CIERRA
FORT COLLINS
CIERRA WHITE
Whenandhowdidyougetintomusic?Igotinto musicseriouslyat15yearsold.Ihadmusicalparentsand wouldtinkeraroundwithstuff,howeveritwasn’tuntilI was15thatIbegantakingitseriously.
Howlonghaveyouplayeddrumsfor?Rightnow,I’m at17yearsontheinstrument.
Whatbandsareyoucurrentlyplayingwith?Oak,Ash &Thorn:blackenedpowermetal/melodeath.Emasculator: brutaldeathmetal.Harboured:blackenedpostmetal.
Whatrecordingsdoyouhaveout?I’vebeenonallof Oak,Ash&Thorn’scatalog,UnreasonableHuman’slast single,MountCairn’slastalbum,LastWord’sprevious album,mostrecentlyfilledinforHelHathFury’sEPand Emasculator’sfirstalbumreleasedinSeptember.
Whoareyourmusicalinfluences?WhenIwasyounger mymaininfluenceswereJoeyJordison,JasonBittner,Chris Adler,ShannonLucas,playerslikethat.Thesedaysit’sall ofthemstillplusguyslikeAlainAckermann,EricMoore, AricImprota,GreysonNekrutman,etc.
Any music videos? Yes, there are a few music videos! I will link them below:
Oak, Ash & Thorn, “Auras”
https://youtu.be/AOFtIEhodlo?si=NoZgzw2QXFO7uSEB Oak, Ash & Thorn, “Dying Culture”
https://youtu be/5nSJJUZTRE0?si=E1-XMMI06y3zhozJ Emasculator, “Eradication of the Asuras” https://youtu.be/Sss17biOCHY?si=MpyabkT-tOQaagkH
Harboured, “Impermanent Cell” https://youtu.be/ioOA41bCV8Q?si=wxsB3RbFKaqZaFCa
What’s a memorable show highlight for you? I think my two biggest show highlights this far have been getting to open for two of my favorite bands of all time: Rotting Christ and Cradle of Filth at separate shows.
What’s your upcoming show schedule look like? Upcoming shows for Oak, Ash & Thorn included Dec. 7 at Decibel Metal and Beer Fest in Denver, Jan. 28 at Heavy Metal Beach Party in Miami. Lots to come for all the bands next year as well!
Where can people find you online? I am CierraDrums everywhere except YouTube and Facebook, where you’ll find me under Cierra White.
Photo by John Maniaci “Photolaguitarra”e
FORT COLLINS
POOL SALT
WhoarethemembersofPoolSalt?
DevinJohnson-vocals
ChristianScarsbrook-guitar
PeterKoschnitzke-guitar
BoBrooks-saxophone
LucasMcGee-bass
WillRyan-drums
Whenandhowdidthebandcometogether?Devin:Onavery awkwardafternooninJulyof2023,ourfirstsingle“TreadingWater”was writtenChristianandIhadbrokenupinMayof2023,andafterafew monthswithoutspeakinghadpassed,wedecidedwewantedtoresume writingmusictogether-musicwas(andstillis)ourbiggestcommonality. So,werecruitedPeter,grabbedasix-packofbeer,andproceededto processandhealalotofthehurtfromthelastcouplemonths.Wegot backtogetherprettysoonafterthat,andarehappily,verymuchstill together.FlashforwardtoMarch2024,IhadtaggedalongtoPeterand Christian'sbandpractice.Christianbeganplayingtheopeningriffof “TreadingWater,”andeveryoneintherehearsalaskedtohearwhatthe vocalmelodysoundedlike-conveniently,Iwassittingintheotherroom. Thetunepiquedeveryone'sinterest,andafteracouplehoursofwriting, TreadingWaterwasnolongertwo(spiteful)versesaboutloveandloss,it hadtransformedintoafullyformedsong,featuringsaxophonesolo.The synergyintheroomwaspalpable;Will,Lucas,Bo,Peter,Christian,andI, wereabsolutelygiddywiththefinalproductwehadcreatedtogether.By theendofthewritingsession,theyinvitedmetojointheirprojectasthe leadvocalist.Tothisday,itisoneofmyfavoritememories,andthatwas thebeginningofPoolSalt.
How would you describe your band’s sound?
Devin: Our sound is definitely somewhere between surf rock and jazz fusion I think that Peter, Christian, Lucas and Will's punk rock roots, mixed with Bo's absolutely incredible skills on the saxophone sets us apart and creates a more unique sound within our music
What’s the subject matter of your lyrics?
Devin: Lyrically, we write a ton of love songs, especially considering how our project started in the first place, as corny as it may sound. Primarily, Christian, Peter, and I still take up the mantle of lyrics and melody when we're all writing together. With the band name being Pool Salt, for the first few songs we wrote together, we would always try to mention water in some way - I think writing during the summer influenced that a ton, we wanted all of our originals to have a bit of a "Summer-y" vibe to them.
What are your musical influences? Everyone in the band has a fairly eclectic taste in music
Between the six of us, you'd find a healthy mix of punk, bluegrass, jazz, metal, alternative, and pop in our playlists. I [Devin] personally gravitate to a lot of Nina Simone, FIDLAR, Cage the Elephant, and Sufjan Stevens.
Do you have any recordings out? We released our two debut singles, “Treading Water” and “Summertime,” on Halloween of this year! They are available, quite literally, wherever you listen to music; Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube Music, Amazon Music and Roblox We were so proud of what we put out, we wanted it to be available everywhere!
Where can people find you online? We can be found on Instagram under the username @poolsalt.band!
Do you have any upcoming shows? As for shows, we don't have anything concrete planned just yet, but we are talking to a couple local venues about possible gigs, and are actively searching for shows to play Follow us on our Instagram so that you don't miss our upcoming show announcements, and send us an email at poolsaltband@gmail.com if you're interested in having us play!
ANOTHER SHADE OF HATE
Who are the members of Another Shade of Hate?
Anthony Welch - vocals
Tim Mako - guitar
Todd Morrison - drums
Tom Davis - bass
Phil Purstell - keyboards
When and how did the band come together?
Tim: Our original drummer Nick Smith and I wanted to reform our metal band after the implosion of our band Head Trauma and had been working on new material. We were going to local shows together a lot and saw Anthony doing vocals at 32 Bleu with The Dub Project. I had mentioned to Nick that we should see if Anthony aka A-Dub would be interested. At some point, Nick was working on some recording work with Anthony and showed him the stuff we were working on, and he liked it and was indeed interested. Kinda snowballed from there.
Anthony: I was in the midst of a six-month break of not being in a band That’s the only time since that I’ve taken a break. I had met Nick at Guitar Center, and we started working on recording some solo material I had. He kept showing me these songs he and a friend were working on. I dug the tunes, but not being that experienced of a vocalist at the time, I didn’t feel I was good enough for the music they were writing. But, they persisted, and it all came together. Our first show was at the Black Sheep in 2005
For the past 10 years or so, we’ve only gotten together for the occasional reunion shows. We stopped being a “fulltime” band years back Everyone had other projects going on, but whenever we reunited, it was like we never missed a beat. It had been around three years since we last performed together until this past summer. We reunited for, what was to be, one show, but we had so much fun, we have kept booking shows. We have plans to record three “new” songs (that were written years back, but never recorded). It’s a revitalization of sorts - playing in front of new and different crowds, making the occasional new fan.
How would you describe your band’s sound?
Todd: Symphonic death groove!
Anthony: We have also jokingly called it Sweet Hard Rock for years. Years back, when I worked as journalist, I interviewed an older musician and mentioned I played in bands I told him it was heavier music, and he said, “So like hard rock.” In my mind, I thought,”Yes, sweet hard rock.” Thus, that mantra was born!
Where did the band name come from?
Anthony: I had an ex-girlfriend who had really beautiful green eyes. One time, when she got mad at me, I told her, “You have really beautiful eyes, but when you’re angry they turn another shade of hate.” I wasn’t in a band at the time, but I scribbled that name down on a notebook. And it came in handy when I met these guys.
What are each member’s musical influences?
Phil: Amon Amarth, Steel Panther, Megadeth, Toto, America and whatever Tim makes me listen to!
Tim: My musical influences are Megadeth, Megadeth and Megadeth.
Tom: Katatonia, Caskets, Leprous, Sleep Token. Todd: Death, Mr. Bungle, Jethro Tull, Acid Bath.
Anthony: Pantera, Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, God Forbid.
Do you have any recordings out? We recorded our self-titled, full-length album in 2011. It’s available to listen to or purchase at: http: anothershadeofhate.bandcamp.com/album/another-shade-ofhate
Any memorable show highlights?
Phil: My favorite memory is from The Black Sheep opening up for Mushroomhead. It was sold out. The energy from the crowd was positively unreal. Never felt so uplifting with amazing friends in the band and by the audience before. It was intoxicating. I'm blessed being part of this band. Oh yeah, and hail Satan!
Tom: My favorite moments with this band are all of them, because it's always good times with good friends.
Anthony: Back when we were a full-time thing, we were very fortunate to get asked to open for a handful of nationals at The Black Sheep, including Bleeding Through, Nonpoint, Oceano and Fear Factory and Five Finger Death Punch. My favorite was a soldout show opening for Static X. The energy was phenomenal! Looking out to a sea of devil horns in the air and heads bangingit’s those little moments that make me not want to stop performing.
Where can people find you online? Bandcamp or Facebook.com/anothershadeofhate.
Any upcoming shows? We’re just coming off a great show at Sunshine Studios Live on Nov. 1. We have another show in the works there in the New Year. Stay tuned!
