Hailing from Unholywood Killafornia, Davey Suicide is cultivating the underground by fusing arena rock, gutter grit, sleaze, killer tunes and theatrics into their own “nu” brand of industrial rock. The band, which features Davey Suicide along with Drayven Davidson, Needlz, Niko Gemini, and Derek Obscura, distills rock, industrial and punk into anthems that are as corrosive as they are catchy. "Rock fans haven’t gone anywhere,“ Suicide exclaims, “they just need a reason to fall in love again.” With an amazing new album out, "Made From Fire" We had a chance to sit down with Davey and catch up with what he has been up to.
Joe Orsillo Media
Guest photographer Joe Orsillo brings us amazing photo’s out of Seattle, Wa of The Layne Staley Tribute. This was near and dear to our hearts as we hail from the PNW.
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Sherry Keith
Mystic Photography continues her up close and personal view into the Vegas music scene with Josh Todd & The Conflict, Davey Suicide and Doyle... Page 4,8,18
ALBUM REVIEW
TIM CHENEY
What makes Rock n Roll what it is? What are the essential ingredients? It needs to be dangerous, inappropriate, sexy and sex filled and it's always much tastier with a generous amount of obscenity and swearing. Oh yea, and it's got to be extremely loud. If you feel the need to hide it from your parents, it's probably Rock n Roll. That's exactly what Buckcherry's Josh Todd and Stevie D are bringing to the table with their new Project "Josh Todd & The Conflict".
With the trademark powerhouse vocals of Josh Todd and Stevie's driving guitar, (Which is cool enough on it's own) the addition of Gregg Cash's dirty growling bass tone and the hard hitting groove of Sean Winchester's drums adds a different dynamic to the sound. Picture if you will, Buckcherry on 12 Red Bulls, 9 cups of coffee and an Adrenaline shot. The debut album is exactly that. Raw, high energy, loud, dirty Rock.
The opening track "Year of the Tiger" is a brilliant heavy blend of several styles. It's not difficult to hear within the song elements of Hard Rock, Metal, Punk and even a breakdown in the song
that could have easily been part of a heavy Beastie Boys track. The brilliance of it being that all these styles are pieced together in a way that fits the song quite well and does not sound contrived. What's more, The track was wisely picked as the opening track and sets a good pace for the rest of the album.
The next track "Inside" keeps that pace but drops the tempo for the chorus. Not many bands use this technique although more probably should. It adds quite a nice bit of flavor that holds ones attention to the song throughout as opposed to how so many Metal bands will pound one tempo into the ground during an entire album.
The song "Good Enough" changes the mood a bit in a good place. After being hammered in the head for 3 tracks (Not that this is a bad thing by any means) this song is a nice ballad recorded on acoustic guitar in a very raw organic manner. I've always loved big production like Def Leppard's "Hysteria" however, this song wouldn't come across as well with too much production. The raw sound compliments Todd's raw vocal style.
The title track "The Conflict" sounds like it comes from somewhere different completely. It almost sounds like it jumped off of a Rage Against the Machine album. My initial reaction was "Wow I was not expecting that." Pretty wise to make sure people don’t get too comfortable or think they know what's coming next.
"Story of My Life" I can't lie, sounds like a straight up Buckcherry song. A very good Buckcherry song. Both fun and energetic it's a song that honestly when you get to the end, you might just play the track one more time.
As mentioned earlier, Rock n Roll has to be sexy. "Erotic City" delivers just that. What took me off guard was the blend of Hard Rock with what sounds like a pinch of 70s funk. I had a funny picture in my head of Josh Todd singing for The Spinners. This track is fun as hell and would probably be the perfect song to request the DJ to play if you're wanting some girl on the dance floor to start grinding on your leg.
Although "Push it" doesn't stand out to me as one of the better tracks, it's still a good track and much like the rest of the album, doesn't not follow any pattern or sound like anything else on the album. Atomic is much the same. Different types of influences and sounds can be heard. I don’t really get the sense that the band felt the need to follow any rules with this track other than the rule of don't follow the rules. The result is a Rock n Roll song you can dance your ass off too.
When members of a popular group venture off and do another project, it's easy to approach listening to it with initial skepticism. That makes it all the more enjoyable when that skepticism is blown out of the water. Josh Todd and the Conflict do just that with huge guns filled with sex, profanity and danger.
<CV> When did the band originally form and are you all from Las Angeles?
<DAVEY> 2011 is when the whole concept of the band started. Everyone that is in the band now isn’t exactly how it started. Now we are all spread out, a couple guys live in Vegas, my bass player lives in Atlanta and then a couple of us live in L.A.
<CV> What brought you all together and how did you know this was a perfect fit.
<DAVEY> Well, our drummer was playing for Static X when we were on the same tour. So that kind of happened at happen stance really. Our guitar player was a friend of Michelle Starr who is one of my best friends and she is a great photographer in L.A. Our bass player Derek was a fan of the band for a really long time so when we needed a bass player, he had the style that we wanted and obviously me and Needlz have been in the band since the beginning.
<CV> I remember the first time that I saw you guys was in Seattle where I am originally from. You guys were on tour with Wednesday 13.
<DAVEY> Oh yea, that was one of our first shows.
<CV> Yea, in fact my daughter was with me and we both were like hell yea and we were hooked!
derstand why I didn’t have big friend groups like other people I saw, I started to write songs and share it with people and that’s when I started to have friends. It was kind of a cause and reflect thing, it was an accident in a lot of ways.
<CV> What got you into music and at what age did you know this is what you wanted to do?
<DAVEY> 5th or 6th grade. I would just walk by the band room, we had a school band and I was in a private school at the time and I just gravitated towards it. When I had issues with my parents growing up I would listen to music and that kind of gave me an escape. Then when I couldn’t un
<CV> Who would you consider your biggest music influences and why?
<DAVEY> Guns N Roses has always been my favorite bands. The reason would be that I love how everyone in that band was a star. It was something for everybody. I felt like if you wanted to be a bass player you wanted to be Duff, if you were a
guitar player you wanted to be Slash, if you were a singer you wanted to be Axle. There songs are great! I love how Axle has so many different sides to his voice and characters to his voice. I love the guitar solos and the riffs were just really memorable to me, so I just thought that they were the complete package. They did stage changes and outfit changes and they were awesome.
<CV> Your newest album titled “Made From Fire” What can you tell us about that? How is it being received so far? I’ll be honest; I can’t get enough of it! I love every single song on it!
<DAVEY> Thank-you! It was the perfect storm for getting through that war with the record label. It was so real and the album was so organic because I had so many ups and downs going through that litigation. It will forever document this time in my life and I will never forget it. I think that’s why there is more conviction and everything, because every line I can think back to what I was thinking and what I was feeling and basically how I was just trying to hold it together, so we could get past the label.
<CV> Well I have all the albums, but by far this one is my favorite, I’m always blasting it.
<DAVEY> Yea, I think it’s our best record to date and it’s a prelude to what’s to come.
<CV> Give us some insight on the song and music writing process; is it a joined effort or does one person do all the writing?
<DAVEY> Needlz and I are more of the conceptual guys and then we bring in Niko and Draven towards the end. Niko kind of did the accentuating and embellishing and making our stuff better. This time we would come up with a riff and he would make it better. So Niko is a great addition on this album. Normally it starts with me and Needlz . Either I will e-mail him an idea or he will send me some music and I will record some vocals on it and we will send it back and forth through e-mail. Once we get to the point where we have it or kind of carved out we will
get together and actually chop the music up and get it in its final state.
<CV> Tell us about the recording process, anything you like or dislike?
<DAVEY> I think just constantly feeling like you have to top what you have already done is my biggest war. Is this better than our last album or is this better than our last song. That artist battle of just never feeling that it’s adequate is tough.
<CV> Do you find yourself always changing things? Like no we should do this or we should do that?
<DAVEY> Like “Devils Night” on the new album, that had so many chorus’s . It originally started off called “Slaughter House” *all of us laughing*
<DAVEY> Then I was like yea, no one is gonna relate to a song called “Slaughter House”.
*laughing* We were limiting our scope here. That song had so many hooks. You just know when it’s right. The verses of the fast part in “Rise Above” I couldn’t get the second verse, that one was so hard to get. It was hard to get the right cadence and the right lyrics too. I think I did that one like 20 -30 times. I would send it to Needlz and he was like no, that’s not it and I would be like fuck. *laughing*
<CV> I do the same things with pictures when I am editing, I will be like ok, that looks really cool and then I will be like no, I need to change this and this. So sometimes it will take me hours depending on what I am doing.
<DAVEY> Oh yea, of course. Then when you finally get it, you are like why didn’t I do that the first time. *laughing*
<CV> Exactly, we are not going to talk about how many times I have done that. *everyone laughing*
<CV> What is the motivation behind the songs your write? Do any of them speak to you on a personal level and if so why? Obviously with a few things we have discussed already I know they do. This whole album sounds like it does.
<DAVEY> Yea, this album is the closest thing to home as possible. “End Of The War” was a song where I was going through a rough time with my girlfriend. In a way she was kind of holding me together because I was just so mad, and I wasn’t the person she had started to date because this whole litigation had changed me so much. I was taking my aggression out on her and she was kind of my rock through the whole thing.
<CV> She stuck by your side through it all.
<DAVEY> She did! Then we ended up breaking up after the litigation was over. We are not together anymore but I will always remember that. I also realized how much it changed me as a person. It really made my patience where thin and I don’t know, I felt hopeless man. I felt like he was taking the thing I loved the most and taking all the fun out of it. It sucked.
<CV> Your newest Video “No Angel”. That’s an amazing video, I love everything about it. The cinematography is great and one of my favorite parts is when it’s kind of dark and you are spinning around and you have the sunset and you have the silhouette of you spinning around, I was like wow that is bad ass!
<DAVEY> Yea, thank-you
<CV> Tell me about that song, what’s the meaning behind it.
<DAVEY> It’s kind of what you are fighting that you know is ethically right and the temptation that is in front of you and just kind of knowing that you are in that moment and there is Adrenaline and the voice that is inside your head saying I shouldn’t be doing this but I wanna do this, your body is saying yes but your mind is saying no. It’s the idea of meeting someone and sharing a moment with them that you might not ever see again you know.
<CV> Right
<DAVEY> It’s also realizing that they are thinking the same thing you are thinking and when you realize that you are like oh shit, you are me and it’s projecting.
<CV> In 2015 you were in a litigation battle with a former record label over the rights to your albums among other things. I remember the videos you put out over that whole ugly mess. We actually shared it like crazy because our hearts went out to you. I know you went through the court proceedings already and if I read right you won the case? Is there anything you would like to say about that?
<DAVEY> The people sharing it and by it going viral was what got us out of that deal. Obviously the lawyer made it official. Had I never made that video and had the support of the music community who felt something for it and helped to get the word out, who knows if that would have been fixed.
<CV> I could see it on your face and hear it in your voice and I was like OMG that is just not right.
<DAVEY> It was weird you know. You just have to be fair in life and this guy has done this to so many people that I hope enough people at least shared it and remembered it.
<CV> So he does not do it to somebody else.
<DAVEY> Yea! That was my biggest fear. After it happened and part of me settling was having to take that post down.
<CV> I remember seeing something about that.
<DAVEY> Yea I had to fly to an emergency hearing in Cleveland and we settled that day. The label owner brought his wife and his kid and a second attorney in and was trying to get sympathy from the judge.
<CV> Oh wow
<DAVEY> *laughing* Yea, I was like man you did this! You created this situation.
<CV> I have had a few of my musician friends go
out on tours and get ripped off of all their money and the people disappear and I’m just like how in the hell do they get away with this crap? It blows my mind.
<DAVEY> Well the justice system is not set up to really protect people ya know. What I learned about that is the judge, if it was a rape case or murder or a robbery, something where a jury feels something for it. It probably would have went forward. This was like a contract case, what person in a jury is going to feel something for it. Half the people on jury duty don’t want to do it anyway. How are you going to convince a panel of 9 to feel something for a contract case that they know nothing about? So he was doing everything he could to just delay it to make us settle. So I was like fuck it, I’m going to make a video like forensic files type shit and I’m gonna put it out so that people at least know what I’m doing. Otherwise I’m just spending thousands of dollars to pay a
lawyer to what? Not get the shit done? I was stuck.
<CV> Yea, while the lawyer is collecting a big ol paycheck. No way.
<DAVEY> Right!
<CV> Now, something I read that really caught my attention was that in 5 years of you being on a label your albums were never carried in stores and now the newest album “Made In Fire” is being distributed World Wide. How does that make you feel? It has to be an amazing feeling!
<DAVEY> It’s great! The irony is funny. We probably got more notoriety from the record label scandal video than being on the label from what they actually tried to do. I guess it just shows you that anything is possible as long as you keep banging the door now. We have a good team in place and we have people in our corner that want us to win. It was a little bit of luck and thankfully we put a good product out that our fans and our new fans are really loving.
<CV> Very nice, it’s a GREAT album.
<DAVEY> Thank-you.
<CV> Tell us about the music industry today and where you think "Davey Suicide" fits in?
<DAVEY> I think you have a lot of the older artists that are scared to let the new blood in.
<CV> Maybe *laughing*
<DAVEY> Yea, cuz we are hungry and we are coming for them all. They have their island and they just want to keep themselves on it I’ve noticed. I think fans want a great tour package and fans want to see strong artists supporting each other and I feel like rap has it right. Like Dre supported Eminem and in rock they don’t do that. It’s weird to me. If you look at all the big scenes that happened like the Grunge era and the new metal era, it’s like all those bands were pushing a certain style of music together. Now there is no comradery and I think that hurts everybody, you can’t do it alone, use their strength in numbers. So the obvious thing for like Manson or Zombie
is to bring a band out like us or something, you know what I mean? I think fans would like that. Like Motionless and us on a Zombie tour or Korn, those are the bands people want to see touring together. I think if it’s less politics and more about what you are seeing what fans want, I think you are going to get a better return because you are pleasing people.
<CV> What are your thoughts on the use and necessity of Social Media?
<DAVEY> You have to do it, it’s that world now. We were talking about how the bigger bands don’t necessarily have to let you into their lives that much and their used to be an illusion with those bands because they had MTV and Head Bangers Ball and all that stuff. Now you don’t have that so you have to give a piece of your life away to them and then make them feel them connected and to keep that engagement going. I also think it’s an opportunity for the people who don’t have the financial backing or the big
record label. It’s a way to still do it without having those vehicles in place taking the majority of your profit. There are ways around everything, there is always a way, you just have to be calculated and work it.
<CV> How do you feel about music download sales, would you prefer a return to CD's and Vinyl? Although vinyl is making a comeback.
<DAVEY> Kids are going to get it the way they are going to get it. I’ve always liked CD’s because it’s a presentation of how the band intended you to see it. The kids coming up today though don’t know about that world anymore and I can relate to that too. It’s one of those things that if the CD is the vehicle to selling shirts at a show or your other merchandise then that’s what it’s gotta be. Try to get your songs synced to movies and make money that way and there are other ways around it. You can’t find the trend of the way the world is going, that’s reality.
<CV> Yea, I met him a bit ago and he seemed really cool.
<CV> Let’s talk about the current tour. You and Doyle. I honestly was beyond excited when I heard about this tour with the both of you together. I was like they are going to rip Vegas apart! *laughing* I’ve worked with him a few times now and he always puts on an amazing show and such a great guy. How did this tour come about?
<DAVEY> Our agents work together and we have a horror side to us and Doyle has a horror side to him and we got such a good response from the Dope/Combichrist tour that this made sense to do. They had been bringing out the smaller punks bands and stuff and they kind of wanted to go a different route and bring in a younger audience .It was a little bit of luck and or agents made it all happen.
<CV> How do you like working with him?
<DAVEY> Oh dude they are great! Their sound guy has been running sound for us every day, Darin the tour manager is cool.
<DAVEY> Oh yea, they are great! It’s like one of the most punctual and militant packages we have ever been on. Then the fact that we get to play later in the night is awesome. So we get to be in front of the meat of the crowd there, it’s been cool. I mean it’s different, punk rock is a lot different from the world we are. We like production and over the top stuff and they are so bare bones and they like it that way. So it’s interesting to see the contrast from our set to theirs.
<CV> Do you have a favorite place to play and why?
<DAVEY> Dallas is becoming one of our favorite cities; I love to play Atlanta and Cleveland too. Its changing man, Huston is a great market for us and Dallas is starting to become the most popular Texas market for us. Obviously we love venues but it’s always about crowd response and where we are feeling the love.
<CV> Do you have a ritual at all before you play a show?
<DAVEY> I always have to warm up which I have to do in a few. I kind of get in my own little zone and it’s weird because sometimes people will try to talk to me when I’m doing my thing and I’m like go away, leave me alone. I need a little time before we play.
<CV> I get it, you need to get in the zone basically.
<DAVEY> Yea, it’s just a mental place. I just kind of zone out and think about everything and a lot of times I just think of how lucky I am to do this every day. It’s something I have always wanted to do. We are in a fortunate situation.
<CV> Any funny stories to tell from tour life?
<DAVEY> We were driving in Pennsylvania and we were at a truck stop and we got gas and then we left. Then all of a sudden my drummer’s wife was calling my phone. I was like what the fuck because I was trying to sleep and she just kept calling my phone. So I pick up and she says you left Draven at the gas station! At this point we were like 20 miles now down the road. *everyone laughing* He didn’t bring his phone and we left him and we had to circle back and it was on the turnpike so it took us forever. Had he not known her number because everyone has cell phones now , I don’t know anyone’s number by heart. *laughing*
<CV> That’s a good thing! One of the things I tell people when I’m interviewing them , and a lot of time it’s the younger kids. They will say I wanna be like this person or sound like this person and I tell them, you need to sound like yourself. I don’t mean that disrespectful at all, but there is a lot of music that is coming out these days, I can’t stand it.
<DAVEY> Yea, it’s all recycled.
<CV> Yea, it all sounds the same and it’s redundant. Then I hear you guys and I’m like hell yea and rockin out as I’m driving down the street.
<CV> Do you know your own? *laughing*
<DAVEY> That one I know. *laughing* He had called her collect, luckily he knew her number and she got a hold of us. I almost didn’t pick up. I was like why is she calling me, I thought maybe he was in trouble for something. *all of us laughing*
<DAVEY> I was like, what did he do? *laughing*
<CV> What can fans expect to see at a "Davey Suicide " show?
<DAVEY> I think we bring the esthetic of a pavilion or arena show and we do it in a small club or big club setting. I think we are bringing something that our predecessors did and bringing a new spin to it. We are taking into a new direction.
<DAVEY> Yea! People compare us to Manson or Zombie and I’m like dude we sound nothing like them. We have influence of them but we are our thing and if anyone listens to us for more than one song or two will get that. We are doing our own thing and it’s cool!
<CV> What do you like to do in your down time? Who do you like to listen to besides Gun N Roses?
<DAVEY> I’m a big In This Moment fan. I like a lot of female singers like Lana Delray, the new Stitched Up Heart Album is really good. Then rock wise I like my Pantera, my Guns N Roses, Manson, Zombie, NIN. I like the Doors and Queen.
<CV> Now, I read something very interesting that I did not know about you. I read that you are also a tattoo artist and that all your tattoos have meaning? Tell us about that.
<DAVEY> All my tattoos have meaning and I have been tattooing for like 9 years now. I don’t do it a lot because I tour so much but I still do some when I’m on tour and I have packages that I put on our site.
<CV> Are you involved in any other projects and if so tell us about that.
<DAVEY> Not musically, but sometimes I will help do production stuff. I did some stuff on the Twizted album. For those guys Needlz and I will work on songs for people. I have a full plate. I have Killers Will Never die which is a clothing line that I do the designs for. I have my hands in a lot of stuff, like I do paintings when I’m home. I’m always busy, I’m always doing something.
<CV> With everything you have went through in your career, what advice would you give a band just starting out?
<DAVEY> You have to get the right team in place and have the same goal. If you don’t have the same goal you splinter off at some point. You need to learn as much as possible, be a sponge. Find people who have been there and have experience and pick their brain and apply as much of it as you can to your application and don’t be afraid to be told that you are wrong. Don’t be afraid to grasp knowledge and don’t be afraid to be shown things.
<CV> Learn from it.
<DAVEY> Yea, you are going to have a lot of lessons. The quicker you fix them the quicker you are going to see growth and that’s what you need.
<CV> What is your favorite thing about being on stage? What motivates you to do what you do?
<DAVEY> To know that we are affecting fans is
a good motivation and obviously to be the best band each night is our motivation for performing. It’s a high that I can’t explain but it’s a release that nothing else in the world gives me. It’s something that when I don’t have it and I’m off for a few months I get on age because I don’t have that release. It kind of helps to keep me a little more balanced and less crazy.
CV> What does " Davey Suicide" have planned for 2017? Any other tours or projects in the works?
<DAVEY> We have a winter that could be crazy good if it’s set up right. We are in the middle of getting it all planned out. It’s all close to coming together but not quite there.
<CV> I saw something about Europe?
<DAVEY> We might jump the pond in November and we might do some headline dates in December. We really want to be a support band for In This Moment or Motionless In White. We want that break. We are really pining after it right now. Fingers crossed, we have a lot of irons in the fire. We are hoping they pan out, we just want that exposure. We know that everything else is there at this point.
<CV> What would you like to say to your fans and our readers?
<DAVEY> I think if there is one thing people could take away from this whole “Made From Fire” era is the boundaries are only there because you put them there. There is always a way around any obstacle. You might need to be really creative and it might take a while but if there is one thing we have proved it’s you can figure out how to get out of a straitjacket. Change is pain and you have to be ready to be in pain.
DOYLE Abominate the World Tour 2017
With Special Guests DAVEY SUICIDE and DEAD GIRLS CORP
Monday June 19, 2017 I found myself at The Beauty Bar on Fremont Street, however the show was to be played outside the bar. Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, guitar player for the legendary band The MISFITS brought his band DOYLE and newest solo album “As We Die” to Las Vegas Nevada for a night of hard hitting rock and roll! With special guest bands DAVEY SUICIDE and DEAD GIRLS CORP. It was also one of the hottest nights on record for Las Vegas Nevada, the following day was the hottest day ever recorded in Vegas and much of the southwest United States.
After local acts EMDF and A BURDEN ON SOCIETY finished their sets and showed off their talents, it was time for the band DEAD GIRLS CORP from Hollywood to get down to business. Dead Girls Corp has a unique sound, blending Goth Rock and Industrial Rock. The band currently consists of Toddy T on Vocals, Bruce Miyaki on Bass, Dave Teague on Guitar and on Drums Dead Girl Mel McFail. Each member has their own swagger and style that comes together melodically to create DGC’s identity. I am looking forward to seeing them play at a better venue sometime in the future. I will talk more about this later, for now Dead Girls Corp gets credit for sticking it out in the record heat and putting on a show that has me wanting to listen to more of their music!
Next band on that hotter than Hell evening was DAVEY SUICIDE. I was wondering if they would tone down their high energy theatric performance a bit cause of the heat and small stage but I would soon find out that they would pull no punch’s .Drayven got the show started with his heavy handed precision drumming and Davey came out towering over the crowd in full front man regalia, multiple lairs to be precise. From the second they started to play, more people began to wander out of the bar for the show. Playing songs
from their new album “Made From Fire” and prior releases in true Generation Fuck Star Fashion!! Davey Suicide is made up of members Niko Gemini ,Needlz , Derek Obscura, Drayven Davidson (once a member of Static-X/Wayne Static) and the one and only Davey Suicide Every time I see them live they put on a great show and have more songs added to the set list. I definitely look forward to the next time I see DAVEY SUICIDE take the stage over.
Well after the sun had gone, the City of Sin was afire and it was time for DOYLE to execute! With his iconic horror themed look made famous from his time in The Misfits along with his self-designed Annihilator guitar, Doyle was ready to go! The band went straight into jamming “Abominator”. DOYLE band members are Alex Story (also vocalist/songwriter for Cancer Slug), Brandon Strate on Bass guitar and on this evening Wade Murff on the Drum kit. After a few of fast paced “Love” songs ended, I wondered how long they would be able to perform with the excessive heat outside. In all they played fourteen songs! A mix of tracks from the well-received “Abominator” album and some new ones from the recently released and climbing the charts “As We Die” album. My personal favorite was when they played “Valley Of Shadows”,I think that song really shows off the bands skills. Seeing DOYLE play that intense for that long was amazing!
What an amazing show at a horrible venue. If it wasn’t for the world class talent on stage I would have left. The touring bands didn’t know the show was going to be outside until they arrived. The Beauty Bar should have mentioned it on the ticket or at least to the musicians.. However, I am definitely glad they stuck it out and made the best of things. It was nice to hear such a crap venue rock so hard!! That was definitely a unique show and one that I will never forget! All the bands that played that night defined what it means to push the limits of the human body.
Andrew Fairchild
Unveil New Details About Upcoming Album!
A Decade of Delain - Live At Paradiso' Now Available For Pre-order!
Over the last year DELAIN have been celebrating their ten year anniversary - from the release of their fifth full-length Moonbathers and an anniversary edition of their debut album Lucidity to extensive headline tours across Europe and North America to gracing some of the world's biggest festival stages - the band is set to cap it off with the release of their first ever live DVD/Blu-Ray package coming out on October 27, 2017 on Napalm Records!
'A Decade of Delain: Live at Paradiso' was filmed at a sold out gig at Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso on December 10, 2016. Delain was joined on stage throughout the evening by Alissa WhiteGluz (Arch Enemy), Liv Kristine, Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory), and many other special guests and collaborators.
Coming as a 2-CD / DVD / Blu-Ray as well as LP Gatefold editions, 'A Decade of Delain - Live At Paradiso' is now available for pre-order HERE!
The set list for the evening showcased songs spanning DELAIN's entire decade-long existence, including everything from the sing-along singles to cuts from the band's vault that are rarely played live. On top of the full live concert, the package includes an exclusive documentary about the band entitled We Are The Others - A Decade of Delain, a bonus live performance of "We Are the Others" from Masters of Rock 2015, and the "Suckerpunch" music video.
Says the band:
After months of planning, performing and putting together our first ever live DVD/CD/Blu-Ray "A Decade of Delain - Live at Paradiso", we are very excited to be so close it's release now! What to expect? Have a look at this trailer for a sneak peek! We hope you enjoy it, and we hope it makes you extra eager to experience the complete 115 minute show and all cool extra's, including the documentary "We Are The Others - A Decade of Delain" very soon!
The tracklist of 'A Decade of Delain - Live At Paradiso' reads as follows:
3. "Suckerpunch" official music video
CD/DVD/Blu-Ray:
1. Intro (The Monarch)
2. Hands of Gold (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)
3. Suckerpunch
4. The Glory and the Scum
5. Get the Devil Out of Me 6. Army of Dolls
7. The Hurricane 8. April Rain
9. Where Is The Blood (featuring Burton C. Bell
10. Here Come the Vultures
11. Fire With Fire
12. The Tragedy of the Commons (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)\
13.Danse Macabre
14. Sleepwalkers Dream (featuring Rob van der Loo, Sander Zoer, and Guus Eikens)
15. Your Body is a Battleground (featuring Marco Hietala - video)
16. Stay Forever
17. See Me In Shadow (featuring Liv Kristine and Elianne Anemaat)
18. The Gathering
19. Pristine (featuring George Oosthoek)
20. Mother Machine
21. Sing to Me (featuring Marco Hietala - video)
22. Don't Let Go
23. We Are the Others
DVD/Blu-Ray Bonus Content:
1. We Are the Others - A Decade of Delain documentary
2. "We Are the Others" - live at Masters of Rock 2015
In support of DELAIN's upcoming live release, the band will hit the road for the Danse Macabre Tour this Fall, featuring special guest and frequent collaborator Marco Hietala from Nightwish on all dates, along with a very special set list of rarelyplayed Delain songs! Support will be coming from Serenity and Cellar Darling.
Catch this very special and exciting live package on the following dates:
DELAIN will follow the Danse Macabre Tour with a string of dates in South America in late 2017 and a full North American tour with Kamelot and Battlebeast in Spring 2018:
Nov. 18 - Sao Paolo, Brazil - Manifesto
Nov. 19 - Granfinos, Brazil - Granfinos
Nov. 21 - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Theatro Odissea
Nov. 23 - Santiago, Chile - Club Subterraneo
Nov. 24 - Rosario, Argentina - Teatro Vorterix Rosario (w/ Amaranthe)
Nov. 25 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Estadio Luna Park (w/ Tarja and Amaranthe)
Apr. 16 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
Apr. 17 - Charlotte, NC - Filmore Underground
Apr. 18 - Silver Springs, MD - The Filmore
Apr. 20 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
Apr. 22 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
Apr. 23 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
Apr. 25 - Albany, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
Apr. 26 - Pittsburgh, PA - Carnegie Music Hall
Apr. 27 - Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
Apr. 28 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
Apr. 29 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly's
May 01 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
May 02 - Salt Lake City, UT - Complex
May 04 - San Jose, CA - City National Civic
May 05 - Anaheim, CA - Grove Anaheim
May 06 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theater
May 08 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
May 09 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
May 11 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
May 12 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
May 13 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
For More Info Visit:
www.delain.nl
www.facebook.com/delainmusic
www.instagram.com/delainofficial
www.twitter.com/delainmusic
L.A. Guns New Album "The Missing Peace" Today via Frontiers Music Srl
First Studio Album in 15 Years to Feature Tracii Guns & Phil Lewis
The Missing Peace, will feel instantly familiar to the band's fans.
-Billboard
The classic line-up lives to (gun)fight another day. It's a ripper
-Team Rock
A strong reunion release for LA Guns' two most iconic members, who prove from start to finish that they still have a musical chemistry and can deliver the goods.
-ZRockr
Their spirit presents us a perfect rock album with an invigorating sound in 2017.
-My Global Mind
Do whatever you need to do to get your hands on it. You won't be disappointed.
-Hairband Heaven
Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis are back together as L.A. Guns with their first studio album in 15 years! "The Missing Peace" is available today via Frontiers Music Srl.
Buy or stream the album here: http://radi.al/ MissingPeace
As the revival of the classic '80s hard rock and heavy metal scene continues unabated here in the 21st century, one reunion has been at the top of the wishlists of many a fan for a long time: the songwriting combination of Tracii Guns and Phil-
ip Lewis under the L.A. Guns banner. What once seemed like a distant memory with no hope of returning has now come around and fans are about to be rewarded for keeping their fingers crossed and their hopes up.
"Oh, that’s really good... Can you try it again… this time with some STYLE?"
I recall the words as if spoken yesterday. Naturally, any one of us can bring to mind words spoken by another in anger, hate, fear, and even love; but can you bring to mind words spoken in a scenario where if you listened, you learned; if you chose not to listen, you chanced to lose a great deal?
I guess what I’m saying is, try to recall a memory of when somebody said something to you that just shook the foundations of everything you believed, understood, or lived in that scenario. I’m betting some of you could conjure up some pretty deep and nasty stuff. Well, we aren’t interested in any of those for this little “exercise.”
What I am more interested in the words that made you DEVELOP.
My words came when I sat down to track a rhythm guitar passage on a song for a local singer. This gentleman had purchased the studio time, the producer, and the musicians in the room. His tune was simple enough, and the fellows in the room seemed to know what they were about. Two of them I had just met out in the hall not fifteen minutes earlier. The old head nod to the ones you meet, a bro hug for the ones you’ve known for a bit.
Anyway, we were sitting down for our “situation meeting” and grab a copy of our chord charts. One dude that I had banked on seeing there was not present. And that worried me. Because his absence meant that I was the only guitarist in the meeting, and to that point, had never carried the “lead” position in a recording environment.
I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full
of rocking chairs, let me tell you. My thoughts raced to the little I knew about playing lead. My stomach went to knots, and then came the “worms.” Those whispers of self-doubt and insecurity that always seem to come around when things get stressful. Being as that I have never been one to drink excessively, or to score something before a session, I had nothing to cure my nerves except to wait my turn to lay my tracks. So, we sat around and waited our turns.
Recalling the strategic positioning of a Coca-Cola vender on the corner, I decided to talk a quick walk over and grab a Coke. As I step out behind the studio, the bassist is sitting back there on a cinder block smoking a joint. I remember this guy from a Jazz show I caught at a club in St Pete with a friend who dug this guys work. And yep, he was good! He played a fretless Fender and seemed to know every soulful mood that bass could deliver. As I nod at him passing by, he says, “Stay Cool Brother, they say that the man who knows his own weaknesses, is the man who lives to f-ck another day.”
Say What?!
“Dude, I’m just going across the street to grab a Coke.” I replied.
What did this guy think? That I was going to skirt out on the session because I couldn’t handle it?
Well, I have never been one to do that. Shoot, when they told me I wasn’t going to pass High School because some idiot in my old home town lost my freshman year records… I requested to be put through extra night classes and graduated six
months later than my class with honors and a Civil Service Award. Maybe only a 3.2 GPA, but my 4.0 in college made up for it. In other words, I don’t back down from challenges. I face them head on and attempt to kick their ass. If they put me down, I formulate a plan and approach the issue from a different front.
So, I did just that. I formulated a quick plan. I remembered that I had a chord/scale book out in my car that I had been tooling around in for a bit that had excellent chord to scale relationship passages in it. I figured I had about three or four hours to blow since the drummer was taking longer than was expected due to the loose swing of the cadence of the track. So, I got my Coke, went to my car, and put head to paper and studied the chord chart and how the positioning put my hand in proper place for the next passage. After about two and a half hours, I walked back to the studio. The bassist was no longer sitting on the cinder block. So, I walked past the security dude and let myself into the control room. The bassist was just wrapping up his session… it was MY turn.
I asked for a run through on the cans so I could place myself in the setting and then ran tape on the second pass. This was only the rhythm track, so I knew I would nail it down pretty quickly. And I did. We took a break for lunch (yes, Dude was out there smoking a joint on that cinder block at around 8am) and then reconvened for the loose pre-production mix and then the solo.
Settling onto the stool, I placed the cans on my head, slipped my shoulder through the strap, and checked my tuning. I give the engineer a nod, I get my two-measure pre-roll after an eight click and I’m off to the races. The take was 4 bars and I ran through it like a champ. When I finish up my first pass take the Producer chimes into my cans and says, “Oh, that’s really good… Can you try it again… this time with some style?”
OUCH!
It was at that moment that I realized no amount of book learning was going to get me out of this predicament. So, I called upon my memory to replay an article I had read where another guitar player I admired had said that to play a really GOOD solo, you have to feel it, express it, and present it in a manner that convinces the listener that you’ve been playing that solo for years. And that takes “Flair.”
Well, not to be one to confuse any readers by thinking I am writing about Rick Flair, the wrestler; I decided to use the word “STYLE”. Which, in this case, is entirely synonymous with “Flair.”
Style is what YOU put into your playing. Style is what you hear when you listen to your favorite band and there is so much movement in the music from the independent personalities, that you can pick them out. Style is the thing you miss when you try to emulate your favorite guitarist.
Anyone can two-hand tap, anyone can pinch a harmonic, and anyone can hold a note for 4 measures… but not everyone can leech out every emotion they can out of the note during that four measures. It was said to me once, “Music Individuality is not what you do with the notes, it is what you do BETWEEN the notes. It is what you do WITH the time in between the beats that determines if you will reach the listener or not.”
It was at that moment that I realized no amount of book learning was going to get me out of this predicament. So, I called upon my memory to replay an article I had read where another guitar player I admired had said that to play a really GOOD solo, you have to feel it, express it, and present it in a manner that convinces the listener that you’ve been playing that solo for years. And that takes “Flair.”
Well, not to be one to confuse any readers by thinking I am writing about Rick Flair, the wrestler; I decided to use the word “STYLE”. Which, in this case, is entirely synonymous with “Flair.”
Style is what YOU put into your playing. Style is what you hear when you listen to your favorite band and there is so much movement in the music from the independent personalities, that you can pick them out. Style is the thing you miss when you try to emulate your favorite guitarist.
Anyone can two-hand tap, anyone can pinch a harmonic, and anyone can hold a note for 4 measures… but not everyone can leech out every emotion they can out of the note during that four measures. It was said to me once, “Music Individuality is not what you do with the notes, it is what you do BETWEEN the notes. It is what you do WITH the time in between the beats that determines if you will reach the listener or not.”
Think about it, what made Eddie Van Halen special? Or Randy Rhoads, or Zakk Wylde, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Tony Iommi… I can go on. What is it that makes them unique and makes you immediately know that it is them playing? I mean, they all have access to the same gear, and most actually DO use the same amplifiers and guitars in the studio… so what makes them unique? I said it earlier… STYLE.
So I held notes longer, added vibrato here and there, and speckled it with some color I picked up from Satriani, Vai, and Beck. I wrapped it up, and
got a handshake from the guy bankrolling the whole deal. Later, when I heard the track with his vocals in place, I almost laughed out loud with how well the emotions fit together, and it wasn’t just another flat performance. The funny thing was, every time I played at home, I played with all sorts of style… but when I would get with a band, I’d play pretty straight forward and conservative. I needed that Producer to open me up.
Okay, so now you know what style is. How do YOU get it?
Every successfully influential musician throughout time has gotten it one way. Through a direct connection with their instrument. They learn their instrument inside and out and they begin to use the instrument to emulate their internal voice. Some guitar players are angry. You can hear it. Some are passionate, some are fun, some are creative, and some are downright ridiculous. But ALL did the same thing. They learned their instrument, and then began to make that instrument an extension of themselves. The result is easily recognizable passages and riffs that immediately bring to mind the face of the player.
It just takes a new style of pick, a new set of strings, a different hand position, a new pedal, or maybe a new guitar or amp to set the creative juices flowing, but that isn’t always enough. Sometimes you just need to sit there with your guitar or whatever, and just screw off. I do it for hours, sometimes. I play with the edge of the pick, I pinch the strings, I play harmonics instead of true tones, I reverse bend, I hammer-on and pull-off, and I dive bomb. Then I do all of those things a different way. Just like playing an E note on the open lowest string and playing an E in the third position… it’s the same note, but it differs in pitch and tone. Then the things that sounded cool, I implement into my parts when I’m playing with a band.
There are a great many REALLY good guitarists out there. But very few have the creativity to create their own unique tone that makes them stand
out from the next guy. They can emulate and ape anyone out there, but for their own selves… they got nothing. For those guys, I feel bad. Because they never had that experience of someone telling them there is more to playing than being a monkey. And, there is WAY more to being a musician.
Do yourself a favor and start listening to other players and study their approach. Remember, it’s okay to “glean” riffs, ideas, and stylistic approaches, but it isn’t cool to clone someone. And if you are wondering why you are in your 50s, still playing cover tunes and your original days are in the past, I’d like to blame it all on lack of personal style, but you and I both know that would be a lie, but having a personal style sure would have opened up a lot more doors for you back then. But, it isn’t too late, either. Do your thing, and enjoy it. But, if you want to really enjoy your playing, start developing your own unique style. You’ll become a whole lot more interesting to others… trust me.
