Music News aka Houston Music News

Kissing Judas

Also In This Issue

Dance Gavin Dance

Donna Paola

Jesse Y Joy

Pantera

Danzig

Asking Alexandria

Ice Nine Kills

Greg Howe and More!

Friday, August4

To Be Announced

Saturday, August 5

To Be Announced

Friday, August 11

Cory Hickman Acoustic

Walking Ghost Phase

Saturday, August 12

Crosswind

Friday, August 18

Crushing Planes

Dyer Infernum & Friends

Saturday, August 19

To Be Announced

Friday, August 25

Time Capsule

Alien Shore and Friends

Red Light Switch

Saturday, August 26

Eyes Like Fire HTX

Apex Fallen Psycho Pact

August 2023

Hi Folks, Hello Music News readers. I hope you had a great July. Our cover story for this month is Kissing Judas. They will be releasing their new album, False Saint. This great Houston band has been working hard on their new album and their music is so extraordinary that they had a few well known national legends clamoring at their door to get involved in the project as well. You’ll be surprised to see who they are. The band will be having their album release party this month at The BFE Rock Club and we urge you to come by and get a copy of the new album. They’ll even autograph it for you. Be sure to check them out.

Now, on to the new issue. In this issue, as usual, we have some great stories and information to pass on to you. Check out stories in this month’s issue on The Hu, Asking Alexandria, Dance Gavin Dance, Glenn Danzig, Greg Howe, Ice Nine Kills, Pantera Tribute Tour, Sean McConnell, Wave To Earth, and more, as well as another installment of the original story, THE BIKER! Also in this issue are a ton of great pictures of bands performing around the Houston area. I’m sure you’re going to be familiar with a lot of these bands. Those bands include Amongst The Giants, House Tiger, Houston Ensemble, Iperion, John Calderon, Johnny Riley, Josh Garrett Band, Mathias Lattin, Metropolis Burning, Space City Cowboys, The Ons, Voodoo Rodeo, and Wyde Roots. If you have pictures of local bands performing, please email them to us. I would really appreciate it and I know the bands do as well. Keep it up... We would like to see more pictures from you.

We’d also like to invite you to check out our Spanish music section. This month we feature stories on Donna Paola, Jesse & Joy, and Ruben Blades. Check these stories out in English and Spanish.

I sincerely hope that everybody reading this new publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http://www.houstonmusicnews.net. I would also like to encourage you to email us for a free subscription to Rock And Blues International as well. Just email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line simply put “Sign Me Up” and we’ll email you a copy each month when it is published. Remember, for your convenience, Music News is also now downloadable. You can download the issue into your computer or storage device and save it and read it at your convenience without having to get logged on to the internet every time. Try it now and save every issue. It will make things a lot easier for you.

Kevin Wildman

Sean McConnell

Page

August 5

Rubén Blades Latin Superstar Rubén Blades Will Be Appearing At Smart Financial Centre On August 18

Amongst The Giants House Tiger

Houston Ensemble

Iperion

John Calderon

Johnny Riley

Josh Garrett Band

Mathias Lattin

Metropolis Burning

Space City Cowboys

The Ons & Friends

Voodoo Rodeo

August 18

Wyde Roots

Kissing Judas Release Their New Album False Saint Album Release August 12th At The BFE Rock Club

By Kevin Wildman

One of the best parts of doing a local magazine is when I find a local band that really has something to offer the music community, both local and worldwide. For me, Kissing Judas is the band that most local bands aspire to be. They are the kind of band who really have the ambition to make it in the music business. And the best part of all this is they have the music, the talent, and the personality to back it up.

The band is releasing their new album, False Saint, and it contains ten of the most well crafted songs that I have ever heard that has come out of Houston, Texas. The styles and music vary

from song to song, which is a really wonderful thing. No two songs are the same. The time and effort has certainly been put into this release and feature the elements of what you might be hearing out of one of the most accomplished bands on the National scene, or even Worldwide. Titles of the songs on the album include “Not Today,” “Rise,” “Save Me,” “Taste Like Blue,” “Last Days Of Youth,” “Cheshire,” “Neon Avenue,” “Cabaret,” “Alone,” and “The Road.”

These songs are so good that the band even had some big names in the music business lining up to make a contribution to this project. Ratt’s legendary lead singer heard the song “Save Me” and had to be a part of this project. As you

can expect, he sings the lead vocal on this song. He loved it so much. Two of rock’s legendary bassists joined in on this project as well. Rudy Sarzo, who you may remember from Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, and Dio also had to play on “Save Me” as well. And how about bassist Billy Sheehan, who’s performed and recorded with Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, and Mr. Big. He fell in love with two songs on here, “Cheshire,” and “The Road” and just had to lend his guitar prowess to them. Kissing Judas certainly find themselves in fine company with these great musicians. If that doesn’t prove what I’m talking

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about here, I don’t know what to say. The music on here is simply FANTASTIC!

If you happen to be in Houston on August 12, I’d like to invite you to come out to the BFE Club on Jones Rd. to experience the sounds of Kissing Judas. I think it will make for a fun evening for you, and the band would love to have you attend their “Kissing Judas Album Release Party” this night. They will have both vinyl and CDs there for you to purchase and will probably autograph them for you. Here’s a great opportunity for you to catch a band that’s on it’s way up, not to mention experience some great music.

We sat down with Kissing Judas this past month to gain a little insight into the band, the album, and the music and it really made for an interesting evening and we’d like to share it with you right now.

Music News: So we’re sitting here with kissing Judas. I guess the first thing is, the name of the band is quite unusual. Whose idea was for the name of the band? And how did that arrive?

Dave Sullivan: She (Morgan Sullivan) kind of brought it up. We had a whole list of band names we were trying to go through and that was one that she had brought up, that Morgan had brought up and it kind of... We’ve been asked several times what it means, what it is, oh my god, you you’re praising the guy that betrayed Jesus and stuff. No. It’s when Judas kissed Jesus. It was the ultimate betrayal. Kissing Judas means you’re flipping the script and calling somebody out before they have a chance to screw you over. So it’s, it’s basically the opposite.

Morgan Sullivan: That’s kind of his take on it.

Music News: And your take, what was your take of it?

Morgan Sullivan: Forgive your enemies, but don’t trust them.

Music News: Okay, so it had nothing to do with Judas Priest.

Dave Sullivan: Nope.

Bret Gyrich: I figure there was a Judas Priest influence in there somewhere to be honest with you, but apparently not.

Music News: Probably not.

Bret Gyrich: Apparently not. No.

Music News: Okay. Tell me about the recording of the album. Where did y’all record the album?

Dave Sullivan: Well, we got the main drums and rhythm guitars, mostly at Magik Studios. And then vocals were both at Magik and 2 The T studios and then a lot of overdubs and stuff like that we did in my studio here.

Music News: Okay, and who was the engineer on the project?

Dave Sullivan: We had Karim Khorsheed doing some of it. I think I pronounced the name right. Yeah, he did some of the engineering on the first stuff. And we had Chubbs Malone also as well, and then myself. And then mixdown. Tracks were sent to California to Matt Thorne. He has worked with several large artists and stuff like that. So he’s phenomenal and the work he does. So he would call me up... a lot of times I’d be working out of state and we would do zoom meetings and go over the songs and what I was looking for, how we wanted it, and he’d send me mixes. I’d call him back say ‘Okay, up this, up that, what to do and what I wanted to hear a little bit better or more’, and he’d do it again. And on some songs we had several mixes before we got it right. Then mastering was done by Dave Donnelly, who when he was mastering this, he actually took a day off of working on Aerosmith’s 50th Anniversary Album Boxset to master this, so we had a lot of really good people to make it sound the way it does.

Morgan Sullivan: And now Aerosmith knows that.

Bret Gyrich: Yeah there were a lot of cool people. Actually, I have no I’ve no clue what he’s doing with the rest of us. So…

Music News: No clue. Okay, and all the songs are well... describe what your music is. Describe the sound you’re trying to do.

Bret Gyrich: Who wants to take this one?

Dave Sullivan: We can each give a description. I don’t know, hard rock, metal, more.

More towards the hard rock side, the rock side, because the vocals are very discernible. You can understand everything. ‘I’m not really into the ‘cookie monster in desperate need of anger management’ vocal style.’ So that was one of the things I love.

Corey Sullivan: Speak for yourself.

Dave Sullivan: So a lot of people like it. For what we write, it didn’t really... it doesn’t fit. So we got Brett, and his vocals are incredible.

Bret Gyrich: Oh, how kind.

Dave Sullivan: You gonna Zelle me the rest of money for saying that.

Music News: Well, how would you explain your disco influences. (laughing & joking) on this...

Bret Gyrich: Who doesn’t want to go dancing from time to time, right.

Morgan Sullivan: We just play what we like and we play well. Yeah.

Music News: Well, all kidding aside, we know it’s not disco. But you think it leans more towards the harder rock or more towards the melodic type rock.

Corey Sullivan: There’s a big mix of different sounds on the record. There’s a few songs that are more, more modern rock. There’s a lot that calls back to the 80s Hair Metal type of stuff, but putting a modern twist on it. But yeah, but I mean, we’re... all the members are all kinds

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of different ages and backgrounds, so we really put our own versions of each part into each song in it. I don’t think any of them really sound the same as the next one, which is hard to hear that all that much these days. There’s a lot of bands out there that release an album and you play track one, track two, track three, and they all sound the same, but you play ours and there’s one song where it’s kicks in real hard and heavy and then breaks down into more atmospheric sounds. And then the next song is straight double kick the whole time. And then next song is 80s Hair Metal, next song is acoustic, next song, you know... It’s a good blend of different sounds, so you can listen through it and not get bored of anything.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, what would you say, Brett? What would you say?

Bret Gyrich: I would pretty much just piggyback off of what Corey was saying. Yeah, we just kind of... we just kind of write what’s out there at the moment. I’ve submitted songs to the guys and that took shape the way it did, and there’s never really any concern of ‘Oh that’s not a Kissing Judas sound.’ That, that’s not our style. And our style is music. You know, I mean, rockers we may be, but we have a love for all sorts of music. And we, we put it into the songs.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, I was told last night from my friend who listened to it and this is like a really cool thing to hear from him. He had said that he finally listened to it and every song sounds like it flows together, the whole album, all front to back. He said, Listen, you know, he’s got hundreds and hundreds of CDs, and a lot albums sound like it’s just a mixed match of songs that were all written differently. Like every member wrote something different and brought it together, and none of it sounds like it flows together, but our album actually sounds like it flows front to back and everything just kind of tells a story and fits, which I thought was one of the best complements.

Corey Sullivan: The thing is we sit and play the songs 1000 times before we go and record it so it better sound meshing together by then.

Music News: Well, they all sounded pretty radio friendly to me.

Bret Gyrich: Absolutely.

Music News: I didn’t hear anything on there that sounded like ‘well, this will never be able to make it.’ It all sounds like it would work on one station or another. Well, let’s talk about the individual songs. I know you have some guest artists on here also, so when we get to the song that they’re on, you can tell me a little bit about their involvement, how they got on there and what you think their participation lent to that particular song. And, we’ll discuss also what saw the meaning of the songs if there is a meaning to the song or if it was just some little thing that just popped out of your head, and it sounded good at the moment.

Bret Gyrich: Dave Morgan, you guys wrote the vast majority of the songs on there, you want to start that off?

Music News: Well, we’ll start out with the first song, it’s going to be easier that way. “Not today”. What about “Not Today”?

Morgan Sullivan: It’s the Marigold song (laughs).

Music News: The Marigold song?

Dave Sullivan: When she wrote it out it had the topic is that ‘not today’. And that’s what the repeating chorus is. So I always call it “Not Today”. She’s like, well, it’s a marigold.

Corey Sullivan: He called it “Not Today”, so everybody says, yeah, so yeah, we’ll fight about that until the end of our days.

Morgan Sullivan: Absolutely.

Dave Sullivan: Actually, Morgan had written the lyrics, and it was based upon somebody that we knew who had. Well, I’ll let you tell that part.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah. It’s about people that have chosen to take their own lives basically. Okay, and kind of like the pain that it leaves behind for the rest of us when they do that. And then if they would just have waited one day, you know, not, not today, just not, Not today. It has a double meaning kind of, I guess, depending on if

you’re hopeful or sad when you’re listening to it. So it’s a little deeper, I guess, then.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, battling the demons that go on when you’re, when you’re having those thoughts that run through your head and you’re fighting that urge and that you know, because a lot of people let that take over. And you just gotta, you know, not today, not gonna let it happen. I’m gonna let it take me over and she had written these lyrics and I came downstairs... We were working with Matt Vu, who was our bass player at the time. And Corey and I, you know... Corey had this really cool like guitar riff and he’s our drummer, my son, but he had this really cool guitar riff. And I was like, wait, I kind of liked that. Hold on. If we take this part, and then I add this here and Matt started playing this baseline.

Corey Sullivan: What it was... so I had the guitar riff ready to go and I kind of had a vocal melody in my head, but I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do with this, but I liked this riff’. And I had an arrangement for the way... like the dynamics of the song would move. And so we did the guitar riff to open it up and then I wanted it to break down to absolutely nothing but just atmosphere. And like, I don’t know, I’m not a guitarist, I don’t know what to do in this part creatively, I can write riffs, but I can’t like, do all the cool stuff. And essentially I just played the drum part that I had in my head and was like, this is how it’s going to start, it’s going to have atmosphere in this spot, and then I’m going to kick in with a simple beat, and we’ll build into the chorus. And so we played that riff and then the space hit and Matt came up with this part that just, it sounds so nice, the harmonics on the bass and it’s such an important part of the sound of that song, and it was really impressive that he pretty much came up with that on the spot.

Morgan Sullivan: Shout out to Matte Vu.

Corey Sullivan: And then from that we built on top of that, the rest of the guitar and background noises.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, I’ve really got into a real under watery kind of effect on the guitar to bring in the atmosphere of what Matt was doing, because he didn’t play just a... he’s not a bass player that just plays the root note and stuff. He was doing harmonics and slides and all this stuff that doesn’t sound like your typical bass. And the whole song being the mood that we want to pull you in, it all just took shape. And it was like holy crap when we got done writing it, and we wrote it literally probably about 20 minutes.

Corey Sullivan: I think that was one of the... that was the first song we all wrote together. We had music that we were playing, a lot of covers, and you know other people’s stuff that was pre written and recorded. That was the first one that we wrote.

Dave Sullivan: It was Corey, Morgan... Well, Morgan wrote the lyrics and then Corey, Matt and I wrote the music to it and put it all together and worked on the melody and everything came together.

Morgan Sullivan: Quick shout out... Chris Salinas, our bassist has had to play that and he does such a great job with it. And playing after the VU. I’m really impressed with him, so I just want to shout to him.

Bret Gyrich: We need to make mention of how badass Chris has done with all the songs.

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Dave Sullivan: More in because when you hear the other stuff going on, you’ll understand how just bad ass this kid is.

Music News: Okay, the next song is “Rise”. Who wrote, “Rise”?

Morgan Sullivan: All songs were written by Kissing Judas.

Corey Sullivan: The lyrics were written by you.

Morgan Sullivan: The lyrics were mine.

Corey Sullivan: The majority of the music was written by me and my dad.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, I asked him for something, Corey, for something that sounded kind of like Kabuki type drums and he came up with this wonderful drumbeat, Kabuki type drumming and he took that over.

Corey Sullivan: I was like, I don’t know what that means. But I’ll do my best.

Morgan Sullivan: What he came up with was great, and that song is actually about my baby cousin. So that one actually is about the dangers of fame.

Music News: Your cousin had an encounter with fame or is going through...

Morgan Sullivan: I wouldn’t want to mention.

Music News: We don’t have to mention names but just the situation perhaps.

Morgan Sullivan: Kind of what, what can happen with fame, kind of fast life and those types of things. Bad people, bad places, bad choices, what happens. But I think everyone’s had an experience with a bad girl or a bad man or a bad choice. You know, it can be about anything.

Corey Sullivan: Really stop paying attention and get too far into it and by the time you realize ‘oh, no, what have I done?’

Morgan Sullivan: Exactly. Yeah.

Corey Sullivan: Too far deep.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, it’s kind of about avoiding that type of thing.

Music News: Okay, and “Save Me”.

Dave Sullivan: I have a friend who had a guitar and I was doing a remodel at his house and it was a seven string Ibanez. I used to do guitar clinics for Ibanez and I told him if you ever sell that thing, let me know because Ibanez sent me one and I gave it back after a couple of weeks. I literally could not figure out how to play a seven string without it screwing with my head too much.

Corey Sullivan: Come on, man. Even a drummer can play seven strings.

Dave Sullivan: Yes, you can. Thank you.

Corey Sullivan: He’s just not into the heavier side of things.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, back then... Back then it was a little different back in 1990. But I told him I was up in Colorado working. He called me up said ‘hey, I’m getting this other guitar if you want it, it’s yours.’ I kind of let it slip to my wife that I was buying the guitar. She first was ‘you’re buying another guitar’, but then she actually said ‘how much’ and I wouldn’t tell her. I refused. So she calls Dell, or messages him on Facebook, something, and then pays him what I was going to pay for the guitar and said, ‘Well, I bought it for you.’ And I’m like, ‘okay, did I tell you about the Ferrari’. So I ended up coming back. I flew back, and was only here for the weekend. I literally have gotten on video… I handed the guitar to Cory. He set up the video camera, I start, he hands it back to me, I sit down, I start playing this riff just to get used to the seven string and see how it sounds. He gets on the drums and starts pounding it out. And within five minutes, we had the structure of this song. And I was like, ‘Man, this actually sounds really, really cool.’ It’s a lot different from the stuff we’d messed with. So I turned around, we had to I had to fly back out the next day on Sunday. When I came back again, we had a session booked at the studio to just lay down the tracks. We’ll do it on this day and then we all got COVID and we were sick for about... I was sick for about a month. It knocked my you-know-what in the dirt. So when I finally got well enough we went in the studio and laid down the tracks. I wrote these vocals out real quick just to get an idea down and did a

scratch vocal track. And you know, of course, I’m singing like a cat crapping razor blade sideways. I’d been puking and coughing for about two weeks straight, but I just got the idea down. I brought it home, let my wife hear it and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, that sounds so 80s.’ I was like, ‘well, that’s kind of when I was growing up and playing, you know.’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah.’ she said it so many times that it started wearing on me. I went back up to Colorado again, you know, she said it again. So if you say it one more time, I swear to God, and she’s like, it just sounds so 80s.

Bret Gyrich: I was saying when I first heard it, I thought it sounded very reminiscent of Megadeth, which was fun to me. It’s very rappish more than it is singing when it comes to the vocal parts, which was again different.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, it was basically based on... The layers I wrote were based on... let’s say your best friend is a narcissistic total jerk and you’re the one that’s always covering for them, making excuses lying for him to try to ease things over and then finally you say, ‘You know what, I’ve had enough, I’m done.’ And you call them out on it. And that, that was where I went with it. Well, she said it sounds 80s so many times, I made a phone call. I’d made friends with a good friend of mine, Joaquin Revuelta, who is the drummer for Bullitt Boys, but he also plays for Steven Pearcy quite a bit. And he’s one of Steven Pearcy’s Ratt bastards of his band. I called him up and I said, ‘Hey, you know, just on a whim, can you get this over to Steve and see what he thinks about it?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, send it to me.’ So I sent it like a day later, I get a phone call from Steven. ‘Oh, man, this is great.

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August 3 - The Hightailers

August 10 - Paul Ramirez

August 17- Sparky Parker Band

August 24 - Mathias Lattin

August 4 Hardluck Revival

August 5 Nick Gaitan

August 11 Eric Korb

August 19 Blueonnet Basterds

Thursday Night Heights Blues Series

August 10 Paul Ramirez

August 3 The Hightailers

August 23 Mathias Lattin

August 17 Sparky Parker

August26 Kevin Anthony

August 31 Opie Hendrix

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Not only do I love it, I want to record it. I want to sing it. And let’s do this.’ And I was like, Holy crap. This is a guy I grew up watching on MTV since I was like a teenager.

Morgan Sullivan: Since you were however old.

Dave Sullivan: I was young, since I had hair. And so we set up a thing and got him in the studio, and he did vocals on it. Next I got a hold of Rudy Sarzo and he played bass on it. And not only did he play bass, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Rudy… he recorded the bass solo, doing some riffs on there that are just incredible. And I’m like, Okay, you want to tease me that ‘sound 80s’. I’ve got two of the biggest 80s icons on this song, and had them play on it. And that kind of sparked getting the whole band thing back together, because we were kind of on hiatus and everything because of COVID. So that really kind of put a fire under our butts.

Music News: But when they added their parts to it, how much did it change the dynamics of the song from what you originally planned.

Corey Sullivan: So much.

Morgan Sullivan: Oh, it was amazing.

Corey Sullivan: It really was a simple, straightforward track until we added those guys to it. And it just it took on a life of its own from that point. I was kind of getting bored of hearing it before then.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, but I’m never bored now.

Corey Sullivan: Now it kicks ass.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, It kicks ass.

Dave Sullivan: Well, I had told Steven, let’s do something a little... it’s supposed to be aggressive and angry and you have a whole attitude of you, and he did that. And then when it comes into the bridge, and the chorus, then starts sounding like his iconic voice, and everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s the dude from Ratt.’ I’m like, Yeah, so it kind of kicks in, but it went from being a hard straight-ahead song to a little bit more fun.

Bret Gyrich: And then it’s now my job to live up to that every time we perform it on stage.

Dave Sullivan: Oh, yeah!

Morgan Sullivan: But you do it so well. You really do. You do a great job.

Bret Gyrich: I try.

Music News: Are you confident that you’re doing a good enough job?

Bret Gyrich: For the most part? Yes. I’m sure if I wasn’t, David and Morgan would be more than willing to tell me that I’m not, which I’m sure that they have before.

Music News: Okay.

Dave Sullivan: You know, we want to get it right.

Music News: Right. Well, did you have to rehearse that a bit to get there. Are you using the same inflections that Stephen was using or are you just redoing your part of it?

Bret Gyrich: It’s a little bit of both. When I first heard the song or when they introduced the song to me, then yeah, I took it, as you know, it’s requiring this to me and I should deliver it this way. And I don’t even know if I really heard

Stephen Pearcy singing on the record when I first heard it. I just kind of went with what the song felt like and delivered what I thought was fitting and it just so happens that this kind of... it’s almost the exact same thing that Stephen Pearcy laid down on the record.

Music News: Okay. Well, that brings us to the next song “Taste Like Blue”. What the hell tastes like blue?

Dave Morgan: Popsicles.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah.

Music News: It’s about popsicles?

Dave Sullivan: Popsicles, I’m just kidding.

Morgan Sullivan: That’s about the taste of bitterness, the taste of loneliness.

Music News: You interpret bitterness as blue?

Morgan Sullivan: Bitterness, loneliness, crap you kind of bring on yourself, you know. All right, taste like blue. Soda popsicles. Doesn’t matter. Absofreakinlutely.

Music News: The popsicle song.

Bret Gyrich: It will forever be called the ‘popsicle song’

Morgan Sullivan: It’s about the lies and the B.S. we tell ourselves and then the taste of the bitterness and loneliness that comes from that.

Music News: Did it come to you easily or was it something you really had to work at writing?

Morgan Sullivan: Oh, no, that came really easily.

Music News: You must have had one or two people in mind when you did that.

Morgan Sullivan: Allegedly. You might find yourself or someone you know in our songs. Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s in the album there. We have a little dedication for that.

Music News: Okay.

Dave Sullivan: One of the coolest things with the vocals on that is how it all came about. We had a studio session and he came in, sang a couple songs. He’s grabbed his notebook in his backpack. Okay, we’re ready. I’m like, nope. We’re going to do the vocals for “Taste Like Blue”, and he just kind of gave me a look like, oh shit, no way.

Bret Gyrich: I’ve never even heard the song and he was like, Alright, we’re gonna record the song and I went what? Okay.

Dave Sullivan: And I was like, Yeah... His voice was a little strained towards the end because he’s just belted out this other stuff and did an amazing job. But “Taste Like Blue”, you know, when you’re walking away and you’ve just felt like you’ve lost everything. Your whole life is crumbling around you. You don’t want all zippity doo da happy vocals. You want vocals that have a feeling and an emotion behind them. So when his voice was already strained from doing the other stuff, I said, Yeah, let’s do this now. And it came out perfect.

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Bret Gyrich: See how they me. You see how they treat me. They’re gonna overwork me. He just confessed it right here on your show.

Dave Sullivan: Oh, yeah. We’re gonna overwork you and once you can’t do it anymore, we’re gonna make you do some more.

Corey Sullivan: It’s the only way to get the best emotional performance out of a singer.

Music News: All right.

Bret Gyrich: It all worked out.

Morgan Sullivan: And it’s beautiful Bret. It’s beautiful.

Bret Gyrich: Thank you. Thank you.

Music News: Well, at least the subjects on the songs really are different right here. It’s not like you were going over the same subject on these and they’re pretty widespread here. “Last Days Of Youth.”

Morgan Sullivan; That’s Bret.

Music News: That’s Bret... That’s your song?

Bret Gyrich: Yes, sir. Tell me about the “Last Days Of Youth” then.

Bret Gyrich: Well, “Last Days Of Youth” was actually the first song I had ever written on my own. I was in bands before and I’ve written lyrics here and there but “Last Days Of Youth” was my first attempt of writing a song all by myself. I had just learned how to play the guitar. And, you know, I just learned how to strum a few chords. And it was actually my mom who sat with me and showed me a few finger picking styles. We kind of came up with the original guitar part of “Last Days Of Youth”, and it’s evolved throughout the years, but that’s what it is now in the record. Lyrically I wrote it when I was 18 years old, and it was about me and my friends about to graduate high school. Moving away to college, saying goodbye to each other. We’re done with childhood, it’s adulthood time. It was the last days of youth and that’s where that came about. And the cool thing about that song was that I wrote it in like 5 to 10 minutes, and I did not even know that it was done, but apparently it was. What happened was, I was actually in the in the backyard of my friend’s house with a guitar and a six pack and a notebook and a pen. I sat down, I’m like, you know, I’m gonna write a song. And then a friend stepped out to the backyard and was like, ‘Hey Bret, what are you doing?’ I looked down and said, ‘Well, damn, apparently I wrote a song. Here it is. Let me play it for you. Let me let me know what you think’. The rest is history.

Music News: All right, well, how much did the other members of the band contribute to make that, to make your visualization of that song come to work?

Corey Sullivan: He brought the song to us. Let us listen to it. It brought tears to our eyes and we said, we’re doing that.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah.

Corey Sullivan: We added some strings in the background and...

Morgan Sullivan: But really, it was beautiful the way it was, that one.

Corey Sullivan: There was nothing that we needed to do to change it.

Morgan Sullivan: That was a no brainer. Yeah.

Bret Gyrich: I didn’t even like present it to the band. I think we were doing soundcheck, getting ready to rehearse and I just kind of played it and at the end of that practice, Dave wanted to hear it again. And it became part of our repertoire, just like that.

Corey Sullivan: Yeah, he grabbed our attention so hard. We were like, No, are ‘you’re not just noodling right now. This is, this is good stuff.’

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah. Like, we’re totally doing this.

Dave Sullivan: He was playing it. and I said, ‘Whoa, do that again. What the hell is that?’ And he played it again. I was like, ‘yeah, what are you doing with that?’

Bret Gyrich: To be honest, I didn’t think that was something that you guys would want to play, record, much less put on the album.

Dave Sullivan: No, I was like highly impressed. I was like, I want that. Let’s do it. Let’s work on it.

Corey Sullivan; We did toy around with the idea of making it a bigger song, a full band song. But really, we didn’t have anything that stuck out better than just the bare bones as it is.

Morgan Sullivan: We couldn’t have made that any better. That was one of those. It was just kind of perfect.

Corey Sullivan: It would be fun live to hear and then do a crazier version just for shits and giggles. But if we were doing it justice, we won’t do it.

Bret Gyrich: It’s so open for other interpretations, so yeah, I’m sure we can come up with something to play that live out someday, someday soon.

Morgan Sullivan: It’s a beautiful song. Thank you so much for doing that.

Music News: The next song is “Cheshire” and you have Billy Sheehan playing bass on this one. So tell me about “Cheshire” and how you recruited Billy Sheehan.

Morgan Sullivan: He (Dave) can talk about Billy Sheehan. I can tell you about the song.

Dave Sullivan: You tell about song.

Music News: I’ll flip a coin to see who goes first.

Morgan Sullivan: He can go first.

Dave Sullivan: No, Billy was one another one of those... The guitar on this is real fast paced and kind of reminds me of the old you know, 80s guitar driven songs and stuff. I kind of reached out and just on a whim said, Hey, Billy, I’ve got a couple of songs and I was wondering if you’d be interested in playing on them? And he said well send them to me. So I sent him two songs. And I said yeah, if you if you like one enough to do it, it’d be awesome to have you play on one, let me know. And I went to bed. This was, I don’t know what time in the middle of night. I woke up the next morning and got an email from him that I saw and said, ‘Hey, Dave, I like them both. Would you mind if I play on both’ and I was like,

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jaw totally dropped and like, twist my arm here. Sure. So it was kind of a freaky thing because I sent him the tracks. He did the bass on that and it’s all one take all the way through. And he also worked and played on another song. And there was a night that I’m up in my studio and Morgan comes in like ‘what are you watching?’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ Morgan says, It’s like you’re in here. I thought you’re watching like a comedy special or something because you’re giggling like a little kid.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’ve got Stephen, Rudy and Billy all on between text, messenger, email, and on a phone call all back and forth. I’m thinking to myself, if I would have thought this back when I was a little kid in Middle School watching MTV and daydreaming looking out the window thinking one day, it’d be so cool to even meet these guys much less have been playing on songs we wrote. It was so surreal, but I was just laughing to myself that how crazy this was.

Bret Gyrich: Yeah, just kind of talking to all these guys in one night, just kind of, you know, whatever.

Music News: So what is “Cheshire” about.

Morgan Sullivan: Two-faced people.

Music News: Oh, the typical Cheshire smile.

Morgan Sullivan: Exactly, two-faced people. Listen to the lyrics, you’ll like it. Just listen to the lyrics you’ll like it. Anybody that’s ever been screwed over will...

Bret Gyrich: You know a lot of interesting people too. And you write songs about them.

Morgan Sullivan: Allegedly, allegedly. But it’s a fun rockin’ bar song. That one. I don’t know. It’s got the F bomb in it. So just kind of one of my favorites. Because I love the F bomb. I haven’t said it on the show.

Music News: You’re very good at it.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, thank you so much. But it’s about two-faced people from the point of view of the two-faced person, not the wronged person, so it’s kind of interesting.

Dave Sullivan: Well, there was somebody that used to say so many things all the time that we turn those things that were said into a song and woven them into the lyrics.

Morgan Sullivan: No, not all the things, just one line.

Corey Sullivan: There was a couple of like two, two phrases.

Morgan Sullivan: I’m just playing with the words I’m saying.

Corey Sullivan: ‘Fake all the friends I’m making.’

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, ‘faking all the friends I’m making’ to do well, it’s two different times. Yeah.

Dave Sullivan: ‘I’ll sell you out when something better comes along.’

Morgan Sullivan: That was not, that was not verbatim. No, the other things weren’t really verbatim either. It was more about, I’m just playing with words.

Dave Sullivan: We turned it into a fun song.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, we turned it into a fun song.

Dave Sullivan: When we play it the whole crowd shouts back the chorus which has the F bomb in it. Yeah, if you really knew me, you’d run.

Corey Sullivan: Redacted.

Morgan Sullivan: Redacted. So it’s from the point of view of the two-faced person.

Music News: Okay. And their name? Oh, come on, you know, don’t you just want to say, Hey, I wrote a song about you.

Morgan Sullivan: You know, I leave that open to interpretation for anybody that can make it into somebody they know, like it’s fun for him. Yeah, I ain’t worried about that. Make it into whoever you want.

Music News: Okay. All right, “Neon Avenue”. Who’s that? Who’s out roaming the “Neon Avenue”?

Bret Gyrich: “Neon Avenue” is a song about my hometown in the Philippines. It’s called Olongapo City and there’s a street there called Magsaysay Drive and it’s our version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. And you know Beale Street in Memphis. I think it’s in Memphis, but yeah, I spent some time there when I graduated high school. I was in the peak of my songwriting days and I had to write a song about my hometown. That’s what that’s about and everything in the lyrics was something that I saw or something that I experienced, and just kind of put pen to paper with it.

Music News: Well, give us an indication here about what are a couple of things that you have in there and what do they mean to you?

Bret Gyrich: Let’s see, there’s see ‘profits singing Hallelujah.’ Down at the station you see all these crazy people talking about the end of the world, Jesus coming, and you see beggars in the streets asking for money. The homeless and beggars and thieves are finding Jesus in you. They see you. They think that you can spare them some cash and you know, just kind of, I guess, just kind of help them out for a little bit. What else is there? ‘She’s dressed like a firecracker on fourth of July.’ It’s about a girl I was dating at the time and there was a breakup. I would hang out at this one cowboy bar in the middle of Magsaysay Drive. It was weird to me that there was a cowboy bar, a cowboy bar in the middle of the Philippines and that’s where I would like to hang out when I was feeling homesick? Yeah, that’s the only avenue.

Music News: Okay. Well, that brings us now to “Cabaret”, which obviously is a salute to the movie cabaret, right?

Bret Gyrich: Not quite.

Music News: Not quite. Okay, “Cabaret”. What is that one about?

Morgan Sullivan: Go ahead, Brett. Yeah.

Music News: Oh, is that yours Bret?

Bret Gyrich: Yeah.

Music News: Okay. It’s not a salute to the movie “Cabaret”.

Bret Gyrich: It’s not. It’s a salute to all the strip clubs that I used to hang out at back in my day.

Music News: That’s close.

Bret Gyrich: Yeah. Yeah, I don’t remember who it was, but somebody once told me that all great rock star rock bands have a song about a strip club, or a stripper? And I thought, Well, I gotta have one too.

Bret Sullivan: Yeah, I liked that one a lot.

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I wanted to put some rock and roll music to it. It was really asking for it. He had the chord progression on acoustic and the lyrics and melody all written and brought it to us and it wrote itself from that point, at least on the drums. It was like there’s only one thing I can really play here. And that’s something like My Darkest Days type, just straightforward strip club rock. Someone’s going to be shaking their ass on stage to this thing. It’s not even going to take any effort for it.

Bret Gyrich: It’s a workout for Corey and I when we play that song.

Corey Sullivan: I regret the tempo we picked. It doesn’t it really sound that fast. But when you’re actually playing, it’s like, Why did I do this to myself?

Bret Gyrich: Oh, I got to worry about the range of the song. It doesn’t sound like it’s high, but when I sing it....

Corey Sullivan: When you put the energy in, it’s like..

Bret Gyrich: Yeah!

Dave Sullivan: This was another one where he was playing it on acoustic guitar and kind of singing along strumming along and I listened to it and it was like, ‘Dude, give this give that to us. ‘Have you ever played this with another band,’ he’s like, ‘Nah, I showed it to other guys and they really weren’t into it.’ Like, ‘let’s do it.’ Corey came up... It started with the drum thing, I came in with the riff coming in. The way he did it, I just tried to do the guitar around the vocals to what would fit in kind of... we kind of did it a little backwards, because usually the chorus has a certain type of rhythm, then the bridge is gonna have another kind of rhythm. And then the verses will have their own. I kind of wrote it backwards to where on the chorus instead of being just a straight power chord with his vocals behind it, I’d crank on the wah and just follow along with it and he sings it and it just all comes together. And you know, when I sent this one off to Matt to mix it, this became his favorite song. He was like, ‘Dude, this is like, I love this. This has such a cool feel to it. So modern. So you know, a little bit different, a lot different than, you know, a lot of things I’ve heard out there before. I really love it.’ And a lot of people have really taken to this song as well. I mean, the coolest thing is we’ve gotten so many people that have heard the stuff, and everybody has a different song that they love. And it is so great to hear all these cool replies about what they think about stuff and I’m just be happy hearing it didn’t suck half as bad as I thought it would. You know, everybody really has taken to you know, they find something in each song.

Music News: All right. On “Alone,” you have Matt Vu back on bass on that one. Who wrote that song?

Morgan Sullivan: I did.

Music News: And it’s about?

Morgan Sullivan: That song is for Mr. Kendall Mason, shout out to Kendall. It’s Kendall’s song.

Music News: It is.

Morgan Sullivan: He doesn’t mind if I tell the story. I’ll cover that because he doesn’t mind.

Music News: Oh, we all know Kendall.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah. Yeah. He had some rough times a long, long, long time ago. He’s been sober a really long time. He was talking about how it would feel walking in, and there’s a big crowd, but you’re alone.

Music News: I can understand that.

Morgan Sullivan: People all around. So it’s about that. And then I just took off on that.

Dave Sullivan: Everybody’s like, hey, there’s that guy. There’s that guy, but in your own head you’re like, you feel like you’re an outcast and by yourself and nobody knows you that... you’re walking in a room and completely isolated in your own mind.

Music News: Yeah, it’s easy to be alone In a crowded room. It really is mentally.

Morgan Sullivan: It is. Sometimes we hurt ourselves more than sometimes-other times. Oh, and the rest of it I like to leave up to people’s interpretation.

Music News: Right! Well, this was definitely the old Kendall because the new Kendall seems to be quite different from the old one.

Morgan Sullivan: He’s an amazing person. I didn’t know the old Kendall but I would have loved him anyway. He’s a good guy.

Bret Gyrich: Kendall’s my hero.

Dave Sullivan: To me the best. God, how do I even put this? The best thing was the first time we even played it, we had just like, put it together and first time we actually played it, and did this with Brett to where he can literally pull the emotion out of the vocals the way that we meant it to be. We played it and Kendall’s down in the front row and about 15 other people that were all up on the front stage. They kind of know the story, they kind of know Kendall. They kind of know us. And when we got done playing that everybody’s got tears in their eyes. And, you know, Kendall is crying. I’m like, I’m sorry, it wasn’t that bad. Was it? You know, like, no, it hit me and I was like that. When you can make a connection like that, that makes it all worth everything.

Corey Sullivan: Musically, that one was fun to arrange and put together because there’s three distinct dynamics to it. In the beginning, it’s a very quiet, very mellow, somber song. And then it comes in with a little bit of drums, a little bit of bass, but it’s not super high energy and in that second chorus it takes off a little bit. The third verse has a lot more energy to it. And then at the third chorus it just... everything goes berserk from there. And it kind of explains what was going through his head as he was getting closer and closer to the peak of the insanity going on in his life. Right.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, his mind was crumbling further and further.

Morgan Sullivan: Not Kendall’s necessarily, but the man in the song. Like I said, I took Kendall’s story and I kind of took a lot of license in it. So I just want to make it clear. We’re not talking about Kendall’s brain was shattering. Okay, I just took some creative license with this area.

Corey Sullivan: The arrangement of it describes the spiral downward?

Music News: He was the inspiration behind it?

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Morgan Sullivan: Absolutely, absolutely. He was the inspiration. It was written for him. But I don’t want people to get the idea that his head was necessarily going there. Okay, but I just took creative license with it.

Dave Sullivan: One of the cool things is we’d only rehearsed this a few times before we went in the studio to do this. And we had, how many bars and how many this and how many, you know. We had everything kind of down and Corey’s in a totally separate room. And this was at Magik Studios and Karim was, I think, engineering that day and he’s in another room. I’m in the control room. I’m playing my double neck SG Jimmy Page model on the 12th. And most of it’s on the 12 string except for the guitar solo where I switch over to the second solo. I switch over on the six string, but we’re playing it and Corey and I are not... we can’t see each other. We don’t.... we’re just on the headphones together and that’s our only connection. But during the guitar solo it was supposed to be like eight bars shorter, but for some reason it was the most organically natural thing I came up with off the top of my head. It was literally all what I came up with on the spot. And instead of Corey switching back into what the next part was going to be, we have that... I don’t know it’s like a telepathic connection. Who knows what do you want to call it?

Corey Sullivan: Let’s just say a connection.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, so he went with the feel of it and we stretched it like another eight bars and everything just came together perfectly.

Corey Sullivan: I’ve listened to you play guitar and solo my whole life so I can kind of have a feel for where you’re headed and like the way you make your way through the solo so it was like he’s not, he’s not there. He’s not at the end yet. Just keep playing this part. He’s not at the end yet. And I heard like a certain cue like when you start going down a little bit differently. Alright, here we go. This is it.

Morgan Sullivan: How was it for you to sing that Brett? “Alone”, how’s that for you to sing that?

Bret Gyrich: It is also a workout... a lot of high notes on that song but it’s one of my favorite ones. I would say that that was the one that I fell in love with the most with. One of the ones that you guys gave me, as it’s a great power ballad ,which I’ve always been a fan of and it was a challenge to deliver it, but it’s a great song.

Music News: Cool. Last song on the album is “The Road” and you’ve got Billy Sheehan on bass on that one. So obviously that was the second song that you sent him and he must have liked that one a lot because he’s on it. Who is the person behind that song?

Dave Sullivan: That was an email I got from her, Morgan, probably the first two weeks or week we were talking together and the lyrics were in that. And then when we started the band, just doing the whole band thing, she brought the lyrics and we kind of wrote the song around it and...

Music News: You know, this is beginning to sound a little like Morgan’s album.

Morgan Sullivan: No, it’s everybody’s album.

Corey Sullivan: The majority of the lyrics were written by her.....

Morgan Sullivan: But that’s not my music.

Corey Sullivan: The music is everyone.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, no, it is not Morgan’s album.

Corey Sullivan: We had lyrics that we wrote a song around or we wrote a song and then she picked something from her file cabinet to put on it.

Morgan Sullivan: No, it’s really not... couldn’t do it without all these guys at all. It’s not my album actually. It’s kind of theirs.

Music News: I understand that, but you seem to have put in a lot of work on lyrics on this album.

Morgan Sullivan: It is my only talent. I’m not even sure if it is a talent.

Bret Gyrich: Oh, it’s a talent... come on.

Corey Sullivan: It ain’t easy.

Dave Sullivan: She writes great lyrics. Brett writes great lyrics. Mine are cheesy and sound so 80s. Oh my god.

Music News: Well, so what is “The Road” about?

Morgan Sullivan: It’s about sitting out there lonely and not sure what direction you’re heading. Okay, cuz we had a long-distance relationship, him and I, you know, at first, like, for a long time actually. A long distance relationship and I was just sitting out. I was actually up in Flint, Michigan in the middle of snow. It was like freezing out there and I was allegedly having a cigarette outside and it was really cold and I was just sitting there and you couldn’t see the road because it was covered with snow. So it’s kind of about like, not sure what you’re doing or where you’re going kind of thing. Yeah,

Corey Sullivan: I thought it was about Houston road construction.

Morgan Sullivan: Hwy. 290.

Dave Sullivan: The funniest thing too. We...

Morgan Sullivan: Glenn Gilbert loves that song.

Dave Sullivan: I have tons of local bands that do a cover of that and one of the bands actually put it on their album. I was up in Colorado working and I’m like, I gotta get my butt home because people are putting our stuff out faster than us. But if I don’t hurry up and get home, there’s gonna be a Kissing Judas tribute band out playing.

Morgan Sullivan: No, we were very honored. Thank you. Shotgun Sally. By the way, check out their

version of “The Road”. It’s rockin’, Glenn Gilbert rocked out with us when we made that song.

Corey Sullivan: When we were writing it, the music for it, Glenn was pretty much holding my hand through writing in that genre, because it’s not something I’m very familiar with. And he was like ‘drive it.’ ‘You got to drive it.’ And this was like, okay, yeah, because he would be playing this stuff and he had all kinds of energy to him. And he just maintained eye contact with me the whole time we were working on it and kind of gave me cues on where to move the song energy was. And so honestly, that drum part I kind of credit to him because it was really his baby, musically. He loved that song so much. He wanted to make it happen so bad.

Morgan Sullivan: He still plays the crap out of it. and I love every time I get to hear them play it. It’s great.

Dave Sullivan: Glen filled in when Matt had to leave and couldn’t play bass with us anymore, Glenn would fill in a lot. And he was actually on the touring and playing for Richie Ramone at the time. So you know, he’s really into the punk scene, the rock scene, everything like that. So he comes in, and he’s like, now we’re rockin’ this song out a little bit more, and doing that he really did help shape it a lot. He’s one of our good friends. He would come over, we’d hang out all night, drink beer, play songs.

Morgan Sullivan: Great people. They just had a baby too. So Mazel Tov. Oh, yeah.

Music News: I really enjoyed the album when you sent it over to me to begin with, you know, the digital files. I really enjoyed it. I thought there’s a lot of really radio worthy songs on here. You may not be able to get every single one on the radio, but is there even radio that you can get stuff played on anymore?

Morgan Sullivan: Why not?

Corey Sullivan: It’s pop music or the Classics. There’s not a lot of room for newer rock bands from what I hear on like, FM radio, at least.

Corey Sullivan: I’m with Queen on this one. Someone still loves you radio. How about you Bret, What do you think?

Bret Gyrich: About?

Morgan Sullivan: Radio? He was asking.

Bret Gyrich: Oh, what do I think about the radio?

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, can you can still get new music on the radio and I’m saying yeah, I’m saying yeah.

Bret Gyrich: Yeah. Yeah, I have discovered plenty of new songs on the radio recently. But I don’t really know a whole lot of people who really pay much attention to the radio stations anymore, which is sad to say.

Music News: Well, everything’s gone satellite now.

Bret Gyrich: Yeah.

Music News: Either that or download and people are taking their flash drives and putting them in their car.

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Corey Sullivan: Well, I just didn’t get around to doing it myself.

Morgan Sullivan: They need to just bring back radio. That’s it.

Music News: Tell me about some of your band members. I understand you have a new bassist.

Dave Sullivan: Okay, with our bass player. We pulled in Bret on vocals, and you know he came in and it was just like, This dude is incredible. He fits perfectly for what I had envisioned of wanting to hear our songs sound like, and then was like, Okay, now it’s time to get a bass player. We put, ads out and looked around and everybody’s in five or six bands, or three tribute bands, two cover bands and everything. It was really hard getting somebody and a lot of people would want to audition. And then I’m like, ‘Where’d You Go? Why didn’t you show up?’ They were really intimidated by Rudy and Billy and all that and they’re like, ‘I didn’t want to try’. And this kid, I get a phone call from his dad. And he does a lot of the concessions for a lot of the shows and stuff like that. He said, ‘Look, I saw your ad and I think my son would be great’. And like, ‘okay, well cool, let me know, have him come by. I’ll send you some songs and let him learn them’ and I sent them some songs and also some like video tutorials about how Matt actually played certain parts. And he came in one Saturday and he’s 18 years old at the time. He came in and melted our faces. Yeah, it was just like, like super, super, super cool. I mean, he pulled it off and he stepped in some pretty big shoes and all the props to him for that. That’s something that a lot of people wouldn’t do. But I’ve always had the philosophy and the way that I did stuff is I started out playing guitar clinics and all these things. When I was younger I was surrounding myself and playing with people that are of the highest caliber or better than you or whatever, because it drives you to reach that level. And he came in and he just like knocked it out of the park. The band right now is the perfect fit of everybody and everything. We all just have our place and part that everything just gels together perfectly. And if you listen to the album, you can hear it just it all works.

Corey Sullivan: It’s very rare to have a group of musicians where there’s a lot of talent and not a lot of ego.

Dave Sullivan: Oh, I was told if I was a more laid back, I’d be asleep. I might talk a lot. You know, I’m kind of, you know… We’re all really easygoing. Nobody’s got an ego.

Music News: Okay, that’s Matt we’re talking about now?

Dave Sullivan: That’s Chris.

Music News: What’s his full name?

Morgan Sullivan: Chris Salinas.

Music News: All right. And he’s the permanent band member now?

Dave Sullivan: Yes.

Music News: Let’s get back to “The Road”. You had Billy Sheehan on this song.

Dave Sullivan: Yes. Correct.

Music News: Okay. Did Billy’s playing change it any?

Dave Sullivan: This is a funny thing. Corey had mentioned like, ‘okay, I can understand him playing on “Cheshire”. “Cheshire” is like a fast in your face, guitar, rip your face off kind of song. But “The Road’? And I was like, Well, you know, if you think of Mr. Big and “To Be With You”, that was like one of their biggest hits. And this is in that vein of music, where it’s a very good ballad and one of the three songs that we get the most, ‘that’s my favorite song on the album’. So everybody really loves it. But yeah, Billy came in. Everything he did fit perfectly and they sent me two tracks with the variant, the ending part, where one was clean and one was a little dirty. So we switched it over to the clean and it comes out real melodic. It definitely brought a flavor to it. And Chris was able to pull that off, you know, it took a few rehearsals and stuff like that to get it all down. I’m very honored to have the guys that played on this album, not only the famous people, but the band here. I got my son on drums, my wife on backing vocals, and you know, Brett. He’s just incredible and Chris played on a couple of songs too as well, so it’s all just the way I’d envisioned it. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome.

Music News: I believe you’ve got a video out from one of the songs or you’re working on a video.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah, we’re getting ready to work on a couple of them.

Morgan Sullivan: It’s in the works.

Corey Sullivan: We’re going to be collaborating with a couple friends of mine who are... we’re starting a film company up together. They do a lot of very cinematic short films and stuff. And we’re going to have them help us make a few music videos and try to give them some exposure and some experience doing music videos, because it’s very, very different from narrative pieces where there’s dialogue in different scenes and stuff. They’re very good friends of mine from high school and I think they’re very talented.

Morgan Sullivan: Yeah, don’t get it wrong, cuz they’re young. Their short films are amazing. They’re really good.

Music News: Well, young is where it’s at now. That pretty much the new approach to things, the fresh views. Not rehashing everything. You hire someone that’s been doing it for 30 years and you’re gonna get the same video pretty much.

Morgan Sullivan: Right. I’m really excited to see what they come up with.

Music News: Now, What haven’t we talked about on the album that we should have?

Morgan Sullivan: No, I think I think that’s about it. The one thing I’d like to say is, if you buy the vinyl album, when you open it up, we totally went like old school on that. It’s got the inserts, it’s got lyrics. The CD does have an insert as well. So we just kind of went all out with that

and we thought that was a lot of fun. That was part of the fun about us. When you get a CD or you get an album, you want to open it up. You want to see the pictures. You want to read the lyrics. And so people can have that experience now,

Music News: It’s nice to have the lyrics in there. It’s nice to have them this big in the album where you can read them.

Dave Sullivan: Yeah. And the CD has a 16 page full color booklet. A lot of people, a lot of friends say, ‘oh my god, you’re going overboard.’ And it’s a lot to do with that’s what I want, that’s what I had as a kid. Part of the experience was opening up a cassette… I was right past the eight track days, so I had a cassette and you’d open it up and that was your pasttime. You’re reading the lyrics. You’re reading the thank you’s or reading the stories of these bands and it brought you in personally with the bands. With digital downloads you don’t get any of that. You don’t get the personal stuff. You’re lucky if you get lyrics. Brett did all the artwork and the design. I sent him a bunch of photos and stuff and he put it all together and we worked back and forth on that a little bit and he did an incredible job. So he’s not just a singer folks, he can… he has something to fall back on if his voice ever goes, but God I hope it doesn’t go

Bret Gyrich: Knock on wood. Knock on wood.

Music News: Okay, well, then I think I probably have enough here. I appreciate you all meeting with me to do this.

Morgan Sullivan: Yes, thank you know, we appreciate it so much. But I think Brent was trying to talk and then talked over a mom and get it.

Music News: What do you got, Brett?

Bret Gyrich: I’m good. I’m good. Thank you’.

Morgan Sullivan: Thank you for having us. Thank you so much.

Music News: All right. Well, then I guess it’s a wrap.

Morgan Sullivan: It’s a wrap guys.

Be sure to drop by The BFE Rock Club this month on August 12th. It’s going to be a party. As you can tell by this interview, this band is gearing up for National stardom and we certainly hope they achieve it. They certainly deserve it. The proof is in the music and let me tell you, Kissing Judas and their new album release False Saint is the real deal. If you want to ROCK!, then meet me at The BFE Club on August 12th. We’re going to have a BLAST! Kissing Judas is Dave Sullivan (guitar/backing vocals), Bret Gyrich (vocals/acoustic guitar), Corey Sullivan (drums), Chris Salinas (bass), and Morgan Sullivan (backing vocals).

20% Off All Drinks For All Veterans The

Thursday August 3 - Drifters & Grifters, Katey Mae, Michael Koby

Friday August 4 - Living Dead Girl, Wick TX, Bad Trip, Mouthskin, Uppercut

Saturday August 5 - Chernobyl The Secret, Dgma, Left IV Dead + Many more!!

Sunday August 6 - School Of Rock

Thursday August 10 - Submit Thy Will, Engineered Society Project, Hitch

Friday August 11 - Mortal Birthday Massacre 3

Saturday August 12 - War Within Dreams, Endymion, From Blood Black Nothingness, The Earth As We Know It, Whiskey Fueled Death

Sunday August 13 - Diosa, Etsai, Vilamoura and MORE

Thursday August 17 - Leather Duchess, Crash, Swingin Bottles

Friday August 18 - Victims of a System, Minutes To Midnight, Life Starts Now, Skull Buster

Saturday August 19 - Lady Picture Show Stone Temple Pilots Tribute, Paraless - A Tribute to Paramore, Johnny And The Hellhounds

Sunday August 20 - Super Villain, Vital Oath, Fleishwolf, Berserker

Thursday August 24 - The Dusty Haze Project Pre Bday Bash

Friday August 25 - Brass Inferno

Saturday August 26 - Supernaut and The Skinz

Sunday August 27 - Edge of Destiny, Transmission Lost,Goosechase

Thursday August 31 - Laundry Men, Jordan Snow

Ice Nine Kills Bring Their ‘Fear The Premiere Tour’ To The Bayou Music Center August 22

Find Ice Nine Kills Online

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/IceNineKills/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ICENINEKILLS

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/iceninekills/ Youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/user/iceninekilled Tik Tok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@iceninekills Web @ https://iceninekills.com/

Notorious horror-themed metalcore outfit, Ice Nine Kills, is thrilled to announce their ‘Fear The Premiere’ tour. The band will play a select run of headline shows kicking off on August 8, 2023, and will showcase a spectacular lineup of supporting acts including August Burns Red and Veil of Maya for shows between August 8 and August 11, Set It Off and The Plot In You for shows between August 15 and September 1, and opener Mike’s Dead across all dates.

Ice Nine Kills have garnered a reputation for being one of the most must-see live bands from the sphere of heavy music. In addition to their upcoming headline dates, the band will also be supporting Metallica in US stadiums this summer on their M72 World Tour and will be supporting Lamb Of God on their upcoming US run. Combining their expert musicianship, a killer catalog of bonafide ragers and their infamous theatrical performances that bring each

song and the movie it relates to to life, these upcoming shows are sure to have heads banging, spines tingling and blood chilling across the US. Miss your chance to see one of metal’s most in-demand, can’t-miss bands at your peril.

“Welcome To Horrorwood” is featured on Ice Nine Kills phenomenally successful album, The Silver Scream 2:

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Photo credit @kimmillerphotography

Ice Nine Kills

(continued from previous page)

Welcome to Horrorwood. Released in October 2021, the album scored Ice Nine Kills their first Top 20 position (#18) on the Billboard Top 200, topped the Digital and Current Hard Music charts, hit Top 5 on the Current Rock, Independent, Current Albums, and Album Sales charts and has clocked up 137 million crossplatform streams to date and 13 million YouTube views for singles “Hip To Be Scared”, “Assault & Batteries”, “Rainy Day”, “Funeral Derangements”, “Take Your Pick” and “The Shower Scene”

Decadent, devious, and fiercely insane, Ice Nine Kills celebrate pop culture’s darkest edges, mining a cinephile library’s worth of iconic horror on 2018’s The Silver Scream which spawned Top 10 Mainstream Rock single “A Grave Mistake” and Top 20 hit “Savages”. The creative marriage made in hell of music and fiction began in earnest with the Top 5 Hard Rock album, Every Trick in the Book, which brought the previous three records’ themes to new levels and which the band perfected on 2021’s chart-topping smash hit ’The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood.’

The phenomenally successful album, released in October 2021, scored Ice Nine Kills their first Top 20 position (#18) on the Billboard Top 200, topped the Digital and Current Hard Music charts, hit Top 5 on the Current Rock, Independent, Current Albums, and Album Sales charts and has clocked up 137 million cross-platform streams to date and 13 million YouTube views for singles “Hip To Be Scared”, “Assault & Batteries”, “Rainy Day”, “Funeral Derangements”, “Take Your Pick”, “The Shower Scene” and most recently, “Welcome To Horrorwood”.

Since the release of ‘The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood’, Ice Nine Kills have seen phenomenal growth. Throughout 2022 they toured the US extensively on 3 legs of The Trinity

of Terror, their hugely successful, mostly sold-out triple co-headline tour with Motionless In White and Black Veil Brides, supported Metallica at several US stadium shows, toured the US with Slipknot and launched the inaugural edition of their horror convention, The Silver Scream Con.

The band’s synergy of music and lifestyle draws favorable comparisons to Slipknot and Rob Zombie. Visionary trailblazers and multimedia raconteurs, INK built a thrilling world for a growing legion of devoted true believers, with theatrical shows, high-concept videos, and inventive band-to-fan communion. Their wildly creative output has seen them become recent recipients of the prestigious Clio Award for Music

Marketing for their “Merry Axe-mas” mobile game and their live streaming event from October 2020, The Silver Stream be nominated for 5 awards at last year’s Horror Hound Film Festival Awards in the categories of Judges Choice, Best Sound, Best Supporting Performance, Best Cinematography and Best Feature. With over 1.75 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 717 million career streams to date and over 204 million views on YouTube the band are firmly cemented as one of modern metal’s most vicious forces.

ICE NINE KILLS ARE

Spencer Charnas - Vocals

Dan Sugarman - Guitar

Ricky Armellino - Guitar

Joe Occhiuti - Bass

The Hu and Asking Alexander Co-Headline Show At 713 Music Hall September 3rd

Mongolian folk-metal act The HU and UK rockers Asking Alexandria are teaming up for a co-headlining 2023 US tour. The outing, dubbed the “Psycho Thunder Tour,” will feature support from Bad Wolves and Zero 9:36.

The tour kicks off August 30th in San Antonio, Texas, and runs through an October 8th gig in Los Angeles. A Live Nation pre-sale starts Thursday (June 15th) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster using the code DISCO, while general sales begin on Friday (June 16th). Fans can also check for deals or pick up tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub, where your purchase is 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s Fan Protect program.

The HU are touring in support of the upcoming deluxe version of their 2022 album, Rumble of Thunder. The expanded edition, due June 30th, features such guests as System of a Down’s Serj Tankian (“Black Thunder”), Alice in Chains’ William DuVall (“This Is Mongol”), and more.

About The Hu

In 2019, an NPR story put a spotlight on “a band from Mongolia that blends the screaming guitars of heavy metal and traditional Mongolian guttural singing,” accurately highlighting the cultural importance and unique musical identity of THE HU. Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, THE HU, Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush, are a modern rock group rooted in the tradition of their homeland. The band’s two most popular videos, “Yuve Yuve” and “Wolf Totem,” were produced by the band’s producer Dashka. The band’s name translates to the Mongolian root word for human being, and their unique approach blends instruments like the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp) and throat singing withcontemporary sounds, creating a unique sonic profile that they call “Hunnu Rock.”

Their debut album, 2019 ‘s The Gereg, debuted at #1 on the World Album and Top New Artist Charts. With it, the band have accumulated over 250 million combined streams and video views to date and have received critical acclaim from the

likes of Billboard, NPR, GQ, The Guardian, The Independent, Revolver, and even Sir Elton John himself.

Proving their global appeal, THE HU have sold out venues across the world in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, with scheduled festival appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Download Festival, and more, creating a community of fans from all walks of life. They quickly grabbed the attention of the industry, leading to collaborations with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. And most recently, the band received praise from fans and critics for their Mongolian rendition of Metallica’s “Sad But True,” which Metallica picked up on and invited them to record ‘Through The Never’ for their Metallica Blacklist album released in 2021 alongside other high-profile guest artists like Miley Cyrus, Chris Stapleton, Phoebe Bridgers, J Balvin, St. Vincent, and so many more. The band has also explored eclectic ways to reach audiences with their sound, most notably

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writing and recording music for EA Games’ Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

About Asking Alexandria

Spanning two continents, three names, and nearly a dozen members, stalwart British metalcore enthusiasts Asking Alexandria are a band whose career seems to be more about change than anything else. Emerging in the late 2000s and led by founder and guitarist Ben Bruce, they caught fire in 2013 with the release of their chart-scorching third LP From Death to Destiny. Subsequent outings like The Black (2016), Like a House on Fire (2020), and See What’s on the Inside (2021) saw the group adding elements of nu-metal and traditional hard rock to their demonic blend of electro-screamo and uncompromising post-hardcore.

The brainchild of guitarist Ben Bruce, the band was originally formed in Dubai in 2003 under the name Amongst Us, which soon changed to End of Reason before they eventually settled on Asking Alexandria in 2006. They cemented the name change with their self-released EP Tomorrow.Hope.Goodbye. The following year, they issued their first full-length album, The Irony of Your Perfection, through Hangmans Joke.

Shortly afterward, Bruce left Dubai and returned to England, resulting in the dissolution of the band. In 2008, he formed a new group around the name Asking Alexandria. Unlike its vaguely post-

hardcore predecessor, this incarnation was a pretty standard screamo/metalcore act, with chugging guitars and alternating singing/screaming vocals. Finally settling on the lineup of Danny Worsnop (vocals), Camron Liddell (guitar), James Cassells (drums), and Sam Bettley (bass), the band set to work on a touring blitz of the United States with groups like Alesana, the Bled, and Evergreen Terrace. In 2009, Asking Alexandria signed with Sumerian Records and released their first album with the new lineup, Stand Up and Scream, in the fall of that year. They followed their debut with the Life Gone Wild EP, which included remixes of songs from Stand Up and Scream and a few Skid Row covers.

Asking Alexandria would find mainstream success in 2011 with the release of the remix album Stepped Up and Scratched, which featured EDM remixes of songs from their debut as well as their sophomore album, Reckless & Relentless, which was released a few months later. Reckless peaked at number nine on the Billboard charts and the band continued with relentless touring into the next year. At the end of 2012, Worsnop tore a vocal cord, an injury that would prove consequential years later. The group returned in the summer of 2013 with a more mature hard rock sound, smoothing off some of the metalcore and electronicore influences, resulting in their more focused third album, From Death to Destiny.

At the end of the tour cycle, in

January 2015, Worsnop announced that he was parting ways with the band to focus on a more traditional rock & roll sound with his group We Are Harlot. Asking Alexandria recruited a new singer, Ukrainian metalcore vocalist Denis Stoff (Make Me Famous), and immediately released the new lineup’s first single, “I Won’t Give In.” That song would appear on their album The Black, which was released a year later in March 2016. That October, Stoff split with the band.

Worsnop — in the midst of his own solo endeavors — rejoined Asking Alexandria just in time for the group’s tenyear anniversary. The reunited band returned to the studio to record their fifth album, which featured the lead single “Into the Fire.” The eponymous Asking Alexandria, which adopted a more stadium-rockfriendly style of metalcore, arrived in late 2017 and debuted in the Top 30 of the Billboard 200. After a quick promotional cycle, the reunited and newly sober band returned to the studio for album number six. The first offering from that effort, “The Violence,” arrived in July 2019; the LP itself, Like a House on Fire, followed in 2020. Early 2021 saw the arrival of the single “Alone Again” ahead of the release of the group’s new studio effort, See What’s on the Inside, which arrived later that October. “Dark Void,” the lead single from the band’s forthcoming eighth longplayer, appeared in May 2023.

Saturday, August 12, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Mo’s Irish Pub Katy 23511 Katy Frwy - Katy, TX 77494

Friday, August 25, 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

T Bone Tom’s 707 Hwy 146 - Kemah, TX 77565

Friday, September 1, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084

Saturday, September 2, 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Papa’s On The Lake 14632 Hwy 105 W - Montgomery, TX 77356

Friday, September 8, 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

3 Doors Down Bar 102 20th St - Galveston, TX 77550

Friday, September 15, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Pasadena Cookoff

Saturday, October 28, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Backwoods Saloon 230 Lexington Ct - Conroe, TX 77385

Friday, November 3, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Scotty’s Saloon 114 Agnes Rd - Richmond, TX 77469

Saturday, November 11, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

3 Doors Down Bar 102 20th St - Galveston, TX 77550

Friday, November 17, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084

Saturday, November 18, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

The Concert Pub BOAT 2462 FM 1960 W - Houston, TX 77068

Saturday. December 2, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

Backwoods Saloon 230 Lexington Ct - Conroe, TX 77385

Saturday, December 9, 9:00 pm - 1:00 am

Jack’s Pub *Christmas Party!!! 11720 S Wilcrest - Houston, TX 77099

Saturday, December 16, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am

3 Doors Down Bar 102 20th St -Galveston, TX 77550

Glenn Danzig Returns To Houston To Perform At White Oak Music Hall September 3rd

Glenn Danzig just announced a U.S. tour celebrating 35 years of his debut solo album, Danzig. Every night on the 13-date run, Danzig will play their iconic 1988 record in full. The horror-punk icon will be touring North America with extreme-metal vets Behemoth, as well as Twin Temple and Midnight. The tour starts off August 25th in Las Vegas and will hit both coasts of the U.S. before the show performs it’s final date September 17th in Chicago. They will be performing in Houston, Texas on September 3rd at White Oak Music Hall. Last year Glenn Glenn Danzig and his bandmates performed the entire 1990 album “Danzig II: Lucifuge” on their May U.S. Tour.

Danzig is the debut studio album by Danzig was released in August 1988. The album was the first release on producer Rick Rubin’s new label Def American

Recordings. Def American’s successor, American Recordings, reissued the album in the United States and United Kingdom in 1998. It remains the band’s best-selling album having been certified gold in the U.S. in 1994, and has since been certified platinum. Danzig promoted the album with a successful world tour in 1988–1989. Danzig was recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios and Chung King Metal, and mixed at Smoke Tree and Village.[13] These sessions took place between September 1987 and April 1988.

The song “Mother”, retitled as “Mother ’93" and with live audience overdubs, became a hit on radio and MTV in 1993–94 after a new video-single with live footage was created to mark its inclusion on Thrall-Demonsweatlive. The song was also later included on various hard rock and heavy metal music compila-

tions, and featured in the video game series Guitar Hero. It also appeared on the soundtrack to the 2013 film The Hangover Part III

While the album’s liner notes expressly state “All songs written by Glenn Danzig”, the song “The Hunter” was written by Booker T. & the M.G.’s and Carl Wells. Originally recorded by Albert King, the Danzig version of the song only features slightly modified lyrics.

After becoming a cult hero as the lead singer of the Misfits and Samhain, Glenn Danzig finally stepped into the mainstream with his group Danzig, who took the horror-themed lyrical imagery of his earlier groups into darker and more devilish directions while draping his rough but melodic tunes in heavy metal garb.

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Glenn Danzig

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Featuring former Samhain members John Christ (guitar) and Eerie Von (bass) along with powerhouse hardcore drummer Chuck Biscuits (formerly of Black Flag, D.O.A., and the Circle Jerks), Danzig was an ideal vehicle for the frontman’s booming, theatrical vocal style (Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and Jim Morrison were often cited as his key influences) and the gothic melodrama of his songwriting. Danzig’s first two albums — 1988’s Danzig and 1990’s Danzig II: Lucifuge — set the template for his new sound as he gained greater visibility, and for many, 1992’s Danzig III: How the Gods Kill would remain his definitive work. The 1993 EP Thrall: Demonsweatlive combined studio and live material, earning Danzig a major MTV hit with a live version of “Mother,” but 1994’s Danzig 4 was the final album featuring the original lineup. 1996’s Danzig 5: Blackacidevil found the frontman exploring industrialinfluenced sounds and taking a larger role as an instrumentalist. Through the rest of the ’90s and up to 2010, the Danzig lineup was a revolving door and their releases reflected a lack of stability, but with 2010’s Deth Red Sabaoth they took a more aggressive and more focused attack suggesting the Misfits and Samhain. Glenn paid homage to a number of his key influences on 2015’s Skeletons and 2020’s Danzig Sings Elvis.

Glenn Danzig co-founded the Misfits in Lodi, New Jersey in 1977. They rose from obscurity to become one of the biggest bands in the hardcore underground

before they broke up in 1984. Almost immediately after the Misfits called it quits, Danzig formed the metallic, brooding Samhain in order to experiment with different sounds, but that project imploded as well. The band Danzig was put together in 1987, and quickly inked a deal with Rick Rubin’s Def American label. Their selftitled debut found Danzig playing the Satanic metal singer role to the hilt, even if the band’s songs sounded much the same. Danzig II: Lucifuge followed in 1990, and it broadened the band’s musical palette, expanding on the simple blues riffs of the debut with more extensive forays into that style. Danzig III: How the Gods Kill marked a full-fledged entry into the realm of gothic romanticism, working to create moods rather than pounding heavy metal aggression. “Dirty Black Summer” and “How the Gods Kill” became staples on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball.

Danzig next released a solo project, Black Aria, a quasi-operatic attempt at classical instrumentals depicting the fall of Satan from heaven. The band broke through into the mainstream in 1993, when a live video for “Mother,” a song originally released on Danzig that appeared in a live version on the EP Thrall: Demonsweatlive, became an inescapable smash on MTV and even charted as a single, nearly cracking the Billboard Top 40. Meanwhile, Danzig contributed a song entitled “Thirteen” to Johnny Cash’s acclaimed 1994 effort American Recordings. The more experimental Danzig 4 was released in 1994 and entered the charts at number 29, but its

quiet, moody, atmospheric subtlety didn’t find as much favor with the band’s new audience as the anthemic “Mother,” while some longtime fans dismissed it as too mellow, and therefore commercial.

During the supporting tour, Chuck Biscuits left the band and was replaced by Joey Castillo. Following the tour, Danzig broke up the band and formed a new version featuring ex-Prong guitarist/ vocalist Tommy Victor, drummer Castillo, and bassist Josh Lazie; this lineup released Danzig 5: Blackacidevil on Halloween 1996. Blackacidevil was ignored by both the press and the public, falling out of the charts after a mere three weeks. 6:66 Satan’s Child followed in 1999; Live on the Black Hand Side appeared two years later.

In 2002 and 2004, respectively, Danzig released the stripped-down I Luciferi and Circle of Snakes, both returns to form that found the artist emulating the simplistic brutality of his 1988 debut. Black Aria II arrived in the fall of 2006. The band did a tour in 2008 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut before releasing their ninth album, Deth Red Sabaoth, in 2010. By this time Danzig has finally found a steady lineup, with Glenn joined by Tommy Victor on guitar, Steve Zing on bass, and Johnny Kelly on drums, though Glenn continued to contribute guitar, bass, and keyboards to their studio sessions. Skeletons, a ten-track collection of newly recorded covers that included Danzig-blasted renditions of Aerosmith’s “Lord of the Thighs,” the Everly Brothers’ “Crying in the Rain,” and Davie Allan & the Arrows’ theme from the 1967 biker film “Devils Angels,” arrived in 2015.

2016 saw Danzig setting aside years of legal and personal squabbles with Misfits bassist Jerry Only — who had been leading his own edition of the band since 1996 — to play a pair of shows headlining that year’s Riot Fest festivals in Denver and Chicago under the banner the Original Misfits, joined by guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, second guitarist Acey Slade, and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. The success of the Riot Fest dates led to a number of other Original Misfits shows (including a sold-out appearance at Madison Square Garden), while Glenn kept Danzig active, releasing the album Black Laden Crown in 2017. Long a serious Elvis fan, Glenn began recording covers of songs from the Presley catalog at his sessions, initially with an eye toward putting out a tribute EP. In time, the collection of Elvis tracks grew into a fulllength album, and Danzig Sings Elvis was released in April 2020.

DANCE GAVIN DANCE

Find Dance Gavin Dance Online

http://www.dancegavindanceband.com

Twitter @ https://twitter.com/dgdtheband

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/dancegavindance/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/DanceGavinDance/

Chart topping post-hardcore outfit, Dance Gavin Dance, have today announced “The Jackpot Juicer US Tour” which will be hitting 27 cities across the US to accompany their upcoming album of the same name. The tour will feature support from SiM, Rain City Drive, and

Within Destruction.

Jackpot Juicer was released in April of 2021 and scored Dance Gavin Dance their highest charting postion on the Billboard Top 200 to date. The album saw the band hit their first ever Top Ten debut,

entering the Top 200 at #8 with over 33,500 album equivalent sales. The album also hit the #1 spot across the Top Alternative and Top Rock charts, #2 on the Top Vinyl chart, #3 on Top Album Chart and #5 on Top Album Sales Chart.

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DANCE GAVIN DANCE

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Speaking on today’s announcement, Dance Gavin Dance drummer, Matt Mingus shares:

“It brings us great pleasure to announce The Jackpot Juicer US Tour 2023. This monster of a tour will be coming to a city near you this Summer and Fall.

We are really excited about the bands from all over the world that will be joining us on the road. Those artist will include SIM from Japan. Then we have Rain City Drive from here at home in the US. And last but not least, Within Destruction from Europe/Taiwan.

The setlist we are planning will consist of a hefty amount of songs from Jackpot Juicer. With tracks from the album we have never performed live before. As well as a number of our popular songs you have all grown to appreciate over the years. We are hoping this mixture of songs will make for an enjoyable performance for both old and new fans a like.

This super eclectic mix of music will surely make for an awesome evening you won’t want to miss out on. We are all really looking forward to seeing your smiling faces from the stage and can’t wait to put on a great show for you all.”

Beginning at the end of August, “The Jackpot Juicer US Tour” will kick off in Tempe on August 24th and travel throughout 26 further cities ending in Detroit at the Ma-

sonic Temple Theatre on October 4th. Fans can also see Dance Gavin Dance at upcoming US festivals, including the band’s very own oneday festival, Swanfest, on October 1st. This year’s Swanfest marks the first ever East Coast edition, which will feature a special extended set from the band as well as performances from Periphery, Set It Off, SiM, Rain City Drive, Stolas, Within Destruction, Body Thief and Dwellings. Full 2023 routing below.

Rejecting tired formulas at every step, Dance Gavin Dance merge progressive rock and posthardcore with thick groove, brilliantly combining experimental music with hooks and a warped sense of humor. The group has amassed over 1.6 billion global streams, and 1.4 million album equivalent units

sold across their catalog in the US alone. With hundreds of thousands of rabid fans engaged with Dance Gavin Dance on socials and their very own festival event, Swanfest, which sold out both its inaugural edition in 2019 and its triumphant, post-pandemic return in 2022 in the band’s hometown of Sacramento last April and is now set to hit the East Coast for the first time, it all amounts to a full force band facing a mainstream that has overlooked them for too long.

As the undeniable statistics keep mounting up, the fact becomes more and more clear that Dance Gavin Dance are becoming one of this generation’s most popular and enduring forces from the world of heavy music. As Pollstar put it “Sacramento, Calif.-based Dance Gavin Dance is not just any band.”

Open

Tuesday thru Sunday

Wednesday, August 2 - Katie’s Wednesday Jam with Bob Emmons (7-10pm)

Thursday, August 3 - James Wilhite

Friday, August 4 - Sparky Parker

Saturday, August 5 - Jonn Del Toro Richardson

Sunday, August 6 - Katie’s Sunday Jam with special guest host Mark May (4 - 8pm)

Wednesday, August 9 - Katie’s Wednesday Jam with Keith Vivens (8-11pm)

Thursday, August 10 - Benny Brasket

Friday, August 11 - Pierce & The Purple Moon

Saturday, August 12 - Funksion

Sunday, August 13 - Katie’s Sunday Jam with special guest host James Wilhite (4 - 8pm)

Wednesday, August 16 - Katie’s Wednesday Jam with Bob Emmons (8-11pm)

Thursday, August 17 - Static Blues

Friday, August 18 - Blues Survivors

Saturday, August 19 - Zack Tate

Sunday, August 20 - Katie’s Sunday Jam with special guest host Hugo Jamz (4 - 8pm)

Wednesday, August 23 - Katie’s Wednesday Jam with Keith Vivens (8-11pm)

Thursday, August 24 - Hugo Jamz Trio

Friday, August 25 - Mark May

Saturday, August 26 - Wake Zone

Sunday, August 27 - Katie’s Sunday Jam with special guest host Paul Ramirez (4 - 8pm)

Wednesday, August 30 - Katie’s Wednesday Jam with Bob Emmons (8-11pm)

Thursday, August 31 - Felix The Cats

Friday, September 1 - Paul Ramirez

Sean McConnell

Sean McConnell Performs At The Heights Theater August 19th

A rootsy singer/songwriter known for his passionate but down to earth approach, Sean McConnell found success as a Nashville songsmith, penning songs throughout the 2000s for country, rock, and pop artists like Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Jason Castro, and Meat Loaf. His concurrent solo career yielded strong outings like 2009’s Saints, Thieves, Liars, which won fans among the Texas red dirt music scene and eventually netted him a recording contract with Rounder Records for his eponymous 2016 album. He returned in early 2019 with the self-produced Secondhand Smoke album for the Big Picnic label.

McConnell was born in Massachusetts, where his parents were both musicians who played frequently on the Boston folk circuit. At age 11, McConnell and his family moved to Georgia, and he began teaching himself to play by watching a video of one of his father’s favorite performers, David Wilcox. (Wilcox would be a major influence on Sean as well.) Dealing with the isolation of leaving his friends behind in Boston,

McConnell started writing songs, inspired by the songwriters his parents listened to — Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, and Harry Chapin — as well as the performing style of Michael Jackson. After completing high school, McConnell relocated to Nashville, Tennessee; he enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University, where he studied the music business. He expanded his performing schedule, playing venues in Nashville and in surrounding college towns, and put a renewed focus on writing his own material.

In 2000, McConnell self-released his first album, Here in the Lost and Found, and 200 Orange St followed in 2003. By this time, his songs had impressed a representative of WarnerChappell Music, who encountered him when he sang on a friend’s publishing demo, and he was signed to a publishing deal. His songwriting career soon proved fruitful, and his compositions were recorded by Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Meat Loaf, the Plain White T’s, Eli Young Band, and many more. Despite his success as a

tunesmith, McConnell continued to pursue a career as a performer, releasing material at a steady clip through his own label — three albums, Cold Black Sky, Saints. Thieves. Liars., and Midland, and two EPs, The Walk Around and The B-Side Session, were released between 2006 and 2014 — and touring frequently, finding an especially loyal audience in Texas, where he was adopted as part of the regional Red Dirt singer/songwriter community. His hard work as an independent paid off and in 2016, McConnell scored a deal with Rounder Records, which released his self-titled fifth album that summer, followed by the acoustic companion LP, Undone, which featured all of the songs recorded live and solo to analog tape. His next outing, 2019’s Secondhand Smoke, was entirely self-produced and recorded at his home studio outside of Nashville with McConnell performing nearly all of the instruments himself. It was released by Big Picnic Records. After touring in support of the album, he and his band recorded their homecoming show which was released in 2020 as Live from Basement East.

Guitar Legend Greg Howe’s Lost And Found Feat. Stu Hamm To Play At Dosey Doe In The Woodlands, TX On August 11

Guitar legend Greg Howe with his band Lost and Found featuring bass icon Stu Hamm and drummer Joel Taylor will be performing at the Dosey Doe Big Barn in The Woodlands, TX on August 11, 2023.

Howe has developed a solid reputation as a technical innovator, particularly for his “hammer-on from nowhere” technique, legato runs, unusual time signatures, and linear tapping approach. His self-titled debut album “Greg Howe” is ranked tenth best shred album of all time by Guitar World Magazine.

Guitar legend Greg Howe will be kicking off his 2023 North American Tour “Lost and Found”

this summer with iconic bassist Stu Hamm and drummer Joel Taylor! Howe has developed a solid reputation as a technical innovator, particularly for his “hammer-on from nowhere” technique, legato runs, unusual time signatures, and linear tapping approach. His self-titled debut album “Greg Howe” is ranked tenth best shred album of all time by Guitar World Magazine.

In addition to being part of the 2018 GRAMMY® nominated band ‘Protocol IV’ which features Simon Phillips, Ernest Tibbs, and Otmaro Ruiz, Howe has produced, written and arranged ten solo instrumental studio albums along with two collaboration albums with Richie

Kotzen of the Winery Dogs. Howe has contributed to a long list of albums/records by other legendary artists such as Dennis Chambers, Victor Wooten, Jason Becker, Billy Sheehan, Marco Minneman, and Eddie Jobson.

“Man, I’m so looking forward to taking this amazing line-up on the road this summer to connect with, as well as perform live for all those who’ve enjoyed and supported my music over the years, making possible my ability to maintain a long and blessed career as a recording artist. I’m also excited about a new instructional content based website

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Greg Howe

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that’s close to being launch ready as well as an ebook (with downloadable audio examples) focusing on my approach to guitar soloing and music in general.” – Greg Howe

Easton, Pennsylvania’s Greg Howe was a breath of fresh air amidst the seemingly never-ending stream of harmonic minor guitar virtuosos pouring forth from the Shrapnel Records label in the late ’80s. While other post-Yngwie Malmsteen players of the “shred guitar” genre were pursuing the dramatic neo-classical vein, Howe brought a sense of funk and groove to the table that was sorely needed. Howe paid his dues playing the Easton/Allentown club circuit in the ’80s with the band Duke, featuring his brother Al on lead vocals. When one of his instrumental demos grabbed the ear of talent scout and Shrapnel Records owner Mike Varney, Howe was signed to the Shrapnel label in 1987.

His all-instrumental debut, Greg Howe, featuring the talents of Billy Sheehan and Atma Anur on bass and drums, respectively, was released in 1988, to considerable acclaim. Howe’s second album, High Gear, released under the moniker Howe 2, was less a solo album than a Van Halen-styled band effort, featuring his brother Al Howe on lead vocals. The band broke up after releasing its more commercially minded follow-up, Now Hear This, in 1990 and Howe returned to making all-instrumental albums in his home studio, taking a decidedly more fusion-styled direction.

Howe released Introspection in 1993 and Uncertain Terms in 1994 and has continued to produce albums at a prolific rate since then. Aside from releasing Parallax and Five in 1995 and 1996, respectively, Howe collaborated with fellow Pennsylva-

nia virtuoso and Shrapnel labelmate Richie Kotzen on the Tilt album in 1995 and again on 1997’s Project. His last Shrapnel album, Ascend, was released in 1999, followed by his debut on the Tone Center label, Hyperacuity, released in 2000.

Outside of his solo career, Greg Howe is also a sought-after sideman who has toured with the likes of Michael Jackson and N’Sync. In 2003, he guested on Indian fusion guitarist Prashant Aswani’s Duality, and released his own trio date Extraction with bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Dennis Chambers. Howe spent the next four years touring and playing on other’s projects including Jordan Rudess’s Rhythm of Time, Tetsuo Sakurai’s live Gentle Hearts Tour 2004 and Laura Pausini’s Io Canto. Howe released the acclaimed Sound Proof in 2008 with bassist Jon Reshard, drummer Gianluca Palmieri, and David Cook on keyboards. He also

guested on prog-metal band Martone’s Clean along with guitarist Jennifer Batten.

Over the next four years, Howe went back to studio work and being a hired gun for various tours. He was part of former Roxy Music violinist Eddie Jobson’s The Ultimate Zero Project on Come Back UK, guitarist Ethan Brosh’s Out of Oblivion (both 2009), as well as Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: Immortal (2011). In 2013, Howe formed the rock band Maragold and produced their selftitled album. His bandmates included vocalist Meghan Krauss, drummer Gianluca Palmieri, and bassist Kevin Vecchione. After doing road work with a variety of musicians, Howe returned to the studio in 2017, emerging with the album Wheelhouse. Centering on shredding instrumentals, its lone vocal track, “Shady Lane,” featured Richie Kotzen (Winery Dogs, Mr. Big) singing and adding a guitar solo.

P-Pop Artists, Wave To Earth Perform At Warehouse Live September 1st

Wave To Earth (HAN: ¿_À̺êÅõ_î_º) is an indie surf-rock band consisting of 3 members:

Daniel Kim (HAN: ±è´Ù´Ï¿¤) –Vocalist & Guitarist

Dong Q / Shin Donggyu (HAN: _ŵ¿±Ô) – Drummer

John Cha / Cha Soonjong (HAN: Â÷_øÁ_) – Bassist

Originally the band consisted of Shin Donggyu and Daniel Kim, debuting with their single ‘Wave‘ in August 2019. In January of 2020, Wave To Earth released their first EP [Wave 0.01] with

the addition of John Cha as the group’s bassist.

In November 21 of 2021, it was announced that the group signed to South Korean R&B/Hip-Hop recording label Wavy.

Wave To Earth (¿_À̺êÅõ_î_º) is a three-member boy band under Wavy. They made their debut on August 23, 2019 with their first single ‘wave’, followed by EPs ‘wave 0.01’ and ‘summer flows 0.02’. After joining the ‘Wavy Seoul’ label, they released singles ‘nouvelle vague’ and ‘calla.’.

‘Wave to Earth’ produces indie pop with a lo-fi sound based on jazz drumming, creating a unique sense of the seasons and a dreamy atmosphere in the music. With the primary motto of “All Self-made,” all recording, mixing, and mastering is done directly by the band members, who also direct the overall art field, such as album art, video, and fashion.

Their group name ‘Wave to Earth’ reveals the band’s desire to “become the new wave” and expand its own universe across the world.

Pantera Tribute Hits The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 17th

PANTERA, one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, will be touring North America this summer with LAMB OF GOD as special guests.

One of the most anticipated tours of 2023, this celebration tour includes surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) joined by guitarist Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) and drummer Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX).

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of the band’s founders, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, as well as Brown.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag cofounded PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, they formed DAMAGEPLAN. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Charlie Benante said “I had found out [about the Pantera tour] towards the end of December [2021] — maybe it was the beginning of January [of 2022] when Philip called me up — and I immediately said, ‘Yup. I wanna do it.’ It just felt right. For some reason, with Darrell and Vinnie being gone, I, myself, missed these songs. You can listen to ‘em all you want, but I think having

them being performed in front of you and being performed the right way, it really resonated with a lot of people once they really found out that this was gonna happen.”

Vinnie passed away on June 22, 2018 at his other home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. He died of dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. His death was the result of chronic weakening of the heart muscle — basically meaning his heart couldn’t pump blood as well as a healthy heart.

The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-’90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the ’80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any

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notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al., were anything but passé. Loathe to admit it, the Texas band had in fact been one of those ’80s metal bands, releasing fairly unsuccessful (and later disowned) glaminspired music throughout much of the decade. The about-face came with the addition of vocalist Phil Anselmo, and the key turning point was the band’s major-label debut, Cowboys from Hell (1990). Pantera’s mainstream breakthrough came next with Vulgar Display of Power (1992), their second major-label album, which thrust the band to the forefront of the metal scene, alongside such veteran bands as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, as well as fellow up-and-comers

Sepultura and White Zombie. By the time Pantera unleashed Far Beyond Driven (1994), after two

long years of touring, they were the most popular metal band in the land: the new album debuted atop the Billboard Top 200 as its lead single, “I’m Broken,” was getting massive airplay.

At the height of their popularity and influence, Pantera began to self-destruct. Less than two months after the release of The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) — an album ridden with allusions to drug abuse and personal destruction — Anselmo overdosed on heroin after a homecoming concert in Texas, and as tensions rose between him and his fellow bandmembers, he began engaging with a growing list of side projects that kept him away from Pantera. A live album, Official Live: 101 Proof (1997), was compiled for release when it became evident that no new studio album was forthcoming any time soon. One final studio album did result, Reinventing the Steel (2000), but that was more or less it for the briefly reunited Pantera. The bandmembers once

again went their separate ways, forming such bands as Damageplan, Down, and Superjoint Ritual.

The end of Pantera then became official on December 8, 2004, when guitarist Dimebag Darrell was murdered on-stage by a deranged fan. This muchpublicized murder shone the spotlight back on Pantera for an extended moment, and amid all of the emotional outpouring and tributes, a consensus arose: in retrospect, there was no greater metal band during the early to mid-’90s than Pantera, who inspired a legion of rabid fans and whose oft-termed “groove metal” style bucked all prevailing trends of the day — from hair metal and grunge to nu-metal and rap-metal — and remains singular to this day, as defined by the vocals of Anselmo as it is by the guitar of Dimebag.

Leon’s Lounge Is Now Available For Private Parties! Make Your Reservations Now!!

This August at Leon’s Lounge

Wednesday, August 2 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 3 - Thursday Sessions

Friday, August 4 - Clutch Cargo

Saturday, August 5 - To Be Announced

Wednesday, August 9 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 10 - Thursday Sessions

Friday, August 11 - June Bird

Saturday, August 12 - Honeycutt Southern

Wednesday, August 16 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 17 - Thursday Sessions

Friday, August 18 - Mark & The MisPhits

Saturday, August 19 - To Be Announced

Wednesday, August 23 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm

Thursday, August 24 - Thursday Sessions

Friday, August 25 - Armov

Saturday, August 25 - Sedated (Ramones Tribute)

Friday, August 30 - Randy Soffar Singer/Songwriter Song Swap and Open Mic @ 8:00 pm

1006 McGowen 713-650-1006

The Biker, The Blues & Down Time

I woke up at the local No Tell Motel, throat parched and I stumbled into the shower to do my daily three S’s (sh*t, shower and shave). The hot water felt good but the bar room jalapeno poppers were still talking to me. I hadn’t pulled back the sun blocking window curtains yet so I wasn’t quite sure what the day looked like outside. I got out of the shower dried off and stood in front of the steam filled mirror and thought man you are one ugly SOB and you ain’t getting any younger baby. I broke a brief smile and walked into the double bed motel room and placed my sleeping pack up on the bed. Took out my cleanest dirty shirt and skivvies , put them on and moved toward the window to pull those curtains back. It was indeed a nice morning for sure. I packed up my things and made my way outside to the beautiful red bandit. She sure looked good and still clean too another good sign for a nice morning. Then it happened she was turning over but not getting any gas. I run an S&S carb and I fooled around trying to get the problem solved as the fuel was making its way to the carb but not getting into the throat. A little more prompting and she kicked over but none the less spitting and sputtering. I jacked around with the needle valve but it was as clear as the morning skyline I wasn’t going far. Back inside and I did an online search for a model number and found a few places that had in stock. I thought about rebuilding it but the more I thought about it maybe now was a good time to just replace it. So that is what I did, I ordered the new carb. The only problem was it would be two days before it would arrive. I went up to the front desk and said I would need to stay two more days and they were cool with that so no problem with a place to stay. So now what do I do with myself for at least one day in Lincoln Nebraska? I asked the desk clerk where he would go to hear good blues and he said everyone around here would tell you The Zoo Bar and so that was covered too. Ok one more job at hand sneak the bike into motel room so it doesn’t come up missing at night. Well sometimes you just go for it and that’s what I did. I remember being in Las Vegas and needing to bring the red baby into the motel room. I was concerned about the maid diming me out so I spotted her some jack and that turned out cool. So that has to be my plan here too. Not bribery let’s just call it incentive. I remembered The Zoo Bar from being here once before and thought that could be cool again and it was indeed. Really great atmosphere, a real life blues joint that attracts blues lovers from all over the U.S. Their annual Zoo Fest kicks ass as well and fills the streets up in the Lincoln area. So back in the motel room and with time on my hands a nice time to burn a cigar and do some listening. Grabbed a chair from the motel room table, opened the door and placed it just outside. The parking lot was pretty much still full of cars and one of them was an older station wagon with the rear door swung down. Two kids were sitting on it and someone was inside moving things around. A guy with a early model Chevy Truck was putting his stuff away too and soon only a handful of cars remained. Then came the maid…ok time to swing into action but not come off like I am looking for a good time, just paying for silence. You have to understand that in that position one could easily think that I am the pervert that I am but hey this is not the time nor the place. So I smiled, she smiled and when she looked inside she saw the bike and looked back at me. Ah my chance. I stood up and took a twenty out of my pocket, smiled and offered it to her. The moment of truth was upon us. She extended her hand, looked at my bike again and looked back at me. So I did the

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American thing and dug even deeper into my pocket and gave her a ten this time. She extended her hand and took the money. Then I spoke and said thank you the bike is important to me. She looked at me and nodded and said that her husband would be ok with it. I was puzzled, what did this have to do with her husband so I asked with a puzzled look on my face. She replied that the man at the front desk was her husband and I stood there thinking that I was out thirty bucks. I just smiled and said thanks. One never knows does one? I noticed an older woman unloading her trunk with what looked to be an easel up near the front of the motel to the right of the parking lot. Yep, I was right she took out a canvas. I sat there puffing away just taking it all in, still with nothing to do but kill time. About this time a guy I would say in his early thirties came walking my way headed for the front of the building. He was wearing a cowboy hat and all smiles. He was a polite guy, he even said excuse me as he walked in front of me. On his way back he stopped briefly and asked if my wife was out and about with the car and if I was just killing some time until she got back. I thought that was a rather curious thing to mention but then right away he said he noticed no vehicle in front of me. I told him no I was waiting on a part and before I could fix my bike and he said oh ok I get it. Then he proceeded to tell me that was traveling the rodeo circuit and that Lincoln was one of the stops. I nodded and asked what he did, did he ride broncs or bulls? He said bulls. I couldn’t help myself and since it was a fun morning I told him that I never rode a bull but my probationary officer says that if stay away from sheep and keep going to the therapy I probably won’t do that anymore. He busted up right there and then and moved on. My mind drifted back to the lady with the easel and looked up front and she was sporting this wide brimmed floral kind of hat. From my vantage point I could not see what she was painting but she seemed focused on something out in front of the motel. My cigar was about half gone by then so I decided to walk up to the Coke machine and quench my thirst. I made my choice and then took a few more steps forward to see exactly what she was painting. The only thing I could see was the motel sign and a small white cross with artificial flowers on it. I walked up sort of behind her and as she turned and looked around. I said hi and that I was just curious about what she might be painting. She told me that she had been painting crosses like the one up front ever since her daughter died in a single car crash. She told me that she offers the paintings to pawn shops of all places and then asks them to send her ten dollars when it sells. When I get ten dollars in the mail I send it off to a cross maker telling him to apply it toward someone’s need that does not very much money. I do it for therapy, I enjoy it and something good is coming out of my daughter’s death. I nodded my head, smiled and walked away. When I first started making my trek across the states I thought it would just be about the landscape and the blues and that is what I would write about. But it’s not just those things as I am learning more and more. No, it’s the various people in this nation that are far more interesting. Every type of indi

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vidual you would want to know is out here and they are all genuine in their own way. I sat back down and killed off the cigar and called Dominos for a delivery order. The maid and my thirty dollars was long gone and that was kind of humorous actually, such is life. I went back into the room with the chair in my hand and sat down at the table. I put the headphones on…… and went straight to my collection of music. I chose “Sister Golden Hair” and the song was as good as it ever was, it’s timeless. Since I had entered into this time warp seemed like a nice time to get into a bit of Blues Image and I clicked on “Ride Captain Ride”. Not the extended version but original version that was made famous by radio stations all across the states. You know sometimes the mind takes you to places and you don’t know why but what surfaced from my past was Classic IV’s “Spooky” and what a cut. A killer sax part that communicates the romantic notion between a guy and the girl he adores. Of course the polar opposite would be Rory Gallagher’s rendition of “I Wonder Who”. He ponders the proverbial question - whose gonna walk you home every Friday night? Absolutely, positively driving soul influenced blues rock with a bass line that is powerful, a lead guitar kicking ass and keys that are crisp and clean. Pizza arrived right on cue and afterwards I called Uber. I am going to The Zoo early and grab some suds and a good stool for the viewing and the tunes. I arrived safely as Jasper the driver dude was not only a good driver but cordial just as Uber would have it be. Inside the music was hot, the beer was cold and a good seat could be found. I be happy babies, I be one happy dude. I wondered if the place passed out safety belts because I felt one coming on and I did not want to fall of that stool. Well they didn’t and neither did I but that night was right in there with the best of them. Then all I had to wonder about was the Uber ride back and hanging out for one more day until the part arrived. I survived and the only amusing piece of the stay was that each day when I saw the maid, the front desk man’s wife too funny. The part arrived and I asked the desk clerk if he had some tools I could use, he did and I used them and returned them clean. I had a hard time with the dual throttle cables but in turned out ok. Now where was I going to go next? First I thought about the west coast as that is a good ride, then I wondered how would one get their scooter over to Hawaii? Then I thought about Mexico that could be cool except the border issue might make it rather not so cool so I wasn’t sure. So it was best to just plan the next stop moving west and then think it through as I would go along. That’s the thing about being free, if you can handle it, freedom that is, you have all the time in the world and it’s a big world to explore. What’s the rush anyway? Scooter started right up. I pulled onto I-80 heading west, it was another good day. Two bikers passed by me as I entered from the ramp. They were all smiles and so was I. Life on the road, what’s not to like? Me, I am doing it on my home made chopper, listening to blues and meeting cool people. Well almost all are cool, there was this one deputy in Alabama but that’s another story for another day. Peace….

Mudvayne Perform At The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 13

Kickstarting their first headlining tour in over fourteen years, heavy metal band MUDVAYNE announced “The Psychotherapy Sessions”. Produced by Live Nation, the 26-city tour kicks off on July 20 in West Palm Beach at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, making stops across the U.S. in Syracuse, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and more performing at The Cyntia Woods Mitchell Pavillion in Houston on August 13th, before wrapping up in Englewood, Colorado at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on August 26.

MUDVAYNE will be joined by a number of supporting acts, including COAL CHAMBER along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES. The bill features a reunited Coal Chamber — fronted by DevilDriver’s Dez Fafara — following up their appearance at the Sick New World festival in May.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the “Freaks On Parade” tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marks MUDVAYNE’s first headlining

endeavor since 2009. Remarked Mudvayne drummer Matt McDonough in a press statement: “An Event. On the Horizon. Over 25 years in the making. Brave travelers… You, and the alien seed — MuDvAyNe. A journey begun. Reaching Zenith. Now for the Eschatology.”

Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne formed in Peoria, IL, in 1996, its members adopting the unusual pseudonyms sPaG (M. McDonough) (drums), Gurrg (G. Tribbett) (guitar), and Kud (Chad Gray) (vocals). The group’s original bassist was replaced after two years by Ryknow (Ryan Martinie). During their development, the bandmembers began the practice of applying bizarre makeup. After selfreleasing their first album, Kill, I Oughta, they were signed by Epic Records and recorded their major-label debut, L.D. 50, which was released in August 2000 shortly after the end of their first national tour opening for Slipknot. The album later went gold and earned Mudvayne the first-ever MTV2 Video Award at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Mudvayne continued

touring and reissued their self-released debut EP, Kill, I Oughta, in November 2001 as The Beginning of All Things to End. A year later the band returned with its official follow-up, The End of All Things to Come, which was recorded at Minneapolis’ Pachyderm Studios with Tool producer David Bottrill. With a new album came new personas, this time as space aliens. The bandmembers changed their names accordingly, taking the new monikers of Chüd (Kud), Güüg (Gurrg), RüD (Ryknow), and Spüg (sPaG). They embarked on a European tour, arriving back stateside in July to join the Summer Sanitarium shed tour, featuring such heavyweights as Metallica and Linkin Park. In 2005, the band released Lost and Found, their third album for Epic. In September 2007, Mudvayne announced they would allow fans to vote on the band’s website to determine the track selection for the compilation By the People, for the People, released the following month. The all new full-length New Game arrived in November 2008, followed six months later by an eponymous 2009 effort.

Jesse And Joy

Jesse And Joy Perform At The 713 Music Hall August 5

by Marisa Brown

Jesse & Joy are a best-selling, awardwinning sibling pop duo from Mexico City. Jesse Huerta plays piano, lead guitar, and sings harmony, while Joy Huerta is lead vocalist and plays rhythm guitar. They both write. Their sound is a bright, warm amalgam of hooky rock, sparkling folk, norteño, pop, and cumbia, delivered by voices that meld seamlessly amid infectiously memorable choruses. Their 2006 Warner debut, Esta Es Mi Vida, won multiple Latin Grammys on its way to platinum certification. 2009’s gold-certified Electricidad went all the way to number three on the U.S. Latin Pop chart. 2011’s ¿Con Quién Se Queda El Perro? won multi-platinum status due to the chart-topping single “Corre.” 2015’s Un Besito Más topped the U.S. Latin and Latin Pop charts and went to number three in Mexico; it took home the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. 2016’s gold-certified Jesse & Joy was their first bilingual album; it contained some English versions of songs from their previous outings. In 2020, they issued Aire. Introducing reggaeton and trap to their production mix, the set featured collaborations with J Balvin on “Mañana Es Too Late” and Luis Fonsi on “Tanto.”

Born in Mexico City, the siblings didn’t seriously start writing songs until 2001, when they were 18 and 15, respectively, sitting down together with their father to see what they could produce. With Jesse on guitar, piano, drums, and background vocals, and Joy on vocals and guitar, the pair practiced constantly — hard work that paid off when they were signed to a major-label deal with Warner Music Mexico in April 2005 as Jesse & Joy. A few months later, they made their live debut in front of 100,000 people in their hometown at the bequest of popular duo Sin Bandera, the band that was sponsoring the event. More performances — including one opening for James Blunt in May — followed before Jesse & Joy’s debut single, “Espacio Sideral,” and their album, Esta Es Mi Vida (recorded in San Diego with producer Kiko Cibrian), came out in the summer of 2006. A U.S. release followed the next year. The Tom Russo-produced Electricidad appeared in 2009, followed by the Martin Terefe-produced ¿Con Quién Se Queda el Perro? in 2012.

Extensive touring ensued after the album’s release. The group performed internationally for the better part of two years with

multiple appearances at the Latin American Music Awards, the Latin Grammys, and Coachella. A live audio/video package with unreleased bonus material was released in 2014 as Soltando al Perro, while the duo were in the recording studio.

Jesse was joined behind the boards by Terefe, Fraser T. Smith, and Juan Luis Guerra, who produced and sang the title track “Besito Mas.” The album’s first single, “Ecos de Amor,” was issued in August and placed inside the Top 50 on various charts, followed by the full-length in December 2015. Un Besito Mas spent more than 26 weeks on the Latin albums charts and peaked at number one. 2017’s Jesse & Joy was a bilingual compilation, containing some Anglo versions of songs from previous outings.

In 2019 J Balvin collaborated with the duo on the hit single “Mañana Es Too Late.” The duo released Aire in 2020. Adding trap and reggaeton beats to their already heady mix, it also featured “Tanto” with singer Luis Fonsi, in addition to the Balvin collaboration. Co-produced with Terefe and Pooh Bear, Aire also included the singles “Te Espeé” and “Lo Nuestro Vale Más.”

Donna Paola

Donna Paola Performs At The 713 Music Hall August 18

Beginning at the age of four, Mexico’s Danna Paola has lived in the pop-culture spotlight. The winner of many acting and singing awards, Paola began her career as a member of the Mexican television cast of Sesame Street, then at age six won her first leading role in the children’s telenovela María Belén and cut her debut album, Mi Globo Azul. The irrepressible youngster with the killer dance moves became a pop sensation at nine with the charting Océano, even as she claimed lead roles in the telenovela Amy, La Niña de la Mochila Azul and the stage production Anita la Huerfanita. As her singing voice deepened, she became even more successful. By the time she was 17, she had issued five full-length albums and a handful of singles amid her dizzying pace as an actress. Paola retreated from actively pursuing pop music for a time before releasing a trilogy of singles in 2018. She returned to Latin pop in earnest with 2019’s hit SIE7E EP.

Born in 1995, Mexican telenovela star and pop singer Danna Paola Rivera Munguia (aka Danna Paola) has been working since she was four years old when she and her sister were taken by her mother to audition for Mexico City’s television production of Sesame Street. They appeared in several episodes, but Paola proved talented enough for producers and agents to see her captivating charm exploding from the screen. In 2000, she won a high-profile role in the childhood telenovela Rayito de Luz. A year later, she was cast the lead role in María Belén, which she played for a whopping 95 episodes, going to school on set. Though she made guest and single-episode appearances in other television shows and films, Paola also continued to sing. In 2001, age six, the same year she won the lead in María Belén, Paola issued her debut album, Mi Globo Azul, singing children’s songs with slick pop arrangements. Though the record didn’t chart, it raised her profile nationally. There was no time to tour, but the singer promoted the album with appearances on television variety shows.

Over the next three years, Paola continued with María Belén, as well as select theater appearances. In 2004, at age nine, she issued her sophomore long-player, Océano, and won the lead role in the series Amy, La Niña de la Mochila Azul — she played it for 115 episodes. The success of the series and the album fed one another; the long-player registered well inside the radio airplay charts Top 40. For the next five years, Paola’s acting and musical careers intersected. In 2005, she

took on another (additional) weekly role: that of Andrea Saavedra in the telenovela Pablo y Andrea, yet managed to issue her third studio outing, Chiquita Pero Picosa, and undertake a short tour. Given the intensity of her acting career — including making her film debut in 2008’s Tear This Heart Out — Paola continued to record but could not tour. In 2009, her twin careers fused when she signed on to a role in the teen telenovela Atrévete a Soñar, and cut her first true pop record (with the same title) that purposely emerged out of her character’s role. Though the album only charted marginally, the series was a smash, and Paola appeared in 261 episodes of Atrévete a Soñar. She would go on to many other television and film roles, and was featured in a Spanish version of Winnie the Pooh released in 2011.

The following year, Paola’s career, as if not active enough already, went into overdrive. While the filming schedule for Atrévete a Soñar was grueling, she also took on voice-over roles in several films. However, Paola was also seriously considering music. With her vocal range still expanding, she released a self-titled outing during the late summer of 2012. Its first single, ‘’Ruleta,” went to number 20 on the radio charts, while the second, “Todo Fue un Show,” peaked at number six, pushing the album well into the Mexican Top 40. That same year, she auditioned to play the role of Elphaba in a Spanish-language stage production of the musical Wicked. Paola won the role. She issued a Top 20 single, “No Es Cierto,” with Noel Schajris before going on the road with the musical for the next two years. She released only one more single for the next several years, a 2014 cover of “Take a Chance on Me” for the Universal compilation Dancing Queens: Un Tributo Para ABBA.

In 2015, Paola took on a main role of Paloma Hernández in the telenovela ¿Quién Es Quién?, playing it for 115 episodes, and later that year, claimed the lead role in the musical Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar thru 2016, when she secured a key role in the first season of the Telemundo series La Doña. After the first season, she played a recurring guest-starring role over the next four years. Paola appeared in 115 episodes yet still managed to appear in films and in the first 11 episodes of the dramatic series José José, El Príncipe de la Canción in 2018; she also

signed on to play Lucrecia “Lu” Montesinos Hendrich in the ongoing Spanish-speaking Netflix series Elite.

Paola chose 2018 as the year to return to recording as well. She issued the provocative modern salsa single “So Good,” followed by the Latin pop ballad “Lo Que No Sabes” and the steamy electro-Cumbia track “Final Feliz.” While the singles reached only the bottom rungs of the charts, between Paola’s television appearances and interviews, they created anticipation. In 2019, she issued the video single for “La Fama”; it registered some 250 million views and marked the first of five singles to appear that year. The others included “Know Me Too Well” with New Hope Club and the gold- and platinumcertified “Oye Pablo.” She also issued a “Siento Amor,” a disco-fied salsa cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.” At year’s end, Paolo released the seven-track EP SIE7E, which featured HRVY’s remix of “So Good” and “Mala Fama.”

In February 2020, Paola was as active musically as she was onscreen. She released SIE7E+, an expanded edition of the previous year’s EP that included its seven tracks appended by an additional five. It peaked at 16 on the Latin Pop Albums Chart. She subsequently released four singles including the chart-topping cuarentena hit “Sodio,” and “TQ Y YA” and “Contigo.” The latter two were chosen as unofficial anthems of Brazil’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride Parade. In late July, Paola issued “No Bailes Sola,” a duet with Sebastian Yatra, and it entered the Latin singles chart at 16.

Latin Superstar Rubén Blades Will Be Appearing At Smart Financial Centre On August 18

Latin Music icon Rubén Blades was at the center of the New York Salsa revolution in the 1970s. His landmark albums in classic AfroCuban salsa are touched with rock, jazz, pan-Latin, and worldwide influences. Blades has collaborated with rock, jazz, pop, hip-hop, reggaeton, and salsa artists, and has composed hundreds of songs and dozens of hits, known for their eloquent, socially charged lyrics, colorful characters, and memorable melodies. His 2017 album Salsa Big Band was awarded the Latin Grammy Album of the Year, and in 2021 the Latin Recording Academy named him Person of the Year, and was awarded, again, the Latin Grammy Album of the Year and the Latin Grammy Best Salsa Album

August 2023

He is the subject of the 2018 award-winning documentary Yo No Me Llamo Rubén Blades directed by Abner Benaim. He has won 11 Grammy and 11 Latin Grammy Awards, and this year he returns to star in the AMC television series Fear the Walking Dead. His role in the show has earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor Imagen Award.

He has starred in Hands of Stone opposite Robert De Niro, and in Safe House opposite Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Blades has played memorable roles in films with such acclaimed directors as Robert Redford in The Milagro Beanfield War, Robert Rodriguez in Once Upon a Time in

Mexico, Spike Lee in Mo’ Better Blues, Alan Pakula in The Devil’s Own, and Jack Nicholson in The Two Jakes. He was nominated for three Emmys for his roles in the television movies The Josephine Baker Story, Crazy From The Heart, and The Maldonado Miracle. His work has been honored with Cable ACE, Independent Spirit, and ALMA Awards, and honored with the Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Arts Award.

Beyond Blades’ artistic success, he holds degrees in political science and law from the University of Panama, and an LLM from Harvard Graduate Law School. He ran for President of his native Panama in 1994 and served as Minister of Tourism 2004-2009. The Loeb Music Library at Harvard University formed The Rubén Blades Archives in 2008 to collect his work and papers. New York University Steinhardt appointed him Scholar in Residence for the 2018/2019 academic year.

In 2021 Blades, with Panama’s Roberto Delgado Orchestra, released SALSWING! (Latin Grammy Best Album of the Year 2021; and Grammy Best Tropical Latin Album 2022), offering up both salsa and jazz tracks, as well as SALSA PLUS! (Latin Grammy Best Salsa Album 2021) with salsa tracks, and SWING! with jazz tracks, for genre purists.

In 2022 Blades, with the Brazilian Vocal Group ¨Boca Livre¨, released two albums, ¨Parceiros¨ and ¨Pasieros¨ (Best Latin Pop Album, Grammy Award 2023), a selection of Blades songs arranged with brazilian rhythms and harmonies, the former with Portuguese versions and the latter with Spanish versions.

In 2023 Ruben Blades and the Delgado Big Band will return to touring in the U.S., Latin America and Europe, with Salswing Tour!

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Jesse Y Joy

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Rubén Blades

Donna Paola

La superestrella latina Rubén Blades se presentará en el Smart Financial Center el 18 de agosto

El ícono de la música latina Rubén Blades estuvo en el centro de la revolución de la salsa de Nueva York en la década de 1970. Sus álbumes emblemáticos de la salsa afrocubana clásica tienen toques de rock, jazz, panlatinos e influencias mundiales. Blades ha colaborado con artistas de rock, jazz, pop, hip-hop, reggaeton y salsa, y ha compuesto cientos de canciones y docenas de éxitos, conocidos por sus letras elocuentes y socialmente cargadas, personajes coloridos y melodías memorables. Su álbum Salsa Big Band de 2017 fue galardonado con el premio Latin Grammy Álbum del Año, y en 2021 la Academia Latina de la Grabación lo nombró Persona del Año, y fue galardonado, nuevamente, con los premios Latin

Grammy Álbum del Año y Mejor Álbum de Salsa del Latin Grammy. Es el tema del documental premiado en 2018 Yo No Me Llamo Rubén Blades dirigido por Abner Benaim. Ha ganado 11 premios Grammy y 11 Latin Grammy, y este año vuelve a protagonizar la serie de televisión de AMC Fear the Walking Dead. Su papel en el programa le ha valido una nominación al Premio Imagen al Mejor Actor de Reparto.

Ha protagonizado Hands of Stone junto a Robert De Niro y Safe House junto a Denzel Washington y Ryan Reynolds. Blades ha desempeñado papeles memorables en películas con directores tan aclamados como Robert Redford en The Milagro Beanfield War, Robert

Rodriguez en Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spike Lee en Mo’ Better Blues, Alan Pakula en The Devil’s Own y Jack Nicholson en The Dos Jakes. Fue nominado a tres premios Emmy por sus papeles en las películas para televisión The Josephine Baker Story, Crazy From The Heart y The Maldonado Miracle. Su trabajo ha sido honrado con los premios Cable ACE, Independent Spirit y ALMA, y honrado con el Premio Fundadores Raúl Juliá HOLA y el Premio de las Artes de la Fundación de la Herencia Hispana.

Más allá del éxito artístico de Blades, tiene títulos en ciencias políticas y derecho de la Universidad de Panamá y un LLM de Harvard Graduate Law School. Se postuló para presidente de su Panamá natal en 1994 y se desempeñó como Ministro de Turismo 2004-2009. La Biblioteca de Música Loeb de la Universidad de Harvard formó The Rubén Blades Archives en 2008 para recopilar su trabajo y documentos. Steinhardt de la Universidad de Nueva York lo nombró Scholar in Residence para el año académico 2018/2019.

En 2021, Blades, con la Orquesta Roberto Delgado de Panamá, lanzó SALSWING! (Mejor Álbum del Año del Grammy Latino 2021; y Mejor Álbum Latino Tropical del Grammy 2022), que ofrece pistas de salsa y jazz, ¡así como SALSA PLUS! (Latin Grammy Best Salsa Album 2021) con pistas de salsa y SWING! con temas de jazz, para los puristas del género.

En 2022 Blades, con el Grupo Vocal Brasileño ¨Boca Livre¨, lanzó dos álbumes, ¨Parceiros¨ y ¨Pasieros¨ (Mejor Álbum Pop Latino, Premio Grammy 2023), una selección de canciones de Blades arregladas con ritmos y armonías brasileñas, el primero con versiones en portugués y este último con versiones en español.

¡En 2023, Ruben Blades y Delgado Big Band volverán a hacer giras en los EE. UU., América Latina y Europa, con Salswing Tour!

Jesse Y Joy

Jesse Y Joy se presenta en el 713 Music Hall el 5 de agosto

por Marisa Brown Jesse & Joy son un dúo pop de hermanos de gran éxito de ventas y galardonado de la Ciudad de México. Jesse Huerta toca el piano, la guitarra principal y canta armonías, mientras que Joy Huerta es la vocalista principal y toca la guitarra rítmica. Ambos escriben. Su sonido es una amalgama brillante y cálida de rock pegajoso, folk chispeante, norteño, pop y cumbia, entregado por voces que se fusionan a la perfección en medio de coros contagiosamente memorables. Su debut en Warner en 2006, Esta es mi vida, ganó varios premios Grammy Latinos en su camino hacia la certificación de platino. Electricidad, con certificación de oro de 2009, llegó hasta el número tres en la lista de pop latino de EE. UU. 2011 ¿Con Quién Se Queda El Perro? ganó el estatus de multiplatino debido al sencillo “Corre”, que encabezó las listas de éxitos. Un Besito Más de 2015 encabezó las listas de pop latino y latino de EE. UU. y llegó al número tres en México; se llevó a casa el Grammy al Mejor Álbum de Pop Latino. Jesse & Joy, con certificación de oro de 2016, fue su primer álbum bilingüe; contenía algunas versiones en inglés de canciones de sus salidas anteriores. En 2020, emitieron Aire. Presentando el reggaetón y el trap a su mezcla de producción, el set contó con colaboraciones de J Balvin en “Mañana Es Too Late” y Luis Fonsi en “Tanto”

Nacidos en la Ciudad de México, los hermanos no comenzaron seriamente a escribir canciones hasta 2001, cuando tenían 18 y 15 años, respectivamente, y se sentaron con su padre para ver qué podían producir. Con Jesse en la guitarra, el piano, la batería y los coros, y Joy en la voz y la guitarra, la pareja practicaba constantemente, un trabajo arduo que valió la pena cuando firmaron un contrato con un sello discográfico importante con Warner Music México en abril de 2005 como Jesse. & Alegría. Unos meses más tarde, hicieron su debut en vivo frente a 100.000 personas en su ciudad natal como legado del popular dúo Sin Bandera, la banda que patrocinaba el evento. Más actuaciones, incluida una apertura para James Blunt en mayo, siguieron antes de que el sencillo debut de Jesse & Joy, “Espacio Sideral”, y su álbum, Esta Es Mi Vida (grabado en San Diego con el productor Kiko Cibrian), salieran en el verano de 2006. Un lanzamiento en Estados Unidos siguió al año siguiente. Electricidad, producida por Tom Russo, apareció en 2009, seguida de ¿Con Quién Se Queda el Perro?, producida por Martin Terefe. en 2012.

Se produjo una extensa gira después del lanzamiento del álbum. El grupo actuó internacionalmente durante la mayor parte de

dos años con múltiples apariciones en los Latin American Music Awards, Latin Grammys y Coachella. En 2014 se lanzó un paquete de audio / video en vivo con material extra inédito como Soltando al Perro, mientras el dúo estaba en el estudio de grabación.

Jesse estuvo acompañado detrás de las tablas por Terefe, Fraser T. Smith y Juan Luis Guerra, quienes produjeron y cantaron la canción principal “Besito Más”. El primer sencillo del álbum, “Ecos de Amor”, se publicó en agosto y se ubicó dentro del Top 50 en varias listas, seguido del álbum completo en diciembre de 2015. Un Besito Más pasó más de 26 semanas en las listas de álbumes latinos y alcanzó su punto máximo. en el número uno. Jesse & Joy de 2017 fue una compilación bilingüe que contenía algunas versiones anglosajonas de canciones de ediciones anteriores.

En 2019, J Balvin colaboró con el dúo en el exitoso sencillo “Mañana Es Too Late”. El dúo lanzó Aire en 2020. Agregando ritmos de trap y reggaeton a su mezcla ya embriagadora, también presentó “Tanto” con el cantante Luis Fonsi, además de la colaboración de Balvin. Coproducida con Terefe y Pooh Bear, Aire también incluyó los sencillos “Te Espeé” y “Lo Nuestro Vale Más”.

Donna Paola

Donna Paola se presenta en el 713 Music Hall el 18 de agosto

Desde los cuatro años, la mexicana Danna Paola ha vivido en el centro de atención de la cultura pop. Ganadora de muchos premios de actuación y canto, Paola comenzó su carrera como integrante del elenco de la televisión mexicana de Barrio Sésamo, luego a los seis años obtuvo su primer papel protagónico en la telenovela infantil María Belén y grabó su álbum debut, Mi Globo Azul. La joven incontenible con los pasos de baile asesinos se convirtió en una sensación pop a los nueve años con Océano, incluso cuando obtuvo papeles principales en la telenovela Amy, La Niña de la Mochila Azul y la producción teatral Anita la Huerfanita. A medida que su voz de canto se profundizó, se volvió aún más exitosa. Cuando cumplió 17 años, había publicado cinco álbumes de larga duración y un puñado de sencillos en medio de su vertiginoso ritmo como actriz. Paola se retiró de la búsqueda activa de música pop por un tiempo antes de lanzar una trilogía de sencillos en 2018. Regresó al pop latino en serio con el exitoso EP SIE7E de 2019.

Nacida en 1995, la estrella de telenovelas y cantante pop mexicana Danna Paola Rivera Munguia (también conocida como Danna Paola) ha estado trabajando desde que tenía cuatro años cuando su madre las llevó a ella y a su hermana a una audición para la producción televisiva de Barrio Sésamo en la Ciudad de México. Aparecieron en varios episodios, pero Paola demostró ser lo suficientemente talentosa como para que los productores y agentes vieran su encanto cautivador explotar en la pantalla. En el 2000 obtuvo un papel destacado en la telenovela infantil Rayito de Luz. Un año después, obtuvo el papel principal en María Belén, que interpretó durante la friolera de 95 episodios, yendo a la escuela en el set. Aunque hizo apariciones como invitada y en episodios únicos en otros programas de televisión y películas, Paola también continuó cantando. En 2001, a los seis años, el mismo año en que ganó el papel protagónico en María Belén, Paola lanzó su álbum debut, Mi Globo Azul, cantando canciones infantiles con hábiles arreglos pop. Aunque el récord no llegó a las listas, elevó su perfil a nivel nacional. No hubo tiempo para hacer giras, pero la cantante promocionó el álbum con apariciones en programas de variedades de televisión.

Durante los siguientes tres años, Paola continuó con María Belén, así como con selectas apariciones en teatro. En 2004, a los nueve años, emitió su segundo largometraje, Océano, y ganó el papel principal en la serie Amy, La Niña de la Mochila Azul, que interpretó durante 115 episodios. El éxito de la serie y el disco se retroalimentaron; el jugador de larga duración se registró dentro de las listas de reproducción de radio Top 40.

Durante los siguientes cinco años, las carreras de actuación y musical de Paola se cruzaron. En 2005, asumió otro papel semanal (adicional): el de Andrea Saavedra en la telenovela Pablo y Andrea, pero logró emitir su tercera salida de estudio, Chiquita Pero Picosa, y emprender una breve gira. Dada la intensidad de su carrera como actriz, incluido su debut cinematográfico en Tear This Heart Out de 2008, Paola continuó grabando pero no pudo hacer una gira. En 2009, sus carreras gemelas se fusionaron cuando firmó un papel en la telenovela adolescente Atrévete a Soñar y grabó su primer disco pop verdadero (con el mismo título) que surgió a propósito del papel de su personaje. Aunque el álbum solo se registró marginalmente, la serie fue un éxito y Paola apareció en 261 episodios de Atrévete a Soñar. Continuaría con muchos otros papeles en televisión y cine, y apareció en una versión en español de Winnie the Pooh lanzada en 2011.

Al año siguiente, la carrera de Paola, como si no fuera ya lo suficientemente activa, se aceleró. Si bien el cronograma de filmación de Atrévete a Soñar fue agotador, también asumió papeles de doblaje en varias películas. Sin embargo, Paola también estaba considerando seriamente la música. Con su rango vocal aún en expansión, lanzó una salida homónima a fines del verano de 2012. Su primer sencillo, ‘’Ruleta”, llegó al número 20 en las listas de radio, mientras que el segundo, “Todo Fue un Show”, alcanzó el puesto número seis, lo que llevó al álbum al Top 40 mexicano. Ese mismo año, hizo una audición para interpretar el papel de Elphaba en una producción teatral en español del musical Wicked. Paola ganó el papel. Publicó un sencillo Top 20 , “No Es Cierto”, con Noel Schajris antes de salir de gira con el musical durante los siguientes dos años. Lanzó solo un sencillo más durante los siguientes años, una versión de 2014 de “Take a Chance on Me” para Universal recopilatorio Dancing Queens: Un Tributo Para ABBA.

En 2015, Paola asumió el papel principal de Paloma Hernández en la telenovela ¿Quién es Quién?, interpretándola durante 115 episodios, y más tarde ese mismo año, obtuvo el papel principal en el musical Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar hasta 2016, cuando aseguró un papel clave en la primera temporada de la serie de Telemundo La Doña. Después de la primera temporada, interpretó un papel de estrella invitada recurrente durante los siguientes cuatro años. Paola apareció en 115 episodios y aun así logró aparecer en películas y en los primeros 11 episodios de la serie dramática José José, El

Príncipe de la Canción en 2018; también firmó para interpretar a Lucrecia “Lu” Montesinos Hendrich en la serie en curso de Netflix de habla hispana Élite.

Paola eligió 2018 como el año para volver a grabar también. Lanzó el provocativo sencillo de salsa moderna “So Good”, seguido de la balada de pop latino “Lo Que No Sabes” y la tórrida canción electro-Cumbia “Final Feliz”. Si bien los sencillos alcanzaron solo los peldaños inferiores de las listas, entre las apariciones en televisión y las entrevistas de Paola, crearon anticipación. En el 2019 lanzó el video sencillo de “La Fama”; registró unos 250 millones de visitas y marcó el primero de cinco sencillos que aparecieron ese año. Los otros incluyeron “Know Me Too Well” con New Hope Club y “Oye Pablo”, con certificación de oro y platino. También publicó “Siento Amor”, una versión de salsa disco de “I Feel Love” de Donna Summer. A finales de año, Paolo lanzó el EP de siete pistas SIE7E, que incluía el remix de HRVY de “So Good” y “Mala Fama”.

In February 2020, Paola was as active musically as she was onscreen. She released SIE7E+, an expanded edition of the previous year’s EP that included its seven tracks appended by an additional five. It peaked at 16 on the Latin Pop Albums Chart. She subsequently released four singles including the chart-topping cuarentena hit “Sodio,” and “TQ Y YA” and “Contigo.” The latter two were chosen as unofficial anthems of Brazil’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride Parade. In late July, Paola issued “No Bailes Sola,” a duet with Sebastian Yatra, and it entered the Latin singles chart at 16.

RANDOM SHOTS

Mathias Lattin Performs At Green

Oaks Tavern In Humble

Photos by Kevin D. Wildman

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Amongst The Giants

Perform At The Acadia Bar & Grill

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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House Tiger Perform at Leon’s Lounge

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Space City Cowboys

Perform At The Shady

Acres Saloon

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Holland K. Smith Performs At The Big Easy

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Wyde Roots Perform At The 19th Hole

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Josh Garrett Performs At The Big Easy

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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The Johnny Riley Band Performs At Katie’s Bar In Bacliff

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Iperion Perform At The Concert Pub North

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Voodoo Rodeo Perform At The Shady Acres Saloon

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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Metropolis Burning Perform At The Concert Pub North

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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The

Houston Ensemble Perform At Dan Electros

Photos By Kevin D. Wildman

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The Ons and Friends Perform At The Concert Pub North Photos By Kevin D. Wildman