November 2015 Vandala Magazine by Vandala Magazine

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Contents November 2015 Vandala

8 REVIEWS & EDITORIAL The Bel!furies - 'Workingman's Blues' (Rock) The Game - 'The Documentary 2 ' (Rap) Wavves - 'V' (Pop)

12 LIVE MUSIC & PHOTOS

Homeless Rock Stars Project Red Carpet Affair #ROADTRIPTOUR 2015 with Paul Brandt, Dean Brody and Lindi Ortega Photo Highlights - Lockn' Festival 2015 Punk on Fire Adicts, Reverend Horton Heat, The Creepshow AC/DC Brings High Voltage Performance To Edmonton Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Ruby the Hatchet, Ecstatic Vision Photo Highlights: SLASH Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators & Raven Eye Photo Highlights - Hollywood Undead

58 COVER STORY "The Southern Spitfire: Strange and Beautiful Music with Tech N9ne" This past May Tech released his 15th studio album Special Effects and has already named his follow up album for 2016. We talked to Tech about Special Effects and all manner of strange and beautiful music 50 INTERVIEWS 44 Bonded By Blood Interview with Krisun's Max Kolesne 50 High Energy with Adam Blake of H2O 66 Tales of Sessions And The Road With Burson 72 Gnarly and Weird An Interview with Shawn Knight of Child Bite 82 Electric Citizen: Snores, Soul and Rock And Roll 88 The Best Butt in Grind A Conversation with Meek Is Murder 94 Wise Words With Serial Hawk 100 Pagan Thoughts with The Flight Of Sleipnir

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The Bellfuries - 'Workingman's Blues' (Rock) By Dustin Smith - 4.5/5 Dragons

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Call it revivalism, call it rocka billy, call it whatever you want, The Bellfuries create a racket that is both soulful and accurate to the time it emulates. Taking their cues from rock n' roll's greatest decade, they take the blueprint set out in the 50's and infuse it with their own brand of sharp songwriting and refined instrumentalism. The Bellfuries are from Austin Texas and the rich musical tapestry that is that city's pulse is evident in their sound. Workingman's Blues is their third studio album and is definitely the best example of the sound they've been working at since their formation. Lead off track 'Loving Arms' is a bouncy little chugger with a killer hook and some great guitar work.

'Make The Mystery No More' and 'Letter To My Maybe Baby' use first wave country to paint a picture of love and longing that are a nice stopgap between the bookends of the record. `Beaumont Blues' is the kind of rockabilly Sun Records was pumping out with aplomb in the wake of Elvis Presley and it captures that time and sound perfectly in its three and a half minutes. `Just Remembering' is some more soulful country reminiscence. Think classic George Jones. `She's A Woman' is my favourite track on the album. It's got a driving beat and sounds in the best way like With The Beatles era Beatles. Vocalist Joey Simeone yelps at the mic with passion and fury, while the rest of the band (bassist Jeff Seaver, guitarist Mike Molnar and drummer Chris Sensat) keep the backbone sharp and piercing throughout. `Under The Light of the Moon' is a nice track about moonlit love and is a nice soft lead in to another of the record's barnstormers in 'Baltimore', a blitzing rocker that was built to rattle floors and hammer heels. Finally, 'An Illusion Believed' is a beautiful track for rainy days that is elevated by the chugging, deep tones of an upright bass, a simple, easy backbeat and some watery guitar work. Workingman's Blues is a lot of things, but at its heart it is and tries to be only one thing: a damn good rock n' roll record. There are a number of talented musicians out there keeping the rock of yesteryear alive (JD McPherson and Pokey LaFarge among them), but more than trying to be another Little Richard or Crickets, these bands, including The Bellfuries, are just doing what they were born to do: rock. And boy do they. www.thebellfuries.com 08 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

TOUR 2015

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AND MORE

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MATOMA FEATURING THE 9.1iL MONTE FRI 23 OCT - NASHVILLE, TN MARATHON MUSIC WORKS SAT 24 OCT . CHARLOTTE, NO FILLMORE SUN 25 OCT - WM i IM i t -• If 2515 i dahli FL 71/: WED 28 OCT - NORFOLK, VA THE NORVA THU 29 OCT . CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA = JEFFERSON THEATRE FRI 30 OCT .. PHILADELPHIA, PA ELECTRIC FACTORY SAT 31 OCT - WA8HPIGTOIN, DC ECHOSTAGE TUE 3 NOV ... NORTHAMPTON, MA - CALVIN THEATRE WED 4 NOV ... WALLINGFORD, CT THE DOME THU 5 NOV - LAS VEGAS, NV HAKKASAN FRI 0 NOV - MONTREAL CANADA - NEW CITY GAS SAT 7 NOV . TORONTO, CANAOA = SOUND ACADEMY SUN 8 NOV .. LONDON, CANADA LONDON MUSIC HALL TUE 10 NOV - PITTSSUIRGH, PA STAGE AE BLUESTONE LAVED 11 NOV - COLL/MOUS, OH - J. -rite 1 IL . _C. • THU 12 NOV Ind `Aiwa m FFII 13 NOV - CHICAGO, IL ARAGON BALLROOM

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- MIPINEAPOUS, MN - SKYWAY THEATRE - MADISON, I LIOULD - URBANA, IL CANOPY CLUB - INDIANAPOLIS, IN EGYPTIAN THEATRE - ST LOUIS, MO THE PAGEANT - LAWRENCE, KS uetniv HALL - DENVER, CO FILLMORE - SALT LAKE CITY, UT .• COMPLEX - SAN DIEGO, CA SOMA - 1.05 ANGELES, CA = SHRINE EXPO HALL - OAKLAND, CA FOX THEATRE - LAS VEGAS, NV HAKKASAN ▪ PORTLAPW, OF! = ROSELAND THEATER MCDONALD THEATRE - EUGENE, OR - SEATTLE, WA SHOWBOX HAKKASAN - LAS VEGAS, NV

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laum Reiviiew The Game - 'The Documentary 21 (Rap) By Dustin Smith - 4.5/5 Dragons It's hard to believe its been ten years since Game released Documentary, announcing his presence on the hip hop scene in a big way. You can't make a bigger splash in the scene than coming in with the likes of Dr. Dre and 50 Cent touting your talents. The Documentary was a razor sharp album in every way and rightfully remains a classic release in new millennium hip hop. The mixture of Dre's beats and hooks, Game's harsh worldview and the easy chemistry between his gruff delivery and 50 Cent's smooth flow make for a wicked cocktail of classic west coast hip hop with modern techniques. Since the release of that album, The Game has remained an uncompromising figure in the music scene with a string of studio albums and mixtapes that have served to further not only the artistic achievements of the man, but also the stories that swirl around his life past and present. This record kicks off the same way the first Doc did, with an intro leading into one of the best songs on the record. 'On Me' immediately references Dre's verse in 'What's the Difference' from 2001, with Game's own twist of course, over whispy beats and a heavy bass line that current wunderkind Kendrick Lamar easily rolls over in his brilliant delivery. `Step Up' and 'Don't Trip' are old school hip hop beats with call out proclamations with a little help on the latter from Ice Cube, which just helps sell the point. `Standing On Ferraris' takes Biggie's 'Kick In the Door' hook and slows it down to great effect. 'Circles' presents a portrait of marital discord with a little help from Q-Tip and Sha Sha, while 'hula' is not only one of the grittiest songs on the album and uses Kanye in a different way than you would think, but it works. `The Documentary 2' is probably the best joint on this album, using a fresh Dre beat to announce the re-arrival of a rap superstar. I'm not a big fan of Jelly Roll's contributions on a couple of these tracks, and while Drake's collaboration on '100' is tight and sharp, Future's silly auto tuned voice adds an unnecessary level of cheese to the song 'Dedicated'. Sequels to classic albums, not unlike sequels to classic movies or novels, are tricky to pull off. The immediate anticipation by fans and critics to see how the new album measure's up to the old one promises there will be a divide, whether the album is a success or not. You're always going to have fans of the first record who don't like that the sequel isn't an exact copy. And while I've never heard a sequel album yet that matches its predecessor, that doesn't mean that they've all been failures. Raekwon's Cuban Link, II was a great record, as was Dre's 2001. Pas' Stillmatic was 10 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Al b u m Remiew a welcome return to form, while Eminem's Marshal Mathers 2 shows the MC at the top of his game in terms of delivery and flow, even if the album doesn't have the impact and sharp production of the first. Likewise, The Documentary 2 doesn't quite reach the bar set by the first chapter, but it is a worthy follow up and a welcome return collaboration between Game and Dre & Co. Between the beats, the production, the stories the lyrics tell and The Game and (most of his guests' deliveries of those stories, Documentary 2 is and will remain one of the best hip hop releases of 2015. www. com pto nga me. co rn

Wavves IV' (Pop) By Michael Smith - 4.5/5 Dragons With autumn now officially here, it may seem out of place to release album fraught with the sound and feeling of summer. Maybe it's one last celebration of the season, or maybe it being from an area of the country (San Diego, CA) where it's summer all year round, anyway this album is fun, upbeat, loud, and makes you want to get outside in the sun with your friends and enjoy not having any real responsibilities. Sun and fun has always been a mood Wavves has created throughout their career, but after four previous releases they have made an album that stands out dramatically from the others, the same formulas of song writing are there but everything just works, which is surprising being that this band is always in conversations for top album of the year for their past releases. "My Head Hurts" and "HeavyMetal Detox" are clear stars of the album and should inspire a need to grab your skateboard, even if you don't have one. The final track on the album "Cry Baby" is a highlight of the band's catalog and touches on an abundant amount of sounds and influences of theirs, it's also a great and unruly rock song perfect closing out the album. For over seven years now, Wavves has been providing fans with the best in indie California skate punk, and have gone beyond even themselves on this album, start to finish this album conjures up feelings of looking over to one of your best friends thats has lost his job, broken up with his girl/boyfriend or both and saying to him "Hey man, life sucks, f*ck it, lets go enjoy it while we can". www.wavves.net

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FOR SEROUS' 111DEPEUDENT MUSICIANS AND BANDS November 2015 - VandaiaMagazine.Com 10

Homeless Rock Stars Project Red Carpet Affair Article and Photos by L. Paul Mann There was a very special red carpet event at The Attic nightclub, in the heart of Hollywood on October 6th. While there was the usual bevy of pop music and movie stars in attendance, what made this event unique were the featured guests of honor. Instead of pop icons, the featured guests were all former homeless people who have realized their dreams thanks to the Homeless Rock Star organization. The Homeless Rock Stars project was founded by rock photographer Nigel Skeet, who became aware of a growing homeless problem in his home town of Redding, Calif., and decided to do something about it. He teamed up with a local paper, with an idea of giving the homeless in the community a rock in' roll makeover along with an interview and photo shoot. The process metamorphosed into a psychological transformation as well, that led to employment opportunities for the participants. Skeet el eve reached out to longtime friend Shim vw.kata Moore (former lead singer of the Sick Puppies) and asked him to come up with a theme song for the project. Moore had just begun working with his new band Screaming At Demons and he offered to shoot a video for the song as well, capturing some of the interviews with the homeless and witnessing their makeovers.

The video stars Jessie Valley, the first subject in the Homeless Rock Stars project. Valley was living in a tent in the woods addicted to meth and in the video she shares her story of how the project completely changed her life. Valley got sober and during the interview it was discovered she had a passion for cooking. She's now got an apprenticeship with a 5-star sous chef and is the official Homeless Rock Stars caterer. Screaming At Demons are not making this song available through traditional online retailers. Instead, there is a number to text at the end of the video where you can donate to continue the Homeless Rock Stars project. In return, you'll have the MP3 of the "Rockstar" song sent to your phone for download. Skeet revealed that there are plans to stage additional Homeless Rock Stars events in cities around the U.S., with the next one scheduled to take place in Santa Rosa, Calif., with a veterans group on Veteran's Day. The official video ist at www.homelessrockstars.com along with more information. 12 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

EUROPE WINTER 2015 TOUR NOV 05 • BREMEN, DE • TOWER NOV 06 • AALBOR.G, DK * AALBORG METAL FESTIVAL NOV 07 • GOTHENBURG, SE • STICKY FINGERS NOV 08 • COPENHAGEN, DK • BETA NOV 09 • KONGSBERG, NO • ENERGIMOLLA NOV 10 • STAVANGER, NO • FOLKEN NOV 11 • BERGEN, NO • GARAGE NOV 12 • OSLO, NO • JOHN DEE NOV 13 • STOCKHOLM, SE • DEBASER STRAND NOV 15 • HELSINKI, Fl • TAVASTIA NOV 16 • TALLINN, ES • TAPPER NOV 17 • RIGA, LT • NABAKLAB NOV 18 • VILNIUS, LT • KABLYS NOV 20 • WARSAW, PL • HYDROZAGADKA NOV 21 • KRAKOW, PL • ZASCIANEK NOV 22 • BRATISLAVA, SK • RANDALL NOV 23 • BUDAPEST, HU • DURER KERT NOV 2S • BUCHAREST, RO • FABRICA NOV 26 • SOFIA, BG • MIXTAPE 5 NOV 27 • BELGRADE, RS • DOMOMLADINE BEOGRADE NOV 28 • SARAJEVO, BA • AG CLUB NOV 29 • ZAGREB, HR KLUB ATTACK NOV 30 • NOVA GORCIA, SI • MOSTOVNA DEC 01 • VIENNA, AU • ARENA - 3 RAUM BAR DEC 03 • ATHENS, GR • AN CLUB

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Likvie Comerege. Kelowna0 a ribis ColurnalYa #ROADTRIPTOUR 2015 With Paul Brandt, Dean Brody and Lindi Ortega Review and Photography by Crystal Lee - Vandala Photography You know it's a great line up when you're sick as a dog and you go to a concert, thus my tardiness on this article and photos (sorry my fans). With my hair curled and camera at hand I made it to Lindi Ortega, Dean Brody and fellow Albertan Paul Brandt at Prospera Place Kelowna for a good' of country night of stories and music. Many may have not known the openers name but I did; Lindi Ortega is one name everyone should get to know. She stepped on to the stage and there is this inner and outer spectacular beauty to this young woman automatically. One thing about Lindi is the essence to her that just glows and when she sings it captivates you. Her sound is classic country (some call it roots) with a very unique voice that is sweet and sultry with a little more modern music. When I watched her sing one can't help but think of Patsy Cline just a sweeter sounding version. After seeing her perform its clear why she won the COMA two years in a row for Roots Artist of the Year. The only downfall is she sang only a few songs but did come back for a short moment with Dean Brody to sing. Though it was sad not many knowing who she was due to not a lot of mention of her in the promo but I was like a cheer leader when security and fans were asking who she was, even gave spelling to one gentlemen. This man also stated 'you don't see or hear music like that these days' [referring to Patsy Cline]. Though Dean Brody did mention her and complimented her talent later on. Speaking of Dean Brody this was a pleasant surprise as I never seen him live. It was not only his performance that I enjoyed it was his story telling since it gave the music a little more meaning. He talked about the writing his 8 year old daughter does. I did miss part of the story due to the fans beside me already cheering since they knew what song was coming up which was Upside Down. And this song is NOT about getting high from second hand marijuana but SECOND HAND SMOKE as he told in the story of his daughter and this song. Another favorite part of the show was when he chatted to the audience about writing in Nashville and got a little more personal. Dean talked about hillbilly music and I swear that word was mentioned and the crowd went nuts. One thing I know is country fans are loyal and this just proved it. His band was now standing in a half circle and talking about playing music in the kitchen, campfires and so forth. He also mentioned when he writes he thinks about what his fans would want to hear. In that time Dean Brody made sure to introduce his band and said they were his family on the road. I admit part of my mind wandered and reminisced about being back in Alberta where I grew up and spent a good chunk of my life, camp fires writing music, country fields and more. Though I came back very quickly when the crowd was singing every single word to his songs. With songs like 'Mountain Men' I can say if he was to get the crowd going for Paul Brandt he did that, maybe even a little overload. Finally the man of the hour my fellow Albertan Paul Brandt came on to the stage. I have met him many times, and seen many concerts over the years. What I have seen is that he gives his all in every performance no matter what and this night was no different. 14 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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I remember he was exhausted years back and stayed to finish the whole line of autographs. His amazing and beautiful wife was right by his side supporting him that night as well. As I have seen firsthand it's obvious where his love songs come from his marriage. As for this show it was amazing like every other show he does. Paul Brandt came out full of energy and the crowd was in full energy. I was in the photo pit while he sang 'Forever Summer" and I found myself singing along and as a photographer not the best thing to be doing. Large inflatable balls went into the crowd and fan singing commenced; not sure if it really ever stopped. It was one of the smallest photo pits to move around in but the most enjoyable as every song Paul gave his all. He eventually moved to the center of the crowd on a small area with his band and sang many of his hits. One of which was Do' and at that moment I missed my husband. Couples were dancing, the ones around me holding hands like they were in young love again. It seemed to be something that happened every slow song he sang. In it all every song it felt like Paul took in all the energy from his fans and he continued to make them happy. I may sound like a gushing fan of Paul Brandt but it's actually respect for keeping true to his Albertan small town roots. In this industry today you see the 'show' and with Paul Brandt you get his heart, passion and who he is in his music. Or maybe it's something about growing up in rural Alberta. It's a different lifestyle and I get a little home sick at times for wheat fields, mountains and family and friends as many of Paul Brandt songs talk about. Back then it was no electronics, heck some of us barely had 3 channels on the TV and a 'party line" phone line. But this night Brandt sang Small Towns and Big Dreams' which is always a good fix for home sickness and reminder of home. This is one of those songs that Brandt can really get interactive with the crowd by singing with them and adding in their city in the song. Overall Paul Brandt set was interactive and amazing. I sadly left a little early due to the fall flu/cold and I know I missed the song 'Convoy' with the giant rubber ducky in the crowd plus much more. But I weaved through the crowd singing and through cowboy boots, hats and best country attire. Besides I was really missing my husband and just wanted to go home and dance with him. The Road Trip Tour is going till the end of October so be sure to grab a ticket and catch his line up live; It's worth it. Full Tour Dates are at http://www.roadtriptour.ca/ #Roadtriptour. Also be sure to grab each these talented artists albums found at their websites. www.paulbrandt.com www.deanbrody.com www.lindiortega.ca

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*It's easy to see Paul Brandt is a man of pure heart and it shows in his music and his live performance, but I'd like to mention his charity 'Build It Forward Foundation'. Please check it out at and all the great work they do. Some of this work was helping those in the 2013 flood in High River, Alberta to global work and working with other groups to make the world a better place. www.builditforward.ca

18 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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Punk on Fire - Adicts, Reverend Horton Heat, The Creepshow Review by Sean Barrett How is it that, while punk acts such as Black Flag and Husker Du (both of whom I love deeply) have come and gone with non-amicable endings, The Adicts have, for nearly forty years, been touring together as the longest running punk band with their original line-up? The answer is a simple one Fun. While Discharge and The Exploited may respond to the ills of the world with the feral rage of a mongrel street-dog, The Adicts express their rebellion in the form of anarchic glee, an unrestrained and uncontainable joie de vivre which dances off the shackles of the world. Incongruously enough, their aesthetic is derived largely from A Clockwork Orange, a film which isn't known for being all that fun. When they were last making their rounds, they were packing much larger venues. This time, they made a point to play smaller spaces in order that their horrors would connect more closely with its audience. The fact that stage-barricades were up in an otherwise barricade-less venue hinted that their rowdiness was planned for Because I hadn't seen them in a decade, this held true for me as well as the punks of all ages who lined up around the block. Getting the party started is Toronto's Creepshow, a five-piece who fuses the best of doo-wop and psychobilly to create a rare thing indeed: music that is heavy-hitting, hyper-catchy, and unpredictable in its musical twists and turns. Also rare is a warm-up act which can get the crowd moving from the get-go with a swinging rhythm section and a high-energy front-woman who's retro vocals were balanced out beautifully by their keyboardist's low-pitched moans. The crowd's instant love for these folks was solidified by their singer ending their set standing on their stand-up bass. With yet another hollow-bodied guitar and stand-up bass came the legendary Reverend Horton Heat. Opening with their earlier material, The Rev and Co made it instantly clear that, old though they may be, they can still play like nobody's business. A few songs deep, they transitioned into newer stuff showing that they can still song-write like nobody's business too. Unlike, say, The Stones, these cats have aged gracefully into their self-styled holy-roller aesthetic. Though mostly content to let his guitar do the talking, their front-man would, on some songs, croon into an or-tirney microphone and, at one point, introduce a song by spinning a yarn as well as any good Texas boy can. With the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands, the bassist and front-man switched instruments for a cover of Johnny B. Goode which tore the f*cking roof off the place before ending their set with some great solos from each musician and a few more originals. The time being nigh, all eyes in the house widened in anticipation for the evening's headliner, who could not have picked a more perfectly appropriate set-opener than "Let's Go". Go we did. The entire crowd moved and sang as one with the veterans before us. Frontman Monkey, a true showman, embellished his performance with stage magic, streamers, confetti, and all manner of props as the guitarists provided more vocals still. An Adicts show is the punk-rock equivalent of being a kid when the circus comes to town or being on MDMA at a carnival. The unsmiling macho trappings of punk and hardcore simply have no place here. Stuffed monkeys and custom joker cards were tossed out to those brave enough to stand out in front. The air is filled with beach balls. Everybody is in motion and every mouth knows every word. The 28 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Lime Crowe raile . Pun k band-mates still love each other, and still enjoy playing. During "Chinese Takeaway", Monkey beats cymbals and guitar strings with chopsticks. There is even a costume change before "Joker in the Pack". We are so over-the-top that we can't even see it anymore and nobody misses it Sweaty and satisfied, with all the serotonin in our brains exploding like fireworks, we exit the now messy venue into the streets. We are surrounded by smiles, laughter, and hugs. The Adicts have just played, and the world is a more joyous place as a direct result. www.adicts.us www. reverend horton heat.com www.facebook.com/TheCreepshowOfficial

AcilF421-v.â&#x20AC;˘ OCTOBER 23rd - Henry Fonda - Los Angeles 24th - Beach Goth Fest - Santa Anna. 25th - Blackbox - Tijuana - Mexico. 26th - Marquee Theater - Tempe - AZ. 30th - Halloween Party - House Of Blues - Las Vegas.

November 2015 - VandataMagazine.Com 29

Lime Comeriage. Edmonton AC/DC Brings High Voltage Performance To Edmonton Review and Photography by Dana Zulu Photography Hordes of people flocked to Commonwealth Stadium on a very rainy Sunday night to catch the notorious rock 'n rollers, A.K.A the infamous thunder from down under, AC/DC as they bashed their way into Edmonton, Alberta on the 'Rock Or Bust' tour. Despite the foul weather, Edmonton's die-hard AC/DC fans of all ages were not phased, as thousands of people could be seen bundled up in rain ponchos with umbrellas in hand and smiles on their faces. Upon entering the arena, the butterflies in my stomach began to go nuts. This was my first time shooting a show of this magnitude, and I felt like I was in some sort of perfect dream. This was a huge deal for me! Not only seeing, but photographing AC/DC has been on my must-see/shoot bucket-list for years, and finally getting to cross them off of the mile-long list feels pretty surreal. Kicking off their explosive performance with the title track off of their newest album, Rock or Bust, AC/DC electrified Commonwealth Stadium with a hefty 20 song set, packed with tracks spanning across their incredible 42 year career. Fans could be heard singing along to their favorite songs from blocks away, as the fireworks and cannons of the stage show could equally be seen. With every note that would burst from the amps, the audience would respond with a roar, cheering and singing along to their favorite parts of their favorite AC/DC songs. Being surrounded by such an overwhelming abundance of positive energy of this degree was amazing, to say the least. The rain couldn't dampen the mood in Commonwealth Stadium, even if it was pouring buckets. All the while, seeing rock In roll gods still young at heart; running around and having a total blast on stage, performing to an audience in awe, is truly something magical that's much to sacred to put into words. So on that note, keep on rockin' AC/DC, I salute you! MORE PHOTOS ONLINE HERE 30 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Ruby the Hatchet, Ecstatic Vision Review by Sean Barrett It's 2015 Anno Domini and the air is electric with paisley and fractals. Over the past three or four years, there's been a growing resurgence of interest in psychedelia and the occult in music. One of several bands at the crest of this wave is England's Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats who have, as of this writing, just begun a U.S. tour with their fellow mystic psychonauts in Ecstatic Vision and Ruby the Hatchet. Judging by the sardine-like crowd at the mid-size venue, which opened its balconies to accommodate this mass, there are melting kaleidoscopes in many eyes indeed. The first band of each evening in this package tour is Philadelphia's Ecstatic Vision. With a myriad of non-standard instruments (sax, flute, maracas, cowbell, and melodica to name less than half) in addition to the usual rock set-up, their set interwove a pagan, pastoral atmosphere with the monolithic doom that came jaggedly through the mouths of demented preachers. Their solos and leads were screaming without being indulgent. The psychedelia they explored had more to do with a bad trip than transcendence, but, in spite of that, several attendees were wearing the bliss-face one usually only sees at folk festivals. Picking up where they left off is New Jersey's Ruby the Hatchet, a female-fronted psych-doom act whose singer is witchy and spellbinding in voice and movement alike. As if that voice needs any more power behind it (it doesn't), their drummer harmonizes with his in such sync that they fuse to make a third voice that is both yet neither. A customized keyboard/synth in a wooden frame surrounds the guitars, drums, and voice in a haunted, technicolor atmosphere, and the guitar leads are voice-like in their middle ground between riffs and soloing, as all parties involved alternately rock out and spook out. Between Ruby the Hatchet and the night's main act, real estate near the front of the stage rises to a premium. Though it is dark, we can make out a stage-set of the world in which The Night Creeper, the concept album for which they are touring, takes place. On the other side of the London fog are late-1800's streetlights, brick walls, and dented trash cans. More theatrical and cinematic still was the orchestral music pushed through the speakers as Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats took to the stage. Engulfed in a thick miasma of foggy stage-lights and hair that covered the faces of both guitarists/vocalists throughout the set, they were able to hold an aura of mystery like few non-masked bands can. Their guitar-tone betrays a subtle menace lurking below the dreamy surface of playful bass-lines and thin, reedy vocal harmonies. Though they're the most instrumentally straightforward act of the night, the four-piece has managed to craft a frankensound of decades past that they've transfigured into their own with riffs that suck you into their world and slow down time. While the majority of us were more than happy to headbang along and just feel it, man, there were some drunken chucklef*cks who seemed to believe they were at a Lamb of God show in forming a bro-pit. F*ck them. Meatheads aside, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, having learned from ascended masters such as The Beatles and Black Sabbath, have found in their songwriting a direct pipeline into the hearts and minds of the very, very mixed crowd they draw. Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats - www.acidcoven.com Ruby the Hatchet - www.facebook.com/rubythehatchet Ecstatic Vision - www.relapse.comiecstatic-vision 36 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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A hallowed name in the Death Metal world, Krisiun, and the three brothers from Brazil who form it, have been delivering lightning-fast technical brutality in nomine Satanas for 25 years, one year longer than this reporter has been alive. On the heels of their latest album, Forged in Fury, this three-headed Cerebus was hand-picked to co-headline the ridiculously stacked bill of Metal Injection's Devastation Across The Nation tour alongside Origin with five (!) shrediculous and slamtastic opening acts. As the tour wound down on its East Coast leg, I had a chat with drummer Max Kolesne in a warehouse-like back room of Philadelphia's Voltage Lounge. This is a pretty insane package tour, huh? Max: Yeah, man. We love to be part of it This is just Death Metal bands and it's like everybody is the same, you know? Even though us and Origin, we are doing the co-headlining spot, everybody has the same - the drum riser, you know. You're all sharing? Max: Yeah, sharing everything, helping each other, just like a bunch of friends. That's awesome! So, how old were you three when you started playing together, not necessarily as Krisiun, but just as brothers? Max - Well, I am the youngest brother, and Alex [Camargo, bass/vocals] was the oldest, so he was the first guy to get into playing an instrument. He was fourteen years old. He had some friends in school and they wanted to start a band. They were looking for a drummer and Alex said "Ah, I can play drums". Then he got some pieces of drums, you know, a bass, a snare, a cymbal, and started this band. They were playing some basic simple rock/metal stuff back in '85-'86, and then Moyses [Kolesne, guitar] and me, we got really hooked. We were like "Man, this is amazing!" The first time I listened to a guy playing guitars, and a drummer, and band playing in front of me, it was just like magic. Then Moyses was really into learning guitars, and I was, after Moyses, I was really into learning how to play drums. After a few years, we decided to try to start a band together, the three of us. Is your family musical? Max: No, man. I remember my dad, he bought an acoustic guitar for my mom, but she was not really good, and we would play better than her, because we were always trying to play "Smoke on the Water" and "Iron Man", all the classics. That was one of the things that got us into playing an instrument was the acoustic guitar my dad bought for my mom. I can tell by your Serpentspire shirt that you're keeping up with modern tech-death. Do you feel like kind of a godfather to that? Max: I think we're part of the whole Death Metal thing, you know, we came right after the classic bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse. Then it was us, Angelcorpse, Suffocation, Hate Eternal. I think we're part of the history of Brutal Death Metal. We feel really honored to have people recognize us as one of the Death Metal bands that's been around for so long and we're still doing it. Speaking of Hate Eternal, by all accounts, Erik Rutan [guitarist/vocalist/producer for Hate Eternal, who produced the latest Krisiun record] is just the nicest guy. How was working with him this time around? Max: Actually, he co-produced Conquerors of Armageddon, which was recorded in '99 in Germany in Stage One Studios. After that, we became good friends. We did a couple of tours with Hate Eternal here in the states and some tours when he was playing for Morbid Angel during the Formulas tour at the beginning of 2000. We always been talking to each other and he said "Hey, man, one day I wanna produce you guys again". It took a long 46 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

lerwiedy. Max Kolesme time for us to work with him again because we did three albums in a row with the same guy, a german producer from Stage One Studios. We did AssassiNation, Southern Storm, and The Great Execution with Andy Classen. We stayed with him because he did such a great job, so that's why we kept going back to him, but after three albums we decided it was time for a change. The first guy we had in mind was Erik Rutan, and right away we're saying "Hey, I wanna record with you" and he was really glad. It was a good work together. I think so too! Another change is that you seem to be drawing more from Thrash than Death this time around. Max: Actually, we grew up - our main influence is not just Death Metal. Of course, when we started the band, we had a lot of influences from Morbid Angel, Death, but we're also strongly inspired by Possessed, Slayer, even old Metallica - Ride The Lightning, all those classics, and the older metal like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, they all inspired us a lot. It's just a natural influence we got for the new album. For many years, we put out albums which are really, really fast, a lot of blast beats, a lot of fast stuff going on. We felt the need to play something different, like "Let's slow down a little bit here and there, give the vocals more space to be more creative, to get more bass guitar lines". If you just play fast all the time, it's hard to have a good spot for the bass guitar, even for the vocals to be more creative and create some killer patterns. Same for guitar, to be able to play some atmospheric stuff in the music. As a drummer, I felt "Well, I'm gonna slow down some parts, try to make it more creative, not just repeat the same formula all the time". You can tell we have all these influences from Sepultura, all these classic Thrash Metal bands, and also all these Death Metal bands. You put it all together and [makes a gesture of presenting something] Speaking of Sepultura, when you guys started, there were a lot of great bands coming out of Brazil. In fact, I just saw Vulcano over the summer. Max: Vulcan째, yeah, they're great. Is the scene still healthy down there? Max: Yeah, those bands are still around, but they don't play that much. It sucks that we have a lot of killer bands in Brazil but they never have - I don't know if they have a chance to play overseas and try to build up a name here or in Europe, but it takes a lot of hard work and effort to do it We used to tour in the states lots, three times in a year, just to be able to build up a following here, for people to notice that "This band from Brazil, they've been around a long time, and they play some good Death Metal". That's how it goes. You have to be persistent and work hard. Maybe some of those bands they don't have the same will to do this shit, but there's a lot of really good bands down there. Could you recommend any? Max: Torture Squad, Claustrophobia, Funeratus That's all I got. Anything else you wanna say? Max: It's a pleasure to be here, it's good to be back to the states. This tour is doing really good, man. I think when they do tours like this, just Death Metal bands - I don't wanna separate things, we love to tour with all kinds of Metal bands - but it's good when you have solid Death Metal bands sticking together. It keeps it strong. You make the following stronger when you have bands like this together. There should be more tours like this, like let's say five strong Death Metal bands together. It makes a difference for sure. Krisiun Online www.krisiun.com.br www.facebook.comikrisiun.official November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 47

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ARO Playing a high energy form of melodic hardcore, H20 are an institution in punk rock. And although their musical output has slowed down considerably in the last 15 years, when they do release a record, it's usually well worth the wait. 7 years on from their last album of new music Nothing To Prove, Use Your Voice is HO's sixth studio album (not including 2011's covers album Don't Forget Your Roots). It's filled with the same brand of high energy, catchy, positive punk rock the band is known tor. Adam Blake, who has been the band's bassist since 1997, spoke to us about the new record, the history of the band and the state of music in 2015. I guess the best place to start is to ask the most obvious question: Why seven years since your last studio album? Adam: There's a few reasons for that. The first one is we were always busy and we never felt pressure to go in the studio. We were always playing shows, we always seemed to have a good amount of momentum moving forward. And, to be completely honest, there's a certain amount of performance anxiety there. I mean it took us seven years after Go to get to Nothing To Prove. So things are going well and we know if we make a record that doesn't stand up to Nothing To Prove, at this stage in the game, it's kind of a bad look. So we decided that we wanted to take our time and make a record we could really be proud of. We needed to wait for Chad (Gilbert, producer) to have availability as well as our engineer. But once we decided to do it, it took us three months to actually have a record in the can. So were most of the songs fairly recently written? Adam: Yeah. I mean some of the songs were from demos that were done in 2012 or 13, four of them were from that, but everything else was written for this record, or presented to the band as finished pieces for this record. Well, musically it doesn't sound like you guys missed a beat. This album could have come out a year after Nothing To Prove. It's got that same energy, that same quality of penmanship. Adam: Thank you very much. That's also one of the side benefits of taking so long to make a record because there's a level of excitement and energy that comes when something is not routine. When it's kind of new. And that's a big reason the record sounds like that, because we were excited to make it. We felt kind of like little kids at play. One song I love on the record is 'Father Figure'. Is that about musical communities and having them as adopted families growing up? Adam: Yeah. I know from an autobiographical aspect, Toby's father died when he was three, so a lot of lessons he didn't have a father to teach to him, he was able to get 52 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

through a lot of the bands he was listening to at the time. And to draw the strength that he would have had having a physical father from the music. Is that emotional connection still there today? Adam: Yeah absolutely. I mean we've grown up and everything, but when I hear certain music, it takes me back, it inspires me and gives me that same kind of kick that it always did, you know? Another song I love is 'Skate!' And I love the video where Steve Caballero is playing guitar with you guys. Did he play on the record as well? Adam: Yeah he plays the lead guitar part at the end of the song. It was awesome, we really wanted him to play on the song and it was really cool that he was able to bring the song to another level. I love the part he came up with, it lifts the song up and I was so happy he was able to do that. That's really cool. Where did you film the video? Warm We filmed the video at Hurley, which has a skate park in their headquarters and at the Vans skate park in Orange, California. There's a lot of people skating in the video, people from other bands, Toby skates in the video, Ryan Hurley, Steve Cab. Have you guys been tight with Steve for a while? Adam: Yeah, we did the Warped Tour with him years back. He's a childhood hero of Toby's and he and Toby became close friends, so we've known him for a while. But he's just a really wonderful, gracious guy, a very warm energy. We hope he can come out and play the song with us on a couple of dates. That would be very cool. I know that Nothing To Prove was influenced in a big way by things like having kids, family, etc., as well as being proud of who you are and where you came from. What was influencing the writing of this record? Adam: I just think life, you know? I mean it's been seven years, a lot of stuff happened, the world around us gets referenced. The song 'Still Dreaming', the lyrics were written while we were in Nashville doing the vocal sessions and it's about the Baltimore riots, which were on TV. So those lyrics were written mid- session? Adam: Yeah, exactly. When we went to Nashville, Toby brought a big book of lyrics and Toby's really good at writing under pressure, so you tell him 'hey, we need this many lyrics in a week', he's going to knuckle under and have a ton of stuff ready. When we got to Nashville there were still a few songs he didn't have lyrics for, that being one of them. One thing I love about your band and I've always loved about you guys, is that message of positivity you bring forth. How hard is it to maintain that message, when, in some ways the world can seem like it's getting better, in others, it seems like it's getting worse. Adam: Well as far as the world getting worse, it kind of depends on where you look and how you look at it. I mean war and poverty and all these things, they've been going on for a long time. It feels sometimes, to me at least, that because the negative stories are juicier, that's why they get told. But there's a lot of good things out there, especially when you look closer to home and not look on such a global scale, you look on a more local and personal level. But everybody has shitty days. wake up in the November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com

morning sometimes, probably not the nicest guy in the world and have those days too. But you just need to be a little more introspective and kind of steer yourself back on track when you see yourself heading in that direction. The music industry is changing as well. Some say for the better, making music more accessible and portable now than ever before, some say for the worse, making it hard for independent bands to make a go of music as a career. How do you feel about where things are now as opposed to when you guys got started? Adam: See, it's weird because while we make records, we're not necessarily the best at selling records. So for us it's kind of business as usual. It's like: make a record, go on tour. And that's kind of where our heads are at But it's a different world for sure, one that's still figuring itself out. As long as there's music, non musicians are going to look for a way to monetize it. And for whatever reason right now Pandora's box is open. And I know our record leaked, I know people have downloaded our record and I'm almost comfortable with that. What are you going to do, are you going to complain about the rain? You can't stop it, it's coming no matter what. But I do think, if I'm a person and someone downloads our music for free, and they like that music, find a way to give back. You know? Go to a show, buy a t-shirt, tell a friend to buy the record. You know what I mean? It's just a different world out there. Without trying to make you feel old, you guys are like the elder statesmen of the scene nowadays. If you've got a kid coming up to you at a show or wherever who has a band, what advice do you give him to achieve the kind of longevity and uncompromised values you guys have kept? Adam: I would say don't take it too seriously. Find the fun, find the joy in it. Because if you get too career minded, you might become exactly what you wanted to avoid being. Stay young, stay positive, make it fun. Also, get a life outside of it, have something else. If all you have is the band, I promise you it will start feeling routine. If you are able to step away from it and then come back to it, you'll always feel f*cking stoked to be a part of it. H20's latest release 'Use Your Voice' is out via ITunes, andd all other outlets including Band Camp at wwvv.bridge9.bandcamp.comialbumiuse-your-voice, Also be sure to catch these guys live who are on tour in Europe and ih the USA. For mor details on dates and other information check them out online at www.h2ogo.com & www.facebook.com/1-120go

54 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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Interview by Dustin Griffin

Cover Irderkviigw The Southerim SpiVi The name Tech N9ne is synonymous not only with hip hop, but with independent music in and of itself. Fiercely and stubbornly independent throughout his entire career, both as an artist and as co owner and operator of his genre bending record label Strange Music, Tech has been testing and bending the boundaries of hip hop for years, collaborating with everyone from Slipknot to The Doors to Kendrick Lamar and Eminem. This past May Tech released his 15th studio album Special Effects to rave reviews and has already named his follow up album for 2016, as well as a Strange Music collaboration project called Strangulation II. We talked to Tech about Special Effects and all manner of strange and beautiful music.

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Special Effects is a huge album in a lot of ways: production, conception, ideas, collaboration. Did you approach this project with these ideas fully formed, or did you build on them in the studio?

Tech N9ne: I knew I wanted to do a song with Eminem for over a decade, I knew I wanted to do a song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot for over a decade. I go into every album knowing who I want to work with as soon as I hear the beats. So as soon as we came up with ISpeedorns, I knew that this is the one lima send to Eminem. Soon as I heard 'Hood Go Crazy' I knew I was going to get 2 Chainz on it, , 4=11-p you know what I'm sizzlin'? So the beats tell SECTS me exactly what to do. All I know going in to the album is that it has to be bigger than the last. So just imagine how big the storm has to be to beat Special Effects. How you gonna beat â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aw Yeah?', how you gonna beat â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Speedomi with Eminem? We just gotta push harder. And this is a very massive album. It represents no barriers, no genre restrictions. I love it. Absolutely. And it all flows really well. Listening to the album as a whole, it feels almost like watching a movie. It's hard to pull a track out of sequence. Tech N9ne: Totally man. I put it together that way so it does feel comfortable when you're listening. The transitions have to be perfect. I mean think about it man, 'Hood Go Crazy' is right after 'Wither', you know? So you have to think about something that will connect the two, which is this phone call. And then you hear me say 'why can't I be the epicentre for all types of music' and this metal track comes on, you know? That's how my brain works man, no barriers. It's beautiful. Yeah. And you're a very inspirational artist in that you've created this empire of music, your music and the music on your label, on your own terms. How do you get to where you're at without having to sell your soul to the majors? Tech N9ne: (laughs) I don't even know how to sell a soul. I don't even know how it got into me. They say it's God, but I don't know how to sell it. But I guess people call it selling out for money, doing something you wouldn't regularly do for money. And that's something I've never believed in. We ain't kissing no motherf*cking ass to be accepted. But I think how you get to this point of being respected by your peers in Hip Hop, Metal, R&B, is actually being good at it and having people agree. Because 60 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

everybody thinks they're good, but people have to agree with it. And after so many years of banging people over the head with elite music and flow, people are going to listen. And that's a hard task, especially with someone that looks and sounds as weird as I do. I have to ask about ‘Speedom', because when I first heard the track, my jaw was on the floor. Every verse on this song is crazy, but Eminem's is some of the fastest rapping I've ever heard. Were you in the booth when he spit that? Tech N9ne: No, we're two very busy men, you know, so he recorded it at his studio and sent it over to me completely mastered. And when I heard it, my jaw was on the floor (laughs). I don't no how he did it, but whatever he did, he did it well, he's a professional. He's the best in my opinion and to receive a verse like that and to talk to Paul Rosenberg like Travis did throughout the process, it's a beautiful accomplishment. To have the best rapper say 'I've been listening to you a long time, I've always appreciated what you've done', that's crazy to hear from Eminem dog, you know? Like that's the accolade in hip hop where people say 'oh, Eminem gave Tech N9ne the thumbs up? Elk, he must be the jiggty jam.' And then to have Corey Taylor from Slipknot give the thumbs up, in metal. On the last album The Doors gave the thumbs up. Whoa. Just imagine how big my head is, but I don't act that way (laughs). It's beautiful man. Well it's well earned. Even on ‘Speedomi, it's not like Eminem's part is the only good part, the whole track is good, every verse. Tech N9ne: Yeah man. That was three hardcore emcee's doing their thing and to be able to hold your own with Eminem and have people say they love your verse too, that's beautiful. We're hardcore, what we do. How does the collaboration work? Do you have the song first or do you come up with the beat with the artist in mind? Tech N9ne: Right when I heard ‘Speedom' I knew this is the one I'm gonna send Em. After me and Krizz dropped our verses, Travis sent Paul Rosenberg the track and said this is the one we want Em on, we want 16 bars and when Paul sent it back, it had 24. He loved it that much, you know? I mean, shit, go ahead bro, rap for 30 more minutes, we don't give a damn (laughs). But I always send out my verse with the track to motivate whoever will be on it, to motivate them to do the best they can do. That's what our music does and I'm proud of that. Your first album Calm Before the Storm is considered a classic now. At the time it was favorably compared to 2pac and the west coast sound. Special Effects doesn't sound like much else out there, except for Tech N9ne. Who are some of the artists influencing you today? Tech N9ne: Tech N9ne. I listen to Tech N9ne so much. Old Tech N9ne, new Tech N9ne, like it's not me because I have to battle that guy every time I do a record. And that's hard to do, I don't like that task, but it has to be done, it makes me better. But the stuff I buy? I'm a big fan of Citizen Cope, I'm a big fan of System of a Down and Slipknot, I'm a big fan of Outkast, Jay-Z and Kanye. Eminem. Alabama Shakes. These are the albums I buy, I love good music. Lana Del Rey. I pay attention to beautiful music and it inspires me to want to do beautiful music, you know what I'm saying? No boundaries. November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com

Comer Imterview The

SpiVi

I want to talk about your label Strange Music a bit. What was your original intent for it? Tech N9ner The original intent was to do quality music, spread it to the people and create a melting pot at our shows. And when we set out to do this in late '99, Travis O'Guin and I, put out our first record in 2000, to see it come to fruition after all those years, is such a beautiful thing, to see that melting pot at all of our shows, you know? The people from different walks of life: rockers, rappers, gangbangers, college kids, whatever a hipster is, cause I don't know, but everybody. Different cultures, different religions, we wanted it all from the beginning. To bring all those people under one roof for beautiful music and that's what's happening. And it shows in the music in who we collaborate with, after being fans of these people for so many years. Everything I've been saying for years 'Tech N9ne won't go mainstream, mainstream will go Tech', that's what's happening and that's crazy to see, that prophecy. And that's why I'm starting to work out again, because I cannot get fat this late in life. I need my knees, I need my ankles, so I can jump around on stage, cause we go hard up there. Was there any specific label when you started Strange that you looked to for inspiration in how you wanted to run it? Tech N9ne: Yeah, Travis was a big No Limit fan, with Master P and everybody. And I was a big E-40 fan. Sick wid It Records. E-40's always been independent and still manages to stay afloat after all these years. I always wanted longevity, so I paid attention to E-40. I paid attention to Suge Knight, Def Jam. And here we are, the number one independent record label in the world thus far. Music is in a weird place right now. It's become so accessible and so easy to steal, that a lot of people don't have the patience anymore to wait for a record to drop properly. They want it now, they want it for free, they want the leak weeks before the release date. How do you keep ahead of that shit, not only as an artist but as a label runner? Tech N9ne: It's hard when streaming services give it away nearly free, cause then the artists get paid pennies. Of course things can change, and we pray for that, because now we have to do even more music to be able to make what we were making just to fund the empire. Technology makes it easy and that's fine, that's what technology does, makes things easier for people, for the listener. But now you have people like Taylor Swift sending letters to Spotify saying 'this will not stand'. And I love to see that, that movement, paying the artist what they're worth, you know? People were wondering why Special Effects wasn't on Spotify when we first dropped it and I was like will not get pennies for this beautiful body of work that I put all my soul into.' So, it's hard but no matter what path music takes, we will be there, Strange Music will be there. If a kid comes up to you at a show and wants to get into the business, what's your advice: go indie, or go major? Tech N9ne: Whatever suits you better. If you don't want to do the work yourself and lose money and have to put money in, don't do it independent, if you don't have the balls for it. Good thing we did cause the reward is greater later. But if major is what you set out for, do that. I would prefer doing it yourself because nobody can tell you what and what not to do. But I would say that whatever route you take, do really good music. Take your time with it and pay attention to the fans because if they love it, it will last forever and it will inspire somebody to do something even greater and we cankeep this thing called hip hop moving in every direction, instead of one direction, 62 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

you know? Just like Strange Music. Tech N9ne has a ton of stuff happening! Currently he is on tour across Canada and the USA until the end of the year. So be sure to grab your tickets. Details and to keep up to date online at: www.facebook.comitherealTechN9ne wwvv.twitter.com/TechN9ne Also just recently announced is Tech N9n's upcoming album 'Strangeulation, Vol. II (Deluxe Edition)' Out November 20th, 2015. and is now up on iTunes for pre-order. If you love Tech N9ne then also visit his label Strange Music to listen to more talented artists: www.strangemusicinc.com www.facebook.comiStrangeMusicInc www.youtube.com/user/StrangeMusicInc www.twitter.comiStrangeMusicInc www.instagram.comistrangemusicinc

November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com

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Tales of Sessions And The Road With Purson Interview By Matt Bacon

Rosalie Cunningham is an incredibly interesting human being and picking her mind about the power of rock and roll was an honor. The story she told at the end though was a highlight... a truly magical experience that but rarely foisted upon us by the gods of rock and roll. What's up? Rosalie: We hung out for a while in Central Park so I'm a bit tired. Is this your first time in New York? Rosalie: Yes, first time with Purson. I was here twice before though - once with my first band and once when I did session guitar with another band. How does it feel to be on the road with the most happening band in metal? Rosalie: It's pretty exciting. It's kind of the perfect band for us to be going on the road with right now. Even though it's quite different I think the crowd is enjoying. You're very much a part of this return of rock and roll... Rosalie: Definitely moreso than there was before. Were not really part of a scene and I don't think there's anyone doing what we're doing but there's a general shift towards transitional rock and roll. I think people are bored of the trick and just want to hear music. What triggered that boredom? 66 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Interview Rosalie: It happens with everything doesn't it? Music technology went as far as it could go without improving music so its best to just get a guitar and do it! So in the States we've been talking a lot about sexism in rock and metal - to what degree does that impact you? Rosalie: Not as much as it used to. It's shifted even within my career. When I started I was in a crappy all girl band and it was pretty bad but now I barely sense it. With this I don't feel treated that way. What sparked that change for you? Rosalie: More women in music which is always a good thing. It's not a novelty anymore. I still get it from people who don't know me. Like when I go to a guitar shop and ask to try a guitar they are overly helpful and kind of condescending because they haven't seen me play. When people know what I'm about they don't doubt me. I don't get offended by it though. It's just the way the world is and a lot of people are very respectful - people are going to be idiots. You mentioned being a session guitarist - what's your musical background like? Rosalie: I've been playing all my life. I did session work for a while but it wasn't for me it was pretty soul destroying, it was good money but I hated it. Who were you doing it with? Rosalie: I don't want to say. You can find videos on the internet but it's really embarrassing. I did a few TV shows like Jay Lend. To what extent do your connections in the pop world help you? Rosalie: None whatsoever. It's a different world. I wouldn't want it to be any other way. That was just a job and this is a career. Is Purson your full time thing? Rosalie: Yeah. I have a side project and one or two of the others do too - but we're on the road so much we don't really have much time to spare. Every now and then when I'm off for a week record some stuff. I really like your aesthetic... what's the symbolism of the necklace? Rosalie: There isn't any really! It has stars so I guess... space... I'm not sure how to describe the rest of your attire but is it meant to reflect a hippy vibe in the music? losalie: To some degree. I just enjoy dressing like this. I made the pants. That period of fashion and music is something I admire and try and recreate. We just really love dressing like that. People stop us for photographs on the street which is pretty funny. Do you make a lot of your own clothing? Rosalie: Yes. If I want something I'll just make it. I paint some of the artwork too because I just like to get things done. So you have a sort of artistic blessing? Rosalie: I guess so. Not in any one way and I'm not saying that I'm good at any of them but I like to try! Have you always been an a professional musician? Rosalie: Pretty much. When I left school at 16 I left to London to be a professional musician and got a gig straight away. Then I joined a band, ended up stealing the bass November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 67

player to start another band and we got signed on our second gig. So from there on it was pretty much... I've never made much money from it but enough to get on by. Well you can live in London... Rosalie: I live just outside of London now since we were priced about but it's definitely good. We all grew up there which is cool. Does that sort of reflect returning to your roots? Rosalie: Sort of. Londons' cool but it doesn't have a lot of space. Life is too fast and too expensive. I live on my own I like my own space I live by the sea I like to have breathing room. I want you to finish this sentence for me "rite never told this story and probably shouldn't 'I but. Rosalie: We were kidnapped once on tour in Belgium. Our van broke down on Halloween in the middle of a tour. We were picked up by the Belgian AAA and they drove us for three hours and we were like "No way the garage is this far away!" And they locked us in a compound and they said they wanted five thousand Euros and the van was worth about two thousand. They weren't letting us go. They just left us there over night. Eventually we found a place in the compound where one of us had phone signal and we called the police. We had hardly any battery. They had fled because we didn't have the money. I don't know what they thought we were going to do. Then when we called the police they said they would come help us. But then we realized we had loads of mushrooms on us since we had just come from Amsterdam. So we were like "They're going to be a couple hours" because the police had to come from the UK because the Belgian police wouldn't help. I don't know what's up with that country... but the UK police were like 5 hours away so we had time to trip and it was a large amount so we were tripping balls. And we smashed up the place then. We found a crowbar and destroyed that garage. We quit the tour after that because our van was destroyed and it was a shit tour. Do psychedelics impact you a lot? Rosalie: Yes. The next album is loosely a concept album based on the trip experience. It's not super linear but neither is a trip. What do you love so much about music? Rosalie: That it allows me to be in touch with myself and be praised for it and do it as a job. Not just my music either - I'm a massive fan. It's kind of my entire life. I wouldn't know what I was without it. One time that occurred to me while I was tripping I was like "What am I without music?" and it was the most hollow feeling I've ever felt. Any final words of wisdom? Rosalie: Don't do drugs! www.purson.co.uk www.facebook.comipursontheband www.twitter.com/_Purson

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Interview. @hi d Bite Hopping between genres the way their wackadoo frontman hops around venues, Michigan's Child Bite are seldom idle. With their relentless touring schedule, they still manage to consistently put out mind-bending, refreshingly weird records and unlikely splits and collaborations, all of which blur boundaries in extreme music. After the Philadelphia date of their tour with KEN Mode, singer/graphic designer Shawn Knight and I sit for chat that, much like their music, manically leaps from place to place. How's this tour been going for you? Shawn: We've been having a lot of fun on this tour. This has been the first year where we got a substantial amount of tour offers, people asking us to go out with them. The first nine years of the band was very much like "Oh, we got a new record. I guess we should probably go do some touring" and we'd have fun, and it was super-duper d.i.y., but this is the first year where Coliseum wants to take us on tour, Superjoint Ritual, and then Down, and then KEN Mode, next month Negative Approach. It's been good. We've been happy. Speaking of Down and Superjoint, you guys seem to work with Phil Anselmo a lot. What's that relationship like? Shawn: Yeah, I don't know why he likes us, but he does and that's nice; I'm happy about it. It started a while ago. I was doing art for some of his bands, and then we had the idea for that Anal Cunt thing [Morbid Hits] and kind of ran that by him, and he was into it, and then the ball just kept rolling. We were just down there in April and May recording our new record, and having him produce it at his house, like in a studio and everything. We didn't know how that was gonna go, and, to be honest, we were a little nervous, we were like "I don't know if he's going to try to f*ckin metal-ify us", cause we're not totally that, even though we like that shit, but we're not straight-up that. To our delight, he was like "That's the last thing I'd f*ckin' wanner hear. I like you guys `cause you're different", and just really embraced that, and just tried to get the best performances out of us, and come up with interesting production ideas, stuff like that. So that was great. That'll be coming out on his label, which is called Housecore, probably in the winter, later in the winter, early next year I'd imagine. So, yeah, the last record came out with him, the Anal Cunt collaboration came out with him, the new one will and for the foreseeable future, he's kind of taken us under his wing. Like what Phil said, it seems like you're not really bound to punk or metal or hardcore, you're kind of the Mr. Bungle of extreme music. Do you find that translates to a mixed crowd when you play? Shawn: It seems like it's been working out more often than not, which is good 'cause we

know it's a mixed thing. We're curious how it's going to go over with the Negative Approach crowd -yeah, they're so straight-ahead. Shawn: Yeah, very strict guidelines of hardcore, even though they should keep in mind some of the old-school hardcore bands like Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, the later Black Flag stuff, some of that stuff got really weird. Hopefully, they see that we're more influenced by the weirder side of that shit and hopefully they see it translates and goes over, but if not f*ck 'em, it's fine, whatever. We'll do what we gotta do. But in general, yeah, people I have been into it and sometimes say shit like "That was a breath of fresh air cause I'm not sure how to pigeon-hole it. It's like this band, but also this other band which is totally different". I'm like "Yes. You get it". That just comes from - we all write together. There's not one or two of us that write the songs and say "Here's how the songs 74 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

go". It's like we all get into a room together, and we've all been into so many kinds of music growing up, not only 80's shit, but 90's shit too, just 'cause of the age that we are, so it's like a weird mix of anything from those 80's hardcore bands I mentioned to 90's shit like old Nirvana or Mr. Bungle - I gotta half-sleeve of Mr. Bungle tattoos, Disco Volante there, so, yeah, y'hit the nail on the head there, but then some of the other guys never heard about Mr. Bungle until they joined the band, and they were into all different kinds of punk and metal and "alternative" - there's some air quotes there - and "grunge" with more quotes, basically all that weird, gnarly shit from like late 70's to mid 2000's is all thrown into our weird witch's brew and stirred up and turns into whatever the f*ck it is we're doing. I remember reading somewhere that Child Bite is a sort of super-group. Is that accurate? Shawn: I haven't heard that, and I think it's kind of funny. I wouldn't say it's accurate, cause it's more just a group. We've all been in other bands, playing together, and our old bands would play shows together, and I look at Child Bite, at least from our little circle of whatever the f*ck it is we're doing in the Detroit area, as almost like the ship that's still kind of chuggin' along, like when another ship - i.e. band - is sinking and most of them are like "Yes. I want this to end. I'm done. Please, the sweet relief of being done with this shit" and there'll be one guy that's on the life-raft like "I still wanna tour, and I still wanna play music." "Well, c'mon! Jump on here!" So, we're where everybody that is not ready to That's been the case. I started the band with a couple of quit jumps on and keeps other dudes ten years ago, and then each of the guys that are in the band now came from the ashes of another band, where they were all not doing anything or doing something totally different, so one guy would jump on over here. Let's keep going'. So I haven't been able to find the lyrics to this last release [Strange Waste]. Are you still on that Lovecraft tip? Shawn: I would say not quite as much on this one. There was a record a couple EPs ago called Monomania that was much more Lovecraftian, and Edgar Allen Poeian, and maybe even Italian futurist, just very weird word scramble, but with very dark undertone like "I don't know what he means by that, but it doesn't sound good" type of vibe. Burroughsian?

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Shawn: Yeah, a bit of that. The more recent I ---1 ''. records and the one that's not out yet, it's ;-... A. .g. .4 g..: more so dealing with subject matter and rjorl : 1F-' topics that I think about, like actual real nAli. 0"Â§Xl. 00;i.411114, a .11, day-to-day kind of shit, but worded in a '1i, weird, fanciful, thesaurus-y type of way 4 444 411\ r1.. STRANFiE WASTE that makes it a little more confusing and a 111110kett little more interesting. If you don't want to read what it's all about, like "That's kind of weird and f*cked up. I can appreciate it on that aesthetic level", or if you read into it you're kind of like "What does he mean by that?" and you keep reading and "Oh! I think I get what he's talking about", then you can go deeper if you want, but it's cool. I've never even been very much a "lyric guy", when it comes to other bands. Certain songs here or there like "That's so cool, or profound, or touching" or whatever, but it's never been the main thing for me, so that was -

November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 75

Interview. @LAM Bite kind of a whole other project: becoming a frontman for a band and "What am I gonna talk about?" Just like when I stopped playing guitar in the band and I was like "What am I going to do up there?" It's not like it's that thought out. It's not "I gotta pose and do all these cool things". You gotta do something! You can't just stand there...we're getting into a totally different topic. That's fine. lowri: It's interesting. What is the phrase? Necessity is the mother of invention. "I need to say something. What am I going to talk about?" and you come up with something and hopefully you don't fall flat on your face and say some dumb shit. I think that's where lyrically and musically the biggest concern was for me: I just don't want it to be generic, some shit that a thousand other bands have already done, so we push to be unique musically and lyrically, "Well, I can talk about regular things I think about, but try to find a new way to do it", so it just doesn't sound like "I've heard this song before done by a plethora of other bands", y'know? Yeah, especially in punk. It's like every band has to have an organized religion is bullshit song, every band has to have a cops are bad song... Shawn: Right, and we do have some of those, but I try to frame it in a new way, so it's not just the same thing that you've already Pain' heard. How many times can you say "pigs must die"? You gotta come up with a new way. You do all the graphic design for albums and merch? Shawn: I do, yes. It seems like it's become more consistent. At this point, do you sort of know what Child Bite looks like? Shawn: Yeah, that was a conscious effort. The sound and the visual at the same time was a conscious effort. Like I said, we've been a band - we started in late 2005, and it's changed as time's gone on; different people have come in, our influences have changed, and just getting bored with one thing, wanting to do different shit. It keeps changing. There was a spot once the original two dudes I started the band with were out of the picture, and it was the newer guys. We always had pop sensibilities, and kind of teetered, tip-toed into the indie rock world, but we also had the weirder and heavier sort of jarring aspects of the band, and it was about mid-way through our - again, air quotes - "career", about five years into the band when it was enough of a change of the guard and enough of a change of the scenery around us, as far as the Detroit local music landscape, the types of bands we were playing with, that we were like "Let's get the f*ck off the fence. Let's just go more heavy and weird than heavy and weird, but also more indie, poppy, kind of weird", y'know? We still can't help but write stuff that has hooks to it, but it's more in a way, like the way The Misfits had hooks, that kind of thing. We're never gonna be just a straight-up punishing, bludgeoning, noise-type thing, y'know? Not like these guys [pointing to the The Body shirt I have on]. Shawn: : Yeah. We played with them a couple of months ago, and they have this shirt where it's like "Anti-Sabbath, Anti-riff" or something like that, and it was like "I like you guys, but I'm into Sabbath and I'm into riffs". We're all about riffs, and trying to have catchy parts and shit, but in a noisy, heavy way. But, yeah, to get back to what you actually asked about, around maybe 2011, with that Monomania record, that was when I came up with a t-shirt design that I did a new text treatment for and it was like "We're going to keep using this", and we all kind of agreed "Yeah, why don't we just do that?". Before that it was "Let's do something different for every cover, every record its own special little snowflake. I'm not gonna do logos", 76 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Inberwiew. ShLNsin Krojight because I am a graphic designer by trade and worked in agencies and what not, [grumpy punk voice]: "We're not gonna do logos or branding, 'cause that's corporate" and then I remembered "What about when I was in middle school and I used to draw the Metallica logo all the time, or The Misfits logo, or the Black Flag bars, or the DK, or the Anthrax logo? Why am I fighting so hard against this shit that I thought was so f*cking cool?" The type of music we're playing now is the closest to what I used to listen to when I was like 13, 14, 15, 16 years old, and it just feels right, y'know? We're kind of coming full circle in a way. So, yeah, we just decided "We're over-thinking things. let's just f*cking go with something that's recognizable. We dig it. Other people seem to dig it, here and there, a little bit, and let's just f*cking go with it." Not to say it won't change in the future. It's fun to work within a framework. Sometimes it's too much to have, in any - music, visual art anything where it's like "Your options are limitless." Sometimes it's kind of cool, but sometimes that's just too much. Right now we're having fun working within a framework, where it's like "I'm doing the illustration stuff". We'll teeter on different borders of that, but it'll still be recognizable as Child Bite, and the music it'll be "This song will maybe be slower or this other thing where it's almost grind-y", but still within a framework where it's like "I can tell that's Child Bite". I heard that you live in a tiny home. Is that true? Shawn: I do. It's a little tiny home on wheels. Yeah, it's been cool so far. I've been on tour so much that I don't actually know. I've just been in the other tiny home a.k.a. the van, but my wife and I moved into it a couple months ago and it's been so far so good. We just figured "F*ck it We don't own the house that we're in, so we can just leave whenever. We both do work that we can do from the road, wherever we have Wi-Fi. F*ck that. That's cool. Don't have any kids. We just have little dogs. They're compact enough." We were both into the idea and we were like "Let's try it out" and, if a year from now, we decide we don't like it, we can always go back and rent another house or apartment or something. So far, so good. We're having fun with it. The road's kind of your home now, huh? Shawn: It is. It's kind of a permanent tour where we're relying on the Google calendar. I'm on actual tour, and right when I get back the other color lines are where it's like "We're going to be in our trailer living in Ohio for a week, and we're moving over to southern Indiana for two weeks, and then I gotta be back in time to rehearse with the band for the Negative Approach tour, but at the same time we have the other line going because we have to store the trailer further south so the pipes don't freeze, and then after that tour's done we'll go down there, then go back for Christmas", so, yeah, it's a little crazy, but we're into it at the moment. If it becomes more overwhelming than fun, we'll change it, but until it's not fun, we're not gonna change it. Wrapping up, what's next for Child Bite? Shawn: We just finished mixing the new album a week ago, cause the tour right now that we're on swung through New Orleans, where we were working on in it, and it was the day before Phil and his whole crew left to go on the Danzig tour that they're on right now. So there was that one day of overlap where we eclipsed, and that was great. We got to make the final touches in the same room, and thumps up all around, we were like "Good. Done." That's done. It's still gotta get mastered. I got to work on the art as soon as I get home. It's hard to do art from the road. I keep on not having time, or being in weird scenarios where I can't focus or don't have a flat surface or I'm not bouncing' around in a van. So, got to get the art done, get the mastering done, get it pressed, so it'll still be a few months, but I'm thinking' January, February, March, something' like that, and that's about it. I've been doing a fest in Detroit the past couple of years called Berserker and this'll be the third year coming' up in March. We always play it. It's fun, I get to pick all November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 77

Intervieg. *AM Bite the bands and shit so, obviously, that's a kid in the candy store type of thing. It also ends up being kind of like our anniversary hometown show, so I know we'll be doing that Detroit show in March. Other than that, our agent is looking into different tours for us, a couple where it's fingers crossed but too early to say, and hopefully it's more of this, but with a new record, and different bands. We'll just keep the ball rollin' and try not to stop. Like a shark, as soon as you stop, you start to second guess everything. I guess that's what sharks do: they start second guessing life. They get all existential. Na, I think they just die. Shawn: not sure about that, we'll have to double check that. We'll have to Wikipedia that when we're done with this, but one or the other. Child Bite Online: www.childbite.com www.childbite.bandcampacom www.facebook.cornfchildbite www.thehousecorerecords.com

NEGATIVE APPROACH WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

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Snores, Soul and Rock And Roll Interview By Matt Bacon

Electric Citizen are a groovy bunch and always willing to talk about the power of music. We sat down and talked about the nature of rock and then got a little silly. How are you guys? Nick Wagner: Awesome Ross Dolan: It's an awesome night in Brooklyn. Laura Dolan: Were on tour with Pentagram. It doesn't get much better than that. How does that feel? Laura; It feels amazing. If you had told me that two years ago I wouldn't have believed you. What's it been like with Electric Citizen having exploded in the fast two years? What does that feel like? Laura; I don't think any of us believe it. Nick: I'm waiting to wake up. Laurz, When we did our first album it was for fun and kind of rushed and I don't think anybody was expecting a lot of people to care and when they did that was awesome then we got to go on a bunch of cool tours and do stuff we never thought we would be able to do! 82 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Why do you think Electric Citizen exploded then? Why do people connect? Laura: A lot of it has to do with our label Riding Easy. Ross: He had a great following already and I think he introduced us to his following. Laura: The combination of that and touring our asses off helped a lot. Touring is essential for new bands because it really gets your name out, its not something on your Facebook feed it's an interaction only a live show can have. We've seen Riding Easy grow along side us too. We didn't really shop for a record label and we didn't really put a lot of time and effort into the first album because we didn't think anyone would care and suddenly he's knocking at our door and we went with him under the instinct that he's a great guy and knows what he's doing! How do you feel about the present state of rock and roll? Nick: That's a loaded question! (Laughter) Laura: I think the underground is thriving. There's a whole movement of bands doing stuff that kind of sounds like us but putting our own modern spin on it and that's really exciting to me. I didn't know how vast this was until we got moving and now every day I learn about another cool band. The underground music is in good health. Popular music though is... sick. It's not soulful enough man. You listen to an old Pentagram song and there's tons of soul in that. In a lot of modern music, but in a lot of the stuff from big giant bands like your Foo Fighters of the world, you're not feeling it. You listen to the music and you're like 'This is solid music but I'm not feeling anything!' It's so broad out there, I love Sharon Jones which is just a modern take on old soul music and that is f*cking great. I guess it's kind of hit or miss really. Nate why did you feel that question was loaded? (Laughter) Nick: There's so many aspects at play. People try to box in rock and roll into so many subgenres and everybody gets a little cliquey. It just seems like it needs more unity. The scene is alive and well and breathing but everyone is like "I want to be in a doom band or this or that" I think if you just labeled it rock and roll the audiences would meld so well. The cool thing about touring with people like Budos Band is that we got to play to people who normally would never think to come see us. People try to pigeonhole things so much that you lose the broad spectrum and soul because you want to box it in to something simple and easy to explain when there's so much more in play. What is this movement building towards? Ross: I hope it bursts into the mainstream. I think the object is to make a living which is hard for a band like us. But if it came into the mainstream more it would have the ball rolling and we could hop on to that. But do you think bands like Ghost are blazing a trail? Ross: Of course. Nick: I think they're fabulous I think the theatrics bring a lot of attention to the growing scene. There have always been Alice Coopers and Marilyn Mansons that help to bring a theatrical element and get peoples' attention. The aspect of a 'show' brings people out more. I think that's great and draws attention to a whole new aspect. People would never have thought to come and see it based off hearing it but the theatrics will get you to come to a show. You meet people who love coming to shows that way and you come out more regularly and catch all sorts of new things. It would be cool if rock and roll was king again. There's always these cycles November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 83

Smonest Sam. amd Rook tkrod Roll through times where different genres become king and rock hasn't been for a while. -; It really needs to come back. Right now rap and pop rule and while I like rap I hate pop music it has no soul, it's all dance music and glitter and weird clothes. What's the difference between that and KISS? Ross: KISS is cool! Nick: KISS play instruments. Ross: They wrote their own songs and nobody did what they did before them. Laura: They have a lot of musicality. The standard pop song is just the same thing copied and pasted. Ross: It's only created to make money - not to change peoples' lives. It's made so that you can vibe out to that while you're drunk in the club on ecstasy. It's made for the opposite reason that music exists. That's why pop music in my opinion needs to hit the road because it's annoying and all you ever hear about. So you're saying pop music is against the point of music? Ross: I think it is, it didn't used to be. So what's the point of music? Ross! It's to help people. It's to entertain people and to give people like me something to do with my time. Laura: It's the ultimate escape when you need it to be. Ross: It can get you going when cleaning the house. Randy, how has it been acclimatizing to Electric Citizen seeing as you just joined? Randy Proctor: It's been great. The first week I was with them was right after they had been on tour and they were like "Have these songs down because we're going to play them with you and then go on tour again!" We were feeling each other out and then the first tour happened and that was a whole new experience for me and since then it's been getting better and better. On this tour there have been a few moments where it's like "Wow this is clicking really nicely". Everything is working! Who snores the loudest? Randy Our sound guy! Nick: It's been the case with multiple sound guys. I don't think any of us snore. Laura: Our old bass player Nick used to snore. That's not why he's no longer in the band! We're on good terms with him he just wasn't able to tour anymore. Randy just stepped in at the right time and he laid down the tracks for the next album and he killed it and we're lucky to have him. Cincinnati has a small music scene so finding two players who can do this was great. That's why we don't have keys live. The guy who recorded keys on our record is in a bunch of bands and he isn't really a rock player. He does like loops and electronic type stuff. Laura. But it's not pop music... it's kind of underground. Well that's what I wanted to ask about... how did being from Cincinnati impact you growing up as musicians? Nick: The main thing is how much we have to travel to see good shows. We're really easy to get around so like every time something worth seeing shows up... like the closest 84 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Iinterview: Ele@briic Emitizen Graveyard comes to us is St Louis. You just have to suck it up and go. It makes us incredibly isolated it gives us great unity. Everybody feels tightly knit. We've all played in different bands and watched each other play before any of us were in this band. And then when you see them out of town that's when you're like "Oh shit! This person is willing to make an effort for this scene!" Laura: Its very accessible as far as playing music there. You can live cheaply and have a practice space and travel. It's very affordable. And we have family there. I had a question for you Laura - I was impressed by your vibrato - what's your musical background? Laura: Not much! Ross: Her first time singing on an album is our album! Laura; I played in a couple side project type bands nad played few shows and never recorded. That's how I got the guys to do this. Then Ross offered up a spot in this new project that he was forming. Ross: I mean... she's my wife. I put the band together for her to sing in it! Laura; I was stoked because this is my favorite type of music. I'm fairly new at it. I've always been drawn to writing and performing. Being in a band is new to me though. And Nate - how did you perfect wind milling your hair while drumming? Nick: That is a method to avoid getting the sticks stuck in there! Ross: Which happens! Nick: If I go straight up and down, which is much more comfortable for my neck I have a tendency to wrap my stick in the hair and pull large chunks out. If I do the windmill it sweeps over instead of getting stuck in the middle. It's just for me to keep from ripping my hair out! (Laughter) Ross: It's carefully orchestrated! Nick: After a few knots get torn out you got to change something! Any final words of wisdom? Ross: Happiness. Be happy in life, don't be a dick. Laura: Whatever you're doing have fun. Ross: If you're miserable doing your job quit your job! www.electriccitizenband.com www.twitter.com /electricciti zn www.facebook.comi ElectricCitizen

YOUR BAND IS A VIRUS! lishindtbm-Scenes a Ilarketieg Strotegiss for the Independent Musician

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The Best Butt in Grind - A Conversation with Meek Is Murder Interview By Matt Bacon

The dudes in Meek Is Murder are silly dudes - but they mean well, I got the chance to pick their brains about pumpkin spice lanes, butts and more! So what is Meek Is Murder's stance on Pumpkin Spice Latta's? Keller: I've actually never had one. Sam: Me neither. Frank. I don't drink milk so obviously I haven't. Keller: But it's about the art you know? What do Pumpkin Spice Latte's have to say about society? Keller: It's about fall, its a sugary drink so it's about being caffeinated. Its about corporate America and is for brainwashing the basic people. Notice I used a gender neutral term. Sam: B*tch can be gender neutral. Keller: Yeah, but I watched the Republican debates last night and now I'm trying to be as politically correct as possible. Donald Trump was there and he's very red. What I wanted to ask you guys about is that extreme metal got really confined for a minute before expanding out again with bands like, Full of Hell and Gridlink. 88 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

Keller: I like Full of Hell a lot I saw them the other night. What do you think Frank? Frank: I'm not thinking at all really. Keller: Frank is the encyclopedic metal guy... Frank: Well what do you mean by that? Obviously we've seen bands like you guys growing lately.... Keller: If there's a trend that we're a part of then I am woefully unaware. Frank: I don't think we pay much attention to a lot of what has been going on in metal it doesn't affect us. Kellerâ&#x20AC;˘ We've been writing the same song for six years and just hoping for that song might finally catch on. I think it is finally catching on. It's surprising because it doesn't sound at all like Enter Sandman the greatest song of all time! (Laughter) Keller: The lesson is if you keep writing the same song then one day you might be popular, but probably not, you shouldn't quit your day job. Sam: We can't quit? I've been planning on quitting. I was also curious for you guys, Sam and Keller, what is it like being in a band with one of the main people in metal media? Keller: Who Sam? Sam: I'm huge in metal media. Keller: I mean obviously Frank is one of the dudes behind Metal Injection. I'm pretty intimidated by him. There's a lot of stipulations in his contract, we're not allowed to make eye contact. Sam: He has to use his own throne. If he has to sit on anything that doesn't fit his perfect butt then there will be problems. Keller: It's been molded by the hands of nubian princesses. You're not allowed to comment on his smells... even though they're fabulous. Sam: You're not allowed to smell at all. But he is. Keller: He has several patents on the olfactory sense. He let us on Metal Injection once but we don't want to mix business with pleasure too much. Frank: That's definitely always been a concern. I never really wanted to use Metal Injection to push my own personal endeavors. I don't want to be that guy. Sam: We're constantly being like "Why aren't we on the front page of Metal Injection every day? Let us be dicks!" Frank: I try not to ask for favors. We're pretty self sufficient dudes. Sam: We like working for it. I'm happy to be playing at the Acheron, this is great. Keller I live down the street from here so this is my favorite place to play and eat. I don't know who's in the kitchen but they're like the Keebler Elves of metal venue Mexican food. To go back to a previous point - you were talking about Frank's butt. Is his butt the best butt in grind? Sam: I haven't seen them all, but none have topped his yet. Frank: I think it would probably be one of the guys in Kra!lice because they're objectively the best band. November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 89

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Keller: I don't know if they would call themselves grind. They're like... post-space. Sam: But we're not exclusively a grind band really. Whatever genre we are Frank has the best butt. Frank: I hope that doesn't become the pull quote! I agree you're not really a grind band... but do you feel that the frontiers of the grind genre are being pushed? Sam: Maybe. Keller: That's sort of the beauty of grind - it's always been a big f*ck you in the face of everything. crank: I kind of agree though. 20 years ago you weren't veering too far off Napalm Death. But now that subgenrefication is such a big thing we know have the subgenrefication of subgenrefication. So grind is just a matter of mind I guess. Keller: To go full circle then with what you said earlier with the fragmentation of heavy music, you have to realize that if you put yourself in a corner you will have one band to listen too. Music happens in cycles and its influence reaches out over an extended period. Sam: Music changes a lot and if it doesn't then it sucks. Frank; Ultimately we're just writing heavier KISS songs. Keller: There's a gay bar down the street called Love Gun. Don't ask me how I know that. (Awkward silence) (Laughter) Do you feel the power of KISS in your music still? Frank: I will say this in all seriousness, a few nights ago I saw AC/DC and they were amazing! Old dudes ripping hard and passionately. Na matter what you're writing you've got to give it up to those old dudes who are still killing it. Any of those old bands... there's a reason we look up to them. Sam: We just saw Scorpions the other day and that was awesome too! To head towards the end... what do you guys love so much about music? Keller: It's something to do. That's probably why a lot of people get into music. It's maybe not the best thing to do with your time but it's not the worst thing! Frank: Growing up I was kind of a loner and music was my escape and kind of my friend. Growing up and starting to play music at the root of it all what you're doing is trying to make other people happy and I think that's pretty rad! Any final words of wisdom for me? Don't listen to us! Find better bands to interview, AC/DC still rules, listen to Metallica every day if you can. Keller: We're not playing too many shows for the rest of the year unless Metallica asks us to open. Sam: Metallica, if you're looking for a sick opener - let us know. Meek is Murder Online: iNww.facebook.comimeekismurder www.meekismurder.bandcam p.com wwwitwitter.comimeekismurder www.youtube.com/ user/ meekismurder 90 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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Wise Words With Serial Hawk Interview By Matt Bacon

Serial Hawk are some pretty smart dudes - guys who know what it means to unleash the pure power of doom metal, but also men who want to sit back and think about the nature of reality. Serial Hawk are pushing the envelope and picking their minds was a true honor. How the hell are you guys? Adam: Pretty good - just road worn. How long has it been now? Adam: We're like 8 or 9 days in it's been moving fast. We're like halfway through. You guys are on the road a lot lately...

:. dam: A few times a year we do a month. We were just out in June so it happens a couple times a year. So there's no desire to pull a Jucifer? Adam: Not for me personally. I think I would lose my mind but I have tons of respect for them. I can only imagine the mental and physical strength to do that. Obviously, you guys have managed to tour quite a bit, but simply put, Jucifer is the best at touring - what have you been able to learn from them? Adam: That it's possible first off. To us it feels like we have a lot of gear but compared to them we have barely anything. You can't complain too much when you see bands doing that successfully. I'm pretty sure they recorded a record in their Winebago. 94 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

But no sort of like road wisdom? Adam: There's things you pick up... your environment is always changing you have to live your life a different way - it teaches you patience if you let it. Driving around in a city like this one night and then tomorrow we'll be out in the country. It will be a total 180. You just kind of go with the flow. Life's a roller coaster. So in Seattle and the entire Cascadian area your kind of music is exploding - why do you think that is Will: My perception is different than yours so I don't see it as exploding but there's a lot of good bands in multiple genres. A lot of them are good bands and they are all inspired off of each other. It's always been like that. It's a continual thing. That's what attracted me to Seattle too - it's a thriving music place. Adam: It attracts creative people - same as Brooklyn. Will: There's always bands forming and doing their thing. There were plenty of bands that inspired us to play. It was a constant kind of thing. Where are you from originally? Will: I was born in Albuquerque then moved to Florida when I was a teenager and then moved to Seattle ten years ago. Adam: I'm from Oregon originally so it's only a few hours away. The scene is cool though - there's a lot of heavy bands, like in Portland, and there's enough time and space for people to play. A lot of bands do it and also have to work. Will - you said you don't perceive that scene as exploding... how do you perceive it? Will: It's like if someone said "The technology in Seattle is exploding right now!" It's always been there - it's just that there's been a lot of tech folks rubbing elbows for a long time. So eventually someone from Seattle creates something everyone loves and the light gets shined on it. But I feel there has always been great music coming from Seattle. ItTs like a wave - churning - sometimes it swells up and sometimes it comes down but its always there. We're lucky. Sometimes we go on tour and find towns that have no local bands we could play with or some towns only have shows once a month. We're lucky because we have a lot of good bands, multiple venues, we have stuff every night of the week pretty much. It makes it easy to want to do music. Do you still feel a tie to grunge? Adam: That style of music is to me just an undercurrent. Grunge is just whatever at this point. Will: There definitely are loud heavy rock bands and there always has been - some of them you can't even assign a genre too because they've been going at it for so long. At this point the torch has been passed along. Adam: There's a style to it as well I think bands that are from Olympia and Tacoma kind of have a Melvin's throwback sound. Grunge is still around though - those guys still play music but now its just a flavoring. You can just hear a little bit of that here and there. I find that really fascinating given musical globalization... Adam: It's just the environment, it comes out in where you are. It's not super tangible. It's real but it's all perception too. I know what you mean by that question and I can hear it in some bands. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth has something of that too - but I think that has more to do with their frontman Tad's presence. They've always been doing the same thing it's just kind of changed with the times. November 2015 - VandalaMagazine.Com 95

What do you love so much about music? Adam; About playing music - I like the opportunity to travel - that's really nice. It's a lot better than working my day job. You get to meet a lot of people and see other scenes and find heavy bands other people haven't heard of. It's that undercurrent. I just like the way it makes you feel. Will: The way it makes you feel and the way it makes other people feel and the people that you meet on tour that happen to connect with you for a minute here or there about how they've been inspired or affected by your music. It's really to have people reach out. You spend all this time making something and just kind of put it out there and don't know what that will do to people and how that will make them feel so when you get positive feedback it's really cool because you're attached in a different way. Adan-L You know the time and energy that went into it but you have to release it with no expectations. Will: I like that about listening to music too - like listening to music you've heard for twenty years but every time you hear it makes you feel something awesome. The power of that is so cool. It's cool to be a part of that process. Any final words of wisdom for me? Will: I just feel like emphasizing the fact that this is just a really precious kind of opportunity that we have to be on tour with music that we all standby. I think we just need to emphasize that in general for people and appreciate what they're doing and that they're able to do it. A lot of people are just blown away that you're on tour. We've met bands that are growing up and we encourage them to stick with it - they can make it happen! Adam: Manifest it!

Be sure to catch Serial Hawks latest album â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Searching For Light' and follow the band online www.serialhawk.corn www.facebook.comiserialhawk www.twitter.com/serialhawk www.instagram.com/serial_hawk www.serialhawk.bandcamp.com

96 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

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The Flight Of Sleipnir are interesting dudes and picking their minds about the nature of reality and the power of pagan lore was a true honor! So how the hell are you guys? David Csicsely: Pretty good Clayton Cushman: Indeed! Justin Siegler: Lot of driving, we're only on the third show so far and we've driven the whole way out here. Many windchilled hours, most of the shows are on the way back. Tomorrow will be the last long stint of driving. Dave Borrusch: Its been good so far. Clayton: The festival last night was pretty awesome! I wanted to talk to you guys about miollnirs? All of you? Justin: All of us wear some form of it. What drove you to wear it I have one too because... let's be real, none of us got laid in high school. (Laughter) Justin: I know David and I, ever since we started listening to black metal when we were kids we were into it. It went hand in hand with listening to metal. That's been a couple decades now. Dave Borrusch: Part of my lineage goes back to those Germanic peoples and that's where my name originates from. So I want to tie into that. Clayton: I grew up in a Pagan household so it was everywhere. 100 vandaiamagazine.Com - November 2015

That's really interesting... how did that manifest itself? Clayton: My mom mostly was into it and there was just books all over the house, it's something I grew up with. Where you practicing magick? Clayton: Well the first rule of practicing magick is not to talk about it! So I've read a lot about how in the last thirty years or so there has been a resurgence of interest in the Nordic myths, why do you think that is? Clayton: Christianity doesn't work! Dave Borrusch: I was just about to say I think people are fed up with it and looking for alternatives. They want other routes to take. Why not go back to something that worked years before Christianity was introduced. David Csicsely: It's all mythology anyone whether you believe it or not. People thought Zeus was real at one point... Are you guys Pagans? David Csicsely: I wouldn't classify myself as a Pagan, heathen bastard maybe but that's it. Justin; I'm a militant atheist and that's as spiritual as I get. Dave Borrusch: I don't really know exactly how to put it - I just live my life the way I see fit. I try not to adhere to one particular set of beliefs Ijust concern myself with me and do what I think is right. Clayton: The way I see it is that it's all ideas, you can use ideas for whatever you wantâ&#x2013; I use a lot of Pagan ideas but I don't have to believe there's a man in the sky to use them. There's a lot you can learn from mythology and religion that you can apply to life. Dave Borrusch: There's definitely values worth taking from it. Justin: I don't think any of us subscribe to anything supernatural. No matter what the ideas derive from. There's not a serious supernatural being that we dive into. Clayton: Really applied magic is subconscious psychology. You can modify your thoughts using rituals but are you channeling mystic energy? Dave Borrusch: It's essentially meditation at that point. So going back to what you said before David... are you essentially attracted to the archetypes of Norse Mythology? Dave Borrusch:Yeah. It's more for me. It's just a really well written story. The sagas are brilliant, the art is amazing, everything about it. Plus it encompasses a sense of power behind man and the glory of what were capable of rather than trying to strike fear into people like most religions do - it's more of an embodiment strive. It doesn't have you living in fear. Justin: One of the appeals to me is that it makes man more of a symbol of strength instead of being subservient. It encourages being badass more than anything. Not many of the modern religions deal with that. Dave Borrusch: It definitely deals with the more positive side of mankind. There are

definitely sagas in there where the faults of man come into play. It's kind of something to go off on because we do know our weaknesses and you can find that in Norse mythology. Its more about trying to overcome it. It's more about "Here's what went wrong and here's how to overcome it!" November 2015 - Vandalafiragazine.Com 101

Justin, you were talking at the beginning of the interview about how black metal and Nordic mythology are inherently linked. Is that purely because of the lyrics or is it something deeper? Justin: I had an interest in the whole Nordic mythology thing before I started listening to black metal. I was more interested in how the imagery came into play. Most of black metal is singing about Satan and being stupid like that. But some of the bands back in the day were all about Nordic stuff and it really gave the push. Dave Borrusch: A lot of those bands have a black metal aspect but the lyrics aren't negative. You can't really find anything dark or evil about it. Its basically the opposite of a lot of that. Just for my own reading essentially... what are you favorite myths and sagas? Dave Borrusch: That's a good question. I'm a big fan of the Ragnar saga. Justin: I always liked the Beowulf story. That one is pretty interesting to me. I've always liked it because it kind of gives you an idea of the stark landscapes they used to have to deal with. It plays a character in the tale in and of itself. It shows you what they had to deal with. It paints a pretty good picture of how things worked and their hierarchy. It's not so relatable, it gives you a taste of their world. It's easier to read because it's not in stanzas. Clayton: That's what I like though - diving into the technicalities of it. I like researching the characters. I don't really have a favorite story but the last one I studied was Ragnars and the Elder Saga but a lot of the really insane tales attract me. There's a lot of psychedelic things in the Edda's where people can understand the birds and stuff. Justin: It gets very morbid. David Csicsely: It's a really rich literature. You can find a lot in there, it's almost endless. You mentioned psychedelics, how much does that impact you personally? Clayton: Not a lot. I've never taken them! Justin: I've always quite enjoyed them! David Csicsely: I've taken enough. Those days are pretty much over though. Dave Borrusch: I've experimented. It's good for mind expansion and gets you to look at things from a different viewpoint and it can open your mind. Justin: I've always felt it to be a kind of mental cleanse. Every time I end up tripping I come out the other side more comfortable with myself and the difficult situations I'm going through at the time. The times I've taken them is more for that aspect then the recreational aspect. I don't like taking a bunch of acid and going to a party. I just like sitting with a few close friends and just letting your mind do its thing. Usually I come out better for it, more comfortable. To go towards the end and something we didn't talk about at all... what do you guys love so much about music? Justin: I've been drawn to music since I was super little. I wasn't raised in a musical household like the others. My parents listened to the radio in the car but it wasn't part of their lives. I ended up trading a dir tbike for a guitar when I was 9-10 years old and I started playing that on my own. I had to find it myself. I always appreciated that. I found what I liked on my own without anyone pushing me anywhere. When I was young and started getting into rock and roll and eventually metal it was more of a natural experience. It was completely on my own which was cool. I tried the skateboarding hip hop and punk rock thing and I despised it. My musical taste started on my own. But when 102 VandalaMagazine.Com - November 2015

I met these guys new influences came in. David Csicsely: Music to me is probably the truest form of self expression there is, right down to the artwork. I remember being a kid and getting albums because of the art. This was before mp3is and shit like that. If you wanted to discover it you had to buy it. Justin: You're taking risk! Dave Borrusch: I was burned a number of times like that. You'd buy something because it looks good and it turns out the art was the best part. There were diamonds in the rough too though. You pick it up because you don't know anything about it and then it becomes a mainstay. Clayton; I think all artists and musicians have no choice. I know nothing else, it's why I'm here. It feels right. www.theflightofsleipnir.com www.facebook.com/THEFLIGHTOFSLEIPNII

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JAN 03 2016

■N ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ALPINE THE AVENER BIRDS OF TOKYO - BLOC PARTY BORNS COURTNEY BARNETT DISCLOSURE .. DJANGO DJANGO FOALS GANG OF YOUTHS . GARY CLARK JR. HALSEY HIATUS KAIYOTE HILLTOP HOODS KING GIZZARD AHD THE LIZARD WIZARD KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS LITTLE MAY THE MACCABEES MAC DEMARCO MEG MAC OH WONDER PAUL KELLY EITINTROMVEAVeuuLligisnrA'sparigiCNAG8, UNDA BULL RUFUS - SETH SENTRY TORO 14401 YOUNG FATHERS BOOGIE NIGHTS

ART V SCIENCE EL VEZ FLEETMAC WOOD • WEIRD AL' YANKOVIC PLUS PLENTY MORE TO RE ANNOUNCED

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TICKET BALLOT NOW OPEN CHANNEL DA

Pwta:-R1 TOWARDS ZERO

BRING ME THE HORIZON PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

NOVEMBER 2015

02 03 05 06 07

MUNICH, DE TNHALLE* Z7* PRATTELN, C VIENNA, AT GASOMETER* WURZBURG, DEr POSTHALLE* STUTTGART, DE LISA LONGHORN* 08 COLOGNE, DE PALLADIUM* 09 HANNOVER, DE HANNOVER* 10 BERLIN, DE HUXLEY'S NEUE WELT* 12 GOTHENBURG, SE LISEBERGHALLEN* 13 OSLO, NO ROCKEFELLER MUSIC HALL** 14 STOCKHOLM, SE ARENAN* 16 HELSINKI, Fl CABLE FACTORY* 18 COPENHAGEN, DK VEDA* 19 HAMBURG, DE DOCKS* 20 MUNSTER, DE SKATERS PALACE* 21 TILBURG 013, NL 013* 22 BRUSSELS AB HALL, BE AB HALL* 25 EDINBURGH, UK CORN EXCHANGE" 26 DONCASTER, UK THE DOME" 27 CARDIFF, UK MOTORPOINT ARENA** 28 LONDON, UK ALEXANDRA PALACE**

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R1I'llEStrIERS1 20TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT WITH SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 4TH - 2015 TARGET CENTER MINNEAPOLIS Eifs_LiYPISSA

CITY PAGES

PROF Liability Tour w/ Special Guests

Nacho Picasso I DJ Fundo 10.29 - Duluth, MN - Grandma's Sports Garden 10.30 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium (Dempsey's Upstairs) 10.31 - Sioux Falls, SD - Icon Lounge 11.01 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room 11.02 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck 11.04 - Dallas, TX - Cambridge Room IP HOB 11.05 - Austin, TX - Stubbs BBC/ (Indoors) 11.06 - Houston, TX - Bronze Peacock Room @ HOB 11.07 - San Antonio, TX - Alamo City Music Hall 11.09 - Albuquerque. NM - Launchpad

11.10 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress 11.11 - Scottsdale, AZ - Pub Rock 11.13 - Oakland, CA - Leo's 11.17 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge 11.18 - Portland, OR - Star Theater 11.20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court Gallery 11.21 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Other Side 11.22 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre 11.24 - Milwaukee, WI The Rave Bar 11.25 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean

City and Colour

USA Tour 2015

w/ Hurray for the Riff Ref* & Bahamas"

11.05 11.06 11.07 11.09 11.12 11.13 11.15 11.16 11.18

Detroit, MI Chicago, IL Minneapolis, MN Denver, CO Portland. OR Seattle, WA Oakland, CA San Diego, CA Los Angeles, CA

The Allmores Metro' First Avenue The Ogden Theatre' Roseland Theater' Paramount Theatre* Fox Theatre House of Blues' Hollywood Palladium째

1202 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.07 12.08 12.10 12,11 12.12

Pittsburgh, PA blhaca, NY Northampton, MA Boston, MA Sayreville, NJ Philadelphia, PA New York, NY Washington, DC Richmond, VA

Stage AEA State Theatre" Calvin Theatre% House of Blues"' Starland Ballroom A Tower Theatre ^ Terminal 5A Echo Stage A The Naliona l

41/ If i StiouFd Go Bofore You O. nit.

cityaridcolouccorn clincalloncrecotds.com

2015 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUEST I

MMINEI SONIC DESTNCTiON

FRI, OCTOBER 9 HARTFORD, T. • WEBSTER THEATER SAT, OCTOBER 10 • WORCESTER, MA. • PALLADIUM SUN, OCTOBER 11 - POUGHKEEPSIE, NY. - THE CHANCE TUES, OCTOBER 13 BROOKLYN, NY. • ST. VITUS WED, OCTOBER 14 • AMITYVILLE, NY. • CLUB REVOLUTION FRI, OCTOBER 16 • DETROIT, MI. • TOKEN LOUNGE SAT, OCTOBER 17 - CHICAGO, IL. • REGGIE'S SUN, OCTOBER 18 • CLEVELAND, OH. • AGORA THEATER TUES, OCTOBER 20 ALTOONA, PA. - McGARVEYS WED, OCTOBER 21 • DAYTON, OH. • ODD[ ODY'S WITH SPC1At OAST

VANallual FRI, OCTOBER 23 • DALLAS, T. TREES SAT, OCTOBER 24 HOUSTON, TX. • SCOUT BAR SUN, OCTOBER 25 • SAN ANTONIO, TX. • 210 KAPONE'S LIVE TUES, OCTOBER 27 - DENVER, CO. • THE ROXY THURS, OCTOBER 29 • MESA, AZ. • CLUB RED FRI, OCTOBER 30 COSTA MESA, A. • TIM BAR SAT, OCTOBER 31 • SAN JOSE, CA. • ROCKBAR SUN, NOVEMBER 0! - LOS ANGELES, A. • THE WHISKY MON, NOVEMBER 02 • RAMONA, A. - RAMONA MAINSTAGE WWW.FATESWARNING.COM WWW.FACEBOOK,COM/FAIESWARNING

liNstpi g OUT WWW.INSIDEOUTMUSIC.COM

ARTIST GROUP INTERNATIONAL

pr cnid.fy presents

TICKETS AVAILABLE. AT: WWW.AMARANTHE.SE