Pushing Daisy is a Copenhagen based hard rock/grunge quartet. They just recently finished their EP “Everlasting�. The band has spent the last couple of years playing various venues in Copenhagen and reached the final at the Danish festival, Emergenza, in 2011.
If you like bands such as Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden, Pushing Daisy is just the thing for you.
The EP consists of six songs, each with their unique touch. From up tempo to slow and melancholic, grungy guitars and a vocal that fits the band perfectly, “Everlasting” hits the nail on the spot.
Roelof Witmans
Especially lead singer Roelof Witmans easily fits in with big acts such as late Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell and Scott Weiland. Give the songs a go on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pushing-Daisy-Official/176541369079047 Pushing Daisy consists of: Roelof Witmans – Vocals and Guitar Christian Ebert – Drums Daniel Brandorff – Bass Troels Hadberg – Guitar and Backing Vocals
New Swedish metal festival emerges this summer Faceplant Productions includes 13 members who all have the ambition to further the culture of metal in their region in Malmö, Sweden. Anna Brandberg has this to say in the Faceplant press release: “We are a group of metal-enthusiasts who founded Faceplant Productions this past summer. Faceplant Productions is a non-profit organization whose aim is to promote live music - especially metal. During the past few years several new festivals have emerged throughout Sweden, attracting visitors from all over the country. In the south, however, this still hasn’t happened, despite many good stages and a large number of interested people. There is no big, recurring event in Skåne for those who love metal. This is why we have been working very hard for the past half year to create Faceplant Metalfest! Faceplant Metalfest was created as a complement to the rich, local live-scene that already exists in Malmö, as we felt that we needed something bigger: a yearly festival where big headliners draw an audience that smaller, local talents can be exposed to. This coming summer the festival will take place in Amiralen and the part of Folkets Park adjacent to it. The organization is made up of three main groups that work simultaneously: economy, marketing and band-booking. In addition to this, each person has their own responsibility so that everyone in the group feels that they are involved in the creation process. We have an even distribution of the sexes with as many girls as guys, which we thing is important - especially considering the attention that gender balance has been given recently within major festivals. And even though many of us have extensive experience with music- and culture-related events, there are also young talents with huge potential and a burning interest in improving the culture in Malmö for many years to come.” Experience bands such as Amaranthe, Dark Tranquility, Marduk and Scar Symmetry July 27 – 28 at Faceplant. For more info, visit faceplant on http://www.faceplantmetalfest.com
5 albums since 2000, concerts all over the world, a kick ass live DVD and a diehard fan base, all achieved through hard work, determination and unmatched skills. Welcome to Pagan’s Mind.
Pagan’s Mind from left to right: Stian Kristoffersen, Steinar Krokmo, Ronny Tegner, Niels K. Rue and Jørn Viggo Lofstad
Questionnaire We asked front man Niels K. Rue our basic questions. He graced us with these answers:
Tell us how your band came to be:
Well I would really not have space to explain the whole evolution right here. What we have become today is a result of hard work throughout the years. If you work hard it creates of course results. A dash of luck and you have it. At the same time one could of course hope to have “breaked” more through the masses at the release of a fifth album. But that we just have to see and wait for, in the meantime we work hard as hell and do whatever is in our powers to bring Pagan´s Mind to yet another level. There are so many details on it in-between it would take too much time to get into here – let´s just say that we all have grown as musicians on all levels since we started up, learning a lot from each other and from others – and the result is where we are now!
Are your albums based on a particular theme, or is it the songs as individuals?
The concepts are based on mysticism, etheric questions in space and time, alternative ways of philosophy around questions about life. In general we try to add a sophisticated "overlooking" way of expressing the concept and lyrics, never "telling anyone"....it's like it's up to everyone to figure out for themselves what the lyrics may contain and if they mean something to the individual listener. "God´s Equation" is partly a concept-album inspired by questions around extra-terrestrial life, parallel dimensions and the fact that human beings have been seeing strange objects in the sky for thousands of years......and still ignoring them. It is an easy choice for me to write about these topics mainly because it is a main interest in life for me as well! The albums have a red line going through them following a theme, but all the songs can live a life of themselves anyhow.
Who influence you?
I would say musically of course all other sorts of music and sounds and feelings in general. Other music has always been inspiration for musicians all over the world, and that is the case for us also. But when being a musician, there is always music ringing in your head, everything that has beat, sound or tone is being defined as music in the head, so I guess inspiration musically comes from most anything in life. As a fart can hold a clear tone it can inspire hahahaha!! As for the lyrics, which is very personal for me, it comes from films, books, movies, images, feelings and dreams but most of all my strong belief in what most people know as “hidden” or “the unexplained”. I have been fortunate enough to experience a lot of strange, strange things in my life, all the way from childhood, so without getting into details I have living proof that there is something more and have seen it with my own eyes so many times. And that is a great inspirational source for me.
Where do you see yourself genre-wise?
As the back of one of our T-Shirts says: True Norwegian Hard Hitting In Your Face Space Metal ;-)
The highlight of your career so far?
There have been so many magical moments with this band – it´s hard to say. It seems everything has been going upwards all the time (when will it end haha?), but of course playing in America at ProgPower is something special. Both in 2003 and in 2007, Sweden Rock Festival 2005 with thousands and thousands of people coming to see us (we broke the limit for people attending a concert at that specific stage), along with our fully-packed arena Hometown release party gig for “Enigmatic:Calling” was something real. We live in a town which is fairly small, but we filled up the local football arena, and as the youngest attending the concert were 7, the oldest were 78. So you can say our local support is heavy, indeed!
Any plans on touring?
2012 will be a year with single gigs in general, as we focus on song writing for the next album. But if we get a great opportunity we´d most likely be hopping on the bandwagon (bus) again, playing live is of course the best of fun!
Any words for the world?
Thanks a lot for your support, you too! Don´t drink and drive, be nice to each other, support the good things in life and what´s good for you and others. See through the dull surface of the “real” world and discover all the magic that lies behind. It is really there. Don´t believe the hypocrisy and believe in YOURSELF. All best, Nils K. Rue
Discography Infinity Divine – 2000 (rereleased in 2004) Celestial Entrance – 2002 Enigmatic: Calling – 2005 God’s Equation – 2008 Live Equation – 2009 Heavenly Ecstasy – 2011 For more info on tours, detailed biography and pictures visit pagansmind.com
Pagan’s Mind consists of: Niels K. Rue – Vocals Jørn Viggo Lofstad – Guitars Ronny Tegner – Keys Steinar Krokmo – Bass Stian Kristoffersen – Drums
Thanks to: Frode Johnsrud and Niels K. Rue.
POWDERHOG
Powderhog was formed in 2004. Already, a year later, they gave concerts throughout Denmark followed by the release of their first EP which landed them a record deal in 2006 with Trechoma Records. The self-titled debut album “Powderhog” was released in 2007 receiving great reviews and airplay on several international radio stations. In 2009 the band won the Nordic Challenge on MySpace, landing them a gig at Sweden Rock Festival. Second album “Return Of Gaucho” was released in 2010, receiving top reviews all over Europe. Currently, Powderhog is yet again in the rehearsal room, working on new material. Lend an ear and visit myspace.com/powderhog definitely worth a listen.
COLDBLACK We asked Martin Sane our basic questions; here is what he had to say:
Tell us how your band came to be: Well. I (Martin Sane), Terry (Wells) and Alex (Wells) are all family. They're brothers, and I'm their cousin. We've always played music together in some form, but last year we decided that we wanted to do a serious band together. We needed a drummer for this to happen, so we contacted one of the friends we have in common, who happens to be an excellent drummer. His name is Jamal A. Gordon and he was more than happy to accept the challenge of playing in Cold Black. Since then, it's been hard work, but tons of fun.
Are your albums based on a particular theme, or is it the songs as individuals? Well. Since we're a new band, we haven't recorded an actual album yet. At the moment we're releasing songs one by one via YouTube, Facebook and Soundcloud. But meanwhile, we're working on releasing an EP. I think it's safe to say that we will have an awesome, rocking EP out before the end of 2012. With that out of the way, i can tell you that the main themes in our songs so far, are 'living your life the way you want to', 'not taking shit from anyone' and also 'being forced to put up with ridicule, because of the way you chose to dress or act'. It's themes that stem from our everyday and things we have experience with. I've always believed that you write the best lyrics, books or poems about stuff that you know and stuff that you've felt on your own body.
Who influence you? We have tons of influences, but if you look at our photos and listen to our music, you will clearly see a resemblance to glam rock's heyday back in the 80's with bands like MĂśtley CrĂźe, Def Leppard and a little later Guns'n'Roses. Also we are very fascinated with the modern scene of American metal, which includes Black Veil Brides, Avenged Sevenfold, Motionless In White, Falling In Reverse, Escape The Fate, Black Tide and Asking Alexandria. And of course we love well-played music like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple and whatnot. So like every good band ever, we are a perfect blend of all the things we enjoy in our life.
Where do you see yourself genre-wise? As mentioned above, we're a mix of old school rock'n'roll and new school metal. We're a heavy band, but we're not heavy enough to be labeled death metal or metal core. We have huge focus on catchy melodies, but with exceptionally heavy and punchy instrumentation beneath. It's pretty much our own thing we're doing, but if you want to give it a fitting label, I suggest 'Melodic Hard Rock'
The highlight of your career so far? Like I said just before, we're a brand new band, so the best is yet to come. We have played a few shows for a couple hundred people and every show is equally amazing and fun. We definitely have the energy, dedication and mentality to be a part of the elite, so from here on, it will be nothing but highlights... hopefully.
Any plans on touring? Booking a lot of gigs at the moment. Playing shows throughout Scandinavia over the summer. When the summer-season is over, we'll take it from there. And hopefully we will open the eyes of some of the big shots soon.
Any words for the world? Yeah sure. Watch out for Cold Black! Be sure to catch a live show near you, cause it's gonna knock you over. We can't wait to meet all you beautiful people. And on a more serious note: Do whatever the fuck you want to and don't let anyone tell you who you're supposed to be. Nobody can take your personality from you, if you don't let them. Peace out For more info on Cold Black, visit facebook.com/coldblackofficial
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