Les Paul Issue

Rock

Pop

Country

Blues

BRokEN REcoRDs

New

Issue 2

Metal Orleans

Jazz

Fest

page 51

mAGAziNE

Buddy Guy

Chuck Wicks

Chickenfoot Disturbed Jessie James

Fall Out Boy

All American Rejects

Push Play

t a v w o e n i n i v e inter ists and

v best art i s u l c x An e e of the with on

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e

im t r u o f ors o

Les Paul 1915-2009

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“

People are doing it for the love of money

Features

and not for the love of music.

You won’t find a blues guy doing that.”

-Buddy Guy

Departments Buzz Bands

62

A Day to Remember, Jessie James, Parachute and more

48

Local Spotlight

Crazy Greg aka Pooh Bear and Push Play

26

Show Reviews 51

Gavin Rossdale, In This Moment, Steve Martin, David Cook, Chickenfoot and more

CD Reviews

78

Green Day, Taking Back Sunday, CKY, Kelly Clarkson, and many more

“I think it’s great therapy to have a reason to get up and carry on

rather than to lay back, shrivel up, and dry out.”

Issue Two 2009

-Les Paul

Also Inside Burn Halo........................8 Theory of a Deadman...21 Aiden............................46 Endless Hallway..............8 Safetysuit.......................6 Tiger City......................46 All American Rejects.......9 Disturbed......................32 Thriving Ivory.................11 Eyes Set to Kill................7 Clutch...........................28 RyanStar.......................10 Les Claypool.................12 Coheed and Cambria....47 Katie Armiger..................23 Dope.............................12 Sum 41..........................22 Carters Chord.................23 Static-X.........................20 Cradle of Filth...............40 Chuck Wicks......................24

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JOE TROHMAN

F A L L

mAGAziNE

O U T

Brian Dawson: Owner/Photographer/ Interviewer/Editor in Chief

B O Y

Scott Vollweiler: Owner/Photographer/ Writer/Interviewer/Editor in Chief

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38

T R I V I U M

Ann Reilly: Graphic Designer/Marketing Nicole Seblano:Editor Jill M. Bendar: Phographer Kristin Tully: Photographer/Writer Contributers:

Michael Musacchio, Danielle Portera, Kyra Kverno, Victoria Barone, Adrienne Nardone, Michael Wooldridge, Salvatore Spurge, Thomas Ferraro, Allie Beth, Alicia Gallagher, Sabina Mamedover, Michael Marciuliano, Joe Penacchio

From The Owners:

Check out our extended digital version at

America was born on innovation. We knew our limits and pushed the boundaries; we raised the bar for the next generation. We built airplanes, automobiles and created the greatest music. In almost every facet of music, we hear an electric guitar. It has become the instrument of choice for many music fans. Yet we need to realize that it is less than a century old; violins, pianos and drums are much older. Many music fans have heard of the Les Paul guitar but most have no idea that it was created by the guitar’s namesake. When I was given the opportunity to sit down with the man who basically changed music, I literally jumped out of my chair in excitement. It’s so rare that you get to speak to someone who is a humble, sweet and genuine person. Besides being the father of the electric guitar, Les Paul also built the effects and multi-track recording platforms for which the entire recording industry is built upon.In this issue we try to focus on artists who have succeeded in being innovators in their genres. These innovators include blues legend, Buddy Guy; metal band, Trivium; pop band, Fallout Boy; and a festival that is known around the world as the greatest jazz festival, Jazz Fest.

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Candice Rose Wanca: Staff Manager/ Photographer/Writer/Interviewer/ Graphic Designer

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This issue’s bonus content includes interviews with Korn, Funeral for a Friend, 3 Doors Down, Third Eye Blind, Coheed and Cambria, Sum 41 and more!

All photos and logos depicted in this magazine are the sole porperty of the designated artist and/or their respective record label/promotional company, unless otherwise noted.

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A Day Off In Nashville

By Anne Reilly

was moaning. I woke up screaming. I’ve never been more scared in my entire life.” I checked out the video, it’s hilarious, and ends with “So lesson be learned, check your bathtubs before you go to sleep, SafetySuit may be hiding there.” It’s the real moments, those raw moments, that always make things more interesting.

Besides all the touring, SafetySuit has also been on VH1’s Top 20 Countdown for their video “Someone Like You”, they were showcased as a Billboard Featured Artist in the Fall of 2008, they’ve had multiple songs featured as soundtracks for the hit MTV show “The Hills,” which has also lead to SafetySuit’s continuously collecting votes on MTV’s Soundtrack.MTV.com, where MTV fans can vote for their favorite MTV show’s soundtracks, in this case, “The Hills” (you can cast your vote at http://soundtrack.mtv.com/ profile/safetysuit).

Since the band’s inception in 2002, Myspace has been huge in building their fan base, especially in the Nashville area. Myspace also helped the major label Universal Motown Records to take notice and sign the band. “We stay in touch with all of our fans through Myspace, Facebook, and we’re all on Twitter now. We use every avenue possible so we’re able to stay in touch with our fans because that’s who we’re making the music for. They’re the reason that we have the ability to stay out there, doing what we’re doing, writing more music, and we owe our success on the road to them. Anything we can do to show that we appreciate our fans and give them access to our daily lives, we’ll gladly do it. We want them to experience more than just a song, more than just an album.”

The band’s a huge fan of Bono and U2, and Jeremy has a message for Bono: “I just want to shake Bono’s hand and say ‘Thank you for what you’ve done for my life and for the rest of the world.

On behalf of the world, Bono, thank you.’”

“It’s our first day off in about two months,” states Jeremy Henshaw, bassist for SafetySuit. He’s in a really good mood, enjoying a day off in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, with the other members of SafetySuit, Doug Brown (guitar and vocals), Dave Garofalo (lead guitar), and Tate Cunningham (drums). For the past two months, they’ve been on tour with Hinder, then Seether and Hoobastank. “It’s was a lot of fun, it’s the first set of arena tours for SafetySuit. Every site is really cool in its own way. The big arenas are incredible, the ten thousand seaters, you get a really big stage with lots of room to go crazy and jump around and have a good time. The smaller sites are really cool too, like the Hard Rock Live and the House of Blues, because everyone is packed in there real tight and close, the energy is just through the roof.”

This past Fall (2008) SafetySuit also toured with Puddle of Mud, RED, Seether, and Theory of a DeadMan. “Yeah, we’ve been hitting the road really hard this past year,” commented Jeremy. I laughed and told him “You’ve been hooking up with a lot of my favorite bands lately, it’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this interview.” Jeremy agrees, “That’s so cool, it’s cool for us too.

We’ve gotten to play with a lot of bands that we’ve been fans of for a long really time. We all rocked out to “Kryptonite” in high school with our friends, and now we find ourselves backstage in a greenroom hanging out with 3 Doors Down, it’s just so surreal.”

Jeremy, Doug, Dave, and Tate have been friends for eight years or more, they’re like brothers, and everybody’s a prankster, always playing jokes on each other. Jeremy told me about a recent one, the video clip is on their Myspace page, called The Scare. “Doug and our tour manager, Mark DiChico, hid out in the bathtub of my hotel room for four hours waiting for me to come to the room and fall asleep. Then they army crawled out of the bathroom towards my bed. Doug was making monkey grunting noises, and Chico BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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E yes S et t o K ill Interview by Candice Wanca

BRM: How did you first get into music did anybody in particular influence you?

Alexia Rodriguez: When I was eleven, I was into a lot of pop music I really wanted to be a singer. I just loved singing. As I went through junior high and high school I started listening to darker music because I was going through a tough time and my parents were getting divorced and my friends...you know how it is in school sometimes people decide to not be your friends anymore because they’re just dumb and they have the cliques and stuff. I got into darker music because it meant more than just dancing.

BRM: Do you guys write when you’re on tour?

AR: Everything I wrote for Reach was really easy cause we already had songs that we took from the EP, that we put onto Reach and then the rest of the tracks we wrote when I was at home and having problems, it’s easier to write when you have problems to write about. For this album, we were on tour the whole time, so we’re on the road partying and having a good time and it was hard to write. I write songs about stories about our friends and problems that other people are going through. We have monster stories too, one is about a werewolf.

It sounds kind of funny but it’s about how everyone doesn’t accept the person that he is, people can relate to that. You really have to read into the lyrics to tell what the song is about. I wrote most of the stuff on Reach but this time we collaborated. I’m kind of a control freak I would get upset if anyone started writing a song without me but this time I let that happen and it made this second album a lot better than Reach.

BRM: Have the new songs been getting a good crowd reaction?

AR: Oh yeah, it’s pretty funny when any BrokenRecordsOnline.com

band plays a new song the crowd goes crazy but then they’ll stop a little bit because they don’t know how the song goes or when it ends. It’s funny when they keep dancing and the songs done. But I think they like it a lot. The new songs are on Myspace.

BRM: Speaking of which, I heard you guys booked your first tour through Myspace. Since your popularity has grown do you guys still take on that do it yourself approach or did you sit back a bit? Do you still try to interact personally with your fans on the site?

AR: We try to but its really hard when your on tour. Even though we have laptops with us now. Sometimes we’ll lose a cable, like Caleb just got a laptop and he already lost his power cable. We really try when were home to talk to everybody cause when we were younger and we wanted to talk to bands and we got a response sometimes you could tell its not even the band. I think we’re going to do more video tour updates on Youtube so we can stay in contact with our fans because it’s getting hard to keep up with people on Myspace. I get those messages where it’s like ‘you guys don’t talk to us anymore’ but it’s really hard.

BRM: The music videos you guys have made, did you have any part in the concept?

AR: They asked me what I wanted to do, my own interpretation of the song. I couldn’t really think of anything except what I want the colors to be. I couldn’t think of a story line cause when I think of story line, I think of a huge dramatic thing where there’s no way for us to be able to pay for it. When I listen to my ipod and I close my eyes, I think way too much into it and I forget we have a limit.

I can’t wait until we can just go all out. It kind of makes me sad that we can’t portray 7

exactly what’s in my mind. Artists should have a say in what their doing and what they want people to see when they hear their song.

BRM: Do you guys have any pre show rituals or warm ups before you go on stage?

AR: I keep trying to get everyone to do one, I always see bands do it, if you have a sh*tty day or if you just broke up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, sometimes you don’t even want to go on stage and I think that’s why we have a ritual. That way we can focus our energy together and walk on stage with that. It sucks when you’re playing and they’re there for you and you want to put on a good show but you’re just thinking about how your grandma yelled at you.

BRM: What has your biggest obstacle been so far as a musician?

AR: When we were writing our last album I had writers block for the first time, really bad, I felt like I needed to get out of the state or something because I couldn’t think of anything I was totally frustrated then our manager wanted me to write with a friend.

It was a totally poppy song and the whole time I was thinking ‘oh my god, this is not going to work’. He came up with this vocal melody and I was trying to change it to make it more like my own stuff and he didn’t want me to and I was like ‘I can’t do this’ and I felt so bad after and I apologized.

We were recording at ?? and Brandon was playing piano and it was really pretty like a concert piece and then I just started writing, it was really weird I was writing about how people are trying to make me be something I don’t want to be and all this stuff came out of me that I didn’t even know that I had in me. So even though it was the worst experience it turned into the best because it’s now what’s going to be our first single.

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tion, Neil who’s playing with David Cook, Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. It just felt like more of a band effort. I met our bass player Aaron when I was in Tulsa making the record. I met our guitar players Joey and Allen through a mutual friend.

Our drummer I met through another friend so that’s pretty much how our band came together. We shot a video back in October, our first tour started in December. We have a couple months under our belt.

BRM: How can you compare being the front man in Eighteen Visions to Burn Halo? Do you have more creative freedom now?

JH: As a songwriter I have complete Photo by Scott Vollweiler creative freedom, it’s great. Before, Interview by Candice Wanca we wrote songs as a band somewhat.

It was more like I was handed bits of music that were completely finished, Broken Records Magazine: How was burn with very little wiggle room for vocals. So I halo formed? was basically building all the vocals around James Hart: Basically when Eighteen Visions guitars and drums, it didn’t make, what I feel, split up in 2007 I was given a record deal after for the best vocal production on records. But a meeting with Zack Maloy (formerly of the when you’re in a band and you have three main band the Nixons). I wrote and recorded the album from May of ‘07 until June ’08. Originally songwriters there’s going to be compromises.

You’re going to have to give up some of your I was going to do this thing as a solo artist but ideas, people are going to have to deal with the the more the songs grew, the more featured infact that you’re not going to completely get strumental parts were added, I felt it was more what you want out of every song. With that in something band would release. The type of mind, when I started to sing(for burn halo) I players I had record on the record, they’re all members of different bands; Daniel Adair from wanted to build everything around the vocals. I wanted them to be first and foremost and then Nickelback, Chris Chaney from Jane’s Addic-

WALKING THE

BRM: Tell me about the name Endless Hallway.

Ryan Jackson: It’s really more of a visual. I wanted people to get a picture in their mind when they heard it and it just sounded cool. It’s this kind of infinite on going space and I’m an artist so I wanted something that conceptualized our goals as a group.

Photo and interview

by Kristin Tully BrokenRecordsOnline.com

build the guitar bass and drums around that. I was able to do that this time around, build the songs from the ground up on acoustic guitars.

I wrote fifty percent of just about every song with Zack. It’s just a much better experience for me as a songwriter. I feel like this has a much more natural and organic feel to it on stage. In Eighteen Visions sometimes I felt we were trying to create this image that would appeal to a certain fan base and that was one of the aspects of the band I wasn’t completely stoked on. I wanted something that had a more raw, natural feel to it. I learned a lot from Eighteen Visions and it was definitely a big part of my life and it taught me a lot about being in a band and the music industry and I made a lot of great friends and had a great time making those records and touring but I just feel like this is a better representation of who I am and what I want to do musically.

BRM: I see your former band mate Keith (Barney) is featured on the record but he is not an official member.

JH: I maintained a friendship with all the guys in the band(Eighteen Visions). You’re referring to the song “Falling Faster” which I wrote with him. I love the entire progression of the song.

Keith came to a crossroads in his life where he felt like he wanted to do music and he loved playing shows but he wasn’t totally satisfied with being on tour. It got rough for all of us and I think he’s much happier being home and being able to write. He was definitely the creative flame in the band.

I heard in my head and materialize that and hopefully when you listen you get a picture of how it all works as an album.

BRM: Well if you could have a free day to do what you wanted on this tour, what would you do?

RJ: I’d definitely like to explore more of our culture within the U.S. That’s one thing we really haven’t been able to do.

We’ve been through a bunch of cities but I’d like to be able to really see the culture and history in different States.

BRM: So what’s next for Endless Hallway?

RJ: Hopefully we’ll just keep moving forward and achieving a higher level as artists, keep pushing ourselves and hopefully we’d love to be a part of those bands that have made it past disposable rock, bands like Metallica, U2, Motley Crue have endured. All those bands are influences to us and if we could be considered in their company one day that would be amazing!

BRM: The progression of the songs on the album is really interesting, was that something organic or premeditated?

RJ: That was definitely planned. As a visual artist I like everything to have a meaning and to physically fit in a certain place. So, when we were writing I think with each song we tried to make it almost like a story. I tried to take what MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 8

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THE ALL AMERICAN REJECTS It has been almost seven years since the All-American Rejects’ burst onto the music scene with their infectious hit single “Swing, Swing.” That same year AAR celebrated the release of their self-titled debut album. According to guitarist Mike Kennerty, the All-American Rejects’ demo almost did not make it to production. “Doghouse had seen the demo and thrown it away. The fourteen-year old sister-in-law of the guy who owned the label would take home all the thrown away demos and she really liked that one and brought it back to them.” Even after that fairytale scenario, the band’s album did not fare as well as the band had hoped. “Swing, Swing” was moderately successful but the record garnered no other hit singles for them. The All-American Rejects found themselves back in the studio and ready to prove themselves to their label once more.

Interview by Danielle Portera Photos by Scott Vollweiler

Broken Records Magazine: Your third album just was released in December. Could you tell me a little bit about that one, what was the creative process around that record?

Mike Kennerty: This one it was for When the World Comes Down. We didn’t have the pressure that we felt from the label last time with “Move Along” cause they were all still so excited about how well “Move Along” did and they kind of just like you ‘guys are gonna do great whatever you do it’s gonna be fine.’ So we were coming up with these songs and like having to write way quicker cause we’d taken a longer time touring and there was the pressure to get something out cause it was going to be like another year if we didn’t work really fast. We were kind of just getting songs done and not really seeing them through to the finish product but just kind of getting the skeletons together and going on to the next thing. We weren’t sure what we were coming up with was any good. We were kind of freaking ourselves out cause we had this batch of songs and we even started doing them in the studio and still not feeling a hundred percent about them.

We kind of drove ourselves insane a little bit. And working with Eric Valentine who is an amazing producer, he helped us a lot BrokenRecordsOnline.com

and at the same time the way he works it’s almost like a solo effort so it takes a lot longer to record. And we recorded a bunch of it on tape rather than digitally and so the process was longer which gave us more time to think ‘is this any good’ and drive ourselves even more insane. So by the end of the process, literally up until the last day of mixing, we were kind of unsure about the record. So we’ve since had a little bit of time to step away and now were like, ‘Alright we’re stoked by the way it turned out.’ It needed all this process and all this stuff to get to where it was. But, definitely this was the most maddening record for us.

BRM: Well, I think the madness kind of paid off because you guys got a number one hit with “Gives You Hell”.

MK: Yea, that’s sort of blowing our minds.

We can’t believe that.

BRM: How do you guys feel about that.

It’s your first number one am I correct?

MK: Yea, I don’t know if any of us even thought we’d be a band after seven years of doing this let alone like still reaching a new height with our band. It’s just amazing. We’re loving it; just enjoying it.

out?

MK: We were in Australia I believe. And we weren’t going back to the States for another two weeks. So we found this out and we weren’t even home to enjoy our first U.S. #1.

Broken Records Magazine: What artist alive or dead would you like to collaborate with?

MK: Well I know collectively as a band there’s very few bands that all of us appreciate. But, one of them is Queen so we would love to do anything, I mean obviously Freddy Mercury is gone but we respect everyone in that band so Queen definitely would be incredible.

BRM: What are you currently listening to? What are you liking these days?

MK: There’s this band called The Parasites that I’ve listened to since I was like thirteen, fourteen They’re this pop-punk band that I used to love and then they’ve kind of gone away for like ten years and then suddenly just put out a new album and I happened to see it the other day in the store and was like “that’s weird.” And I got it and it’s fantastic, one of the best things they’ve ever done. So, I was pleasantly surprised by that, it’s called Solitaire.

BRM: Where were you when you found MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 9

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By Danielle Portera Photos By Scott Vollweiler If there is one artist who has taken 2009 by storm and claimed it as his own, it is definitely Ryan Star. R.Star, as he’s also known by fans, kicked off the year by joining David Cook on the road for the Declaration Tour. Coming on the heels of the tour, which has stops at major universities all over the United States, is Ryan’s highly anticipated album appropriately titled 11:59. Time is a central theme for the album which includes tracks named “Right Now” and “This Could Be the Year.” Another single off the album, “Brand New Day” is now the theme song to Fox’s new hit series “Lie To Me.” “This Could Be theYear” has also been featured in spots promoting the NFL and the NBC series “Kings.” Also, new single “Last Train Home” has been garnering considerable radio airplay.

Ryan Star, born and raised in Long Island, New York, had a passion for music at an early age. At just fourteen years old, a young Ryan formed the band Stage with three of his childhood friends. While its members were still in high school, Stage performed at clubs all over New York City including the legendary CBGB’s. After Stage dissipated amicably, Ryan decided to find

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his voice as a solo artist. Ryan explains that he “sat at a piano and just started playing.” The end result was his 2005 self-release Songs from the Eye of an Elephant. Staying true to himself, Ryan decided to keep all twenty tracks recorded for the album. He titled the work Songs from the Eye of an Elephant due to his belief in the animal’s wisdom. Soon after the release, Star became a contestant on the CBS television show “Rock Star: Supernova,” which was produced by Tommy Lee. Star quickly became a fan favorite and was dubbed “The Darkhorse” by Dave Navarro. Ryan ultimately did not win the competition but looks back fondly on his time with the show and feels that the outcome “was for the best.”

Ryan’s passion for music and love for his fans gives him the ability to connect with his audience at every live show. Star keeps his fans updated on his career and day-to-day life by blogging on his official website www.rstar.net. He documents everything from exciting tour stories to a routine dentist’s appointment further allowing his fans to enjoy the journey with him. Living in the present moment and the ever-evolving journey are two things Ryan Star seems to relish almost as much as he does making music.

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v uTHRIVING uIVORY v q

Broken Records Magazine: How did you get into music?

Drew Cribley: My brother actually got me playing music when I was twelve. I started playing bass and we started playing in a band together, so I have him to thank. I was really into hard rock, that’s what I got into when I first started playing.

BRM: Where does the band name originate from?

Drew: The band name originated from brainstorming. Scott and Clayton were trying to come up with a name, they were writing down a bunch of words.

BRM: It’s a cool name, I figured it was a reference to pianos.

Drew: I think it did. It comes from describing the sound.

BRM: I read that you guys got radio airplay before you were signed. How did that come about?

Drew: It was a DJ here in our hometown, San Francisco, who had been sent a demo of “Angels on the Moon” by our managers and he just flipped out over it which is really awesome. The next week at a meeting they decided to put it in full rotation and we didn’t even have an album at the time so we really started busting a** trying to put together a CD. BRM:You guys had an album you recorded on your own before the one released on Wind Up Records, were any of the tracks re recorded for the newer album?

Drew: We ended up doing the whole alBrokenRecordsOnline.com

bum at my house. The producer Chris manning brought his stuff over here and everything on the album is from that except “Hey Lady” and “Alien”. A few of the tracks when we got signed were remixed.

BRM: How can you describe the writing process?

Drew: It was written over five years,.

Scott is the main writer. The rhythm typically is that he will work on stuff on his own, we work on the chord progressions and lyrics and then we bring it to Clayton and have him sing it and make a demo at home. Then he sends it to the rest of us to hear. I have a studio setup here, so I start recording my parts to it and then we play it live. When we first started wed get in a room together and jam and figure out where our parts went but I guess we’ve gotten a little more sophisticated about it.

BRM: Thriving Ivory was number one on Billboard Heatseekers, you were featured On Yahoo music “Who’s Next”, VH1’s You Oughta Know. Having all these acknowledgments, is there a goal you want to reach next?

Drew: I would love to attend the Grammys, much less be nominated, just to be surrounded by people you’ve looked up to for so long. I guess that’d be one. The long term goal is to be able to do this as a career not necessarily to be rich but bc this is what I want to do with my life.

band that we’re really proud of being in the Top 40. It’s kind of a big deal because you’re next to people you admired. It seems like they’re from another world so it’s kind of cool to be in that. There have also been shows that felt like crowning achievements. We did the Jimmy Kimmel show and to me doing a late show is like a stepping stone that we’re on the way. We played in Salt Lake City, it was the first time we went there and it was a sold out show thanks to a DJ who’s really into our music and it was twelve hundred people and you could tell a lot of people had the album. To have an audience like that in a place we never played before, singing along and getting really into it was an amazing experience.

BRM: Do you have a favorite song to play live or a song that seems to get the best audience response?

Drew: One of my favorites to play is “Long Hallway” because it’s got really high energy and it gets my blood rushing and audience response most is “Angels on the Moon”. “Hey Lady and “Twilight” seem to be favorites too.

BRM: Is there a band you hope to tour with in the future?

Drew: There are a lot of them. The typical answers would be U2 and Coldplay because they were huge influences, but even on a smaller scale, I’ve always wanted to tour with the band Aqualung. We all love their music and I think they’d be a cool band to play with; Maroon 5 would also be amazing.

BRM: What do you feel is your greatest achievement so far?

Drew: The greatest achievements as a MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 11

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Something about

One Dope Mother...

Frontman Edsel Dope is a self proclaimed “ jack of many trades.”

Originally playing the role of the drummer, he decided that he had to rely on too many people from that standpoint. He tells me a little bit about himself, “I’m kind of a motivated guy and I like to get stuff done and I realized I’d have to put too much faith in other people to make sh*t happen.

Fortunately enough I was blessed with enough of the ability to get the job done.”

Motivation is key if you’re going to leave

By Candice Wanca home as a teenager to pursue a life in the music business. “I was never afraid of hard work. I was never afraid of long hours and saving my money and using that to promote my band or using it for my rehearsal space. It was always a priority and making money was the number one thing to do, but all the money I made went into the band and I think it all kind of wrote itself.”

I asked how he felt about one of the bands more popular songs “Die Motherf***er, Die” being used by the U.S. military to interrogate Iraqi POW. “It’s pretty f***ing nutty, right?” he asks me. “…It’s like, you get your boots, your dog tag, and you get a copy of “Die Motherf***er, Die”. I can’t even imagine being in those guys shoes but then I later learned there was a study done and how they were using music to interrogate POWs and that was one of the songs and I was very surprised to learn that my voice was being used to extract information from people. I never thought I’d have that kind of an effect.”

Edsel explains that the bands fifth and latest album No Regrets builds upon the sound that built their fan base. “I think the one key thing we tried to do was focus on the musicianship a little bit more…let the guitar player really rip on this record…while keeping the simplicity of the hooks and those kinds of things together. I think every album you set a goal and that was the goal on this one, to keep the sound but smarten it up.” The band definitely reached their goal as No Regrets is the best selling Dope album to date.

He shows off another one of his talents as a producer for the record (which he has done for every album except for 2001’s Life.) “It would be exciting to find a producer that would have the same passion or would put the same pressure on it that I would. I just haven’t met that guy yet. I’m the one who’s never satisfied and I feel like that’s the job of the producer. Any producer I’ve ever worked with was happy far before I was.”

What is it that keeps Dope fans coming back for more? “I think our live show is extremely entertaining. People love to get away from their normal life and get away and party with us and have a good time. I think that’s the number one thing that’s kept us alive and I think the records are solid and people dig it.”

“The bass just so happens to be the creative outlet that I chose to use to pick out of the box. If I played a guitar, it would be similar to the sounds I make on bass, just with different timbres.”

In less than thirty words, Les Claypool sums up the one of the golden realizations of creating

By Sabina Mamedova music: you are what you are. The world renowned bass player and the various outfits he has gowned over the past two decades – including Primus (which, as has been revealed “…has no current plans for activity.”), The Flying Frog Brigade, and his newer solo efforts – have always seemed to appeal to dead head leftovers, stoners, school rejects, and users of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Not to corner one of the pioneering post-grunge rock groups, but there is more in connection with their fan-base than some obvious prejudices.

On Les Claypool’s new album Of Fungi and Foe, released this past March, the often off-kilter and slap happy sounds are in full effect, this time bowing exclusively to the elusive cowshit crops of wonder. Selections from the record were originally intended for a mushroom related videogame and a horror movie about marijuana field guarding pig; the title of the record is a subtle but obvious reference to the original works.

Similar to the way the drugs affect their users “I feel like I’m constantly growing as a musician, and that doesn’t always apply to the bass…I feel like I’m growing as a vocalist, engineer, producer,” said Les Claypool in an exclusive interview for our decorated publication.

He’s obviously learned a lot about himself as a musician and the musicians around him through his experiences on tour. When asked about a jazz tribute gig recently, Les Claypool mentions the musicians’ appearance onstage. “As soon as he touched the keys, you just knew it was the right experience coming out of his fingers.” Being the monstrous touring musician that he is, it’s really hard to not learn things at a quick pace, and only a true veteran should be able to hear out when something is working or not.

Les Claypool also has a sweet tooth for all kinds of jazz. Just in case it isn’t obvious, “I never had any lessons; pretty much self taught. I got into a lot of jazz bands when I was a kid and learned a lot of traditional methods, but by the time someone had told me ‘You know, you’re holding your hand incorrectly,’ I was like ‘Dude, it’s a little too late for that… I spent a long time trying to play it.”

The kids seem to be joining in on the fun as well. Claypool states “My son plays slide on the new record. He’d come into the studio and I ask him to do different things and his slide track made the record. To them it’s like helping dad work on the tractor or something.” Some would beg to differ, but when your someone like Les Claypool, the relationships you tend to make with things are most often askew.

Let’s just hope they don’t pick up on the drug references too early.

Les Claypool

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Green River O Broken Records Magazine: I hear you guys became musicians at a young age. Who or what exactly got you into music? Was there a particular person, event, or artists that influenced you?

Green River Ordinance: Well you see, all of us got separated from our parents when we were babies. After being in a foster home for years, we escaped and starting living on the street. In order to make ends meet, we became street performers for our accepting, yet militant boss, nicknamed “Wizard.” Fleeing from the Wizard, we ran to find hiding in a local church. We were quickly accepted as they noticed our love for music. They urged us to start attending Julliard. Following their guidance, we went to the prestigious music school as young children, therefore expanding our music influences before composing our first rhapsody to be played in Central Park. Little did we know, this is where we would meet our biological mothers and fathers for the first time, as we were all joined by following the music. No, haha. We did all play at early ages. I started out playing drums because my dad does. Josh started playing country music because his dad does. Geoff and Jamey’s dad was a “Dead Head” and plays harmonica. They both started playing together at thirteen and fif-

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teen. Denton, well he was just born to play the drums. So our families have played a huge part! They have all been very influential and extremely supportive of our decision to play music.

BRM: How did you end up opening for Bon Jovi in 2006?

You played in front of a huge crowd of about 20,000 people.

Was that your first experience in front of such a group? Was it nerve wracking?

GRO: It was all part of a contest that Mix 102.9, a local radio station, was putting on. We submitted into the competition and after lots of people voting, we ended up winning. It was definitely our biggest show to date by far. When we got there, the sound team was blaring Lyle Lovett to test the system. We just stood in the middle of the 20,000 capacity room and got a bit nervous. It was a great show though; Bon Jovi fans rule!

BRM: Do you have a favorite band that you toured with so far?

GRO: Wideawake was the first band to take us on tour when we were younger and we love those guys! Also, we went on our tour with Collective Soul, which was awesome! That’s another group

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Ordinance of great dudes that we’re big fans of.

BRM:Any bands you haven’t toured with that you’d like to in the future?

GRO: Hm, let’s see U2, Tom Petty, Third Eye Blind. Can it be anyone? Sigur Ros, Matchbox 20.

BRM: Why the name Green River Ordinance? Where you guys bothered by unsolicited salesmen at your door that frequently?

GRO: Haha, well the name was conceived at an early age. There was a sign in a garage where the guys practiced at the band’s start. It said “Green River Ordinance Enforced.” No one knew what it meant, but thought it sounded cool.

BRM: Your new album was released in February, how do you compare it to 2005’s The Beauty of Letting Go and what do you anticipate as far as album sales what with the condition of today’s music industry and our economy?

GRO: Well, “The Beauty of Letting Go” was done whenever we were in high school. We had a lot more time devoted to writing for this record and we’re really proud of the songs. As far as sales and

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Interview by Candice Wanca Photos by Lindsay Shapiro

the economy go, we’re really hoping that people just don’t buy gas or medical insurance and buy our CD instead.

BRM: Any crazy or funny tour stories you’d like to share?

GRO: Yes, so we use priceline.com to book our hotels. (William Shatner, we love you.) Anyway, when you book a hotel on priceline you have no idea what to expect. I happened to book the majority of the hotels on this past tour. However, we found that priceline happens to like strange conventions of sorts. When we were in Vienna, VA we stayed at a hotel that was hosting a cheerleading competition. There were probably three hundred girls from the ages of eight to eighteen and we were the only young guys staying at the hotel. So when we walked into the lobby it felt a bit like we were prey walking into a lions den. Equally as frightening was our hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. We rolled into the parking lot and saw little dog bumper stickers on all of the cars. We also saw lots of vanity license plates with dog references. When we got into the lobby, we realized that hotel was full of Westie show dogs. Nothing against show dogs, or people who show them, but I couldn’t help thinking of the movie “Best In Show.” Did I reach my quota of priceline mentions? When do I get my check?

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FA L L o u t B O Y Interview by Candice Wanca

Broken Records Magazine: When did you start playing guitar?

Joe Trohman: I started when I was ten. I’m twenty four now and I guess at the time, some of the first songs I learned were parts of Jimmy Hendrix songs. I thought the guitar was cool and I learned from there. It’s weird, my influences then, some are the same like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses but I think I went through alot of different periods where I respected different guitarists; everyone from Billie Joe Armstrong to Greg Ginn from Black Flag. There’s so many different guitar players I try to pull licks from. I love Tony Iommi and Brian May. BRM: I heard you’re the founder of the band, is that correct? How did the band form?

JT: I was a fill in member in a hard core band that Pete fronted and after that band was in the midst of disbanding I was trying to start my own heavy band and it wasn’t working out. I don’t think I knew what the f*ck I was doing as a musician or about starting a band. I was like sixteen,seventeen years old at the time and me and Pete were noticing the hard core scene in Chicago was crappy at the time. It went from being a positive environment to being a negative, thuggish environment and it wasn’t speaking to us anymore and we were shooting BrokenRecordsOnline.com

the sh*t and talking about bands like The Descendants that we really loved and how fun it would be to play in a pop punk band.

Patrick, I met by chance and I heard some music he did and I was like ‘this guy can sing’, but he didn’t want to sing, he wanted to play anything else. Andy we knew for a long time but he was doing three bands at once and we went through thirty drummers until we begged him to at least play on tour. We did one practice and it just felt right and he decided to join the band.

BRM: You have a Washburn signature guitar, what made you choose them and what makes that model yours compared to the others that they have?

JT: I was playing a lot of guitars, Gibson and Fender and whatnot and Washburn was the first company that hit us up in a transitional period where we were becoming a well known band but not so well known that guitar companies were just giving us gear. Washburn was like ‘hey we like you and your band and we’d love to give you a signature guitar’ and I jumped at the idea. I felt like I didn’t deserve a signature guitar but how could I pass this up?

I wanted to design a barebones guitar that looked nice, kind of like my two favorite guitars that I own. They’re these custom Les Paul and a black beauty Les Paul. I 16

wanted to make something that sounds really good straight off the shelf, has good hardware and is kind of indestructible. I used to break a lot of guitars. I think now as I’m getting older and were experimenting with different things I’m getting into experimenting with other guitars but I really like my signature guitar. It’s got some good tones and I really like playing it.

BRM: Did you have complete creative freedom?

JT: They gave me a lot of freedom. I guess it’s because it was my first time designing a guitar I didn’t really know what to do, so I went with something simple and classic and I wanted to offer something that wasn’t that expensive because I know our fans want to get into the things that we do.

I wanted to offer something under five hundred. I wanted for them to make a solid nectar guitar but that usually costs more than a breakaway, but I think it sounds better usually. I was able to make that and keep it relatively cheap. I’m playing the same thing on stage that people are able to go and buy.

BRM: The latest release, Folie a Deux… am I saying that right y the way?

JT: Yea actually none of us in the band can pronounce it.

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BRM: It means a psychotic delusion shared by two people?

JT: It’s basically the term that was created to describe, for instance, what Romeo and Juliet were. Crazy separately and together creating an even greater madness that was their own. We use that kind of in a metaphoric way. This record has a lot of social commentary on America’s unhealthy relationship with material possessions. We’re kind of trying to use a lot of the concepts within the record to hold up a mirror to society so they can maybe use it to reevaluate the things that are more important than the biggest most bada** car out there.

BRM: I read that Pete is the main lyricist but I’m sure everybody including you has their own role in the bands songwriting. Could you describe what the writing process was like for that album?

JT: This was actually one of the most collaborative that we’ve done in a long time.

BRM: I see you worked with a lot of different musicians.

JT: Well actually it was collaborative within the band. I’ll get to the guest stuff in a second because that’s something that created more tension than we meant it to Within the band, Pete will write his lyrics in a book and Patrick will take them to get inspiration to create music to surround those lyrics. He fits them into a melody, he’ll give the music to me and I’ll write my ideas over them and shape the song even more. I give Patrick a lot of stuff I write to work into the music as well. Then we bring it to Andy after that and he’ll fill in rhythm percussion wise. Everyone puts their own stamp on the song. As far as the guests go, the big ones that people focus on are Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry. We have these lyrics that we felt needed more authority. They needed somebody to sing them with an authority we couldn’t give to the lyrics. Who better than icons like Elvis Costello or Debbie Harry? The song that Elvis was on “What a Catch Donnie,” at the end we have this kind of we are the world recalling of old songs, friends from other bands that have been with us from the beginning until now, sung those lyrics BRM: I totally love how you guys did that by the way, that throwback to older songs, it’s one of my favorite songs on the album.

JT: Thank you very much, it’s one of our favorites too. When we started putting it toBrokenRecordsOnline.com

gether it really felt right, it was cool and fun to do. We had Little Wayne do the bridge on ”Tiffany Blews.” We really like what he does. It’s more of us as a fan of him, asking him to lend his ideas to that bridge, because we had the bridge written and all those parts. Patrick would record the way they’re supposed to be sung and then we’d give them to the people that we would like to sing them and they’d lend their own style.

Little Wayne took that a capella part and he did what little Wayne does which we were very happy with. The only true collaboration on the record was the song “w.a.m.s.,” where we got to work with Pharrell. He’s a genius and he’s a veritable textbook of music knowledge. It was a different experience, very laid back and we came up with one of the more out of the box songs that we’ve ever gotten a chance to make and I don’t think we would’ve been able to make it without working with him on it.

BRM: Was he also the producer of the album?

JT: Just on that song otherwise it was Neil. (Avron) BRM: With all those artists you collaborated with is there anyone you’d like to work with in the future?

JT: There’s always a list and ideas to work with people come up as were in the studio.

Personally there are people I’d like to work with but I don’t think it would be appropriate to do within Fallout Boy, so I’d like to do it outside the band. I’ve been doing side stuff on my own just for fun but I think there’s so much focus that gets put on us being collaborators. We’ve always had friends and other artists on the records, since we made the album Take This to Your Grave.

I think to an extent it takes away from the fact that we get together and make songs as a band. People focus so much on that they keep asking who we’re going to collaborate with next because we do these remixes and everything. Every time we make a new record we look forward to collaborating with each other because each one of us is getting better and as a band it makes us better.

BRM: Obviously there’s a lot of great things about making it big in the music business but there’s a downside as well, how do you deal with your life being in the public eye?

JT: Well, personally I don’t get it as much.

Patrick gets it more because he’s the singer but he doesn’t even get it as much as 17

Pete does. As far as his take on it, you’d have to ask him. For me I guess, the thing that’s kind of weird, ever since I’ve been seventeen, I’ve been in bands that people somewhat paid attention to so I’ve always been in a position of scrutiny and I’m kind of an insecure guy (laughs). Sometimes it can be rough to deal with but as I get older I’ve learned what’s worth ignoring and what’s worth paying attention to. The older you get, hopefully, you lose your insecurities and be happy with who you are.

BRM: Why did you guys start the record label Decaydance?

JT: Again that’s something Pete started He wanted to put out somebody’s record. It’s not something that we do as a band, we support each others endeavors but Decaydance is something Pete started that’s his thing. Patrick is very interested in producing and he’s produced some of the bands on Decaydance.

BRM: Can you tell me about the Invisible Children foundation you guys support?

JT: Invisible Children raises money to build schools and put back into the future of children who are- this is going to sound cliché`who are the future of the people of Uganda.

They help the community and I think it’s really wonderful. They do a lot of filming to bring attention to people who are not aware of what’s going on.(Check out http:// www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php) BRM: You guys had wanted to break a Guinness world record and play on all seven continents but unfortunately the weather in Antarctica didn’t permit it. Ever think you’ll try a shot at that again?

JT: It’s one of those things where so much focus got put on it, especially after we kind of failed at it (laughs). We realized it was a cool thing to do at the time and if it worked it would’ve been fun and it kind of put some focus on the band but it’s not really what being in a band is about. I think if a cool opportunity comes up we might jump on it but we don’t have our hearts set on going for that again. It was the right place and the right time. It was just like guess what if you can go play in Antarctica you’ll be the first band ever to play all seven continents in less than nine months and we figured it would be a legacy but it didn’t work out. Maybe we can get a record for attempt at most hilarious failure.

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D oors d own

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Hometown

By Mike Marciuliano Photos by Scott Vollweiler BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Heroes

Brad Arnold, from 3 Doors Down, attributes his band’s massive world success to the fact that they have not forgotten where they are from. In our interview together Brad states that, “I thank God every day that I can consider this as my real job and that I can consider myself blessed to do music for a living.

It is truly amazing how a band can work together, especially after all the years that we have been a band and have been together. We have somehow managed to maintain the same lineup for fifteen years now and all of us in the band have known each other for around twenty-five years.”

Looking back now on their success, 3 Doors Down attributes their glorious music career to the fact they grew up in a small town. Brad states, “We are all glad that we have our roots in one spot. It doesn’t take long to realize that we can’t party forever, you know? I mean we’ve been touring for six or seven years and now we wanted to make a new record. We were very hungry and ready to start writing a new record, so we took a year off from our touring. All together it was a year process in putting the new record together and it was a really enjoyable experience. After all we recorded it in my house because the studio was too expensive and my house is much more convenient than any studio. I mean I believe it’s a more gaining experience and of course it is a lot cheaper.” However, not many bands have had much crossover success like the boys from 3 Doors Down. They have had two or three singles on the radio at the same time. “Which single becomes a single gets decided by other people. We just write the music and like what we write. I’m so thankful that we’ve been able to do the whole crossover thing, because we really try not to rule anyone out. Like why would I want to just be a mainstream band, for example, a mother and daughter can go to a show and both of them enjoy it.

We don’t cuss on stage, so a mother or father won’t have to worry about that kind of thing. I mean when do you see that a parent and their kid can go to a show and both enjoy the show?”

Their new album contains such songs as “Citizen Soldier” which was written with the military in mind, the National Guard in specific. “Well I wrote that song for a video,” says Arnold, “They approached us with an idea when we were writing the new record, and they wanted an ad to put in the movie theatres. We just jumped at the chance because we love to support our military in any way possible and we just wanted to say thanks. We wanted to show the future of the National Guard. I got on the phone with the colonel and he said what he wanted to hit on in the song. In retrospect, it came so natural, and was much easier to write that way. Sometimes the hardest thing about writing a song is finding something to write about. What is also funny about the song is that it is used music from another project from years ago and we just developed the idea. It turned out to be a great project and went very well. I am truly proud of it.”

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Los Angeles metal quartet, Static X, has pulled out all the stops and went back to the basics on their new album, Cult of Static. The album gets its name from their loyal fan base and how it is seemingly like a cult at times. It has been ten years and counting since the band released their first album, Wisconsin Death Trip, and nearly fifteen years since the band was formed. The band likes to state, “It’s been a decade of evil disco!”

Static X has had to overcome many lineup changes, including a former guitarist being arrested for kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl. When asked how he has dealt with line up changes over the history of his band, vocalist and guitarist, Wayne Static, states, “Its really not as big of a deal as people make it. I mean I do 99.9% of all the writing myself anyway. It’s really like my project. It’s kind of like Al Jourgensen is Ministry. He’s had numerous band members, and every tour it changes, but its still Ministry, still sounds like Ministry. It’s just the same thing with us but it just so happens that the band members that we do have all have great stage presences and personalities, so it definitely looks like a real band rather than one guy and a bunch of back up players. Really though, changing out players is not a big deal for me. Tony (Campos, Bass) is the only guy that if I lost him I think it would change our sound because his voice is such a big part of the band as well.”

Cult of Static was released on March 17th and debut at number 16 on the Billboard 200. This marked the highest charting by the band since 2001’s Machine. “I wanted longer songs on this album,” says Static. “More keyboards, more build-ups and breakdowns because we haven’t done a lot of that since our first album. I got into my studio in January of 2008 and eventually finished the recording the album around November of the same year. As far as the writing process, I just sit here in my studio and start out with the drum machine, then I lay down the guitars and a few programs and build the song. I’ve always written by myself, it just seems to work out better that way.”

Oh, and metal fans, Dave Mustaine makes a guest appearance on the album. He recorded a solo on the track “Lunatic” after touring together throughout Australia. Wayne figured that it would be cool, “surreal” is how he describes the whole process. Wayne says that “Twenty years ago I was listening to Megadeth in my basement and now Dave is playing on my album. It’s pretty cool.” Along with that, Wayne just got an endorsement deal with ESP on a custom electric guitar called the Static 600. It is his second signature model and has a very distinct Flying V shape compared to the first model’s Explorer appearance. Wayne then continues to say, “It’s the same guitar I play on stage and its a f***ing awesome guitar.”

You can check out the lead single off the album, “Stingwray” on their Myspace. The song was inspired by the classic Corvette Stingray Wayne bought for his wife, former adult movie star, Tera Wray.

By Mike Marciuliano Photos by Scott Vollweiler

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BRM: The new album is much tighter and much more polished then the previous two albums. How did you approach the recording and the actual writing of the new album?

Tyler Connolly: Much the same as the other ones, we just spent more time on lyrics and made them the best we could. Particularly we've learned from our mistakes.

Our previous producers wouldn't let us go into the studio until all the songs are ready to go, whereas some producers would go in there with their bands and one or two singles and they’re like “okay”, and the rest of the album is just a "do over." We just made sure that we had every song on the record ready to go and that it sounded great so there was really not much left once we got into the studio. We recorded fourteen songs and there are thirteen on the record.

BRM: Did you guys have to do any special tricks on the record? Any special instruments that you leaned towards rather than others?

TC: It was all really straight forward.

We screwed around a lot with the guitars, different effects on the guitars, and stuff like that. Howard was really the only one, he plays the keyboard, he was the only one with the most experimental stuff.

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BRM: Where did the title of the record come from? (Scars and Souvenirs) TC: I don't really know, I came up with it at home. We were trying to figure out the name of the record and I just came up with it and texted it to the guys. The scars represent the bad, the break up songs and souvenirs being the good memories which was all an afterthought.

BRM: So far in the U.S. the album reached number one in the hard rock charts. “Bad Girlfriend” is number one in the modern rock charts. How does it feel to have number ones?

TC: Pretty awesome. This is the first record we had that has American number ones. We love what we do, but we didn't make the record and say ‘oh, this is going to be a number one’. We don't really have that outlook. The song “Bad Girlfriend”, we thought it might not even wind up on the record. I sang it last, we recorded the music and at first we were kind of like, ‘ya know we really didn't record this song, we’re pretty much just jamming out on a riff, but we wound up putting it on the record because we were all in love with the song. Then we started getting all this feedback on the 21

record and the next thing you know that was our single, and it all kind of blew up.

BRM: How has it been touring with Motley and Hinder? Any crazy, somewhat legal stories that you can think of?

TC: Well all of their groupies are all under aged. So I can't. No but seriously, it’s all been pretty cool. Nothing crazy happening. Tommy is next door he has his undressing room. He brings chicks and they come in and take off a piece of clothing.

It’s been terrific really. No crazy antics.

BRM: How have your fans been reacting, and have you been gaining a lot of new fans from the tour?

TC: Oh yeah, I mean normally we play in front of a really large audience. Which means it's a really large demographic, and also people who wouldn't normally come out to see us. Maybe Motley Crue because they have a lot of their hardcore fans coming up to the shows like girls and guys in their fourties and fifties. You know they come to see them and they see us first and they get a taste of our music, and they're like ‘I like these guys!’

BRM: Compared to something like last night, you guys played Starland Ballroom. It's small, intimate, it holds about 1,400 people compared to MSG. What do you prefer to play what are your pros and cons for both?

TC: The cons to playing the big stuff is there's a disconnection with the crowd, because it's so big.You hear them but you can’t see them with those spot lights on your face the whole time, so you pretty much just force yourself to just get into the show. The pro's are of course playing for the large audience, and the amazing sound. The smaller crowds are great because you can see the crowd, you can hear them, hear them singing along, you can see them sweating. That can really get your adrenaline pumping and make a great show sometimes. So there's a total connection with the smaller clubs.

BRM: How did you react the first time you heard fans singing back your songs?

TC: Pretty awesome. You have the whole stereotypical reason that guys start bands to pick up chicks-but it was never about that. It was about making music and having people love it and the best compliment to that is playing a song and having it sung back to you. It’s the best feeling.

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S UM 41 July 19th marked the last tour date of 2009 for Canada’s Sum41. It was nearly two years since their last studio release, Underclass Hero, when Broken Records Magazinne got the chance to have a chat with front man and rhythm guitarist Deryck Whibley. With intentions of writing an EP, the band came up with a surplus of material that will now be an LP instead. Deryck tells me, “I like these songs too much, they’re too good to not put out there.”

With already over a dozen songs written, the band will continue to work on the new album, but as far as a release date, Deryck didn’t have an exact date for me. They are still fine tuning the material they have come up with. “I’d rather not do a record than repeat a bunch of stuff we’ve done”, he explains.

I’m in my home studio. We’ve gone to this studio a couple times in LA but were kind of doing demo stuff, it’s not ready for the record yet In the meantime, they have released their first greatest hits CD, All the Good Sh*t:The Best of Sum 41 which encompasses the bands eight year career.

By Candice Wanca Photo by Kristin Tully BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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All in the Family

By Scott Vollweiler

On a “cold” Nashville day, Johanna, Emily and Becky Robertson, also known as Carters Chord, called us. As the spawn of Barny and Carter Robertson, members of the legendary Waylon Jennings band, they harmonious trio were almost destined to be Country music elite.

After just one listen of Carters Chord’s self-titled debut album, you may hear influences by Dixie Chicks, BB Kings style Blues, maybe even a little Carrie Underwood; that’s how great and diverse the record is. “We are inspired by so many styles of music,” Emily Robertson, middle sister of the trio, tells us. When asked about their main influences, of course their parents were listed but so were Black Crowes and Eric Clapton by Emily, Fiona Apple and other singer/songwriters by Johanna, the youngest sister, and the oldest sister, Becky is into more “traditional country,” like Randy Travis and Dolly Parton.

“I always felt we were doomed, but in

a good way, that we were going to make music our career,” Emily jokes. “We didn’t know if we would make music individually or as a group but we’re very happy that it turned out this way.” Being sisters on the road must be fun, but do they bicker on the bus? “Of course not,” they trio jokingly exclaimed. “This past summer we opened for Toby Keith on his tour, so there was eleven of us on one bus. Although we’ve grown up together our whole lives, it’s different when your living together in such close proximity. There are definitely times where we need our space.” (All laughing).

While the group is super talented, and quite good looking, they can also thank Toby Keith for their success. Toby signed the group to his Show Dog Nashville record label. Emily told us that “a few years back we had recorded a twelve song demo, almost a few album, and we passed around to anyone that would be willing to listen to it.

One day it fell into the hands of someone at

Up and coming teen country musician, Katie Armiger, has been pretty busy as of late. She just announced a tour of shopping malls, just like eighties teen pop star Tiffany. We caught up with Katie while she was out looking for a tour bus.

tina growing up. Also, Linda Ronstadt, and Patsy Cline. I’m really an eclectic person.

The ultimate goal writing the record was to be diverse. We didn’t want to have one direct theme.

BRM: How has it been being an independent artist rather than being signed to a major?

KA: Well there are definitely pluses and minuses being an indie. I have much more creative control over the music I release. I can get music out much quicker too. On the other hand, I may not get on the big tours or get as much radio play.

BRM: Your album is very diverse sounding. I can hear influences by Taylor Swift, Martina McBride and Miranda Lambert, especially on your single “Trail Of Lies.” Who were your influences?

KA: I did definitely listen to a lot of MarBrokenRecordsOnline.com

Toby’s agency who then passed it to Toby’s agent. Next thing I know, we’re getting a phone call saying that Toby Keith wanted to see us in a showcase. We were like ‘What!’

It was nothing that we expected. He came to see us play in this little bar in downtown Nashville one night and the rest is kind of history. We basically got off stage and he offered us a record deal right on the spot.”

“We’ve all written our whole lives,” Becky tells us about the writing process.

“Sometimes we will all get in the studio and maybe Johanna is sitting at the Piano and comes up with a melody or Emily will come up with a hook. It’s cool, being sisters, we are all like minded. We can sit there and go line by line and say who would sound good here and who would sing which harmony.” Emily added, “The album that we released last summer digitally, Toby and our father both produced it but our father did the vocal side of things. While we will create our own harmonies, it was fun having our father in there working with us.”

While each song on the album has a character of its own, “Summer, Early 60’s” is the biggest standout track on the disc.

“The song was written by our mother. It is auto-biographical. We were looking to add one more song on the album and mom pulled the song out. Originally, it was only a piece of art…it didn’t even have a chorus. When we were in the studio, Toby would call the song the ‘Witch Song’.”

BRM: So tell me the story behind “Trail Of Lies” and how you guys wrote the song.

KA: I went into the session with the line “Trail Of Lies” in my head. I don’t think I’ve ever been cheated on, but I’ve been on some really interesting and bad dates. I do have some friends that have been cheated on though. So we decided we wanted to write a song about cheating but it had to be empowering where we go after the guy and knock him down a few pegs.

BRM: Thanks a lot!

KA: (Laughing) Sorry! Guys have been scared after hearing that song. I don’t think I’ve been on a date since I released it!

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Chuck

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W icks Before he was a household name on the dance floor, Chuck Wicks was just a great Country music singer/songwriter. The Delaware born musician had been watching his singles, “Stealing Cinderella” and “All I Ever Wanted” rise up the Country music charts. His latest single, “Man of the House,” had just been released. Chuck had watched his stardom rise by touring the entire country opening for one of Country music’s biggest stars, Brad Paisley, on his Paisley Party Tour. Chuck was also announced to be apart of a new campaign for Dr. Pepper. If that wasn’t enough, the newly crowned ACM’s “Best New Artist”, Julianne Hough (his dancing partner on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars), is his girlfriend. Prior to the announcement that he was “Dancing With the Stars,” Broken Records had a candid conversation with singer. While it was a very personal and fun conversation, an annoying GPS wouldn’t shut up and Chuck “lies” to us about his time with “Jules.”

It’s eleven A.M. on a Tuesday morning, and my phone rings. On the other side of the phone is Country music star Chuck Wicks.

BRM: Hey Chuck. What’s going on?

Chuck Wicks: I just got out of a video shoot for Best Buy. It was great. It was all about being fifteen years old. It was for a campaign that they’re doing called “ACT15.” But listen to this. I couldn't figure out how to get my GPS to work. For Christmas Julianne (Hough) got me a GPS for my truck, and I couldn't get it to work.

I was putting in the addresses while I was driving…see the problem is, it lets you put it in, but it wont go through. Now I have to park to let it go through.

BRM: Okay well first off, I absolutely love the album. And out of all of the albums that I have heard recently, yours is definitely in the top five! How was the experience recoding the album?

CW: Fun. Stressful. It was a learning experience you know? It was great working

with my best friends as co-writers. It was fun because I got to see the songs that I had written years ago acoustically, turn into such a produced song (GPS goes off: turn left) and then to see it all come together was just amazing. But it took me forever because I have hundreds of songs that I had written over the years.

BRM: I noticed that you have an album full of all the songs that you yourself cowrote except for one of the songs. How does it feel to know that you had your hand in most of those songs? I mean most albums, ( left turn ahead) labels want big name song writers to write it.

CW: Let me turn this thing off. I finally get it to work and now it wont shut up. Working with the best song writers in the world, (GPS: take the second left) Oh man this is annoying! I don't even know how to turn it down! Okay, I got it. Working with the best song writers in the world and getting them to be apart of it isn’t where I came from. I wrote everything from country, pop, rock and R&B. I was just all over the map as a song writer because I wrote what I was feeling at the time. I mean really just listening is where I found out who I was as a writer.

After singing with these people I found out who I really was as an artist. Some of these guys helped me out a lot. I mean I would be thinking ‘yeah, I would say that’ or ‘I wouldn’t say that.’ All of these trial and error periods is where I found out who I was as an artist. Now its all these songs that I thought were great are now on the album and that’s what helped me get this record.

BRM: Have you started writing for the second album?

CW: I have. Lately I've been really heavy in the song writing and I've been with the same guys that I've been with for years. I started writing some pretty cool with Richard Marx. Writing with other artists is a pretty cool thing because a singer/song writer, artist song writer is cool because we think in a different way. We think about a good song, good lyrics and we also think what's going to make people jump up and down. That’s what an artists/song writer really thinks about. They're thinking more along the lines of this is what people are going to like, this is what the radio will

play or people will really like this in a live atmosphere. Its very cool writing with Brian McKnight or Richard Marx someone who has had hits on the radio.

BRM: I had read that you were writing over a hundred songs per year. How does writing come so easy for you? How do you approach each song? Music or lyrics first?

CW: The creative process is a funny thing.

It comes and goes. I just try and be ready for when it appears. I might be right there on the street, and it'll just pop up and I just have to record it on the phone. I’ll just start with whatever comes naturally to me. It may be a guitar riff or an opening line or a melody, or an idea. Someone might tell you a story that sparks an interest or you might go see a movie and you think that’s kind of cool. I might write a song about it. I'm not the kind of guy that says the melody comes first. It just pops into my head and I just have to be prepared for whatever comes out.

BRM: You've had a highly publicized relationship. How do you make it work when your on the road?

CW: Being in the same industry we understand if we have to go some place at the drop of the hat or if we have a meeting in the middle of dinner. We both understand the work ethic that it takes to make it in this business. She's gone for very long periods of time and so am I. But if either of us have time off, we definitely make the effort to be with each other. Actually, Jules is with me right now.

BRM: What should we expect from you in 2009?

CW: In 2008 we did over two hundred shows. In 2009 we’re going to try to come close or even do the same thing. “Man of the house” is hopefully going to be knocking at the charts. There's going to be a lot of places were going to get to as far as touring wise that we didn't get to go to as far as last year. We’ll get more fans and all that. We’ll get to play for an hour and a half rather than the twenty minutes we had last year. We’re going to improve our live act by start adding some staging. Behind the scenes, we’re going to be gearing up for the next record.

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L es P aul

I NTERVIEW B Y S COTT V OLLWEILER BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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It’s not everyday you get to sit down and talk to a legend. But earlier this year, I got to sit down and talk to Les Paul one on one before his weekly Monday night sets at the Iridium night club in New York City. In my years going to concerts and meeting my favorite musicians, rarely do I get star-struck. Les Paul is not only an icon but the man who single-handedly changed music; his invention of the solid body electric guitar has been a staple of rock bands since. Not only is the Gibson Les Paul one of the most popular guitars sold, it is also a prized possession on the vintage guitar market.

On June 8th, Les Paul turned ninety four years young. His live show still sells out, every week, every set. In this exclusive interview, Les Paul tells us about his take on the current music industry, how the world almost had a Fender Les Paul and his long line of famous friends.

Broken Records Magazine: What do you think of the music industry today?

Les Paul: I think they’re making progress, well the musicians are making progress, but I don’t think the music itself is making the same kind of progress. The business is kind of messed up because of the changes with the advancement of technology. So things change. Radio went out, television came in, and now television is going out and ipod in. We used to work like hell to make a great sound. The kind that we could make with an amplifier and speakers. Now we hand it to an ipod, and here it is with a worse sound, just great distortion. When everything is wrong, it’s perfect for them to run down the street, and it’s a bummer.”

BRM: How was the celebration that was held in your honor at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I heard that Slash said that he had a hard time keeping up with you during your jam session.

LP: (Laughs) Well...that’s a nice compliment but I don’t think that’s true. I think he was just saying that to be nice. It was a pleasure. He’s a good friend. The celebration went great.

BRM: Going back to the "Log Guitar," the original guitar, is there a story? What gave you the initiative to put a guitar together?

LP: It goes back to the very beginning when I was just a young kid. I’d take my mother’s radio and turn it into a PA system, with a battery charger and I'd sing into a telephone, build my own PA system and I was playing my harmonica singing country songs. And finally I was riding in the rumble seat of a car, and someone gave something to the car hop to give to me. A note, that said: "Red (what they used to call me) your harmonica is fine, your voice is okay, and your guitar is not loud enough. And I went home and I said to my mother, I’ve got to do something about the guitar, I’ve gotta make the guitar louder. So I took a piece of railroad track and put a string on it, took the receiver part of the telephone, and I took the string, and put it through the radio, BrokenRecordsOnline.com

and lo and behold it made sound. And I said I wonder what happened if you do this with a piece of soft wood. And the soft wood was pretty bad, so I said to my mother, the railroad track is the answer. She said to me ‘can you picture a cowboy riding a horse with a traintrack in his hands?’ And so she shot that down, so I had fooled around with wood because I knew that most everybody liked wood over plastic or metal. So I made the guitar out of wood, and I knew it had to be hardwood and it had to be dense, and it was a matter of going down that road, and I finally found that the best one was a four by four log and started that one up without the sides on it. It didn’t look like a guitar, it was just a four by four, and I played the four by four in a night club, it didn’t go over. And I said to them, ‘I’m going to put wings on this thing.’ Go back to sand club and see what happens, and it stopped the show. I was playing the same song, on the same guitar with the wings on it, and it looks like a four by four, so the people could hear with there with their eyes. How can you make this very personal. I had to design my guitar to be something to cherish. Something you couldn't wait to get home, throw on some old clothes and just relate.

BRM: How did you develop a relationship with Gibson?

LP: Well I went to them, and presented the log to them, and they laughed at it. They asked me where the pickups are. They thought it was a joke. Ten years went by, finally they called me and said, ‘would you mind bringing that thing in again?’ So I went in, and they said ‘what do you think should happen?’ I told them what I think should happen and we made an agreement to split it fifty fifty and make this into a solid body electric guitar. First thing they asked me was 'what’s the color', so I said, ‘metallic gold’. They then asked me, before you run off, what’s another color you want, and I immediately said black, because you can see your hands flying over the guitar.

They were unusual colors and very different too.

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BRM: How does it feel to have musicians young and old, beginner to advanced playing the guitar with your name on it?

LP: “It was quite a nice feeling, I personally was completely in favor of the guitar but I was anxious to see what the other guitar player liked and he's an important part of building a guitar. It's not what I liked, it's what he likes. So it happened….beyond any dream. Its very rewarding to have your dream come true. It’s all about the musicians. And I thank all those players who play my guitar becuase if they hadn’t liked the sound, it wouldn’t have happened, and if the design wasn't right, it would't have happened.

BRM: So what was your initial reaction to Gibson redesigning the Les Paul Model? (Gibson decided to create the Les Paul 2, which was later renamed the SG model.)

LP: Well I was like you can use it as a bow and arrow. You can change the pitch by bending the neck. I told them you should strengthen the neck a lot. They were like “we want to leave it that way.” So I told them they can have it. Just don’t put my name on something I don’t believe it. I never felt those sharp points were good if you were flying up and down the neck.

BRM: You’ve also been credited with the recording technology and effects. What made you get involved with that?

LP: Well, way back at the beginning, if you play something your mother or friends say to you, how nice or ugly it sounds. You’re playing it, and you’re not hearing it back like they’re hearing it back. And so I says, I’m going to have to build a recording device so that I can hear it like you can hear it.

And I want to hear it like a layman would hear it. Because it is vibrating in your hands and you are busy holding it, and so you’re not as good a judge as you are if you listen back to it. And so I got into recording heavily, and then the sound effects kept coming on. My mother made a comment, she was visiting me at the theater in Chicago, she said I heard you last night on the radio,

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I was here at the theater, and she says, well it must have been someone else but you outta do something about it because the others are copying you and I can’t tell yours from the oth ers. And I thought about it, and I said I want to go change my whole way of playing, and sound, and make it so that it’s different than anybody else. Also so my mother could hear me on the radio and know it was me.

BRM: You have had the privledge of playing and working with some legendary musicians. Has there been anyone in the industry that left you star struck, and is there anyone you wish you could have worked with that you never had the opportunity to meet?

LP: I worked with just about everybody. It would be hard to find someone I haven’t worked with, and as far as who I admired, my mentor was Bing Crosby and later Frank Sinatra. The important people in my life were Orson Wells and FDR was another one. Frank Capra used to write me letters, and he was a great talent. To receive mail from Truman Capot.e someone like that, it always lifts you up.

There are so many wonderful people, if I was playing in a club or something, they’d be there and they’d do anything to be there and they did. So those are great compliments I dont know...I've worked with Art Tatum, Django Reinhart, Amos and Andy, just anyone that comes to mind. We were friends.

We worked together, played together, shared our ideas. It’s great to be surrounded by so much talent. Just being friends and

talking to each other all the time, it’s always great, it’s always great to be surrounded by talent, no matter where their talent lies.

BRM: Being apart of the world of Gibson guitars. Did you ever meet the likes of Leo Fender?

LP: We were friendly right from the beginning. When I moved to California, and when I had my studio, I was recording a lot of country acts and that’s all Leo Fender was interested in. Making a guitar and amplifier that would please the country player.

And so he was in my studio night after night, after night, after night. We would sit in the patio in the backyard, play the records back and listen to and talk about them. And we were on the same page, because we were all going down the same road, looking for the same sound. How do you enhance it or make the sound better.

What sounds were we craving. Leo Fender and I were just side by side, but we took a different path to get there. It’s like a splitting up and me going one way, and meeting somewhere in the middle. He wanted me to be a part of his company from the beginning, and then they approached me again when CBS bought them. They almost had a deal, and I said I won’t sign this deal with Fender until I talk to Gibson, and so I talked to Gibson, and that was the renewal with Gibson after ten years. They were all at a meeting at my house. We discussed it, and I had to call Fender and say no, I’m going to stick with Gibson. But it very easily could have been, the Les Paul Fender.

BRM: What did the people around you think of that?

LP: They were all in agreement, my manager thought I was crazy not to take that deal.

BRM: What did Mr. Fender Say? LP: He just said “It’s yours, don’t let anybody change it.”

BRM: Why do you play still? Why not stay home and retire?

LP: I think it’s great therapy to have a reason to get up and carry on rather than to lay back, shrivel up, and dry out. I just feel as though it’s nicer to share your talent or music or what you have, with others who are willing to come in or would like to hear.

It’s a great therapy to go up on the stage and have people. Better than laying in bed.

I think retirement, when a person says Well I’m fifty five, sixty five, time to retire, and then they go somewhere, you just dry up and go away. There’s another approach to it, and that’s the approach I took. Work is a beautiful thing, and work is good for you. I haven't been feeling that well the last month or so but I still come to work. Better than laying there moaning about it. You fall apart, period. Eventually we're all going.

BRM: Well You still look and play like you’re half your age. You'll be here until you’re a hundred and fifty years old.

LP: (Laughs) I don't know what you’re counting on!

Just a few Les Paul players over the decades, spanning many genres of music

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Interview by Michael Musacchio Broken Records Magazine: How did you guys hook up with Per Weiberg from Opeth on El Rojo?

Jean Paul Gaster: We’ve known him for a few years. Clutch did a tour with Spiritual Beggars in 2001 and that’s another band that Pert was playing with at the time. We struck up a friendship, he likes good music and good beer and we do too. He and I actually did a project together called King Hobo.

BRM: Cool , how did Bakerton Group get started? Why did you start a side band as opposed to playing those songs as Clutch?

JPG: We started the Bakerton Group when we were still living in West Virginia. We had some down time between records at the time we were just trying to experiment. A lot of stuff we would do back then would actually be covers. We would do maybe Allman Brothers, Coltrane, Miles Davis stuff. More than anything it was an experiment to try different types of feels, stuff we normally wouldn’t do as Clutch . It really took hold when we made our own record label, Weathermaker.

BRM: That’s interesting because that actually ties into another question I wanted to ask you. Does the new label Weathermaker mark the end of the old label River Road and will you be signing other bands to Weathermaker or will it strictly be you guys?

JPG: I think Weathermaker is a more professional version of River Road. We started that back in the ninties and we would record things exclusively for internet release, only it was something we did on our own.

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We literally packed the packages ourselves, took the orders, took the stuff to the post office. We quickly realized although it’s pretty kick ass to have your own label.

BRM: Will you guys be playing double sets as Bakerton Group and Clutch in one show?

JPG: That’s the idea for the next tour coming up. That’s nothing new for us, we’ve done that before. It’s a great way to get warmed up for a Clutch set. Bakerton’s stuff is less aggressive.

BRM: You guys haven’t used digital recording since the Elephant Riders.

Why’d you switch to tape?

JPG: Well that’s not entirely true. We have done records on both tape and digital. On From Beale Street to Oblivion we went back to tape machine. Tape is a great medium. It’s inexpensive and it’s something we’d def like to do more of.

BRM: Do you guys get a better sound form it you think or is it just easier to work with?

JPG: I think it’s a different sound. I’m not sure I would call it better. It’s more of a color, more of a dynamic thing than it is a fidelity thing. it’s a natural kind of progression. There’s going to be natural distortion. Digital recording is a completely different thing. You’re taking tiny slices of sound and documenting those. There’s some great digital recording out that there too. Certainly if we had the opportunity to make all of our records on tape and then put it into Protools, like we did on Beale Street, we would probably do that.

BRM: What’s the Clutch drink of choice 30

when you’re out on tour?

JPG: Beer. I think we all have an appreciation for a good beer, myself especially I’m a beer enthusiast. I recently started getting into Belgium beers.

BRM: Who or what inspired you to get into music?

JPG: I think we all started listening to rock and roll early on, bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, AC/DC. Myself, I really learned to play drums listening to those records. Eventually I got into more into hardcore and metal. Bad Brains made a huge impression on all of us.

BRM: All your songs are very random but tell a story, what’s your writing process like?

JPG: Well Neil thankfully writes all the lyrics. We are blessed to have somebody like him in the band. He’s great at putting words together. He conjures up crazy images. He says ‘you can sing anything you want just as long as you do it with conviction.’ No one does it like him. He makes a lot of the riffs in Clutch too. It’s a pretty communal thing. We get together and start jamming things out. A lot of Clutch stuff is just little sketches of things we put together in the last couple years that we put together in between tours. We’ll get together couple times a week get a couple ideas together. Get one riff and if that’s good we get another one and we kind of put them in a little arrangement and we’ll just call it something and put it away and not listen to it for a year, so then you have a bunch of snippets of things and you go through all the pieces and find the real best stuff and put those together.

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of scurried off into bunkers where we hung out for a little under an hour and waited for the whole thing to pass. It was pretty unbelievable. It’s definitely one of those tour stories to me that’s just a lot more meaningful than, “Oh man we had this really drunk girl on our bus and she wouldn’t leave, it was hilarious.”

BRM: How was it playing for the troops?

It was awesome. It just really gave me the most incredible sort of perspective and it made me really appreciate guys who are over there doing that. It definitely gave me a whole new outlook on the military and what’s going on over there and stuff. We’ve never had a more amped up, crazy crowd.

They were insane.

BRM: You’re fairly new to the band, so I just wanted to ask you how your experiences have been so far?

It’s been incredible. I was certainly a fan of the band before I joined which that always makes things a lot more fun and easy when you’re playing music that you’ve listened to before and playing with the guys who you looked up to. So that’s always a trip for sure. Rich is a really great guy and we all sort of just meshed right away.

By Danielle Portera

With super hits such as “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and “Take a Picture,” the band Filter has solidified its place as an iconic rock band of the ‘90s. New bassist, John Spiker, recently took some time to chat with us about Filter’s upcoming European tour, playing for the troops, the release of their greatest hits album, and the making of a brand new Filter record set to release this fall.

Broken Records Magazine: How do you guys feel about going out and hitting Europe? I know you guys were supposed to go last year with POD but it didn’t wind up happening.

Yea, P.O.D. was having a couple of issues and it just kind of disintegrated. We’re stoked to go back to Europe, especially Germany. Everyone’s always really great to us there. Last year we went through Germany doing a couple of festivals there and BrokenRecordsOnline.com

Photo by Scott Vollweiler

it was incredible. We are always excited to get back to Europe. They love the music over there.

BRM: So you guys are working on the new one right now. How’s the creative process going?

I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by this new record we’re working on right now. We’re kind of taking it back to Short Bus kind of early Filter records that were a lot harder with more of an edge. I think that’s kind of where this is coming from.

BRM: Do you have any crazy tour sto- BRM: That’s great. When should Filter fans be looking out for that new release? ries you can share?

Filter: Actually, about a month and a half Hard to say right now but we’re hoping ago we were in Kuwait and Iraq doing maybe in the Fall sometime. Right now Filshows for the troops. We went into Iraq ter fans can be looking out for the greatest and played at a few different bases there hits records coming out in March. specifically one called Kirkuk. We had finished playing a show and were signing BRM: Will there be any new songs on it autographs, meeting the guys who were or any revamping of the old hits? incredible and all of a sudden we hear There isn’t any brand new material on somebody yell “Incoming! Incoming!” and there, but there are some remixes that were like all 500 guys and girls who are stand- put on that record. And there’s some really ing around this big open circle area go face cool packaging. I totally urge people to go down on the ground with their hands over out and actually buy the CD as opposed to their necks. And we’re right there with grabbing it on iTunes, just because it’s a them. We’re lying on the ground just wait- pretty incredible package they put together. ing for a mortar to hit. Then the sirens came There’s some great history of the band and on. They went into code red and we kind some great photos and stuff.

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B aAncinktervietw wioth KornB ’saFiseldyi c s ’

By Candice Wanca

Broken Records Magazine: You guys are working on a new album and you’re not using any Protools. Why go back to analog?

Fieldy: We’ve been working on the new album for a few months. We’re taking it down to stripped down and raw. We’re actually doing it in my garage at my house; me, Munky, Jonathan and Ray Luzier, our drummer for a couple years now. Russ Robinson (producer) is bringing it back to old school so we went back to tapes instead of Protools. We’re going back to the sixteen track board. It’s coming out amazing. It’s been so long, it just feels like were a bunch of kids, jamming in a garage trying to give it our best without anything else.

BRM: Are any songs completed? Have you played any new tracks on the tour?

Fieldy: We would love to but they’re not ready. I wish man.

BRM: Any theme? I heard it was mostly about organized religion.

Fieldy: Jonathan always picks what he’s going to write about. I’m not really sure exactly what he’s doing.

it raw. No stage props just rocking out.

BRM: How did you decide to write a memoir? Was it something you wanted to do for a long time?

Fieldy: After changing my life and realizing how much time I spent sitting around in hotel rooms and planes and busses, I just really started thinking a lot and getting an idea of putting this out. The book is called “Got The Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery and Korn.” I talk about my life its real, honest and personal.

It’s behind the scenes with things I went through.

BRM: Would you say it’s more about your experience with the band or more personal than that?

Fieldy: There’s some about the band too, it’s a major part of my life. I spent a lot of time with those guys. It’s all the way down to where I put letters to the band members in there, personal letters of apology.

They’re not that long but they took me a long time to write.

BRM: Are you guys still in contact with Head or Dave?

Fieldy: We haven’t talked to Head at all.

I’d like to and say what’s up but I don’t know where he’s at.

BRM: Did writing the book come as easily to you as writing a song?

Fieldy: It was a lot of work writing a book. There’s a lot of detail little things like making sure the stories are right and digging up all the pictures I put in the book. The hardest part, once the book was released, was doing the interviews because most of them were at six AM. The morning shows...you know the book world is different (than the music world). The most difficult thing was having to get up at five, six in the morning.

BRM: Your back up band used to wear masks or face paint but no longer do.

Any particular reason why?

Fieldy: When we went out with the backup band we wanted to do something different and big. It was fun for a minute and now we’re just getting back to taking

BRM: You guys have been conquering the music scene for over a decade. Do you see yourself slowing down any time soon?

Fieldy: As of today were still full force, heavier than we’ve ever been, tighter than we’ve ever been. I’d say we’re on top of

BRM: Any idea when the album will be released?

Fieldy: I’d say give it a year.

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our game. This is what Korn is supposed to sound like and it’s amazing BRM: Of all the songs you guys have, do you have a favorite?

Fieldy: My favorite Korn song which I love playing live is “Here to Stay.”

BRM: Your side project, why did it change from “Fieldy’s Dreams” to “Fieldy’s Nightmare”?

Fieldy: I haven’t done much with that but my side band that I have going on is called Stillwell. We’ve been working on it for almost two years and the album is almost finished now. It’s called Surrounded by Liars.

BRM: That was actually my next question, so you’re not working on the Sobriety album?

Fieldy: No, I really put that on the side.

BRM: What’s going on with the Immanuel One Twenty Three clothing line?

Fieldy: I started to get into that and I put about 10,000 into it and really started getting into it and came up with some designs. I was talking to other people in the merchandise world and they were like ‘You have to drop anywhere from a million to three million to get it rolling.’ I’m not there, I’m not ready. I don’t know if I have enough passion for that. If something comes up maybe an investor...

BRM: Can you share any crazy tour stories?

Fieldy: When we played Woodstock in 1999 we were looking out into the crowd and we started with “Blind” and you see all those people hopping all the way back. It was just like a sea, like a wave. You could see the music wasn’t reaching people (in the back) ‘til later so the wave was off. It looked like the ocean out there. We came off stage and we were all crying and hugging each other. It was a highlight in my career.

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Interview by Tom Ferarro | Show review by Sal Spurge Broken Records Magazine: You guys have done a lot of tours, like Ozzfest, where you aren’t the headliner, but Music as a Weapon is Disturbed’s signature tour, so it has to be more exciting than other tours. Is that true?

DD: Oh yea, it’s our baby. We have a special fondness and appreciation for our own blood.

BRM: Are we going to see anything new on this tour?

DD: Definitely. It is the largest scale production we ever attempted. We’re definitely going to have a whole bunch of surprises for people. We are going back to that theatricality that’s been missing from the show for awhile.

BRM: Do you guys have any pre-show rituals or anything that you do before you go out on stage?

DD: Well the guys usually just stretch out, and warm up in the dressing room, listening to the old school metal stuff. We always got the all metal iPod over there. I try to loosen up as much as I can. I warm up for an hour prior to the set, I do a little bit of Tai Chi, that helps me center my energy, then I head into the dressing room and join them.

BRM: I see that you had Killswitch Engage opening on this tour with you, what

made you choose them?

DD: Well, they’re fantastic. We’ve toured with them before on Ozzfest. We definitely value what they bring to the table. They are definitely worthy of being a main support band. We are definitely excited to have them on board. All three of the opening bands on the main stage (Killswitch Engage, Lacuna Coil, Chimaira) are worthy of recognition and make us wanna step up our game as well.

BRM: You guys have toured with so many bands, are there any bands that you’ve enjoyed touring with the most?

DD: Well we get along really well with everyone. I don’t know that we can pick a favorite. We’re cool to hang with anyone as long as people are cool to hang with (laughs).

BRM: Sort of in the same direction, is there anyone you haven’t toured with that you would really like to tour with?

DD: Well there’s several. I’d love to do a tour with Iron Maiden. Never done an actual tour with Metallica, even though we’ve done some single shows. Love to tour with Rage Against the Machine, if they get back together. I’d love to do something with (Judas) Priest. There’s definitely more on the list.

BRM: The new CD Indestructible is great.

Do you guys enjoy playing the new songs

live?

DD: Very much, and they are getting huge crowd reactions.

BRM: How do you guys decide which songs to play live?

DD: Well we do have to respect the classics. We’ve been blessed with eight number one singles so far. We have to play the fan favorites and then we try to introduce as much as the new stuff as possible. It’s a delicate balance. But we’re definitely going into the vault on this tour.

BRM: I know you guys are always keeping busy, are you gonna be writing any music while on this tour? I know you do that sometimes.

DD: Probably not. Danny is always storing riff ideas, but nothing gets put into song form yet, that takes place once we are off the road.

BRM: Is there any crazy or memorable tour experience you would like to share?

DD: Well this was pretty crazy- not too long ago, we had a fan throw human ash up on stage. It was one of their buddy’s last wishes to have them be with us, so they threw up a bag of his human remains. It had a little ribbon and a note attached to it. It was really eerie and freaky.

“My Brothers, my sisters, my blood...are you with me?!”, said frontman David Draiman of Disturbed Sunday night, as a sold out crowd cheered with admiration at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. Draiman went back to his roots and rocked his Hannibal Lecter-esque entrance to the stage and then went right into their hit song “Insanity.” You couldn’t keep the crowd silent the entire night. After each song, the crowd screamed louder and louder for the band they so much love. Draiman seemed very poised and was very much on point vocally. You would literally think that you were listening to one of their four albums. They continued to please the fans throughout the hour and twenty minute performance by playing many of their hits like “Stupify”, “Prayer”, “The Game and their rendition of “Land of Confusion”. As he slowly raised his extended arms, all 2,300 of Draiman’s closest friends in New Jersey raised their voices for him. Fans were given what they asked for when Disturbed came out for a three song encore beginning with the hit single “Inside the Fire” off their certified gold album “Indestructible”, the Guitar Hero Three friendly “Stricken”, followed by drummer Mike Wengren’s two minute ear pleasing solo, and closed with the pit happy “Down With The Sickness.” I have been fortunate enough to see them live numerous times and just like the other times, they did not disappoint their fans. “Are you with me?” Yes David, we certainly are.

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From left to right : Ryan Richards, Gavin Burrough, Kris Coombs-Roberts, Matthew Davies-Kreye and Darran Smith BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Interview by Candice Wanca and Danielle Portera We got the pleasure of having a long chat with two very nice chaps from Whales’ Funeral for a Friend, guitarist Kris and vocalist Matthew at New Yorks’ Irving Plaza. The boys were more than happy to hang out and answer our barrage of questions despite partying a bit too much the night before. FFAF will soon be releasing a greatest hits album entitled Your History is Mine.

Broken Records Magazine: Memory and Humanity was supposed to be an EP what made you turn it into an LP? Matthew Davies-Kreye: Just because we wrote way too many songs (laughs). We said you know what, let’s just keep on writing. It was one of those situations where we were thinking we were going to write an EP but we had about six or seven songs within a month and we liked how the work ethic was going and we felt too limited on an EP where if we put an LP out we could do a more extensive touring cycle. If we had put the EP out last year and then the album this year it’d be too long of a wait for fans to see us. I think were in a situation where if we want to write an EP with some extra songs we could.

BRM: What made you guys start the record label Join Us? Kris Coombs-Roberts: Basically we were weighing our options and looking at what would be the best move forward for us and we had an option of doing a fourth album with Atlantic but the way industry is, there’s a lot of three-sixty deals and they take from merch sales…we sailed away on the ocean of independence.

MDK: That’s the beauty of having your own label, owning your own material.

Nobody is holding us down.

KCR: The best part owns your own recordings. When you’re on a major label they own the recordings.

BRM: Any other bands on the label or just you guys?

MDK: Just us for the time being.

KCR: It’s one thing to screw your own career up…

MDK: You don’t want to take anyone else down with you! (laughs) BRM: Are there any bands you’d like to tour with that you haven’t?

MDK: There’s tons, mostly with bands that have members who aren’t alive anymore like The Beatles.

KCR: Queen.

BRM: That’d definitely be a concert I’d like to see.

MDK: There’s probably loads of bands we’d like to take on tour, we’ve been quite privileged to tour with a few of them in the past.

BRM: Any albums you can’t live without?

MDK: Anything by a band called Quicksand.

KCR: As long as I can play music I’m fine.

BRM: Any places you always try to incorporate in your tour?

MDK: We always try to go to Australia just BrokenRecordsOnline.com

because it’s nice. It’s always warm, that’s a plus. One of our favorites places is in Virginia called The Nova which has an amazing backstage area, it has a hot tub. There’s very few of them.

KCR: I wouldn’t dare use it.

MDK: They have a basketball court as well upstairs.

KCR: And Double Dragon.

MDK: And a pool table and table tennis, it’s pretty sweet.

KCR: I really like playing in New York to be honest because we have friends here and we usually have a day off before or after we play a show.

BRM: Any places in the city you like going to?

MDK: We wandered around a bit yesterday. There was an awesome Asian vegetarian place on Eighth Avenue which was amazing, and Union square, shopping for stuff I can’t get in the U.K. KCR: I really don’t know where I was.

MDK: We found him in a karaoke bar where they had one of our songs but the words weren’t right.

BRM: How can you guys compare U.K. fans to American fans?

MDK: Not that we’re not taken seriously back home, but there’s more of a seriousness (in the states) to the audience.

KCR: I think the difference is when we play in the U.K., people like to show their fan optimism by shouting for your b-sides.

But there’s a reason why there b-sides, you’re not going to play a song you didn’t really like in the first place but they want to show their loyalty to you and constantly shout for them through the entire set. In America they’re just happy to watch you play.

BRM: Did that ever work? Did you ever play a song you didn’t have on the set list because someone requested it?

MDK: Once where the dude started singing in between songs. It wasn’t a very big show maybe a hundred and fifty people in there in Luxemburg, and just for the sake of it we played the song and had him come up and sing the intro and we realized he couldn’t sing at all. He kind of jumped back off stage cause I think somebody threw a beer at him.

that allow you to get to fans like Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube. It’s a lot of fun for us as well, because a lot of people only see a certain side to the band where there’s so much more to us. I think they want to see and we want our fans to know that we’re just human, we’re approachable. We don’t mind hanging out and chatting. I think it’s more difficult for us to do in the U.K., given the level of the band there.

KCR: It’s changed the music industry massively. You used to have to play places get people interested in you, to get a record label interested in you. Now it’s like soon as you record your music you can put it up on your Myspace and show it to everybody in the world. It’s so much easier for bands now so it’s an amazing thing definitely.

MDK: We like to transcend that (sharing things with fans) to our releases, bring in extra content. We did a book version of ?/humanity in the U.K, with tour photos and things like that that came with the CD. When you see stuff like that you kind of wish that more of your favorite bands would do something like that. I think alot of people who are obsessed with music and invest themselves emotionally in bands careers, want to discover every facet. I like to do linear notes in the lyrics in the songs. Hopefully now that we have more control over our work we can work on that element, especially with the labels were hooked up with in different territories. I hope we get to do a tour edition with more expanded material, I know a lot of people think when bands do that they want to cash in but we want to add more to the package to make it worthwhile for people to invest in the material. That’s why we add to it like DVDs, different packaging and vinyl.

KCR: I think it’s sort of a strange thing that you can download music in an instant. You go online and either you buy it or you steal it you get it instantly, but there’s no connection I feel with music anymore. Some people really love having the CD and having the album artwork. Most people are just happy to go to your website and download it and have nothing that goes with it, I think the romantism people had with bands is completely lost. When I was younger I had to work unbelievably hard to find the bands that I loved. I’d get magazines, I’d read about bands, I’d go out to record stores and get them to order the album and I’d try and get everything I could find by the band.

MDK: The thing that I’ve noticed when I used to get a hold of those records I’d listen to them non-stop for weeks and really know them inside and out. Now it’s like kids get a couple of songs and that’s why careers of bands are so difficult to maintain, because no one is willing to invest that kind of time and feeling, I want to bring that back.

BRM: You guys utilize Myspace a lot.

How do you feel that it benefits artists to have sites like that?

MDK: There’s very few, if any, barriers between us and our audience. We know what it’s like to be a fan of a band we love, so we think of it from that perspective. We update and keep people involved in what we do, kind of make them feel like family. I think it’s very important to use those methods MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 37

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TRIV Photos and interview

Broken Records Magazine: A lot of critics said that The Crusade was substantially different than the previous album Ascendancy. How do you feel Shogun stacks up against those previous releases?

Corey Beaulieu: After Ascendancy we wanted to try something different and expand upon what we can do and keep it fun. That was the right thing to do at the right time for us. We wanted to write a record that took everything we’ve done on the previous albums and I guess define our sound and mold it to one thing; the Ascendancy stuff and the crusade stuff and blend it together. Everyone was super pumped about writing a new album and we wanted to write best record we could, we put really positive energy into it and we had a new guy who worked on it so that kind of changed the way we worked a little bit. Shogun has a lot more musicality to it, more technical stuff, vocally f*cking around really. Matt tried different ways of doing songs. The clean normal singing that we did on The Crusade didn’t sound right so we tried screaming and decided we’re not going to limit ourselves. We were going to use everything at our disposal to create the best songs we could. Looking back on it, we were able to take everything we’ve done and kind of define our sound. I think it stacks up as a good reference point for everything we’ve done, it’s got the different styles from both records.

BRM: Other than classical metal influences, who are some contemporary or up and coming bands you guys are fans of?

Corey: Let’s see, Machinehead, God Forbid; we’re good friends with them. I got their new record, it’s killer. We like Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage is really cool, Bodom, As I Lay Dying. There’s a lot of really good bands, quality bands, too many to name but there’s tons of killer bands out there.

BRM: How was it working with the new producer?

Corey: Yea were still friends with Jason(Suecof). He did everything previously. I think it was good for us at this point in our career to BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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shake things up. He(Nick Raskulinecz) definitely brought in a different perspective of how to record things and accomplish what we were looking to do with the sound and the tones and his personality, he fit right in with everybody and with writing the songs he pushed us. It was like heavy metal boot camp. “The Calamity” was the first song we started working on, the original arrangement was a lot different, he was an outside ear, he kind of rearranged the puzzle. He made us play the song like fifty times in a row. After working with him that first week we were kind of like ‘alright now we can do it on our own’. We dissected the songs. He opened up a way for us to analyze our own music. We became a better band and everyone individually as players(became better) because he really pushed us. He was fun to work with hopefully he’ll be available to work with for the next album.

BRM: Where’d you guys find influence for the album?

Corey: Our worldly travels, a lot of stuff was written on tour. Matt and I were writing “Into The Mouth Of Hell We March”, in a sh*tty dressing room in Germany. He had a couple riffs and I was writing the melody parts. I was in this little dressing room, crammed in the doorway with my guitar writing a melody. “Of Prometheus And The Crucifix” was written in a dressing room in Switzerland. I was humming riffs and he would take what I hummed and try to write riffs.

A lot of things were written like that where we were just bored in a dressing room. It’s written over time instead of trying to write fifteen songs in a month, we get inspiration as we go along so by time you get in there (the studio) it’s like alright well we got some riffs to start with.

BRM: “Like Callisto To A Star In Heaven”, one of my favorites, it’s a long song but it seems like two minutes when you listen to it, it seems to hit every emotion. How did you guys come up with it and do you feel that having a long song was taking a chance that people might get bored?

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V I UM

by Brian Dawson

Corey: Pretty much that song the way it is on the album is the way we had written it. The first time we wrote it that’s how it went. W e didn’t change any of the structure, maybe one little part where we moved the chorus closer so you didn’t have to wait so much. Only part of that song that we had trouble deciding on what to do with it, was the middle section. (We were) like ‘is it too long’ but once we got to the studio and started adding different layers, you knew something was building up to something, it built up as an emotional song. That song was pretty easy to put together, its just a long song.

If you can make a long song seem not long you did a pretty good job.

BRM: “Torn Between Scylla And Charybdis”, there’s two bass solos. When I heard it I was shocked at how it fit in. Bass solos are basically non existent anymore, how did you guys add them in?

Corey: “Becoming the Dragon”(The Crusade) had a bass solo, we always thought that was cool because Paolo Gregoletto is a slamming bass player and most bands don’t have bass players that can do that they just follow the chords and play simple backing stuff .

He definitely adds a lot to the sound with his bass playing. That song just kind of fit, we were just messing around. Some people didn’t even realize it(the bass solo) was distorted. Some people thought it was a key horn. Hopefully next album well fit a few more in.

BRM: Where did the band name originate?

Corey: It’s Latin. It means a three way intersection and it’s also the three schools of learning, back in old English times, it was the three things everyone was taught(grammar, logic, and rhetoric). The name came from the original singer of the band. He came up with the name, he was in the band for a week or two and left to play with another band.

BRM: What’s the coolest venue you’ve played?

Corey: For comfort and fun factor, we were headlining shows at the Norva in Norfolk Virginia and they have another venue, the same peoBrokenRecordsOnline.com

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ple that own that, in Richmond. I can’t remember the name of the club but their dressing room has a million showers and a hot tub and the other rooms got a pool table and arcade games and foosball n they have really awesome catering, TVs everywhere there’s a lot of things to do. As far as cool factor, we got to play legendary places like Madison Square Garden and Apollo in London. It’s cool to play places that have history to them and a lot bands you looked up to went through there. It’s fun to stand on stage and be like yea f*ckin James Hettfield was here in ‘88.

BRM: Do you have any advice for up and coming bands?

Corey: First and foremost is write the best songs you can and stand out from the crowd and work on that. It’s all about getting your name out there and spend the time to promote yourself and play some shows. The last couple years it’s blown up, using Myspace ,you can get your name out to a sh*tload of people for nothing. Instead of putting a flyer around town, you can use the internet to your advantage. It’s an easy way for a lot of people to hear your music.

Write some cool tunes and record a good quality demo and push your stuff and good things will happen if you have something to offer.

BRM: What kind of stuff is on your rider?

Corey: Well random things mysteriously show up(laughs). We got our beer, water, vodka, wine, the normal liquid intake; soda, stuff like that. For some reason everyday we keep getting f*cking jars of honey. You can put it in your tea and it helps your throat but it’s like one bottle(is enough). We got like a years supply of honey. Everyone likes to eat healthy so there’s nuts and berries and stuff like that; triscuits, those go quick. We try to get what we need and eat healthy cause you don’t want to get sick or feel gross on tour so we keep it relatively healthy just sandwich meat, fruit trays, vegetable trays, stuff like that so no one gets all fat and bloated eating McDonalds everyday. It’s definitely an essential to survive on tour to booze all night and drink water and eat healthy all day.

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BRM: What are some bands that have influenced you?

Dani Filth: In the past, all kinds really. Originally death metal was a big thing like the first The Gathering album, Paradise Lost, Edge of Sanity, the first Dismember albums, music like Sisters of Mercy, Misfits, even eighties smash metal, new age British heavy metal soundtracks, I could go on forever really.

When we grew up, we were into all different things. A lot of people would be surprised to learn that some of us were into New York hardcore, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, as well as the darker stuff.

BRM: You have great background vocals on tracks like “Her Ghost in the Fog” and “Nymphetamine.” Where do you find your background singers?

DF: Well for “Nymphetamine” it was a woman from Leaves Eyes, for “Temptation” it was Dirty Harry, and usually we have a singer Sarah Jezebel Deva who is no longer working with us. Our keyboardist Rosie does the female parts now and she does them really well. It enables us to hone what we’re doing because she’s also the keyboards so it makes it more finely tuned, and that’s hard to describe, but six people on stage is a lot easier than seven for a start.

BRM: When you signed with Roadrunner, did they put any pressure on you to censor your lyrics or the change the content of your music?

DF: No, the only censorship that has ever happened is with something on the cover of Thornography, which was really pathetic. It was the length of the woman’s dress, and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two. It’s probably someone at Wal-Mart wanting to have their say in something and they feel better for it. They see the band and although they can’t actually say that this is a satanic band, some of the references go over the lines sometimes so they need to do something about it however silly just to say ‘hey, look we’ve done our bit’ so that was the only censorship we’ve ever had.

BRM: What do you have to say about New Zealand fans being fined and facing count appearances because of wear-

Photo by Brian Dawson

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ing your t-shirts?

DF: Well I’ve always maintained that our fans are intelligent people and if somebody is to wear a “Jesus is a ****” shirt in a shopping mall parading in front of law enforcement without sounding nasty, they deserve what they get. You wouldn’t be in court and been sentenced and called a judge a ****, would you? It’s just logic really. We’ll defend the shirt. That shirt is ironically literally older than the band but it has had a **** resurgence recently because of people like this, but I can’t condone it and I can’t justify it really. It’s up to the individual so if they want to do something like that then on their head be it.

BRM: Why did you base your latest album around Gilles de Rais and is the CD from his point of view?

DF: It’s a story about him. It suited our mood. We’ve turned it into a dark fairy tale. We hadn’t concentrated just on the sadistic side of it. We had the whole part, Joan of Arc as kind of a catalyst while he turned into this metaphorical Bluebeard character. Having come back from the Viva La Bands tour, we were very fired up and had loads of ideas. When we separated for Christmas, we had the skeleton of about half the album written. I know a bit about Gilles de Rais but at the moment we had just finished a book with Gavin Baddeley who is an occult historian. I rang him up and he was able to steer me in the right direction between shit books and good books.

BRM: Considering your experience being on several labels, what would you most like to change about the music industry?

DF: Well it annoys me somewhat that you buy a DVD and you have to sit through all that shit in the beginning about piracy, and they never spend money on defending the music industry like that at all. That’s the one thing that gets in my tits. Admittedly, if I like a band I’ll go and visit the Myspace page and check out a few songs and then buy the record. Then people might argue that’s because I’ve got a lot of money, but I did that when I didn’t have any money. That and the fact that the record companies also follow each other.

Nowadays it seems no one wants to take any risks. We enjoyed our time on Sony

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because they threw money at us. We spent about a hundred grand on our album because we wanted to have a one hundred piece orchestra, and it worked. They just don’t take risks anymore and then when one band is successful everybody’s signing up bands that sound just like them so immediately it destroys the scene.

BRM: Do you have a hand in the concept of album art or the band’s music videos?

DF: Yes we do. We worked very closely with Alex Chandon, who did “From the Cradle to Enslave”, Cradle of Fear the film, “Her Ghost in the Fog”, and “Scorched Earth Erotica.” For this album for example we worked for about three months solidly with the artist, David Ho, closely to try and replicate the style of medieval.

We wanted to do something completely different but also make it a walk through so that it compliments the lyrics. Also Samuel Araya who worked on Thornography is illustrating a poetry book which we’re bringing out after Gospel of Filth.

BRM: Whose idea was it to collaborate with Ville Vallo for the song “Byronic Man?” DF: Strangely enough it was like a two sided prong attack on that. I just carelessly mentioned it before we broke up for Christmas maybe the end of 2005.

We were in the studio, and they did this roadrunner 25th anniversary thing. Ville was there and so was our producer who was Rob Caggiano from Anthrax. He had mentioned it to him because I had said I wanted to bring someone else in but I wanted someone who was reminiscent of a modern day Lord Byron. I jokingly said Ville would be great because I knew him anyway and he just agreed to it.

BRM: What are some of your plans for this year?

DF: Well we’ve got this tour. Then we’ve got the second leg of the European tour, six dates in Australia, summer festivals, and as far as I know a South American tour later in the year. Gospel of Filth the book is coming out on Easter, but it will be preceded by a special version limited to twenty thousand copies on our website. In between all that, we are going to start writing some more material. We will be busy.

I nterview by Adrienne Nardone

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When Jeremy Dawson and Chad Petree formed Shiny Toy Guns in 2002, they knew they were taking a chance with a whole new sound. The band fused elements of rock and electronica and even added a female vocalist to the mix. Jeremy adequately sums up the band in four simple words, “male, female, rock, and dance.” This groundbreaking band has reached incredible heights while enduring some heavy blows. The Grammy-nominated first album We Are Pilots is a delicious balance of rock, synth pop, electronica, and dance. After a terrible split with their female singer Carah Faye, STG added Sisely Treasure to their line-up. In 2008, the band’s sophomore album Season of Poison was released featuring Sisely on vocals and a darker sound that leaned more towards their rock element. Broken Records was privileged to speak with Jeremy, keyboardist and bassist, about the band’s journey, their US tour, and what’s in store next for the Guns.

by Danielle Portera BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Broken Records Magazine: You guys are on tour right now.

How’s that going?

Shiny Toy Guns: It’s good. We’re out on tour with the All American Rejects playing huge four to five thousand seat venues. It’s pretty crazy.

BRM: How about a favorite moment on this tour?

STG: On this tour probably last night at the Rejects after-party in Chicago where their entire band and crew began getting naked in the middle of a bar for no reason.

BRM: Do you guys have any pre-show ritual type things you like to do? Anything that just gets you pumped before you get on stage?

STG: Yea, we slap, kick, and spit on each other for ten minutes.

It’s an Oklahoma thing I guess.

BRM: What made you decide to have a female vocalist?

STG: Because there are certain songs that we were writing that needed to be approached from a female perspective and not only from a male perspective, because it’s going to feel different. If you have everything at your fingertips to be creative with, then you can reach a more diverse audience.

BRM: Yea, I agree. Could you talk a little bit about your split with Carah and why that happened and how it’s been since then?

STG: What happened basically was once we got everything together we decided to take a stance. We’re going to pretend that there’s no record companies, there’s no attorneys, there’s no managers and all there is, are people and us and our music. We’re going to reach people with our music. So, we rented out a van and went on tour in like 2003 and then again in 2004 and 2005. Then we signed to Universal records and we record the album in 2006, 2007.

That’s four years. We were stuck together for that many years on the road, seventeen countries, all over the world. It gets to a point where you just start not being able to stand each other because you’re around each other twenty four hours a day. It happens in families, it happens with best friends. And a lot of things were said on our side and a lot of things were said on her side that we didn’t really mean. We were just all exhausted. We needed to go home.

So we never were able to reconcile why we were not communicating properly. What we should have done really is gone to therapy.

So many bands do it. It’s not like go to a psychiatrist and get pills, but go sit down with someone, it can even be a really close friend, and talk things out, find out what’s wrong, the source and the root of what’s wrong. We didn’t do that. Instead we left the road four years later. She moved to Sweden and we went back to the studio.

And we didn’t speak for months. Chad and I got to the point where we were like ya know what, she’s probably not coming back and if she does we’re just gonna fight all day and the whole band can fall apart. We were terrified that was going to happen, so in order to protect the band we said this girl doesn’t want to be in our band and we went and found someone who did want to be in our band.

However, later on down the road after we did finally talk, we all realized that we didn’t really mean half as much that we had said.

We just needed time off. That’s kind of where we are today.

BRM: So you guys have a better relationship now then you did then?

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STG: We do. Yea, we’re talking.

BRM: How did the fans respond to the change in singers?

STG: They don’t like it at all. They really just don’t understand why. You try to explain to people, one by one by one, but this a personal thing that happened between Carah and us that we’re dealing with and working on.

BRM: It’s a hard thing for the fans to understand. But, could you tell me about the making of your first album We Are Pilots and where you guys were, creatively at the time?

STG: We were excited, scared, worried. We Are Pilots had a very unique feel to it because the music we were doing at the time nobody else was doing. There was no MGMT. There was no Lady Gaga. There was no Veronicas. There was no Metro Station. None of this existed. We started a sound. We created sort of a sound and now five years later all these great bands have a similar color to it.

So that was really exciting and we were of course nervous because when you do something that’s totally different and new you’re taking a risk. We wanted to push the envelope and take that risk.

BRM: How does it feel looking back now that you guys were kind of the pioneers of this kind of music, this sound?

STG: We’re really proud of it and really excited that it took hold and people are loving this music. It’s really awesome.

BRM: That’s really cool. Could you tell me a little bit about your new record Season of Poison and how you think it’s different from We Are Pilots?

STG: Poison is different because we got off the road stressed, confused, tired. We had a lot of situations happen. One of us had a parent die, one of us had a baby. All these dynamic huge life things that are going to happen to you and happen to everyone else, happened on top of everything else. So, we sort of channeled all of this into an album and this album is a little darker, a little edgier, a little harder. That’s kind of why it sounds different. That’s what an artist does when they make a record. It’s a reflection of how they feel and what’s going on in their head. And that’s what Season of Poison was. That was what was going through Chad and my head in the summer of 2008.

BRM: Could you maybe just tell me a funny or embarrassing thing about one of your bandmates?

STG: Well, our guitar player likes to poop on a plate and stick it in your bunk in the bus. When you wake up there’s a plate of poop near your head. You have to watch yourself at night.

BRM: How do you see Shiny Toy Guns evolving as a band and what’s next for you guys?

STG: Something really crazy and really bad a**. We’re building a whole new thing right now. It’s going to come out this year; a whole new palette of music.

BRM: I don’t want you to give too much away but could you just tease the fans a little bit?

STG: If you like the song “You Are the One” then you are going to sh** your pants when you hear this new music. Yea, it’s “You Are the One” with a fuel injection into it. It’s a screaming, dreamy, Manchestery.

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M ajor R eturn t o t he M usic S cene

Third Eye Blind

By Victoria Barone

After nearly six years of musical silence from the 90’s alt-rock powerhouse Third Eye Blind, the bandhas recently released their fourth major studio album Ursa Major on August 18, 2009. The long wait between releases has been attributed to front man Stephen Jenkins’ writer’s block. Third Eye Blind’s career started with a bang when they released their self-titled first album best known for its mega-hits “Semi-Charmed Life”, “How’s it Going to Be”, and “Jumper.” The band went on to release two more records Blue (1999) and Out of the Vein (2003).

Last year, the band released an EP titled Red Star, which served to get fans excited about the release of Major. The band’s guitarist Tony Fredianelli explained the thought process behind Red Star in a recent interview with us. “Our fans were starting to come to the very edge of their breaking point. We needed to give them something to tide them over. What we came up with was to release this thing online, go that route and not promote it fully. Just kind of stick it out there and let it be for the fans.” Their single “Non-Dairy Creamer” wound up shooting up the charts and into the Top 20 Alternative.

Fredianelli calls the five-year process of creating Ursa Major, “kind of like going to the dentist a little bit.” But, when asked if all the hard work and stress paid off the guitarist answered confidently, “Definitely. This record is a gem. And there’s a follow up called Ursa Minor. So we really got two records coming out which is a blessing.” The band’s decision to tour in advance of their record kicked off this spring and will continue through the summer.

Tony also spoke about his upcoming solo endeavors. “I’m producing two records. One’s called Mindfield, which is a psychedelic Beatles record. And the other is called Diablo Joe which, is kind of a 70’s influence psychedelic Steve Miller band type of record.”

He will also be creating a solo record after the release of Ursa Minor. However, at the current moment he continues to be focused on Third Eye Blind, the two new records, and the tour.

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Photos by Kristin Tully

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Telling on Trixie

by Danielle Portera

On April 18, 2009 Broken Records Magazine was fortunate enough to witness NYU’s Relay for Life. The charity event in held at universities across the US benefiting the American Cancer Society. According to the event’s website, “Relay for Life is a fun-filled, overnight event that empowers everyone to help fight cancer by raising money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission.” Teams of people camp out at schools, parks, and universities across the country and take turns walking around a track or path. The Relay has three main goals: to celebrate the lives of those who battled cancer, to remember those lost in their battle with cancer, and to fight back against this disease. This year NYU’s Relay for Life has over 1,300 participants and raised $164,267.

When surveying the scene at the Jerome S. Coles Sports & Recreation Center, I noticed tables set up with signs identifying what team they belonged to. A lot of teams consisted of clubs, service organizations, fraternities, and sororities at NYU. There were also many booths set up selling food and other refreshments to support the cause. Surrounding the tables were bags placed on the ground with the names of the loved ones lost to cancer. The culmination of the event is the Luminaria service where the bags are illuminated to celebrate the life of someone who survived or honor the memory of a loved one that has passed. During the Luminaria ceremony many cancer survivors tell their stories of determination, and of hope.

Another highlight of the event was the performance by the band Telling on Trixie. This was their second time performing at Relay for Life. Lead singer Derek Nicoletto explained that the cause is a personal one for the band. Every member has had a family member or close friend affected by cancer. The band decided to take action against this disease and called the American Cancer Society to see how they could make a difference. The band formed a team of their own and raised $1,000. This is the second year they are performing at the event. Their single “The Deepest Dive” from their album Ugly, Broke & Sober was written for the event. Telling on Trixie is donating $1.00 for every download of the inspirational song. When speaking with Nicoletto at the event, it was obvious to how passionate he was about this cause. But, it is no surprise since Telling on Trixie carries that same attitude with their music.

Telling on Trixie’ inventive and unorthodox approach to making their record has taken Internet marketing to a whole new level.

The band’s fans helped fund the record and provide input through their website “A Band With A Plan.” The album’s edgy powerpop, catchy lyrics, and powerful vocals from Nicoletto have garnered significant radio play and a positive response from critics and fans alike. When asked about the song writing process Nicoletto explains, “All the lyrics came from me except for the song Your Silence which came from me and Brian. Tommy will record something or Brad will record something and I will wake up and he sent me something. I’ll think about it for a couple days. Either it will immediately remind me of something I wrote in my journal and I’ll expand upon it and just get back to him on it. Or I’ll make something up. I’ll create a fiction, which I love to do.

Or I’ll discard it. Sometimes he pushes it. We pitch to each other a little bit. A lot of times I come up with melodies and basically sing it into Brad’s answering machine.”

Photo by Jeff Fasano

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interview by Adrienne Nardone Broken Records Magazine: You guys have been together since 2003. How do you feel your music has changed since the beginning?

Aiden: Well we don't suck as much. It's kind of just been an evolving process.

When we started as a band, I was really inexperienced as a song writer and it was more about putting pieces of songs together and trying to make a record and now I've learned how to craft a song and write down meanings so I think it's just a lot better.

BRM: What was the best show you've played so far?

Aiden: I can't really say that there's been a best show. I think there's probably been a slew of best shows. Download festival

over in England was pretty good. Taste of Chaos in Australia was awesome. We played in Mexico last year. It was f***ing out of control. There's been so many shows that were so memorable.

BRM: What was the largest crowd you've played to at one of those festivals?

Aiden: Probably Download, eighty thousand. That's a f**king lot of mother***kers.

BRM: If you could play a show with any band that you wanted, who would you choose?

Aiden: Nirvana.

BRM: Any bands that are still around today?

T iger C ity

Photo and story by Kristin Tully BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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BRM: How has playing for the last year been since Jake's departure? Do you still talk to him?

Aiden: No we don't talk to him. Actually, we're in a bitter law suit because he's trying to sue us. It's been a lot better, I think. The whole attitude of the band has shifted to a more positive outlook and everything is brightened. We've become more focused to what we want to do as a band. We kicked him out for a multitude of reasons. One of the reasons was the fact that he wasn't into the band for art's sake: he was more into making money. We're Aiden, we're on Victory Records and we play in a punk band, we're not going to make money. We're not going to be rich millionaire rock stars. We play in this band because we love to play music and he just wanted a pay check and that is just painfully obvious now that we kicked him out of the band and now he's trying to sue us for all this money we don't have. He's just bitter.

BRM: What are your plans for the rest of 2009?

Aiden: We're doing the west coast Ticket to Hell tour in May and then we go over to England we're doing a few shows over there, a few shows in Ireland and Scotland and all over the country and then the Vans warped tour in June.

With a lead singer who hits a perfect falsetto and a bassist harkening hipster Jesus, Tigercity is not a band easily forgotten. “We met in a dreamscape…Some dream involving Bill, with blood written in the sand”, bass player Joel Ford explains. It’s these kinds of witty comments that make Tigercity’s lineup-Bill Gilliam (vocals), Joel Ford (bass), Andrew Brady (guitar), and Aynsley Powell (drums)-work so effortlessly.

Culminating their tour April 2nd at Highline Ballroom in NYC the goofsters muse, “We’re growing up, drinking less, and starting to focus more on the music,” before breaking into clouds of laughter admitting “We had a case of Bushmills in our van”.

But all jokes aside, Tigercity is not just another Brookyln band, “We’re starting a record label; tentatively titled “Fake Life.” It’s become part of our theme…driving around the country pretending we‘re rich rockstars”. Powell admits “We’re just trying to live up to our dream life!”

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Aiden: Maybe NOFX. I'm a huge fan and getting to watch them every night would be awesome.

Native New Yorker’s Coheed and Cambria are currently working on their fifth studio album,which will be released this year. The bands albums are based on singer Claudios comic book series, with this album being a prequel to previous albums events.

Broken Records Magazine: The video for “Feathers” won Kerang’s 2008 best music video, were any of the band members responsible for the concept of the video?

Michael Todd: Yeah we wrote it. We shopped the idea to a couple directors. They gave us some ideas we gave some back and that’s where it came from.

BRM: What’s it like getting to play at places like Madison Square Garden, do you prefer the small shows or big arenas?

MT: I prefer more intimate gigs but I like them for different reasons. It’s like the difference between being a studio band and being a live band…the intimate ones obviously are more personal. I can look people in the eye and I feel like I’m part of the crowd. The arena shows are more like a performance, people stand back

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and watch what we do. All eyes are on us.

We’re so far away from the audience…

I like them both for different reasons .

BRM: Will any Shabutie material resurface?

MT: Nah, those songs are dead. Shabutie was a three piece, Claudio, myself and a different drummer. Those songs were in a special place and time and we’re going to leave them there.

BRM: I heard you have a solo project you’re working on.

MT: I’ve been so busy with the Coheed stuff. I’ve done tons of writing, a little bit of recording. I’d like to have at least a five song EP done by the end of the year.

BRM:Do you guys have any particularly memorable or crazy tour experiences?

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MT: All my favorite tour experiences were when we were touring the first three or four years. There were tiems we were in hotelswe were drinking a lot at the time.We’d take all the plants and wed bring them all to our room, so when you opened the door it was like a god damn jungle. You couldn’t see the other end of the room. So one time, I don’t know where I was, Travis was doing this jungalization of the room, he had no idea he was being watched by security monitors all night long and they let him do it and then at five AM, they came to his room with a photograph of him dragging a tree into the elevator and they were like ‘that’s really funny, now put them all back.’ So at six in the morning he’s walking around in his pajamas putting all these plants back. That was one of our favorites, we don’t do anything dangerous or terribly illegal but that was a good one.

Interview by Michael Musacchio

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Broken Records Magazine: From what I understand you are a Stratocaster man.

What separates the Stratocaster from any other guitar for you?

Buddy Guy: I’ll be seventy three now, and you know in the beginning, when John Lee Hooker and them were playing, if you dropped a guitar it could crack open like a baseball bat. People then were playing for the love of making music and not to make a living. They couldn’t afford to break the guitar and then buy another one. The Stratocaster can handle the wear and tear. You can drop it and won’t shatter like glass. I knew I couldn’t play the guitar real well, so I had to focus on showmanship, and so I was really rough on my guitar. The Fender can suffer the wear and tear. Now I play the Gibson and Fender.

BRM: How often do you play guitar outside of performances?

BG: Me and B.B. King were just talking about that. I don’t rehearse as much as I should. I know it’s a bad habit and what I tell young musicians is that it’s never too late to learn. Don’t feel like you know everything, there’s always something to learn. So I like to listen to new music and find out what’s out there. I play by ear, I don’t read music. I got a guitar sitting here in my room right now but I haven’t played it yet. When I go on stage and I hear my band playing, that’s when I really play.

BRM: How and when did you first start creating a distorted sound?

BG: You know that’s a good question. I don’t really know. I came to Chicago and there were so many good guitarists, that they were all just dancing around me. I had to find a way to join the crowd and I wasn’t a very good guitar player., so I had to find a way to create my own sound.

and boil all of the odds and ends and you’ve got gumbo. Music for me is like gumbo. I like everything, even country western. I like to hear what’s out there and try to learn something new.

those two people really liked. I won an award for Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.

BRM: What do you go home and listen to?

BG: I’ve been listening to a lot of spiritual music. I was talking to B.B. and he’s been listening to a lot of spiritual music too. During the doo-wop times you’d have people like The Temptations, five or six guys making music with no band.

Their voices were the instruments; they were the piano, the guitar, etcetra.

BRM: What do you think about the music industry and the future of music?

BG: It’s kind of scary because technology is playing a big part. People don’t even sing directly on the track. People are doing it for the love of money and not for the love of music. You won’t find a BRM: Do you ever play acoustic guitar blues guy doing that. I remember in the anymore?

BRM: What is your favorite thing to 50’s and 60’s deejays would play a track BG: Oh yeah, every once in awhile. I’ve and have you come up to the mic and lip eat at Jazz Fest? got a couple of CDs, I think there’s one with sync. Back in the Chess days I would cut BG: You know I’m from Louisiana and me and Junior Wells and another called a track, go to the bathroom, come back, well, that’s all people in Louisiana do is Sweet Tea that are both almost all acoustic. and they’d be playing my track, and I’d eat, to work, sleep, and then, eat again. be like ‘that don’t even sound like me’. I I love the food. I like things my mama BRM: Do you have any favorite contem- tried that in the early days, but I just don’t would make; you know red beans and rice, porary blues guitarists? like to record that way. gumbo or even dark gravy over white rice.

BG: Oh…you know I love them all. We I was telling my sister who still lives in could end the interview with this question. BRM: Which of your records would Louisiana that when I’m there, I’m like I listen to all of them. You know I’m from you say is your best or favorite?

I’ve got to get out of here, because I’ve Louisiana and you know about gumbo? BG: I let the public decide that. But I eaten so much. There’s food everywhere.

Well, gumbo is a food where you just throw guess my biggest are Damn Right I’ve Got I’m gonna get so big I won’t be able to in the scraps, whatever you can fine, and the Blues and It Feels Like Rain, pick up a guitar.

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N ew OBrleans J azz a nd H eritage F estival y Alicia Gallagher photos by kyra kverno The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, widely known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture that comes out of New Orleans, Louisiana. It officially began in 1970 and marked its 40th anniversary this year. It is the oldest music festival in the United States.It started out at Louis Armstrong Park,which is in the historical Congo Square,and was held there for the first two years between 1970 and 1972. Because of its rapid growth, itwas soon moved to the New Orleans Fairgrounds and Racetrack. It includes musicranging from Cajun, blues, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, bluegrass, R&B, folk music,rock, rap music, Latin, gospel, and both traditional and contemporary jazz. It is the most unique music festival in the nation, if not in the entire world. Not only is it dedicated to music, but also to cultural and historical practices that have come out of New Orleans. It’s a seven day festival with twelve stages and is split into two weekends. This is the first year since Katrina where Thursdays have been added back into the second weekend. Ilike to compare Jazz Fest to the traditional New Orleans dish Gumbo, It’s a mixture of different types of music, people, history, language, food, and culture.

Headliners this year included, Etta James and the Roots Band, Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett, The Kings of Leon, and the Dave Matthews Band. Jazz Fest is an entire experience within and outside of the actual festival, it is a spiritthat encompasses the days before, during,in between, and a few days after. From thetime of arrival you’ll hear or read “HappyJazz Fest” at shows, while dining, and onsigns at the liquor store and outside of bars advertising Jazz Fest specials. Everywhereyou go people are talking about it, askingyou about your festival experience, plans,and expectations. There is also a smaller version called Chazfest which happens on the Wednesday in between the two weekends which is named after washboard virtuoso, “Washboard Chaz,” Chaz Leary. My Jazz Fest always begins at Vaughn’s with Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers on Thuraday in the bywater. Even thoughit’s the day before the festival, it feels like it’s the first day, and Kermit and his bandmake sure of that. I was especially pleasedto discover that Kermit had opened his own place, Kermit’s Saloon. I now could count on getting a double fix of Kermit! Another must see and must do for me is to paya visit to The New Orleans Bingo! Show, which is a vaudevillian interactive theatricalcabaret and musical band with drunkenclowns and live bingo. They are trulyone of the many gems of New Orleans.I made a point to check them out at the Tipitina’s in uptown on the Thursday beforethe second weekend, where they werejoined by the Fleur de Tease burlesque group and members of the PreservationHall Jazz Band (Clint Maedgen, Bingo’sfront man and Ron Rona are also a partof the Preservation Hall Jazz Band) and left with bingo and Jameson on the brain.

Prepare to be a Glutton

New Orleans Bingo Show

Usually I find it a drag to eat at festivals. Everything is usually overpriced and extraordinarily bland. This is not the case at Jazz Fest.

Be prepared to spoil your palette.New Orleanians take pride in their food and have seemed to have taken a vow to not serve “festival food.” I think this is because food is an accompaniment to the music and culture of New Orleans. Some of the tasty treats offered, but are not limited to, include: Sweet Potato Chips, Cracklins, Crawfish Strudel, Chicken Tasso over Creole Rice, Pork and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya, Crawfish Monica, Soft-shell Crab Po’Boy, Cochon Au Lait Po’Boy, CreoleHot Tamales, Catfish Almandine, Alligator Pie, Crawfish Remoulade,Cajun Boudin, Lemon Poundcake, Crawfish Bread, Sausage and Jalapeno Bread, Seafood Au Gratin, Creole StuffedCrab, Blackberry Cobbler, Andouille Quail Pheasant Gumbo, Crawfish Puff, Fried Popcorn Shrimp, and all kinds of pie (both sweet and savory).

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First Weekend

Second Weekend

The first weekend was the calm before thestorm, it was the shorter weekend. In knowing that thesecond weekend was going to be busy, Idecided to camp at the Gentilly Stage bothSaturday and Sunday and could be assuredthat wherever I was there was bound to begood music. Saturday was afunk filled day, beginning with Joe Krown,Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Russel Bautiste.

Washington laughed, howled, and crooned before noon, turning thecrowd into one animal, bobbing its head,dancing, smoking reefer, hooting, and hollering.It was a good way to start the day.

Big Sam’s Funky Nation went on next andhad everyone on the ground with “Shake Yo Thang.” Ivan Neville’s Dumpstafunk kept it funky, New Orleans style with “Putit in the Dumpster.” Slowlybut surely hipsters began to invade the stage in bright sunglasses and skinny jeans readyingthemselves for Galactic and then Wilco.

A high spirited and quirky Jeff Tweedy joked about someone’s marking pole, “Is that apork chop? It looks like a pork chop. Ohit’s a mustache. Go and get a pork chop and then you can come back.”

Later onin the set, a shirtless John Holmes dancedon stage 1970’s style with a cow bell andmullet during Woody Guthrie’s “HoodooVoodoo.” On Sunday, it was another day at the Gentilly Stage with a brand new EttaJames to close the day. Etta came on with a sequin top, a fresh wig, and a whole lot of nasty. She avoided most of her ballads,and rather than belting out lyrics, she tookon a growl, while she sat in her throne with her hands searching her body both above and below the waist. At one point she said, “I’m gonna do a song for you called ‘if thiswig would stop blowin’ off my head.”

At seventy one years old, Etta has managed to retain her attitude, sassiness, and sense of humor.

Thursday was very low key in terms of the turn-out, being mostly locals, the lines were shorter and the population remained at a tame size. In the Blues Tent, Little Freddie King went on stage in a loud Italian suit with orange slacks, a pale yellow Oxford shirt, dark sunglasses, and a panama hat. He has been playing at Jazz Fest consecutively since it’s birth. He danced along stage, swinging his legs, moving his knees in and out, and hopping with his guitar as though they were one. I later popped in on an interview with Emmylou Harris with interviewer Ben Sandmel, only to expect to be swooned by the angelic Emmylou soon after to close the festival for that day. Due to musical greed, I didn’t stay for the entire set because I had to get a little bit of Solomon Burke, who rolled on stage decked in a bright, shiny purple suit, and a white fur trimmed red cape, and began with “Cry to Me”. The rest of the weekend became a blur of one long musical journey with diversity worth mentioning. It went from the Crocodile Gumboot Dancers of South Africa, to Geno Delafose and French Rockin Boogie, to an unforgettable Patty Griffin who at one point reminisced about meeting Mavis Staples. She said, “Some people meet the Dalai Lama and they’re good. I met Mavis and I’m like I’m good for the next twenty years.” Through pure luck, I caught the end of Big Chief Bo Dollis with Marva Wright on stage, and the weight of emotion that streamed from the stage to the audience was indescribable. Tears were shed. The end to my festival was the ever impressive showman Buddy Guy in the Blues Tent. It began to pour, surprisingly, for the first time on the last day of the festival, right before Buddy Guy was to go on. People happily invaded the tent drenched and prepared to be devoured by Buddy Guy and the wonderful distorted sounds that would come from his guitar. All in all, the festival was an orgy of music that I dare not denounce, time to start planning for next year.

Eddie Bo and Snooks Eaglin Jazz Funeral BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Clockwise from top left: Neil Young, Wilco’s John Stirratt, Big Chief Bo Dollis and Marva Wright, Allen Toussaint BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Picture this: Thursday night, May 28th 2009, a flood of very eager concert-goers start filing into the legendary Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York City. The hallway walls are adorned with pictures of performers who had graced the stage over the past thirty years. Everyone from Bob Dylan to Megadeth have played there, and now, for the first time, Chickenfoot!

The band takes the stage around 9:45pm amidst a cheering, anxious audience. As Sammy and the boys launch in to their first song, “Avenida Revolution”, it’s very clear to see that they have great chemistry on stage together. As the show proceeded, they played more songs off of their self-titled debut album, such as “Soap on a Rope” and “Sexy Little Thing”. Hagar’s voice is flawless and the band’s collective energy is amazing. Chickenfoot, then, kicks in with their first single “Oh Yeah”. The big chorus of the song has every singing along and raising their fists in the air.

Throughout the night, drummer Chad Smith and Sammy spoke to the audience, joking about some road stories. At one point, they mention that Joe Satriani is from New York and they point out his mother, who is sitting in the VIP section. They tell Joe that his mom is hot and they thanked her for “birthing Joe”.

The band played more selections, including: “Runnin’ Out”, “Get It Up”, “Down the Drain”, and “Bitten by the Wolf”.

For the last two songs of the encore, Chickenfoot played the first song Sammy Hagar had ever written called “Bad Motor Scooter”.

Hagar had come out playing a lap steel guitar slide intro before kicking in to the main riff. Towards the end of the song, Satriani and Sammy play blistering guitar solos which show that he isn’t just a talented singer. The final song of the night was an incredible version of the Deep Purple classic “Highway Star”.

Overall, the audience response was great and the band looked as though they had a great time. There were no laser shows, pyrotechnics, or crazy antics; there was just the band, the audience, and music. Isn’t that all a rock show needs to be great?

All I have to say to that is, “Oh Yeah”!

By Joe Penacchio Photos by Scott Vollweiler BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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“If you’re here to see David Archuleta…you’re at the wrong concert,” exclaimed David Cook, winner of TV’s American Idol’s season seven at his second of two dates at the Borgata Hotel and Casio in Atlantic City, NJ. Cook’s star has been rising since winning the show and signing a lucrative recording contract with 19/RCA. His debut album, Declaration has gone platinum and his shows have been selling out and his Borgata show was no different.

The packed venue was filled with fans of just about all ages. In the front row was a child no older than ten years of age, singing back every lyric. Just down the row you had a retiree standing and flailing her arms around like a child.

Funny enough, the older woman was wearing a homemade David Cook t-shirt that listed all the tour dates she had attended around the country. Needless to say, there were more dates on the shirt than the child’s years she’d lived.

This was David Cook’s first ever headlining tour and he definitely knows how to rock. His band consisted of three guitarists (himself included), a bassist, keyboardist and a drummer. The band ran through tracks “Mr. Sensitive”, “Lie”, heavy hitting “Bar-Ba-Sol”, and his two singles “Light On” and “Come Back To Me.” Cook even included a few tracks from his pre-idol album, which was a number one download on Amazon.com during his “Idol” stint. Since Cook had become so famous because he could sing covers, he added two crowd pleasers: Alice In Chains’ “Man In The Box” and Van Halens’ “Hot For Teacher” which they totally nailed.

While the band left the stage, clamoring for the encore, the buzz was which songs they’d close with that night. The result was, for me unexpected, “A Daily Anthem.”

I left the show wondering, “Where was Time Of Your Life?” I guess you can’t play every song.

Review and photo by Scott Vollweiler

David Cook

Review and photo by Scott Vollweiler

Metal’s leading lady, Maria Brink, singer of In This Moment, and the rest of the band recently played a rare acoustic set at a NYC metal bar for Metal Couture’s latest fashion show. Although the once rare feat of a hard rock band playing their heaviest songs acoustic has become standard practice, In This Moment still kept the tiny crowd at the private event captivated. “We had done four songs before but this was the first we played five songs, as a full band,” Maria tells us.

In This Moment’s sound has a special ingredient in the overall mix. It’s not only their dual guitar attack playing crushing riffs and ripping solos or their bass and drums’ in-sync rhythm section, Brink’s vocal styling makes the band stand out from most other groups of the same genre. Her almost angelic vocals keep In This Moment a mainstay on rock radio. “We’ve been pretty blessed with the opportunities that have been handed to us, between radio and the tours we’ve been offered, things just keep happening.”

With their latest album, The Dream (Century Media), debuting at number 70 on the Billboard 200, In This Moment has gotten closer to seeing the fruits of their success. “We don’t feel we’ve reached that success yet. We still do the same things every day.” The band decided this time around to “grow as musicians” and make a “stronger and more grown up record.”

In This Moment is no stranger to summer long rock festivals. After being a part of the biggest metal festival of all time (Ozzfest), they have been invited to play the whole Warped Tour. “Warped is a very diverse crowd so it should open up doors for us. Warped Tour has had everyone from Bad Religion, My Chemical Romance, even Avenged Sevenfold. We are in a big world and can only hope more fans find us from a tour like this. It seems like most of the bands that play the festival come out on a different level.”

If you haven’t heard about Maria’s article in the music issue of Playboy, then you have been under a rock and you need to google it. The non-nude photo of her is causing such a stir on the internet. “Maybe they assume I’m nude, but then they find out I’m not, but I don’t know. Maybe when they hear the name is attached to Playboy. It was a fun photo-shoot. I like photo-shoots and I don’t mind being sexy in them. It’s fun. I’m very comfortable with that side of myself. I guess it’s a good thing when people are talking about it.”

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Willie Nelson

It was a beautiful spring evening in East Brunswick, NJ. People were out walking around the college town where you will find Rutgers University. Restaurants had tables setup outside for patrons to eat. Yet there was a very sweet smell in the air. That could only mean the college students were partying on a Saturday night OR that Willie Nelson was in town. Luckily for the legion of fans, it was the latter. The Country music legend was in town, playing the State Theater during his latest tour. When arriving to the show, it was easy to notice the wide age range that has been touched by Willie’s music.

We saw young children singing along and we saw an elderly man tapping his cane to the music. Never say country music is for the south; there are plenty of rednecks up in North Jersey.

Willie’s world class bluesy-country kept the sold out crowd on their feet for the entire hour and a half performance. While many of his tunes were based on the same blues chord progressions, it was his constant barrage of hits that kept the crowd singing. Besides his “rare gems” as Willie called them, he also played some of his most famous songs, “On The Road Again,” “You Were Always On My Mind,” and my personal favorite “Georgia On My Mind.”

The seventy-five year old musician still played faster and sweeter than musicians half his age. With his trusty old classical style guitar, Willie traded solos with his harmonica player and his sister, the pianist. The entire crowd exploded every time he completed a solo.

Besides one drunken fight between two fans, the show was unforgettable. It’s not often you get this kind of outlaw country up north.

Willie’s age may be getting higher and higher (well I guess so is he), but his music is timeless.

Review and photo by Scott Vollweiler

Jeffrey Steele

At first glance Jeffrey Steele may evoke the image of a silky haired Billy Ray Cyrus but once Steele opens his mouth it¹s clear he is not just another head of pretty hair. Hitting the stage promptly Wednesday night at Joe’s Pub with little more than his acoustic guitar, piano, and a mic, Jeffrey Steele proved all real talent needs is a stage for it to shine.

Steele, best known for his songwriting skills rather than his career as a solo artist, played an acoustic set of recognizable numbers made famous by the likes of Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw.

“You may know this one from Rascal Flatts”, said Steele, smiling coyly out at the small audience prefaced. “Me and My Gang”. A solo Steele on guitar, played other notables such as "My Wish" and "Once a Cowboy" ³They told me country music has progressed no one writes songs about cowboys anymore, so I wrote this song.² Steeled joked.

Intermittently pausing between numbers throughout the night, Steele kept things light hearted while commanding the crowds attention, proving his presence as a performer. However, it was his solo rendition of “What Hurts The Most” on piano that swept an awe of silence through the room. The sound of each note as Steele¹s hands slid effortlessly over the keys soaking the air with its sadness, his voice tinged with heartache and his eyes closed remembering something the crowd could not see; it was nothing short of captivating.

With each breath of each note Steele made the audience feel the pain of loneliness, the joy of love, the hurt of missing someone he makes you believe each word of his sadness. It¹s both powerful and haunting all at once. It¹s a rarity, a moment most entertainers strive to achieve; a moment in which Jeffrey Steele proves he¹s not just another performer. He has true talent.

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Review and photo by Kristin Tully MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine

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Gavin Rossdale Review and photo by Kristin Tully

Pretty can only take you so far; luckily for Gavin Rossdale he’s got both looks and talent. On May 5th, the genetically blessed rocker hit the stage to promote his latest sole release WANDERlust at The Gramercy Theater in New York City. Backed by a four-piece band, Rossdale played like a hungry new artist trying to make a favorable impression on the women-based crowd.

When Rossdale wasn’t anchored behind his guitar, his frenzied attempt at (one can only assume) dancing- i.e. jumping, twirling, flailing arms, and kneeling on par with the crowds squealed- was a bit awkward to say the least. However, the cringe worthy dance moves seemed to go unnoticed by the female crowd whose saucersized eyes stared eagerly up at the rocker.

Proving their loyalty as fans, the crowd sang along to favorites from the new album such as “Can’t Stop The World” and “Love Remains the Same”. While there’s no denying Rossdale’s raspyvoice is a major part of his appeal, during his cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, it worked against him. The rocker’s attempt at creating a sincere, inspiring moment didn’t come off quite as smoothly as the rest of the ninety minute set. Struggling to hit a few of the notes the crowd sang along dutifully, erasing any doubt that even a poor choice of song, such as this one, could dethrone the rockstar.

But it was Rossdale’s revival of the Bush classic “Everything Zen” that really proved Rossdale’s magnetic appeal. Whether he is playing Bush or his solo stuff, Rossdale has still got it.

Mandy Moore

Review and photo by Scott Vollweiler

“Hey everyone! Thank you all for coming and checking out my new album!” exclaimed Mandy Moore, the crossover music to movie star.

Miss Moore recently performed at an exclusive and private concert at New York City’s Highline Ballroom. The hundreds in attendance were friends, family, record company reps and fans that purchased her newest album, “Amanda Leigh,” from a local Best Buy store. The album is a big departure from her previous teenie pop oriented albums. She abandoned the pop world for the more indie, singer/songwriter style a la her husband, Ryan Adams.

Mandy Moore’s just short of an hour performance only performed songs from the new album. While a good portion of the crowd was able to sing along, or at least hum along with the songs, a few fans seemed upset at the fact she didn’t play any older tunes. She explained to the crowd that the experience making the album was very much like “summer camp…except in the winter. It was very intense. At the end of the recording process, I started to cry. It was such a great moment.”

To accompany Mandy onstage was a keyboardist/organist and her guitarist/co writer of the album, Mike Viola. While the three toyed around on stage, messing with each other on the intros of tunes, the trio was quite in sync, with each also singing. The stand out song of the night was the upbeat, tongue in cheek track, “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week”. “I know you all know I’m not a heartbreaker, can you all pretend I am for this song?” asked Mandy. The singer seemed a little confused during a repeated section in the refrain.

After the song finished, she asked Viola if he could do the section again explaining that she also loved the “crowd participation and sing along” at the end of a song. So the trio went through the chorus one last time with the crowd involved.

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Steve Martin Review and photo by Scott Vollweiler

When you are the world's funniest actor and comedian, life is grand. When you are also considered to be one of the world's best banjo player, you must be Steve Martin.

The comic legend has recently put out his newest album of Bluegrass music. He has been making the rounds on almost every morning talk show and even made a musical appearance on the American Idol finale. With his band in tow, Steve Martin recently performed two sold out shows at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.

Alongside his friends in the Nitty Gritty Band (Fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and upright bass), Martin performed for just over an hour. With his 1927 Gibson banjo in hand, Martin joked, "I used to think, Wow this instrument is old, but it's only a few years older than me!" The group traded solos with precision; in some tunes, they traded "4's" and in one tune they traded "2's."

The candid Steve Martin performance was just that. In between songs, he would tune his banjo and tell stories and jokes and the same time. Right before starting the tune "Turnaround Song," he told the crowd he had written it up in his house in Aspen. "The idea behind the song was to play really fast and use a turnaround, which is common practice at the end of a section in Bluegrass.

Well I was stoned, so it seemed like a great idea!" He also joked about the song "Saga of the Old West." "This would be the spot in the TV show where they would cut to a commerical," Martin joked. In addition to those tunes, other notables were "Words Unspoken" which took fourty five years for him to complete, and a rousing rendition of the Bluegrass standard "Orange Blossom Special."

While Bluegrass isn't extremely common in NYC, Steve Martin didn't care, and neither did the audience. The sold out crowd loved every minute of the show. This was a rare opportunity to capture a legend in such a intimate venue.

“Who says there’s no rednecks in New York City,” exclaimed country music superstar, Jason Aldean, at his gig at BB King Blues Club in Manhattan on May 6th.

The sold out crowd, which was a mix of New Yorkers and fans around the country bonded over conversation about previous Jason Aldean performances. One fan from Louisiana mentioned, “I have seen him eight times and gets better every time.”

Aldean opened the show with the song “Wide Open.” a track from his latest album with the same name. While he dug deep into his three albums, it was fan favorites “Johnny Cash,” “Relentless,” “Crazy Town,” and his #1 smash single, “She’s Country” that had the crowd singing and dancing. Aldean also announced his next single would be “Big Green Tractor.” He noted, “this song was my funny attempt at a love song.”

“Before the night’s over, you’ll figure out we’re not a normal country band,” Aldean then adds, “We’re so influenced by rock, but not this new rock but real rock and roll from the 70’s.” From there the band kicked into the Tom Petty classic, “Won’t Back Down.” While this wasn’t the only cover, it was the only one played normally. The band also included Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” but was played in a really odd key.

While country music shows are rare in New York City, it’s seemingly getting more popular. The shows are truly becoming a little bit country and little bit rock and roll!

Review and photos by Scott Vollweiler BrokenRecordsOnline.com

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Rhythm Brews and

Renowned blues guitarist and vocalist Tommy Castro has brought together a group of truly talented musicians. Castro was just named B.B. King Blues Entertainer of the Year in the 2008 Blues Music Awards, not to mention his album Painkiller won Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. Magic Dick is best known for his years playing the harmonica in the legendary J.Geils Band. Blues and boogie-woogie pianist and vocalist Deanna Bogart not only has been leading her own band, but has shared the stage with a variety of musicians, including Ray Charles, Spyro Gyra, Buddy Guy, Leon Russell, Robert Cray, James Brown, They Might Be Giants, Little Feat, Brian Setzer, and many more. Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of the blues legend Lonnie Brooks, has obviously been influenced by guys like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King and has put his own twist on it. The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue is a brainchild that is a result of The Blues Cruise, something Tommy Castro and the gang have been apart of for several years. They wanted to create that same interactive and improvisational atmosphere and bring it to land and they did.

I arrived fifteen minutes late and walked into the middle of the third or fourth song. Everyone seemed to be over fifty. I looked around the room, it was not full. I wondered if that had anything to do with The Blender Theater website debacle, something I had heard Tommy was pretty upset about. I had done a little research of my own and found out that The Blender Theater website was being ran by a broker and was not only charging twice as much for tickets, but was also misrepresenting the show by only listing Tommy Castro as the featured musician. The Live Nation website was the only place where the tickets were being sold for face value, as well as properly representing the tour. I was sure that that had to of had an impact on the turn out.

The room was intimate, with room for standing, as well as a few rows of fold-out chairs up front. It had red velvet theater seats ascending fifteen rows or so in the back of the space. I swiftly moved in and parked myself stage left, conveniently next to the bar. I noticed that there were already a few free spirits letting loose while the rest of the crowd had their eyes fixed on the band.

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By Alicia Gallagher Photos by Kyra Kverno

I was drawn to bass player, Scott Sutherland. He was dressed in all black (as was the rest of the band), and wore a funky hat with a dark bandanna tied beneath. He did a little jig as he and the bass moved about the stage. He'd move side to side, while moving his knees in and out, and every so often he'd crouch down and pop back back up. I was sure when he turned around there would be a wind-up key coming out of his back. I then was distracted by Deanna Bogart, not just sitting at her bench behind the keyboard, but on her knees, as she violently tossed her head back and forth while her fingers fiercely danced along the keys. The crowd was loving every bit of it! Somewhere in the middle of the first set, Castro apologized to the audience for the whole ticket mishap. Later Magic Dick stepped out on stage with dark, small, oval-shaped sunglasses and started to blow away at the harmonica.

He eventually switched his harmonica to what looked like an shiny blue electric shaver (although I'm pretty sure it wasn't that), and geared the band into Jimmy Cliff's "Give It To Me". The songs seemed fluid and seamlessly went from genre to genre, everything from funk, blues, to ballads. They played "Tell Me Mama", "Hipshaker Baby", and "See You Hurt No More".

I was reminded of Buddy Guy when Ronnie Baker Brooks took his guitar into the crowd and played, while stopping to shake hands. He worked himself to behind the bar, grabbed a Hennessy bottle and used it to play his guitar. He then managed to pour himself a drink, sticking two red cocktail straws into the glass sucked it down in a matter of seconds.

The band concluded with Albert King's infamous "Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die", while Brooks played Tommy's guitar from behind. The crowd was happy, the band was happy, and everyone seemed to of had a great time. After the show, I ended up talking to several fans who had been victims of The Blender Theater's price gouging, yet gladly paid the price. They were happy to have been there and had no regrets.

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By Nicole Seblano Photos by Scott Vollweiler Kelly Clarkson

Warm weather has finally arrived, bring on the tank tops, the flip flops and Zootopia. Wait, Zootopia? Z100, New York's #1 pop music radio station, had their annual Spring/Summer concert May 16 at New Jersey’s Izod Center. The shows lineup proved to be as diverse as the people of New York.

Artists included Kelly Clarkson, All American Rejects, Flo Rida, Soulja Boy, Ciara, Jesse McCartney and headliners The Black Eyed Peas.

Girls of all ages went wild for dreamy pop-star Jesse McCartney, who started off the show, with hit “Leavin.” And if you think the girls went crazy when they first saw him, the screams only got louder with “Beautiful Soul”, “How do you Sleep”, and “It’s Over” (which he declared his favorite song of the album). The former boyband member is out promoting his latest album, Departure.

Next up was Soulja Boy who got the crowd on their feet with “Turn my Swag On” and the ultra catchy “Soulja Boy (Crank That)”. The young rapper ran around the stage dancing while his platinum and diamond crested “Soulja Boy” necklace whipped around his neck. Unfortunately, he only played an abbreviated set. In addition, he seemed too involved with his dancing and crowd participation rather than actually rapping into the microphone; he left most of the vocals to his hype man and DJ. Taylor Momsen, star of hit-series, Gossip Girl, was accompanied by the cast of the Elvis Duran and the Z Morning Zoo morning talk show. The ensemble introduced All American Rejects. Backstage, Momsen had been speaking briefly about her band, The Pretty Reckless. Prior to the show, Momsen told us that “Music is my life. I’d rather be playing music than acting.” She also added that her band, who has been the opening support for the Veronicas, is “all about rock and roll.”

The All American Rejects performed “Swing, Swing” from their first album and “Move Along”. They had the crowd on their feet from beginning to end while ending their set with their number one smash hit “Gives you Hell” and their new single, “The Wind Blows.” The latter song is a haunting acoustic song, a far cry from any other AAR song released to date. The power trio never ceases to be a top live band. Their songs are so high energy and catchy that the crowd never gets bored. The girls in the front row almost made us all go deaf with their high pitch screams.

All decked out in a tight, black jumpsuit, Ciara came out with her dancers and did the booty shake that made her so famous. The audience cheered and sang along to “Love Sex Magic” while watching Ciara move around the whole stage incorporating splits into her dance routines. While her set was short, she did play her other singles.

Next up was the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. The “Miss Independent” singer jumped around on stage and belted out her hit songs. By far, Kelly Clarkson had the best vocals of the entire show. She had all the girls and guys in the crowd pumping their fists to hits like “Walk Away” and “Since you Been Gone.” Kelly’s set was a bit longer than the previous performers but you could tell the crowd still wanted more of this Texas star and more is what she gave them, performing off the new record “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up”. This was Kelly's first NY/NJ appearance since releasing the record. From the screaming and hollering from the crowd, it seemed the Kelly was the one they were all waiting for and she delivered!

Following Kelly Clarkson should have been a tough task but Flo Rida was ready. The hip hop superstar dropped his hits "Low" and "Right Round." While his set up was actually really fun to watch, it seemed as if he only performed those two songs, almost as if he played long, extended versions just to keep the crowd pumped. During the song "Low," Flo Rida pulled on stage four young girls. He asked them, "How low can you go?" The crowd went crazy and the girls danced and got low. Flo Rida teased the people in the front rows, asking them if they wanted his heavy diamond jewelry. As he would take the pieces off, he would make a fake attempt to throw into the crowd. "Yeah right, psych!" he said. To end the set, he played his latest chart topper "Right Round" and he had his whole crew grab a towel and swing them around in the air.

To close the show, Z100 had the hottest group in the country headline: The Black Eyed Peas. The "Peas" are riding high on their latest hit single "Boom Boom Pow." The group which consists of members Will.I.Am Api.De.Ap, Taboo, and Fergie, had an elaborate stage show with LED lights saying "Black Eyed Peas," a two-level stage with the band scattered around, and big inflatable robots on each side of the stage. The band’s hour long set consisted of hit songs “Let’s Get Retarded” (the radio version is “Let’s Get It Started”), “Don’t Phunk With My Heart,” “My Humps” and many others. The Black Eyed Peas consistently blend hip hop and pop with such ease. Lead singer Fergie, who is the most recognizable member of the group, sounded just as great live as she does on her albums. Each member of the group usually takes a verse during a song, puts their own “flavor” on it and then gets the crowd pumped.

Never have I seen a group’s members be able to be the lead and on the next step just be a hype man/woman and be so good at it.

All in all, Zooptopia proved to be a successful mixture of what NY/NJ music fans want: rock, pop and hip hop.

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Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson

will.i.am

Soulja Boy

Flo Rida

The All American Rejects’ Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter

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All the Real World’s a Stage

BUZz baNds

For the boys of Parachute, stepping into the “real world” after college graduation meant stepping onto stages across the nation. The band that began in high school as Sparky’s Flaw was signed to Mercury records last spring. Lead guitarist and back up vocalist Nate McFarland tells Broken Records Magazine that they chose that name because it was “positive and hopeful” and that’s the feeling their music delivers. He and his band mates, Kit French (saxophone), Alex Hargrave (bass), Johnny Stubblefiled (drums) and Will Anderson (Lead vocals, guitars and piano) will be touring for their debut LP Losing Sleep with the likes of 3 Doors Down and The Script.

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Broken Records Magazine: What are your major influences?

John: Everybody in the band has different influences. Will does the majority of our songwriting. Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul Simon, those guys are really the influences that got us into music in the first place.

Will: And Ben Folds.

John: We like Coldplay too and The Killers.

BRM: How do you guys work together when writing material?

Will: Usually I write the songs. Usually I write in my room, alone. I have a pretty set writing time. On days where I’m just lounging around my house so my mind is clear enough to start writing. Usually I write the idea on my own and bring the idea to the band. When Alex and I lived together I’d play it for Alex. Eventually we all get together and practice and figure out what works for us. Sometimes Nate and I write together in the studio or my parents’ house. It depends on the situation.Then we play it for the other guys later to work the kinks out.

BRM: Who did you work with as far as a producer?

Will: We worked with a lot of different producers. John Shanks was one of the first producers I met with but I didn’t know if he was going to work for us. He’s done everything from Bon Jovi to Ashley Simpson and everything in between. He’s a great pop producer. We worked with John Fields who worked with Switchfoot and the Jonas Brothers; Eric Rosse, who worked with Sara Bareilles and Tori Amos-great piano/bass records which I really like. We also worked with a guy Chris Keup who is a good friend of ours. We’ve been working with him for awhile, he’s the one who before we got signed, helped us out with demos. He worked with Jason Mraz and Lifehouse. He was definitely in our genre but we worked with a plethora of producers but we learned a lot from each of them.

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BRM: Did you find it difficult being in school at the same time as having the band? Were people supportive of you?

Nate: Yeah definitely. On the label side they were the ones encouraging us to finish school, which is great. On the school side, our parents were excited that we were getting started early with a lucrative career (everyone laughs). Our friends were understanding that we were gone just about every weekend.

BRM: How did you guys end up having your song “She is Love” on a Nivea commercial?

Will: Nivea came to us. They really like the song. They thought it fit well with an ad campaign they were doing. For us it was definitely a no brainer, it made sense, the company was great. They were really supportive of the music and they just thought it was a great fit and we agreed that it was classy and did the song justice. In the new paradigm of the music industry I think it was an incredible opportunity that were all very thankful that we got because it really did get that song out there to an incredible amount of people. It was a lot bigger than we would’ve ever imagined.

BRM: That’s pretty sweet, it’s got to be kind of weird flipping through the channels and hearing one of your songs on TV like that.

Will: Yea it was a trip for all of us when we first heard it, definitely mind blowing.

BRM: Any good tour stories?

Johnny: What genre do you want? (All laugh).We just arrived in New York City today and were in a rental cargo van ‘cause our noble tour van, is now in the shop. We’ve tried getting it repaired for the last three weeks. Every time we take it to the shop, I don’t think anyone actually complained that it was broken but it’s pretty easy to tell (all laughing). The locks are completely gone from the door because someone broke into it in Seacaucus, New Jersey. (Everybody begins speaking almost at once, laughter fills the room again).

And our windows shattered.

The tired blew out.

The trailer fell off the back of the van.

The van stalls out every ten minutes.

And the fuel pump…

That was a lot of damage right there.

I think we’re ready to start a reality TV show about our van.

The van actually fell off the lift too, when we were jacking it up.

BRM: Now that’s the van you named Steve Perry correct?

(All laughed and cheer) Yeah!

Will: We named the current cargo van Prairie Prince, who was the short lived auxiliary percussionist of the band Journey. He was the touring guy and they kicked him out after one summer of touring because he sucked so bad. We figured this van is only going to be with us for a little bit of time so we decided to name it after him.

BRM: You have plans to write while on tour or save it for afterwards?

Will: I’m always writing it’s something I do to pass the time. It’s something I enjoy doing. I’m always writing and I think it’s a good thing to stay in that habit.

Nate: I think Will has a lot of material on the road (inspired) from Alex, our bass player. He’s been a muse, if you will.

BRM: How has the tour been going so BRM: Do you guys have any pre show far? rituals or warm ups?

Alex: Touring been going great. This is Hit it! One, two three… the actual first year that we got a chance to (All break into harmonious singing) really tour, we’re having an amazing time. “…before I get too far, you’ll be wishing I We’ve gotten chance to tour with tons of had stayed…” great people, great musicians. It’s really surreal to grow up listening to these musicians and then getting the chance to play Interview and photos with and meet them.

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BRM: How did everyone in the band meet?

Kit: The majority of us went to high school together. We weren’t really good (laughs) but we decided to make a band. We met Nate and Will in college and once we got him on board, that’s when we were finally able to take ourselves seriously (everyone laughs).

BRM: How long did it take to record your debut album Losing Sleep?

Will: The problem, well not problem so to speak, the total time, which was a month to a month and a half which is a pretty normal time for a first album but we were still in school (last May). We just kind of had to deal with school and recording as well so it was spread out over a year and a half, but I think total recording was about two months.

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J E S S I E J A M E S

WANTED

When you’re twenty years old, drop dead gorgeous and have vocal chops a la Christina Aguilera, life is good. Jessie James, Georgia’s best export since the peach, is riding high with her newest recordings. Her first single, “Wanted” is riding high on radio and on the net. She has been the video and song of the week on Myspace Music and iTunes and has been touring the country interviewing on local news outlets.

Jessie’s first single, “Wanted,” was co-written by American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, David Hodges and former SR-71 singer, Mitch Allan. “The song was written during my first writing session out in L.A.,” the singer told us.

“The first day we just got together just to get to know each other. The next day we came in and just nailed it.” When asked about the idea behind the song, Jessie told us that “since my name is really Jessie James, I figured it be cool to write a song with a play on the name. There was a guy at the time who I just wanted and I was definitely into him.

The next day I called the president of the label and was like I just wrote my first single.”

The bombshell, who considers herself musically bipolar, is very happy about the outcome of the sound on the album. “I have this really pop edgy side, then the deep organic side. There’s some fun banjo country music with hip hop beats, which I like to call Hick Hop music. Then there’s the stripped down and beautiful stuff too like me and guitar in a hotel room.” Being from the south and recording up north with all these pop writers could have been difficult for the singer but luckily she is a seasoned professional. “I’ve been writing since I was nine,” Jessie says, “but I’ve been writing with other people since I was fifteen in Nashville. I have written with John Rich from Big and Rich, who’s ridiculous. I’ve also written with Jamey Johnson who was just up for a Grammy. But when I got my record deal, they set me up with all these pop writers up in New York. The label tried to make me sing some other styles of music but everything I sang just had that twang in it. Just finally I was like, let me just sing a pop song with a country sound.”

Most recently, Jessie shot a spread for Maxim magazine, a magazine notorious for getting celebrities naked. Luckily for her mother, she didn’t bare it all for the world to see. “It was really classy. It wasn’t really sleazy at all. Most importantly, it was really fun. Of course Maxim is really revealing but I didn’t have to take off my top or anything.

My mother would’ve killed me.”

“I think the thing about me that makes me stand out is that I can actually sing. I have no problem singing on the spot. Someone can ask me to sing on top of a table in a restaurant and I’ll be fine with it. I was born with this voice.

I’m also a songwriter so I help create the sound; plus I play an instrument. Hopefully a lot of people will know that.

By Scott Vollweiler I want people to know that I am a real artist.”

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GLORIANA

Gloriana, country music’s overnight sensation, has hit the big time. The quartet, brothers Tom and Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinhart and Cheyenne Kimball (yes, the same Cheyenne that had her own MTV series) haven’t released a full length album, yet they have won a CMT award and are currently on a national tour with Taylor Swift. Their first single, “Wild At Heart,” was released to country radio early in 2009 and had peaked at #19 on Billboard’s Country chart. The tune is super catchy and filled with tight harmonies.

“That’s exactly what we were aiming for,” Tom Gossin told us.

We can expect “some traditional and modern country and bluegrass kind of stuff,” said Gossin before adding “and our biggest goal was to make it good all the way through; we didn’t want to skip any tracks.” While it seems almost standard play for country artists to work with outside songwriters, Gloriana went to the extreme. “We had a writing camp. We took a weekend and got together with twenty to thirty of the best writers in Nashville. After a weekend we came up with like sixty songs. We picked the best thirteen for the album.” Rachel Reinhart then added “it was so cool to have had the chance to write with these writers and that these songs were just written for our album.”

Each member of the group is a strong singer on their own. So I asked them if it was their intension to have tight four-part harmonies throughout. Reinhart answers, “We were very influenced by groups like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles; they are groups they each member can stand on their own as singers and then come together in the chorus.” “So four was the lucky number?” I asked. Gossin responded, “We did have a specific number in mind. Mike and I were a group and then we met Rachel. One day Cheyenne saw us play a show and she was like ‘I play mandolin and I sing’. So we gave her an audition and was like, “this fits.”

So how does a group with no album, a brand new single and just a buzz get on the biggest tour of the summer? “We were doing the fourteen week long radio tour and Taylor must have heard the buzz about us. So she checked out the single and she called us up. She was like ‘Hey. It’s Taylor Swift.’ We were like ‘What!’ She asked us if we wanted to go on tour with her.

We were kind of blown away. We are just going to go up, just us four acoustic. We are going to be unique because Kellie (Pickler) and Taylor are going to be full band after us. It’s going to show off our musicianship.”

One Time at Band Camp

By Scott Vollweiler

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Leah Renee Imaginary Pop Princess?

By Scott Vollweiler

Remember being a child and having an imaginary friend?

Canadian born beauty, Leah Renee, will be having tweens around the country wishing to have someone imaginary. Her first single off her debut album is “Imaginary Boyfriend” or “iBF.” Leah Renee tells us, “I think a lot of girls will really relate to it. At one point, there’s someone they have a crush on, and he may be unattainable, but you still daydream about him.” When asked how true to life the song really is, Leah Renee responded, “I have had and still do have them! Imaginary Boyfriend was the only track that was submitted to us for the record and was written by our little group of people.”

Leah Renee is already being compared to Mariah and Rihanna. “I don’t know if really should be compared to them. They are in a league of their own! But I do think I can sing like Mariah in my breathier tones.” With comparisons in hand, Leah Renee is undoubtedly poised for stardom. Her debut album, which took almost two years to complete, was produced by the well known duo called The Conglomerate. The duo, which includes Curtis Richardson and Charli Vox, has produced and written songs for Kelly Clarkson, LL Cool J, Joss Stone and many others. “I met the Conglomerate out in Toronto, which is where I’m from and I was in the studio singing demos. They were probably like, ‘Who’s this blonde girl’ (laughs). But they asked me to sing on a demo and we decided to keep working together. I was very nervous. Look at all the artists they have worked with.”

Besides having incredible vocal abilities, Leah Renee also co-wrote every track on the album. “I feel so lucky to have my hand in the creative part of making the album. Most artists on big labels don’t necessarily get that chance. It feels awesome.”

With no official release date, Leah hopes that it will be out “this summer” but definitely look for it sometime in 2009. “iBF” has already been released to radio and has been getting massive amount talk on the gossip blogs. “iBF” has also been streamed over seven thousand times on her myspace page as well. There is nothing imaginary about this pop princess.

Savannah Outen Broken Records Magazine: Of all routes to promote yourself, why did you go the Youtube route? Did you ever think your videos would get as much attention as they have?

Savanah Outen: It was actually my parents idea to post a video on youtube. At the time it was just starting to get big, so my dad video taped me singing “Listen”. I just wanted to create a little fan base and hear some feedback. I wasn’t even planning on posting another video. I had no idea that my videos would get this much attention. I love that people call me ‘the Youtube girl’.

BRM: "Goodbyes" peaked top five on the Radio Disney charts. How did it feel to have a hit single?

SO: I was excited for “Goodbyes” to even be on the countdown. Then, seeing it climb up every week was so much fun. I was so excited to see it reach number five. I was surrounded by all of my favorite singers, like Miley and Taylor. My fans did a great job voting every week and requesting it, so I thank them for that.

BRM: What is the story and inspiration for your latest single "If You Only Knew"?

SO: “If You Only Knew” is about liking this guy who doesn’t know who you are, or doesn’t pay attention to you. For some girls, it can be about how much they love this certain celebrity. It would be a dream come true for the girl to meet her crush.

That’s the idea we took for the music video. Tony Oller from “As The Bell Rings” on the Disney Channel portrays this huge celebrity, named “Cas” and I have a big crush on him. I also have posters of Cas all around my room. It’s a fun video and I think it will appeal to a lot of different people.

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Right Time, Right Place

By John Centorrino

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COCKPIT is Judas Priest. Rachael loves Motely Crüe back. Yeah, it’s unheard of, but it worked and Aerosmith, Alicia’s really into White out because all of the local sheriffs helped Snake, and Terrii’s a huge country fan.” to find my guitar and get it back to me.”

Another right place, right time inciCockpit is in the process of writing right dent occurred when Cockpit’s Mission to now, and Linda says they will definitely Rock sold more CDs than any other band release this year. “We have a lot of new that had played at Houston’s 2008 Rock material. I’m unsure if we’re releasing a the Bayou festival. Additionally, Cock- full length or another EP, but we will be repit was one of the few unsigned bands leasing something.” Currently, Cockpit is at last summer’s Rocklahoma 2008 fes- booked to play at the LA Calendar Motortival. Linda explained, “We ran into cycle Show at the Queen Mary Event Park the Rocklahoma booking agents at The in Long Beach, California on July 18 and Whiskey about six months before the 19. “It would be great to be out on the road festival. The booking agents were in with some good friends of ours like Skid LA for a Rocklahoma press conference Row in the future.” Cockpit is booking the next day. We all hang out that night, for fall/winter 2009, and into spring 2010, and by the next morning they had asked mostly in the south and southwest Calius to join Rocklahoma 2008, it was like fornia areas. Cockpit is endorsed by GHS twelve hours before the press conference RockTron, Danmar Percussion for drums, started.” (right place and time, yet again.) Muscian’s Choice Rehersal Studios (found When I asked Linda to tell me about throughout USA, mainly California and Arone of their craziest or wildest tour mo- izona), and Gasloline Glamour, “Gasoline ments, she told me, “It was definitely at Glamour is one of our really good friends Rocklahoma. We were thigh deep in mud, out of LA that does all of our clothes, jewand then my guitar got stolen, but I got it elry, and stuff that we wear all the time.”

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Cockpit consistently delivers authentic old school upbeat rock and roll. Their debut album Mission to Rock (self-released via indy Pedal to the Metal on July 25, 2008) is currently available for purchase from their website www.ilovecockpit. com, and also via iTunes and Rhapsody Online. The individual tracks from Mission to Rock can be heard on the band’s Myspace page www.myspace.com/cockpit, and they also maintain a Facebook page. Cockpit took the next steps in the ‘social networking and self-promotion’ game by setting up an automatic Twitter feed to Myspace and Facebook. As this all-girl rock sensation automatically posts multiple daily Twitters on their pages, it’s obvious that all this cyber-churn has definitely contributed to Cockpit’s fast-growing fan base and quickly growing success.

The members of Cockpit came together during the winter of 2003/2004.

Linda Lou, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, met the drummer Rachael Rine at a party. Rachael, originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, had a cover band that she’d started, named Cockpit. “Rachael had started a band of her own, they were doing covers, but she wanted to do originals, and so did I,” says Linda, “We were both looking to move to LA, we both wanted the same things, and I really liked the name Cockpit, so it just stuck from the very beginning.” (the first of many ‘right place, right time’ scenarios for Cockpit.)

A short time later Linda and Rachael found Cockpit’s bass player, Terrii Kiing from Orange County, California. Linda then recalled the odd and unintended shift in her musical career, “I started out as the lead guitarist, but in the beginning, we really needed a singer. I had always played guitar, but as we got the band together, we were looking for a singer, but we weren’t happy, so I started singing while I was playing guitar, and it seemed to work out. I became the singer (again, right place, right time). Finally, about two years ago, Cockpit found their lead guitarist, Alicia Blü from Sheffield, England.

Cockpit’s major influences come from very original rock and roll roots, “We like a lot of the same music, my personal favorite

R achel G oodrich

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BRM: What is behind the title Tinker Toys?

Rachel Goodrich: Tinker Toys is one of the tracks off the record, and I thought it was appropriate because it was my first record. The next record will be more arranged, not slow it down but there will be more ballads that I’ve been writing over time, but generally more upbeat.

BRM: What do you derive your lyrical inspiration from?

Rachel: I listen to a lot of German hip hop. You know they’re very tough and strong but at the same time they’re like…I don’t know how to explain it man, I’m so bad at this. I can be walking down the street or talking to a friend and like even a stop sign looks interesting. Something always comes from something else; I don’t think I’ve ever just sat down to write a song. I try to live in the moment and let inspiration find me.

BRM: Walk me through a day in the life of Rachel Goodrich.

Rachel: Sometimes I get up before my alarm clock, it’s set for eleven thirty. I usually get up around nine but I’m a zombie for a couple of hours. I’m always half awake during the day time, there’s always a lot of music and a lot of hanging out. The night time at around two in the morning is when I start to feel things coming together. I feel like I write when I first wake up though, when I’m really still dreaming and right before bed when I’m delirious.

RM: You said you had spent two years in your room, “your own little universe”, before you emerged and began to make music in full force. What were those two years like and how did they prepare you for today?

Rachel: Man, those two years were kind of strange but I became very acquainted with my instrument and my record. I went through a lot of emotions and feelings and confidence and that kind of stuff. I learned a lot in those two years. It gave me the opportunity to write a lot and come up with my style. I don’t know how it prepared me but it just added to life, I guess BRM: You have your own record label Yellow Bear Records. Do you plan on signing any other bands onto it?

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Interview by Victoria Barone Photo by Kyra Kverno Rachel: Yes, I’d love to pick it up in a little bit and make it extremely active.

There are a couple of acts down here in Miami that are great but I don’t know if they’d want to be on my label you know?

I just love music and I’d love to support it.

BRM: The term shake-a-billy. I know it must come up a bit but humor me, why shake-a-billy?

Rachel: I was hanging with a friend and I recently just moved and he offered to play up-right base and we were like jamming and stuff on this new song called “Hit or Miss” and it’s kind of like shaky and he said this is kind of like rock a 70

billy, and I said ‘nah man it’s shake a billy’ and it just kind of came about. It was more like shaky than like rocking, shake a billy has a straight organic feel.

BRM: If you could pick a favorite song of yours, what would it be and why?

Rachel: I just wrote this song recently and I feel like it’s my favorite song because I feel like everyone can relate to it. It’s called “Hold on/Horn Horn.” It has a lot of hope.

I just feel like maybe more people can relate to it but that’s not why it’s my favorite.

It’s different, the song is mostly in major and I just like the feel of it. I also like this song called “Popsicle”, it’s very dreamy.

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THE A.K.A.S Interview by Victoria Barone

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Broken Records Magazine: You’re sound is unique to say the least and has been described by yourselves as “dance hall fight music.” Why? AKAs: We whole heartedly think that the description is true but it almost came up as some form of irony because at the time we dubbed that was because there was so many goofy sub genres of music happening at the time and I felt like a lot of bands really counted on that for people to identify with them where as we really didn’t want to be a part of any of that stuff because we thought it was f**king stupid, you know? We’re a band that’s like as much about ideas as we are about the music that we’re making, so it’s important for us to not limit who hears that so if someone only listens to electro pop punk emo, screamo or whatever and then they hear this is this thing I’m not going to listen to it because I only

Interview by Candice Wanca Photo by Jayme Muzio

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like this one thing. But we’re a band that’s really eclectic and unique and appeals to people with different musical interests and those are the people who wind up gravitating towards us. And we’ve worked hard to maintain that.

BRM: Josie wasn’t originally part of the AKA lineup, how did the addition of her and her keyboard effect the band?

AKAs: She wasn’t the original keyboard player but we did have a girl keyboard player before her so that was part of the dynamic that we thought was important to the band. We had a period of time where we didn’t have just the keyboard player, we had a second guitarist and it just wasn’t the same. The thing with Josie was she had actually only been playing the keyboard for two months when we needed a keyboard player and sort of demanded

that she play so her first show ever was in front of twelve hundred people and she had never played with a band before. But since then she has just been an incredible force in the band. She’s just a really awesome role model for people in general but especially girls just mainly because she does so many cool things with the band and outside of the band, there’s so much girl power going on that it’s inspiring you know? In a time where the two main ways for girls to get attention and respect was to be a suicide girl or to show their f**king tits on Myspace, I think it’s really important for people to see hard working girls get respect and can do awesome positive stuff. I don’t know where we’d be without her she’s completely radical.

And she lifts more shit than any dude that was ever in the band including myself. Gear-wise she carries heavy things every night to the surprise of everyone.

Interview and photo by Kristin Tully

Broken Records Magazine: You’re on the road with Shinedown and 10 Years. How’s that been, touring with all guys?

Lzzy: You know, I’ve lived with these guys [Halestorm] for so long- they’re my family! It doesn’t phase me…but the one thing you do learn on the road with guys is everything can be a sexual innuendo, and fart jokes are always welcome!

But really, most of the guys we tour with they are such gentlemen- opening doors for me and stuff...it’s pretty nice!

“Oh I could never get my girlfriend to do that”. I didn’t correct him or anything. I let him think what he wanted and later when I was doing sound check, he saw I was actually fronting the band- and he was like “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I totally didn’t realize you were the band!” And you know I was like ‘It’s cool!’It catches peoples attention! I know sex does sell and potentially any girl could get up their in a mini skit…but really I don’t want to be remember like that; I want people to remember me because I am good!

BRM: Being a girl do you feel you have to prove yourself?

Lzzy: You know it’s funny, because in my case I think it’s really an advantage. I actually have a funny story. I was at a show tuning my guitar- and I think a lot times you get the people who automatically assume ‘oh she’s the merch girl or oh she’s some groupie’- and so the guy says to me

BRM: Where can we find you on your free time?

Lzzy: Free time? What’s that? I’m just kidding…we actually like to camp. We head over to the camping grounds and relax, crack open a few beers. It’s funny though because we always somehow end up talking about our music anyway. We’re nerds, we have no life…music is our life!

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Interview by Victoria Barone they were in and it just kind of worked out. Ever since then we’ve always been writing you know we’re best friends so we always just play music just for fun.

BRM: How did Fireworks come to be, how did you all find each other?

Fireworks:Well we all worked on the corner. No, they all grew up together.

I kinda grew up in a different city, so I moved out the area and we just started out as friends and I’ve always played guitar and stuff and I wanted to be in the band, so they let me join the band

BRM: What is an absolute tour necessity?

Fireworks: Probably Wawa, they’re like Seven Eleven but you can order food. It’s quite amazing. I don’t know…a bunch of music, a bunch of clothes…water.

What started as a homemade demo on a laptop in the lower east side became the debut EP “Something to Get Excited About”. An EP which found it’s way into EA’s NHL 09, MTV’s the Hills and The Real World. TV/TV’s first LP will be dropping June 30th. You can catch Josh Ocean, Matt Walczak, Doc Holliday and Killah Cam at this summer’s Warped Tour.

wasn’t a name like “The Coffeetables.”

Broken Records Magazine: Where does the band name come from?

Josh Ocean: TV/TV was a group of Berkeley film students who in the 1970’s got in the faces of politicians and asked questions that the mainstream media wouldn’t ask, so I thought it had a cool meaning behind it. Plus it was different because it BrokenRecordsOnline.com

BRM: If you had your choice to tour with any band including bands that are no longer, who would it be and why?

Fireworks: That’s a really, really tough one. Me personally, I would like to tour with Quiet Riot. Spending five months with Quiet Riot would be the best thing ever. Also, I’d like to tour with some of our friend’s bands, that’s always fun. There’s really so many I can’t really decide.

BRM: If you could associate a goal with your band, what would it be and

BRM: Any crazy tour stories you’d like to share?

JO: One crazy thing was we were booked in Iowa and we pulled up to this house and we were like ‘what is this’?

We were touring with another band that set the show up. The house had no siding and a broken down car in the front and we went downstairs and it was just like this kid’s basement and we decided ‘whatever ,let’s just do it’. We ended up playing for fifteen kids in this guys basement. We had a great time and the people that were there loved it. We won’t be playing there again though.

why?

Fireworks: I guess continue to meet new people, make new friends, go new places. We would really like to see our band travel overseas and take it to the next level, keep on releasing records and stuff.

BRM: In the song “Holiday” you say “The big difference between you and me is understanding the word "alive.”

What is your understanding exactly?

Fireworks: That’s a really, really good question actually. “Holiday” is about somebody who lives a very sheltered life yet is very judgmental at the same time. I’ve had people do that to me, it’s not cool. It’s not fair to justify your hate for something or if you not like what someone does if you don’t really know what they do or you’ve never even seen the person. So I think being alive is going through life, going through the experience, you know going through it all before you set judgment on someone.

TV/TV

Interview by Candice Wanca Photo by Jayme Muzio

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Broken Records Magazine: Your album just dropped on the twenty fourth, what is behind the title and the album art?

Fireworks: Well the record is called All I have to Offer is My Own Confusion.

Chris and Kyle thought of the idea. We thought it matched the theme of the record, confusion, trying to figure things out, being a kid and doing stupid sh*t.

And I we thought it was kind of a cool thing. And the theme of the art work is a mysterious figure, it’s kind of a conceptual kind of thing because all the pictures go along with the songs and what not.

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early material before we were a serious band and they played it on the PA. None of the kids knew what it was but we did.

It was kind of embarrassing so to get them back, we changed the sounds on this bass drum pad they have, we changed it so you’d hear a cat when it was hit, so that was pretty funny.

BRM: How was Homesick written? Was that while you guys were on tour?

JM: We were on the road on Warped tour. It was definitely a learning experience we never done anything like that.

BRM: I’m sure it’s harder to write while on tour as opposed to hanging out in the studio.

JM: It’s definitely a challenge. You get pissed off and you can’t relax and get away. It can get kind of stressful at times, especially when you’re fighting for your ideas. But in the end you’re all friends and it works itself out.

BRM: Is anybody a main songwriter of the band of does everybody contribute their input?

JM: With this record. it was fifty fifty. Me and Tom writing music and then every-

Photo by Brian Dawson Interview by Candice Wanca BRM: You guys have played big shows like Bamboozle festival and the Warped tour, do you prefer to play big shows like that or smaller venues?

Jeremy McKinnon: There’s things that I like about both. The big shows have better stages, they have a lot of room for you to run around, that’s a big part of our show but then again you don’t have that interaction with the kids.

BRM: You toured the UK last year, you’ve played in Australia and Europe.

Now that your back in the states can you compare playing shows in other countries to the U.S.?

JM: The response is pretty much the same but people seem more excited everywhere else. I guess it makes sense though cause BrokenRecordsOnline.com

its harder for American bands to make it out there so it’s like a special thing and you can really tell the people really care that you’re there, unlike in the U.S. where there’s bands coming through the cities all the time. It kind of spoils them.

body else in the band would make changes. Me and Tom do the structure for the pop portion of our music and Neil and Josh are the big part of the heavy influence in the band. Everybody is equally important in the process.

BRM: I guess were jaded out here. Is there anywhere you haven’t been yet that you look forward to touring?

JM: Yea I really want to go to Japan this year were trying to figure that out.

BRM: Do you feel this album differs from your previous albums?

JM: I definitely think it’s different. I bet a lot of people will say we haven’t changed but that’s not true. If you listen to the last record and this one back to back it’s completely different. The last record was more of a metal influence. This one is poppier but its heavy at the same time. We were kind of nervous at first that people woudln’t give it a chance but it’s been going over really well.

BRM: Are there any particularly memorable tour experiences you’d like to share?

JM: At the end of the Silverstein tour, Devil Wears Prada was trying to do some pranks on us and they got a hold of some 74

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BRM: What can fans expect from your new album Winter Hill in comparison to Lullabies? Also, it’s been three years since your last release, what have you guys been up to?

MS: Well it’s definitely recorded better, BrokenRecordsOnline.com

since 2005. Our first album came out on Stillborn Records in 2006 and recently we got picked up by Eclipse Records. We’ve got the new album that came out in 2008 called The Killing Project.

little bit more. That band had straight-edge people in it. It’s work still, but I’m more passionate about this band because it’s my baby. When you’re passionate about something, you don’t mind working hard.

BRM: How does playing in Dead By Wednesday compare with playing in Gargantua Soul?

Dead By Wednesday: We have a lot more fun. Gargantua Soul was very stressful. It was all about what’s going to sell and what music is going to be good for the radio. It’s a lot more fun for me because it brings me back to my roots, which are metal. We get along really well. It’s definitely more fun for me. It is a looser vibe. We all party a

BRM: Your music is very politically driven. Why do you choose to go in that direction?

Dead By Wednesday: That’s actually one of the reasons why I was gung ho to get into this band. We talk about things that people don’t want to hear and they should know about. As long as this country keeps going down the drain we’re going to continue to expose it.

we’re excited.

Lullabies had a lot slower songs and a lot more of a country influence.Winter Hill has more of the girl group influence and more up beat. Lullabies I think we were trying to make a record based on things that we liked and with Winter Hill we were trying to make a Miss Derringer record. As far as what we’ve been up towe’ve been touring, we toured with Blondie. We’ve just been playing shows and trying to get this record recorded. We also had to take a chunk of time off for Liz to do art shows since that’s her career as well.

Photo by Adam Wallacavage

Broken Records Magazine: How does it feel to be in a band with your wife?

What does it do for your relationship, if anything at all? What does it do for the band?

Morgan Slade: You know, it’s cool. You don’t have to miss anybody because you’re always seeing each other. Also, it can be stressful. You know people that are around each other a lot are more able to get upset with each other. But we all get a long really well. It’s cool because two people that have this idea and then someone else picks up on it and adds onto it. We’ve all know each other really well, our bass player I’ve known since I was seven years old we grew up across the street from each other so we all know each other really well.

DEAD BY WEDNESDAY

have while on tour?

MS: Two must haves, one is a laptop so we can watch movies with my band and the second one is those eye things they give you on airplanes so you can sleep.

One movie that winds up on tour with us is called “Windy City Heat” that Jimmy Kimmel made a long time ago, it’s extremely funny.

BRM: What is one thing that is a must MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 75

BUZz BUZz baNds baNds

Broken Records Magazine: How did you guys meet and how long have you been playing together?

Dead By Wednesday: One of the singers, Chesci Ramos and myself are cousins so we grew up together. Originally me, him, and my other cousin started in the basement playing together for a party. I had some music recorded that I wrote and they free styled over it and people loved it. A couple days later I listened to the CD and thought it was unique and could actually do something. At that point I was on a mission to recruit people. The bass player, Mike, approached me when I was playing drums for Gargantua Soul for many years and we did really well locally and in the northeast area and did a lot and he approached us almost like “Hey, I could do better than your bass player” and when recruiting members I called him up. He listened to the stuff and thought we were completely out of our minds. A buddy of mine introduced me to Ross Ragusa, and we added him to the band as the second guitar player at the time.

We had another guitar player who started with us, Pat Garcia, but he didn’t work out.

He married a groupie and ended up leaving.

Recently we found the second vocalist who does all of the screaming, Joey Marcodelli.

He was playing in a local band here called Magna Cult and we basically stole him from the band. That’s pretty much how the whole band started and it’s been going

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g e r G zy

a r C

by Allie Beth

The people of New York have seen plenty of strange things over the years, but some still manage to grab their attention. Recently, New Yorkers have gone to concerts expecting to see the band they wanted to see, but when they arrive they are met with Winnie the Pooh Bear. That’s right, Winnie the Pooh Bear.

And this isn’t your childhood honey-loving bear.

Instead, this Pooh Bear loves crowd surfing and Green Day. Just who is this Winnie the Pooh Bear? If you happen to run into him at a concert, you’ll learn from his business card that it is in fact not Winnie the Pooh Bear but “Crazy Greg Pooh Bear.” “Crazy Greg,” otherwise known as Greg Rothenberg, is in fact the man that dons the costume. When asked why he feels the need to dress up as one of the most loveable children’s characters, Greg responded that it’s “just something to do and eventually people started to notice it.”

But just where did the origin of the costume come from? Was he just a really big fan of Winnie the Pooh Bear? Not exactly.

“I just found the costume and I thought it would be really funny. My friends were

their songs because they were so distracted.

When Greg isn’t too busy distracting bands, he is a DJ on 88.9 FM located in Staten Island.

When asked if the costume was used as a gimmick to boost ratings, surprisingly enough, the costume “has not boosted ratings. People are just starting to tune in more, although I did wear it on the show for one show.” His show, which he dubs “the craziest show on the radio”, is a mix of popular music with local bands, as long as their music is “decent.” But if you’re interested if the show is crazy or any good, the only was Greg could give was to “turn it on.”

With all of this local fame, even being recognized by venues as “that Pooh Bear guy,” it isn’t hard to imagine that Greg is only just beginning to reach out to the public. He hopes to expand his music career by eventually being able to play in a band.

“Anything with music would be a good thing in life.” But for now, “Crazy Greg Pooh Bear,”,is just enjoying the limelight he has been given. “It definitely means a lot for people to say hi and take a picture. Don’t be scared.”

Pooh Bear in action at Dock Street in Staten Island New York (Monty Love show)

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playing at a place on Staten Island and I just wanted to make them laugh.” Greg not only made them laugh, but the band had trouble even remembering the lyrics to 76

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Pushing Play in a Major Way

Previously unsigned, Push Play’s lead singer CJ Baran, lets us in on their whirlwind of success and what’s in store for the future.

Broken Records Magazine: Just played Bamboozle, how was that?

CJ: It was crazy...so amazing! We played all three days and on the third day all the bands did this thing where they played all covers and we did Muse. It was really cool because we actually had some guys in the crowd-we usually have all girls in the crowd-so it was cool to see guys with Mohawks rocking out and Muse is our favorite band so it was really great!

BRM: You guys draw quite the crowd regardless of whether you are playing covers or your own music. How does it feel to see fans singing along?

CJ: Oh, it’s so awesome! We wear these inear monitors so we can hear ourselves sing and sometimes we purposely stop singing so we can hear everyone. It's just so insane to hear everyone!

BRM: That's a trip! How do you stay grounded?

CJ: I just think...I could be writing term papers, but I get to do this instead!

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BRM: So have you guys been on the road a lot?

CJ: We've actually done three national tours with two with tour buses, which was a lot of fun and we just finished up recording a new record. We actually just signed with a record label, well actually we're signing today...but we can't say too much about that!

BRM: So what's the transition from unsigned to recording with a major label like?

CJ: Well this will be our first major release. It's really political...I mean at first we weren't sure signing with a huge label was what we wanted but we literally went around to every label and met with all of them and we met with some great indie labels as well. We we're actually really interested in signing with an indie label just because we found this one that really liked our project and was going to put us as their top priority. But after meeting with some major labels as well we found one that was really great. To have a great label that's really interested and who will let you have creative freedom, that's what it's all about.

few hours hopefully! But yeah! The last album we call an EP just because we actually wrote the whole thing in my basement- this was done in a studio with a real producer, Matt Squire, and it's really eclectic. We wanted to do something different because in our genre things can get repetitive. We recorded a song called Midnight Romeo which is more urban rock and then we redid Dreamer- all piano. We've got a lot of different sounds...it's still rock but we've got some dance and other stuff in their too!

BRM: What's the first single off the new album?

CJ:The first single is going to be Heart Attack, we're pushing that on the radio and then we're heading out to California to record a video for that and we're also shooting webisode series which will be like a hyper version of our lives. We'll be shooting that and broadcasting that on the web and hopefully we can push that and maybe get it on TV. BRM: Any last words before you get back to your busy schedule?

CJ: Just thanks so much to the fans for all their support! And the new record will be out soon!

BRM: So will the newly signed Push Play have a new sound as well?

CJ: Well we're not signed just yet...in a MySpace.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine 77

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CD REVIEWS Taking Back Sunday

Catherine Duc

New Again

Visions and Dreams

Warner Bros Records/ W E A International

The Orchard

The fourth album from Long Island’s quintet, New Again (which could either be a reference to Fred Mascherino’s departure or simply to emotional rejuvenation — a double-entendre perhaps), kicks off with the self titled track, an anthem for those of us seeking to start over. It’s followed by one of my personal favorites, and the album’s first single, “Sink Into Me.” New Again unleashes thirty-eight minutes of unabashed emotion with catchy hooks and clever “heart-on-sleeve” lyrics delivered with moxie. Recommended tracks: “Sink into Me,” “Cut Me Up Jenny” “Everything Must Go”

A classically trained musician from Australia brings to the world instrumentalsound blending elements of ambient, Celtic, new age, electronica, world, and neo-classical music to take you on an ethereal journey. Her album Visions and Dreams brings a refreshing new sound to the music industry. Listen to one song and you will be hooked on her beautiful sound that you can listen to for hours. The song “One Autumn Day” really shows off Catherine’s creativeness and proves why she won so many awards. Pick up her new CD you will be happy you did. Recommended Track: “One Autumn Day”

reviewed by Candice wanca

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

The Syncope Threshold

Electric Sorcery

Quickstar Productions / Razor Heart Records

Lyndonunderground

End of the Beginning

Electric Sorcery

The Syncope Threshold, hailing from LaVerne, CA, proves they can hold their own. With a wide variety of influences ranging from Pink Floyd to Bright Eyes to Between the Buried and Me, which you can hear in their music. This band can hit hard and heavy while still creating soft catchy choruses fans can sing along to while they are in the middle of a pit. The track “Sunflower Ave” is bound to hit the charts with its explosive sound and creative harmonies.

Keep an ear out for The Syncope Threshold, their sound is so creative and fresh that you’ll be hooked instantly. Recommended Track: “Sunflower Ave”

Hailing from Vermont’s northeast kingdom comes the Progressive psychedelic sound that is Electric Sorcery. This band has a tight, trippy sound that can mesmerize you and take you to a happy place. Their CD shows off their great talents with crazy guitar work, funky bass, solid drums and a singer with a big yet soft voice with creative lyrics. My favorite song off their CD has to be “A Stitch In 9 Saves Time” with its fast pace hard hitting sound, seems to hit different types of emotions all in one song, quite a work of art. Recommended Track: “A Stitch In 9 Saves Time”

reviewed by Brian dawson

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Bill Bachman

Big World Out There

Jessie James

Flight of the Bum Bill B Records

There’s no doubt that Bill Bachman knows how to play his guitar. If there’s one thing that is noticeable, it’ll be his impeccable guitarstrumming during the intro of “Big World Out There.” Coincidentally, his CD is also the name of his most popular song. Folk and Americana listeners will appreciate Bachman’s music for its simple yet piercing lyrics. While his forte is undeniably his guitar playing, his vocals compliment his sound as well. He’s been mentioned in Variety Magazine and The New York Post in the past, and there’s no doubt that he’ll be mentioned in many more.

Recommended Track: Big World Out There reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Album Sampler Island /Mercury

Once you pop the album into your CD player, you will be amazed, this girl can really sing!

While the album sent to us only had five tracks, each song was strong and well written. Jessie is truly a country girl singing her butt off. Her first single “Wanted” was written by Mitch Allan, Kara DioGuardi, David Hodges and Jessie herself. When you’re writing with some of the best writers in the world, there’s no way you can strike out. “Blue Jeans” was a part of the soundtrack for the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic. Her songs have already passed the four million mark on MySpace. She is poised to be next big thing. Check her out in our Buzz section. reviewed by Scott Vollweiler

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Green Day

Paulina Logan

21st Century Breakdown

Wallflower

Warner Bros Records/Reprise Records

Paulina Logan

Attempting to mimic that Queen-esque rockopera feel that American Idiot had, Green Day brings you their longest album to date, 21st Century Breakdown; a story of two characters from Detroit, Christian and Gloria. Produced by Garbage’s Butch Vig (Nevermind, Siamese Dream), the album is comprised of three parts: “Heroes and Cons,” “Charlatans and Saints,” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades.” Armstrong croons “I never quite made it as a working class hero,” on the album’s title track, a possible nod to John Lennon. Maybe The Beatles were an inspiration for these punk rockers, as there is also something reminiscent of “All My Loving” in the track “Last Night on Earth.”

21st Century Breakdown comes full circle with “See the Light,” a song containing the same piano piece that the intro had. Recommended tracks: “Last Night on Earth,” “Restless Heart Syndrome,” “21 Guns” reviewed by Candice Wanca

West Coast! Hailing from California comes Paulina Logan with voice and lyrics that are powerful. “Behavior” taps into a jazzier tempo and feel while “Wallflower” goes for the folk/ pop/rock that Paulina fits into pretty nicely.

Paulina has already been featured in a number of magazines for her first full-length album called Wallflower, and she’s currently working on a follow-up album to be released very soon. She plays her own guitar as well, so if you’re looking for the next Jewel, with more pop and rock thrown in, look no further than Paulina Logan! Recommended Track: “Sorry” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Something Beautiful

Songs About Angels Buncha Losers

Jared McCloud

Romance of the Atlantic (Sling Slang Records

Alt-rock singer/songwriter from Connecticut, Jared McCloud really shines with his new CD Romance of the Atlantic. Jared brings a clean pure sound with a no B.S. approach to his music that is bound to get you to get off your seat to dance. A favorite of mine is the track “NYC Song” which is a song any New Yorker can embrace. To sum it up, this CD is a joy to listen to and really captures the soul. The world needs more musicians like Jared McCloud. Recommended Track: “NYC Song”

Something Beautiful is made up of two members—Dale Tippett, Jr. and Justin Smith.

Don’t let that number fool you though. They are more than capable to make up for it with their Progressive/Gothic Metal sound. Their newest CD, Songs About Angels, starts off with a deal between a wanderer and an angel. As long as the wanderer goes around murdering people, he’ll be admitted into paradise. This CD is worth checking out!

Recommended Track: “Heresies and Blasphemies” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Vickie Raye

UnPlugged

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Beach Bird Records

The Brooklyn What

For Borough President Tozar Records

Channeling The Ramones and The Clash, The Brooklyn What’s fast-paced, catchy tunes, are bound to create tons of new punk rock fans. They aren’t your average Brooklyn band who tends to go into the indie-rock genre. These guys surpass that line. Recommended Track: “I Don’t Wanna Go To Williamsburg”

Nashville’s own Vickie Ray is ready to surprise the US with her fresh country-style sound and is determined to be heard! A seasoned vet in the industry, already having membership to a number of prestigious music organizations such as the Grammy Association and the Country Music Association, Vickie knows what she’s doing. Her vocal range and ability to beautifully blend the strumming of her guitar are unmatched.

Recommended Track: “Can’t Break a Broken Heart” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Profuna Ocean

Watching The Closing Sky

Beyond From Within

Beyond From Within

MBR Studios

When you are introduced to Beyond From Within, you can instantly hear their psychedelic/ folk-rock influences. You would hardly expect that Beyond From Within has only one member.

Of course, with only one sole band member, it’s easier for Steve Andrews to truly achieve the sound he’s aiming for without all the intra-band bickering. Recommended Track: “Seven Strangers”

Profuna Ocean’s Watching The Closing Sky introduces the band to a more international audience. With their CD already being distributed in Germany, Austria, Brazil and Argentina, Profuna Ocean has no plans in stopping any time soon.

The use of keyboards, along with the energetic and pulsing guitar, makes Profuna Ocean a band to look out for. Progressive rock fans will take an immediate liking to these guys. Recommended Track: “Changing Legacy”

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Blue Pie

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The Immortals Project

Charles Seafous

The Immortals Project

Born To Worship

Shining Shadow

This CD can be described as supreme rawness.

The Immortals Project brings a fresh new uptempo sound to hip-hop with hard hitting electronic beats and vocals that demand attention.

“Lyrically Righteous” is the track that captured me and shows off the groups originality and creativeness. The Immortals Project really brings hip-hop to the next level with a sound the world has been waiting for. Recommended Track: “Lyrically Righteous” reviewed byNoelia Tarquino

For fans of Gospel music, Charles Seafous is here to provide a voice that is all his own.

Lyrically, Charles can be easily compared to Christian singers Third Day and Israel Houghton. Aside from his perfect pitch and flawless arrangement, musically and vocally, Seafous leaves listeners inspired. He has more than enough talent to have his voice heard by many believers around the world. His CD Born to Worship is available through CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon! Recommended Track: “Born to Worship” reviewed byNoelia Tarquino

Sweet Cyanide

Sweet Cyanide

Nadia

Breakdown Lane Music

New York’s Sweet Cyanide just released their self titled debut independently. It’s really hard to pigeon-hole the album in one particular genre. Each track is more ambitious and over the top than the track before. Standout tracks include “Heartbreaker,” “Crash Theory,” and “Between Us,” but each track should be listened to in order, since singer/songwriter Sal Scoca wrote them in that order. Recommended Track: There isn’t a weak track on the disc. reviewed by Scott Vollweiler

Arrival Zero To One Records Inc.

Hailing from New York, Nadia Kazmi is aiming to have people know that she’s not just another chick in the music scene. While seamlessly integrating R&B/Soul and Rock, any listener can tell that there’s a great amount of depth in each of her songs that people haven’t been seeing in other female artists. Her voice and melodies transport you to another world and you’ll be hooked. Nadia has recently finished recording her debut album in New York and Los Angeles. Recommended Track: “Tyranny of the Heart” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Timothy Scott

GLUM

Timothy Scott / BMI

Timothy Scott’s sounds of Folk/Pop/Blues and Americana make for unforgettable music.

With tracks including “Half Wiccan Half Mix Thang” you get a dash of Spanish guitar playing. His songwriting is imaginative and fresh as he proves on title track “GLUM.” His past successes include Artist of the Month on SongRamp.com, and his music is also receiving airplay all over North Carolina. Timothy Scott’s new CD GLUM has just been released and you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy! Recommended Track: “Half Wiccan Half Mix Thang” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Sapphire Rebellion

Sapphire Rebellion Platinum Drragon Productions

You can definitely hear the influence that Flock of Seagulls and Depeche Mode had on the musical style of Sapphire Rebellion. Their songs are catchy all on their own with a bass line that will replay in your head over and over. “House of Lies” and “Worldwide” are already getting airplay around the Florida area. With Tim Curry on vocals/guitar and Jay Godin on percussion, these two veterans to the music scene will make a long-lasting impression on the industrial/gothic scene. Recommended Track: “Worldwide” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

I Bet It Was A Massacre

8 Rules For The Pool

Alright, Junior

Our Temporary Everything

With influences ranging from Black Dahlia Murder to Lady Gaga, and with colorful attire, you’d never expect to hear an ounce of hardcore to pour out of these guys! They pull it off well though. They manage to sprinkle techno into a couple of their songs effortlessly and have some of the sickest breakdowns that any hardcore listener would listen to over and over.

In just a few months, they’ve attracted over 7,500 plays on MySpace and won a coveted spot on Warped Tour (they backed out last minute due to a member’s hospitalization). Their new EP 8 Rules For The Pool was released on July 25th. Recommended Track: “Tip Your Waitress”

I can imagine people cranking this over their car stereos on full blast while cruising in the night time. Their five-song EP, Our Temporary Everything, is bound to take them to the next step in the music scene that they’re determined to reach. Most of their songs have fast, edgy, catchy melodies that will only make you want to hear their EP over and over again. The band consists of members who are more than familiar with the music scene.

It seems that Alright, Junior won’t disappoint and will hopefully stick around for a long time! Recommended Track: “Mouths of a Herd”

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

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CKY

Kelly Clarkson

Roadrunner Records

19 Recordings Limited

Carver City

All I Ever Wanted

What do you get when you mix triplet riffs, and moog synthesizers with ingenuity and talent? The long anticipated Carver City. Sounding somewhat like a blend of its predecessors, CKY remains consistent with their unmistakable signature sound that makes it hard to pigeon hole this audacious band into a specific genre. Deron Miller’s ethereal yet raspy vocals tell the story of the fictional city, a treacherous boardwalk town. The special edition of the CD gives you four bonus tracks worth listening to — the twopart instrumental “Fisherman’s Wharf,” “Doubled Up On Trauma,” and “Stripped Your Speech.” Recommended Tracks: “Plagued by Images,” “A#1 Roller Rager,” “Doubled Up On Trauma”

American Idol’s first winner is back with a brand new album. “My Life Would Suck Without You,” the lead single off of All I Ever Wanted, jumped from #97 to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in just one week. The album is full of pop gems. “My Life” is the catchiest tune ever released and will stay in your head all day. The follow up single, “I Do Not Hook Up,” was written by Katy Perry and Idol judge Kara DioGuiardi. While the album has fun, up-tempo pop rock tunes, the album also includes the deepest and most introspective songs Kelly has ever written, “Cry” and “Already Gone.” Other notable tracks are “Whyywannabringmedown,” and the title track, both originally written and recorded by Oklahoma rockers Aranda.

reviewed by Candice Wanca

reviewed by Scott Vollweiler

Eyes Set To Kill

Way To Go Einstein

The World Outside

Pseudonym

Break Silence

Submerged Records

Their previous album Reach revolved more around the female vocals of Rodriguez sisters Alexia and Anissa, now on sophomore effort for The World Outside. Keyboardist and backup guitarist Brandon Anderson’s guttural screams are more prevalent and have definitely improved. Escape the Fate’s Craig Mabbit is featured on the track “Deadly Weapons.” Recommended tracks: “Wake Me Up,” “Come Home” reviewed by Candice Wanca

If you’re into Rock/Ambient music such as The Album Leaf or Sigur Ros, check out Way To Go, Einstein. With vocals and lyrical depth that can be compared to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Way To Go, Einstein offers music aficionados something fresh to listen to. Their music is currently on rotation in college radios across Canada, and it won’t be too long until the U.S. can get a taste of what WTGE has to offer. Pick up a copy of their second LP, Pseudonym, at any local music shop! Recommended Track: “Insensate” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Redliner

Vengeance

Dephkilla

Back Down

Casa Bonita Productions

From New Jersey, the band Redliner is aiming to take over the East Coast with their melodic hard rock music. Redliner recently released their first full-length CD Vengeance, that also includes their first single release “Damaged Girl.” When listening to the tracks, you won’t be able to help thinking about the similarities that the singer Jim Santora has to Glenn Danzig. The hard rock chord progressions of Redliner will definitely make any melodic hard rock fan pick up a copy on iTunes. Recommended Track: “Damaged Girl” reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

Rosebud and Beyond

From Colorado, up-and-coming Urban/R&B artist Dephkilla is ready to bring his music to the masses. His first full length album is about to be released and will definitely be a big hit in the underground scene. With Rosebud and Beyond as the main producer behind the album and serving as guidance, we’re sure that the rest of the tracks will be up to par with his singles “Back Down” and “The Way It Looks.” We’re hoping his music will be felt throughout the East Coast. Recommended Track “Back Down” reviewed by First Last

Butch Barnette

I Guess I’m Lucky

Nive Nielsn

Cash Mattock Inc. / C MI Records

Nive Sings

With influences including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and the Allman Bros, Edgar ‘Butch’ Barnette can quite easily be considered one of Tennessee’s hidden treasures. With Barnette’s CD I Guess I’m Lucky out now on CD Baby, you can now listen to a talented musician who pours his soul out into each song and who can connect with you on a completely different level.

Recommended Track: “I Guess I’m Lucky”

If you haven’t listened to her tunes, then you’re truly missing out. Nive’s music has already been featured on TV and in indie movies, and it’s only a matter of time until she makes a huge presence in the states. The use of ukuleles, organ, percussion, and her unique voice, will definitely make her stand out in the U.S. Thank you Greenland! Recommended Track: “Room”

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

reviewed by Noelia Tarquino

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