Vol. 39 - No. 2 • NOVEMBER 2020 • www.houstonmusicnews.net • FREE
Love And War
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Friday, November 7
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Saturday, Nov. 14
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Music News • Novemberr 2020
October 2020 Welcome to the October Issue of Music News. I don’t usually mention this kind of thing, but this month Music News starts it’s 39th year of business in the Houston area. It has been my pleasure to be able to tell you about what’s going on in the Houston area for 38 years now and I’m extremely proud to have made it this far. HopefullY this coming year will be far better off than what we’ve had to go through for these past 6 months. It won’t be easy, but hopefully it will be better. Thank you for reading Music News. I’d like to thank all the folks that came out for the benefits for Kat from Troublemaker and Tommy Skinner from the 19th Hole. Both benefits were huge successes. The attendance for both was fantastic, and a lot of money was raised for both parties. For those of you who are not familiar about what happened with these benefits, here’s a rundown. Kat is in need of a Kidney Transplant and medical bills are just piling up there right now. She could really use your help in any form that you would like to donate. You can contact her or her husband Brian at Kat’s Guitars. Just because the benefit is past doesn’t mean they don’t need any help. Anything that you can do now would be greatly appreciated. Now, in a sad note, they had a silent auction at The Backwoods Saloon to help raise money for Kat and somebody attending that benefit stole a guitar that was being auctioned away. The guitar was autographed by the band Blondie, so if anybody sees it or hears about it’s whereabouts, please contact Kat’s Guitars or me. It is a very terrible thing that somebody would stoop so low as to steal something that was donated for this cause, so please help us find it. The benefit for Tommy Skinner was also to help pay medical expenses and such. Tommy went through two Brain Operations recently and his bills are piling up as well. Besides the medical bills, Tommy also missed some work during that time and we all know how tough it is when your paycheck is affected. Again, just because these benefits have passed doesn’t mean these folks don’t need your support. Please donate to both of them. You can reach Tommy through The Acadia Bar and Grill. As we all know, bars and clubs are being deeply affected by the pandemic. The governor of Texas is forcing them to get a restaurant license to open, which for some of them is an impossibility. A few clubs are making these steps, but it is still going to be hard for them. Anything you can do to help out these venues when they open would be deeply appreciated as well. Let’s see what we can do to help our music community open again and thrive. Support your local club when you get the chance. And now on to the new issue of Music News... In this issue you will be able to get information on Soul Asylum, Major Lazer, Guy & Jeska Forsyth, Aaron Watson, Bonnie Bishop, Combichrist, and the Insane Clown Posse. That’s quite a group of people isn’t it. From Americana / Blues to Country to Rock, we’ve got it all here for you. I sincerely hope that everybody reading Music News 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 Music News 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.
Kevin Wildman Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher
Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher Web Address http://www.houstonmusicnews.net Mailing Address Box 1162, League City, TX 77573 Phone 281-650-1953
For Advertising email us at musicnew@airmail.net or call 281-650-1953 For A Free Subscription email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” Novemberr 2020 • Music News
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Contents OCTOBER 2020
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SOUL ASYLUM Warehouse Live Presents The Visual Experience Soul Asylum - “Hurry Up And Wait: Some More” Livestream From Minneapolis October 10th
6 MAJOR LAZER
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Major Lazer Brings His “Lazerism” Tour to White Oak Music Hall
10 12
GUY & JESKA FORSYTH Guy and Jeska Forsyth Perform At The Mucky Duck October 17th In Concert and Livestream
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12 AARON WATSON
Aaron Watson Brings His “Red Bandana” Tour To Dosey Doe Big Barn
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20 20
BONNIE BISHOP GRAMMY® Award Winner Bonnie Bishop Performs at Main Street Crossing
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Music News • Novemberr 2020
2020
Contents OCTOBER 2020
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COMBI CHRIST Combichrist Perform At The Scout Bar October 13th
26 INSANE CLOWN POSSE The Insane Clown Posee Return To Warehouse Live October 16!
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Novemberr 2020 2020 • Music News
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Love And War 6 Music News • November 2020
By Kevin Wildman Love And War have just released their sophomore album Edge Of The World. Love And War is a Melodic Hard Rock band based in Houston, Texas. Edge Of The World was recorded at Endeavor Studios in Arcadia Valley, Missouri by Greg Gill and the album was self-produced by the band along with the help of Greg Gill. This incarnation of Love And War has been together since 2010. Guitarist John Adams and vocalist Jeff VandenBerghe, who had been performing together in other bands since 1982, formed the band in 2000. “Jeff and I have always clicked when writing together, so immediately we knew that the time was right to form a band and play again,” says guitarist John Adams. Drummer Donnie Bragg, another veteran of the Houston rock scene, joined the band in 2004. They felt that his huge “John Bonham style” drumming would really enhance the band and give them that hard-edged groove that they needed. Long-time friend, Ray Soliz joined up with them in 2010. The addition of Ray and his thunderous style of playing solidified the outfit. Since then, the band has never looked back and has just gotten tighter and tighter over the years. Since their formation, the band has made quite a name for themselves, and has opened for many national acts, such as Ratt, UFO, MSG, Y&T, Ace Frehley, Krokus, Night Ranger, and more. In 2012 the band released their first album, Up The Annie, which proved to be very successful for them, and helped them to gather a huge fan base regionally and nationally. By the time 2017 rolled around, Love And War decided it was time to record another album, and writing on the new album Edge Of The World started into motion. It didn’t take long for the band to get basic ideas together and start working on the songs that would become the nucleus of Edge Of The World. When recording came into play, the band opted to journey to Endeavor Studios in Arcadia Valley, Missouri. This wasn’t some arbitrary decision. They felt the only person that could help them was producer/engineer Greg Gill. Greg had recorded the first Love And War album, Up The Annie at his studio in Houston, but had since relocated to Arcadia Valley, Missouri. Greg was also a guitarist and a long-time friend of the band, and another member of the Houston Rock scene as well. If anyone could perform the job they wanted, Greg could. He had done an excellent job of recording and engineering their first album. Over the next two to two and a half years, the band would travel back and forth to Greg’s Endeavor Studios to work on Edge Of The World. Normally an album like this wouldn’t take so long, but with Greg’s schedule the way it is, not to mention the band being located in Houston, the 11 and a half hour drive or two hour flight there slowed the process. Because of the band’s individual schedules, recording was done whenever they could schedule it in. One day there might be all of them there, on another it might just be two of them, and sometimes guitarist John Adams found
Love And War Release Their Second Album Edge Of The World himself in the studio alone working on a myriad of guitar parts. All in all, the session went quite well and the end result is fantastic. When you listen to Edge Of The World, you’ll find it very melodic and appealing filled with some of the most intense guitar parts and vocals that you’ve ever heard. Add to that the amazing rhythm section of Ray and Donnie, and you’ve got one of the finest Melodic Hard Rock albums you’ve ever heard filled with 9 fantastic songs that will leave you screaming for more. Believe me, when I heard the album, I couldn’t help but want to hear more of this great outfit. Let’s hope that it doesn’t take that long for them to start on another project. I want more! On the recording process, the band went in and laid down their rhythm tracks first live, along with scratch vocals and guitar parts. This way they could take their time and perfect the guitars and vocals along the way. When we talk about multi-tracking, we really mean multi-tracking with some of these songs. Some of them might have up to 80 tracks filled with vocal overdubs, guitar overdubs, and even tracks for various sound effects that were needed on the album. Believe me, it was (pardon the pun) quite an
endeavor for them to record the project at Endeavor Studios. But, like I said, the result was fantastic… 9 great rock songs with inspiring lyrics and dynamite melodies that will just melt your speakers. I had a chance to sit down and talk with guitarist John Adams and vocalist Jeff VandenBerghe to get a little insight into the album and the songs which made for a great interview as I’ve known these guys for many years. KW: Tell me a little about the first song off the album, “We All Fall Down.” I understand that you may want to do a video of this song at some time. John Adams: “We All Fall Down” is the opening track. It’s a song that I wrote. For me it conveys kind of how we all have hard times in our lives. And you know for me, I always thought it would be really cool if we did a video on that. There would be homeless people or there would be like something like a guy on top of the world that gets knocked down. A guy like a preacher, or continued on next page November 2020 • Music News
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Jeff VandenBerghe e: It’s kind of about addiction, you know. (singing) “start believing before it starts all over again” and you know it’s in my head. It was sort of that, you know, just struggling with drugs and addiction and back in the days, when we were doing all that crap and how you needed to believe in yourself. John Adams: I co-wrote it with a David McElmurrey and then Jeff came up with the lyrics and the vocal melody. KW: On “Mercenary Man,” I understand that you wrote it with a hired gun in mind, a mercenary. John Adams: Mercenary Man is a song that I wrote again. The weird thing about that is, I kind of had that mercenary man kind of lyric going on in my head and I didn’t know what to do with it. I thought it would always be cool about a hired gun, the kind of guy that if you’re pissed off at somebody or you wanted to get somebody assassinated you’d hire a merc. I had this riff and I was fooling around with the riff and I just kind of went, ‘I know that kind of fits,’ so then I just kind of built the song around that. Jeff VandenBerghe: It was kind of an old school song.
Love And War continued from previous page somebody that was on top of the world that got busted. It’s something to that about how we all have struggles in life. We all fall down, you know, so that was that was what I conveyed when I was writing it. And then basically Jeff just grabbed it and put his emotion into it.
Believin,” I understand that it’s an older song that you and Jeff started writing with a former bassist that’s no longer with the band. John Adams: . Well, that was a song that actually me, Jeff, and a different bass player, David McElmurrey had wrote together.
KW: What came first, the lyrics or the music. John Adams: Typically for me it’s always the music. I’ll get a riff or something, and then once I get a good feel about it, I’ll get into like a mood or a state of mind and it just kind of comes out. For that it was the chorus first. A lot of times it’s the chorus first. Jeff VandenBerghe: The other one will get to hear the hook and you go. Okay. Now I got to think of something to go with it. that’s creates a story around the hook. John Adams: That’s exactly right. So you find a chorus. You’ve got your hook. You’ve got your title, and now let’s write it. Let’s write some lyrics around it and that’s pretty much how that one came about
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KW: On the next song, “Start Music News • November 2020
Jeff VandenBerghe: I sat down Indian style on that one and worked on the lyrics. Sometimes John would call me all excited and say, ‘Hey, I just had this idea’ and he’ll play me this recording he’s got on his phone. Of course, I can barely hear it. Then we will get together and he’ll have an idea for the music and we’ll go to the rehearsal room and I’ll just say, ‘keep playing it over and over’. I’ll sit Indian style and it’ll start coming to me. I’ll just start rattling off lyrics. I’ll come up with a melody. I’ll just kind of scat a melody and the words won’t make sense. I’ll just be humming a melody in my head and then the words will start coming and I just kind of create a story that way. John Adams: So the music was written first and then we played it. He was listening and he would just scat down the lyrics. and then he said, ‘I think I got it.’
John Adams: For me that song would be a song that I would have heard in high school. It has a total 70s vibe to me. For me when I was writing it, the groove reminded me of a UFO song. It doesn’t sound anything like a UFO song, but for me, because I’m such a big UFO fan, it reminded me of a Paul Chapman song like it was making moves off of The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent, which came out in 1981. What I wrote was completely different. Jeff VandenBerghe: And that was one of those ones where he had the riff and the chorus part of it and he said, ‘help me come up with some of the lyrics for it’ and we did the lyrics. The lyrics are co-written by both of us. Yeah. He had the hook and then I just kind of added my little two cents to it. KW: The title song off the album is “Edge Of The World” which I understand was one of the hardest songs on the album to record. How did that one evolve? John Adams: “Edge Of The World was another song that I had written the music for and I had the groove. I remember giving it to Jeff. I sent it to him one time. He listened to it and said he didn’t have anything. He’s like, ‘I don’t know what to do with it.’ And so I came up with the whole thought of Edge Of The World. Jeff wrote the verses and I just wrote the choruses. But for me, it was standing on the edge of the world. And for me, that chorus is like standing on the precipice and looking down on your life and everything that you’ve done in your life, the reflecting. And at this point you feel like you’ve got nowhere to go because you’re
standing on the edge of the world and it’s either like fall off or get your shit together. Jeff VandenBerghe: So that’s why it starts off being kind of negative. But it’s always a positive towards the end. I always write with a negative thing to it. I’ll try to turn it into a positive thing in the middle. By the end of the song, it’s something positive. John Adams: I wrote the music of the chorus and then Jeff wrote all the verses. KW: Up next is the song “Psycho Ride”. This was certainly an interesting song. Is that about anybody in particular. Jeff VandenBerghe: That was all me baby. That kind of referred to some of the women I’ve had in my life, (singing) ‘get off this Psycho Ride, you know you love me, you hate me, you want me, you don’t love me anymore.’ It’s like get me off this fucking Psycho Ride. you know, and I had an idea for a riff for it. John Adams: He was over at the house, and he hummed the riff to me.
John Adams: Yeah, we got to get that off to Jeff Wong, the guy that did that series. Unfortunately he said he’ll never do another Final Destination. At this point since the CDs out, I still want to send him the song and say ‘hey if you ever want to, we have this song for the soundtrack that you can run during the credits. This will kick out there. Come on do another Final Destination… do the final finalist.
do that man.’ I’m all over that.
John Adams: So what happened with that is, I had the music written. We came out here with the band and we worked out the music and Jeff did what he normally did. He sits over here Indian style, with his legs crossed with his tablet and he literally wrote everything in one practice.
John Adams: So I wrote the music and I pretty much had the whole thing written like typically when we come in here. I didn’t have any lyrics or any ideas to share with Jeff at all. I’ll have all the music written and so we went through the whole thing. And he sat over there again like he normally does and wrote the lyrics in one practice.
Jeff VandenBerghe: I’ll just say ‘keep playing it over and over again’. KW: So what’s the theme of “Final Destination”? John Adams: It’s about a fight. It’s about ‘don’t get in my face’. Yeah, if you do, it’s going to be your final destination.
Jeff VandenBerghe: And John took it from there.
Jeff VandenBerghe: Yeah, it’s like, you think you’re fucking tough, you know. Okay, but you know it’s step up or shut up,.
John Adams: Yeah, he goes Eagles, you know it and then I was like, ‘okay do that again.’ And so I came up with a guitar part. Then he would say, okay and he already had the whole thing written. He had all the verses, the chorus.. he had the whole thing.
John Adams: The first line is ‘I’ve had enough of your back talk, dude. If I was you, yeah, you want to step up because I’ve been looking for some trouble and the more I keep looking, it seems to be you. So basically it’s about standing tough.
KW: So the lyrics came before the music for this one?
KW: What are we talking about in “Strange Kind Of Medicine”?
John: Yeah, we sat down on the bed at my house and I had my guitar and he hummed and he goes, ‘I got these lyrics’. I said, let’s do it and I swear the whole thing took about 15 minutes.
John Adams: That’s another one I had all the music for. That was one that I had already written and I had that intro idea coming up. It was a song I was going to do with Dead Man’s Hand because it was real swampy and I thought it was more Southern rock.
KW: How about “Final Destination”. How did that one come about. I saw the movie…
Jeff VandenBerghe: But then he played that for me and I went. ‘Oh hell no, we got to
John Adams: Yeah, so we came in here and we rocked it out. This is a Love And War song, but it’s different for us because it’s more like a swampy thing. Jeff VandenBerghe: It’s Southern Rock, but it shows the versatility that we can do pretty much anything we put our minds to.
KW: So what’s this song all about to you now? Jeff VandenBerghe: It’s about my dad and being the kind of things that my dad taught me when I was a kid. Once a job is first begun, you never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all. That’s the first opening lyrics. That’s the stuff my dad taught me when I was a kid, you know, just I guess, values, the conservative values. Love many, trust few. Learn to paddle your own canoe… shit like that. Those were things that he heard when he was a kid and he taught them to me and it just stuck. KW: That throws the title of the song off a bit. How did that happen? John Adams: I came up with that and for me, I just wanted to kind of write something around that. The reason that I came up with it was because the intro of the song was all swampy and I was thinking something about maybe some kind of moonshine thing, or something like that. That was that was kind of a strange kind of medicine, but Jeff turned it around and the strange kind of medicine is basically the things you are taught through life growing up. continued on next page November 2020 • Music News
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John Adams: No, that’s another one I wrote. I wrote the music and Jeff wrote the lyrics. Jeff VandenBerghe: That’s another one where I sat down Indian style and wrote all the lyrics. It was about a pimp. John Adams: It’s about a pimp. He’s got his bitches and he rides around in a limousine and you know, nobody messes with Southside Johnny. He’s kind of like the king of the world kind of guy… the king of the neighborhood. Jeff VandenBerghe: Yeah, he sports a gold tooth. He’s got a .45.
Love And War continued from previous page Jeff VandenBerghe: Yeah, love God and you know and it’s a strange kind of medicine, you know, but if you stayed true to your morals and your convictions, it’s medicine for the soul. The medicine for the things that you’ve learned growing up. It’s medicine for the soul.
time. That was another one of those situations where we worked out the music and Jeff wrote the words for it.
John Adams: So that’s the strange kind of medicine, but it works if you know it. It is strange when you think about it, a lot of people don’t hold on to that kind of mentality or whatever. Things that we grew up with in our past. Kids don’t grow up that way now, but we have because we’re from a whole other generation. I mean kids right now don’t know what the hell’s going on. Their parents grew up in the 80s and 90s. It’s a different world today. These kids today are from a different generation. They protest in the streets and they don’t even know what they’re doing or why they’re doing it.
Jeff VandenBerghe: I actually wrote the words to that when I was working on a house. I was painting a house down in Galveston with a crew of guys and I’d go down there every weekend and it was just one of those songs. When I was painting it just kind of came to me and I just took off and said ‘I’ll be right back’ and I was writing down the words. I got the idea of the name of the song from a friend of mine, Craig Wasserman in El Paso. He said something about like, ‘I’m fucking flying like I’m on a sideward flight. I’m falling like I’m in a sideward flight, crashing and burning. I said, that’s a good name for a song and I was like, whoa, and it always stuck in my head and then I that’s what I was kind of thinking… of a plane. We’re gonna crash and burn.
KW: How about “Sideways Flight” now. What does that mean?
John Adams: It’s kind of a metaphor for your life.
Jeff VandenBerghe: Now that was the song that I wrote way back in the day and we used to do it with another band I had called Lestat.
Jeff VandenBerghe: Yeah, I gotta pull up now before it’s too late sort of. We were really kind of reckless back in those days. A lot of my lyrics are about that kind of shit. It came from that, you know? Yeah. It was great to be young then.
John Adams: Yeah that was a song we used to do back in the 90s with our band Lestat. I wrote the music to it. I always had that riff and it was reminded me of Dimebag Darrell. At the beginning there, I had that riff and then we worked it out of practice one 10 Music News • November 2020
KW: The last song on the album is called “Southside Johnny.” Are you singing about Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes? What is this song about?
John Adams: I kind of had that guitar riff going through my head for a long time. I wrote the music and I had everything down except there was a bridge on that song that I was having trouble with, and David Macklemore who was with us at the time goes, well try this way. Well, he wrote the bridge. (singing) ‘Well, if you’re looking for love and you need a honey, talk to Johnny, give him some money. He’ll do what he can to make you feel like a man. If the price is right, you can be in heaven’. Yeah, it’s about a pimp. For the guys in Love And War, this was definitely a labor of love. To this day they really don’t know how many hours they worked on this project. Laying down the rhythm parts came fairly easy, but when it came to the vocals and guitar parts, those were recorded and re-recorded, overdubbed, thought out again and in some case reworked to fit the new mood of the song. John Adams tells us that for this record, he wanted it to be their masterpiece. Well, I think he and the band accomplished that. Now how are they going to top this? This album really brought Love And War to the top of their game. When it came to the final mixing and mastering of this project, members of the band were literally in tears. They just couldn’t believe that they had made this incredible album. It came out even better than they expected. For some of them it was really an emotional moment. For John Adams especially. He had spent so much time on his guitar parts and they came out unbelievably fantastic. You could see the tears dripping down his cheeks. So now what’s left for the band. The Covid Pandemic slowed things down a bit for the band, so now it’s time to get the message out about Edge Of The World. It’s time to get this fine album out to the people. Being an independent project, the main slowdown is distribution. Because of the shutdown, CD Baby’s warehouse was somewhat in limbo, so it was becoming quite a chore to get the new product out. They’re still managing to do it though as the world starts opening up. When you get the chance, you really need to check out Love and War and their new album, Edge Of The World. Edge Of The World is available on all major streaming service, ReverbNation, FaceBook, and on Love-andwar.com.
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OPEN MIC EVERY WEDNESDAY HOSTED BY CASUAL HEATHENS Sunday, November 1 - Doug Westcott / Brent Beamer / Daniel Zeigler Thursday, November 5 - Leatherwood Preacherman / White Rabbit / Blackmoore Friday, November 6 - Straight Jacket theory / Anything But Human / Avoid The Moon Saturday, November 7 - Perfect Strangers (Deep Purple Tribute) / Electric Flood (Hendrix & SRV Tribute) Sunday, November 8 - The Sons of the South Band Thursday, November 12 - Primrose Hollow / Jake Carr / 54 Reasons Friday, November 13 - 5Fifteen / Lowside / AV8 / Redefining Rescue Saturday, November 14 - Witness to The Fallen / A New Day Falls / Terrorform / Oceans Ego Sunday, November 15 - Everlong / Warrior / Atonement Thursday, November 19 - Shelter the Ophan / Velvet Roads / Rayah Grace Friday, November 20 - 7 Mile Band Saturday, November 21 - Rusty Conners B-day Bash Sunday, November 22 - Blake Hill / Joxe Alejando / Michael Koby Friday, November 27 - Nest / Forebode / Active Shooter Saturday, November 28 - Dead Set Red / Downfall 2012 / Chasing Yesterday / In The Aftermath / Surrender Stella Sunday, November 29 - EDM Night by DJ Spinnington Novober 2020 • Music News
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Audic Empire Performs At The Scout Bar November 28th Audic Empire is a five-piece band that features impeccable vocals, phenomenal lead guitar riffs, a rocking rhythm Section with a psychedelic new age twist. This band’s booming sound is laced with sharp lyrics thanks to songwriters Ronnie Bowen and James Tobias. Their name is only getting bigger as they have collaborated with some of the largest names in the reggae-rock industry. With new music on the way, their catalog can be found on all major platforms. As proof of their reach, their music has been featured on regional radio stations, internet radio, magazines, music websites, newspapers, and podcasts. These boys have been nominated for album of the Year from Electric magazine, band of the year in Austin Texas, band of the year in Houston Texas. Available on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify. Audic Empire first started out as an idea between Ronnie Bowen and James Tobias in late 2010, the idea and dreams of a Reggae-Rock band started becoming a reality in late 2012 when 12 Music News • Novemberr 2020
they began recording their EP in the spare bedroom of their home. Since then they have been turning heads in the Austin music scene with their psychedelic, Reggae-Rock and feel good tunes. They have a high-intensity performance and an astonishing sound with the contrast of two singers (Ronnie Bowen & James Tobias), their Red Hot solo Guitarist (Travis Brown), and rock solid rhythm section (Jess Leonard) that includes feel-good psychedelic keys (Carver Ripley). Audic is on the rise with their latest album, ‘Indica Nights‘ released in October of 2018. A magical journey that pairs a psychedelic feel with reggae, adding in some slick guitar solos, southern rock and topping it all off with a touch of hip-hop. This needs to be added to your collection. Their first album ‘Sativa SunRise‘ was released on iTunes and Google Play on June 2nd,
2015, they have also released their Sativa Sunrise EP which became available on Bandcamp in September of 2013. You can listen and download Audic Empire from Spotify, iTunes, reverbnation, bandcamp, YouTube and Soundcloud. With the rapid growth of their reggae-rock sound, Audic Empire is on the rise with their journey to produce a unifying sound wave of love and music.
Bert Wills
Legendary Texas Singer/Songwriter Bert Wills Delivers The Goods
Down in southeastern Texas lives a man that was born in rural Kentucky but moved to Texas years ago. He came here playing the blues harp with a slow, winding country bent to it, part of his Kentucky roots, and the recording industry was quick to pick up on his unique sound. Abilities is used in the plural here and that’s because the man not only wails a mean harp but his guitar work is aces as well. His name is Bert Wills and if you are a studio musician you know that name well as the man is sought after by many producers. One of those producers is Andy Bradley, known world wide for his talents at the console, his past co-ownership in of SugarHill Studios, and his successful book titled, “House Of Hits”. Bert and Andy go back a ways, 35 years to be exact, both know each other’s talents well so it would be of no big surprise that they could team on a compilation of Bert’s songs for a new album. It would not be their first collaboration as Andy has recorded nearly every album Bert has presented to the world. A new album has come to life recently simply titled “Bert Wills”. It’s just being shipped to radio stations right now and let me tell you whether you are a blues fan or an Americana fan or both this album is packed with stirring and riveting selections. Both men have similar personalities, friendly but direct. Both will tell you where to go in a New York second if you are a poser and both will be the first to tell you how welcomed you are if you are the real deal. Bert is known throughout the industry internationally and has worked with a ton of well known stars over the years. He’s also an accomplished songwriter and when he puts his Kentucky roots into a song well Katy bar the door because it’s going to be good. His last gig was with Nashville artist Rob McNurlin who is part of the Marty Stuart clan. Then he returned to Texas to work on his new blues Americana album. The end result was a fourteen track collection of 13 original songs and14 one Rock cover,and notBlues a klunker among On the2020 collection you Music News • October International 2020them. • September can hear the raw strains of good back woods country music in Bert’s voice and on the same collection you will hear some of the best blues you have heard in years. To learn more access www.bertwillsmusic.com
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guitar makes her a rarity among blueswomen. When she was a child in Ottawa, Foley listened to rock & roll and blues-rock groups like the Rolling Stones. Although these bands sowed the seeds of her affection for the blues, her love for the music didn’t blossom until she witnessed James Cotton in concert when she was 15 years old. Cotton inspired Foley to pick up the electric guitar. During her late teens and early twenties, she jammed with local Ottawa bar bands. She didn’t form her own group until she moved to Vancouver in the mid-’80s.
Sue Foley Performs At McGonigel’s Mucky Duck Sue Foley will be returning to Housston this month for a concert at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck on November 21st. This show will also be streamed live on YouTube as well. This highly touted vocalist/guitarist originally hails from Ottawa, Canada, although her home base shifted to Austin, Texas, when she signed with Antone’s Records and cut her debut set, Young Girl Blues, in 1992 (an encore, Without a Warning, quickly followed). Foley’s wicked lead 18
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Foley sent a demo tape to Antone’s Records in 1990. Impressed, the label arranged an audition for the guitarist. Sue moved to Austin and soon signed a recording contract with Antone’s. In 1992, her debut album, Young Girl Blues, was released. It was acclaimed by a number of blues publications. Two years later she released her second album, Without a Warning. It was followed by Big City Blues in 1995. Subsequent efforts included 1996’s A Walk in the Sun, 1998’s Ten Days in November, and 2000’s Love Comin’ Down and Back to the Blues. Where the Action Is appeared in 2002 on Shanachie Records. Foley then switched to Ruf Records for her next two albums, 2004’s Change and 2006’s New Used Car. In 2007 Foley released Time Bomb, a collaborative effort with fellow Ruf labelmates Deborah Coleman and Roxanne Potvin. Foley moved to Blind Pig in 2010 for He Said She Said, a duet album with Peter Karp. The pair reteamed in 2012 for Beyond the Crossroads. Foley returned to solo recordings in 2018 with The Ice Queen.
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The Birthday Massacre Perform At Warehouse Live The Birthday Massacre will be performing this month at Warehouse Live on November 27th. Opening acts for this show are Julien-K, Scream At The Sky, and Manifestiv. The Birthday Massacre is a Canadian darkwave ensemble who combine electronica, goth, and new wave, the Birthday Massacre emerged in 2000 under the moniker Imajica, and officially transitioned to their current name in time for the release of their 2002 debut, Nothing and Nowhere. They found mainstream success in the 2010s with the albums Hide and Seek (2012) and Under Your Spell (2017), both of which charted at home and abroad, and in 2020 they released their eighth studio effort, the dark and atmospheric Diamonds. The Birthday Massacre formed in London, Ontario, as Imagica — taken from the fantasy/horror novel of the same name by author Clive Barker. The founding lineup comprised frontwoman 20 Music News • Novemberr 2020
Chibi, guitarists Rainbow and M. Falcore, bassist Aslan, keyboardist Dank, and percussionist O.E. After recording a seven-song demo session, Dank left Imagica and the remaining members relocated to Toronto, where a second demo release followed in mid-2001. Upon renaming themselves the Birthday Massacre, the group issued their debut LP, Nothing & Nowhere, in the summer of 2002. With the resignation of O.E., the lineup welcomed keyboardist Adm and percussionist Rhim before recording a follow-up EP, 2004’s Violet. Adm quit the Birthday Massacre prior to an expanded European release of Violet on the German Repo label; in 2005, the band signed to the Metropolis imprint to issue the disc in North America and the U.K., adding keyboardist O-en for a tour of Western Europe. In 2007, the group released their third album, Walking with Strangers, on Metropolis, then set out on tour with
Mindless Self Indulgence and Julien-K. Three years later, the band issued 2010’s Pins and Needles, followed up quickly by an EP, Imaginary Monsters, in 2011. Following 2012’s Hide and Seek, which enjoyed modest chart success and a warm critical reception, the Birthday Massacre turned to their fans to help crowdfund their sixth album, Superstition. Released in late 2014, the record was supported by a major North American tour as well as tours of Brazil and the U.K. Compiling original four-track demos from their early days, Imagica appeared in 2016. It was followed in the summer of 2017 by the studio album Under Your Spell, which made a strong showing on multiple U.S. Billboard charts. Three years later, the band returned with the brooding and mystical Diamonds, which also coincided with their 20th anniversary.
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Woman’s Eyes”, Byrd’s personal favorite. A 4th top 15 single was released called “4 to 1 in Atlanta” which Byrd performed Live on the David Letterman Show. The “Love Lesson’s” album also reached sales of 500,000 copies certifying Gold. “Big Love” became Byrd’s fourth studio album with it’s release in the fall of 1996. It spawned two more top five singles with the release of the title track and “Don’t Take Her She’s All I’ve Got” The Video’s of both of these songs reached the top of CMT’s Video Chart’s and also earned Byrd his first TNN Television Special titled “Tracy Byrd’s Big Love” on which Byrd invited guest’s Johnny Paycheck, Mark Chesnutt, and Asleep at the Wheel. The Album “Big Love” became Tracy’s Fourth consecutive Studio Album to be Certified Gold. Tracy said that this meant more to him than anything because he knew Fan’s weren’t just listening to his hit songs on the radio, they were laying down their hard earned money to own a copy of their own and that was flattering.
Tracy Byrd Performs At Dosey Doe Big Barn Tracy Byrd will be performing at Dosey Doe in The Woodlands this month on November 28th. Tracy Byrd became a household name on the Country Music Scene in 1993 when his third single, called “Holdin’ Heaven”, off of his MCA Records, self-titled debut album, hit #1 on the Billboard Country Charts. The Album also included the remake hit of Johnny Paycheck’s “Someone to Give my Love to” cementing Byrd as a Traditional Country Troubadour!! The Debut Album went on to be certified Gold, a reward signifying sales in excess of 500,000 copies. Byrd’s second project, “No Ordinary Man”, kept building on the momentum the first album created, the first radio single from it called “Lifestyle’s of the Not so Rich and Famous” reached #4, followed by another top five hit, “The First Step”, then with the release of the smash, chart topping hit “Watermelon Crawl” the second album crossed the half million sales mark and certified Gold. The realease of the 4th and last single on this project moved Byrd to the top of both the Billboard Album and Singles charts. The song was called “The Keeper of the Star’s” and it shot to #1 on the singles charts and pushed the album to Double Platinum Status, which certifies sales of over 2 Million Copies. “The Keeper of the Star’s” won Academy of Country Music’s “Song of the Year” award in 1995. A Keeper Year for Tracy Byrd for sure. His third studio Album, “Love Lesson” is one of Tracy’s favorites. It included the title track, another top five hit single for Byrd, also included were the top 15 singles, “Walking to Jerusalem” and “Heaven in My
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The fifth project on MCA was titled, “I’m From the Country” and it contained the title track a fun, party song stating what most fan’s already knew, that Tracy Byrd was from the Country and sang Country Music. The CD also contained a Beautiful Ballad called “I Wanna Feel That Way Again” Both of these single’s reached the Top Five on the Charts. It was at this same time that TNN Outdoors recruited Byrd as the TV Host of their Weekend Outdoor Broadcast. Tracy, a well known outdoorsman, was perfect for the job and continued his hosting responsibilities for three years. At this point in his career, Tracy Byrd, was looking for a change in labels, but still was under contract with MCA Records who were preparing a release of “Keepers: Greatest Hit’s” containing all the hit’s from Byrd’s catalog of songs. The album quickly earned another Gold Record award for Byrd but he was trying to persuade MCA to let him out of his contract so he could pursue a different direction. MCA finally allowed Byrd out of his contract and he quickly signed with RCA Records and got to work on a new project, “It’s About Time”, that would be released in November of 1999 and would reach the top 10 quickly with the single “Put Your Hand In Mine” Byrd has said that this album is the most Traditional Album he ever
released and therefore his favorite. Tracy Byrd crossed into the new Millineum with the release of his Album “10 Rounds” It took off on the release of a duet with his longtime hometown buddy and hero Mark Chesnutt. The song was called “A Good Way to get on my Bad Side” and was a milestone for Byrd to finally get to record with his good friend. Then came the release of the party song of the year, “10 Rounds with Jose Cuervo” which shot to the top of the Billboard Charts to notch Byrd’s third #1 single. He also hit the top 10 with his spanish guitar flared “Just Let Me be in Love”. Next came “The Truth About Men”, which first released the title track which was a comedic look at what Men are really like, it was a team effort with Tracy’s buddies Blake Shelton, Andy Griggs, and Troy and Eddie of Montgomery Gentry lending their talents to the song and the video. This Album also released the top five smash “The Drinkin’ Bone” which became a crowd favorite sing along song. Byrd was then moved to BNA Records, the sister label of RCA, and they released his second greatest hits project, another feat that not many artists experience, two Greatest hits projects!!! It debuted in the top five of the album charts and became Byrd’s sixth Gold Album, and sent him to over 6 Million Records Sold!!! Byrd then left the major label and released an album on his own, appropriatelly titled, “Different Things” Although this project was not commercially successful, it garnered Byrd his highest Critical acclaim of his career with Billboard magazine choosing it as one of their Top 10 Country Albums of the Year!!! Through all of these years Byrd became a promoter favorite on the road, performing over 4000 exciting shows across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia from 1992 until 2009! He then say’s he needed a break to take care of himself and his most precious thing, his family, wife Michelle, daugter Evee, and son’s Logan and Jared, who had taken a backseat to his career for year’s. He did not perform from 20102013, but in 2014 he got back to the music with a new band and a new found sobriety and love of the thing he enjoys so much. Say’s Byrd, “These day’s my life has great balance, with my music being a part of it, not all of it. I can honestly say I have never enjoyed it more!!” Byrd went back in the studio in June of 2016 and started work on his first project in 10 years. Recorded completely in Tyler, Texas at Rosewood Studios, that album is appropriatelly titled, All American Texan, which is exactly what he is and has always been. This album features 8 tracks written by Byrd, a fact he is very proud of. The album was released in October of 2016 and has been very well received by his fans and critics alike. If you get the chance pick up some Tracy Byrd music, and catch a show on the road. You won’t be sorry that you did!!!
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Saturday, December 19, 8:00 pm- 12:00 am Jailhouse Saloon 310 Preston Ave Spring, TX 77373>
Saturday, December 12, 9 :00 pm - 1:00 am Jack’s Pub 11720 Wilcrest Dr. Houston, TX 77099
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The Hollywood Spotlight By Hollywood Steve Rangel
Kendall Mason Band “Come Hell Or High Water” Call me old school (or just old), but for my money, nothing beats a straight ahead, no frills, guitar-driven rock and roll album. Don’t get me wrong, I respect and appreciate recent advances in recording technology, and used tastefully they can be very effective. But there’s just something so genuine about a simple blending of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, free of studio gloss and production gimmicks. Such an effort, combined with quality songs, is a winning combination that is all-too-rarely heard in this tech obsessed age. Enter The Kendall Mason Band. This throwback foursome from Houston is as real as real gets, and their new release “Come Hell Or High Water” is evidence of that. Simply put, this CD features everything that you need, and nothing that you don’t. These ten well written tracks are rich with energy, solid arrangements, passionate performances, and virtually nothing else. In other words, all meat and no fat. The production is dry and rough, giving this effort a truly organic sound, as if you were listening to a live performance. And it’s an approach that is perfectly suited to this material. KMB is Kendall Mason on vocals, guitarist Bill Nelson, Karl Veach on the bass, and drummer Joel Campbell. Their delivery is tight, dynamic, and above all, convincing, as if they’ve been playing together for many years. There’s a commitment to this material that is obvious, and “Come Hell Or High Water” is all the better for it. None of which is to say that this is not a diverse album. The Kendall Mason Band checks all the boxes here. There are tunes that feature tasty riffs, such as “Monster”, “Nothing To Lose”, and the scorching “Blood On Your Soul”. There are more commercial, 80’s-inspired tracks like “Hard To Breathe” and “Beautiful Lie”, and even a good ol’ fashioned power ballad in “Sunshine”. Mason delivers one of his finest vocal outings on the emotional “Miss You”, and the band even approaches grunge territory on the closer “Puddle Of Sin”. Credit to the production duo of Andy Bradley (producer/engineer) and Chris Longwood (mastering). The pair clearly recognized what KMB wanted to do on this album, and they kept the sound simple but powerful. The result is one of the best pure rock albums you’re likely to hear this year.
KollectiveMindz Let’s talk about band names for a minute. What constitutes a good monicker? Well, there don’t seem to be too many hard and fast rules. Something memorable, something cool, something unique, sure, these all make sense. But my preference is something appropriate. A name that truly suits a particular group of artists and what they are trying to represent. Judged by that standard, this quartet of outside-the-box thinkers couldn’t possibly have chosen a better name. Everything about KollectiveMindz, from their style, their music, and the way they choose to present it here, is unique. This is very clearly a collaboration of musicians from vastly different backgrounds, four independent idealists who have somehow found a way to combine their individual approaches to create one united and unorthodox vision. And although the end result might not be considered overly marketable (uniqueness is rewarded far too rarely these days), it is undoubtedly intriguing and effective. The Mindz I’m talking about belong to Kristian “Sharlow” Davis (vocals, guitar), Justin “The Guy” Guy (bass, vocals), Larry “Animal” Taylor (drums), and Colby “SteamGin WhiskeyMcquin” Anderson (DJ, lead guitar). And while their music defies conventional genres, as a wise man once said, either it grooves or it doesn’t. And this stuff grooves. There’s a definite hint of classic R & B here, and that provides this material with much of its foundation. But there are also elements of jazz, rock, hip hop, and soul strewn throughout. In the hands of lesser musicians and producers, this musical potluck could be a recipe for disaster. But KollectiveMindz and any associated production staff succeed in shaping all of these ingredients into a surprisingly cohesive and thoroughly fascinating album. As previously mentioned, the overall presentation is equally unconventional, with the occasional spoken word excerpts and conversations between songs. But this tactic seems appropriate in this case. So if you’re looking for something more than the same old same old, KollectiveMindz might just be the best news you’ve had in 2020. 28 Music News • November 2020
Sunday, November 1 -Katie’s Jam with Jay Hooks Friday Thursday, November 6 - James “Willie” Wilhite November 27 Friday, November 6 - Chris Casteneda Band Katie’s 16th Saturday, November 7 - Jonn “Del Toro” Richardson Anniversary Sunday, November 8 - Katie’s Jam with Mark May Entertainment by Thursday, November 12 - Hugo Jamz Band Friday, November 13 - Tony Vega Sparky Parker Saturday, November 14 - Paul Ramirez Sunday, November 15 - Katie’s Jam with James Wilhite Thursday, November 19 - Bert Wills Friday, November 20 - Eric Demmer Saturday, November 21 - Mike Zito - Mike’s Birthday Bash!! Sunday, November 22 - Katie’s Jam with Paul Ramirez Thursday, November 26 - CLOSED! - Happy Thanksgiving Friday, November 27 - Sparky Parker - Katie’s 16th Anniversary Saturday, November 28 - Ricky Jackson Sunday, November 19 - Katie’s Jam with Ricky Jackson
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RANDOM SHOTS The Benefit for Kat was a huge success at The Backwoods Saloon. Hundreds of people were there to show their support for her. Kat is in need of a Kidney Transplant, and along with that comes a lot of expenses. Fortunately her and Troublemaker’s fans showed up in force. There was a silent action that really helped to bring in some much needed money Performing there were The Skinz, Texas TNT, and Full Steam Ahead (pictured here). Our prayers go out to Kat and her family and we certainly hope that she will be able to get the much needed surgery she
Bluesman Johnny Nicholas Performed this past month a McGonigel’s Mucky Duck. Johnny was in town on tour in support of his new album release, Mistaken Identity. In a side note: You can read a story about Johnny and his new album in the new International magazine, Rock And Blues International. Just go to www.rockandbluesinternational.com
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RANDOM SHOTS The people showed up in force for the benefit held for Tommy Skinner at The Acadia Bar and Grill this past month. Tommy is recovering from a recent Brain Surgery. As you might expect, Tommy lost quite a bit of income while going through all that, not to mention all the additional expenses he racked up, so this all helped. It was great to see all the band out there to support him. There was a silent auction there, as well as many donations being made at the door. Several Bands were on hand there to help out, including Phanton Eye (inset picture) and Shotgun Sally (pictured at right below). On hand to help out was John Janatsch and Kristie Cunningham (pictured below).
Former “Gatemouth” Brown saxophonist Eric Demmer dropped by Katie’s Bar in Bacliff to jam with the Hugo Jamz Trio this night. This really made for one helluva show. Eric is just phenomenal on sax, not to mention that Hugo is also one blazing guitarist. This night was certainly a lot of fun.
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