CVWW June 2015 by CV WorldWide Magazine

JUNE 2015

THE Lifestyle Magazine for Custom Vehicle & Music Enthusiasts

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TRY REDEMPTION

Nightwish

Finland’s premier symphonic metal group has played to huge crowds all over the world; in the midst of their tour for “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”, lead singer Floor Jansen spends time with CV WorldWide... p. 6

From the halls of venues in Colorado Springs to venues all over the nation, Try Redemption has been rocking fans with their fast & furious brand of death metal. The Pres sits down with Jon Daigle and the boys to find out what makes them tick... p. 32

Contents... Off the Beaten Path: A Perspective - the Death of Music Sales

News You Can Use Motorcycle: Advice on Motorcycle Camping

HAIR TRIGGER: a Comic from Anthony Hitaffer

Advice AGAINST DIY Tattoos

Jamie Paullus Jamie Paullus ascends the mountain to bring you this month’s heavy hitters from the Spokane music scene, national acts ANTHRAX and Volbeat.. Page 42

Gear the Pros Use: Jon Daigle of TRY REDEMPTION

James Peterson of TRY REDEMPTION

News You Can Use - Cars: V2V Communications

Order in the Chaos: Brien DeChristopher’s Music Blog

CV WorldWide Magazine

Locally Owned / Nationally Known

Sherry Keith Mystic Photography takes time to reminisce with some old friends of CVWW: Roni Lee w/ Merry Adin, and the boys from Seattle, Sin Circus.. Page 50

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The music industry’s broken business could change in 2015 Jeff John Roberts The music business has been screwed up for a hopelessly long time, but change is afoot: Congress, courts and the Justice Department are all poised in coming months to shake up how companies and consumers pay for music. The big question, though, is whether this flurry of activity will produce a rational royalty system — or just make the existing rathole even deeper. Here‘s what to watch for in a year that could change the rules of the game for performers, Pandora and everyone else with a stake in music. Flurry of laws, hearings The last month has seen the return of two proposed bills in Congress. One is the Local Radio Freedom Act, which would ensure that traditional AM/FM stations don‘t have to start paying performance royalties on top of the songwriter fees they currently pay. The other is called the Songwriter Equity Act, which would tweak the way so-called ―rate courts‖ calculate how much people who write songs should get paid. Both bills have appeared before in one guise or another, but never passed. This time, the outcome will be determined in part by whether Congress takes up the issues at stake on its own, or as part of a larger royalty reform effort. Meanwhile, industry attention is turning to the Justice Department, which is holding a hearing on March 10 over so-called consent decrees. These are antitrust orders that apply to ASCAP and BMI, two giant outfits that license songs on behalf of music publishers, and require them to license song rights at a fixed price to all comers. The antitrust orders have been a boon to everyone from cover bands to bars to radio stations because they provide an easy, efficient way to clear copyrights. But music publishers say they are getting short-changed and want the orders, which date from the 1940‘s, to be changed or abolished outright.

Finally, some high stakes court cases increase the chances this will be a year of reckoning for the music industry. Digital on trial The most contentious of these cases involve an aggressive series of class action lawsuits, brought by record labels and former members of the band The Turtles. In courts from California to New York to Florida, the labels are claiming that Pandora, Sirius-XM and other digital music services have failed to pay for performances that date from prior to 1972. The legal theory appears far-fetched, but it‘s gained traction before some judges. If the cases go any further, they will have huge financial and legal implications not just for Pandora, but for any other service that plays old music on the internet. (The labels also pushed the issue last year through a proposed law, The Respect Act; look for that bill to return if the labels strike out in court). And, if all that‘s not enough to keep track of, there‘s also a court clash between Pandora and BMI. This one is about royalty rates, but also about whether publishers who use BMI to license their songs can pull the digital portion of their catalogues or if they must instead be, in the words of one judge, ―all in or all out.‖ A ruling in favor of BMI could cripple digital radio services, but that appears unlikely given that ASCAP lost a similar case last year. What the fight’s really all about All of these disputes are bitter and complicated, but the source of them can be summed up in a sentence: the music royalty pie has shrunk significantly, and what‘s left of it is being distributed unequally. As an RIAA report in 2013 revealed, digital sales may be growing, but not fast enough to offset the long-term loss of CD sales. Professor Peter

Tschmuck, as part of an analysis of the U.S. music industry, put the RIAA‘s data into a chart last year: These larger forces are why many of the measures now floating around — the songwriter law, the consent decrees, the court cases — won‘t do much to change the game. Such piecemeal fixes also do little to acknowledge the current royalty system is broken because it‘s built on assumptions of the analog era. The proper way to approach the problem is instead to require the music industry to recalibrate the entire copyright collection process from the ground up and, especially, to fix two major imbalances in how money is collected and paid. The first imbalance involves a seemingly irrational distinction in how the law treats AM/FM stations and digital radio. Pandora, for instance, is a favorite punching bag of the industry, but the company also spends the bulk of its revenue paying performers — even as traditional radio stations pay nothing at all. The reason for this, Washington insiders suggest, is that members of Congress are eager to make nice with local stations on which they rely heavily during election campaigns. This is why they are happy to

let them pay nothing to performers, while at the same time throwing the likes of Pandora and Sirius -XM under the bus when it comes to royalty rates. But for musicians and for consumers, there‘s really no reason why digital and AM/FM should be treated so differently. The other big imbalance when it comes to royalties is between songwriters and performers. Many people will be surprised to know that when performers do get paid, which is the case when a song is played on digital radio, the rates can be up to ten times higher than what the songwriters (and their publishers) get. The reason for the imbalance in this case, though, is the consent decrees that set the rates at which publishers get paid. The Justice Department could address this by lifting the decrees, and allowing publishers through ASCAP and BMI to charge what they like. But this could lead songwriter rates to go through the roof, and fatally wound digital radio services once and for all (recall Pandora is already on the ropes). It would also create new licensing headaches for restaurants, bars and other places that play music. That‘s why any solution that looks to pay songwriters more will also have to consider when it

is appropriate to pay record labels, which represent the performers, less. As for the dispute over pre-1972 recordings, the court cases (and the now-dormant Respect Act) appear to be no more than a cash grab through copyright expansion. Judges and law-makers should blanche at the idea of handing out windfalls, at the expense of consumers, for music that is already 50 years old. Such a gift would be a boondoggle akin to ethanol subsidies or the Bridge to Nowhere. Change is coming…but for better or worse? All of this comes at a time when musicians are having a harder time than ever. The record industry that once nurtured them has shrunk dramatically, CD sales are drying up rapidly, and internet royalties are not making up the difference. But on the bright side, the internet has introduced new efficiencies that make it easier to track song sales and distribute payments (which helps explain ASCAP‘s surprising $1 billion year.)

A solution from courts or Congress is in order. The danger, though, is that a partial solution will protect parochial interests such as FM stations or labels that own 1960‘s recordings without creating a sustainable system for royalties in the digital age. There‘s also a risk that changes to the law will simply scapegoat companies like Pandora and Spotify, which represent the future of music, or even kill them off altogether. In any event, watch closely. This is the year that a lot of long-time log-jams in the music industry appear set to move.

IGHTWISH has always stood for virtuoso perfection. They are able to evoke fantastic dream worlds, fade out time and space, and touch you deep inside with their majestic symphonic compositions. Vision and temptation, love and passion, devotion and blood – this Finnish band also has the courage to aspire to new creative and innovative ventures. Since their formation in August 1996, they have risen long ago to become the biggest Symphonic Metal band around. The time is right for a new chapter in the history of the Suomi-Symphonics. A chapter, which will set new standards and will start a magic trip into a spectacular parallel universe; so overwhelming, so epic, so beguiling. NIGHTWISH connect past, present and future to a flawless whole. It is a time for a new era. It is a time for “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”. CV WorldWide magazine sits down with lead singer Floor Jansen, a ravishing beauty with a voice to match...she opens her heart and mind to us...she is an Endless Form Most Beautiful...

fluences? <FLOOR> Back then it started with ―The Gathering‖, a Dutch band. They got me started with the idea of singing with a heavier band. I also listened to bands like ―Pantera‖, ―MachineHead‖, ―Skunk Anansie‖, and ―Symphony X‖.

<CV WW> With your influences was there anything in particular that really caught your attention? <FLOOR> No, not in particular, I like to listen to a lot of different kinds of styles and sometimes you get surprised by the band. I‘ve known ―Evergrey‖ for instance, a Swedish band, for many years. They just made this new album, which I think is just really great, called ―Hymns For The Broken‖. Then there is this English band, they make pop music, they are called ―London Grammar‖, I picked up the songs and I was like ‗fuck this is great‘. I can‘t say it‘s an influence, like directly after that I‘m going to change into that. Because of the diversity of the way that I sing, I have a gut influence by everything I hear. From a more technical approach I am a bit of a vocal technique geek. I like to understand everything in schools intensely. I have been a teacher myself for many years, so I have been trying to stay on top of new developments within the vocal techniques and that also influences what you do. The last couple of <CV WW> You are Dutch born, actually, yes? <FLOOR> Yes I am, I have been living in Finland years have been a little bit difficult because we have been playing so much that I really don‘t have for about a year now. time to catch up on training or I sometimes have to teach, but that is just sort of how things come to be <CV WW> How did you get into music? in my case. <FLOOR> Oh God, well when I was in high school.

<CV WW> Were you in a band?

<CV WW> Is there a singer you try to emulate, someone you try to model yourself after?

<FLOOR> No, actually it was a musical. A school musical and I really liked it and I joined and after the first real show I was hooked. I joined the school band and started writing a little bit of music, and a couple of years later I joined a band, ―After Forever‖, and I did that for 12 years.

<FLOOR> No, absolutely not. I think it‘s VERY important that you don‘t do that.

<CV WW> Did you have any other interests besides music growing up?

<FLOOR> They called me. We toured together back in 2002 and we stayed in touch because we got along very well. Both bands did. When things came to a level of not working anymore with the previous singer they called me. That‘s as simple as

<FLOOR> Yes, I liked horseback riding too.

<CV WW> Who do you count as your music in-

<CV WW> You've known the members in Nightwish for some time, since "After Forever" has toured with them - how did you come together to join the band, how did it happen?

it was.

<CV WW> Sounds like maybe they had you in mind from awhile back? <FLOOR> I don‘t know if that was the case, of course they did try to make things work with Anette, but the first and only as I understood from them was me when they started thinking ‗ok what‘s next‘.

<CV WW> You followed 2 singers into the band, did you feel you had shoes to fill, did you feel nervous? <FLOOR> Well the thing was with that start, I got the call on a Saturday morning, Dutch time and my first show was on Monday evening in Seattle. I barely had time to learn the music, let alone have time to be worried about filling shoes or what the audience might think. It was pure survival; let‘s see if we can pull off the show, all the rest came after. So fortunately for me that was never my fear really. Then I got welcomed so warmly by the audience that night. Of course there are people who would have loved to see Tarja come back or Anette to stay, there are endless discussions online still in which we really don‘t pay any attention to because it‘s pointless. It was very heartwarming how I was welcomed so I am happy I never worried for nothing.

that is so hard to put your finger on which is cool in a way I think in a way because it just worked from the get go. From the minute I went in there was a big panic in the band, I mean it could have been the end of the band. Like ‗shit, what if I completely screwed up‘ and it didn‘t really work or they had to search for somebody else again. There are tons of scenario‘s possible other than this one, which was the ideal one, that I come in and it works and it has been working and why I don‘t know. Maybe because we were all in survival mode maybe because we just get along because some people do and some people don‘t. I don‘t know what it is but of course you always have to work on a relationship, you want things to work and sometimes there are things you don‘t like in <CV WW> How do you see yourself as both simsomebody‘s character as much as other elements ilar and different than those 2 prior singers? which is human, but within our group dynamics <FLOOR> I don‘t waste any breath on comparing things are at extremely healthy levels and we are because I think it‘s completely pointless. If people having great fun. When we started writing music want to do that, sure but I just think similarity and together or started to interpret the music that maindifferences are useless. The reason for that is bely Tuomas wrote and Marco as well, that also cause I have so much of my own style I don‘t try to imitate either of them. I have always tried to interpret the songs ―as the songs‖ not to make it sound like either of them or see them as ―their‖ songs. They are ―Nightwish‖ songs and they have a certain message and a certain feel that I try to give my twist to and that‘s it.

<CV WW> Tell us what you think works so well with this line up. <FLOOR> I don‘t know, that is almost as hard as answering the question why do you like black or why do you like spicy food. There is something

<CV WW>What do you think is the appeal of the band? <FLOOR> It‘s really hard to put your finger on. It‘s very dreamy music, the lyrics, it‘s very soundscape like, it‘s very moving. It brings visual images to people. It can put you in all kinds of emotional states and it takes you on a journey. That seems to be what people really like about it.

<CV WW>What is your favorite part about performing with them? <FLOOR> Oh I don‘t know. Maybe the diversity actually. It can go really heavy metal full on growlworked very easily on a musical level and that is ing on the album, screams, everything. Then we also very important of course to get a feeling of can play the smallest tiniest ballad. We play things we get this musical setting together and play it as a from now, we play things from back in the days. band and that worked too. Style-wise and history-wise we bring a nice big variety to our shows.

<CV WW> You are kind of like roommates in a way! *laughter*

<FLOOR> Yeah we are. In the summer when we were recording, we were at this big summer camp, like a big boy scouts camp with some cottages here and there and one of the main houses was a rehearsal studio and a recording studio, we recorded a majority of our stuff there. With the possibility of bringing friends and family. Then you see each other in a different way too, 24-7, backstage, etc. So yeah we are roommates in a way.

<CV WW> Nightwish had great success early, but it was mostly in your home country, but with the releases of "Oceanborn", "Wishmaster", and "Century Child" the band became an international success - what do you think was the catalyst?

<FLOOR> You are going back in time to 15 years now. So the band wasn‘t big from the moment it started, until the next year in most cases. They were not big in their own country to start with, they were weird and not mainstream. No one real<CV WW> Exactly, and you either love them or ly understood their music. I‘m really not sure in what order things went because I was not around your hate them. then, but they gradually built up with those albums <FLOOR> Well, if you hate them it doesn‘t work. you mentioned, both in their own country and You spend so much time together it has to work. abroad. ―Once‖ was their biggest step up; that was the most successful album so far. We are getting <CV WW>What do your fans expect to see at a close actually with this new one, which is really

Nightwish show?

<FLOOR> Oh wow, I don‘t know you should ask them I guess. I think they want to be taken on that journey. Even the lyrics on this very album, it provides an escape into the real world, the splendor of that and acknowledges that is something you can lose yourself into. That is something that we try to bring and we go into a nice history of the band. I can imagine people want to hear some of the older stuff as well, also because they know my voice is more suitable perhaps for some of the older work. So that is what I can really understand from what they would like to get from us.

exciting to see what‘s happening at the moment.

tion, it‘s just because my voice is for me, myself. You have your own which is fantastic, you should <CV WW> "Once", in 2004, cemented your suc- go with that. cess in the States - did you find it difficult to find Technique is a great tool to get somewhere, but success in the US market in the early years or was you will have to have enough talent to go anywhere. That‘s the base, you don‘t even the progression of success expected? <FLOOR> I can‘t answer that because I was not need techniques really to make it. There are plenty around, but I do know that in general for European of untrained singers who are awesome. You have to tap into your natural resources, and again techbands to make anything here in the states is very niques might be tools to help reach them or make difficult. You all have to go from small club to them better. That I would say. small club 100 million times to get some foot on the ground, and from the point of getting bigger & <CV WW>You've played all over the world, do better opportunities. It has taken a long time for you have a favorite place to play? Nightwish to get established too. <FLOOR> No, because every country and every continent comes with its own pro‘s and con‘s. <CV WW>Nightwish is the biggest musical act

from Finland, probably ever - how much pressure do you feel to carry the torch for Finland music?

<CV WW>What are the differences between fans <FLOOR> No, not really because they have been in, say, Europe, vs fans in the US? so welcoming to me. I made the effort to move to <FLOOR> Oh wow, do you have a minute? the country and get to know everything a little bit *laughter* There are so many, not in just the mubetter, even though I‘m moving out again because sic, but in food and how people look at life, comof my relationship, so yea just to understand them helped them to also welcome me maybe, and they seem to like what I am doing so I would rather focus on that then worry they are thinking their biggest band has a Dutch person as the front person. I don‘t really see it that way.

<CV WW> Do you see yourself as a role model to young aspiring singers, particularly young women? <FLOOR> No but they seem to do that and that‘s really nice. *laughter* I never really gave it to much thought. Throughout the years I‘ve been getting more and more of that reaction. Now I meet a girl and she is in her 20‘s and she says when I was a teen I got to know your voice and you are such an inspiration and I try to sing like you, I think it‘s fantastic. I could have never thought of that when I started out when I was 16.

<CV WW>We know that for some time you taught music & voice classes, what advice did you think was most important for a young singer? <FLOOR> Stick to yourself, that‘s most important. You don‘t want to sound like me because you never will. That‘s not from an arrogant posi-

munication.

<CV WW> As far as the music scene, the biggest things that you think stand out. <FLOOR> Written media, printed magazines are HUGE in Europe. If we start preparing for promotion for a new album, we take one or two weeks to fly around Europe and do interviews, like I don‘t know how many a day, with mostly written press. Here in the U.S. there are only a couple who have a nationwide spread. It‘s mostly radio here. So that is a big difference. There are bands in Europe that are massive, like we are so much bigger in Europe than we are here. There are bands here in the states that are massive that I have never even heard of. If they come to Europe they do what we do now. Those are the differences of course.

<CV WW> Do you have a particularly memorable show that just blows your mind? <FLOOR> The very first one with Nightwish is definitely a memorable one because in 48 hours there is only so much you can learn of a 90 minute set and I was really thrown into the deep as we say in Dutch. So let‘s see if you can swim or not, that‘s basically what it comes down too. In summer of 2013 we recorded this live DVD at the biggest Metal Festival in Europe, Wacken Open Air. That is an 80,000 capacity festival, we made a DVD out of that show and I have never played something as big as that and then knowing that would be on DVD and CD that was very, exciting and a very memorable show because of the excitement and we could just tap into everything we built up until that point. It was a great moment to show where we were at that point. That was a very memorable one for me.

<CV WW> Do you get butterflies or anything before? <FLOOR> Man I was nervous! Normally I am fine but for that I was nervous, and the Seattle show, for a split second right before the intro I was like man what am I doing, what was I thinking, I don‘t even know exactly when to go on stage. You know the intro I heard it once today at our rehearsal, that was our second sound check.

<CV WW> You've said about "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" - 'This is not only the best album that I have ever sung on, but this is actually the best album ever.' That's a bold statement...why do you feel that way? <FLOOR> Because I think it‘s a very well written album with a lot of different kinds of elements that brings out the best in the band. I am not very objective as you might understand. *laughter* In my pride I really feel like this is the best album, it‘s great.

<CV WW>This IS your first full Nightwish studio album...yet you seem to have no worries or concerns... <FLOOR> So many people ask me was I concerned or was it difficult. I have been doing this since I was 16. Difficult no, difficult would have been if I was 18 and then get thrown into something. I did my fair share of getting experience to do this. Challenging yes, which is a nicer approach to the same thing. The worries and concerns come when you start to rehearse for things but then you take your time to get it right and not recording anything until you‘re happy with it. In this case it actually went very easy because of that musical click I

described earlier, it just really worked. I am a work perfectionist, I would never record anything that feels uncomfortable or not good enough yet. So the face of difficult or challenging, that was before, and by the time you are ready you should have that feeling of ‗YEAH!‘, and I do. I have that pride. Also on stage you need that confidence to tell you I think we made a great album, I think we are a cool band and we sound good, that is what you transmit, because if you are like yeah I think I can do that? persuade you that sounds a little less confident. It‘s <CV WW> Sometimes you go to these big headnot to over compensate with confidence, it‘s belining acts who were selling out auditoriums to cause I really feel it‘s good.

200,000 people a few years ago and now there are 50 people out there, so people do struggle.

<CV WW> Here in the U.S. a lot of bands are struggling bad and they are pulling out things that <FLOOR> Yeah, well if you can‘t stay genuine to are very commercial and things they don’t want to your own music, I can imagine that people just don‘t buy that stuff. It doesn‘t feel good. For me do. <FLOOR> That‘s terrible, why would you want to

why it feels so good, is there is a 24 minute story on our album. It‘s a song divided into 5 parts. Nobody is gonna play it on the radio ever, it‘s not written for that. Our other songs may be more suitable for that, but no song is written for something as a purpose. It starts with a story, and then comes the music and then the rest. Then we can figure out the commercial purposes of things. The commercial purpose of a 24 minute long song is it‘s made for music lovers. We would like to ask people to just sit down with our music,

enjoy our music, that‘s actually what it is made for, it‘s not only entertainment in the cheapest sense of the word. Somebody compared it between fine dining and fast food. Some of those easy hits are fast rock, fast food style. It‘s always around, it‘s always there, you eat and instantly forget about it. In the case of bad fast food, well I think that all fast food is junk and you don‘t even feel so good. If you have the guts to invest in fine dining experience with good wine and healthy and expensive ingredients, it‘s expensive to make an album like this. With an orchestra, with a choir, we hire an arranger or two to work on the orchestral arrangements together with the composers and the band. It is a fine dining experience that we cannot sell as fast food and we don‘t want to or need to either. I think our fans by now bit by bit also here in the states start to understand that this is not the experience we go for. Live is always slightly different and you will pick songs that will do well live. It would be nice if we were playing with a bigger set up like we do in Europe for our bigger shows. You can do massive things show wise to bring the story to the people and tell it live, that would be the fine dining of concerts, even in metal that is possible. You reinvest to making something extraordinary, something that you want to remember. If you want to make money with fast food music, it just might bite you in the ass.

I know we hit the charts very high here in the states as well, so that gives a good reflection of what people think and what we have heard from people coming back which I prefer to do with our meet and greets, we have a direct line with people and not just what people are writing on the internet. That has been great, and the reviews off the album have been extremely positive.

<CV WW> Tell us your thoughts on music distribution today - you can sell and album or singles on places like iTunes, is that progress for the music industry?

<FLOOR> Yeah, I think so; iTunes for sure, or the downloadable album or song possibility. Some<CV WW> How has the album been received so thing else is streaming music, I think that is very good, but not good enough yet. I don‘t think the far? <FLOOR> Extremely well! We have high charts, billing part of that is very fair yet. If you look at Spotify, the truth behind that is it‘s not working for number 1 charts, golden records here and there, within a week even in several countries in Europe. bands like us it works for the biggest. There are artists that are making money from it, but a majority do not. Or there are other people who are making money on our backs and we have had sort of had that as musicians now. I do think streaming music online sales is very good, it‘s the greatest way in history to spread music, but the way it is organized is not there yet. We are a commercial act of course so we bring our product on tour and online. I started comparing because we had some problems with the ―leaking‖ of music, everybody does. So the excuse for people is why do you worry because everyone is having this it‘s normal. Hang on a second, NO it is not! Imagine there is a new furniture line, very well-known furniture and they have a new line and they share some of their pictures online of

to come realize that the furniture music thing I just mentioned is the reality. Music is not made for free, neither is this furniture. You can‘t go and steal furniture and put it online for free, the same goes for music. It is a product, you have to buy it if you want to have it. That is the reality, or you will kill the industry and you won‘t have any music to play anymore.

<CV WW> What is your impression of social media, - do you see it as necessary evil or savvy marketing tool? <FLOOR> It‘s a GREAT marketing tool! It‘s this or they start to announce there will be new fur- great and a great way to be in touch with people for real. The online trolling is something that niture ready. A person goes to the warehouse comes with it that is so nasty sometimes that it will where this stuff is to go on sale, he steals it and puts it online with pictures and everything for free keep people away from it. I can say personally it he would get thrown in jail, he will go to court for bums me out sometimes so much that I‘m like ‗fuck this‘. this, you can‘t steal from people. So when it‘s an album, a digital copy, it‘s ok to put it online for free??? You get kudos for it, you don‘t even get sued for it, and we should be ok with it??? I don‘t understand how that came to be.

<CV WW> The whole climate is obviously changing. Merch, packages, physical items seem to be the most marketable things these days. <FLOOR> Yes, we need to make things more interesting, which is a good challenge. That is good and it‘s fun to make good looking exclusive products that people really want to buy. That does not mean that the whole online world is ready yet and that we need to charge people more for tickets. We would rather not do that. There should be a health- <CV WW> Like Facebook *laughter* ier balance in things. Hopefully that is in progress, <FLOOR> Yeah, but at the same time there are I do hope that the new generation and generations people who love to hear about what you are doing ,but it‘s also an interesting growing concept of how to be in touch with people as an artist because it is slightly more personal if you can do that. People would like to be more personally in touch with you, but there is a fine line of all that that needs to be walked that I find very interesting and sometimes very difficult. There was this girl in Latin America who really wanted to take a picture with me, so she is screaming at me for a picture and I just did my show and I had barely slept and I just needed to go to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep, so I can‘t do the picture. She does not know my story but all she wants is the picture so I say no, then she goes online and calls me a bitch for

screen. I think it‘s very empty.

<CV WW> Having been in music for many years, what do you think you do differently now than you did earlier? <FLOOR> A lot of things, you grow more confident, you are more experienced. You grow more confident because you are older, so everything goes a bit more easier maybe? More confidence in general I would say.

<CV WW> You started singing with little formal training, how have you evolved/improved as a singer and band lead through the years? <FLOOR> Well when I started in ―After Forever‖ I had never been a lead vocalist before, but during the years I did four years of music at the Rock Academy in the Netherlands, then I did two more years of music theater and opera, so that was 6 years of studies. So that is what I did.

<CV WW> If you could go back to the early days, what advice would you give a younger Floor Jansen? <FLOOR>Yea, maybe to be a little more patient that, so someone else says ‗oh she did that, wow‘. at times with how things need to go, how fast you Then someone else reacts and before you know it can learn things or how fast things will happen. I at least 100 people commented on something they had a good drive, but sometimes it was too much, did not know, and usually the story just gets bigger because sometimes you are never satisfied because and people just keep reacting and saying ‗yeah she you always want that ten out of ten and sometimes 6 out of ten is still above average so take it easy. is just a bitch then we are not going to the show, she must be a terrible person‘. What weird conclusion and it goes like that, but I guess in real life not <CV WW> 2015 is looking like an incredible in online life, that does not happen. I actually said year for Nightwish, with the tour for "Endless that to my band members because we do these Forms Most Beautiful" - how long will the band meet and greets at every show, how cool it is to travel to support the release? meet people for real and how phony it is the 100 <FLOOR> Usually it is 1½ to 2 years people we meet every day that nobody says I really like the music or says a couple things they don‘t <CV WW> Is it difficult improve on your music, like, because online there is always somebody nag- to put out a release that's "better" next time? ging about something, but in real life nobody dares <FLOOR> Yes, but it‘s a good challenge! to confront you with it in person. There is nobody in person that will say I really did not like your <CV WW>Where do you think you are in the outfit or I did not like that thing you did to that journey of Nightwish, even after some years makLatin American girl, she really deserved that picing successful music? ture, shall we have a conversation about it. The trolling only happens when you are anonymous. I <FLOOR> I don‘t know because I can‘t see the would like to reply at least, now it‘s just a faceless future but I do know we all have had some struggles before this came to be, as good as it is. I would wow you are such a hero sitting behind your

like to think on a positive note that this suffering was needed to shape us to where we are because you do appreciate things more when things have been bad. I have had my bad times, they have had their bad times and they sort of ended when we came together, and that is where we are right now which is a fantastic unity, and now that we have made this album together and looking into the future the ties are only getting stronger in a positive way, the connections with more confidence after some broken things in the past. That is where I think we are which, is a very solid point of view.

<CV WW> Any final thoughts? <FLOOR> I am looking forward to the show; tomorrow we play The Greek Theater in Los Angeles which is a big challenge for us, biggest thing we have done here in the states and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s very exciting and I hope a lot of people will come out. I am very satisfied and proud to see that Nightwish is growing here in the states. A majority of our shows have been sold out and that is fantastic and we really want to thank our American fans for that and we look forward to rock some more!

A ‘GETTING STARTED” GUIDE TO MOTORCYCLE CAMPING

s I sit on my deck, I look to the trees and bushes for the signs that the seasons are changing. Finally, slow signs of spring are before my eyes. Birds singing, the sea grasses turning green, and my thoughts go to another riding season and another season of motorcycle camping. Camping while touring on a motorcycle is a great way to visit new and exciting places. But, before you venture out into the world of motorcycle camping there are some things you need to know before you hit the trail. Let‘s break down the elements of this fun and exciting opportunity to become one with nature, meet new friends and bring home a lifetime of memories that can‘t be matched. Shelter, clothing, food, and motorcycle; when you boil it down these are the main ingredients that will determine if your experience on the open road is a success or a dismal disaster. Let‘s take a look at each element individually and then put it all together to give you the basic roadmap for success while motorcycle camping.

for camping can be nothing, just you under the stars, or a tent. When considering a tent for motorcycle camping, look for a small light weight tent. The simplest and time tested option is a tarp and some rope. If you string your rope between two stationary objects (two trees, two motorcycles or a tree and a motorcycle) and drape the tarp over it, you have the foundation for a tent. Tie the corners down and you have a basic shelter. In the summer months this may be a good choice. The air flows through and provides ventilation and some summer cooling.

fall months. In the spring and summer they provide a pass through for air. Just a note of caution, they can be a little warmer in the warmer months. Four season tents are a more expensive alternative, but will last a lifetime if properly cared for. These types of tents are light, made for backpacking, and very compact. An excellent choice if you find that motorcycle camping is your real passion.

Typical all season tent

A-frame tent

A-frame style tent. Beyond the rope and tarp method, there are all types of tents available for camping. The most versatile is Shelter any tent that is designed for all Shelter is defined as some- four seasons. These tents are dething that covers or affords pro- signed for all weather and retain tection. The shelter that you use your body heat in the winter and

Typical all season tent. Regardless of what your preferred method of shelter is, you should be concerned about selecting a good camp site. You will need to survey the selected site and ensure that it is on level ground or a slight slope. Look around your perspective site for evidence of flooding or pooling of water. Ensure that there is good drainage in your site. You don‘t want to set up your camp in an area that may flood in a sudden rain

storm. A flooded camp site will cure your desire to ever camp again! Most importantly, look over head. Make sure that there are no overhanging limbs, branches or dead trees around. These can make a very bad night if one of them decides to fall while you are under it. Most of important of all: do not keep food in your shelter. If there is any wildlife in the area, uninvited and unwanted visitors in your shelter will not be a good experience…it will provide you with a great camping tale, but not a good experience. Your shelter is for you to sleep in and provide a refuge in the event of liquid sunshine (rain, or worse, snow). Let‘s talk about ground cloth, or the floor of the tent. If you use the tarp and rope method or a simple A-frame tent, make sure that you are not directly sleeping on the earth beneath the tent. The earth will simply suck the body heat out of you. Making you cold or worse develop hypothermia. Hypothermia (even in summer months) is caused by the rapid cooling of your body temperature. This will happen if you sleep directly on the earth. Always put a blanket or some form of insulation between you and the earth, your bed roll on top of the insulation. You‘ll sleep much better and be rested when you awake. Believe me when I say there is nothing worse in the camping business as going to bed cold and waking up cold. This simple fact will ruin you appreciation for the great outdoors and camping in general.

ble today. This is a good place for a quick word about bed rolls or sleeping bags. With the use of ―Thinsulate‖ thermal insulating material, modern sleeping bags are very small and light weight easily fitting into your saddle bag. This type of bag will keep you warm and comfortable in temperatures down to about 45ºF. This makes it an excellent choice for your summer motorcycle camping tour. Early spring and fall camping require different types of bedding materials that are for the more advanced campers and we just won‘t go there here. After all of that, we can boil down the real facts about this subject in a Do‘s and Don‘ts list. DO:  Select a shelter that, either tarp and rope, A-Frame tent, or expedition type tent.  Select a level or slightly sloped camp site.  Look for signs of flooding or pooling water.  Look for a site that has good drainage.

Clothing The second basic element of camping consideration is clothing. In addition to your riding clothes, you‘re going to have to bring at least one change of clothes for fun or lounging around the camp site. You are going to know best what your destination activities will be and the clothing that you are going to need. So we are going to just talk about basics. To maximize comfort while motorcycle camping – dress in layers. You can always take clothes off, but if you don‘t have the clothes on to take off, well, it can be an uncomfortable experience. When the day starts out cool and ends up warm, a typical layering could be a T-shirt, sweat shirt and jacket. As the day warms up, start to shed the layers. Without going into a lot of detail, here is my suggested packing list for clothing that I take with me:

DON'T:  Pick a camp site that has dead limbs, branches or trees overhead. Clothes to Pack  Keep food in you shelter. My typical tour pack is  Sleep on un-insulated earth.  Ignore signs of Hypothermia. two changes of underwear, two pairs of socks, three shirts (one long sleeve, one short sleeve and one sleeveless), one lite jacket, sweatshirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of long pants, wool stocking cap and comfortable camp shoes (flip -flops or sneakers). Does something in this list seam not quite right? Well, it may be the wool Thinsulate sleeping bag stocking cap. Even in summer, One of the many types of the human body loses body heat. Thinsulate sleeping bags availa-

A ‘GETTING STARTED” GUIDE TO MOTORCYCLE CAMPING Your body can lose up to 75% body heat through the top of your head during winter months. During the late spring and summer it can be as much as 45%. A wool stocking cap keeps the body heat in. The wool wicks the moisture away and is an excellent insulator. Wool will also keep you warm even when you‘re wet. In addition to all of that, you will need a choice of sleeping clothes. ―Sleeping Clothes‖ are used exclusively for sleeping. Using sleeping clothes only for sleeping ensures that there is no food odor on your clothes. Food odor on your clothes will guarantee that if there is hungry wildlife around your camp site, you will be visited during the night. We have talked about clothes for when everything goes right. Let‘s talk about the unlikely event that all of your planning overlooked the fact that there was rain in the forecast. When motorcycle camping, you have two options, ride in the rain or sit it out. Either way, you will need rain gear. The best that I can tell you about rain gear is simply, get the best you can afford. Your rain gear should be strong, breathable and waterproof. Being dry in the wild is the key to happiness and enjoyment while camping. All of this stuff gets packed into one of the fabulous space bags. You know the ones? The bags that reduce the size by removing the air by rolling the bags and sealing them. These are ex-

We can now break down all of this information into a manageable Do and Don‘t list. DO:    

Pack extra clothes. Dress in layers. Choose wool clothes. Pack your clothes in space bags to save room.

DON'T:  Sleep in the clothes that you cooked food in.  Forget a wool stocking cap.  Forget your rain gear.  Ignore the conditions or signs of hypothermia.

cellent waterproof containers for your camping adventures. They are easy to pack and reusable. You can use zip lock storage bags, but the space bags are heaver and made a little more durable. Food Just a short diversion from our Primer, I would like to give you one example of a personal experience of how quickly the weather can change. While touring in New Mexico, crossing the San De Cristo Mountains, the day was warm and sunny in the mid 70‟s. After a quiet evening around the campfire and everything secure for the night, I crawled into my tent only to be awakened, wet, freezing and frantically putting on clothes trying to get warm and digging my way out of my tent through three inches of snow. The morel of the story, the weather can change quickly and if you‟re not ready for those quick changes you could be in serious trouble and facing the early and dangerous stages of hypothermia. “Be Prepared” my fellow campers.

Now we‘re talking. Just because you‘re camping does not mean that you have to starve or even go hungry. Most of us will not be riding our motorcycle to a third world nation, not yet anyway. So the simple facts are you will be riding on roads that go thru towns, which support neighborhoods filled with people. Those neighborhoods are supported by shopping centers that contain food stores. The people in the neighborhoods also have food choices, restaurants. Starting to get the picture? You don‘t have to pack food and cooking supplies unless you want to. What we are not going to chat about here are camp stoves, fuel sources and packing food for trail preparation. Those are subjects

that are way too extensive for what we are doing here. We will talk about carrying snacks and nutritious energy for your travel on the road. I am going to make the presumption that you will be stopping for a good meal at least once-a-day. So here we go, beef jerky, fruit that you get daily or at least every other day at the food store and water. For the beginner motorcycle camper, this should be you focus as you explore this new aspect of motorcycling. One of the things that may be going through your head is where do I empty my tanks. Well, there is the key to food on the trail. If you drink water in moderation and eat moderately, you will sweat out most of the fluids. Just keep an eye on your condition, how you feel and when you do empty the liquid tank, check to be sure you are not dehydrating yourself. If your urine is dark in color you are dehydrating. The key here is to drink water often throughout the day. Drink before you are thirsty. I can‘t stress that one enough. Beer, alcohol, even coffee and soda are not good substitute for plain old water. You‘ll feel so much better as you ride. Solid foods are our next

consideration. My suggestion while getting acclimated to motorcycle camping is beef or chicken jerky. A visit to your local health food or warehouse store will afford you plenty of selections of easy to pack, little or no preparation selections for daily road snacks. Whatever you pick, pick things that are nutritious and healthy. These foods will insure that your ―machine‖ (not your motorcycle) operates smoothly and you are alert and ready for whatever happens during the day. Please remember, whatever you take with you, one of the basic tenants of camping is ―Leave it better than you found it‖. In other words, don‘t trash the place, pack your trash out and put in the proper receptacle. Here is our Do and Don‘t list for food: DO:    

Drink lots of water throughout the day. Pack snacks for your travels. Leave it better than you found it. Pack out your trash.

DON’T:  Drink beer and alcohol, especially while riding.  Eat heavy meals during the day.  Try to go without eating and drinking water during the day.  Ignore the signs of dehydration.

The Motorcycle I can‘t begin to stress to

you just how important your motorcycle is in the grand plan of motorcycle camping. You already know all of this, but let‘s just bring it up to the front of consideration for this activity. When you are finally ready to load up and hit the open road, you should be considering weight distribution and balance. You will be adding considerable weight to your vehicle. You will also be moving the center of gravity. If you are traveling with a passenger for this activity, well you could be setting yourself up for disaster before you even leave. You need to consider what MOM (Motorcycle Operators Manual) has to say. Your MOM will tell you the weight limits and positions of loads between the axels. In any case, don‘t exceed the maximum carrying load of the motorcycle and the tires. Ignoring the weight limits of your motorcycle and its tires will lead to potential catastrophic failures. Also consider your rear shocks. You may want to do what is called preloading of the rear suspension. Some motorcycle manufactures allow you to preload or compress your springs with no weight on the motorcycle. The suspension is compressed more to handle extra weight in the rear of the motorcycle. Check with your MOM. Don‘t load all of your heavy stuff on one side of your motorcycle – distribute the weight across the vehicle. As with every time you get on your motorcycle, do a detailed pre-ride inspection of your motorcycle. You should consider the length of the trip, the condition of your tires, the type of roads you will be traveling and when you

A ‘GETTING STARTED” GUIDE TO MOTORCYCLE CAMPING last changed your vehicle‘s fluids. Look at everything. If you are planning to travel with a passenger, be sure that they understand how important it is that you work as a team on your motorcycle. Our Do and Don‘t list for the Motorcycle includes: DO:  

 

A comprehensive safety check of your motorcycle. Be cognizant of your additional load and its placement on your motorcycle. Check your tires. Check your fluids.

week-end. As you get better and you refine your style of camping you can expand your radius of travel. Yes, you will soon be able to travel to the far off events and activities feeling more confident and capable and not being a stranger to the outdoors. Just remember, you‘re not far from home. If something doesn't work out, you run into trouble, or maybe you find out you just don‘t like it, in most cases you're only a short drive from a nearby hotel.

DON’T:  Ignore MOM  Ignore your passenger. Make sure they understand their responsibilities.  Pack all of the heavy gear on one side of your motor- Camera cycle. Don't forget your camera  Ignore weight and balance to capture lifetime memories. issues. Motorcycle camping is not right for everyone. I urge you to try it Putting the pieces together enjoy the outdoors. You are goAll this talk is great, but ing to meet new friends, learn what‘s the best way to actually from others and see things that try motorcycle camping? If you're not everyone will ever see. You just getting started, my sugges- need to include two other pieces tion is to visit your state parks. of important camping equipment These are usually not very far that I neglected to mention until from home, are staffed by knowl- now – your camera and your cell edgeable rangers and have con- phone. Your camera will capture trolled access to camp sites. As- in a fraction of a second an image semble your gear, pack your mo- that will define your experience torcycle and head off for the and last as a lifetime memory you

will be able to look back on. Don‘t forget your cell phone. It‘s the quickest way to help.

Cell phone. Don't forget phone... just in case.

your

cell

I want to leave you with something that I have always written and said throughout my aviation career, that I believe is applicable here and is my true thought for you as you venture out into the motorcycle camping community. It is simply: As the stars reveal themselves from their day time hiding places and they shower the earth with light, one of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest is my wing tip passing over you and blessing you and the good earth below. Happy and safe motorcycle camping. Enjoy it. John Lesser Open Road Journey WWW.OpenRoadJourney.com

The Dangers of DIY Tattoos Tattoo Artist Magazine Blog It‘s never a good idea to tattoo yourself, even if you‘re strapped for cash. If you‘re thinking of getting a tattoo, you‘re better off saving up the money for a professional tattoo artist rather than doing it yourself. We all know someone in the tattoo community who has (or had) a DIY tattoo and has regretted it ever since. Since a needle with ink is inserted into your skin multiple times during the tattooing process, if performed improperly you could be exposed to disease, infection and allergic reactions. It‘s important to get a tattoo from an artist who has the proper training and equipment and who will ensure that procedures are followed to protect your health. Here are some of the dangers of DIY tattoos:  You may be at risk of serious infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), or skin infections. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can cause liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. There is no cure for HIV.  Tattoo equipment and inks purchased cheaply over the internet may be of poor quality  Poor quality inks could have harmful substances that remain permanently in your skin  An increased likelihood of scarring from skin infections or bad tattooing technique Unless you are in prison – just say NO to DIY tattoos. There is a higher likelihood of your tattoo not turning out how you want. Tattoo artists generally have more experience with placement of tattoos, the best positioning and design. If you‘re not a tattoo artist, there‘s a very good chance you‘ll regret your DIY decision to tattoo. DIY tattoos may be illegal in some locations And while we‘re talking about the dangers of DIY tattooing, getting a tattoo overseas may carry similar risks. Other countries may not have the same infection prevention and control requirements for tattoo premises that are required in the United States. Why expose yourself to these dangers? Use a professional tattoo artist in the USA instead!

Unless you are in prison – just say NO to DIY tattoos.

Heavy. Guttural. Melodic. Death Metal. From the venues of Colorado Springs to your hometown, Try Redemption has been slaying audiences and making fans wherever they play with their high energy, frenetic, heart attack inducing live shows. At times introspective and at times completely off the wall, the boys in Try Redemption take their music & message seriously even as they remain thankful for their success and just a little off-kilter.

<CV WW> I know, we always start these off the then Azimuth - now Try Redemption - why the same: tell us who's in the band and their role changes? John Peterson - guitar James Peterson - drums Jon Daigle - guitar Chris Walter (Tucker) - bass Brian McDaniel - vocals

<John> We looked online and saw other bands had taken the 1st two names. We all were at practice one day talking about new name ideas and I heard the combination of ―try‖ and ―redemption‖... and it just stuck. And luckily no one else had the name.

<CV WW> Talk to us about the beginning - you merged 2 "garage bands" back in 2000 to make <CV WW> Any specific meaning to the name one group - how did you decide who was in and "Try Redemption"? who (if anyone) was out? <TR> Only the sexy survived. Actually, it kind of happened on its own - the bassist from John and James‘ band was losing interest anyway and Tucker, Daigle, and Hammer just needed a drummer and the extra guitar player was a nice bonus.

<John> It's what we tell people they are going to have to do after a show. <Daigle> I always liked the name because it seemed to mean something different to each of us. For me there was never a religious aspect to it; it‘s literally about trying to right your wrongs - even though some wrongs can‘t be righted. The effort to <CV WW> What do you think each member redeem yourself can still be important and meanbrings to the group, what works so well with THIS ingful.

group of guys? <TR> James brings the poundage. Daigle brings awkward like no other. We keep Tucker around mostly for his amazing resting bitch face. John has the ass hair of doom. And Brian for his virgin ass. LOL Actually, everyone does bring something different, aside from their musicianship. And it works simply because we‘ve all known each other for so long it‘s not hard to get along. We understand each other‘s shit and personal lives and there‘s just no hate. It‘s like a well lubricated relationship.

<CV WW> You first called yourselves Nefarious,

<CV WW> It's still pretty much the original may not survive this set‖ lineup from back in 2000 except for Hammer's de- <Daigle> Yeah no doubt it‘s not as easy as it used to be. But we still try to push ourselves as much as parture, is that right? possible. <John> It's like our first show each time…fuck ups <CV WW> How are you guys able to stay togeth- and all! <TR> Yar!

er, what is the key to your interpersonal success? <TR> Constant buggery :) Kind of like the other question, it‘s just because we‘ve known each other so long. John and James are twins so they were born on the same team. Tucker and Daigle have known each other since like 3rd grade. And Brian is just sexy. Plus we don‘t hang out together outside the band enough to get on each other‘s nerves. HaHa! We mostly hang out for fun shit like the local Renaissance Festival and trips to Vegas.

<CV WW> Who do you guys count as your musical influences? <Tucker> Chances are, if you name an artist, one of us likes at least one of their songs, and if it is a really horrible artist, John loves them. <Daigle> Yeah very diverse tastes all around. There‘s much more diversity than there is commonality. In fact I‘m not sure if there‘s one band that all of us collectively enjoy. <John> Fuck you Tucker! :)

<CV WW> What message do you try to convey with your music, what do you hope fans take <CV WW> Growing up, did you have any other interests or was it just all music all the time once away? <Tucker> Hopefully they take away an armload of you got bitten? merch. <Daigle> Honestly I‘ve never worried too much about an actual message because I just do dem riffs. I enjoy it when people have fun at shows for sure. That always makes for a good time. <Brian> I can‘t speak for Hammer but, most of my lyrics have multiple meanings, even in the same song. <John> What Daigle said!

<Tucker> I was big into sports and dirt bikes, mountain bikes etc. That all took a serious hit after I saw Pantera the first time. It was pretty much music after that. <John & James> Video games… still a major interest. Nintendo for life! <Daigle> Yeah playing Nintendo was pretty much full time as a kid but like Tucker, Pantera ruined me! LOL

<CV WW> What do you think is the appeal of <CV WW> Who is on your music player, who do you listen to during your downtime? Try Redemption to the fans? <Tucker> We have wondered that from day one. <Tucker> I like a bit of everything. I‘m not really <Daigle> It seems like people always like the high a genre guy. If it has a good beat or a good story energy stuff. <John> It‘s like if you want to listen to a band, you can buy the CD, but if you go to a show, you wanna see some shit! <James> Yeah we always try to entertain the crowd.

<CV WW> What can fans expect to see at a show - you guys put on a pretty frenetic pace, is it just a case of "hold on to your britches kids, this is going to hurt" :) <Tucker> It used to be like that, but now that we are older, it‘s ―hold on kiddos, one of these geezers

I‘ll probably dig it. <James> Sports radio and hair metal. <Daigle> I like podcasts; Bob and Tom usually start my day. But then all kinds of music. Since I started doing the MetalsPeak podcast my musical horizons have grown like crazy. And not just metal stuff - I really like Chvrches, Fair To Midland, Dead Letter Circus, and the last Eminem album was bad ass. But metal-wise there‘s just a ton of shit. Cattle Decapitation, Periphery, Anaal Nathrakh, Aborted, The Contortionist, Fit For An Autopsy, The Faceless, Born Of Osiris, Cephalic Carnage, Fallujah, Fleshgod Apocalypse, NIN, Pantera, Slayer, Ghost Brigade, Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum (who are touring later this year in the Epic Raging Boner tour). Secrets of the Sky just had an album come out that‘s amazing. Faith No More‘s new one is awesome too. But yeah it‘s all over the place, like Tucker said I‘m more interested in the song and how I react to it. I don‘t care what genre or if there‘s clean vocals but the music is brutal. Or if the fans do that hardcore dancing stuff. I just don‘t care about that. If I like it, I like it. If not I don‘t listen to it. <John> Goth, industrial, house, trance, shit like that. Type-o-negative always!

<CV WW> Do you guys have a favorite local place to play? <Tucker> My home office… alone. <Daigle> The Black Sheep has been our home basically. It‘s gone through a few different names and management and shit since we started but it‘s always been a great venue.

<CV WW> Do you have a particularly memorable show that sticks out? Why was it memorable? <Tucker> I remember opening for Five Finger Death Punch at the Black Sheep. Sold out show. It was really cool, until Daigle fucked up a Pantera cover bad enough to have to stop mid song. Epic win/fail. <Daigle> I‘ll never forget the Louder, Harder, Faster festival in Allentown, PA. It was an amazing festival, all the bands were treated like royalty. Plus, that‘s when we were introduced to Yuengling. <John> Milwaukee metal fest 2004 where we meet Tammy Taylor who helped us with a lot of shows

and tours! <Brian> Still waiting for that… these guys are old. <James> Louder, Harder, Faster Fest!

<CV WW> Do you have a show that make you think "damn, is this really worth it?" <Tucker> We have had many, it‘s not an easy hobby to stick with at times. You have to actually enjoy writing and playing music, if you are not in it for the right reasons, you are gonna have a bad time. <John> Ya, you have to know going into metal, that metal don't pay the bills. <James> It‘s good cardio though... <Daigle> Yeah gotta get that heart rate up. So there‘s that.

<CV WW> Tell us your opinion of the Colorado Springs music scene? What is good and what is not so good about it? <Tucker> It has its ups and downs. The talent level for a town this size is crazy, there are some amazing players here, in all genres. However, the metal scene comes and goes. It is a bit fractured, with some people who only go to shows for one or two bands. But there are also people who are at every show. <John> Way back it seemed like kind of a ―My dad can beat up your dad‖ mentality. But now eve-

the difference. He‘s a perfectionist and has a talent for making the song sound even better than we hear it in our heads. So we could kind of write more to how we imagined the songs would end up after Dave got his magic into ‗em. <John> Yeah we used to be able to tell people we were better live. Dave ruined that! HaHaHa! <Daigle> But we all decided it was worth it. The album will sound the same way forever. May as well be the songs in their most perfect form. <James> Originally it was more about how fast and how heavy we could be; just trying to be as brutal as we could be. Now it‘s more about playing what we enjoy.

<CV WW> Yes, you got to work with Dave Otero ryone gets along and it‘s like ―Go Team Colorado on that album, tell us how that collaboration came Springs‖ Plus lots of bands share members now about… too. <Daigle> We knew about Dave being somewhat <Daigle> Yeah both Tucker and Brian are in two close to us and John just decided to hit him up on bands (Tree of Woe and Offering Of Dust). MySpace or the phone or something. Just to see what his cost and process and stuff was like. We <CV WW> When we think of "death metal" were a little intimidated because of his track record Colorado Springs doesn't come to mind as a hot- and all but he ended up being way chill and cool... bed of the genre… but also expensive. <TR> Yep. <John> Yep you get what you pay for… that is! <Daigle> We were able to borrow some money to <CV WW> Have you guys ever thought about re- make it happen though so it all worked out. And locating to a bigger market? then by the time that was paid off we were ready <Tucker> No, fuck no. We love living where it is for the next album. an 8-20 hour drive to play another big city. <Daigle> Early on we were just focused on getting <CV WW> What do you think Dave brought to the band going. But these days I can‘t see myself the process that might have been lacking before? living anywhere else personally. I love it here. <Tucker> Dave has an ear for metal. If you play Family is here. him a song, he knows how to make it sound better. <James> I can see myself elsewhere!! Seattle, Ve- As much as I loved recording the first two with gas, or maybe even in Europe. Bryan Feuchtinger just for the experience and the <TR> I‘m not sure we would all pack up and memories, he didn't know what to do with us. move for Try Redemption though. There‘s lots of <Daigle> Yeah Bryan‘s a great guy but is more other stuff going on in everyone‘s lives now. skilled for the indie kinda scene. Dave is a true metal producer. He‘s not shy about sharing his opinion when it comes to riffs, harmonies, subtle structure things. And 10 times out of 10 his opinion is spot on. Plus he knows his software like the back of his hand which makes him quick. Even though he‘s not cheap, he would be a lot more expensive if he didn‘t know what he was doing. <Daigle> Well as far as album sound goes, it was <James> Yeah his wizardry is far better than even mostly just working with Dave Otero that made Harry Potter.

<CV WW> "Confessions of a Tortured Soul" and "Prey for Us Sinners" stayed pretty true to your core sound as you have defined it, but "Resurrection of Reason" blew apart all boundaries - tell us about how you feel that album expanded your horizons…

<CV WW> You guys have self-financed all your music - 1 demo, 3 full length albums, and now your 4th offering, "Hollow be Thy Name" - do you feel any pressure to "make the money back"?

right people to hear it. <Daigle> Not sure I have a final impression but I agree with John. It‘s moving so fast, it‘s tough to keep up.

<TR> LOL <CV WW> Do you still think there's a heavy <James> Yeah it‘d be nice. <Daigle> Yeah but with the all the costs we market for Death Metal in today's world of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and others? choose to incur it‘s not too realistic. <TR> There will always be a market for heavy <TR> But again, all worth it. music. There will always be people who appreciate <CV WW> In the end, the music industry now is the appeal of the kind of release only aggressive a tough way to make a living, why did you decide music can provide.

to self-finance? <Tucker> We didn't want to. We had a few chances to jump on indie labels, but we asked too many questions and scared them away. We also had an opportunity with Sony, but we weren't in a position to pack up and go on tour with houses and children. <Daigle> Ultimately, it was just a case of ―we want to do it and we can afford it now, so screw it let‘s go for it‖

<CV WW> Have you guys had a chance to bring your music outside the US (you guys would KILL IT over in Europe)... <TR> No, not in a live setting. We had some rotation on Total Rock radio way back. We would love to get to Europe if the opportunity was right though.

<CV WW> How has the reaction to "Hollow Be Thy Name" been so far?

<CV WW> What is your final impression about <TR> So far so good. Most people like it - people Social Media? Is it a worthwhile effort, necessary that haven‘t been into our stuff before seem to like the last few songs the most. HaHa! Either way evil, or wasteful distraction? <TR> All of the above. <James> Wasteful distraction… especially when I‘m just trying to kill zombies on my PC… people be nagging me… shit. <John> As far as the Internet goes, it‘s really diluted the music industry… there‘s just so much of it anymore. It used to be, ―Wow, you‘re in a band?!?!‖ Now it‘s, ―Wow… you‘re not in a band????‖ It‘s so easy to get your stuff out there for millions to hear. It‘s more of an issue of finding the

though, we‘re not too concerned if people like it or not. We just tell people if you don‘t like it, don‘t listen to it. And if they dig it then sweet.

<CV WW> Has it met your expectations to date (even though it’s still early)? <TR> I think it‘s exceeded our expectations. We were pretty sure we‘d be fans ourselves since Dave was involved. But we weren‘t sure how the clean vocals would go over since that was new territory for us. Brian killed that shit though so everyone seems to be in to it.

<CV WW> do you guys feel you do anything better NOW than when you first started? <Tucker> Not trying to show off, and just playing what a song needs. <John> If anything we‘re worse now. It takes a lot more practice to do what we do… <James> … and a lot more ibuprofen. <Daigle> Zing!!!

<CV WW> Musically, you guys have stayed tried

and true to Death Metal and to your sound, but heavy hitters like Testament, Mushroomhead, how have you changed as people given the wisdom Five Finger Death Punch, and others - what do of time? you take away from sharing a bill with those <TR> Much more hate and a lot less hair… groups? <John> & James> We‘re pretty much the same as we‘ve been since high school. Maybe drink a bit more now. <Daigle> Yeah I developed a taste for Scotch I never knew I‘d have. That peated shit…DUDE! <Brian> I changed them all when I brought the strange…it smells a little weird.

<John> The fact that we‘re never going to be able to do this for a living. A lot of them went back to part time jobs between tours which was kind of surprising to hear. <Daigle> Yeah some bands can make a living with it. But it takes a long time and a ton of effort. And then probably some luck too. It was definitely cool to play those shows but I don‘t know if I nec<CV WW> Do you look back and think that you essarily took anything away from it, aside from the could have done anything better, perhaps to pro- experience.

duce a different result? <John> Probably not. <TR> It definitely could have turned out worse, LOL. With all of our personal lives and financial situations and stuff, it‘s happened as well as we could have hoped.

<CV WW> Does it give you a certain sense of "we belong with these guys" when you play a show with them? <John> We belong with anyone willing, able, and has a passion to play music. No matter the genre.

<CV WW> What motivates the guys to keep im- <CV WW> Where do you see Try Redemption in proving, to keep expanding your horizons as musi- 2-3 years? cians and a band? <Tucker> Older, greyer, deafer, and fatter. <TR> Huh? … LOL <Daigle> I won‘t lie, there is a burnout factor over the last several years. It‘s kind of like we hit a plateau and we‘re not as motivated to become better musicians as we used to be. We still enjoy writing stuff and trying to write better songs is always a goal. Especially with how good those last three songs on the new album came out. Makes me wonder if we could tackle a concept album someday... <John & James> Yeah after shows it‘s hard to move. <James> My girlfriend has to wipe my ass in the morning because my hands are so swollen. No lie. (See ibuprofen reference…) <John> The stress of everyday life is just a lot more than it was 10 years ago. <Brian> I haven‘t seen these fellers in weeks… that‘s the plateau… <TR> On the flipside, videos are kind of a new and exciting thing since we met Javier at Blue Crystal Productions. Those were fun as hell to make, so the aspect of making more videos is definitely motivating.

<CV WW> You guys have shared the stage with

<TR> Still hanging out… playing Nintendo… beer? <John> Brian‘s gonna be a superstar… stripper. <TR> In all seriousness, probably doing the same thing we‘re doing now.

<CV WW> It's 1/3 through 2015, what big things can we expect from Try Redemption this year and beyond? <TR> We‘re doing the Gut Fest here in Colorado Springs in June. But honestly I‘m not sure we can afford any more big things for a while. HaHa!

We‘ll ride the Hollow Be Thy Name loan out for a bit. LOL We‘ll play shows and stuff though.

<CV WW> Any final thoughts to our readers & your fans? <James> Don‘t be a drummer in a metal band unless you have someone to wipe your ass, load your gear, take it to a show and set up it, play it for you, tear it down and take it back to your house… LOL (J/K) <TR> We appreciate all the support over the years and the people who like our shit means the world to us. Sorry we suck, lol… except for Brian he kills it like nobody‘s mom.

Gear the Pros Use!

y initial interest in playing guitar came from Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana" parody when I was 13. That quickly turned into a fascination with the real Nirvana songs and a Christmas present of a used Hondo guitar and Fender practice amp. I tinkered around with that for a few years but the real passion came after I won tickets to see Pantera on the Battle of the Gargantuas tour. At that time I had no idea what pinch harmonics or whammy bar squeals were. I remember looking as closely as I could at Dime's fingers when he'd play all those high, screaming notes and just thinking, "HOW THE HELL IS HE DOING THAT?!?!?!!" I ended up pouring over his Riffer Madness columns to learn those techniques. Now I'm just happy playing what feels good. Writing-wise, I always think back to something I read from Steve Vai. He said that sometimes he'll hear something and feel inspired to write something in the same vein. I relate to that a lot. Writing something that evokes a visceral reaction is much more rewarding for me than trying to technically outplay what I've done before. Guitars: Live:  Carvin DC727 with Floyd Rose tremolo  Ibanez Universe Studio:  Carvin DC727 with fixed bridge Amps:  Carvin V3 100 watt  Basson 4X12 cab Effects/Pedals:  Rocktron noisegate  Korg tuner  Boss stereo delay  AKG Bug wireless  Fuhrman power conditioner  Morley Bad Horsie 2  Morley Little Alligator Strings:  D'Addario Jazz Medium 13-56 with Ernie Ball .010 for the high E Picks:  Dava

Gear the Pros Use! I have a love for Tama drums!!! I used to work at a music store and Tama customer service has always been top notch, and their drums and hard wear have always been better than anything else I have tried or dealt with, I‟m still playing on a tama drum, stands, and pedals I got back in the mid „90s and its never let me down!! I have 2 tama kits, one is a practice set I leave at the practice space, and I have a set I bring home with me in cases and only take out when we play shows. The only thing different with my practice kit is the cymbals are beat up, broke, and barely hanging on to the stand. I use broke cymbals for practice because I am mainly just hitting them for targets, and it saves me money on having to buy new cymbals every few Snare:  14x5.5" Maple Toms:  10"x9" Rack tom  12"x10" Rack tom  13"x11" Rack tom  14"x12" Rack tom  16"x16" Floor tom  18"x16" Floor tom  22"x18" Bass Drum x2

Cymbals:  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian  Zildjian

Scimitar 14" Hi-Hats A 6" Splash ZBT 10" splash Scimitar bronze 14" china A 16" Crash Oriental 18" China Z custom 18" Medium Crash Z custom 18" Projection Crash Z custom 18" Rock Crash Z custom 19" Projection Crash Z 20" Heavy Power Ride

When someone asks about drumming or if they are looking to get into drumming, in a band or just for jamming and for fun, I tell them they should take lessons; its good to learn all the rudiments and it even helps making your limbs even in skill, so your right arm isn't more prominent over your left for instance. I never took lessons. my cousin showed me a basic beat and I played that over and over until I was able to start doing drum rolls and hitting cymbals without losing the beat - after that I would play along with Green Day and Metallica in my dad‟s garage for hours on end to get the feel of other beats...so because of never taking lessons my rudiments are not good at all...I don't even use a normal hi-hat stand...my feet never leave my bass pedals...I cant really use a hi-hat the right way. So I would say take lessons if you can. As for what style of drumming I think is better, I would say its all awesome; jazz, metal, rock, whatever, I try to use whatever I think sounds good, or whatever the guys in the band think sounds good for a song and I run with it! I have never thought any style is better than others.

V2V COMMUNICATIONS MAY HIT THE ROAD SOON Like a vaccine, V2V technology needs collective action to work—and all the major auto companies are working together to make it happen.

hat if your car could ―talk‖ to other vehicles, predicting imminent danger and warning you before a crash? It sounds like science fiction. But vehicle-tovehicle communication is the newest brainchild of the auto industry, and it might be coming to a road near you within the next few years. The MIT Technology Review named V2V one of the biggest tech breakthroughs of 2015, predicting that it will become widely available as soon as next year. General Motors was the first major car company to commit, announcing in September that it would release a V2V-equipped Cadillac by 2017. ―I hear estimates all the time on people rolling it out,‖ said Debra Bezzina, senior project manager for the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. ―It is very close to being production ready.‖ The technology has been in the works for more than a decade, but a recent pilot program has brought it closer to deployment than ever. Conducted jointly by the University of

Michigan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the pilot put nearly 3,000 V2Vequipped cars on the roads of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The technology allowed the cars to broadcast their GPS position, speed and other data to nearby vehicles. Cars then used the information to communicate with one another and avoid crashes and accidents. ―It provides consumers with what I like to call 360-degree coverage,‖ said Bezzina, noting that V2V goes beyond current sensor and radar based safety systems that are limited by their field of view. After analyzing data from the pilot program, NHTSA estimated that V2V technology could prevent more than half a million accidents and save more than 1,000 lives each year if implemented across the United States. But like a vaccine, the safety benefits of V2V only kick in if other cars are equipped with the same technology. General Motors‘ high-tech Cadillac may have few other cars to talk to in 2017— defeating the main purpose of the innovation.. ―We've all kind of said there's no benefit to being the first adopter because it only works if your car is equipped and you're in conflict with another car that's equipped,‖ said Mike Shulman, technical leader for Ford Motor Company. ―So we‘ve all said the only way to really move this along is through a regulation.‖ In August, NHTSA announced that it would like to mandate V2V technology in new cars ―to induce collective action.‖ Draft regulations for a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard are expected next year. ―It's really been a unique industry collaboration and public-private partnership,‖ Shulman said.

―We think we're really doing something important.‖ According to Shulman, all the major auto makers—including General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes, Hyundai, Ford and Kia—have been sharing data on V2V to help standardize communications between cars of different brands. These companies (along with tech manufacturers like Delphi) are working together to develop the same technology, Shulman said, although each automaker will decide how its own interface looks and functions. ―It's really been a unique kind of collaboration where normal competitors have said, 'None of us can do this on our own, and we want to work together to bring this to deployment,‘‖ Shulman said. But before V2V hits the streets, it‘s likely to hit a few roadblocks. The Federal Trade Commission filed a comment to NHTSA in January, citing concerns about GPS tracking and data collection. ―People want privacy in their cars,‖ said Shulman. ―If it's a mandated system—a system they haven't decided they want to opt into—then they want to know that even though their car is sending out a message ten times per second… you're not identifying the specific vehicle, the driver, the license plate or anything like that. And you're not tracking them around.‖ NHTSA said it is aware of privacy concerns and is working to establish comprehensive protections before V2V is deployed. But experts are confident that most of the necessary security measures are already in place. ―We put a bunch of safeguards in place,

both technical and policy,‖ Shulman said, emphasizing that the technology was built with consumer security in mind. Schulman said all V2V signals are authenticated and anonymous, making them difficult to track or alter. As for privacy, Bezzina said the data is kept only on ―a moment-by-moment basis, per the vision of the Department of Transportation.‖ ―We've been working in a pre-competitive way to agree on the standards,‖ Shulman said. ―There will be some manufacturers that will deploy this in the next one or two years. There will be others that are still doing testing and evaluation.‖ A decade from now, Bezzina said consumers can expect to see ―a pretty good rollout of connected vehicle technology.‖ After that, cars might even drive themselves. ―Connected vehicle technology will be an enabler for automated vehicles,‖ Bezzina said, noting that V2V is already being used in conjunction with self-driving technology. ―In 10 years, we‘ll start to see that more and more.‖ By Olivia Marcus

Order in the Chaos Helpful Band Tip #8 - Modding Guitars I really struggled on whether I wanted to even consider opening THIS particular can of worms or not. But, let's face it, how many of you guitarists out there play a 100% STOCK guitar? I'm betting quite a few actually raised their hands. I'm talking about the hobbyists, the "jammers", the "just saw Tremonti on stage!" type. No offense to Mr. Tremonti, as a matter of fact, I find him to be a splendid player. But not so profound that I should go buy a rig just like his! I've touched on this a bit in one of my other blogs...so I don't want to kill that horse any more than it's already been picked at by buzzards. And no need to try to go any further on it, so leave it where it lay and move on... For the typical guitarist, there is a certain "something" you are looking for out of your guitar of choice. Whether it be a Les Paul you splurged on, a Fender Strat you picked up, used. Or even a no-name beater your "crazy" rocker uncle gave you...they all start somewhere. And that is as a Tree. Yeah...then they cut it down, shape the wood, and then modify it to be what they think we want the final result to be. Unfortunately, they do not and cannot possibly implement every, single guitarist's desires into a guitar... Well, maybe they can... the point is, the guitar you have is not quite YOURS until you play it, and then CHANGE it. Don't be afraid to do it. Even if it is just to change a pickup...if you know what you want to hear out of that guitar you should be romancing right about now, then give her what she wants, she'll treat you right.

Pickups: It really depends on what type of music you play, but the pickups in your storebought guitar more than likely only have the bare

minimum of what it would take for your guitar to play. Unless you bought a higher-end guitar, that is. But, I usually go toward this type of menu choice for pickupsâ&#x20AC;Ś Rock - Humbuckers (like Dimarzio Super Distortion, or a Seymour Duncan Sh4-JB). Blues - Humbuckers or Single Coils (Gibson Paf Pro, Seymour Duncan Billy Gibbon's Pearly Gates, Seymour Duncan Lil'59). Metal - Active Humbuckers (EMG-81, Seymour Duncan Blackouts) I know that's vague, but it's just the way I categorize them. Somebody might say, "Man, I get a KILLER metal tone out of my Totally Stock Strat!" Awesome! Glad to hear it... so can I. But, my Strat has an EMG-81 in it with a EMG Expander strapped on for good measure. So mine will probably eat yours for lunch. But it didn't always, it came with a David Gilmour EMG setup factory installed. Which is set up as a three single coil layout with a Volume, EMG EXG Expander, and an

EMG SPC Strat Presence Control module. But I So, there are some places for you to start, if took the bridge pickup out and replaced it with a you have a question, or something to add, feel free bigger pickup. Boom! I modded my frigging guitar to do so. Good luck with it, and I hope this helped and now it's ten times the monster it was! And for in some manner. under $100.

Hardware: Me, personally? I add a GENUINE Floyd Rose tailpiece tremolo on almost ALL my guitars. Right off, that is the first thing I swap out. Even if it already says "Floyd Rose" on it, doesn't mean it's a GOOD one. I can tell the difference. I buy mine from a reseller who get's them from Germany. And these things RULE! Big tone, and intonation enhancements, better harmonics, longer sustain, stays in tune better... But if you prefer a stop tail piece like on a Les Paul... If it is a Les Paul Studio or anything NOT Gibson... upgrade the bridge and stop bar. Gibson sells AUTHENTIC Gibson parts at most of the bigger music stores. They are a vast improvement for about $20 or $30 each.

Nuts: Yep, the material your nut is comprised of will directly result in the tone, sustain, and stability of the tuning of your guitar. It's a physical fact. They come in any number of materials such as: Bone, Brass, Plastic, Graphite, Steel, etc. Each one has it's own characteristics, but Brass is bright and has loads of sustain, plastic is typical, Graphite allows the strings to slip easier when you bend notes, which allows the guitar to stay in tune better when you play. Bone is nice for a comfortable Bluesy style. Steel is steel, but the locking nuts on MOST guitars that have tremolo systems are either Nickel or pot metal.

Tuning Machines: Can you believe it? Those tuners on your guitar... yeah, they sell upgrades for those too. And they are most often a very wise and important decision to make. Some people prefer a tighter ratio on their rotation like a Grover at 14:1. While some prefer more like a 16:1 ratio, which is looser (Schaller). It's totally up to you, All I would advise here, is that you at least buy the right ones, and in the same color as the rest of your hardware. Personally, I even go in on most of my guitars and redo the wiring with better wiring, I switch out my potentiomenters, and add enhancers (like the EXG or SPC).

Brien DeChristopher is the guitarist and primary songwriter for Seattle Seale-based hard rock band "Agents Of Chaos". He has logged countless hours on stage in live performance, and studio recording time. You can see this and other Pearls of Wisdom at http://www.blogster.com/briendechristopher/

Will an old friend, our beloved Merry Adin!