Muen Magazine

Interview with Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction January 30, 2012

Shauna O'Donnell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:14:01 +0000

JANE’S ADDICTION

Capitol Records

Stephen Perkins (Drums)

Los Angeles, California

By: Shauna O’Donnell

It was really cool to have the opportunity to talk with Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction. I found him to be really fun and interesting to talk to. Jane’s Addiction released their fourth studio album titled “The Great Escape Artist” in October and plan on hitting the road in support of it February 22^nd on the Theatre of the Escapists Tour. It has been eight years since their last studio album and it was well worth the wait. Be sure to check out their latest video for “Underground” on www.playboy.com. While you are at it take a look at Stephen’s art work that he does using his drumsticks at http://www.theartofstephenperkins.com/

Hi Stephen, thanks for talking with me. On October 18^th you released your latest album titled “The Great Escape Artist.” This is your first studio album in eight years. Did it feel good to be putting out another album with Jane’s Addiction?

Stephen/JA: It really does because we’ve only made four studio records in three decades, so we obviously take our time. We do it when it feels right. I appreciate bands that power through and carry on when they go through changes and go through some tragic stuff. In Jane’s Addiction, we feel like if we are not completely on the same page and we are not having a great time with it, then we do not commit to a record or a tour because at the time if we are not getting into it and we don’t really love each other, then it is hard to show up at the studio, make great music and really stand behind it. That’s why we don’t make that many records because when we feel it, we go for it and when we don’t, we pull back. With Jane’s Addiction, when you hear us together, it truly sounds like us, but when you hear our projects that are separate it really doesn’t sound like Jane’s Addiction. Perry’s music, David’s or mine is all quite different from what Jane’s would do. It’s really the chemicals and the chemistry when we get together that makes that sound. When we are committed to each other, I think we can make beautiful music and great live shows. When we are not, let’s call it quits and not fake it or do it for the money. You can get a million bucks if you go on tour all year, but we’re not liking each other, so fuck it! It really felt good to be in the position, not even to make new music, but in the position where we can look at each other and say “Yeah, we want to make new music with each other. Let’s commit.” It took almost a year to make the record, so that is a commitment that me, Dave and Perry made to each other to make a great record. We could make music overnight, but would it be the next Jane’s record? Would it stand next to Ritual or Strays or Nothing’s Shocking? That to me is the commitment because if we went in tonight and made a song, it might be a cool song, but I don’t know if it would be the next Jane’s. We knew we would have to bite and chew and chew and chew. It took blood, sweat and tears to get there and that’s what make’s it a real Jane’s record. We went through the same pain, suffering, pleasure and the actual rejoicing of having new music for the first three records. It is a great thing to make a new record. It’s a great thing to go through it, learn and figure out what works and what doesn’t in the environment of today’s music and what we still want to do as far as being a dangerous band. To me, there are a lot of different types of music, but it doesn’t have the sense of danger even if it’s jazz or pop or even classical. If they weren’t pressing the envelope at the time, it’s a bore. I think it’s really important to move forward and not go back. Dave and I have been playing since we were thirteen and I met Perry when I was seventeen, so these guys are my partners for life in music, but how do you move forward because you have old habits? Even if the old habits are ethic and I love old habits because that is what made the sound in the old days, how do you move forward and stay committed to great songwriting and that sense of danger where even if you fail, at least you tried. I feel like a lot of bands today, producers, record labels and the whole machine would rather have it safe. If it’s an Oreo cookie, why change it? But at the same time, if you are a cookie, you don’t want to be the same cookie everyday. You want to grow a lot. So it was very exciting to make a new record and it was very exiting to have Navarro in my life everyday, which we used to have in the high school days. Seeing my friends daily is a great experience because you start to make art together and of course you have the business side where you have to make decisions about money and contracts, but we are older now, so we can look at things a little more evenly. We know what is right and wrong. Even if we are doing the wrong thing, at least we are aware of it. Back in the day we weren’t even aware of what we were really doing, we were just going for it. Now we know how to run the business better and run the friendships better. It makes the whole machine a little more lubricated so that no one can fuck with us while we are being creative because we know how to take care of our business now. We started the idea of making new music when Eric the original bass player was still in the band during the Nine Inch Nails tour and like I said earlier we knew it was a major commitment whether it was a month or a year and we could not start it and not finish it. So I don’t think Eric was ready for that and then we had Duff from Guns N Roses in the band and he was a wonderful experience, but he also was probably seeing what I was talking about with it being a commitment that me, Dave and Perry are committed to. He has a huge career in other bands, so he probably saw the writing on the wall that this is going to take a while. I appreciate that he wasn’t ready for that. Both are great musicians and great people, but at the same time to commit to Jane’s Addiction was not in their books. We were very fortunate to find Rich Costey, who helped produce the record and he introduced us to Dave Sitek the guitar player and mastermind with TV on the Radio. Dave Sitek, Dave Navarro and I spent a couple months together without Perry just making noise. Dave Sitek brought keyboards, basses, guitars, amps, turntables, drum machines, pedals and a whole assortment of things. Navarro and I are there with some of our old habits, but beautiful habits and then he showed up and that helped us create what is the new record. It’s Navarro and I rubbing elbows with Dave Sitek, Rich Costey and of course Perry as well. It was really exciting for me to go through the process. Dave Sitek is ultra aware of new music, new rhythms and the way people make those rhythms, which is usually with a finger on an Ipad or computer. So I would lay down a tribal beat, he would sit there with a drum machine doing something he was working on and all of a sudden we have a hybrid and on and on it went. It was organic. We never ignored technology, but we never let it stir the pot to the point where it didn’t sound like us anymore.

Is there an underlying theme to the record? Is it written about the LA underground scene?

Stephen/JA: Well to me, lyrically and musically, I think each song has its own universe and its own solar system. They all connect because of the musicians and Perry’s poems. They all seem to be interconnected through his life experience. I wouldn’t say that it is song per song connected and threaded together in a purpose. I think each song should be born, matured and then put on the record before you go for the next song. In the end, musically and lyrically, they all start to work together because you work on this thing for a year and they are all together on the same canvas. I’ve done so much work on the music that it has been a while since I’ve listened to the record. Once it’s done, and a lot of musicians and actors will say the same thing, once they are done with the project, they don’t go see the final project or if they do they don’t go watch it over and over or listen to it over and over. I feel the same way with all of our records. It’s an achievement, it’s a piece of art, but I have to move forward. The new record is definitely that. When I hear it I can hear what happened to get there. It is hard to hear it as a song because I made it. When I listen to a Jane’s song I remember the part’s that we put into it, the time we wrote it and where we rehearsed it. It’s beautiful to listen to the record, it’s not fragmented, but it’s memories. It’s like postcards from the last year for me.

Did Perry design the album cover?

Stephen/JA: Perry did the album cover as he usually does and there were also many ideas that went into that. When working with a label, there are deadlines and other things that go into the music, production, artwork and the fonts, you know, the size of the words on the record. Everything has to be chosen, not like in the old days where you really had to do it homegrown. We had a chance to at least present it as a final product. Now things are so different and things have to get done hand in hand with the people at EMI and Capitol. It’s a combination of a bunch of people working on a project now. The band did the music, Perry did the lyrics and it was a great experience. Then you put in Capitol’s hands, which is so odd nowadays that labels have any strings at all. We still owed Capitol Records from Strays because Strays was a two record deal. We gave them Strays and then broke up, so we actually owed them a record. If we were going to make a Jane’s record, it had to go to Capitol. So now we are at the point where this is our final record with EMI and Capitol for better or worse. It is a strange cookie cutter combination of these labels not wanting to grow and change, but they need to. They make a lot of money at Capitol with the Beach Boys, Pink Floyd and the Beatles catalog as well as with their new bands Katy Perry, Coldplay and some of the newer bands that give them a little bit of credit as far as cash flow. As far as Jane’s Addiction, they don’t know what the fuck to do with us. We are not a band that you put out like the Chili’s where you know the stations are going to play the record. You’ve got to work us and we’ve got to go out and work a tour. It’s an odd little combination with us and Capitol, but we are getting through it. We try to keep a level of coolness as far as where we are playing, who we are playing with and what we are doing.

Do you still prefer going out and buying actual CD’s or do you like to get your music digitally?

Stephen/JA: I haven’t bought a CD in a long time to be honest, but on tour you end up in some cities that still have CD shops. If you are in England or New York City or something, you find some cool shops. The last time I bought some CD’s, I was down in South America in Buenas Aires. I saw a cool shop and they had some old bootleg CD’s that I was into. I heard a cool song the other day, it was a Mutemath song and I went and bought it that day. It was $1.99 and I found some other CD’s that I liked and I got to see some of their artwork. I’m accepting the way it works. I used to love to be at Tower Records and in record shops. It was definitely a way to present your music. Now it’s just like anything else, it passes by and people don’t pay too much attention to music. You do have a certain core audience that loves bands and they will still exist forever, but it’s kind of lost that art and that magic. You have to make great music and great choices with that music. If you are going to place it in a movie, make sure it’s a Scorsese movie. It’s not really about making money in the corporate world, it’s really about making art. With the Jane’s records, that is why we have only made four. If we really wanted to make money, we could cash in and keep making them. Warner Bros. did do a lot of what I consider Greatest Hits Jane’s records. They compiled a bunch of old demos and all this stuff, but we never had hits though, so basically they are just compiling some great stuff. If people love our band, they can hear everything we ever did. If you are not infatuated with Jane, then those records don’t really mean much. We didn’t sweat over them like we did this one.

I watched your video for “Underground” on Playboy.com. First of all, what a great video, it flowed with the song so well. What was it about the video that made it unfit for YouTube? Was it the brief one second shot of nudity?

Stephen/JA: Yeah, there are a few rules that we have to deal with. If you are implying things like rape or cocaine use or whatever the hell they think it implies. That is where they draw the line. It’s a realistic view of what is going on in some people’s worlds. I love the fact that you can walk by people’s houses and you have no idea what is going on behind the windows. If you had a camera with Jane’s Addiction on tour, it would be a lot sicker than anything we could produce. I don’t know what this tour is going to call for because we leave in a month, but something fun and unusual always starts to unravel as you get out there with your boys on a bus and you are seeing new people everyday. You are playing your music and you are becoming more in touch with art and less in touch with the bullshit that you live with when you are out in the world. You start to become a little looser, not that the lines start getting erased, but you start realizing there were never any lines anyways. I think it is important as an artist to get to that point. Producing this video and trying to make it dangerous and classy at the same time, I think we did a cool job and I love it. I really dig the “Irresistible Force” video. I think my favorite was the “End to the Lies” video, the first one we did. I think we did some great stuff with this record. It’s artistic, it’s unusual and to me that is really where we are at. It’s Jane’s Addiction at the point where me and Navarro are 44 and Perry is 52, but I still feel like we can fuck the hell out of the world. We still look great and we have a great time with each other and I think that goes into the music. You can actually hear that we are fucking enjoying this.

You guys will be heading out on the Theatre of the Escapists Tour come February 22^nd. What’s different about this tour is you will be playing in mostly classic theatres. Who will be on the tour with you? Can you give us a little insight on what the stage show will be like?

Stephen/JA: We’ve got some great ideas as far as different acts. We are still dealing with a few different decisions on who is the right fit, for where and when. I think what we have planned for the onstage performance is really exciting and in true Jane’s Addiction fashion. I think the theatres are a perfect fit for what we want to do. It’s nothing too big and nothing too small. It’s a great spot where everyone in the house can see what’s happening and hear it perfectly. We are excited to play the new stuff, the old stuff and make up some new shit. We are hungry to get out there and do a different type of tour. When we get to the big stage in England and we are on a fucking festival with thirty other bands, you play a certain way. We you are in a tiny little club in L.A. on Sunset, you play a different way. When you do a theatre tour, it’s fun to have that theatrical tip off even before you get there. We are excited about taking our music and putting us in these great theatres.

Interview with Holly Hutchison

Shauna O'Donnell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:05:17 +0000

January 24, 2012

HOLLY HUTCHISON

http://www.anrgirl.com

http://www.directionsinternational.com

By: Shauna O’Donnell

Hi Holly, thanks for talking with me. Let’s begin with a brief history lesson. How did you get your start in the music industry?

Wow, it was so many years ago. I was in college and I met the band Skid Row while I was interning at a club at the time. Skid Row was not signed yet and they had their old singer. I thought they were incredible and I told them “You guys need to come and play out here.” Then they fired their singer and got a new one, which would be Sebastian. At that point they were ready to play out live. Atlantic Records had been interested in them, so I booked a show for them. I was so ecstatic because Ahmet Ertegun showed up in a snow storm in Allentown, Pennsylvania to see Skid Row at the show I booked. Standing next to an icon like that just blew me away and I wanted to be a facilitator like this guy. I stood there watching as he offered a deal to “Snake” right there in the backstage apartment that was like the dressing room. From that point on I was like “I have to do this.” It’s been a long road because as a female in the industry, I had to make sure when you are young that you are not seen as a skirt. I actually dyed my hair dark for a long time and wore industrial boots with long skirts. I tried to stay as intellectual as possible. So that was the beginning with the club and from there I was fortunate to make a friend who was the office manager of Concrete Marketing and Management, so my first internship in college was in New York City with Bob Chiappardi and Walter O’Brien. It was great, talk about coming from a small town and getting thrown into metal. I learned a lot there, graduated from school and went out to California. Within two weeks, through a couple of friends, I had a job working as a marketing director for another independent marketing place called Macey Lipman, which was completely opposite because that was all pop music. I took it upon myself to create a little newsletter thing for Macey and I would go out to all the clubs, network and meet all the bands, both signed and unsigned. I just wanted to be a part of it all. I really didn’t sleep in L.A. much, I pretty much got three hours of sleep a night. I worked as a retail assistant manager at Wherehouse at the same time, so I was around music a lot. I was marketing to retail, I was also working in retail and I then I was out seeing all the bands and scouting. A lot of trudging through the streets and work brought me to Atlantic Records. I was an assistant A&R person there and scouting. I got to work with Kevin reporting to Jason Flom. I really studied what Jason Flom did. I have a lot of respect for that man. He has a great ear and he knows rock bands. He also taught me the fear of not liking every single band that you see, from A&R it’s 98.9% no for us as well as for the band to be shot down. It made me to the point where I didn’t want to bring anything up unless it was super spectacular because I didn’t want them to say “You stink, you’re out of here.” One of my first bands that I really championed and fell in love with was the Deftones. That was two years before anybody really got into them. Unfortunately we didn’t sign them, they went to Maverick, but they would still call me at home and ask questions. I was always involved whether I signed a band or not because I’m a true fan. From there I moved up to an A&R executive and did A&R research at Atlantic and then left there. I went on my own for a little bit, went back into Capitol Records as the Director of A&R under Perry Watts-Russell and got a lot of experience there. He really let me take the reigns and do my thing. For the first time I didn’t feel like that corporate, red tape, fear of God thing. I spent a lot of time with the A&R Admin Dept. in the Business Affairs Dept. where I learned a lot about contracts and the other sides that don’t have to do with being in the clubs or schmoozing the next hype, bidding war band. I studied the internal workings of where the money is going. When I left there, I went on my own and I have been on my own for about ten years.

Who are some of the bands that you championed or signed?

Muse was one of the acts I championed in the US, Safta played me the demo before he was even giving it out to anyone. Safta Jaffery was their champion worldwide who started them. Blink 182 who are everything that they set out to be and they are real. That was something that made me really like them. Even though it wasn’t my kind of music, per say, I loved them as entertainers and they really believed in what they were doing. I’m still friends and in touch with Mark Hoppus. Alanis Morrisette, early on, I have a letter from a friend of her publishing company saying that she was excited that I had her demo and would love to work with me. Of course, my boss passed on her. I had said “I don’t know what it is about this girl, but I think there is something there.” He handed the tape back to me and said “I don’t hear one hit on there.” What I used to do is, whenever I did feel strongly about an artist, I would put the team together that I wanted to pitch to get it signed. I was really fortunate while I was at Capitol because two of the artists that I had come in and meet with were offered deals right on the spot by the President of the company and that never happens. One of them was the Swedish pop star Bosson. He was getting played on KIIS FM. Perry was saying to me “We are never going to get this guy. Everyone wants to sign him.” I was like “Yes we will, just watch.” I set the meeting up and I had our Senior VP of Radio Promotions, the President of the company and I brought our radio guy in. Perry was also there and we just let them do their thing and have their meeting. We told them what we thought of them and how we would be behind them as a label and as a team. They were down, that was it and they did their deal with us.

When did you start the website (http://www.anrgirl.com)?

I actually had the name as an AOL email address for probably ten years. I created it right when I left Capitol. It was just an identity thing that I wanted to do and I thought that I should try to start branding myself. I always want to do that with my artists too. Don’t worry about if you have the next big hit on the radio, be a brand and be something that people can sink their teeth into and come back to over and over again. After a series of working with artists and putting my lifeblood into them, I finally decided to focus on myself a little bit more. I created www.anrgirl.com and let it grow over the years. I get so busy with other projects that I don’t focus on myself, but I put it there so I could continue to brand and become something different. There is an article in the LA Weekly that kind of really pushed me forward. It was called A&R Star Makers: The Vanishing Gatekeepers by: Paul Rogers from February 2010. I read that and I was kind of laughing. This is exactly the short-sidedness that is out there. It’s like “Oh my goodness, A&R is going to die!” No it’s not! It’s called stop being lazy and re-invent yourself. If there are all these artists out there who want to do it, they are still going to need guidance and direction from someone who has actually been schooled by some of the best. You can’t take the past away. Those people that built those companies were obviously wise men and knew something. I always studied charts and statistics. I analyzed why this worked and why that didn’t work. I’m really passionate about it. It’s not true that it’s over. I think if you put yourself out there differently and make yourself accessible in a different way, artists will find you and maybe they will hire you to consult them. There is a way to do it, but you have to change, you don’t have to be the gatekeeper, you can be the gate opener. The thing that disappoints me too is, I have a lot of respect for some of the other A&R’s that are still out there at the major labels, but I’m also equally disappointed in them and some of them are friends of mine. I’m disappointed that they have the opportunity and the power behind them to make a difference and they are not. It’s like “Are you guys in denial or do you not want to make the effort?” If that’s the problem, then the company as a whole needs to look at that. Everybody is complaining about how bad the commercial music is right now. Who is complaining? Is someone not listening? There has to be a new portal for the change. If you’re not excited about the music that is out, then make a change. How can you be tired of hearing music? I still get excited when I hear something that is over the moon. I’ve been listening to music since I was two. My dad used to play to me, he was a guitar player. I could never be tired of something that moves me.

Are you with Directions International now? Is that still current?

I am with them and we are in a building process..My teammates here are all multi-talented and on top of their game. Tony Stephens is here doing touring and he has been an artist himself. Fred Conley who is the owner of the company was a back up singer for Earl Thomas Conley, his brother, so he’s been on the road, he’s been a manager and he was a publisher. He has seen all sides of it. I come in from a rock/pop side and my primary focus is A&R here, although I’ve done management as well. I’m doing artist development in that, but at the same time I’m feeling out songs and what we should have on our roster. Directions International is the music company and Highway To Fame is the sister company that has a place for people to submit who aspire to be one of the artists that are already here. It’s a TV show, so we have to be able to show through the TV show what it is that we do as a music company and what it is to have experienced people guiding you and helping you along with your career. People don’t get to see that. They think it just kind of happens and it doesn’t. This show is very important because it shows how much goes in from the expert side, the reality of it. That is what my role is here. I’m pretty much getting known as “the bitch” because I really do tell it like it is and I’m not sugar coating. I feel like that is my responsibility in this role, to be honest to an artist. I tell them straight up “You are not always going to want to hear what I have to say and you can take it or leave it, but I’m not going to bullshit you. I’m going to tell you exactly what I think and then I’m going to tell you how I think you can improve.” Constructive criticism is the best gift that any expert can ever give you. I’m not sitting here saying that I have all the answers, like everybody else, I’m trying to grow. I think if an artist doesn’t come from that standpoint, then they are a lost cause right there.

You have “The Hotseat” on your website. You choose people from Sonicbids, is that how you bring people in to Directions International also?

Not necessarily, “The Hotseat” started out before I was here. It was a link to www.anrgirl.com and it was something that I wanted to do to be accessible in a way that maybe people aren’t being accessible. People think when they submit that they are automatically going to get a critique and I’m like “For $5? Are you kidding me?” I get hundreds of them. I made it more accessible for them by saying “Okay, I’m going to critique one person and I’m going to choose several other ones to make a comment about, whether it is good or bad, funny, serious or not serious, but at least you get exposure. Then they are like “Oh well I didn’t get my $5 worth.” I’m like “First of all, half of it goes to Sonicbids for the listing. I only see half of it. The other half of it I use to pay my developer to put this stuff up.” I’m not sitting here getting rich listening to songs, if anything I’ve carved out time to create an opportunity for them to be heard by somebody. If I hear something I like, then I’m going to go listen to more. I’m going to say “Is this something I want to work with or is there somebody over here that would really benefit from this?” Right there, they have now had an open door to somebody helping them along in their career that can maybe do something for them for $5. This was to eliminate the gatekeeping thing and that’s why I did it. It opens up the door for 100 people a month to be heard and that is a lot of listening. I wanted to be able to hear what was going on out there that I might be missing because you get to a point after doing this for so long that you are busy on projects. I’ve went to so many clubs in my lifetime that I don’t want to go out and be clubbing around unless I know there is a band that I need to see from somebody that I trust. You have so much going on during the day that it doesn’t allow a whole lot of time to go out and see bands all the time. You’ve got to rely on other people that are out there. I listen to a lot of my friends who are in bands on tour and they tell me when they see something because those guys are around it all the time.

What is the biggest misconception that you find bands have about the industry?

I would say that a lot of bands work hard to get to a certain point and then they kind of assume or expect that someone else will do it for them from there. You have to keep the manager inspired to want to do this. That is another problem for me. Before Directions and after I left the major label machine, I set out on my own and I realized ,after a lot of sweat equity, mind you, that I needed to start charging a consultant fee. If a band is new, they are not making any money, so when did you become the free charity to work for a band and not make any money. Where does that start? Traditionally, managers, when you’re signed to a label, get an advance. They get a piece of that commission of that advance. It is so hard to get signed anymore, you are actually doing artist development, you’re offering a service and you’re not getting paid for it unless you charge some kind of consulting fee. Let’s face it, who has the time to not be able to pay their rent or mortgage to help someone out that you don’t know what is going to happen with them? It drives me nuts that they think that the information, the time and the experience that someone has already paid their dues to get should be for free. What? Are you serious? Even if you are paying $500 a month, pay my cell phone bill or something. Why should I give that to you for free? Show me that it means something to you. This is a business, this is not a hobby. I’ve already done this. I’ve made money at this, you want to make money at this, so show me why I should work with you. Show me an incentive of what you are doing that I would make money on, otherwise why am I doing this? You have to live too. That is the big misconception, that they think you are going to sit and do all this work for free, for how long? That is the danger zone right there. Go get a financial investor if you believe in yourself that much, so that we can have budget money to work with and you can pay me who is doing all this work for you because they are not making the money yet. Ask the band “Hey are you going to play a show for free? Do you want to give all your merch away for free? How about you go make all that merch with the money that you borrowed from a girlfriend or you actually had a job and paid for, we go to a show and you just give it all away?” That is exactly what they are asking a person that is managing them to do. They want me to give away everything I know, all my contacts and all these things that I had to earn. That is a problem and that mentality to me is a big problem. I think if an artist is a business person, they will think differently and those are the ones you want to work with. They will say “I don’t have a lot of money to pay you, but what can you do to help me with my development?” You are not managing a career that doesn’t make any money. You are doing an artist development service.

What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see bands make nowadays?

They don’t follow through, they don’t do their homework and they take people who are of great value to their future for granted. They haven’t done their homework and they don’t know what that person is worth. They don’t understand that this is a business, not a hobby. People do this for a living and it is not a game. That is probably one of the biggest mistakes is to get in your own way and think that you know more than a person who can sit there and offer you advice that will help further you. You can’t put a dollar to that, it is priceless if someone is willing to take the time to offer you some kind of feedback or some kind of direction. To take that for granted is really a big mistake. I always say this to an artist “Do you just want to do this because you love it and you want to do it for yourself or do you want to actually make money at this to pay your bills?” This is about you being the best that you can be and running your talent like a business because this is what you want to thrive on for your life. You are going to need a team along who will do that and you are going to have to pay them too. See your music as a business if that is what you want to do for a long time.

Is there something specific you look for in a band that let’s you know they have what it takes to make it?

I look for that mentality. They take themselves seriously and of course they have to have the talent first. After the talent, I look past that and say “What is that one thing that makes them a little bit different?” It’s their passion, they’re a little slightly left of center maybe, so they are interesting. They have a certain style about them. There is a trueness and a genuineness about them, which then leads to the fact that they want to do this for real, that they do see this as a business and it also shows the open-mindedness to take direction. They have to have that talent and ambition balanced with the ability to say “Hey I know that I could do this better, I need direction, I want to view this as a business and I want to be smart about it.”

What advice do you have for bands out there who aspire to be rock stars?

I would tell them to follow up on all their leads, build relationships and treat them with respect. Be smart about your business, educate yourself and take nothing for granted. That is why Gene Simmons is a success. He is the epitome of Rock Star! I’m a huge fan because he is so smart. He has an instinct for it and he does his thing. He doesn’t take anything lightly, he is serious about himself, his music and his band. He takes the time to be educated, so that when he sits in a meeting with people he knows what he is talking about. A lot of bands think someone else is going to get them all this information and someone else is going to make all their decisions. Then they turn around and say “Oh someone stole my publishing!” It’s like “Were you sitting in the meeting with the information?” Even if you are not an expert, did you ask the question?” Don’t point the finger, this is your career, so be responsible. Then you will be smart enough to decide who should I have around me and who should I not have around me? That is my other pet peeve, artists not being able to really look at who they have around them. Who is telling you what you want to hear and who is telling the truth? Stay with the person who is telling you the truth. Other people will blow smoke up your ass and that is the fast way to go the wrong way.

What is it that you find to be unfair about the financial structure of the major label that led you to work with Directions International?

I swore and vowed that I would not go back to another company. I’ve had offers to go back and do A&R at majors after I left Capitol and I said “No!” It wasn’t just because of the “bubble factor” it was because of the financial structure. I don’t know if you know a lot about how the deals are structured at the majors, but they’ve become 360’s now. It’s always been a process where you keep the artists in debt and everything is always about the re-coup. Before, it was like we are spending this, this and this and they are going to make the majority of the money, if not all of it and keep me in debt on my record sales, but I still can make money over here on my publishing, my touring and my merch. There are three other outlets to make more money now. Now with the 360 deals, they want a little piece of everything and they are not even giving the advances that they used to. So now you are sitting there, you have four or five guys in a band and you have to split 60 cents per record. What record? It’s all MP3’s now. So now you’re touring and you have to make the money back. Being tight with the A&R Admin Dept., I followed where the money was going and how the process is aside from the recording costs. Everything is being billed to the artist, every single thing. In their contract they decide how much percentage is recoupable and how much is not. That is against that 60 cents that the artist is getting already, everything else is taken to recoup all the other expenses. If you’re A&R person flies out to take you out to dinner, they are not taking you out to dinner, you are taking them out to dinner. When I sat down with Fred and he was telling me about the concept of Highway to Fame, first of all the Highway to Fame website is separate from the TV show, it makes it so the artist can submit from their bedroom, living room, garage or whatever. We have a team of scouts, you build your exposure and as things start to pop, they bring it to us, so anyone who is working their butt off will be exposed to us without having to come through an attorney or manager. It could be anybody randomly, anywhere in the world. So that was really cool, but then the whole thing with Directions International was we are about building the fairest deal out there for the artist. We are partners with the artist. Everything we do is accountable with the artist as a partner. They see where the money is going to be spent and they know what is going to happen. They can review and audit us anytime that they want and when we travel, it’s not billed to them, we take care of that. We are not saying “Okay, I’m going to come out there and see you in L.A. while you record, then I’m going to bill that back to your recording budget.” No, that comes out of our side of the company, it has nothing to do with the artist. It is such a different structure. We aim to be the fairest deal out there and hopefully it will get out there, others will follow suit and it will help the artist again. The ones who are working hard have become enslaved basically. Where is your future there? We are only as committed to our artists as they are to themselves. If you continue to work hard and we see that, then we are committed too.

Most artists go into a label situation owing money right off the bat.

Oh Yeah! This is a whole different thing. I’m excited for it to play out. In the year to come, you’ll see. It’s a nice feeling to really feel that I can really spread my wings and deliver.

Thank you so much for the interview. Is there anything you’d like to add or say?

Keep an eye out for a band called Beta. They are from Mexico and they sing in Spanish and English. When you listen to him, his voice is like a musical instrument. That and my other thing is “Success without a cause is a wasted effort.”

As I Lay Dying Show Review “The Decas Tour” By: Matty

Shauna O'Donnell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:49:44 +0000

As I Lay Dying Show Review “The Decas Tour”

Wednesday, December 7th, 2001

First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota

featuring special guests Of Mice And Men, The Ghost Inside, iwrestledabearonce, and Sylosis

By: Matty

I usually get stoked to see a show at the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This particular venue has been featured in various nationwide publications as being one of the top venues to see a concert in the country. The atmosphere, the energy of the crowd, and the quality sound in this venue proved just that. Several years ago, I saw Norma Jean and Between The Buried and Me at this particular venue. It amazes me how the people that work there love their job and there isn’t a bad seat in the standing room only venue. Even the balcony provides an undeniable view of the show. Kudos to First Avenue. British thrash metal band Sylosis opened this show.

Sylosis is a four piece thrash metal band from the United Kingdom comprised of Josh Middleton(vocals, guitars), Alex Bailey(guitars), Carl Parnell(bass), and Rob Callard on the drums. Sylosis joined the Decas tour mainly on donations of tour support money from its rabid fanbase. My best friend couldn’t stop talking about this band, and this was the main reason why he went to this show. His hyping up the band made me very excited to see what the hype was all about in Sylosis. This band took the stage early. Then I heard a sound that was not of this world. It sounded something like you’d hear out of the most surreal science fiction movie. It was Josh sweeping through the strings on his guitar with some incredible harmonics. Josh providing the harmonics with the rhythm section in “Empryreal” sounded like machine guns from war, provided the audience with quite the whiplash. I stood there in awe, just amazed at what I was hearing. The instrumental break is an amazing and sick breakdown with incredible guitar work. The musicianship was incredibly tight, as the tempo changes in the four songs that they played provided smooth and effortless transitions. By the end of their fourth and final song, entitled “After Lifeless Years”, the crowd was united with fists in the air and headbanging in unison. What a tremendous way to start off the show. Texas-based metalcore band iwrestledabearonce was next to follow.

iwrestledabearonce provided a unique combination of humor, headbanging, and chaos in their set. I remember reading about their rabid underground fanbase and was looking forward to seeing them. iwrestledabearonce is comprised of Krysta(vocals), Steven(guitar,programming), John(guitar,programming), Rickshaw(bass), and Mikey on the drums. This is definitely a unique band. I never thought that I would hear a Super Mario Brothers video game sample into a chaotic metal song. Something about them I definitely enjoyed. They started off the show with the famous brief cover of “Jump”, originally done by Van Halen before breaking into “Next Visible Delicious”. They are known for their quirky song titles and their chaotic unpredictability into their music. I definitely appreciated the chaos and the passion that Krysta poured onto the stage during their six song performance. Some of the crowd was taken aback by them, however, they definitely have developed a serious underground following that will allow them to be successful into their career. They provided humor when the bassist, Rickshaw, played a game with the audience called “The Floor’s Lava”, which was supposed to provide encouragement for people to jump around. Krysta was wearing black leggings and she sat down and stated that there was a hole in her crotch, which got laughter from the crowd. “You Ain’t No Family” and “Tastes Like Kevin Bacon” were definitely highlights into the set. The Ghost Inside won me over in their next set.

My readers will find that I love hardcore and punk music, pretty much more than any genre of music out there. I have been to several As I Lay Dying concerts and I have really appreciated them bringing out a diverse array of bands to quench the collective palates of all of the concertgoers. I didn’t know what to expect from The Ghost Inside. I was eating nachos with my friend and I didn’t realize that I was talking to the drummer after the iwrestledabearonce set. He seemed like a chill person. The Ghost Inside, who are signed by Epitaph Records, is comprised of Vigil(vocals), Aaron(guitar,vocals), Zach(guitar), Jim(bass,vocals), and Andrew(drums). They DEFINITELY had an audience there. The hardcore fans were out for this band. I was enamored by Vigil’s stage presence. He screamed with an intensity and passion, tugged at his chest anytime that he could feel the electrifying energy of the crowd, then the subject content that he was singing about grabbed my attention. I love bands that sing about overcoming the obstacles of life, rising up after getting knocked down, and standing up unabashed for what you believe in. The Ghost Inside definitely did that in their songs entitled “Faith Or Forgiveness”, “Chrono”, and “Unspoken”. I was getting chills up and down my spine during this amazing moment in my personal concert history. They closed out their set with the song entitled “Between the Lines”. The guitar harmonics in this song were tingling up and down my spine. Then, the music stopped and Vigil lets out a primal scream, asking the audience, “What do you stand for?”, followed by a sick breakdown. The crowd was louder than the singer was during that point. What an emotional and brutal set put on by The Ghost Inside. They won me over as a fan. Of Mice and Men followed after The Ghost Inside.

Of Mice and Men is touring in support of their album entitled “The Flood”, in which I gave it a positive review on the other website. I was particularly looking forward to this band. Of Mice And Men are comprised of Austin Carlile(vocals), Valentino Arteaga(drums), Shayley Bourget(vocals, bass), Phil Manansala(guitars), and Alan Ashby on guitars. Of Mice And Men opened their set with the track entitled “Purified”. I immediately was impressed with Shayley’s work on the clean vocals. He sounded just like on the CD when he provided the clean vocals. They did keep the audience going and warmed up for As I Lay Dying on this amazing night of music. This band continues to establish a well-rounded legion of followers with their blistering live performance and seemingly endless amounts of energy. They definitely got the crowd moving with the songs entitled “Ohio Is For Lovers”, “Second And Sebring”, and “Still Ydg’n”. They closed out their set with an interesting rendition of “Hard In The Paint”, originally done by rap artist Waka Flocka Flame. As I Lay Dying closed out the show.

This is the biggest challenge for me writing up this particular review, is trying not to sound like an insane fanboy. This was my third As I Lay Dying show. I’ve seen them getting a standing ovation at the 8,000 seated capacity crowd Roy Wilkins Auditorium opening for Deftones, Thrice, and Story Of The Year. I’ve also seen them headline with August Burns Red and Evergreen Terrace providing direct support. As I Lay Dying is comprised of Tim Lambesis(vocals), Jordan Mancino(drums), Nick Hipa(guitar), Phil Sgrosso(guitar), and Josh Gilbert providing bass and clean vocals. After a haunting intro, they all-out blitzed into their set with the song entitled “The Sound of Truth”. I was drawn into this song by the catchy, yet incredible guitar riff done by Nick on the guitars. In my opinion, Nick Hipa is a very underrated guitarist. He doesn’t necessarily provide the most mindblowing guitar solos or guitar riffs, however, they seem to fit the music like pieces to a puzzle. Josh Gilbert was on top of his game providing the clean vocals, which have helped catapult As I Lay Dying as the new kings of metalcore. In order to celebrate their ten years as a band, they decided to let the fans vote for which songs that they wanted to hear live. This all but guaranteed me that they were going to be playing their popular songs like “Parallels”, “The Darkest Nights”, “Forever”, and “94 Hours”. I personally love it when a band busts out some of their lesser known material to satisfy the palate of their hardcore fanbase, however, a band does play their most popular songs to pacify both the hardcore and casual fanbase. Tim Lambesis has this energy that makes the “arm-folders” in the back to get up and move. They brought the chaos and definitely showed why they have been a band for ten years. Their music is accessible to the hardcore music junkies to the mainstream rock fans because of their melodic vocals to go along with the death metal growls. They closed out the set with “Confined”, hearing the crowd sing “how quickly I forget that this is meaningless” was emotional for me because at the end of the day, life is meant to be shared with the ones that you love and for standing up for what you believe in. As I Lay Dying is a living testament that a band can melt faces with their music yet deliver a positive message definitely does have a solid niche in this world for music. There is few feelings in the world like your body aching and leaving a show soaked with sweat and a raspy voice. Thanks for reading.

DragonForce Announce ‘The Power Within’

Shauna O'Donnell — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:40:55 +0000

DRAGONFORCE REVEAL DETAILS OF NEW ALBUM

THE POWER WITHIN TO BE RELEASED APRIL 17

IT’S THE FIRST ALBUM TO FEATURE NEW SINGER MARC HUDSON

(New York): London-based metal superstars DragonForce have revealed details of their forthcoming new album. Entitled The Power Within, this 10-track monster marks the band’s fifth studio album and its first with new singer Marc Hudson behind the microphone. It will be released April 17 by Roadrunner Records in the U.S.

DragonForce guitarist Herman Li said, “The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album.”
Li also claims the album boasts the fastest song the band has ever recorded. He continued, “This time around we’ve really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we’ve ever recorded to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DragonForce album yet.”

The full track listing for The Power Within is as follows:

1. Holding On

2. Fallen World

3. Cry Thunder

4. Give Me the Night

5. Wings of Liberty

6. Seasons

7. Heart of the Storm

8. Die By the Sword

9. Last Man Stands

10. Seasons (Acoustic Version)

There will also be a digital special edition featuring the bonus tracks “Cry Thunder (Live Rehearsal),” “Heart of the Storm (Alternative Chorus Version)” and “Avant La Tempête (Instrumental).”

Look for exciting US tour announcements coming soon.

http://www.dragonforce.com

WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE RETURNS FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON APRIL 29th

Shauna O'Donnell — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:49:42 +0000

WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE

RETURNS FOR SECOND

CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON APRIL 29^th

KORN, SHINEDOWN, EVANESCENCE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH,

P.O.D., HALESTORM, ADELITA’S WAY,

LACUNA COIL, TRIVIUM, ART OF DYING, OTHERWISE

AND MANY MORE

Three Stages, Over 20 Bands On One Day

Jacksonville, FL – North Florida’s biggest rock event will return on April 29^th, with Welcome To Rockville back for it’s second consecutive year.

Held along the beautiful St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville at Metropolitan Park on Sunday April 29, 2012, the event will feature three stages of continuous music throughout the day. Bands confirmed for this year’s event include: KORN, SHINEDOWN, Evanescence, Five Finger Death Punch, P.O.D., Halestorm, Adelita’s Way, Lacuna Coil, Trivium, Art Of Dying, OTHERWISE and many others to be announced.

Tickets for Welcome To Rockville will be priced at $44.50 in advance and $60.00 day of show. Tickets will be available at select Metro PCS stores and on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets beginning on Friday February 10th. For more information on how to purchase tickets visit: www.welcometorockvillefestival.com

Fans also have the option to purchase a VIP ticket for $99.00 which includes: VIP entrance to venue, access to VIP lounge area featuring dedicated bar, beverage and food service, premium viewing of main stage (seated and standing areas), seated area with shade for dining and private restroom facilities. For fans traveling from out of town Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront & Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront are the official hotels of Welcome to Rockville.

Presented by Jacksonville native Danny Wimmer (one of the partners in the massively successful Rock On The Range festival), along with Mike Yokan of Orange Garden Productions, Welcome To Rockville returns in 2012 for it’s second consecutive year after last year’s massively successful launch.

Monster Energy Drink, Metro PCS and ROCK 104.5 will be the primary sponsors of the event with Monster Energy presenting the main stage.

For up-to-the-minute news and information, please visit www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com

About Monster Energy:

Most companies spend their money on ad agencies, TV commercials, radio spots, and billboards to tell you how good their products are. At Monster Energy, we chose none of the above. Instead we support the scene, our bands, our athletes and our fans. We back athletes so they can make a career out of their passion. We promote concert tours, so our favorite bands can visit your hometown. We celebrate with our fans and riders by throwing parties and making the coolest events we can think of a reality. www.monsterenergy.com

ADELITAS WAY CONFIRMED FOR AVALANCE FESTIVAL WITH SHINEDOWN

Shauna O'Donnell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:56:14 +0000

January 31, 2012- The Avalanche Tour returns for its second outing this year with Adelitas Way as direct support for Shinedown, to be joined by New Medicine and Art of dying for the first and second legs respectively. Fans of Adelitas Way have a chance to get up close and personal with the band this year- as they’ll offer VIP packages and meet & greet opportunities along the way, further details can be found here: http://adelitaswaymusic.com

Adelitas Way are no strangers to life on the road having toured with- Theory of A Deadman, Black Stone Cherry, and Emphatic amongst others, but, their most unforgettable gig came at the end of 2011. Guns N’ Roses came calling and Adelitas Way was there to deliver. Playing two sold-out arena shows, the band was invited back for a third time on New Year’s Eve. Lead singer Rick DeJesus was in shock as he explained, “Since I was a kid it’s always been a dream to open up for Guns N’ Roses…”

In 2011, Adelitas Way released two hit singles from their sophomore album Home School Valedictorian. The group now prepares to take its third single, power ballad, “Alive” to radio this spring. “The Collapse” follows previous single “Sick” which during its 27 weeks on the charts, rose to No. 1 at Active Rock and has over a million and a half hits on YouTube all thanks to the group’s huge fan-base, which continues to grow due to “incredible songwriting, and an amazing work ethic,” as Hails and Horns magazine raved in a recent feature on the band.

When it came to this year’s NFL playoffs Adelitas Way again stepped up, playing at the at the AFC Championship game at Foxboro Stadium, which lead the New England Patriots to a spot in this year’s Super bowl. Adelitas Way is Rick DeJesus, vocals; Keith Wallen, guitar; Derek Johnston, bass; Trevor Stafford, drums

Tour dates are as follows:

3/27/2012 Anaheim, CA The Grove

3/28/2012 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom

3/30/2012 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort Theatre

3/31/2012 Boise, ID Knitting Factory Concert House

4/2/2012 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre

4/5/2012 Houston, TX House of Blues

4/6/2012 Dallas, TX House of Blues

4/7/2012 Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street

4/9/2012 Springfield, MO Shrine Mosque

4/10/2012 Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

4/12/2012 Detroit, MI The Filmore

4/13/2012 Milwaukee, WI The Rave

4/14/2012 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room

4/16/2012 Niagara Falls, NY Rapids Theater

4/17/2012 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE

4/18/2012 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

4/20/2012 New York, NY Best Buy Theater

4/21/2012 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues

4/22/2012 Scranton, PA Cultural Center

4/24/2012 Richmond, VA The National

4/25/2012 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live

The All-American Rejects Release New Single on iTunes, Song on Soundcloud

Shauna O'Donnell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:53:30 +0000

The All-American Rejects new single, “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” which is set to appear on tonight’s episode of CW’s 90210, is now available as a digital download on iTunes. Fans can listen to the full song available now on SoundCloud. The track comes from the band’s upcoming album, Kids in the Street, due out March 26th.

For all latest info, including soon to be announced Spring tour dates, visit The Rejects’ official site, Facebook and Twitter.

TOUR DATES

FEBRUARY
2 Indianapolis, IN – Pepsi Coliseum
4 Fort Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
6 Nashville, TN – Exit / In
7 Columbia, MO- The Blue Note
8 Wichita, KS – Scene-Ary
10 Phoenix, AZ- ASU Campus

MAY
19 The Bamboozle Festival

Tour dates with Blink-182:

JUNE
7 Birmingham NIA
8 London The O2
9 London The O2
12 Dublin, The O2
13 Belfast Odyssey Arena
15 Manchester Arena
16 Birmingham LG Arena
17 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
19 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
20 Glasgow

JULY
7 Bournemouth BIC
10 Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
11 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
12 Liverpool Echo Arena
14 Luxembourg

Interview with Thirteen to One By: Shredder Joe

Shauna O'Donnell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:13:06 +0000

Interview with Thirteen to One

By: Shredder Joe

So, where are you guys from, and how did you start?

We are From a little town in Delaware named Smyrna. We started out pretty much with a hang out little jame session between three good friends, had a good time and started discussing the possibilities of forming our own original band. Project was set up to be for fun, what ever happened, happened. We eventually got the remaining people to complete the five piece and 13:1 was born.

Who are your main musical influences?

Main influences are really all over the place… goes from B.B. King, to the Foo Fighters, to Seven Dust, Korn, Metallica just examples.. we love all kinds of music so thats a hard one to answer, but those are some of them.

13 to 1 has more of a radio-friendly sound to me. Is that what you are hoping to acheive musically?

Actually we weren’t planning on the sound it just came out that way.. We didnt sit down and talk about what our songs should sound like or if we should write radio frindly songs… it just happened that way.

Checking out some of your song names, I thought they were very unique. Where do you draw influence from to name your songs?

We always seem to come up with the song titles after the song is finished. Alot of times our Front man Pete Martinez, will choose a title.. They have been related to life experiences, and fun stuff like funny stories (Hang 10-Rambo would be an example) or an idea based of a movie or comic, such as our song Symbiote, which will be on our next albulm.

It looks like you guys have played some pretty cool shows. What are some of your biggest achievments as a band?

We played a Show here in Delaware, it’s an outdoor festivle called June Jam. We have always wanted to play this event even when we were all in different bands. This is the event that all delaware bands want to get into. Unfortunatley it is very hard for origninal bands to get into June Jam. Well in 2010, Thanks to a good friend of ours we got in. The Main act at the show had an emergency and had to bail, and we found ourselfs Headlining June Jam. Very nevous before hitting the stage cause we werent sure how the style of music would mix with the crowd, we were the heaviest band there, and again original. But to our surprise we started playing, people were moving, singing some of the songs with us, and hey we won them over. So we were asked back to playe 2011, and we rocked that one, and now were going back this year (2012) for the third time.

The Next has to be Playing At strokers Dallas (aka Ma’s RoadHouse on Tru-Tv) in Dallas Tx. Kind of the same deal, and i think thats maybe always in the back of your minds, wondering how the crowd will react to your sound, and style. But again we won them over, and were invited back to play their Sweet 16 Aniversary party in last October.

What does the band’s name mean to you?

We get asked alot about this…lol, It actually is a compression ratio of a race motor. kind of came about one night hanging out with some friends of ours one who was big into drag racing, the question came up, what the compression of your motor? and the answer was 13:1. We all kind of looked at eachother and said it a few times, and said yeah that will work.

What qualities about 13 to 1 do you think make you stand out from the crowd?

We like to have alot of fun at our shows. We get the crowd screaming, try to get alot of involvment with the crowd. But off stage is were we think it counts.. we love our fans we always greet them, talk to them sign, what ever they want… if it wasnt for them, we’d be nothing.

What are the future plans for 13 to 1?

We are playing in Autin, Tx in March this year at a big event. Hopefuly will be heard by some of the right people, but you know thats always the dream, the big dream. But really we love what we do regardless. We looking to record our second record this year, Play some Killer shows, and basically just keep on moving forward.. and if anything just have goodtimes, aquire alot of knowledge about the industry and maybe eventually come close to the dream… but if it never happens thats fine… we just love playing.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about 13 to 1 that we haven’t discussed?

Members:
Pete Martinez : Vocals
Johny Wetherall : Guitar
Morgan Shulenberger : Bass
Mike Kline: Drums
Jay ills : Guitar

Traverser Show Review By: Matty

Shauna O'Donnell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:59:23 +0000

Traverser Show Review

May 22nd, 2010

Rumorz, Clear Lake, Iowa

www.gofundme.com/traverser donate to help them produce “Redshift”

www.facebook.com/Traverserband “like” the band on Facebook

By: Matty

The date was May 22nd, 2010. My personal mission was to bring live music back to the hometown area. In the North Iowa area, it seems to me if you’re not a classic rock cover band or a country music act, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, the music fans of the North Iowa area don’t want anything to do with you. I played a role in helping to orchestrate my very first show. Keep in mind that I don’t have a college degree in public relations or the music business. I also understood that there was an absolute craving and a desire to bring hard rock music live to the North Iowa area. My reader and my friends, I want to encourage all of you to support local music and your local establishments that make the effort to bring local/unsigned music to your area. Through my cousin, who is the Vice President of independent label Octave Match Records, (keep in mind that they no longer work with Traverser, but look up the bands Not Tonight Josephine and Fall of Envy, who are both under Octave Match Records), I was put on a mission to schedule a couple of shows to Iowa. I helped play a role in getting Traverser an opening gig for My Darkest Days and One Less Reason at The Wheelhouse(R.I.P.) in Cedar Falls, Iowa and I also helped bring live music to Clear Lake. Local Mason City, Iowa band Cloverfield cancelled the night before and Traverser was the first band to take the stage at Rumorz.

Rumorz is your typical small-town bar. The stage was only big enough to have the drum kit up there, so the band had to play on the floor, and with it being a small venue, there wasn’t really room for moshpits or crowd-surfing to be engaged. Traverser is a four-piece band from Orlando, Florida comprised of David Medairos(guitars,vocals), Jon Shaffer(guitars), David Shaw(drums), and Robert Spence on the bass guitar. Traverser draw their primary influences from Tool, Rush, Chevelle, and Textures. With them going on their first nationwide tour, Traverser had something to prove, that they were a band that was on a mission to take it to the next level, and did they ever.

Atmospheric harmonics started off the show, which provided a smooth transition into their song “Burn In”. “Burn In” has achieved moderate success on college and their local radio stations, and the crowd was moving and watching in awe of Traverser playing their music. There were roughly 75 people at Rumorz on a Wednesday night, not bad considering the venue holds approximately 125 people. The Traverser ripped through their set and showed gratitude of their small, yet seemingly growing following in Iowa of all places. Traverser primarily played cuts off of their “Telemetry” album and also introduced fans to a cover of “Digging In The Dirt”, originally done by Peter Gabriel, which to me, anyone that can cover Peter Gabriel are great musicians, and they played a new song, which will be on their latest record entitled “Redshift” called “Varicose”. Traverser was quite well-received in Iowa. Their tight musicianship, harmonics, and intelligent songwriting will allow Traverser to do very well for themselves in the future. This is evident by them recently picking up opening gigs to open for Sponge and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

In essence, Traverser has a project to produce their entire new record on their own through the Go Fund Me website. They are going to be purchasing new gear, new equipment for producing, and up-to-date computers and monitors with the proceeds. With a particular set donation amount, you will receive a copy of “Redshift” with your name in the liner notes, an opportunity to win David Medairos’ personal guitar, and other incentives, depending on the dollar amount. Also, please “like” the band on Facebook.

ITunes Rock Album Of 2011 Winners The Parlor Mob Announce Tour

Shauna O'Donnell — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:49:59 +0000

DATES BEGIN MARCH 9 IN TUCSON, AZ

NEW YORK, NY (January 31, 2012) – New Jersey rock band The Parlor Mob announced plans to join The Pretty Reckless on their upcoming tour beginning March 9, 2012 in Tucson, AZ. The Parlor Mob only just released their Roadrunner Records sophomore album Dogs on October 11, 2011 but iTunes “Rewind” named it 2011’s Rock Album Of The Year. “Rewind” is iTunes editorial selections for the best music of 2011 and puts The Parlor Mob in the same company as Bon Iver, Adele, Foo Fighters and many more amongst their different categories.

The Parlor Mob’s “Into The Sun” was featured as iTunes’ single of the week October 11, 2011 – October 17, 2011. Additionally, the sports community has embraced “Into The Sun” with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins using the song as a centerpiece of an imaging campaign that has been airing on the local Fox Sports Network this season. Monday Night Football on ESPN, Fox Sports, College Football and Thursday Night Kickoff on NFL Network, and NFL on Fox Sport and ESPN are all playing The Parlor Mob songs “Into The Sun” and “Fall Back.”

Produced, engineered and mixed by Matt Radosevich (30 Seconds To Mars, The Hives, Taking Back Sunday) Dogs is the follow up to their acclaimed debut album And You Were A Crow.

The Parlor Mob, a name the band took from the notorious 19^th century gang, is comprised of Mark Melicia (vocals), David Rosen (guitar), Paul Ritchie (guitar), Anthony Chick (bass), and Sam Bey (drums).

TOUR DATES (All support The Pretty Reckless):

3/9/2012 Club Congress Tucson, AZ

3/10/2012 Martini Ranch Scottsdale, AZ

3/14/2012 House of Blues West Hollywood, CA

3/15/2012 Bottom of The Hill San Francisco, CA

3/16/2012 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR

3/17/2012 El Corazon Seattle, WA

3/18/2012 Rickshaw Theatre Vancouver, BC

3/20/2012 The Den Calgary, ALB

3/22/2012 Starlite Room Edmonton, ALB

3/23/2012 Louis’ Pub Saskatoon, SAS

3/24/2012 The Exchange Regina, SAS

3/29/2012 The Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL

3/30/2012 House of Blues Cleveland, OH

3/31/2012 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH

4/3/2012 The Crofoot Ballroom Pontiac, MI

4/4/2012 Phoenix Concert TheatreToronto, ONT

4/6/2012 Le Cercle Quebec City, QUE

4/7/2012 Metropolis Montreal,QUE

4/8/2012 Higher Ground South Burlington, VT

4/10/2012 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA

4/12/2012 Theater of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA

4/13/2012 Irving Plaza New York, NY

4/17/2012 Canal Club Richmond, VA

4/18/2012 Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC

4/19/2012 Visulite Theatre Charlotte, NC

4/20/2012 Masquerade Atlanta, GA

4/21/2012 Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, FL

4/22/2012 State Theater St. Petersburg, FL

4/24/2012 Culture Room Fort Lauderdale, FL

4/25/2012 The Social Orlando, FL