METAL MASTERS 3

Key Club, Los Angeles April 12, 2012

Brought to you by Samson, Hartke, Zoom and Best Buy

By: Shauna O’Donnell

It is moments like these that make me realize how much I love what I do. I had the pleasure of attending the third installment of Samson’s successful “Metal Masters” series at the Key Club in Hollywood, California on April 12th.

Upon arrival I was met with a line that wrapped around the building, which indicated to me that not only was it going to be a very crowded night at the Key Club, it also indicated that this show must have sold out. I was right. Fans and celebrities alike joined forces this night to watch this incredible music event.

This year’s Metal Masters 3 was comprised of David Ellefson (Megadeth), Kerry King (Slayer), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Mike Portnoy (Adrenaline Mob) and Dave Lombardo (Slayer). These masters of metal demonstrated their personal techniques and styles, as well as answered questions from the audience. They also shared personal stories of how their music was made. Songs were being requested from the audience and a few audience members were lucky enough to go on stage. A dream come true for any metal fan or inspiring musician. If you were not lucky enough to be there that night, you were also able to watch it online.

The stage was set with three drum kits and amps upon amps that delivered a thunderous tone throughout the venue. At the end of the evening two very special guests took the stage, vocalist Phil Anselmo of Pantera fame and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler. Needless to say, the crowd went crazy. I love to watch a good mosh pit.

All in all it was a night of fun and unforgettable performances.  I highly recommend catching this incredible clinic next year.

G TOM MAC

http://www.gtommac.com/

By: Shauna O’Donnell

I have had the honor and privilege of meeting one of rock n roll’s most talented songwriters, G Tom Mac, also know as Gerard McMann recently. Our first meeting was at a red carpet event that was held in his honor for the release of his latest record titled Untame the Songs.  What an incredible night it was. The Rolling Stone Lounge was packed with celebrities who came out to see G Tom Mac perform and pick up a copy of his latest release. G Tom has a long list of credits to his name, but most know him for the song “Cry Little Sister” from the movie Lost Boys that was released in 1987. Last year, he earned a Grammy on EMINEM’S “RECOVERY” album in which Eminem sampled him in the song “You’re Never Over.” 2012 brings the new release of a long awaited “UNTAME the SONGS” album. It features eleven stellar songs that fuel a unique style in G Tom Macs Modern Rock approach in production and writing. It tells the many different stories of his encounters with life’s angsts, yet offering songs that give a sense of liberation from these ever lost & disillusioned times.

Hi Gerard, thanks for talking with me today. How did things go in Virginia Beach?

G Tom Mac: It was an amazing gig. I wish you would have been there. The full on band thing was over the top good. It was completely packed and I did five hours of autograph signing all day long with one break. There were lines upon lines and it was awesome. It was a really positive gig. The stories I heard of people coming there just to see my show was incredible. There were people in line that did not get an autograph. I was at the airport and I went and had a bit of lunch before we went back. These two girls approached me and said “Excuse me, we loved your show the other night and we did not get a chance to get an autograph.” I was like “Did you come all the way to the airport?” They didn’t, they flew from Atlanta to come see my show. I was like “Wow, you paid some coin to come see my show. What have you got for me to sign? I don’t have a CD or anything here.” They pulled stuff out like the Lost Boys soundtrack. It was great!

Well, the song “Cry Little Sister” is one of the things you are best known for.

G Tom Mac: Yeah Tony (bassist in band) said to me “Were you aware of how many people were mouthing the words to your other songs at our gig when we were on stage the other night?” I said “Yeah, it use to be they only mouthed the words to ‘Cry Little Sister’, it seems that song has created fans checking out my other songs such as the last album Thou Shalt Not Fall (2008). Yes I’ve had this weird career as an artist, where it is based on that song, but then it has again helped fans dig deeper into my other works.

You have written songs for the likes of Robert Plant of Led Zepplin, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Ice Cube, Digable Planets, KISS, Carly Simon and Eminem. Were you in the studio with these people writing the songs or were these songs that you wrote and gave to them?

G Tom Mac: It was both. I was in the studio with Robert Plant. We were writing and forming ideas, but we weren’t actually recording in the studio. We got together and tossed some ideas around. I went back to my studio and then we put some vocals on what we created and just went down that road. Before I knew it, Roger Daltrey had heard and was aware of my songwriting, not what I was doing with Robert necessarily, but they are managed by the same people. Roger was hearing that I was working with Robert and he was at that point where he was ready to make his next album Rocks in the Head (1992). He asked me if he could use four or five of my songs on his next album and I said “Of course!” They were songs that I had written on my own that he heard. He then said “Well, would you produce me? I love the way these demos sound.” I said “Why don’t we go into the studio, have a go at it and see if you even like me producing you? We can pick a song and work on it.” Well, we did and we got along famously. Then of course, all hell broke loose later in a good way.

You have done things with such a wide range of genres, because you have even done songs with Ice Cube and Eminem.

G Tom Mac: In the case of Eminem, he sampled me and my song “Cry Little Sister” on “You’re Never Over” (Recovery album 2011). He was a fan of that song when he was coming up, I was honored because I am such a huge Eminem fan anyway. He is such a great guy. In the case of Ice Cube, it was a music supervisor from the film Players Club that said he was looking for something unique, kind of retro, but modern at the same time that can apply itself to the hip-hop world. He was like “Do you want to take a shot at writing the main song in the film?” I said “Sure, why not.” I took a shot at it, didn’t think anything of it because I knew there was other competition and I was probably the only white guy writing something. I gave it to Frank who was supervising the film and he called me back and said “Cube loves what you did out of 25 things I’ve played him. He wants to do a rap on the song/track as well.” I said “Really? Alright.” I met him, went down the whole road and he did not expect me to be a white guy. “I’m just a brotha from another motha man.”

Do people often make that mistake with your name being G Tom Mac? Do they automatically assume you are a rapper?

G Tom Mac: Early on they did when I changed my name from Gerard McMann to G Tom Mac, which is Gerard Thomas MacMahon. I thought that G Tom Mac was a simple way for people to remember my name, even though on the Lost Boys soundtrack it was spelled McMann, again an attempt to make it easy to pronounce. I don’t know why it was so difficult and I got so bloody well tired of it, (laughs!) “I am just going to go and re-invent myself as G Tom Mac and over time it will get figured out.” Yeah, in the beginning stages people are like “Is he a rapper? Who is G Tom Mac?” I said “Oh no! Did I just create another problem for myself?” Now, people call me G Tom. At least it is better than Gerald, Gerry or Jerome. Not that those are bad names haha!

They can just call you G.

G Tom Mac: Well that is the best one because it is the most simple isn’t it? You call me G and I like that. My close friends always called me G and that sort of started the whole G Tom Mac thing.

You released a new record titled Untame the Songs. How does it feel to have a new record out?

G Tom Mac: It has its torments and it has moments of “OMG! People actually like it.” The torment is that you can never go back, not that I want to, but there are days where you go “Is it that good?” It’s that weird thing where I liked it when I was making it, I liked it on the final mixes and then you kind of go into this whole insecurity. I think most artists do that, but for the most part I’m really pleased with it. What is really gratifying is that the fans love it. They let me know how much they have been playing it,  living it, and that’s all you can hope for right? It is a bit of a diverse song writing style of a record, but that is always the case with me because I am a songwriter with diversity, however I think it has a focus to it’s over all sound of an album. It took thirty some odd songs to write eleven things to really feel like, as diverse as they are, they have a thread together.

Is there an underlying theme throughout the record?

G Tom Mac: Lyrically speaking, I started out writing the album about these very dark and turbulent times we all live in. Having just seen Middle America on my last go out of a tour, I saw how dire it was out there. I started writing about it and then I said to myself “I don’t want to write about these dire circumstances and times we live in and I don’t want to be “Mr. Bright Pop Guy” about it either.” I just started to write inspirational songs if you will. I just wanted to inspire people. Even with the song “Groove At The End of the World.” It is a bit of a tongue in cheek, alright we are all supposed to die in the Mayan calendar year 2012, but I thought have a laugh about it. If we are going down, let’s rock it out together! That song came out rocking and I’m very pleased with it. “Am I A Rock Star?” is about how no one should take themselves seriously. That was appropriate for myself and anybody else for that matter who ever thinks that they should take themselves seriously at what they are in this fame game world. The song “Crave You” has a lusty, sexy kind of vibe and you always have to have one of those on the album. I’m proud that all the songs came from a real and honest place.

Tell me about the single “Not Ready To Die.”

G Tom Mac: Well that’s a whole other thing. That is a bit of poking fun at myself too. When you dig into the lyrics, you ask “is he talking about people going to rehab?” It’s a bit about that and it is about a lot of friends of mine who have needed to go there. The song is more about the many addictions in life. We all have addictions to something. It was meant to not be pointing at one particular thing. I always thought the phrase “not ready to die” was a good one anyway because it’s sort of like you are never over and we can survive the worst of troubled life.

You just released the video for your single “Not Ready To Die.” Do you prefer the concept videos or do you like doing the performance ones?

G Tom Mac: That video was meant to be something of a throw back to the 80’s, kind of ‘Breakfast Club’ movie and at the same time have a modern slant to it. It was a choice of making it a live performance video or concept. I had an idea in my head of the look of this video and went there. Most likely the next video from this album will be a live performance one.

Has the single been released to radio?

G Tom Mac: It has not been worked at traditional radio just yet. We are working towards so many things right now to build momentum in these ever changing times of making a new album work out there. We focused on that song just to get it out there and bring attention through all things social media. We are just now starting to do some interesting things with YouTube as of recent. We have formed a pretty interesting relationship with one of the people who started You Tube. I can’t talk too much about it, but it is going to be a really exciting thing once it kicks in. We are around the corner with our relationship there and this should help radio take notice. The guy there just so happens is a huge fan of “Cry Little Sister” as well, so that song just keeps the light of my career burning.  We will see how that goes. We are paying attention to all things that make sense to promoting the new record. I hope that we get traditional radio and I think that once we build the YouTube thing, I believe that is going to make a difference.

Your songs have been in over 50 films & more than 100 TV shows. Have any of the songs off the new album been picked up for TV or movies, or is that in the works?

G Tom Mac: It is already happening. A lot of it will happen in the mid summer when the new summer releases on the CW happen, as well as other networks. As you know with cable, you have new shows coming out every season. A lot of good things happen in the fall season because we serviced the new album to a lot of the same people who really have been there in the past, like the TV & Film people who used my stuff in the past such as ‘Scrubs’ ‘Americas Top Model’ ‘Vampire Diaries’  & Ellen Degeneres. She has been incredibly generous and supportive in playing my music in her day time shows. It is a whirlwind of different kinds of television licensing that we will be doing, but most importantly shows like Kiefer Sutherlands new Touched. It looks like we will expose the next single in that show hopefully. TV is brilliant in that if a song gets a good play, it’ll give more exposure to the album.

There is a lot of competition in that field as well.

G Tom Mac: Tell me about it! Thank God I got into that world early on. It is very competitive and much more competitive now because there is so much music out there as well as there is a new set of producers and directors coming up all the time. The ones that have been a mainstay have been fans of my work and they continue to tap into a song here and a song there. It has been a nice source of additional income.

What is happening in the way of touring in support of the release?

G Tom Mac: We are going to be doing Albuquerque, NM , Billings, Montana, Vegas, Philly and Orlando, Fl. Most of the gigs that we will be doing will be starting to kick off in late July into the fall. The hope is to do some global music festivals as well from 2012 into 2013. I’m ready to UNTAME The SONGS & The World!! How’s that for a closer?

The full track listing for THE FLESH ALIVE features:

GAROROCK (93 min): “Oroborus,” “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe,” “Backbone,” “Love,” “From The Sky,” “A Sight To Behold,” “The Art Of Dying,” “Drum Solo,” “Clone,” “Flying Whales,” “The Way Of All Flesh,” “Terra Incognita,” and Vacuity.”

LES VIEILLES CHARRUES (15 min): “Indians,” “Toxic Garbage Island,” and “World To Come.”

BORDEAUX (80 min): “Oroborus,” “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe,” “Backbone,” “Love,” “From The Sky,” “A Sight To Behold,” “The Art Of Dying,” “Drum Solo,” “Clone,”Flying Whales,” “Toxic Garbage Island,” “The Way Of All Flesh,” “Terra Incognita,” and “Vacuity.”

DOCUMENTARY: The Way Of All Flesh from the inside, featuring 62 minutes of exclusive behind the scenes footage.

CD (65 min, with screensavers): “Intro,” “Oroborus,” “The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe,” “Backbone,” “Love,” “From The Sky,” “A Sight To Behold,” “The Art Of Dying,” “Clone,” “Flying Whales,” “The Way Of All Flesh,” “Terra Incognita,” and “Vacuity.”

Gojira’s new album: L’enfant Sauvage (The Savage Child), will be released at the end of June through Roadrunner.  Following a tour of Europe, the band will be headed to North America for a run with Lamb of God and Dethklok that begins on August 1 in Seattle and continues until September 15 in San Francisco.  The on-sale is scheduled for Friday, May 18, with planned appearances in:

8/01     SEATTLE, WA                                              WAMU THEATER

8/02     VANCOUVER, BC                                       QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATER

8/04     CALGARY, AB                                            BIG 4

8/05     EDMONTON, AB                                         SHAW CONFERENCE CENTRE

8/07     WINNIPEG, MB                                           CONVENTION CENTRE

8/09     MILWAUKEE, WI                                        EAGLES BALLROOM

8/10     COLUMBUS, OH                                         LC PAVILLION

8/11     TORONTO, ONT                                           HEAVY TO

8/12     MONTREAL, QC                                          HEAVY MTL

8/14     GRAND RAPIDS, MI                                   DELTA PLEX

8/15     ST. LOUIS, MO                                             FAMILY ARENA

8/19     KANSAS CITY, MO                                                 MIDLAND THEATER

8/21     CHICAGO, IL                                               CONGRESS BALLROOM

8/22     DETROIT, MI                                                COMPUWARE ARENA

8/23     PITTSBURGH, PA                                        STAGE AE

8/24     CHARLOTTE, NC                                        TIME WARNER UPTOWN AMPH

8/25     NORFOLK, VA                                             CONSTANT CONVENTION CTR

8/26     BALTIMORE, MD                                        TIER 6 PAVILLION

8/29     NEW YORK, NY                                          ROSELAND

8/30     LOWELL, MA                                               TSONGAS ARENA

8/31     WALLINGFORD, CT                                   OAKDALE THEATER

9/01     PHILADELPHIA, PA                                   OUTSIDE AT ELECTRIC FACTORY

9/02     ASBURY PARK, NJ                                     ASBURY PARK CONVENTION

9/04     ORLANDO, FL                                             HARD ROCK LIVE

9/05     ATLANTA, GA                                             TABERNACLE

9/07     HOUSTON, TX                                             BAYOU MUSIC CENTER

9/08     SAN ANTONIO, TX                                     SUNKEN GARDEN

9/09     DALLAS, TX                                                 VERIZON WIRELESS THEATER

9/11     DENVER, CO                                                            THE FILLMORE

9/13     PHOENIX, AZ                                              COMERICA THEATER

9/14     LOS ANGELES, CA                                     GIBSON AMPHITHEATER

9/15     SAN FRANCISCO, CA

BILL GRAHAM CIVIC

“I’m so excited and proud to announce that we have signed to eOne. Thanks to them the world will get a chance to hear this amazing collection of songs,” says frontman Jared Weeks. “Bringing Down The Giant” is the bands follow up release to “Miss America,” released in 2010. The band has been hard at work since then and want fans to know they are back. Weeks continues, “We have taken the last year to write and record the best songs of our career.”

Backyard barbecues, front porch jams, old-fashioned family values and hard-partying rock n’ roll is the name of the game for SAVING ABEL. A cross between Charlie Daniels and Tool, their songs cause guys and gals alike to shake what their momma gave ‘em while pumping a fist in the air and serve as feel good anthems for American troops on military bases abroad.

Saving Abel combined meat and potatoes rock with their eponymous Gold-selling 2008 debut, which topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The record spawned the platinum single “Addicted” and the followup barn-burners, “Drowning (Face Down)” and the emotional “18 Days.” Their second album, “Miss America,” topped the Hard Rock chart and imprinted the hearts and minds of radio listeners with the title cut, “Stupid Girl (Only in Hollywood)” and another Top 10 single, “The Sex is Good.

After blazing their own path with two full lengths, six top ten singles with two of them reaching number one, SAVING ABEL is ready to break new ground with “Bringing Down The Giant.”

SAVING ABEL is: Jared Weeks (Lead Vocals), Jason Null  (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Scott Bartlett (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Eric Taylor (Bass, Backing Vocals) and Michael McManus (Drums).

LP Features Guest Appearances from Sleeping with Sirens’ Kellin Quinn and Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop

Catch Them on Vans Warped Tour All Summer Long

Dallas, TX’s Memphis May Fire have revealed the track listing for their new album Challenger, out June 26 on Rise Records. The 11 track LP features guest appearances by Sleeping with Sirens’ Kellin Quinn and Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop. See track listing below.

1.) Without Walls

2.) Alive In The Lights

3.) Prove Me Right

4.) Red In Tooth & Claw

5.) Vices

6.) Legacy

7.) Miles Away (feat. Kellin Quinn)

8.) Jezebel

9.) Losing Sight (feat. Danny Worsnop)

10.) Generation: Hate

11.) Vessels

As MMF front man Matty Mullins explains “’Challenger’ is a crystal clear representation of our growth as a band. It’s heavier than anything we’ve done before & packed full of the most honest & transparent lyrics I’ve ever written. Our guitarist Kellen McGregor worked side by side with Cameron Mizell for engineering & production on our last record & the response was amazing so it was a no brainer for us to go back to the same formula for this one. It turned out better than we had ever imagined. We’re making a huge statement this time around.”

Of the collaborations with Quinn and Worsnop, Mullins says, “I’m so stoked to have had two of my best friends sing alongside me on ‘Challenger’! Danny & Kellin both really related to the concepts of the songs they appear on & did a great job on their parts!”

Challenger is the band’s follow up to 2011’s acclaimed The Hollow, which landed at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and at #109 on the Top 200.

Catch Memphis May Fire (with new guitarist Anthony Sepe) on the entire Vans Warped Tour this summer.

Memphis May Fire is:

Vocals: Matty Mullins

Guitar: Kellen McGregor

Drums: Jake Garland

Guitar: Anthony Sepe

Bass: Cory Elder

www.facebook.com/MemphisMayFire

www.riserecords.com

Queens, New York Hard Rock band Eve to Adam have just announced that their next single will be a cover of the legendary Alice Cooper’s 1972 hit “Schools Out.” The band recently recorded the track and filmed a teaser video at Vudu studios in Long Island, during a two day break from their national tour with Creed.

Eve to Adam will be doing a live chat with fans on Ustream on Tuesday May 15 at 6 PM PST, before their show with Creed at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Be sure to tune in to ask the band your questions, and keep an eye out for the new track, coming soon.

For more of the latest news, visit their official site at www.evetoadam.com.

BRAND NEW VIDEO FOR “WAY TOO FAR” OUT NOW

KORN REUNITES WITH BRIAN “HEAD” WELCH ON STAGE AT CAROLINA REBELLION

(New York, NYL): Metal pioneers KORN have just announced a string of June dates that will take them through the Northeast, Midwest, and even Canada. Openers on the tour include frontman JONATHAN DAVIS DJing as his alter ego J Devil, as well as dubstep talent Sluggo.  Ticket information and special VIP packages can found at korn.com.

This comes on the heels of Korn’s brand new video for “WAY TOO FAR.”  The comically surreal video, directed by Joshua Allen and produced by Sebastien Paquet, debuted at Noisey.com this week.  Preceding the debut, several bizarre photos of the band surfaced on their Facebook page- one featuring bassist Fieldy getting a face tattoo and one showing front man Jonathan Davis holding a rifle, and then bloodied on the ground.  After watching the video, it’s apparent these were screenshots taken from specific scenes.  WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

KORN released their new album THE PATH OF TOTALITY this past December, where it debuted in the Top Ten on Billboard.  The album has also been a fixture on Billboard’s Dance Electronic Albums chart, and has sold over 500,000 digital singles from the album—a staggering amount for a rock band, featuring the brand new single, “WAY TOO FAR” as well as “GET UP!” and “NARCISSISSTIC CANNIBAL,” the later two of which were Top Ten hits at Active Rock Radio.

Korn made waves this weekend when founding member Brian “Head” Welch joined his former bandmates onstage for the first time in 9 years on Saturday night in front of 30,000 amazed fans at this year’s Carolina Rebellion Festival.  Check out Revolver.com’s exclusive coverage HERE.

Speaking of Revolver, last month KORN took home the REVOLVER Golden God Award for “Album of the Year,” presented by Marshall Amplification, for THE PATH OF TOTALITY (Roadrunner).

Current KORN TOUR DATES w/ SLUGGO, J DEVIL:

MAY 2012

TUE      8             Huntington, NY                The Paramount

THU     10           Sayreville, NJ                    Starland Ballroom

JUST ANNOUNCED:

JUNE 2012

FRI        15           Quebec, CANADA                         Montebello Festival *

SAT       16           Hampton Beach, NH                  Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

SUN      17            Wallingford, CT                            The Dome at Oakdale Theatre

TUE      19           Pittsburgh, PA                               Stage AE

WED    20          Fort Wayne, IN                              Piere’s

SUN      24           Minneapolis, MN                         Myth

MON    25           Fargo, ND                                         Concert Hall @ The Venue

WED    27           Missoula, MT                                  Big Sky Brewery

FRI        29           Dawson Creek, BC                        EnCana Events Center

SAT       30          Gibbons, AB                                    Boonstock Festival *

*Festival Date

www.korn.com
www.facebook.com/korn
www.twitter.com/korn
www.myspace.com/korn

All I Was Lands At #10 One Day After Release

(May 9, 2012 – New York, NY) – In a chart dominated by voices from NBC’s smash television show The Voice, a new voice has found his way in to the Top 10 on the iTunes Rock Singles Chart.  Mark Tremonti, best known for his guitar playing and songwriting with Alter Bridge and Creed, takes the microphone for the first time and unleashes another hit with “You Waste Your Time.”  The song is the debut single from Mark’s first ever solo project, being released under the name Tremonti, and hits #10 on the chart just one day after being released to iTunes.  The song has already gotten early plays at radio just days after being serviced and further demonstrates Tremonti is a force to be reckoned with.  A performance video for the single will be available in the coming weeks.

“I am overwhelmed by the positive response the song has received already.  I never imagined it would hit the Top 10 so quickly and that is a testament to the amazing fans I have.  I couldn’t have gotten anywhere in my career without them and want to thank each and every one of them for their support.  I can’t wait until they hear the rest of it,” states Tremonti.

All I Was is scheduled for release this July via FRET12 Records, a company Mark started with Daniel Tremonti and Tom Stanley. Tremonti features Eric Friedman on rhythm guitar and Garrett Whitlock on drums. Mark’s Alter Bridge/Creed bandmate, Brian Marshall, will be stepping in for the bass duties when Tremonti takes to the road later this year. Long time friend and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette, known for his work with Alter Bridge, Chevelle and Trivium, produced the album.  From the first riffs of album opener “Leave It Alone” to the final notes of the closer “Decay,” it is apparent that Mark’s playing and songwriting are at a new level.  The metal music influences he grew up on ring throughout the album on songs like “So You’re Afraid,” “Wish You Well” and “Giving Up.”  Mark finds his voice; literally, stepping up to the microphone for the first time in his career as a lead vocalist. The depth of his voice carries the melodies on songs like “New Way Out” and “Proof.”

Mark Tremonti is the Grammy Award-winning guitarist and songwriter known for his work in multi-platinum rock juggernaut Creed and with the critically acclaimed, fan favorite Alter Bridge. Having sold over 40 million records worldwide, this is the man behind massive hits like “My Own Prison”, “Higher”, and “Isolation”—just to name a few.  His sound is recognizable and has garnered him a loyal fan base worldwide. Guitar World dubbed him “Guitarist of the Year” three consecutive years in a row and he ranked as the “fourth greatest heavy metal guitarist ever” in Total Guitar.

www.tremontiproject.com

www.FRET12.com