece has shared the stage with big names such as Sarah Bettens (from K’s Choice), Prime Circle, Wonderboom, Karma, Love Jones, Cassette, Veeva Feeva (Australian band), Running With Scissors and The Sick-Leaves. With a big dream and a great passion for music we can expect so much more to come from Holly and the Woods.
Tell us more about Holly and the woods for those not yet familiar with the band. Holly & The Woods has been going since 2006 and we’re one of the louder female fronted rock bands in SA. We’re a Benoni band and proud of it!
The band started when I placed an advert for a vocalist looking for a band on the Powerzone Website’s classifieds section. Craig saw it and called me up for a jam. We got together, him on guitar and me just belting it out, and we loved the synergy. So we took the challenge to start a band and Craig went out to gigs and scouted the rest of the band! He got Gary while he was playing bass for another band, John was in his previous band TATUM and Chad joined us in 2007 when our original drummer, Clint, left the band. We have all always loved music and playing in bands, so the band was started in the hope that we could get something together that could possibly succeed in SA! How does it feel to be compared to Skunk Anansie by the SA media & press? It’s a bit daunting, cause SKUNK ANANSIE is a phenomenal band. I think the sound is very similar because I’m a SKIN fan, but the rest of the boys are more into other bands. So the Skunk Anansie flavour is my fault I guess…
Captured by this band, I talked to Melissa and all I have to say is….Watch out SA, this band has raised the standards and set the bar high for other bands……….. very high!!!
It is said that many bands feared to fill the void left by a band like Skunk Anansie. What made you decide to take this risk?
What would your advice be to upcoming bands?
At what gig did you have the most fun?
The first thing is to get a band together where all the members in the band have the same ideals for the band. Then it’s key to practice a lot and write as many songs as you can before you start gigging. When gigging, listen to people’s criticisms and grow from it. Biggest lesson is to always take good advice! Bands need to also from the start run their band as a business. Always keep in mind that you have product and now you need to market it, get people to want and support the product, and make a good income from your product. Most bands don’t have a business savvy member to help with this, so it’s good to get an agent or manager who can assist with this. Also save most of the money you earn and then spend it on marketing the band (music videos, merchandise, etc.). Most of all, if you believe in your band, do whatever you can to achieve whatever your setting out to achieve as a band. Nothing is impossible and unreachable! How is your debut album ‘SO I RAGE” doing? “SO I RAGE” has opened up so many doors for us and it’s unbelievable how releasing an album has helped our career. The songs have been doing very well on radio and apart from buying the album, fans have been supporting t
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It was never a decision really. We just started playing and writing in a way that felt most comfortable to the band. We then recorded our debut album and released it, and suddenly reviewers were comparing us to Skunk Anansie, which I don’t mind at all! Easiest way for people to describe a band to a friend who has
Ooh, that’s difficult, cause we always have fun on stage, but our CD launch last year was a highlight, both gigs we played with Eagle-Eye Cherry and supporting Sarah Bettens from K’s Choice during her recent SA tour. The boys I’m sure have their favourites as well! What bands/artists did you most enjoy performing with AND what band/artist would you most want to perform with? Josie Field and Auto Pilot are our favourites to play with, as well as Lonehill Estate, who are a great bunch of guys, Lindsay McGuire and Van Coke Kartel. We’d love to play with FOO FIGHTERS the most! There is no bigger dream than walking out on big stage infront of a sell-out crowd and playing on the same stage as the Foo Fighters! I see that you were one of the groups who have signed up to be Crime Line ambassadors. How important is it for you? And how important is it for young people to speak out? Being part of CRIME LINE is very important for us, cause all of us have been victims of crime and we’re all tired of the problems we have with crime in our country. We wanted to become involved with something that is a solution and works! CRIME LINE has proven its success and we’re motivated to spread the word to everyone we can possibly reach. And as always, ending of with the question….what can we expect from Holly and the woods in the future? Our main focus now is to tour all over South Africa and reach those smaller towns where the bands hardly ever go to. City kids are spoiled for choice when it comes to gigs, so the towns like Newcastle and Empangeni will see us rocking at one of their venues very soon! To keep updated with where we gig and what’s happening for us, follow us on Facebook via the HOLLY & THE WOODS fan page, on www.myspace.com/hollyandthewoods and on TWITTER.
What would you say, made your band the success that it is today?
StageDive sure needs to know about your most embarrassing moment!?
It’s a combination of uniqueness, marketing & advertising and hard work & talent. You’ve got to have something that makes you stand out from other bands, then you need to know how to market and advertise the band so that people start coming to the gigs and the fanbase grows, but most of all you need to actually know how to play your instruments and work hard at being a great band. Too many bands want to be rock stars, but they haven’t worked hard enough at playing their instruments as best they can and practicing hours a day. Song writing is also very key, cause without good songs, there’s not much that would make people like the band and buy the CD.
Ooh, we’ve had a few, but 2 stand out! The first was on our 2nd gig ever in 2006 when we were playing “Battle for Woodstock” at Roxy’s. Craig’s hair was still very long at that time and he was headbanging like a mad man half way into our set, when he got his hair stuck in John’s guitar strings! Without hesitating, he grabbed his hair and ripped it out of John’s guitar strings, and continued playing. We had jaws dropping in the crowd as everyone saw it happen. The evidence was left in John’s guitar for the remainder of the gig, as quite a bit of Craig’s hair was left behind.
Are all of you doing the music scene full time or are you involved with other jobs or hobbies? I work for Sheer Music as a Label Manager and Chad is a fulltime Drummer, but the rest of the band has day jobs. Hopefully soon Holly & The Woods will become a fulltime job for all of us!
The second was when we played LUCKY FISH in 2008. We we’re on stage performing the first track from our debut album, called “Get Out” and we have a part towards the end of the song where the band stops and I lead them back into the final chorus, by screaming “I don’t want you anymore”. As I was turning around on stage to run back to boys and sing the line, I accidentally stepped on the microphone cable and as I was screaming the line, I was juggling the microphone grabbing it and then losing it, with just the odd word making it. Words: Mareli du Plooy
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Welcome!! Okay, so this is it. firstly I wish to apologize for every mistake that is on this page, I am really new at this whole intelligence thing! Secondly I wish to say well done on choosing to pollute your mind with some of the best literature on the Interweb! Seriously though welcome to my first column, if you don't know who I am I don't blame you, I am a jock on Tuks FM, what I pride myself in is I am the other metal dude on the station. I am not Barney I am the other guy! Please understand that I really don't consider myself an expert in music, I do, like you, love music more than anything else in the entire world. so this is my column... enjoy
Bob Stop fucking w
Where the fuck is Howard Jones? If you are a Killswitch Engage fan you will know that there is a lot of crap going down in their camp.
Vocalist Howard Jones has left the band’s current headlining tour with The Devil Wears Prada and Dark Tranquility due to “unforeseen circumstan What does that even mean? what really gets to me is that no one including Records is saying anything about it!
what we do know is that All That Remains vocalist Phil Labonte will be fillin for a few shows in the interim, until the KsE guys can determine what the the remaining tour dates, which are currently scheduled to run through th the man himself, where are you?
RIP The Rev!
Ok
Th ba of
Avenged Sevenfold whose drummer James 'the Rev' Sullivan tragically passed away in December 2009, announced on their website that they are recording their new album with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Avenged Sevenfold said in part: "We asked Jimmy's all time favorite drummer Mike Portnoy to record on behalf of him. Mike said it would be an honor and without question that's what Jim would have wanted. It's comforting to us that someone like Mike, who is undoubtedly revered as one of the best drummers in the world, held such respect and adoration for the Rev's abilities."
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Ar ha to
Th pr to Rock in Peace, Brother!
Th bu
with the power!
nces�. g Roadrunner
ng in for Jones plan will be for he end of March.
They’re Back! Finally after a freaking long wait The Narrow is finally back, with a vengeance it seems. If you didn't catch them at their blistering performance on new years then you wouldn't have heard their newest single You don't get to Quit. don't cry too much about it though, they have just embarked on their album launch tour so catch them fairly soon. Putting the fact that I want to sleep with every member of the band, I love them so much the single is killing it on the charts so look out for their album if you dig good music.
Vinnie Gets Cooking Former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul is to publish a cook book later this year. It's to be titled 'Drumming Up An Appetite With Vinnie Paul'. I know what you are thinking and yes I think he has hit his mid-life crisis as well. Look out the listing for the Pantera best of compilation that is droppping soon! It should be good if you are a fan Please try imagine this man in the kitchen!
kay This Is Hard
he 26th of February marked the day when the most hardcore metal and in the country launched the most face melting album f the year.
rchitecture of aggression has been on the scene for a while and ave finally released a full length album that puts a lot of other bands o shame.
he release party was held at full moon with Rhutz and Bile of man roviding support. I can honestly say I have never been exposed o so much hardcore in one day.
he album is called acts of God get it and you wont be disappointed, Willie didnt get the memo about the beards ut understand this is not for people who like nickle back!
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Norma Jean the Christian mathcore band from Douglasville in the USA is certainly not your run of the mill Christian band. Christian metal is no longer the oxymoron many once thought it was, nowadays you will not even know the difference. These guys will please even the most hardened metal fans. When front man Cory Putman is not screaming his heart out, he caresses your auditory canal with the most astonishing melodic voice. They merge melody and emotion with some really hard riffs. According to the band they got their name from actress Marilyn Monroe. It was only later discovered that “Norma” means “pattern”, and “Jean” means “God’s grace and mercy”, combined saying “Patterns of grace and mercy”. Apparently the band will soon start working on their next album “back to their roots.” Hey guys, so you guys are a Christian band, what message do you want your fans to receive from your music?
How does touring for so many days at a time affect your personal life?
Obviously, we want to send a positive message. A message of hope, strength, and encouragement, even if its not a life changing thing, we want fans to be encouraged in some way.
We are all either married or in serious relationships, so because of that it gets hard to be out for too long at one time. It also gets kind of hard on our bodies, and our minds.
How does it affect you guys that most bands you play with are not necessarily Christian?
How do you feel your music has made a difference in the world?
It doesn’t affect us at all really. We would rather play with non Christian bands. We seem to get a long better with them. Do you think some people can misinterpret your message due to your sound? Yeah, there are some people who don’t want to except the fact that music is music and it can’t have a belief. We are the ones with the belief. We use the music to express it. You guys toured with some of the world best bands, who did you get along with the best and why? Some of the bands that we get along with most are, Everytime I Die, Underoath, As I Lay Dying, A Life Once Lost, Unearth and Darkest Hour You guys really hit the charts with your album “The Anti Mother” when can fans expect the next album? We are in the process of writing for a new record right now. We are expecting it to come out early 2010. Who inspires you to make music? Some of the bands that inspire us are, Helmet, Deftones, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, Isis, Tool and Smashing Pumpkins… You guys coming to South-Africa soon? We would love to get down there soon. Hopefully it wont be too long till we can come.
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People tell us all the time that our music inspires them to write their own music and that’s pretty awesome to hear. They also tell us that we have changed the way they look at their lives. What’s your favorite album(s) of 2009 so far? I can’t even think of an album that came out this year. other than Isis. Thanks guys, any last word you want us to carry over to your fans in South-Africa? Thanks for listening, we really hope to get down there soon to play!!!
THE ANTI MOTHER Scottie Henry - Guitar Chris Day - Guitar Cory Brandan - Vocals Chris Raines - Drums Jake Schultz - Bass 2002 - Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child 2005 - O God, the Aftermath 2006 - Redeemer Solid State 2008 - The Anti Mother
I was somewhat disappointed with this album, I don’t think it was superior to the previous 3 albums. However it’s still an amazing album, I keep getting the urge to jump up and down. Very commanding riffs, every strum is enough to bring down the house.
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If there were a music industry award for a tireless, endless work ethic and perseverance throughout trying times, it would unequivocally go to Columbia/INO Records’ Decyfer Down. The North Carolina-bred band toured endlessly through the front half of this decade, opening for national bands such as Crossfade, Breaking Benjamin and Theory of a Dead Man. Add in “Fight Like This,” a charting active rock single, which was featured as a promotional song for Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the aggressive outfit is certainly entering an ascending chapter of its burgeoning career. While the band has clearly been able to embody its artistic calling, its brand new breakthrough CD Crash almost never happened, given a near tragedy that found the foursome literally fighting for their lives. In addition to the basic perils of the road (including two robberies that resulted in missing equipment), the guys faced an even more alarming accident. While a fender bender could easily be forgotten, it’s been much harder to shake visions of the group’s tour van veering off the road during an icy snow storm, colliding with a parked car, spinning across three lanes of traffic (with trailer in tow) and crashing against a guard trail. “After the accident, we all questioned what we were doing because that was just another factor in it being such a big sacrifice to be on the road,” guitarist Brandon Mills recalls, also citing the fact that the guys miss their families when they’re gone. “When we posted a blog on our MySpace page explaining what happened, it was so encouraging to see a whole page full of thoughts and support from people all over the country--and other countries as well--plus people who told us how much our music meant to them. That really helped us see that we are meant to do this, and even though we still run into obstacles, we’re a better band because of it.”
I As much as Crash is a metaphor for Decyfer “...we still run into obstacles, we’re a Down’s ability to rise above its most straining circumstances, it’s also a call to action for anybetter band because of it...” one downtrodden to bounce back from whatever hurdle may hang between where they are and what they hope to achieve. “It’s an impact of our ideals and beliefs in today’s culture and it’s why we have named our album Crash,” continues drummer Josh Oliver. “Our life experiences have lead us to where we are right now and circumstances that once affected our lives can no longer control us. This is just a way of expressing and illustrating the scars and the breakthroughs in our lives.” Not only does the disc overflow with ambition, confidence and overall creative excellence, but the aggressive endeavor also finds the players digging in an even more mature lyrical direction that simultaneously meets listeners of any association exactly where they are, while challenging them to make assertive strides towards increased personal fulfillment. “As has been the band’s tradition, Crash is certainly capable of connecting with crowds, if only for the unflinching degree of honesty within the lyrics and the overall vibe of the album,” notices fresh faced front man TJ Harris. “As a band, our hope is that listeners will be inspired to explore themselves to an even deeper degrees and that’s an energy I continue to feel every time we deliver these songs on stage.” From a strictly musical perspective, Crash comes under the production helm of Paul Ebersold (3 Doors Down, Saliva, Sister Hazel) and further amplifies the band’s bone crunching execution, razor sharp riffs, and monstrous melodies. As a result, Decyfer Down maintains a remarkably relevant spot within the active rock scene, evoking the likes of Sevendust, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Theory of a Deadman, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Hinder or Seether, while still maintaining its own alternative and inventive stamp. The new album is a constant highlight reel of strong songs that help define the group’s current direction, but are also remarkably cohesive as an entire body of work.
Are you trapped in your choice of music? Played your fav band as often as fisticuffs at a Blue Bulls game? Well, good news, we’ll refresh, renew and introduce you to a whole ne spectrum of music, bands and artists. The concept is easy really - if you llike of listen to the first listed disc, then you might want to give the disc listed second a try. Should you find the second amicable, then of course try the third - and so forth. Happy listening!
Vancouver based State of Shock has been around the block more than a few times. Touring with the likes of Nickelback, Aerosmith, Seether, and Staind among others, one of Canada’s favourite rock bands is currently nominated for a Canadian Radio Music Awards Fan’s Choice Award this year. Already netting three Canadian Radio Awards including Best New Group, Best New Group at the CHR Format, and the Canadian 2008 ‘Indie’ Award for Favorite Single Of The Year for their Canadian Certified Platinum single, ‘Money Honey’, (from their album Life, Love and Lies) the band is back in the studio recording their much anticipated third album. Guitarist and cofounding member of State of Shock, Jesse Wainright, took time out of his gruelling schedule to sit have a chat with me over a Timmy’s java, about the band’s big break, life on the road, fan support, and the new album. How long has State of Shock been around and how did you get your start? Long story or short? (Laughs) Ok. Johnny (Philippon) replaced the drummer in a band I was in, back in 1999. That drummer went on to be the drummer in Nickelback. Our band at that time didn’t really go far, as a few of the guys wanted to do different things in their life other than music, so Johnny and I hooked up with another band just to keep playing music. We eventually weren’t happy with that so we formed our own band, State of Shock... that was in 2003. I grew up with Cam (Melnyk) and I knew he was a good singer. We had been in a band together in high school, so I called him and asked if he’d come to the studio to sing a few of the songs Johnny and I had been writing together. Then we started looking for a bass player by putting ads in the paper. We had a ton of responses but none of them were what we were looking for. Guys would call us and say, “Oh, I don’t know if I can bring my bass rig out on the bus.” We were like, “I don’t think you’re going to work for us.” So, we put in an ad for a female bass player and Alley (Toews) was the first person to respond to the ad. We didn’t even watch
her play – we just hung out for a day and everything kind of gelled, so we went from there. That was the beginning of the end (laughs). I had heard that you and Johnny had started the band? There are lots of preconceived notions of how singers are the ones that start the band, and write all the music, but our band does not fit that mould. So you guys basically became a four piece State of Shock around 2003-2004. Where does Kadooh (Simon Clow – guitars) fit in? We’d toured across Canada 5-6 times over a 2yr period in support of our first album, Guilty By Association. That tour, those experiences – the ups and downs and all of us going through relationships in those two years – is what fuelled the writing for our second album. We got about half way through writing and recording and realized that it was going in a more Pop oriented direction than our first album, and we were going to need another guitar player to pull it off live – I was doing a lot of multi-layered guitar tracks during the recording and we needed the extra guitar to fill it up live.
Kadooh came recommended to us from a friend of ours. Again, the same thing as what happened with Alley. We didn’t listen to him play, it was more about hanging out and being friends. That’s because it’s the one thing our band has, probably more than anybody - we’re a bit of a gang as far as that goes. We always hang out. Even when we’re not working together, we’re hanging out together at each other’s homes and such. There isnt one guy who sort of calls all the shots in the band; we’re more a democracy. Mind you – it’s me... but no (laughs) just kidding. We are somewhat of a pretty tight unit... you have to be when you’re on the road for 6-7 weeks at a time. If you don’t get along with the people you work with, tour with – that’s why bands break up and fight. We have our arguments and hate each other at times, but it passes. So how did you go from being a band that’s touring back and forth across Canada on an indie deal, to being where you are today? How did your second album, Life, Love and Lies become your ‘break out’ album? I heard that a fan called a radio DJ and told him to play your song and the reception was enormous. That’s how we got our USA deal yes. ‘Guilty By Association’ was getting a small amount of radio play in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary (BC and Alberta) – not very much. But our videos for the singles ’I Wish I Never Met You’, and ‘If I Could’, got a ton of play on Much Music (Canada’s version of MTV). Our second album came out, and our single, ‘Money Honey’ took off. It hit #1 on the Canadian All Formats Radio Chart and stayed there for 8 weeks, then stayed for nearly a year on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Chart.
I don’t know the exact process; I heard that someone called one of the DJ’s on Satellite radio and asked why they weren’t playing our single, ‘Money Honey’. So they spun it and the reaction was huge – it got the same reaction down there as it had up here in Canada. It became the most requested song on Satellite Radio and in six or seven weeks it went to #1 and stayed there for quite some time. (It sold over 40,000 copies Stateside even before any ‘official’ release as a single in the USA). ‘Money Honey’ was a huge song up here – I remember it beat out Fiest for Favorite Single at the Canadian Indie Music Awards. Yes, but this is the irony – we went through it in Canada. When we finished recording ‘Life, Love and Lies’ we didn’t have a record deal. (The band had left their previous record label after seeing no tangible results). We shopped the album around and every record company said, “No, I don’t get it, I don’t get it,” and turned us down. Except one. Cordova Bay. We convinced them to sign us. So they did, and the song took off, so every label came to us and said, “How did we miss this? How did we miss this opportunity?” Same thing happened in the USA; we had success in Canada – hit songs. Every USA label said, “No I don’t quite get it.” The day ‘Money Honey’ hit #1 on Satellite Radio we had every label asking us, “What do you guys want?” We were very fortunate to get a radio break because there’s a ton of good bands out there that don’t get that break. (‘Money Honey’ has had more than 55,000 digital sales to date, and Canadian sales of Life, Love and Lies has surpassed more
than 25,000, which roughly works out to one album for each person who saw State of Shock open for Aerosmith at Sarnia Bayfest in Sarnia, Ontario in 2007). Catch 22 – you have to be successful for the record label to want you, and you can’t be successful without a record label/deal. So does having your songs on the radio help then? Well, our local radio station, CFOX, gave us a good start, but we were fortunate enough to get picked up elsewhere too – you can be picked up locally but still not go anywhere if you aren’t lucky. We’ve had great radio success and it’s still a struggle. I got an email a short time ago; we had 50,000 Certified Spins on Canada Billboard Magazine (for ‘Money Honey’) in a year. There’s only one other artist who’s had that many spins on radio in a year in Canada – that’s Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Song’– and we’re still in that struggling mode. (State of Shock’s ‘Money Honey’ outspun Nickelback’s ‘Rock Star’ and Nelly Furtado’s ‘Man Eater’ , both at 40,000 spins that year) And I don’t quite get that! I’m looking at a lot of bands I love, going, “why are they not bigger than they are? Why are they struggling to make ends meet, having to have a day job?” State of Shock has had huge success with Life, Love and Lies; you were nominated for a Juno Award in 2008 for Best New Group, and yet it’s still a struggle. Is that why band’s tour so extensively? Yes. You have to get your name out there, get your music heard, build a fan base. How many shows would you say State of Shock does in a year? As many as we can fit in usually –it varies. We took a bit of time off last year –but I know the year before we were out for 9 months. We were in Canada and the USA doing festivals – traveling back and forth – farthest we’ve ever gone for touring is North Carolina on the East Coast of the USA, right on the ocean, as well as down to Texas. We were out with Seether, Staind, and Papa Roach for that tour. I heard that tour went really well. We were out with Seether 2 months prior, then with Staind, Papa Roach and Seether - I love Papa Roach, they’re phenomenal. Their live show is awesome. Jacoby is front man of all front men – he has such a presence on stage, you just can’t stop watching him. Watching a band live – that you may not think too much about on CD - and live show is so phenomenal, there is such a presence there on the stage -like you said, it demands your attention
you’re involved with the show, the band is involved with the audience and holy crap... the first thing you want to do when you get home is buy the record. The record may not be exactly the same but that experience was so amazing you have to have it again... See, the world needs more people with that type of mentality. That mentality isn’t... not many people have that. But do you find that a lot of bands don’t put that sort of effort into their live shows? Or don’t really want to connect with the audience from the stage? I’m finding this with a lot of bands I’m seeing lately. One of the reasons I love U2 so much is that they all, Bono especially, do their damned best to connect with as many people in the audience during the show, even in a crowd of 40,000. If I’m up in the nosebleeds because that’s all I can afford, I still feel like the guy on the stage is doing whatever he can to reach up to my seat and make some sort of personal connection with me, to include me in what’s going on in the first ten feet of the general admission area. A lot of bands, especially younger bands, tend to focus on just the first two rows of people in the front because that’s all they can see. They tend to forget about everyone else out in the darker back of the club, or up in the seats at an arena. That comes with experience too though – I mean if you’re just starting to play in arena sized venues, it’s a little nerve wracking when you look out from the stage and see all those people. Some people get nervous, and some people rise to the occasion going, “look at me, I love this shit... this is fun! I’m going to tell you, and you, and you” – up in the audience (laughs) So as much as you guys love being in the studio, is live preferable? Oh yeah, that’s definitely the payoff. By far that’s much more... I love being in the studio because I love creating music, making music. That’s my baby. I sit at the computer ... when the band’s recording, I’m at the computer. I love the creating process. But there’s nothing like playing a song live and having people sing a song that you wrote back to you, or getting that interaction that’s one of the biggest things we try to do. We don’t always do it, but we try. Try to get out and meet everybody... really if people weren’t there we would not be doing what we do. We were in Winnipeg and we spent 3 hrs after a show because that’s how long it took to meet everyone who wanted autographs and pictures. After a few hours my face felt like.. (makes a face)...” I don’t know if I can smile any more”, but it comes with the territory and you have to do it – you have to. Bands that don’t meet the fans? I mean, if you’re at the top, the very top ... you can’t do that (too many fans) but you have to remember that if those
people weren’t there, if you’re not thanking those people. They are the reason why you are there. I agree – the fans are the ones buying tickets, hopefully buying the albums – basically financially supporting a band – also if the fans weren’t there – you’d have nobody to play to, to share your creativity/music with. See it’s important. There’s a connection.. all it takes is to say hi, or ask them their name or something like that, and people go ‘OMG’ I just met this person. And next time you’re in town, they come and... And they bring all their friends to see you (laughs). And now with social media, they take that photo of you and themselves (no matter how bad it is) and throw it up on their FB or Myspace page and tell all their friends and say – look who I met tonight! Yes, it’s a connection. I have noticed that you have a lot of younger fans too at the shows and the meet and greets after the shows. I think that’s one thing we’re lucky – we have a broad ranging audience. We have 5 yr olds singing our songs on YouTube videos, my parents can sing our music. We’ve always sort of strived to write songs that appeal to us, and I think we’re fairly well rounded individuals so the songs reflect that I think. That’s one thing I like about you guys, State of Shock, there’s a little bit of flirting from the stage – but you do the same thing at an all ages show as you do at a club show, and don’t have to change your style or worry about your language, or worry about it being ‘in your face’ – there’s a bit of playfulness and a few innuendos but its’ pretty clean, unlike some of the current popular rock tunes at present. Yeah we save all that for later, behind closed doors – there are video cameras (laughs). And that’s how it should be as far as I’m concerned. Dirty rock songs are ‘trendy’ right now – which is why they’re ‘in’... it’s a fad. It will pass. You guys are currently writing and recording; the new album is due out? We don’t have a date yet – we’re pushing for late summer, early fall. We want a song out to radio by late spring so we can get back out on the road. So when you guys do write new songs, who does the song writing – you mentioned that you and Johnny were writing songs
before meeting Cam and the rest of the band. Usually someone may come into the room with a chorus idea; maybe a verse and a chorus – lyrics – and the band will put their two bits in; go through it together and try to build on it. I put a studio into my house so we’re demoing everything there right now. It’s amazing how, when you listen to something for two weeks, you correct and change it. We started demoing stuff just before our last tour. When we came back we’ve taken every song and changed something or rearranged something... you have to be careful; you don’t want to overwork it, but giving it a break and coming back to it gives you a real good perspective, “What the hell was I thinking?” What can u tell me about the new record without leaking any info? It’s going to be phenomenal (smiles) It’s an entirely new step up from where we were 4 yrs ago writing Life, Love and Lies. Our first album, Guilty by Association was a bit edgier than Life, Love and Lies. Over the two years of touring to support that first album we did a lot of growing up, even though it may not seem that way (laughs). So the music sort of evolved with our maturing. What we’re writing now is yet another growing up stage compared to the last album. We’re not 20 yrs old anymore, so again there is more learning for all of us. We thought we went through a lot of changes in the first two years! The last three years supporting our second album have been that much, and more! I hope we’re maturing (smiles) And, I’m bloody anxious to get playing new songs – we don’t play much off our first album as it’s quite a lot heavier... much different than our second album. And it’s hard to do a different show every night with the same songs .., and that’s the thing. 98% of all bands out there do the same show every night – and we’re guilty of it too – we do the same set list. Different town but same songs. I’m going to see Collective Soul again tonight and I bet you 10 bucks it will be the same songs in the same order, and the same show as I saw last night (By the way: I lost the bet!! Boy did I lose the bet!) It takes work but bands have to put that effort in to change it up, to mix it up a bit and do a different show. *you can find State of Shock online at the following places: www.myspace.com/stateofshock - listen to 5 of the band’s songs for free, including ‘Money Honey’ www.facebook.com/stateofshock - Facebook www.stateofshockband.com – official website