Highwire Daze #145

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GL E NPHI L L I PSOFT OADT HEWE TSPROCKE T , I RONMAI DE N, SCORPI ONS, I NF L AME S, MYCHE MI CALROMANCE ,MI CHAE LSCHE NKE RGROUP ,CE NT E RSHI F T ,MAL AMORT E , T HUNDE RMOT HE R, ST RYPE R, T HEHARDWA Y , CL I OCADE NCE , J E IRYNN, ANDMORE . . .

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

HIGHWIRE DAZE Sponsored by THE SANDGAARD FOUNDATION

Publisher Highwire Daze Magazine A General Partnership

INTERVIEWS with...

Black Veil Brides..................................................14 WASP.....................................................................18 In Flames...............................................................22 Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket...............26 Bittersweethearts,..................................................36 Clio Cadence.........................................................38 Sik Sik Sicks..........................................................42 Malamorte.............................................................46 Centershift.............................................................48

Editor Ken Morton Managing Editor Danny S. Pasley Senior Photographer Jack Lue East Coast Editor Jupiter Lee Contributors Ken Morton Jack Lue Jupiter Lee Vivian Ortega Linda Emord James Grover Tony F. Corpse

BITTERSWEETHEARTS POSTER by JACK LUE..........31/34 SIK SIK SICKS POSTER by JACK LUE...........................32/33

Cover Art by Yannick d’Assignes of Smart Works Intl Cover Photos by Jack Lue HIGHWIRE DAZE 827 N. Hollywood Way PMB419 Burbank, CA 91505-2814 www.highwiredaze.com email: ken@highwiredaze.com Copyright 2022 Highwire Daze Magazine

CONCERT REVIEWS Scorpions, Thundermother....................................52 Michael Schenker Group.......................................53 My Chemical Romance.........................................54 Jei-Rynn.................................................................55 Stryper, The Hard Way..........................................56 Pretty Boy Floyd, The Midnight Devils, Jet Black Romance................................................................57 Iron Maiden...........................................................58 ALBUMS REVIEWS Against The Sun, Air-Ik, The Guitar & Whiskey Club, State Five.....................................................60

Opinions expressed within this publication do not neccessarily reflect those of the publisher.

All rights reserved. Nothing may be produced in whole or in part without the express and written permission of the publisher.

SKETCHES BY THE EDITOR................................................... 8

Supporting Noise Pollution Since 1990!

IN MUSICAL ORBIT BY JUPITER.........................................12

PRODUCT REVIEW BY JAMES GROVER...........................10

Listen To Highwire Daze Radio at Live 365!

24 Hours A Day - 7 Days A Week!

Classic Rock, Hair Metal, Black Metal, Metalcore, Heavy Metal, Pop Punk, Punk Rock HIGHWIRE DAZE

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November/December 2022

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Sketches By The Editor

Welcome to Highwire Daze Issue #145 - our 32nd anniversary issue! 32 is such an odd number to be commemorating, but here we are at the end of 2022! We made it through the pandemic and are rocking once more!

And what amazing shows we’ve seen arrive in Southern California as of late! This issue has live reviews of iconic bands such as Iron Maiden, the Scorpions, Michael Schenker Group, and My Chemical Romance. And on the interview front, we have Black Veil Brides, WASP, In Flames, and Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket in this final issue of 2022.

Toad The Wet Sprocket was one of Highwire Daze co-founder Jonathan Wright’s all time favorite bands, and I dedicate the interview to him. Can’t believe we started Highwire Daze within the walls of a tiny little apartment in Hollywood in October of 1990! It seems like yesterday.

And now on the holiday season of 2022 and into the brand new year of 2023, when you will see Highwire Daze Issue #146.

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday season!

And if you want your fix of Highwire Daze over the holidays, visit our webpage at www.highwiredaze. com as well as Highwire Daze Radio on Live 365 at www.highwiredazeradio.net!

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November/December 2022

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Product Review by

James Grover BOSS GX-100 MULTI EFFECTS

PROCESSOR FOR GUITAR AND BASS Back in the 1980s when I started getting more serious with guitar I would go out and buy individual effect Stomp Boxes by BOSS, in which I still use today.

However today’s technology has moved into a modern world.

Boss has just introduced the new GX-100 multi effects processor for guitar and bass, with new braking technology and modern look.

The GX-100 is designed for the live performing musician it has easy parameters to use with touch screen to adjust your effects and to select options of how much you want of that effect, it also has an expression pedal that is also a wah pedal at the click of a button.

The GX-100 provides Superior tone and natural tube feel in any playing situation. Thanks to A.I.R.D. technology backed by the refined tube logic approach.

A.I.R.D. is infused into the DNA of every GX-100 guitar and bass amplifier, while A.I.R.D. output select types let you perfectly tailor the sound for any destination whether it’s an amp input FRFR monitor or house PA a white selection of onboard speaker cabs are also available plus slots for improving your own speakers IRS via USB exceptional effects with over top quality.

150 effects from the vast BOSS Library you’re able to realize nearly any sign you can imagine with a GX-100 numerous overdrives and distortions are available plus Boss Classics like slow gear, octave, and more there’s also a diverse range of mods effects delays and reverbs along with many effects specially tuned for Bass and with the send return Jacks you can integrate favorite Stomps of your amps effects Loop into the GX-100 ecosystem it allows you to craft your personal voice the GX-100 comes with 100 preset memories to start playing right away. It’s easy to edit them from your needs or 10

build new ones from the ground up let your imagination run wild with 15 dedicated block types including two amp blocks and chain effects in series and parallel to create all types of Sonic and variations. It also has 200 user memories you’re able to store enough onboard sounds to cover nearly any song or Style.

I really recommend this unit to any touring musician who needs to tour light. The price for the unit is at mid range cost for all that’s crammed into the unit.

Reach James Grover at:

https://www.facebook.com/james.grover.311 November/December 2022

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In Musical Orbit by Jupiter Jupiter at Highwire Daze Online Crew

East Coast Editor Hey everyone! It’s Jupiter Lee - East Coast Editor. Check out my record reviews here and be sure to add me on Facebook! Link is at the end of my column...

The Gang’s All Here Skid Row earMusic SKID ROW has come a long way since their huge 80’s hit Youth Gone Wild and yet still maintained their edge of rebellion, high caliber musicians and hard rock style. Musicians are vocalist ERIK GRONWALL, guitarist SNAKE SABO, guitarist SCOTTI HILL, bass guitarist RACHEL BOLAN and

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ROB HAMMERSMITH on the drums. Opening with track 01 is Hell or High Water, and this tune gives you a taste of just what you’re in for . Next is the title track, The Gang’s All Here, and the feel is rather bass driven while the vocals provide the swagger and the free style shredded guitar work is most welcome. Track 05 Resurrected has just the kind of riff you can’t help but crank up! Track 06 Nowhere Fast. WoW! This eerie guitar based riff introduces you to dominant vocals and straight ahead fast tasteful drumming . One of my favorites.

Another musical highlight on here has got to be October’s Song. Starting off with a very nice pattern in 6/8 of acoustic guitar driven melodies this time around. A nice message within this piece. It gave me an unexpected wave of tranquility. THE GANG’S ALL HERE contains powerful melodic riffs and vocals, driving drums and many extremely tight rhythmic bursts featured frequently throughout this record. Awesome sound production will crush your speakers . You can follow SKID ROW by checking out their official homepage at...

https://www.skidrow.com/ JUPITER on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jupiter-Lee-173082899386911 :

November/December 2022

HIGHWIRE DAZE

Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides Photo by Jack Lue

The Reawakening of

Black Veil Brides

Interview by Ken Morton - Live Photo by Jack Lue

Black Veil Brides find themselves on the road in the midst of the Trinity Of Terror Tour, with a local date taking place at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood on December 7th. The band has just unveiled a new EP entitled The Mourning, now available via Sumerian Records.

Highwire Daze recently had the opportunity to interview lead vocalist Andy Biersack to find out more about The Mourning EP, what it was like to return to the stage after the pandemic, early days of the band including opening for From First To Last at The Whisky, their great admiration and respect for the fans, and a whole lot more! Read on...

Is there any overall story or concept behind the title and songs on The Mourning EP? What we had originally intended on doing was a supplementary thing for The Phantom Tomorrow – and really, we had kind of gone into the studio with the intention of doing it that way. Once we sat down to write the songs, it sort of felt like as if that story had been told. When I invest in any kind of world building, I really feel like I want to live in this and continue to tell the story and do this stuff. But once we actually sat down and started to write the songs, it started to feel like that wasn’t really representative of where we were at. The truth is, that for so long and for so many years, we had gone through such a tumultuous time – the band nearly ending and all this stuff – and then finally coming back and experiencing from the fall of 2021 through the beginning part of 2022 while on tour.

Such a renewed sense of the band – not just as musicians but as friends and people who have shared this life together after all these years. So, it felt like – the talk about what it was to turn the page and to start this new chapter. It’s sort of funny – the idea of The Mourning. Obviously, you mourn things that have passed – I think in some ways it’s more of a turn on the phrase, because we were waking up to something new and letting go of something old.

How influenced were you by the pandemic and all of the social unrest in the world when writing The Mourning HIGHWIRE DAZE

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EP and your previous album The Phantom Tomorrow – if at all?

I would say more on The Phantom Tomorrow because we were literally writing and recording the album during the peak of all that stuff. It’s hard to not have it mirror the art that you’re making in some way. The Mourning is kind of more representative of whatever this current version of our world is – where things seem to be as normal as they can be – whatever this new normal is. So I wouldn’t say it had any direct influence on The Mourning, but certainly the idea – particularly the political sphere and sort of this avatarism and hero worship that was created by what they call the political football – where everybody had a team and everybody had a hat and everybody had a sign – and people’s personalities sort of became entirely entrenched in being represented by people who ostensibly – as far as I could see – could really give a fuck about them or their family or anything else. It was just sort of an odd thing where so many people I knew became – their whole identity became associated with a political ideology. That, to me – because I was writing a story about hero worship and false gods and stuff like that – it all kind of became part and parcel of the same idea.

Describe that first show back for you after the pandemic, and what that meant for you to be back after probably two years.

You know, it’s so funny. I’ve been performing in some capacity since I was a child. It’s not uncommon to hear that the lead singer of a band is someone who made everyone watch them perform constantly all the time as a kid – that kind of goes with the territory. So, I was putting on concerts in my living room to anyone who I could make watch me from the time I was three years old. I’ve never had nerves onstage – I’ve never had stage fright, or no moment has ever felt too big. I’ve always just been excited about the opportunity to do it - and maybe that’s narcissism or humorous or whatever it is. So, we played Lincoln, Nebraska first in the fall of 2021 – and it’s the first time that I believe I could remember really having legitimate nerves going on the stage. We were backstage and we 15

were almost kind of laughing about it, because the thing about it was the band had been on a several year hiatus at that point. We only played one show in about a four-year period – and the only shows that we had played prior to that were a residency that we did in LA. So, it was really our first bite of the apple when it came to the current lineup of our band – our opportunity to get back out there coupled with the fact that it was after this crazy thing that was going on. And now it’s our first show back. It was extremely exciting, but it was also a little nerve wracking. And then you get into the swing of things, and we’ve really not stopped touring ever since then. Here we are a year later, and we’ve only had a handful of weeks that we weren’t touring from the fall of last year right up until today.

At this point in your career, when you look at these fan made signs that say “Black Veil Brides Saved My Life,” how does that make you feel?

It’s a pretty incredible thing to think that, for me – and obviously, everybody in the band has different experiences – I think we could all share a similar sentiment, which is being kids that grew up idolizing bands – and also none of us were popular kids – none of us had great social skills.

We all felt that music was our outlet to get through life. To be able to sit here at 31 years old and know that the music that I wrote with my friends in this band 12-13 years ago is deeply affecting people that were toddlers when the songs were written – it’s really crazy! You see so many people of different age ranges at our shows – and not only people who grew up with us, but people who just discovered the band. And to know that we’ve been able to have that deep of an impact on essentially a whole generation of rock music fans – it’s a pretty incredible feeling and it’s something that we don’t take lightly.

The first time I interviewed you – and this was quite a few years ago – you were opening a show at The Whisky and From First To Last was headlining. Your band pretty much exploded after that. Tell me about your memories of that show and about that particular time in the history of your band.

A very funny thing happened at that show that will always stick in my mind. We had a guy who was – I’m not even sure how he ended up living with us – he was a guy in a German band who came to LA – he’d gotten signed to a major record deal. He was friends with some people we knew, and I guess he was a really poor house guest to them, because they contacted us and said, “Hey, can such and such come over and spent a night at your guy’s apartment?” And I think Jake lived in the shit hole apartment in Hollywood – it was a studio apartment – we had blow 16

up mattreses – there were cockroaches everywhere - and it was just a party pad kind of thing in the heart of Hollywood. And he shows up at the door with all of his suitcases and bags – and the people that dropped him off are just driving off and we’re like, “Oh, okay! Well, I guess this guy lives here now.” This guy just lived with us, and we didn’t really know him at all – and he was a nice enough guy. One night, we said “Well you know we’re going on tour. We could definitely use some help.” Obviously, we didn’t have any crew or anything. So, we’re rolling up in the van and we get the stage all set up – and he’s up on the stage with us. And all of sudden, these immigration officers come into the venue and up onstage behind that little makeshift curtain that we had – and escort him off the stage and we didn’t see him again. We thought we would never see him again, but we did see him again years later at a show in Europe and he told us the whole story. It’s obviously not the question that you asked, but that show always sticks out in my head.

You know, we played The Whisky 800 times – especially in those early days. But that one – the one where we were opening for From First To Last sticks out to me as the time where that friend of ours who existed briefly in our lives got taken away by immigration, because it turned out that he didn’t have a green card or anything. He was just staying in the States, I guess. (Laughter) Those shows in the early days, it was such an innocent period in the sense that we were so bright-eyed, and everything was brand new. And just the opportunity to November/December 2022

HIGHWIRE DAZE

play The Whisky and be in the LA scene and all these things that we dreamt of – being played out in the sense that here you are onstage – oh you’re going on tour and the band was growing – all of this hype and traction. We were the first band on the bill – I believe it was either us or Sleeping With Sirens that opened up the show each night – and each of us played 15-20 minutes at the most.

And then ironically, it was two or three years later that our two bands were, you could sort of argue, ruling the scene.

And when you consider the fact – I would say more so for us than anyone else – we were in a position where we were not critically lauded. We were told for those first couple of years that we were basically a joke. The other bands on these tours looked down on us. The only thing that we had going for us was this fan base that wouldn’t give up on us and really hoisted us up and put us in the position where we could succeed. So, looking back at that time, I have both tremendous memories of the joy of the ascent and also sometimes laugh at some of the things that were said to us and about us in those early days by people who both within the industry and without, that didn’t believe that we had a chance of any kind of success. There’s no real vindication in this, but in any event, that one that you’re referring to was The Royal Family Clothing Tour.

What are you looking forward to the most about the remaining dates of the Trinity Of Terror Tour – including the show here in Los Angeles at the YouTube Theater?

Yeah, that’s a new venue. I’ve never been to the new stadium down there or anything. As far as I understand, it’s adjacent to the new football stadium, so I’m really looking forward to it. You know, this tour has been really a blessing for all three bands. We’ve really enjoyed it, and we all get along really well. On a tour where you’ve got three headliners who rotate every night – inherently there could be some political issues just within that – and we’ve been really lucky that there hasn’t been anything. No bad blood – no feuds – nothing – we’ve all just really gotten along and enjoyed this opportunity that we’ve all been given.

You know, this is the last one for now. I wouldn’t say that it isn’t possible that we wouldn’t try to pursue in the future – but I think this is something that’s really exciting and we’re looking forward to kind of ending it with a bang here and heading towards Christmas.

And do you have any messages for fans reading this right now?

Well beyond anything, the biggest message that I believe will always remain for our band is that we are sincerely and genuinely appreciative, that despite what’s been said about our band, or criticisms that have been thrown at HIGHWIRE DAZE

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people for wearing our shirts or supporting us or whatever it is – that despite all that, people have stood up for us and have given us a career – and here we are well over a decade into our career and we’ll still here and playing the biggest shows of our career – and that’s really down to our fans and entirely a testament to them.

http://blackveilbrides.net/ 17

Blackie Lawless of

WASP Photo by Jack Lue

Forty Infamous Years of

the Almighty W.A.S.P. Interview by Ken Morton - Live Photos by Jack Lue

What goes through your mind at the mention of there being a 40th Anniversary of anything?

Well, I was telling somebody the other day that October 30th – the day before Halloween – was the 40th Anniversary of Armored Saint and W.A.S.P. playing their first show together at The Troubadour. Now for one band to last more than four years is amazing – to make it 40 years is unheard of. For two bands to be having their 40th anniversary playing together again on the same night 40 years later – I’ve never heard of that happening before. The planets have to aligned for that to happen.

what we think the people would like to see. There’s three videos that go on behind us simultaneously – and in some of them you’ll see what were promo videos from the original sources. But also there’s a thing where when we do the song Animal, you’ll see the PMRC hearings that went on in Washington DC, because that is historical. We hadn’t played that song in so long, and we wanted a way to showcase it that had what we felt was a real meaning. And the idea that that song was originally a part of that list of what was called The Filthy 15 and the dog and pony show that surrounded the PMRC hearings. We thought it was the perfect way to showcase this. So that, in addition to behind us, you see all the other things we had been doing for 40 years – with the blood and the meat and all that stuff. It’s a true retrospective. But in addition to that, you see this giant circus banner.

You’ll walk in, it looks like – and it smells like – you’ve walked into the midway of a carnival. What we do is we set up fog machines that go around the room, and we have one scent that’s cotton candy and another one that’s fresh baked popcorn. No one we know of has ever done this before.

These giant circus banners – they’re 16 feet high and they go all the way across the stage – and it looks like you’ve stepped into this gigantic 1930’s midway or carnival. We’re taking an arena sized show into theaters and it looks gargantuan when we go into these places.

You recently had a show out here at The Grove Of Anaheim. How did that one go and how surprised were you that it was sold out?

Well, it sold out in less than 24 hours. And it’s the dedication of this fan base, because what happened – about three years ago the fan base starting petitioning promoters around the country. And because of social media, they were able to get a strong base together. And it really wasn’t hundreds of them – it was thousands of them. And quite honestly, I’ve never seen a fan base do that before for any band ever. So it’s remarkable.

The first time I interviewed you was for the KFD album.

When you look back on that album and time in your career – and I believe that was also Mike Duda’s first album with you – what do you think of it now in retrospect?

KFD was probably the most creative and inventive record I’ve ever made. Listening to it now – I thought it was good when we did it – but it was even better than I gave it credit for. It was one of those records that kind of got lost in the shuffle of our career. But again, I know, without a doubt, as far as imagery and creativity, there’s no record we’ve ever done that’s better than that one.

What could local fans expect when you come back out to Southern California and play The Wiltern Theater on December 11th?

It’s a combination of everything we’ve learned in these four decades – and we’re trying to put a sampling together of

I agree – I love that record too. Now Mike Duda has been with you since 1996 and debuted on the album. What do you think has made you and Mike work so well together after all of this time? And is he on this tour?

Yeah – he and Doug Blair who is also still here – are the

The legendary W.A.S.P. is currently on the road celebrating 40 years of sonic infamy. This would include a stop at The Grove Of Anaheim, where W.A.S.P. was greeted by a sold out crowd. After the show, Highwire Daze caught up with the one and only Blackie Lawless to discuss an absolutely brilliant and almighty career in music. Read on...

How has the W.A.S.P. 40th Anniversary Tour been going and what have been some of the highlights?

It’s been like a big reunion party so far, and the enthusiasm coming from the crowd is spectacular.

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longest tenured members other than myself that’s been in this band.

What do you think makes the three of you work so well together as a unit after all of this time?

Certainly chemistry. But I mean you’re talking about serious, serious musicianship. These guys are world class.

Since we are on the subject of anniversaries, let’s talk about a few anniversaries of a few of the W.A.S.P. albums in your catalog. In 1992, you recorded and released an album called The Crimson Idol. Wen you look back on the album from 30 years ago, what do you think of it now in retrospect?

Well I said KFD was probably the most inventive record.

The Idol is the one I’m most proud of. I think it’s proven that it will stand the test of time – and it’s the one that’s probably the most near and dear to me.

And now we’re going to go back 20 years to 2002 – another anniversary album called Dying For The World. What are your thoughts on the album now?

There are some tracks on there that are pretty good. One of the things that we were trying to do – and I don’t know if we’re going to be able to do it on this tour or not. There was a song on there called Trail Of Tears – and we have done it, and we have the video for it that will go behind us – but there’s a lot of moving parts to this show, and I don’t know if we’re going to be able to do it on this tour or not. We wanted to try and settle in and get the first week or so under our belt, and then we’re going to start trying other ideas – because the show we’re doing right now is designed to change from night to night, but we’re still only a week into it, and we’re trying to get our feet firmly planted before we start getting real adventurous.

Being a born again Christian – and looking back on your old songs and censorship, would you defend any forms of metal today as you did back in the days of the PMRC and Tipper Gore? Metal has changed and expanded quite a lot these days.

First of all, I wouldn’t go as far to say that I defended every style. Someone would have to give me specific examples, but I would say this. That any form of speech – and for me this is what this is about – if you’re talking about somebody doing some really heinous acts in a song, no I can’t support that. But the concept of speaking about it – that’s a different issue. Whether I like an idea – that’s my personal opinion – or anyone’s personal opinion. But the ability to verbalize it – that should be allowed at any cost. Because this whole idea of censorship rears it’s head about every 20 years – and we’re in it right now – with what social media has been doing. This goes back to – I can’t remember if it 20

was Aristotle who said talking about the Greeks – “He who controls the speech controls the people.” So this has been going on forever. It’s nothing new – but the idea of defending the concept of free speech – which is the reason why it is the First Ammendent that we have. Few things are more important than that.

Is there any new W.A.S.P. music on the horizon?

Not that I would really want to go into right now, because we’re so deep into this tour – that’s what we’re concentrating on.

And do you have any messages for W.A.S.P. fans who are reading this right now?

We hope that they would join us in this celebration of this 40th Anniversary, because we’re only going to ever get one of these. And for people that have been real fans for this lifelong trip that we’ve been on, we would hope they could be a part of it and really enjoy it!

Be sure to catch W.A.S.P. at The Wiltern on December 11th!

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HIGHWIRE DAZE

“YEAH! I dig it!!! - Phil Lewis (L.A.Guns) “Cool rendering of this song. Super moody and melodic!”

-Tony F. Corpse (Post Mortem Superstar, Black Heroin Gallery) “Super bad ass!!!”

- Malina Moye (Billboard 100 Chart-Topping Recording Artist)

“If this song was a man, I’d marry it!!!”

-Gina Vamp (Gina Vamp Music)

“Bad ass!!!”

-Matthew Bowers (Poet, The Calling)

“Getting Christian Death vibes!!!”

-Jude Croxford (Sky Pig)

Air-Ik’s ‘Call Me’ feels like a silent screaming slow-burn in a cinematic darker atmosphere!”

- Punk Head (thepunkhead.com)

“Dark and Exciting!”

-Glenn Lee Alan Davis (Gen X Bros. Podcast)

“Perfection!!!” -Chris Wilson (The Mistakes) “This version is supurb! Air-Ik does it again!

-Jason Elkins (Film maker, comdedian)

“This needs to be in a movie!!!”

-John Orlando (The Flushing Queens)

“Sounds very natural and right up Air-Ik’s alley!” - Mike Dunn (Sweet Poison) “I gotta add this to all my Goth playlists!!!” - Nico Bijl, (Darkness My Desire)

“Great job on this!!!”

“This is one of the best Blondie covers out there. This take on it is absolutely AMAZING!!!” -Juan Blak (Solo Artist, Blak Sunday)

ΛIЯ-IK More Info:

- Robert ‘The Garrgoyle’ Garr (Deathcryptopia, Headbangers Unite Talk Show) “It SLAPS!!!” - Paul E. Schultz (New Tales of The Mysterious Traveler Podcast)

NEW SINGLE & ANIMATED LYRIC VIDEO FOR ‘CALL ME’ (Blondie Cover) OUT NOW!!!

Facebook.com/airikbloodmusic

Meet Bryce Paul of

IN FLAMES

Interview by Ken Morton - Live Photo by Jack Lue Interview by Ken Morton - Live Photo by Jack Lue

In Flames made their return to The Hollywood Palladium, this time in suppport of fellow Swedes Meshuggah. In addition to all the fan favorites, In Flames would debut a few songs from their upcoming Foregone endeavor. After the show, Highwire Daze caught up with bassist Bryce Paul for an interview.

Among the inquires found within are how a local Southern California musician wound up within the ranks of a legendary Swedish melodic death metal brigade - as well as news on their soon to be issued Foregone magnum opus. Read on...

How did your recent tour with Meshuggah go and what were some of the highlights?

It was absolutely epic. They’re really awesome dudes.

Of course, they’re a fellow Swedish band, so it was awesome to be part of this tour with them. It was actually our first tour with them. We’ve played a bunch of festivals and obviously they’re friends of ours – but this was our first tour with them officially – so that was super cool. Highlights of the tour – probably one of my favorite shows was the first show – we actually joined them in Denver, Colorado – and that show – I don’t know if it was the elevation or the weed that everyone was smoking – but it was the rowdiest show for how large it was – probably a 3,000-cap room – and it was amazing! It was super fun. It’s hard to choose a highlight, because overall, the tour was really fun.

You’ve lived here in Southern California. What was it like doing a show at the Hollywood Palladium. Describe that night for you.

Whenever we get the chance to play in LA, it’s always special to us as a band, because we recorded the past three records there, so we get a lot of our friends coming out – and of course a lot of industry friends as well. So, it’s always a bit hectic – it’s more of a giant party atmosphere. It makes for a busy night for us, but overall, it’s always super special. The response is always great for 22

us. For me, since it is somewhat of a hometown show, it’s always special to see friends and family and share our current show with them. It was really awesome!

Is your other band Ives still happening?

Awesome! Man, that is such an old project of mine.

That was my brother and I’s project – I was still in high school – so this was years and years ago. I’ve always loved heavy metal, but musically I’m all over the map.

I’ve played everything – that was an indie rock band – I’ve played from that to country to heavy metal – all over the place. But heavier music has always been my go-to.

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And so, to answer your question, Ives is no longer active. We have a record that we never released. Maybe one day if we get the itch, we’ll just randomly drop it.

It’s a good collection of songs. I love songwriting – and dabbling in all different genres for songwriting. It’s fun to kind of put on a different hat and write different styles of music. I appreciate a good song. That for me is what makes music so fun.

How does a local musician from Southern California wind up in this legendary Swedish death metal band called In Flames?

To sum it up, the story isn’t as super random as it sounds. Joe Rickard who played drums for In Flames for the Battles album cycle – he is a good friend of mine – we go way back. I was living in Nashville, Tennessee at the time and I’d constantly see Joe on the road. I was super stoked to hear that he got the gig with In Flames.

I’ve always been a supporter. We had never played in a band before together – but we’d always been brothers supporting each other – even though we had been in totally different genres of music. We just never had the opportunity to play in a band together, and when the opportunity came up that In Flames was looking for HIGHWIRE DAZE

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a bass player, he mentioned my name to the guys as a recommendation. It was Superbowl Sunday 2017, and he calls me up and says, “Hey, would you want to hop on this tour coming up?” I had about a month or so to start diving into the In Flames catalog and learning the songs. And yeah, the rest is history.

Describe that first show you did with In Flames and what it was like to replace a long-time member, Peter Iwers.

Obviously, it’s a big undertaking with a band that’s been around for such a long time. There’s a lot of responsibility and I want to do my very best and perform the position of a bass player. It was a bit daunting, and my biggest concern was how are the fans going to treat me as a new guy coming in so late – normal concerns that one would have. But thankfully, everyone’s been super cool. I think that if you have the chance to see us live, it’s obvious that the band is firing on all cylinders – and we’re just having fun out here man. It’s been super cool.

Have you met Peter – and if so, what was he like?

I haven’t actually crossed paths with Peter. And even though Gothenburg is such a small town, I haven’t 23

crossed paths. We almost met over the summer, but we were playing on a different day. So, I have yet to meet him.

What could In Flames fans expect from the upcoming Foregone album?

As an In Flames fan, pretty much wherever you came into the In Flames catalog – whatever your preference is – I think there’s something for everyone. It’s a heavy, aggressive, still melodic record – there’s no curveballs.

I guess maybe one of the curveballs would be Foregone Part 1 having a blast beat that significant was a surprise for some people. But it’s an In Flames record – and if you’re a fan of the band, you are going to like this record. I’m so confident – we’re all super excited to get it out there. It can’t come soon enough. If you came in from the Battles cycle or if you came in from The Jester Race, there’s something for everyone on it. I think we cranked up the aggressiveness as one should after being locked up in a cage for two years – so it definitely carries more energy in that way.

Chris Broderick formerly of Megadeth and Jag Panzer is now in In Flames. So, you’re not the guy anymore.

What has it been like working with Chris who has been in all these amazing bands?

Chris is like my sensei. He’s just a little bit older than me, and it’s so awesome just picking his brain about the music industry. Everything from music to his daily routine is pretty awesome. He’s a machine! He’s a very dedicated man to his craft – anything from his diet to his guitar shredding every day. He might be a robot – I’m not sure. (Laughs) But no, he’s freaking awesome. He’s become a good friend of mine – we’re constantly going to the gym together and keeping each other motivated – and being able to share stage right with him every night is super cool. We have such a good time. And I can’t wait for you guys to hear his contributions to this new record with some rippin’ leads. Great guitar player – great human being. You can’t ask for anything more.

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of In Flames?

To be announced. I’m a bit of a hardcore punk fan. I have some new music in that vein coming soon – so more thrash hardcore. So, keep you can keep an eye out for that. Hopefully, next year we’ll have something out.

Speaking of hardcore- the first time I saw In Flames was at Furnace Fest in the early 2000’s. In Flames returned to play at that legendary festival in Birming24

Foregone by In Flames

available February 10th, 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records ham, Alabama a few months ago. What was it like for you to play Furnace Fest?

That fest – it’s so punk rock compared to a lot of festivals. As a music fan, with so many bands playing, I absolutely loved it. For our show, we weren’t really sure, because it’s not necessarily a metal festival as you know. There’s only a handful of real metal bands in the sense of the genre specific. A lot of hardcore – a lot of metalcore breakdown-y artists – which is awesome! I love that! So, we weren’t sure people were going to even watch us play – but our set ended up being really awesome – really fun – lots of energy from the crowd.

And we got to see so many of our friends. I got to watch Comeback Kid, Kublai Khan – I saw Orbit Culture – they’re friends from Sweden. So, it’s really cool to see a festival back, and I think it’s only going to get better and better – and I think there’s a revitalization of the scene in a way – and I think people are down to go to a festival like that. It was super fun!

Do you have any messages for In Flames fans who are reading this right now?

Lots of touring coming up. We’ll be coming through everywhere that’s possible this next year with the new record. Pre-order that. We’re looking forward to releasing a couple of more songs soon and get some more new music out there for you guys.

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Into The Art of Balance with Glen Phillips of

Toad The Wet Sprocket

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Chris Orwig Editor’s Note: Todd The Wet Sprocket was one of the very favorite bands of magazine co-founder Jonathan D. Wright. I am doing this interview with Toad lead vocalist Glen Phillips in Jonathan’s memory as we celebrate the 32nd Anniversary Issue of Highwire Daze magazine.

It is an honor to include Glen and Toad in this very special edition. This interview is dedicated to Jonathan...

The interview: Glen Phillips is best known as the lead vocalist for the iconic Toad The Wet Sprocket, whose songs such as Walk on the Ocean, All I Want, and Something’s Always Wrong remain genre classics to this day. The pandemic has certainly changed the lives of us all, and with Glen Phillips, he would discover the art of balance in his every day life - much of which is documented within the songs on his just released solo album entitled There Is So Much Here. In this interview with Highwire Daze, Glen Phillips discusses the making of There Is So Much Here, the reformation of Toad The Wet Sprocket, notes on the current state of world affairs today, and a whole lot more! Read on...

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Is there any overall story or concept behind the solo album title There Is So Much Here?

The title comes from the song The Sound Of Drinking, which was inspired by lockdown and having to spend a lot of time in one place for the first time in maybe 20 years. So, there were a lot of details to notice. And for me, the silver lining of that time was moving in with my fiancée and just kind of slowing down and getting to notice the small things and appreciate waking up in the same place every day. It’s a pretty simple thing. Less past and less future and more present seems to make for happier days.

Stone Throat is the new single from the album. What was the inspiration behind that song?

All the songs on this record came from a songwriting game I play with Matt The Electrician and about 20 other songwriters. Every week Matt sends out – and it’s done in the same way that Bob Schneider does it – he kind of originated the idea. Matt sends out a title to 20 of us, and we all use that phrase as the inspiration to write a song – it doesn’t have to be the chorus, but those words have to appear. So, there’s always an element of surprise – you don’t know exactly what the prompt will November/December 2022

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be, and you don’t know where it will take you. This one took me into that, once again, idea of balance. How do you operate in a relationship? What do you want? What do you need? How do you balance that? How do you balance a spiritual life with a life in late Capitalism?

(Laughs) How do you balance being somebody who’s often gone with being with somebody who’s often home?

It kind of touches on all those ideas.

Overall, how was the new album inspired by the pandemic and all of the social unrest in the world today?

I mean, there’s moments of talking about the social unrest, but these songs are by and large a little more philosophical or introspective. The Bluest Eye is probably the most topical in terms of the idea of privilege. It’s been kind of a disheartening season to see people who value confidence over competence – and who are kind of willing to give up the idea that every voice should be heard for their own kind of sense of security. It’s disheartening to see people embracing authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism. So yeah, that’s probably the most topical one.

But it’s a little lighter than some of the faire I usually peddle. (Laughs)

say that in the first week of Elon Musk taking over Twitter, right?

I’m afraid it’s going to get worse before it get better…

Oh yeah, it will. It will. Authoritarianism – it’s made me happy to see Brazil vote out someone like that, but who knows what will happen in its wake. I don’t know what will happen here, but I have a sense things will get pretty bad. And they’re still live able – right? You go throughout the world and there’s all kinds of authoritarian regimes and failed states and oppressive theocracies – and most of the people survive them. But I think we take for granted what freedom is here. There are two elements here. I think countries who have had more war on their soil or face authoritarian rulers, tend to have that feeling of not just freedom to do want you want, but the freedom from types of oppression. The freedom from hunger, the freedom from want, the freedom from need, right?

Half of the four freedoms that Roosevelt talked about were freedoms “from” as opposed to freedoms “to.” It’s interesting when a group of people think the existence of any other group is somehow an existential threat to their existence. And they stop thinking in terms of making room for all of us to be different and start thinking in terms of making their group as safe from the existence of all other groups as possible. The problem about that is then you start hacking your own group into little pieces eventually. (Laughs) And then everyone loses instead of just most people. So, yeah, I do worry that things are not going to get better in the near future, but they have a long way to go down – and I think people might go, “Man, we really had a lot of freedom back before we made bigotry so free and easy.” (Laughs) There’s a cost to that. We

Let’s talk about a few more songs on the new album.

The first song on the album is called Big Changes.

Well Big Changes, there you go. We just talked about that. (Much laughter) I mean, I’m not sure the human organism is well equipped to deal with the rate of change we currently face. And even our understandings of the rate of change we currently face. That we are able to know about the environment that we could be afraid of it.

If you live in a village next to a giant active volcano, you know that occasionally it will take you down. And if it’s been inactive for a long time, you kind of forget that it’s a volcano and you get Pompeii-d! But that idea that it’s coming, it’s coming at an indeterminate time in an indeterminate way. The stress of having these vague catastrophes hanging over our heads – it’s a difficult thing to handle. At the same time, most spiritual practices seem to be based around the idea of facing and finding peace with inevitable death, right? (Laughs) And that song hits on that a little bit – but in a more positive way. I particularly like the second verse on that one: “Won’t run out of love, won’t run out of wonder, sure won’t run out of tears, so I can feel the pull trying to drag me under, I won’t give into my fears.” That’s kind of the daily fight – to try and stay in some non-deluded state of awe and appreciation despite the onslaught of terrible news. I just went through a major depression and stopped my subscription to a lot of podcasts and took away my bookmarks for some news outlets because I was getting a little too overwhelmed. I still get enough news without that, so I think we’re all trying to figure out how to stay informed without becom-

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ing a victim of doom scrolling and hopelessness.

There’s nothing like going to bed after the late news and having nightmares about it, that’s for sure….

There’s plenty of good stuff going on. This is the other thing – at least I realize that my personal experience is not like a scientific sample – but I think much like Anne Frank (gentle laughter), I believe that people are good at heart despite everything. I think people are beautiful and wonderful and kind - and I think people act poorly when they’re frightened – and there’s a lot of legitimate stuff to be frightened about. I think there’s also a lot of made-up stuff to be frightened about – and I have to remember for people who are having a different informational stream than I do, that if I took their informational stream at face value, I would be frightened too – and I would want to protect the people around me. Truth right now is so kind of skewed, it’s hard to figure out what to be concerned about and what not to be. So, I don’t blame people for getting it wrong. I blame people for selling them lies, but I find it harder to blame people for believing in them.

Now the good news is you’re about to go on tour in two days…

Yes, no lie (laughs) And that is not fake news. (Much laughter) What are you looking forward to the most about this upcoming solo tour?

I’m just excited to do some solo shows again. It’s a different mode than playing with Toad. It’s a lot more off the cuff. I play a bunch of Toad songs. I get to play a lot of songs that I can’t play in the Toad shows. And I get to kind of make it up as I go along, which is a lot of fun.

And I’m going to be out there with my friend Garrison Starr – she is one of my favorite singer/songwriters on the planet – so I’m excited to get to be with her.

There was a new Toad album that was released in 2021 called Starting Now – the first Toad album in 8 years.

What was it like recording new Toad music after 8 years?

Well, it was weird, because we did it during lockdown.

So, we had about three days all together in the studio – and then we spent the next six months sending Dropbox files back and forth from home. (Laughs) So I will say that it was almost nothing like recording a record with a band. But I think we still got a good record out of it. I’m proud of it, but I really want to be all together the next time we make a record as much as possible.

Last year also marked the 30th Anniversary of the Toad album Fear. Looking back on that and the realization that it’s been 30 years, what do you think of that album 28

now in retrospect?

It was a mixed bag. I think we were having a lot of fun.

It was our first time in a big studio – we were trying to do something ambitious. I was 21, so I don’t think I was quite mature as a human being or a lyricist yet, so there’s a lot of things given the chance that I would write differently now. But yeah, it was a good first try (laughs).

What’s up next for you as a solo artist and then with Toad The Wet Sprocket?

First things first, I’ve got this tour to do – the new record coming out. I’m planning on doing some acoustic recordings with Toad. And then Toad is going to be heading out on the road again, probably in late May of next year. So just working and working and working. And I’ll be on the road again in January – so yeah – keeping busy.

Beats sitting at home during a pandemic!

Yeah, I know – I’m working! I think the main thing for me is, once again, trying to find that balance now of coming back out into the world and still keeping the home fires burning. It’s a hard balance to do.

Do you have any messages for you fans who are reading this right now?

Thanks for you support. I hope to see you out on the road. I’m so happy to make music again and to play live again. It’s been a while…

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P U L E V E L

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Into The REALM of

BITTERSWEETHEARTS

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Enter into the realm of Bittersweethearts and discover an auditory journey at it’s most magical and intriguing.

Based out of the legendary Los Angeles music scene, Bittersweethearts are captivating audiences everywhere with their vibrantly infectious songs and enchanting live performances. Highwire Daze recently interviewed vocalist Zoë Infante after a Jack Lue photo shoot to discover a whole lot more about the wonderful world of Bittersweethearts. Read on...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Bittersweethearts, and how long the band has been together.

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Hi I’m Zoë Infante and I am the lead singer of the new Socal band called Bittersweethearts. We are a brand new band and have only been together for about 6 months!

What do you think about our local Los Angeles music scene?

I think the Los Angeles music scene is great! There is so much variety of music and things going on so there’s really a scene for everyone.

Is there any overall story or concept behind your new single Polly Plastic?

Our new single “Polly Plastic” that comes out NovemNovember/December 2022

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ber 17th is about trying to make friends/genuine connections in LA. “Polly Plastic” shows the story of a girl who is fake and flaky, but is just trying to keep up with society’s standards and fit in.

Tell me about your debut single Hate To Love and the inspiration behind that song.

Our debut single “Hate to Love” got me through a challenging time in my life. I was going through a divorce when I wrote this song and it really helped me process everything and put how I was feeling into words.

What could one expect from a live Bittersweethearts show?

If you come to a Bittersweethearts show you can definitely expect a great show and some stupid jokes.

our own projects.

Describe the first performance at The NAMM Show in Anaheim and what that was like.

Earlier this year we had our first show at NAMM and that was an absolutely amazing place to have our first show. It was awesome.

What was it like doing a photo session with legendary photographer Jack Lue? Jack Lue is an amazing photographer and a great guy!

Whenever I shoot with Jack I know I’m going to get some of my favorite photos ever!

How did you and Declan O’Raidy meet and what is his musical background?

I met Declan O’Raidy through my manager when he held auditions to help me create my dream band. He’s been in music from a very young age just like me and we work really well together.

What’s up next for Bittersweethearts?

We are going on our first tour in Europe this January and we couldn’t be more excited. From new music to new experiences and places we are all ready to see what the future holds.

What previous bands or projects were you in prior to Bittersweethearts?

Prior to Bittersweethearts I was in a band with my identical twin sister called Strawberry Army. I had this band for 5 years throughout high school but when the pandemic hit my twin and I decided to venture out into HIGHWIRE DAZE

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Any final words of wisdom?

Words of wisdom I have is beautiful things come out of the darkest times and to keep on going and you’ll get through to exactly where u need to be.

https://bittersweetheartsband.com/ 37

Clio Cadence Photo by Jack Lue

Rocking All Night with

Clio Cadence

Interview by Ken Morton -Studio Photos by Jack Lue

Clio Cadence is an artist on the rise who exudes star quality galore. Her single Drive just surpassed a million streams on Spotify and the latest song Innocence is sure to garner Clio even more fans all across the world.

She’s toured with the likes of Dead Girl’s Academy and Alive In Barcelona, which featured a pre-pandemic stop a the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip. Highwire Daze recently caught up with Clio Cadence for an interveiew to find out more about this massively talented and rocking performer! Read on...

Where are you currently based out of and what is your local music scene like there?

I am back and fourth between Los Angeles and Nashville! I love going out in LA, meeting artists and creatives. Nashville has great recording studios and is home to most of my amazing team that helps me put my visions to life. I am determined to make rock relevant again!

Is there any overall story or concept behind your brand-new single Innocence?

I wrote the lyrics to my new single Innocence while walking through a massive graveyard! Under the moonlight, I felt like I was in a trance, like I was in another world. Amidst the glow of a thousand tombstones, I realized innocence can be blissful, but it can also be a curse.

Who produced Innocence and what was it like working with them?

I recorded the song at one of Universal Music Group’s studios in Nashville. The studios there are absolutely stunning. So many amazing and talented people have been a part of making this song come alive, including Music Video Director Mikey Minden (Britney Spears, Usher, Pink), Producer Malcolm Springer (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Fear Factory), and Mastering Engineer Chris Gehringer (Machine Gun Kelly, Lady Gaga, Drake).

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Your previous single Drive just surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify. What does a number like that mean to you?

I never thought this many people would resonate with my music!!

Tell me a little about Drive and the inspiration behind that song.

Drive is about letting go of the toxic person in your life.

Just drive away. I hope the song inspires anyone in an undesirable situation to find the courage within themselves to let go and move on.

Has Billie Eilish or any or her fans heard or commented on your amazing cover of You Should See Me In A Crown?

Yes! I actually had sent my rock cover to the songwriters (Billie and Finneas) to get approved before uploading to streaming services. I adore both Billie and Finneas, and for them to listen and give the thumbs up was so exciting. I’ve had many of her fans, and even rock fans who hadn’t heard the original song yet, comment on my mu39

sic video for my rock cover of You Should See Me In a Crown.

What was the experience like touring with Dead Girls Academy and Alive in Barcelona, including playing a show at the legendary Whisky on the Sunset Strip?

The tour was so lit! I just saw the guys in Alive in Barcelona the other day in Nashville to catch up. I miss being on the road!

Playing The Whisky is always a great time, especially having Jack Lue taking pictures of the show!

Would you like to tour or play shows in the New Year?

Planning on getting back on the road Summer 2023! Currently looking for bands with similar sound.

Any other new music on the horizon?

I’m working on some dope versions of Innocence, both an acoustic version and an EDM remix. Updates will be posted on my Tik Tok ( @cliocadence ) !

What made you decide to shave your head and start wearing wigs? I saw the video when you first did it and found it pretty compelling and quite beautiful and liberating. What was the statement you were making by doing that so publicly?

I had fried my hair bleaching it blonde so many times. After I dyed it firetruck red, there was no going back to platinum. I was like f*!k it!! Why not shave it all off?? I grabbed the dog shaver I use for cutting my dogs hair and went at it. I hadn’t even thought about it for 10 minutes before I did it. It was definitely one of my better impulse decisions, as I’ve been loving playing around with different colored wigs.

Thank you!! I went to a performing arts school when I was younger, working on acting, singing and dancing. I feel like all the classes helped me get to where I am now, especially within my music videos that combine the three.

When you look back on your days in Love Past Blue, what do you think of the band now in retrospect?

I miss my LPB bandmates! But I’ve been having so much fun collaborating with instrumentalists in Nashville on my new album we’ve been recording.

Do you have any messages for music fans reading this interview now?

Listen to your intuition. Remember that life has ups and downs, and things always get better with time. Have fun and spread positivity! Rock & roll all night baby!

You have an amazing energy and talent. Is acting or theater something you have ever wanted to try?

https://www.instagram.com/cliocadence/

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Rock and Rage with

Sik Sik Sicks

Interview by Ken Morton- Photos by Jack Lue Meet Sik Sik Sicks, whose brilliant amalgamation of blistering punk and raging rock is sure to endear them to all types of music fans. They’ve opened for the likes of Dead Sara and recently played the Surf Rodeo Festival in Ventura. Always unveiling rip roaring shows and releasing fierce singles that set the imagination in flight, Sik Sik Sicks are destined to reach a fan base well above and beyond the confines of the Los Angeles music scene.

Highwire Daze recently interviewed singer / rhythm guitatist Madeleine Lucas to find out more about this amazing band on the rise...

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Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Sik Sik Sicks, and how long the band has been together.

My name is Madd Lucas, I’m 19 years old, and I am the singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for Sik Sik Sicks. The band has been together since 2018, but with some exchanged members.

What do you think about our local Los Angeles music scene?

The music scene in Los Angeles is practically nonexistent. If you’re playing shows in the venues you’re probably not getting paid much - if at at all.

Some of the venues do this “pay to play” thing particularly in the Sunset Strip area - and it’s really discouraging. I refuse to be a part of those types of November/December 2022

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things anymore. It’s killing the music scene and I think it’s partly because having a band in LA is costly! And your friends sometimes don’t have the $20 to pay the door fee. In addition to it being costly - you have to worry about being canceled these days. But that’s not really one of my worries. I plan to keep on speaking my mind.

It’s just a contributor of the destruction of the music scene. It’s so ridiculous. Discouraging. There are some really cool underground scenes - but you’re not seeing any of that stuff in the clubs and venues - they’re finding other ways to make it happen —warehouses, house parties, etc. I think the largest music scene in LA right now is that hyper-pop emo rap crowd. I don’t know much about it.

Select two Sik Sik Sicks songs and what inspired the lyrics?

When I’m writing a Siks song - it’s usually because someone or something has pissed me off or screwed me over somehow. Drive East is about an ex-boyfriend who was seeing someone behind my back while secretly planning to move away together to Texas. At the time our little clique was really into SWMRS and they have an album called Drive North - and so I decided to call that one Drive East because they released a song completely ripping them off. I didn’t even really care about it that much - but they were my inspiration for that song.

Another one of my songs - Turn Off Your TV - probably one of our best - is about the craziness that went on during Covid. I don’t trust the media. I think it’s 99.999% lies - I don’t care where you get your information. Turn off your TV. What could you expect from a Siks show?

Definitely a good time - every time. We have a really fun crowd. A lot of them super loyal fans and they’re so much fun - and I’m super thankful for them. They HIGHWIRE DAZE

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definitely help bring the vibe. Lots of energy.

What was it like opening for Dead Sara and did you get to meet or hang out with them at all?

It was pretty cool opening for Dead Sara. They’re actually pretty close to the drummer’s family so we have been around them quite often.

That Surf Rodeo Fest looked pretty epic. What was that experience like playing that particular festival?

The first year we played Surf Rodeo was awesome. I was pretty nervous about playing it for some reason but I got over that when I saw people leaving the main stage to come see us. That was a good feeling. This year was ok!

If Sik Sik Sicks could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?

If Siks could open for any band I think it would be The Dwarves. I just love their vibe and love their music and I just love how they just say whatever the hell they want. They’re so much fun. Blag is so funny and so nice. I’m actually doing some songs with Blag on their next album as well as back up vocals. Their next album is going to be insane. It’s so good!! They’ve actually inspired me and the way I write for Siks. So yeah. The Dwarves.

What previous bands or projects were you in prior to 43

Sik Sik Sicks?

I’ve been in bands since I was really young - I started playing music and guitar when I was 7. But I didn’t form one myself until 10th grade. My friend Morgan and I were just kind of playing around making funny songs. We actually came up with OBP as a joke and it sounded really good. So I was like why don’t we start a band? So I taught Morgan how to play bass - and we did. We called it “Sick of Sarah’s”. There were a lot of Sarah’s in our lives that we were sick of at the time.

Quite often, you are making pretty witty comments from the stage – at least at the show I saw at the Whisky. Is a second career as a comedienne or actress something you might be interested in?

A second career as a comedienne? Does it pay the bills? Sign me up. Oh yeah - and I can act too.

What was it like doing a photo session with legendary photographer Jack Lue? Jack Lue is a legend in his own right and that’s all I have to say about that.

What’s next for Siks?

We have several new songs coming out. We just finished one - it’s called LIE In It—and we can’t wait to release it. I’m really excited because we have a new guitarist who really shreds and he’s a really good addition to the band. I’m really stoked on everyone in the band. We’ve also got something in the works with Titanic Sinclair. It’s called — - it’s a little different from what we normally do but I love his style and I was truly fortunate to be able to work with him.

https://www.instagram.com/siksiksicks/

Promoting the all new full length album “Down In Wuhan” out August 28, 2021 Worldwide on all major platforms DOWN IN WUHAN Tour 2022 Sat. Dec 11, 2022 7PM w/Andy McCoy Hanoi Rocks Fri. Feb,10, 2023 7:30PM w/Bang Tango

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Available at: Third Eye Records, Long Beach Fingerprints Records, Long Beach World Famous VIP Records, Long Beach Bionic Records, Buena Park Programme Skate & Sound, Fullerton Radiation Records, Anaheim Vinyl Solution & Tapes, Huntington Beach

New EP 'Truth's Wake'

Sponsored by: www.sandgaardfoundation.org

Alessandro Nunziati of Malamorte and Lord Vampyr Unleashes Omen Interview by Ken Morton MALAMORTE, led by heavy metal scene legend Alessandro Nunziati, was born in 2009. Fans of Italian metal will recognize Alessandro’s name; this is a man full of talent and dark creativity! He is a well-known musician, record producer and author, best known by the stage name Lord Vampyr (or L.V.). Internationally recognized from his bands Theatres des Vampires, Alex Nunziati Project, Cain, Lord Vampyr, Nailed God, Shadowsreign, and many others, Alessandro has garnered a huge global fan base.

Malamorte has now unleashed Omen upon the world, their seventh intriguing masterwork now available via the mighty Moribund Records! Highwire Daze recently interviewed Alessandro Nunziati to find out more about the epic Omen from Malamorte, news on a future Lord Vampyr release, his tenure with Theatres des Vampires and more...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Malamorte, and how long has the band has been together.

I decided to create this new project in 2014, to do something different than my main Lord Vampyr project Where are you based out of and what is your local music scene like there?

There are several known bands here in Rome, I am part of the historical scene, having founded Sepolcrum together with a friend of mine, one of the first death bands in Rome. Then of course the Theaters des Vampires, which I founded in 1994 and left in 2004, Lord Vampyr, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hideous Divinity, Novembre, Gravestone, Aborym, Stormlord and many others. As you can see it is a very active scene. As Malamorte is a studio project (at least for the moment), he is a little off the scene.

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How did you wind up signing with Moribund Records?

I’ve known Odin for several years and we were also about to work together years ago, but then nothing came of it. This time he showed a great interest in my project, so much so that he treats it as one of Moribund’s priorities, and this can only make me happy.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the new Omen album. (The Omen is a classic movie!)

Absolutely yes, it’s all about 1976 movies. I tried to follow the story as closely as possible, trying to get me to convey the atmosphere of the film, which is one of my favorites.

How easy or difficult is it to write an album with one main concept in mind?

I think it’s one of the hardest things, after all it’s like writing a story. It has to be credible, it has to follow a plot and it has to complement the music, only in this way can it be effective and create the right emotions.

Who did the amazing cover art for the Omen album and how much input did you have on it?

It was created by Adi Dechristianize, who has been dealing with the covers of my projects for years now. Everything always comes from my indications or sketches Would you like to tour in support of Omen and maybe perform the album in its entirety?

Sure I’m very interested in doing lives, but since we are not a real band, we would be more inclined to play in festivals, so that we can use session musicians.

How close are you to doing new solo album?

This year was released the first album of ALEX NUNZIATI “Il mangiatore di Peccati”, and in these days I’m already finishing recording the new album, which will have a big change of style, while on the first album I played a lot on horror atmospheres, this new album will be pure thrash, being my solo project, I feel free to experiment.

I understand Lord Vampyr is back and may be doing another album as well. Is there any timeline on that, and what has it been like to revisit Lord Vampyr?

The pandemic has blocked all forms of entertainment and even the possibility of seeing each other with the band, we have also had some line-up changes. Now we are trying to reorganize ourselves, both for the live and for the new album, I hope to be able to make a new album within the next year.

When you look at your time spent with Theatres Des Vampires, what do you think of it now in retrospect? And do you still keep in touch with any of the band members?

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They were fantastic years full of satisfaction and also of many sacrifices. It was really hard to leave the band I created, but the situation became unbearable. I no longer have contact with those who remained in the band.

If you were invited to contribute a song to a King Diamond/Mercyful Fate tribute album, what song would you do and why?

It may seem trivial, but I’d do Evil, I’m very fond of it, also because Melissa was the first Mercyful Fate album I listened to as a kid. For King Diamond, perhaps make a more unusual one like Eye of the Witch.

What is your favorite vampire movie of all time? I am partial to The Hunger myself…

It is a very difficult question, obviously I cannot fail to mention Murnau’s Nosferatu and Dracula with Christopher Lee, also John Badham’s Dracula with Frank Langella and certainly also Coppola’s majestic Dracula, but also The Addiciton.

Are you involved with any other current bands or projects not mentioned in this interview?

My “active” projects are currently Malamorte, Alex Nunziati and Lord Vampyr, but who knows.

Any final words of wisdom?

I thank you for the interview and our fans and all those who have the desire to discover my projects. Everything I do, I do it with passion and honesty and I hope it pays off.

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Destination

Centershift

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography Centershift formed as a new project from Jasan Radford, vocalist and guitarist of Onesidezero, a band that VH1 said released one of the top most underrated Nu Metal albums of the 2000’s. Radford and Onesidezero led an Alternative Rock revolution that spanned a wave of platinum artists and sound that impacted a generation of music. This newest project aims to deliver the thoughts and emotions of his life experience and wisdom, while writing intelligent alternative rock that reminds people that rock is far from dead.

The band is rounded out by Ryan Shane Stuber (formerly of Shuvel) on guitar and Ted Wenri (formerly of Bemus) on 48

bass and Stefan Storace on drums.

After a recent show at the Last Call in Tarzana, Highwire Daze caught up with Jasan Radford of Centershift to find out more about the current happenings of the band as well as his time spent with Onesidezero. Read on...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Centershift, and how long the band has been together.

Hey, I’m Jasan, and I play guitar and sing for CENTERSHIFT. CENTERSHIFT, was started in 2019, by Ted and I, but had been a Nameless project he and I had been trying to get off the Ground since mid 2000’s.

What do you think about the current Los Angeles music November/December 2022

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scene?

That’s a great question, I come from the late 70’s, 80’s Punk Scene, so when the 90’s came around, as Musicians trying to cut our way through the Sunset / Hollywood Hair Metal times, a real Scene was being created!!

Bands like SOAD, STATIC (before the x) ENDNASWAP, HUMAN WASTE PROJECT, BLUPRNT, LAVA DIVA, SNOT. The list goes on. were all coming together and doing shows like every night at The Roxy, The Troubador, Shit if we could get a slot at The Whisky back then, this was the new Rock Scene of Los Angeles, an amazing time to be a Band!

As for now, I see it growing again, there is a resurgence of bands in the Post Hardcore vibe, some great Bands out there killing it, And with the Cobalt Cafe back and doing Satelite Shows all over LA as “The Cobalt Presents” the Scene is definitely Growing again, the Brother / Sisterhood is becoming amazing again!

Is there any overall concept behind the new EP title Of… Of… is Part 2 to the overall concept of the Full Length Release, out November 11. We felt to release the full Record in 3 parts would be something cool for People to figure out the Puzzle, while showing the Growth of the Band over the Year, with the Shows and the music on each Release. When you get the full Length, We have added some treats, We wanted to bring back that, Buying a Record at the Store feeling, in this digi World.

What is the inspiration behind the lyrics to the song From Where We Are? For me, it’s a Mental state of Dealing with Myself Emotionally and in Reality. Water is a Cleansing Element and Being from SoCal and a Beach Kid, The Ocean always heals… especially Hangovers when I drank hahaha. As Artists and Humans, we try to stay in “The Storm”, at least for me, but we “watch it dry” Tell me about the song And So and the special guest Tallulah of Grumpy Plum.

And so… is in essence, different chapters for me, Sobriety, Growing Older, Pushing on in my Career and love for Music and the Fans that have Supported us, weather in previous Bands, Or CENTERSHIFT. We met Tallulah at the end of our first trip to Cleveland, while recording with her Band, Grumpy Plum with Jim Wirt, and needless to say, I was Blown the Fuck away!!!!

There was a lot going on emo wise when recording the early songs of the Record, and Tallulah was the perfect Voice “of reason” so to speak for And So..

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Another standout Centershift song released earlier this year is My Own World. Give me a little background on that one.

Well, when I was Drinking and Using, “ having fun” lol, it became real clear when I quit, how much I reveled in My Own World, the selfish Ego I carried. Amends…

What was it like working with Jim Wirt again on these new songs?

Man! Jim is a Brother, as He had done the Bemus and ONESIDEZERO Records, for Ted and I it was a no brainer to go back to where it all started, wish it was still in Santa Monica, where it really started, Cleveland is Fuckin cold hahaha. Jim is the Mad Scientist, he becomes that 5th Member of the Band and pushes you to be your best. Love the man like a Brother.

How did the recent tour with Don’t Panic go and what were some of the highlights?

We’ve done quite a few shows with The Arizona DONT PANIC, I love them to death as peeps, and amazing Musicians. I had helped with putting a little run together for them, 49

and joined them myself, and it was definitely a test of ones spirit and gear hahaha (should have them tell ya, quite the story) What could one expect from a live Centershift show Hmm…I’ve thought about that lately….. in a Word, Organic When you look back on your days in Onesidezero, what do you think of it all now in retrospect?

Ya know, ONESIDE came out at a very odd time in the World and Industry, although we had been a Band since the mid 90’s, the 2000’s were crazy. We couldn’t have continued to Tour or really be here with you, without the amazing family of people in the World that have supported Oneside through the up’s n down’s, and for the I am extremely grateful.

How did you wind up recording the theme for Power Rangers Time Force and are you a Power Rangers fan?

Hahahaha, I had done the Soundtrack for Digimon early in my Career, really for my little Brother who loved the Digimon and Pokemon craze lol. The Power Rangers came about from that really, Saban Ent. and the Producers I guess

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liked my vibe and asked if I would be interested, said HELL YEAH!!! lolol Another film you participated in was Digimon The Movie.

What was that experience like?

This was so early in My career, I was pretty damn Nervous haha. Little did I know this would be how People would know me hahaha, it being my first experience working for a Soundtrack, I really didn’t know how or what to feel, but overall it was a great time!

What’s up next for Centershift?

Well, with the Full Length, A Different Shade Of Color dropping on November 11, we are doing a Live Stream Show on November 13th on www.Stageit.com “Live From The Knitting Factory NoHo” yep, The Knitting Factory is Back!!!

Any final words of wisdom?

Wisdom, I do not have haha, Don’t Quit before the Miracle, you never know what that might be or when….

https://centershift.live/

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d e s a e l e r just

" e c n e c o n "in o cadence cli o

Jack Lue '22

SCORPIONS and THUNDERMOTHER Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA., October 4, 2022

Scorpions Review by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue The Scorpions made their way to the Kia Forum to play a sold-out show with the almighty Thundermother in support.

Scorpions fans of all ages raged throughout a set mixed with classic tunes and a glorious amount of selections from the critically acclaimed Rock Believer magnum opus. Slamming the performance into supersonic gear with the Rudolf Schenker-penned Gas In The Tank, the Scorpions presented a high-octane performance clearly showing a band ready to make the entire world true Rock Believers. Amongst the many amazing highlights of the show was when Klaus Meine dedicated their classic song Wind Of Change to the people of Ukraine and the lighters and cell phones waved throughout the Kia Forum making for a truly stunning moment of solidarity. Tease Me Please Me from Crazy World was another highlight, with the Scorpions joyously unleashing their own rendition of sleaze rock onto the crowd.

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Thundermother Each and every member of the Scorpions played with a ton of passion and conviction, and the audience response was nothing short of rapturous. For a very well-deserved encore, the Scorpions unleashed their two biggest hits - No One Like You and Rock You Like A Hurricane - these iconic songs sounding so vibrant and alive even after all these years. Do not miss the Rock Believer World Tour if the Scorpions show up anywhere near your town!

Thundermother was the perfect support act - an all-female hard rocking machine performing songs from their recently released Black And Gold album on AFM Records. After a very energetic show that surely garnered the band a good number of new fans, Thundermother went out to their merch booth and did a free meet and greet with all the Rock Believers in attendance. The Sweden-based Thundermother were absolutely tremendous live and just might be headlining their very own shows when they return to the US! November/December 2022

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MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP The Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA., October 1, 2022

Review by Ken Morton - Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography The Michael Schenker 50th Anniversary Tour arrived in the Southland, hard rocking The Saban Theatre in the heart of swanky Beverly Hills. The legendary guitarist is in top form and the current MSG lineup is absolutely tremendous. On the highways of America in support of the exhilarating Universal masterwork, the legendary Michael Schenker and his brigade of superb musicians were on fire! Whether performing Schenker classics or reaching into the past and unleashing a UFO fan favorite, MSG 2022 enraptured the crowd with a set rich in dynamic songs and dazzling showmanship.

Cry For The Nations was unveiled early on and remains one of the Schenker’s most brilliant classic rock reveries. Highlights from the new Universal album unveiled live included the pulsating Emergency and the tremendous effective A King Has Gone (which is Schenker’s tribute to the one and only Ronnie James Dio.) HIGHWIRE DAZE

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And speaking of the almighty Dio, if there was ever a performer ready to ascend to the crown of RJD, it would be MSG’s current vocalist Ronnie Romero. Romero’s credits include time spent with Rainbow and Vandenberg, and his impassioned singing transports the Schenker and UFO material into the stratosphere! What a treat it always is to see Steve Mann from Lionheart switching back and forth from rhythm guitar and keyboards, lending his massive expertise to the Michael Schenker experience. Bassist Barend Courbois and drummer Bodo Schopf made for a super intensive rhythm section. Michael Schenker is always a joy to watch perform, his virtuosic guitar work supremely imaginative and inspired. In this 50th Anniversary, Schenker is truly one of the best guitarists in the universe still delivering the goods with skilled precision and flair.

Closing out the night with a glorious barrage of UFO songs, Michael Schenker Group had the audience singing along and left his many fans with a night to remember! Do not miss Michael Schenker when he arrives to shred in your little part of the galaxy.

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My Chemical Romance Kia Forum, Inglewood, CA., October 14, 2022

Review by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue

When My Chemical Romance commenced upon their journey towards the realm of The Black Parade and beyond in 2001, who would have dreamt they would become one of the biggest bands in the world? Skeptics may reference the band’s multiple sold out shows at the vast Kia Forum and the very passion the fans have when it comes to anything relating to My Chemical Romance (or MCR as they are affectionately referred to by their fan base). One could make a strong argument that MCR is a band that speaks for an entire generation. Emo, metalcore, and pop punk bands owe their careers to the pathways MCR opened up for them - and on the night of October 14th in the city of Inglewood, MCR proved why they’re one of the most beloved bands this big and desolate planet.

The opening bands have rotated throughout the entire tour. Opening this show was Nothing, presenting their super intensive brand of pulsating shoegaze. And then solo artist Meg Myers took to the Kia Forum stage, winning the crowd over with her vibrantly memorable songs. The chants of “MCR, MCR” would start immediately after the two support acts left the stage - it was now time for the main event - and My Chemical Romance delivered an absolutely rapturous show!

MCR opened the exhilarating refrains of The Foundations Of Decay, dedicating the song in memory of their Grammy Award winning producer Doug McKean. This Is How I Disappear and Na Na Na would immediately follow, with vocalist Gerald Way in a raincoat singing with a dynamic amount of emotional drive and passion. The raincoat would soon be taken off, and the intriguing darkness and triumphant of each and every song would envelope the hallowed walls of the Kia Forum.

This reviewer is not going to pretend he knows everything 54

about this band, but I could tell you this - My Chemical Romance delivers the show of a lifetime, and their many fans will not be disappointed with these very special performances. Selections such as Kill All Your Friends, The Black Parade, and Sleep clearly show MCR has connected to their audience in an epic way. Billed as a reunion, let’s hope we hear a lot more from My Chemical Romance in future days. The world could always use a whole lot of the mighty MCR. November/December 2022

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JEI-RYNN at Break Room 86 The Line Hotel, Los Angeles, CA., October 26, 2022

Review by Ken Morton - Photo by Linda Emord of EyeShutter4U Jei-Rynn is a solo artist on the rise who truly makes emo music rock! All this, and he has the best hair in town! A recent member of the LA Rock Collective, JeiRynn performed his first show with his new band at the amazing Break Room 86 club, embedded deep within the heart of The Line Hotel. Presenting songs from his recently released Overreacting EP, Jei-Rynn and his band filled the cavernous Break Room 86 with the massive sounds of emo-tinged pop punk.

Opening the set with the exhilarating reverberations of Still Alive, Jei-Rynn performed with a good amount of passion and conviction throughout the entire set.

Standout selections included I’m Done, Oxytoxin, and Sleeping (All Day).

In addition to Jei-Rynn’s thoroughly magnetic performance, his band really rocked the house out as well. Allan Fajardo colored in the sonic passages with imagination and intrigue on guitar. And what an absolute beast drummer Seth Hernandez was, driving home the emo sounds with a massive vengeance!

Be sure to check out Jei-Rynn on Spotify and Instagram and discover a brand-new artist on the rise! Allan Fajardo is also in a band called The Broken Windows, so be sure to check them out as well. And spotted in the audience were members of Against The Sun showing their support!

Go out and see local shows! You just might discover your next favorite band. In the meantime, be sure to HIGHWIRE DAZE

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make your way over to Jei-Rynn’s Instagram page as he is soon to announce his next live appearance taking place on December 3rd with Against The Sun also on the bill!

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Stryper and The Hard Way The Whisky, West Hollywood, CA., November 4, 2022

Stryper Review by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Stryper played the first of two sold out nights at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip. Fans arrived hours before the club opened and filed in to see Stryper perform all of the legacy hits as well as songs from their just released The Final Battle magnum opus on Frontiers Music Srl. Michael Sweet and the Stryper brigade were at the very height of their craft, placing the pedal to the metal in the holiest of ways. A very inspiring act even after all these years.

Providing direct support was L.A.’s own The Hard Way, whose ferocious brand of raging rock provided a brilliant contrast to the Stryper experience. Songs such as Diabolical Bitch and That Ain’t Love kicked some serious ass! Leading The Hard Way is front man Eric Jeffreys, performing with a dynamic amount of rocking passion and fiendish glee. Howie Simon and Andres Yepez ripped and shredded their guitars 56

The Hard Way presenting a mighty wall of sound. And what a commanding rhythm section, featuring the standout performances of bassist Jake Courlang and drummer Jonas Streffer.

All and The Hard Way dancers too! Stephanie Metcalf was on one side of the stage and April Showers was on the other, shaking their groove things throughout the set. On a side note, Stephanie has her own cover band called Steph’s Rockin’ Road Show! I hope to see them out at their Channel Islands Home Base soon. She has a gorgeous singing voice!

And now back to The Hard Way, and especially to the grand finale of I Can’t Go Home, dedicated to the Whisky and performed with a fiery intensity by Eric Jeffreys and the band.

What an amazing dynamic duo Stryper and The Hard Way make! Btw, on the second night, the power went out at The Whisky and Stryper performed acoustic! Man, wish I was at that show!

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Pretty Boy Floyd, The Midnight Devils, Jet Black Romance The Whisky, West Hollywood, CA., September 23, 2022 Review and Photo by Tony F. Corpse Pure, blatant bravado wrapped up tightly in a sparkling and bejeweled satin coat. This aptly describes Nebraska honed, boogie woogie, glam/punk auteurs - The Midnight Devils. A seismic shifting charade on parade, who gave earnestly of their glorified three minute bubblegum metal that was as catchy as yersinia pestis during the black death.

The Midnight Devils

Forcibly storming the barriers with The Sound Of Domination, The Devils proceeded to lay siege upon the onlookers with a tune heavy on Tigertailz meets Loudness riffage and periodic chants of Hey! which inspired unison audience chanting.

Pure brilliance indeed. A rip roaring cover of Van Halen’s Panama was given due diligence and their rambunctious hit Highway 69 caused both testosterone and estrogen levels to exceed their maximum threshold. Sam Spade (Bass/Vocals/Ringmaster), Sniper (Guitar/Fret Devastation) and Jimmy Mess (Drums/42nd Street Stick Twirls) enforced the 21st century glam aesthetic. Gratuitously fantastic gravitas taken to the limit of garish grandstanding. Make way, the world is theirs now.

Next up to pout and pound were Jet Black Romance, relatively new to the scene of surly rock ‘n roll abandon. This lot brought more of a gritty, down and dirty swagger (‘ala L.A.Guns and Dogs D’amour) combined with a brackish leather gypsy image, which seasons the musical palate quite nicely. Diving headlong into the glitter pool JBR reveled in four on the floor bombast and low slung chordal implementation. Simplistic yet direct whilst still groovy enough to necessitate cranium bobbing.

Colton Seaver (Formerly of PBF and Leather Duchess) led his charismatic cretins through such stompers as Out For Blood, Midnite Sin and the venomous spite of Poisonous.

Not just meager maybelline, frocks and shockHollywood’s preening stalwarts Pretty Boy Floyd HIGHWIRE DAZE

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manned the stage with the force of Hurricane Ian, drowning everyone’s sorrows with the most exemplary example of well gestated sleaze. The battering double bass force of Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz rumbled innards, 48 Hours got the crowd wild and wooley and hair metal overlord Steve Summers sang with overt clarity and conviction, his nasal tinged mantras still powerful enough to peel paint.

The performances were essential this evening, bringing forth new blood in the form of vamped and camped rookies Jet Black Romance , a rising glitter and mascara tsunami called The Midnight Devils and of course The kings of Sunset Strip glam bam thank you ma’am Pretty Boy Floyd. I think I’ll go tease my hair now and rage to some Roxx Gang.

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IRON MAIDEN HONDA CENTER, ANAHEIM, CA., SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

Review by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue The legendary Iron Maiden made their way into the wilds of Orange County, performing two sold out shows at the Honda Center. Hitting the road in support of their critically acclaimed Senjutsu album on their Legacy Of The Beast World Tour, Iron Maiden unleashed a truly rapturous set of hard rock and heavy metal, demonstrating why they remain one of the most compelling live acts in the universe.

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it was time for Iron Maiden to take over the stage, and music fans of all ages united together to cheer on what would be a captivating live performance for the ages.

The commencement was absolutely wondrous to behold, as Iron Maiden swept the listener into the mystical world of Senjutsu, performing the first three epic tracks from their recently released magnum opus. This was modern day Iron Maiden at their most thrilling and adventurous, and the audience response to these new compositions was thunderous. Revelations from their 1983 album Piece Of Mind was then unveiled, starting up a mighty barrage of November/December 2022

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the much-revered Iron Maiden classics.

The almighty refrains of Blood Brothers from Brave New World raged into the crowd followed by Sign of The Cross which originally appeared on the vastly underrated The X Factor masterwork. It must be noted that Blaze Bayley performed vocals on the original version, and the interpretation as presented by Bruce Dickinson transports the composition into the stratosphere.

And the slamming reveries kept on arriving, from the triumphant Flight Of Icarus, to the chilling reverberations of Fear Of The Dark, and on to the powerhouse Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden unleashed their trademark songs with the fer1ocity of a band still very passionate about the sonic artistry and keeping the fans very well entertained.

The Number Of The Beast and Iron Maiden would conclude the set, along with impassioned calls from the audience for a whole lot more – and Iron Maiden would grace their fans with not one, but two very well-deserved encores. A triple slam of The Trooper, The Clansman, and Run To The Hills would send the fans into a frenzy during the first encore. And Aces High would close out the night

when Iron Maiden returned for the spellbinding grand finale.

Bruce Dickinson has it all – the soaring vocal abilities and the massive stage presence enveloping the entire Honda Center arena – what a remarkable showman! The triple guitar team assault was epic in scope, with Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and the especially energetic Janick Gers delivering the shredded goods with a ton of imagination and skill. And then there’s that iconic rhythm section of bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain driving it all home with a staggering vengeance.

With origins dating back to 1975, in the post pandemic year of 2022, Iron Maiden is a collective at the very height of their career, and their live shows are colossal events that are not be missed! Kudos must also go out to the stage design and special effects – all positively first rate! If you are anywhere near the remaining The Legacy Of The Beast World Tour dates, do not miss this concert of a lifetime!

https://www.ironmaiden.com/

Liquid Music Group LLC

Booking now

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ALBUM REVIEWS Truth’s Wake Against The Sun Self Released

Review by Ken Morton Against The Sun offers it all to the listener - pop punk, metalcore, grunge, power pop, and so much more! And with the six songs found within the sonic passages of Truth’s Wake, Against The Sun places a good deal of passion and conviction on the line, and the results are destined to garner this SoCal-based collective a good deal of admiration. From the explosive opening reveries of Search To Find to the sense of urgency found within Undone and beyond, Truth’s Wake by Against The Sun is a persuasive piece of sonic artistry. Chelsea Said is a dynamic power pop anthem that should be played all over the radio airwaves and the mighty Leaders is as technical as it is timely. The massively talented Against The Sun lineup is Brad West on lead vocals and guitar, Brad Mitchell on guitar, Alex Galusha on bass and Conner Eddy on drums. Expect to hear a whole lot mor,e from Against The Sun in 2023! https://www.instagram.com/against_thesun/

Call Me - single AIR-IK 1936529 Records DK Review by Ken Morton Ever since his departure from the legendary underground sensations known as Willow Wisp, Air-Ik has kept himself active in the music scene - his latest projects include the superbly intensive Deathcryptopia and guest appearances with the KOFN Underground. His latest solo endeavor is a cover of a much-revered new wave classic - Blondie’s Call Me from the American Gigolo. And what a mad and wonderful spin Air-ik places on the song, rendering it a wickedly dark and gothic reverie. A very imaginative effort to be sure, perhaps to be heard within the realm of a mysterious David Lynch movie, with Air-Ik creating his own stylish atmospherics throughout. Now available on all streaming platforms, Call Me, as unveiled by Air-Ik, takes a familiar tune into the most unexpected of places - complete with a disconnection notice at the grand finale. Absolutely brilliant! https://www.facebook.com/airikbloodmusic 60

EP The Guitar & Whisky Club GWC Productions

Review by Ken Morton With a lineup and music that was created is the midst of a worldwide pandemic, The Guitar & Whisky Club certainly brings the party - and with the unveiling of their just released Self-Titled EP. an entire world above and beyond their Los Angeles homebase could rock out to this very amazing band on the rise. Opening with the combustible Rebel Fire, the meeting of the GWC has begun and was a rager it is! Sleazy is a wickedly wonderful track that should be all the radio! I Know shows how wildly effective the GWC is when it comes to unleashing a very emotional power ballad.

Does Your Dog Bite is another track of hard rocking brilliance that will be spinning in your head for ages. And the closing out the EP way too soon is the expansive Lone Cowboy, featuring absolutely intensive and imaginative lead guitar interludes. GWC founding member and guitarist extraordinaire Jeffrey Donovan is excellent throughout the entire EP. Lead vocalist Mark Prudeaux delivers the goods tenfold while bassist Frankie Yanno and session drummer Adam Ponce drive it all home with a massive amount of skill and precision.

GWC’s debut is modern day classic rock in its finest hour, and it’s a grand slam of an EP not to be missed! https://www.facebook.com/Guitarandwhiskeyclub

Snake Pit - single State Five Self Released

Review by Ken Morton This reviewer first encountered State Five at an LA Rock Collective show, and their super intensive brand of post hardcore was a glorious highlight. Snake Pit is the next chapter to the ongoing State Five story. A tremendously impactful song regarding the fallout of a toxic relationship, the track is hard hitting and well worth checking into. Outstanding performances from all, including Mario Morales on impassioned lead vocals, Michael Serrano on lead guitar, Abe Flores on rhythm guitar, and Courtney Charouhas on bass. With a single as massive and heavy as Snake Pit, expect this band to break out of their Long Beach hometown in no time at all. Can’t wait to hear more! https://www.instagram.com/statefiveofficial/ November/December 2022

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