Highwire Daze #149

ISSUE 149

JUL | AUG 2023

PLUS:

ADVERSVM, ASH BLAIR, BLACKLIST UNION, BUDDERSIDE, HURRICANE #1, JEI-RYNN, JORDI, THE OUTLAWS, QUIET RIOT, SO VAIN, VANDENBERG, WAXEN, AND MORE...

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Publisher Highwire Daze Magazine A General Partnership 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 James Grover, Joe Schaeffer Jessica Greif, Linda Emord Tony F. Corpse Proofreading Editor Jason Harary

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERVIEWS with...

John Lodge of The Moody Blues..........................14 Henry Paul of The Outlaws...................................18 Stitched Up Heart..................................................22 A Skylit Drive........................................................26 Blacklist Union......................................................30 Rolling Quartz.......................................................34 Rock For Ronnie with Quiet Riot, Budderside, and Vandenberg.....................................................36 Hurricane #1..........................................................40 Adversvm...............................................................44 Waxen....................................................................46 Ash Blair................................................................50 Jei-Rynn.................................................................52 Jordi.......................................................................54 So Vain..................................................................56 We Are The Black Things.....................................59

Cover Art by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

ROLLING QUARTZ POSTER by JACK LUE...................32/33

Cover Photos by Jack Lue (Stitched Up Heart, Rolling Quartz) Vivian Ortega (A Skylit Drive) Erica Vincent (John Lodge)

CONCERT REVIEWS L.A. Rock Collective June photos.........................60 The Antichrist, The Black Realm, Post Mortem Superstar................................................................61

HIGHWIRE DAZE www.highwiredaze.com email: ken@highwiredaze.com Copyright 2023 Highwire Daze Magazine

ALBUM REVIEWS.....................................................................62 Madam Bombs SKETCHES BY THE EDITOR................................................... 8

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.

PRODUCT REVIEW BY JAMES GROVER...........................10 Mogami Cables

Supporting Noise Pollution Since 1990!

IN MUSICAL ORBIT BY JUPITER.........................................12 Dark Sky review

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

http://www.highwiredazeradio.net HIGHWIRE DAZE

July/August 2023

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Sketches By The Editor Editor Ken with A Skylit Drive at The Whisky Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

Welcome to Highwire Daze Issue #149 and thank you one and all for your continued support! What a honor it was to interview legends such as John Lodge of The Moody Blues and Henry Paul of The Outlaws. And how great it was to chat with Jag from A Skylit Drive at The Whisky after all these years. Our previous interview took place down the street at The Roxy in September 2013 - 10 years ago! Time flies! Stitched Up Heart is about to release a new album entitled To The Wolves, and vocalist Mixi filled us in on the details in an exclusive interview which also features shots from The Rain Room by Jack Lue. And then there’s the fantastic Rolling Quartz from South Korea, who made their way to the States for a full-on tour - while in Los Angeles, Rolling Quartz did a photo shoot with Jack Lue. Check out the awesome interview and poster in the center of the magazine! See you out on the town covering shows and in September for Issue #150!

The Wright Wave Radio at Live 365

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Product Review by

James Grover Mogami Cables

(All images courtesy of JMGmusic)

When it comes to musicians they are trying to find the best sound possble, they buy expensive guitars, amplifiers, effects, hoping To find the next best tone. However they overlook the simplest part of the problem and that comes down to the guitar cables their using, “That’s Right guitar cable!”

I came across Mogami cables at the 2023 NAMM show and was I impressed at the quality and professionalism of this cable. I had a conversation with Phil Tennison Product manager at Mogami. He explained to me how the cables are high performance with a signature spiral shielding with conductive pyoethelyn to keep handling noise down when amplifiers are turned up.

I actually used these cables with upcoming artist “ILU” in studio using the Gold Series XLR microphone cables and they were superb.

James: “How did you like using Mogami in the studio?` ILU: “I feel like the quality of the cable as well as the sound that it had through the board was some of the most quality sound that I’ve been able to experience so far in my recording on both of my guitar and my vocals, I have always used Mogami cables and I will continue to do so.”

Likes: What I really like about Mogami high performance cables is the quality, it has great conductivity to keep the signal strong with great tone response, Mogami also has great customer service and great quality control, I recommend this cable to any musician for studio or live applications

Dislikes: No dislikes!!......However Great product and made in U.S.A.

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Reach James Grover at:

www.facebook.com/james.grover.311 10

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In Musical Orbit by Jupiter Jupiter at

Highwire Daze Online Crew

East Coast Editor Welcome to my page.

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...

Signs Of The Time Dark Sky Metalapolis Records Get ready for this rock and roll sonic assault from German rockers, DARK SKY! The line - up for this record include vocalist FRANK BREUNIGER, guitarist JADRO BASTALIC, keyboardist / vocalist HAROLD MERKX, on bass is FRANCESCO PISANA and behind the drums is STEFF GRIMM.

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Opening with a beginning like a symphony orchestra, track 01 Trail To Glory adds much to the drama of what’s to come.

Track 02 Heroes On Ice leads you into a full-on rocker lending itself to the power metal category with BREUNINGER’s strong and energetic vocal. Underlying keyboards make a big full sound as the slowly building guitar solo follows closely into a catchy chorus. Track 03 Fools features double-bass drums and set the pace for this fast rocker that includes a very tasteful, fluid guitar solo. Track 04, the title song Signs Of The Time is already out as a video hit! Track 07 Wonderland could also be one of the best radio friendly hits. Really diggin it. Oh wait ! Very cool organ and guitar now trading licks . Totally unexpected. Track 08 Zombies, has a The Beautiful People (MARILYN MANSON) type of rhythm but more melodic with its bewitching, haunting synth solo. Smokin’ tune. The album Signs Of The Time contains 13 tracks and is produced

by MARKUS TESKE (SYMPHONY X). Looking forward to a U.S tour!

https://www.instagram.com/dark_sky_band/

JUPITER on Facebook

:

https://www.facebook.com/jupiter.lee.7

July/August 2023

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available on CD and VINYL

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John Lodge of The Moody Blues performs Days Of Future Passed

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Erica Vincent

to, rediscover it or discover it for the first time.

John Lodge, the legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has announced that he will be bringing his incredible new show Performs Days of Future Passed to the Mid-West and West Coast of the USA in July. John, together with his 10,000 Light Years Band, will perform The Moody Blues’ groundbreaking album, Days of Future Passed, in its entirety with a special recording by the late Graeme Edge and performances by Jon Davison of Yes.

Tell me about the special recording from Graeme Edge and how has it affected the show?

When I was thinking about doing the live album as a concert, I went to see Graeme Edge and, I said to Graeme, “Graeme, I would really like you to record your poetry”. I said “The poetry and Days of Future Passed was a milestone in rock and roll.” And Graeme wrote some incredible poetry, and I said, “Graeme, would you record it for me?

And I’m going to film you recording it, and you’ll always have a place on stage with me.” And he said, “John, it’d be an honor.” And he said, “Thank you for keeping The Moody Blues music alive.” And, so that started me on the journey really to make this concert a complete album even from the Gong going backward from the front of the album to the Gong at the end of the album.

The show will also feature a first half set of Moody Blues’ classics, including all of John’s hits, Ride My See-Saw, I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band), Isn’t Life Strange, to name just a few, plus tributes to all his band mates, as he continues in his quest to keep all The Moody Blues music alive.

A local stop will take place at The Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks on July 29th! Prior to the tour, Highwire Daze had the opportunity to interview John Lodge to discuss Days Of Future Passed and his absolutely epic career in music!

What are you looking forward to the most about bringing your John Lodge performs Days of Future Passed tour here to the Los Angeles area?

Actually, I think it’s to share and reshare an iconic album.

The album meant so much to me and the rest of The Moody Blues, and also to a lot of people throughout the world. And this seemed to be a fantastic opportunity for me to bring the album to everybody in America - not as a reflection of Days of Future Passed, but to try and introduce a new generation of listeners to albums of long-playing music instead of singles again - and re-introduce the album to a generation, who might share it with their friends with listing parties and everything else, because vinyl albums are making a huge comeback. And the wonderful thing about vinyl is if you’ve got a record player, you like to share the music with your friends. It is an equally beautiful time to bring the album on stage, for people to listen HIGHWIRE DAZE

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What has it been like working with Jon Davidson of Yes on this tour?

I toured in 2019 with Yes, on The Royal Affair Tour of the USA. And I had a fantastic time with the band Yes. Obviously, I’ve known them for many years, but not Jon. And as an encore, they do Imagine, because Alan White was in John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. And they asked me if we would join them on stage and sing Imagine with Yes, which I did. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. And I said to Jon Davison, “Actually, if I’m singing with you, will you join me on stage for Ride My See-Saw?” And he joined me on stage for Ride My See-Saw. And it grew from there, because our voices really blend together and he knows exactly what I want to do. And also, Jon is a fantastic musician as well as a fantastic vocalist. So, having the two things really works well. So when I came to do Days of Future Passed, I felt I wanted Jon to be an integral part of the concert, so I asked him to sing Tuesday Afternoon and Nights in White Satin, and he sounds fantastic!

What goes through your mind knowing that Days of Future Passed has recently celebrated its 55-year anniversary?

Remarkable! When we were just young guys and a road manager in a white Ford Transit van traveling around 15

England and Europe, we had the opportunity to record Days of Future Passed. We never knew what it had ignited for us and for people around the world. And, it’s just grown and grown and grown, and the influence of the album - people from so many walks of life through the years have come up to me and said what the album means to them and where we were when they heard the album. Many of them not in a great place and some of them in a great place. And I think that it’s quite remarkable. And that’s all I can say really.

Another Moody Blues album just had a 50-year anniversary, and it features a song that you still do - I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band). When you look back on that Seventh Sojourn album what do you think of it now, in retrospect, and of that particular song?

I loved the album Seventh Sojourn. It was a great time for me personally, and I loved all the songs on that album. And it’s strange, because although we didn’t know it at the time, it was the last album for some time. And so that made it special when you look back on the album. But as far as singing I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) - I was listening to the words and nothing much has changed to be honest. When I think of the lyrics of the song, a lot of rock musicians at the time had the answers to every problem in the world. And we didn’t! It was just me saying, we just sing in a rock and roll band just like everyone else. And also it is an anti-war song. So it conjured up for me that whole ‘72, ‘73 time in the world.

The final to date Moody Blues album December recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary. When you look back on that album what do you think of it now in retrospect?

And did you know that was going to be the final Moody Blues album?

Not really. I always wanted to make a Christmas album. I thought it should have been called A Moody Blue Christmas because to me, that’s what it was. And it was an interesting album because we wrote some new songs for the album and new Christmas songs. And, to be honest, it’s one of the only albums I play with any regularity at Christmas time. That album is normally heard playing in my home, because my family liked the album and obviously the celebration of Christmas.

Do you have any new solo music on the horizon?

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I do. I’ve just recorded some new songs. And that’s going to be later in the year. I’ve just been mixing them. And I’m just mixing that, mastering that in Dolby Atmos. So, that’s really, where I’m at the moment. I’m really excited about recording at the moment, particularly with this Dolby Atmos, because it’s surround sound at the extreme, so, it’s always interesting, to write a new song and record the song.

Do you have any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles area?

I lived in Los Angeles in the late seventies and had a wonderful time. I like LA - fantastic memories, of course, for The Forum and the Universal Studios Theater - fantastic! Thank you all for keeping the faith and, keep the faith in yourselves as well.

https://www.johnlodge.com/ July/August 2023

HIGHWIRE DAZE

Outlaws in LOS ANGELES: An Interview with FOUNdinG MEmBER Henry Paul

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Joe Schaeffer The Outlaws made their way to the Southland for an appearance at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, presenting their classic show featuring three guitars, sweeping vocal harmonies, and remarkable songs that stand the test of time.

Prior to their absolutely epic performance, Outlaws founding member Henry Paul sat down with Highwire Daze for an all encompassing interview to discuss the legendary band as well as his work with Blackhawk, a solo endeavor on the horizon, and more! Read on...

We’re here with Henry Paul from the Outlaws. How has the current tour been going and what have been some of the highlights for you?

Well, the tour goes on forever and ever, but coming to the West Coast was a highlight. We haven’t been here in a 18

long time, and coming back out and planting our flag was important. And we’ve been met with enormously positive response and things have gone well. And if you don’t come you kinda have to forfeit. And we’re here and we’re playing hard and making sure everybody remembers that we’re here.

You have a few shows coming up with Dave Mason. What are you looking forward to the most about playing with Dave again?

Well, first of all, he’s still plays and sings really good.

He’s very accomplished. And we have played some shows with him already and he was really engaging. I thought his performance was exceptional. And he’s a survivor of a generation of musical personalities that came before myself.

There’s a respect factor there. Dave’s 78 years old and I know from personal experience, it’s not all that easy to get July/August 2023

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it to go late in the game. He is a respectable guy and a very accomplished musical personality. We have a lot of respect for Dave.

What was it releasing your current album, Dixie Highway in the middle of a pandemic?

Well, it was unforeseen and it was disappointing because we had worked very hard on the record and the moment it came out, it, we came out and charted in some of the highest charting positions the band had realized since the late 70’s, early 80’s. And it just got taken away. I had a rather philosophical view of it that we did our work, we did our best, we put a good record together, we wrote great songs, and we made a great record. And you just have to let go and let whatever happens, take its course and not internalize a great deal of disappointment. I was okay with it. I was disappointed that it got snatched out from under us, but it’s just the way the world turns.

Describe your first Outlaws show back from the pandemic and what was that?

Well, it was very therapeutic, and it was starting kind of coming from a long way off to get back in the performance mode. But we had a tight band and we didn’t play for quite HIGHWIRE DAZE

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a while. I think we probably went into a rehearsal studio, as I recall, and brushed up on some things. The intricacies of the Outlaws’ musical personality. The harmony vocals, the harmony guitar parts, everything sort of self-expressive, soloing had to be addressed and refreshed and gone over. But once we fine-tuned it. It only took a day or two. We were back on the bus and standing in front of people getting what we wanted from ‘em. It was really rewarding.

Now how did it feel when Monte Yoho retired in 2021?

And tell me about your current drummer, Mike Bailey.

Mike Bailey. Mike’s an Ohio boy. He was in a drum and bugle corps as a kid. He was a very schooled drummer musically. He played with Dave Robbins and Blackhawk for about 6 years. We had a long-running relationship with Mike. And at one point when I approached him to come back to the group, the timing was right for him. He had a young family. They were grown, and the timing was good for him to come back on the road and be with us. And Monte’s retiring and Mike’s march into the group was fairly easy. Mike and Monte play in similar sort of styles. Monte was a very big Mike Bailey fan and it was familiarity both professionally and personally.

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Tell me about the recently released Blackhawk album. Blue Highway.

Blue Highway was a series of what we call a Nashville voice-guitar demos, and a voice - guitar demo was 2 acoustic guitars, a piano run direct, and 3 men on microphones. We would count it out and it would all go down live. And we had a collection of these voice guitar demos of songs that we had written myself, Dave and Van Stephenson. And it had Van singing with Dave and that was a very novel sort of motivation for us, was to put Van back in the group after his passing. We built a band around the voice guitar demos, and that was challenging.

Jaran Sorenson was the engineer on the project and he did a remarkable job of straightening things out and making it sound cohesive. The singing was really magic because it featured both Dave and I and Van. And that blend was obviously important and very popular because we sold three million records on our first album. It was really a magic musical moment in our lives and we were able to recreate it.

The first Blackhawk album was released in 1993, 30 years ago. What goes through your mind knowing that Blackhawk album is 30 years old now.

Well, and Blackhawk for me is recent history. I was thirty years old. People say, love on your kids cuz they grow up quick. Well, the truth is, we’re growing older just as fast.

And time goes by and people go, “Where did the time go?”

Well, I happen to know where it went. It went in thousands of shows out here on the road over the course of millions of miles. And it feels still fresh in my musical mind, but when you look at one of our t-shirts and it says 30th anniversary, it’s a little bit almost surprising because the Outlaws are 50 years old. The Blackhawk thing was an amazing opportunity for me late in my career.

When you look back on your solo Henry Paul Band releases, what do you think of the now in retrospect?

Well, first of all, it was a very unique learning experience for me to take a band out under my own name and be the one and only sort of decision-maker. There was a lot of growth in that concept. Time has been very kind to that first Henry Paul Band record - Grey Ghost is very affectionately referred to in historical terms. Feel the Heat and Anytime 20

were both good records. Anytime especially was a good record. But it was a learning experience and it was putting my name on something and it was a really good thing for me to do and it was a good time for me to do it and I learned a lot from it. It’s a very important part of my career.

Is there any new Blackhawk or Outlaws music on the horizon? Or maybe even Henry Paul solo album?

Well, no - with the Outlaws with It’s About Pride, Legacy Live the Double album, and then Dixie Highway - the Outlaws are okay right now where they are. With The Spirit of Christmas record, Just About Right: Live From Atlanta (acoustic), and Blue Highway, Blackhawk is fairly current and full of good and late-model music. I met with a label head today to make a solo Henry Paul record and I’m gonna begin work on that probably first of next year. And I’m looking forward to making my first true solo record that way. And that’s what’s on the horizon for me.

Any messages for Outlaws and Blackhawk fans?

Only that we really work hard to make sure that our musical presentation is uniquely faithful to our original sound.

And the effort that goes into it, the musicianship that goes into it is exceptional. And being the last surviving member of the Outlaws comes with a good deal of responsibility, which I try and address and put up there on stage every night. And we’re doing a good job of putting a very respectable face on a brand that deserves it.

https://www.outlawsmusic.com/ July/August 2023

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Mixi of

Stitched Up Heart Photo by Jack Lue

Stitched Up Heart: The Unveiling of To The Wolves

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Los Angeles heavy rockers Stitched Up Heart are charging toward the release of their new album To The Wolves, and amping it up each step of the way. Heavier is indeed the name of the game on To The Wolves. As the band explores darker territories than ever before, Stitched Up Heart has crafted something that is anthemic, soulful, and unapologetic. To The Wolves arrives September 1st via Century Media Records.

As we await the unveiling of To The Wolves, Highwire Daze caught up with lead vocalist Mixi to find out more about the band’s almighty magnum opus, their upcoming tour with Escape The Fate, her passion for kitten rescue, and more!

Let’s talk about the new album, To The Wolves. Is there any overall story or concept first of all behind that title?

Oh yes. It’s interesting because this entire vision for this record, I really focused on the whole thing as a concept. I was the most focused as it had been ever in our history of writing and a lot of it is around the dark fantasy kind of elements of vampires and werewolves and underworld and movies that we really gravitate to as far as the visual aesthetic and the theme for it.

And To The Wolves obviously you might know that I do have two little pomskies that I think are killer wolves. They may be 13 pounds, but they’re still vicious, and I was a little obsessed when I was coming up with the album title and I love these dogs so much that I just I’ll let you know what this one’s To The Wolves.

What was it like working with Craig Mabbitt and Thrasher of Escape The Fate, on the titled track, To The Wolves.

I absolutely adore Escape the Fate. We have the same management team, so we’ve been getting to know them a little bit since we joined with them and they’re the nicest people, they’re just super humble, super cool. They’ve been doing it for a very long time and Craig going above and beyond to sing on it and to get on the music video and then take us out on tour and Thrasher. If you’ve watched some of what Thrasher has been doing, he’s worked on the last Machine Gun Kelly record, he just did a song with Gwen Stefani. The guy is blowing up and to be able to have him squeeze in some time for us little guys, I was really super grateful for all the work that they helped putting into this.

You have a new single that just came out, Possess Me. What HIGHWIRE DAZE

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was the inspiration behind that song?

Possess Me, was one of the first tracks that we wrote for this record. We went out to Nashville with Mitchell Marlow, who we did some of the work with. He co-produced our Never Alone album and Mitch and I were really on the same page and I wanted to get kind of spiritual and dark, but not a light spiritual way.

Almost like picking from the darkness of our spirituality, the bad, not as much as the good because I feel like I’ve tapped into that lyrically. When we were writing it, the lyrics, I am a very visual person and I envisioned this incubus/succubus kind of character seducing me. I wanted it to be very passionate and intimate but also aggressive and vicious.

And so I visualize this happening, which was really exciting to do, if you’re a creative or if you’re a visual person to write the lyrics and words and to explain a story in a song, just about this demon creature being really hot. (laughs) And I just I wanted it to be sexy and seductive and pull out that part of me, which is that dark side, what we like to call bad. What society likes to call the bad side, but it was very much a fun one to do and Merritt had a lot of play in all the noises and weird programming. And the heavy breakdown, the heaviest breakdown we’ve ever done. I kept saying, “I want heavy breakdowns guys. I want heavy breakdowns.’’

We were always too scared to go that far, and the next song will be even further in the heavy direction. Not all of them will be insanely heavy, but we really, really pushed the boundaries, and I was like, just give me the heaviest breakdown you can, and we just went for it, and it was super fun.

What are you looking forward to the most about this upcoming Escape the Fate tour?

There is so many good bands on this bill. I think I’m going to probably stick and watch every single show, every single night, side stage. I’ll be there. I know that Escape the Fate has some really cool production that they’ve never gone this big on and so I’m really excited for that and just to kind of... they’re a streaming band so we friended on Twitch as well and they play Call of Duty and stuff like that, which is going to be super fun.

Hopefully, we’ll get some gaming time in and some streaming time in and oh yeah, the shows will be cool. But yes. It’s been a while since we’ve been out on a tour. A year ago, we 23

did a run to Florida and back for Welcome to Rockville, but it was only a two-week, little, “short gas money tour”, but this is going to be the first tour since we were out in the UK with Fozzy, and then Butcher Babies was the tour before that.

So we haven’t been out in a while on a legit tour. So we’re really excited to just do the full US to some places we haven’t played in 5-6 years. It’s crazy how time flies but yes, a lot of places that we missed and people that we can’t wait to see.

Do you plan to perform To The Wolves with Craig on the tour?

I don’t want to bug him about it. He’s already done so much. So I’m totally down to singing the parts. They’re not super hard in the second first, but yes, we’re the second on the bill and they’re headlining. So last thing I’m going to do is annoy the headliner with like, can you come and sing on my song? So, I’m kind of too shy to ask, but if he asks me, I would totally be down. Obviously.

How did you become involved with fostering kittens and how can other people become involved with that?

There are kittens everywhere! There are rescues everywhere.

In 2015, I stopped drinking after a tour. I was so burnt, I was like you know what, I’m not going to drink anymore and then I was just looking for stuff to do because I was so used to just going into Hollywood and hanging out with everybody and drinking. And what do you do and that isn’t your life honestly. in my 20s and stuff like that.

So, I looked online, and I found kitten bottle feeding class and then a kitten shower, where they introduce you to the rescue and Best Friends Animal Society and kitten rescue. And I was like, that sounds fun. I’m down. So I’ll feed the babies bottles instead of me. (Laughs).

There’s so many local rescues. Just look it up whatever town you’re in especially in the summertime. There’s probably a plethora of kittens that need help and they come in constantly where I’m at - California. It’s really warm so, almost all year round is kitten season. There’s not enough resources, and people to be able to take care of them. So, super passionate about that. I have two kittens at the moment in my bathroom downstairs - they are eating food on their own and they’ll be up for adoption in a month. It’s number 91 and 92 for me.

You did several photo shoots with photographer Jack Lue and one of them you did was at The Rain Room. What was that experience like shooting photography in the rain?

So cool! I’ve always wanted to do a rain shoot. It just look so cool, and it was everything I ever dreamed it to be! I embraced it. It was like that idea of dancing in the rain. It was 24

like that, but doing it with the camera and just really having fun with it and hoping my makeup didn’t smear all over the place before he got a few good shots in. It was awesome!

I love shooting with Jack. We got another shoot coming up actually. I told him I’m always down. I love being creative.

He’s so fast. He’s so clever with his locations and things like that. Things I would never think to do, and it always comes out just beautifully so, I’m always down to shoot with Jack.

What has kept you so passionate about Stitched Up Heart since 2010 and throughout changes in band members.

I have no idea why. I must be crazy. (Laughter). They say you got to be crazy to do this gig. I just can’t live without it, and it built it. I’ve watched this little baby project grow from the ground up and seeing it go from nothing and watching it as you evolve and it’s really weird because when you make those milestones when you hit them for that 30 minutes on stage that you get to play opening up for like Godsmack or Halestorm or In This Moment, and it might be a short period of time but it makes every little, every tear, every blood, sweat, all the things, all the hours of driving, all the lack of finances and bills that are really hard to pay sometimes and all of the vulnerability.

You put yourself out there, and judgment, and everybody deciding that’s what they want for you and not what you’re just trying to create art. All of that, that creates mental health issues with us musicians for that 30 minutes on stage. It’s a really good question. I have no idea, but I can’t stop. Maybe I’m a masochist, maybe I enjoy the pain. But it’s all worth it when you get to experience some of these things I would never have experienced if I didn’t just keep hanging on and keep moving forward with this band.

https://www.instagram.com/stitchedupheart/ July/August 2023

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A Skylit Dr ive: On The Sunset Str ip

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

original ASD frontman Jordan Blake, introduction of the new songs, and a whole lot more!

A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore band originally from Lodi, California. The band’s current lineup consists of lead singer Michael “Jag” Jagmin, guitarist Jonathan Kintz, guitarist/vocalist Louie Caycoya and drummer KC Marotta. The band has released one DVD, one EP, and five studio albums: Wires…and the Concept of Breathing (2008), Adelphia (2009), Identity on Fire (2011), Rise (2013), ASD (2015) - and has recently unveiled a few new singles entitled Dead Serious and Sucker.

We’re here with Jag, from A Skylit Drive. First of all, how has this tour been going, and what have been some of the highlights so far?

It’s been fantastic. Really just getting on the stage again, playing these songs. Some of them I haven’t even thought about in fifteen years because some we never even considered playing live. It’s exciting just to be able to kind of relive something that I may have only really sang once ever.

Highwire Daze recently caught up with lead vocalist Jag backstage at the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip to discuss their ongoing Wires…and The Concept of Breathing 15th Anniversary Tour, the loss of 26

What are you looking forward to the most about playing here at the world-famous Whisky on the Sunset Strip?

A Skylit Drive - we just played here just many times and played songs that span just kind of the entire discography of our band over the years. I just kinda look forward to just July/August 2023

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playing here, it’s iconic. It’s The Whisky.

What has it been like to revisit Wires…and The Concept of Breathing and play it live? Did you have to completely relearn some of the songs?

Even in our first rehearsals, there were a few songs where I would come in and I was pulling it up on my phone, and I was like, “Hey, that’s what I used to say,” or “I said that once because we never played it live.” It was exciting and daunting at the same time.

You have another album about to celebrate its fifteenth anniversary. Adelphia. Looking back on that album, what do you think, in retrospect, would you like to do a celebration for that album?

I’m not sure if I would go as far as just kind of singling out a whole year for it, kind of how we did for this one. I think there’s more of a celebratory feel for me, it was the group’s first full-length album. It was the first real big “this is who we are.” There are other aspects that I love about Adelphia and kind of the more experimental direction that we took with it, but I definitely wouldn’t shy away from saying that some of those songs would get thrown into a set in celebration of it.

The original vocalist Jordan Blake recently passed away.

How did his passing affect you and possibly affect this tour?

Jordan and I had known each other for a very long time, but we never really got to sit down, chat, and understand one another. That wasn’t really until late March, he reached out to both my wife and me. He was just in a bad spot, he really needed help, and we decided to help him out, and we got close to him from there and started to really just learn more about him as a person, which was really cool. To see how many similarities him and I had. We were able to bond about a lot of different struggles that we’ve had in the music scene. Both her and I became really close with him in his last two months or so.

He even texted us the night before everything kind of went silent. We were talking to him consistently up until then.

But the one thing that I knew going into it was that the whole reason why he initially reached out to me was that he wanted me to be able to have the same fifteen years that he had. And that was really important to him because he looks at the legacy as more than just him as well. I’ve never shied away from saying that the EP is a part of the history of the band, and I would never say that people shouldn’t be excited about it. I was like, that totally makes sense to me.

Why they would want to do it and everything. And that’s super exciting to do those types of things, and I wanted to be able to do it as well, and he showed his full support of that.

That’s where we really felt that it would be more of a disserHIGHWIRE DAZE

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vice to not do what he initially reached out was because he was to share that sentiment with me.

That’s just amazing that he reached out to you and then he passed away.

It is terribly sad. He was going through a lot, and he had a lot of health complications, which he was always very transparent about. He was always very open with all of that.

Which is crazy because he was in such a healthy headspace.

He was clean. We kept in constant contact with his grandma, and he was clean because he was in the hospital a few times during that stint of talking to him; every time he was clean. It’s just, his health was just kind of the kicker.

Looking back on your work in Odd Project, what do you think of it now in retrospect?

Honestly, it was a real wake-up call. It got me ready for A Skylit Drive because I’d never toured, I had never really done back-to-back shows, having to think about vocal stamina and all this, where Odd Project was my intro to that. Where all of a sudden, the first time that we went out, day 2, I was like, my gosh! People do this every day? That’s where I started honing my techniques and get better at having a better grasp on my stamina and better technique to withstand all of the abuse that I was about to bestow on my throat [laugh].

You could just say yes or no to this if you like, but do you still keep in touch with any of the other members of A Skylit Drive?

No. I want to talk about some of the new songs. There are new songs out. Dead Serious. Is there any story or concept behind the lyrics to that song?

That one was about my dad who passed away a few years back. I’ve written a few songs about him but kind of from different perspectives. Usually, when I write lyrics to a song, I don’t really know what I’m going to write about until I start writing, and it’s just kind of whatever the music makes me feel, and this one kind of put me in this dark headspace of what it must have felt like for him, knowing that, unfortunately, he died alone and what that must have felt like. How terrifying that must have been to be in the know of, “Why isn’t somebody here to help?” And that was kind of the mindset of that song.

And there’s another song called Sucker. Tell me about that.

Sucker was kind of - I’ve been asked this in a few interviews, what would I say to my younger self or younger bands? And it’s just, don’t let people walk on you, don’t be a sucker for their bullshit, stand up for yourself, don’t let people walk on you because you’re going to look back. Be27

cause once you grow some balls later in life, you’re going to look back and be like, man, I really wish I would have stuck up for myself because maybe I would have gotten more out of that opportunity. Or maybe just something greater would have happened had I just understood my worth and put my foot down.

Is there any new music, EP, or albums on the way?

We are writing, but nothing is slated to come out this year because this year, I really wanted to focus on celebrating Wires and not bring up anything. For 2024, definitely new music.

Do you have a message for A Skylit Drive fans who are reading this right now?

I hope that they’re able to come out to one of these shows.

This one we’re on now is only phase one. There are going to be multiple phases. There’s the plan to touch as many of the wonderful places I’ve been over the years. To play in front of not only people in the South and over on the West coast, but East coast, Midwest, Northeast, Northwest. As much as we can pack in with our schedules because things are different now with touring.

thing. Doing these phases makes more sense. It makes it doable. I guess it’s one of the few good things that came out of COVID. COVID kind of forced this new way of touring, which all of a sudden makes it where - it’s like, hey I can do tours again because while I can’t go jumping onto a bus or into a van or something for 2 months, I can do a week and a half here, a week and a half there, a weekend here, and it’s not weird because many bands do it nowadays.

Imagine if World Tours around here, you have to explain that to your wife...

Well, she came out with me for a few days of the last World Tour we did in 2014, and she was like, “I’m never coming out with you on a tour again.”

It’s brutal.

Well, yeah. And we were even in a nice vehicle, but still, the days are long. It’s a lot of sitting around. Most people think it’s super glamorous. Especially on a World Tour, you’re probably out in a dirt field and it’s disgusting and it’s just hot...

https://askylitdriveofficial.com/

Especially once you get married, you have kids and every28

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Tony West of Blacklist Union: “Trying to Stay Sane in a World That’s Gone Mad” Written by Alison “MetalBabe” Cohen Blacklist Union have released four albums to date, and two singles/videos The Queen of Everything and Letters from the Psych Ward for their upcoming release.

The next single and video, Dirty Halo will follow, with the Letters from the Psych Ward album release (tentatively) September 15th, 2023. The album will be available on all digital platforms, CDs, and Vinyl.

Metal Babe: It’s been eight years since your 2015 release Back to Momo. What have you been doing musically during this timeframe?

Tony West: I worked on a couple side projects... One was with Jay Gordon. (The Savior Complex). I did another side project with Paul Roessler, (Silverstar) whose sister was in Black Flag. He’s a punk rock legend. He has a studio here in L.A. called Kitten Robot Studios. Paul and I recorded the Devo song Gates of Steel and the Bowie song Golden Years with D.H. Peligro from the Dead Kennedy’s and Zander Schloss from Circle Jerks at his studio. Of course, D.H. died… We are releasing these songs as bonus tracks on Letters from the Psych Ward. Also, like everyone else, I was dealing with Covid… Then the death of Todd Youth, who I wrote my last record with.

Metal Babe: When did you first start working on your upcoming release Letters from the Psych Ward and how did you determine who was going to write the album with you?

Tony West: After Todd died in 2018, I went to the Amazon Jungle in Peru with the Shipibo Indians and did Ayahuasca five times. This whole record was inspired by that. At first, since me and Todd had such good songwriting chemistry… I was searching for that.

It’s like trying to find a spouse. I decided to write the record with Chris Johnson, who’s produced all the Blacklist Union records. He knows my style and my voice better than anyone.

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Metal Babe: Tell me about the meaning behind the title of the album and second single, Letters from the Psych Ward.

Tony West: The world we live in is f*cking nuts…

We deal with so much sh*t in life. Whether it’s politics, kids getting killed in school, what the human race is doing to one other… Whatever pain you’re going through in life. We all can relate to this and hopefully keep our sanity through music. Letters from the Psych Ward is about trying to stay sane in a world that’s gone mad.

Metal Babe: Tell me about the Aerosmith song Mia, which you named your daughter after.

Tony West: Recording the vocals for Mia was epic. I July/August 2023

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texted Josey from Saliva that I was scared to do this when I was about to record the vocals for Mia. He was like, “you’re gonna kick ass.” The producer (Chris Johnson) and engineer (Ghian) were both like, “you know, this is kind of a hard song.” I was like, “I’ll be fine.” I did one pass of the song and I’ll never forget…

Chris and Ghian both stood up in the control room with their arms up in the air cheering because I nailed the song all the way through on the first take.

Metal Babe: One thing that I have always admired about you and your music is that it is real, honest, and you are true to yourself. Whether it’s your lyrics, your outlook on life, or your appearance. Where does this come from?

Tony West: My daughter Mia said to me one day, “Daddy you can’t wear makeup when you pick me up at school.” I’m like, “Wait, what? I’ve been wearing eyeliner every day since I was 13.” She said all the little girls ask me, “Why does your daddy wear makeup?”

And I’m like, “Tell them I’m a rocker guy.” She’s like, “I did.” I’m like, “Okay fine I won’t wear the eyeliner, but the nail polish stays.” Mia’s like “Okay, deal.” I’ve always f*ckin’ believed in live by the sword, die by the sword. I’m not playing a character. I am who I am.

There’s no portrayal of a character onstage or in our videos or anything, it’s me. I consider myself a rock n’ roll soldier. I’m a lifer. I learned a long time ago that you need to be ready to rock at a moment’s notice. I think when you’re authentic that kinda cuts through the bullsh*t and people feel that.

Metal Babe: What can you tell me about your tattoos?

When did you first start getting tattoos and what tattoos are you working on now? Do you have any related to your songs or other bands?

Tony West: I’m f*cking covered in tattoos. Now I am sleeving out my legs from the top of my thigh to the tops of my feet. It’s painful… Kevin Quinn is doing it.

He’s mentioned in the Warrior Soul song The Wasteland where they are like “Quinn is drilling ink and we’re getting laid.” Kevin and Kory (Clarke) grew up together. Kevin is an old-school legendary tattoo artist.

I love him… He’s one of my favorite people. I have a leopard on my knee, roses, there’s a Phoenix... All of it is very symbolic to me. The Phoenix is like rising from HIGHWIRE DAZE

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the ashes again. The last few years were gnarly for me in so many ways. Deaths of people, overdoses, trying to stay sane, getting back in shape… I almost didn’t make it twice. This is about rising from the ashes and coming back stronger than ever.

Metal Babe: You’re playing July 29th at The Whisky for Cruefest. What can fans expect?

Tony West: Fans can expect a kickass rock show. My goal is to always make the live show better than the records. When I see a band I wanna walk away and say “wow.” That doesn’t happen very often, but that is what I want people to do after seeing Blacklist Union.

I want them to walk away saying “wow.”

Metal Babe: Thank you for the interview Tony! Please visit https://linktr.ee/blacklistunion/ for all things Blacklist Union!

Grab tickets for Cruefest July 29th at The Whisky if you’re in L.A. https://cruefestfiend.wixsite.com/cruefesthollywood/tickets *Make sure to type Blacklist Union in the dropdown box.

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Rolling Quartz: Rocking The USA

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Rolling Quartz is a South Korean rock band that debuted in December 2020, right at the height of the worldwide pandemic. Gaining a massive fan base all around the world, Rolling Quartz recently toured the States, presenting their dynamic rock and roll entreaties in clubs all across the country - including a few stops here in Southern California. While in the Los Angeles area, Rolling Quartz participated in a shoot with legendary photographer Jack Lue - resulting in a mini-poster which may be found at the center of this very magazine!

Highwire Daze caught up with Rolling Quartz for an interview at the conclusion of their tour of the USA to find out more about this amazing band on the rise. Read on...

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

Jayoung: I’m the energizer vocalist of Rolling Quartz! It’s already been 4 years since we first met.

Iree: Hello. I’m Iree, I play the guitar, and I’m an original member just like everyone else.

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Arem: I’m the bassist, Arem. August 22nd marks the 4th anniversary of the forming of Rolling Quartz.

Young Eun: Hello, I’m Yeong Eun, the drummer of Rolling Quartz.

Hyun Jung: Hello, I’m Choi Hyun Jung, the guitarist of Rolling Quartz. We debuted on December 30, 2020.

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

Jayoung: I live in Gyeonggi-do. I think K-Idol music and Hip Hop music is mainstream these days.

Iree: We are a rock band based in Hongdae, Seoul. Now, Korea is not a country where distinctive music for each region develops. So, really diverse genres of music coexist in the Hongdae scene.

How did your recent tour in the States go and what were some of the highlights for you?

Jayoung: I couldn’t believe it! We’ve received so much love from other countries. I was happiest when the Diadems sang along!

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Iree: The two-week tour made me excited every day. Transfering cities was tiring, but having new experiences is always fun. The highlight was, of course, being able to actually meet Diadems in person, whom we only met through social media.

Arem: I can’t forget the Diadems that filled the concert hall. I was so happy during the concert.

What could one expect from a live Rolling Quartz show?

Jayoung: I’m sure you’ll get good energy!!!

Arem: Our performance. The energy from that.

Hyun Jung: You can feel the exciting rock performance and an atmosphere where you can have fun together. Rather than listening to an explanation, just come experience it for yourself!

Rolling Quartz did a photo shoot in Los Angeles with famed photographer Jack Lue, best known for his work with Guns ‘N Roses. What was that experience like?

Iree: He was really professional. It progressed quickly, so we were able to have fun taking pictures until the end without getting tired.

Arem: I was surprised that he took pictures very quickly. It was so nice.

Young Eun: I was happy and thankful for such a great opportunity with a famous photographer. He took such amazing photos, and it was a fun shoot.

What was it like to have your first single Random as a featured artist with 015B released at the start of the pandemic, and what does the song Random mean to you?

Jayoung: I was happy to be with a famous and respected senior in Korea. It’s a special song.

Iree: It is an amazing thing for a senior artist in the same industry to propose a collaboration to a band that has not yet made its debut. The song ‘Random’ taught me that whether it’s the past, present, or future, people are all the same. We worry about the same things, feel sad about the same things, and desire the same things. It reminds us that we are all the same beings. We have to love each other.

Hyun Jung: It was an honor to work on our first single with 015B. It’s a calm song, and Rolling Quartz doesn’t have many of those, so I love it more.

Your actual debut single Blaze was released in December 2020 – still very much in the midst of the pandemic. What does the song Blaze mean to you?

Ja Young: I think it’s a representative song, the best way to introduce Rolling Quartz. It’s a song where intensity and innocence coexist.

Iree: It means not being afraid to shoot our first music video outside in the middle of a snowy winter.

Arem: It’s a song that’s like Rolling Quartz itself.

Young Eun: I’m very attached to it, of course, since it’s our debut song, and I still like it. It’s a song with so many “first” HIGHWIRE DAZE

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experiences, so it’s more memorable and precious.

Is there any story or concept behind the title of your EP Fighting?

Jayoung: It’s an album that was released during Covid-19, so we wanted to cheer on everyone.

Iree: That time, we were thinking about what I wanted to say the most to people in the midst of a pandemic with no signs of ending. We wanted to send a message of ‘fighting’ (Let’s go, Come on) with the meaning that we will do our best, so everyone should do their best for each other. Like the messages our fans left for us.

Hyun Jung: It is a message of support to the members themselves, the fandom, and everyone at a time when the stagnant Korean band scene overlapped with the COVID-19 situation.

Any new music or an album on the horizon?

Jayoung: We started recording! Please look forward to it!

Arem: We’re getting ready now. Please wait a little bit.

Young Eun: Recording has started, and we’re working hard on it.

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

JaYoung: A Day to Remember, Coldrain, Paramore! I really like these bands!!

Arem: Seo Taiji. I respect him.

Young Eun: I like Bring Me The Horizon!

Do you have any messages for Rolling Quartz fans here in the States?

Jayoung: We will go see you again soon, so please wait there until then! :) Iree: The kindness and love shown by you is deeply engraved in my heart. I will never forget you. Even now as I write this, I am a little choked up when thinking of you. Sometimes you may feel that life is confusing, and you don’t know who you are or what you should live for. At that time, think only of yourself. Eat well, drink plenty of water, and save yourself from yourself. And remember, you deserve to ask someone for help. I love you all. Stay safe and healthy to see us again!

Because I’m actually doing all of these to see you too.

Arem: Thank you for making such happy and unforgettable days! I’ll go see you again. See you again!!

Young Eun: Diadem, who I always miss! We’re working hard on a new album, and we’re hoping you can see us perform it in person, so please look forward to it! Thank you always and I love you.

Hyun Jung: I am so thankful and happy to the fans who met us! The fans who we haven’t met yet, we’ll meet soon, so I’ll wait for that day we meet and have fun! Thank you to all the fans, and please continue to show interest and affection. Let’s stay together for a long time!! I love you, Diadem. https://www.instagram.com/rolling_quartz/ 35

Rock For Ronnie Interviews Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot Patrick Stone of Budderside

Adrian Vandenberg of Whitesnake and Vandenberg

Adrian Vandenberg and Rudy Sarzo Inteerviews by Ken Morton - Photos by Linda Emord The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (www.diocancerfund.org) returned to live events in a big way on Sunday, May 7 with its inaugural Rock For Ronnie Concert in the Park held at Los Encinos Historic Park in Encino. This first Rock For Ronnie, which sold out in advance, was a day of live rock music, silent and live auctions, food trucks and fun for the entire family, while raising awareness of the dreaded disease that has touched all of us in some way. Highwire Daze caught up with Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot, Patrick Stone of Budderside, and Adrian Vandenberg of Whitesnake and Vandenberg in the backstage area to discuss all things Ronnie James Dio! Read on…

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RUDY SARZO OF QUIET RIOT We are here with Rudy Sarzo from the legendary Quiet Riot.

So tell me, what does performing at Rock For Ronnie mean to you?

Well, I was Ronnie’s last Dio bassist. I played in the bands from 2004 until he passed away. So it means the world to me, because I learned so much from Ronnie at a time when I thought that I had been in the industry long enough to have learned everything I needed to learn. And then he taught me things that I couldn’t even imagine that they existed. You know, his musical integrity reminds me so much of what I learned from Randy Rhoads. It’s all about the music. Don’t let the business get in the way. When most artists were refusJuly/August 2023

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ing to record, write new music because of the illegal downloading, Ronnie didn’t care. It was all about making music that’s creative.

Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot

What was your first Ronnie James Dio concert you attended?

Irvine. I would say the first Dio concert was definitely Irvine, 1984.

What has it been like to rejoin Quiet Riot again after all these years?

Well, it’s coming home you know. I’ve been in the band. I first joined the band in 1978, and then Randy left to join Ozzy. Then he got me in Ozzy after that in 1981, and then Randy passed away. And that took away from me the joy of making music. So I get a call from Kevin DuBrow inviting me to record on one song, Thunderbird, for what became the Metal Health record, while I was still a member of Ozzy, as a matter of fact, while I was on a break in LA waiting to go to New York to record Speak of The Devil, the Black Sabbath, re-recordings of the Ozzy era. And I went in and there’s Frankie Banali in the studio who I had a history of like ten years priors to us recording Thunderbird. We met to Florida, started playing locally, and then we moved to Chicago and came to LA in 1977, to try to make it. And we have been struggling ever since and here we are finally in the studio recording.

And there was Kevin, who I have been playing with him since the Randy Rhoads version of Quiet Riot. I also played with him in DuBrow. I was living with him until the day joined Ozzy. So we have a really great bond in history. And Carlos, I had just met, but I knew of him, from his band Snow. So, you know, it just brought back the joy of making music again, being in that room recording with Frankie and Kevin and my musical family with a long history. And then I did about four songs on that session, like Slick Black Cadillac. I knew that from the Quiet Riot days, so we recorded that. And then a couple more songs that were actually DuBrow songs that I used to play with Kevin in DuBrow.

So Quiet Riot has always been my home. That collective consciousness of, there’s nothing else but the music that really matters to us in Quiet Riot. That’s our focus. We never talked about religion or politics or who was going out with who, girls, and stuff like that. It’s all about how we going to get a record deal and become professional musicians.

Describe that first show back with Quiet Riot after all these years.

I’ve been in the band, let’s see, the Randy Rhoads era, then the Metal Health era. Then in 1997 we reunited. And then now in 2021, I went back. It was more about me finding my way back home, tonally, sound wise, performance wise, beHIGHWIRE DAZE

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cause the guys were really together. I mean Alex Grossi has been in the band for over twenty years now. He was groomed

by Kevin. Jizzy, who has a history coming from the Sunset Strip with his own band, Love/Hate. So he’s rooted in the same thing as Quiet Riot was, and Johnny Kelly, who was handpicked by Frankie. So these were guys who have been playing together for a bit before I came back. So, it was a matter of me finding my way back home and finding myself again, which by now I am.

What was it like playing in The Guess Who, it was like such an unusual pairing you and The Guess Who? No. I mean, I grew up with that music. You know, that’s part of my…as a matter of fact, I played a lot of Guess Who songs during my high school years. To me, it was a very comfortable fit.

And what’s up next for you?

More Quiet Riot. We’re celebrating forty years of Metal Health this year in 2023. And just continuing. Keep going.

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PATRICK STONE OF BUDDERSIDE We’re here with Patrick Stone from Budderside who I don’t even want to know when was the last time I talked to you.

So, what are you looking forward to the most about Rock For Ronnie today?

Hanging out with you. It was great to see you at the show last week.

Patrick Stone of Budderside

What it was like playing the Viper Room and playing all those new songs last week?

The last few weeks have been the best few weeks of my life because musically we’ve grown to a point where I’m just really proud and excited to jam with the guys because it sounds so cool. So, as a musician, it’s like being completely fulfilled finally. I can’t wait to take this to the next level. Next week we play at Welcome to Rockville for two hundred thousand people. So that’s super sick. But yeah, today is all about Ronnie and Lemmy and all of our fallen comrades who are out here in the park having a great time hanging out with Ken Morton!

What does Ronnie James Dio mean to you?

Rock. Pure rock! When I think Rock ‘n’ roll I think of Lemmy. When I think rock, I think Ronnie James Dio. The horns go up completely top-tier vocals, the ultimate performance.

The biggest shoes in the industry to live up to, so he kind of set the bar. So, it’s kind of like he is rock. So, in order to be rock you got to aspire to be as great as he was and nobody will probably ever pull that off. But you shoot for the moon and maybe you’ll land on the stars, right?

Absolutely. What was your connection with the late Lemmy of Motörhead?

Well I was lucky enough to meet Lemmy when I was really young and he recruited me to be his roadie. And Todd Singerman their manager fell in love with me and my music. So, they were constantly pushing me to get from out behind the stage and in front of it. So, when I finally decided to do that, they got behind it and signed me to Motörhead Music, and off we went. And now we are working on our third album with Budderside.

What was it like playing Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show at Ultimate Jam Night?

Kind of like an alter ego. I have to feel it was a little bit too comfortable. (Laughs) Yeah, I mean I don’t know - I think deep down we’re all pretty creepy and it’s cool to let those flags fly. A lot of fun.

What is the inspiration behind your new song Good For Nothing?

Let’s see - it’s weird. It’s kind of like the feeling of you finally 38

deserve something you’ve given everything you possibly have to something, and it’s time to cash in. And it’s just a really pissed-off kind of approach to that feeling - like it’s time to take it. Like it’s time to take what you want. Fuck waiting around for it anymore, life’s been Good For Nothing so far so let’s reap the reward. Let’s go get what is coming to us!

ADRIAN VANDENBERG OF WHITESNAKE AND VANDENBERG We’re here with Adrian Vandenberg. What are you the most excited about, being here at The Rock for Ronnie Show?

Very excited. If only to pay tribute to one of the greatest singers of all time, not just rock singers, but singers, in general, he was unique. There’s never been anybody like him. I hope he’s listening.

Definitely. What are you going to be doing here today?

I’m going to do a couple of songs with Doug Aldrich, Brian Tichy, and my good friend, Rudy Sarzo. Well, they’re all friends of mine, which is funny because I haven’t played in California in a long time. Actually, the last time was probably July/August 2023

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with Whitesnake. I just came back from the Monsters Of Rock Cruise with my band, Vandenberg. We did a couple of shows there. I just got into town yesterday and stayed especially for this because Wendy Dio invited me over for this situation, it’s really beautiful, so here I am.

Adrian Vandenberg of Vandenberg and Whitesnake

When was the first time that you saw Ronnie James Dio? It was in ‘82, probably, when he played in Holland. He asked somebody to bring me in, so we met, which was a funny moment because as everybody knows, he’s quite short and I’m way too tall. We looked at each other and go, “Oh, we didn’t expect this.” He’s just the sweetest guy.

Actually, there was an occasion in my hometown when my friend, Rudy Sarzo, was with him and with his band. They played across the border in Germany, and we ended up having a pizza on the market square of my hometown with my parents and Ronnie Dio and Simon Wright, and Rudy, and thousands of people were walking by because it was like a special evening. All the shops were open and all stuff.

Nobody knew we were just sitting there. People were walking by, Ronnie Dio talking to my dad for about two hours about old jazz because some people know Ronnie used to be a trumpet player in a jazz band. My dad played trombone in a jazz band, so they had a lot to talk about.

Tell me about the new singer in Vandenburg and who it is.

The new singer is Mats Levén. He’s Scandinavian. He’s been with Yngwie Malmsteen for a while, and he’s been there a long time with a band called Candlemass. We recorded an album in LA about five months ago or something. The first single is out, it’s called House on Fire. It’s on YouTube and stuff. The second one is going to come out the end of this month, and there’s going to be another single in two months.

The album is going to come out in August. The album is called Sin. Sin is what we all do all the time. I thought it was a good title for an album.

What was it like releasing an album called 2020 during a pandemic, basically?

Well, actually, the album was recorded and then the pandemic happened. I remember we were finishing it in LA with Bob Marlette, producer who produced Black Sabbath and Rob Zombie, Judas Priest, and all this stuff. The drummer and I got sick. We had a serious flu for about three, four days. My drummer from my band, he just came back from The NAMM Show, so he must have picked it up over there, but it wasn’t COVID yet. We released the album, and then suddenly Covid happened. Suddenly, the title, 2020, of the album got a new meaning to it. It’s weird, and at that time, we had to reschedule the European tour for about five times or something. Our agent gave up and thought we’re going to wait and see when it’s finally over. Strange times.

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Do you think the Whitesnake tour is going to resume?

I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t think David wants to tour anymore. Who knows? There’s no guarantees in life, as everybody knows.

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

Yes. I’m just happy that the new album is coming out. I’m very happy with the reception of the 2020 album, where Ronnie Romero is singing on. This one, I tried to raise the bar in another notch, and I think it worked out. But it’s always the fans who decide. All you can do is do your best. I give it all for every album. I was close to a burnout because I’m very perfectionist. Sometimes, I work for 18 hours straight in a day, and then I think, “Oh, right. I got to eat.” I fall over, tired, and I sleep for four hours, and I start back up again.

I’m looking forward to the release of the album and see what people think.

https://diocancerfund.org/ 39

HURRICANE #1: Rocking The World Once More

Interview by Ken Morton Prepare to be swept away as Hurricane #1 unveils their highly anticipated album Backstage Waiting to Go On - now available via Golden Robot Records.

With origins beginning back in 1997 featuring Andy Bell of the iconic shoegaze band Ride, Hurricane #1 would disband at the dawn of the new millennium after two critically acclaimed albums. Vocalist Alex Lowe would find himself pursuing a successful solo career as well fronting other bands such as Garage Flowers and Gun Cemetary Club. In 2014, Alex Lowe would reform Hurricane #1 with a new lineup, presenting their next whirlwind chapter of indie rock and roll! Highwire Daze recently caught up with Alex Lowe to discuss the grand return of Hurricane #1, their amazing Backstage Waiting To Go On endeavor, and the one time this Oxford, UK band played on the infamous Sunset Strip. Read on...

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Let’s talk about the new album Backstage Waiting To Go On. Is there any overall story behind that title?

Yeah, there’s an old saying, you go on tour and stuff and you’re always waiting about so long backstage before you do go on, like, for an hour show you’re backstage for hours and hours, preparing and sitting about and waiting for that bell to ring so you can get on stage. That’s basically where the title came from, so it’s just backstage waiting to go on. We’re always backstage all the time and you’re always counting the hours until you got on that stage just for like a onehour show. So that’s where the title really came from.

Select two songs from the album, and what was the inspiration?

I wanted to get back to just good old rock and roll, just like from the 60s and 70s type era. I’m really into guitar music, I just love the basics of guitar music like two guitars, bass, drums, and even one guitar, bass, July/August 2023

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drums. I just wanted to make an album that was raw and there wasn’t too much production behind it. There wasn’t too much thought behind it. Because the album actually took only four days to write, and it only took about five days to record. We did it live, basically. I just wanted to get back to that old-day style of guitars putting them down quickly and leaving a few mistakes in there. There are a couple of little things in there we could have changed, but we just say, “You know what, it sounds great. It’s raw, it’s cool, and it’s rock, and it’s a really good rock and roll album.” That was the inspiration behind the whole thing. We were listening to a lot of The Kinks, The Moody Blues, The Beatles, The Stones, and the usual culprits. But yeah, we just wanted to make one of these really good rock and roll albums, no fuss, and nothing hard about the album.

Nothing too complicated. So, we just went in there and I wrote the album in my kitchen with my acoustic guitar in about four days and then we just went in the week after and we just put the songs down and that’s really what the inspiration was.

How did you wind up on Golden Robot Records?

It was a couple of years ago now, but I think I got an email through something someone said to them that we were about to do a new album or something. It was Mark the CEO of the company, he actually emailed me and he says, “Look, I want to discuss doing a contract with you, I heard that you were doing an album.

Could you fill me in on the details? Blah, blah, blah.”

So, I got on the phone with him. We spoke for about a good couple of hours, and that’s how it really happened. He heard it through the grapevine that Hurricane #1, we’re doing a new album. We didn’t actually know when we were going to do it, but this spurred us on a little bit because we’re the label behind us and we thought, “Okay, well, let’s do this.” So that’s how it really happened.

Andy Bell from Ride was one of the previous members and founders of Hurricane #1. Do you still keep in touch with Andy Bell and what was it like working with him?

Yeah, I still keep in touch. We still text and we email and stuff like that. We’re always friends. We’ve always been friends. Andy was good to work with actually.

He knew what he wanted. He liked what he knew and he knew what he liked. He’s one of these kind of guys. He was phenomenal, you could hear him on Ride stuff, but when he really got to his forefront in Hurricane, you couldn’t believe how good a guitar player the guy really was. He was absolutely out of this world, basically. Yeah, it was fun working with Andy. Sometimes a strange kind of character, a little bit eccentric for me because I’m pretty gregarious and open and forward and I love a good laugh, but Andy was a little bit more reserved but you could see that he was a little bit of a genius behind him, I think. But HIGHWIRE DAZE

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with his guitar style and the way he played and stuff like that. But no, Andy’s the phenomenal guy. He’s one of these good guys. We’ll probably work together again one day. We’ll definitely work together again.

Well, I spoke about it a couple of times. Yeah, he was easy to work with. The great thing about it was he let me do my own thing in the band. I mean, he wrote the songs for the first two albums. I think I got a couple of them on the second. But he just says, “Listen, just sing the way you think you should sing it and if it comes out great, then that’s all that matters.” So, he was good that way. He wasn’t a control freak or anything like that. He just let me get on with it and I did it, and that was it.

Looking back on those first two, Hurricane #1 albums from the 90s, what do you think of them now in retrospect, and do you still play any of those songs?

Yeah, we play them. Yeah, we play all the singles. We do all the hits that we had like Step Into My World, Chain Reaction, Just Another Illusion, and Only The Strongest Will Survive. So we do a lot of them, so that kind of stuff, looking back now on them I think they still stand up today because the first album was just a down the middle of the road Rock and Roll album as well. I think that was my favorite of the two albums. It was just a fantastic album. Yeah, and that’s why I think it stands up today because I think guitar music never really goes away, it’s always there. You always hand back to the old days of the 60s and the 70s. We are always listening to guitar music and stuff like that, so I think it stands up. For the second album, I wasn’t too keen on the remix thing going on. As I said, I’m more of a guitar guy. The remix thing kind of caught me off guard a little bit because I didn’t realize that they were going to put so many remixes on the album because 41

they didn’t even really put the original song, Only The Strongest on there, they put the remix of that. So, I was a bit disappointed in that and I think my drummer was as well because he didn’t play on the remix, so he was a bit disappointed that his drums weren’t on there as well.

But looking back now, I think the first album I think stands up to today because as I said, it’s a down middle of the road, Rock and Roll album, guitar, bass, drums and that’s what we love. Yeah, I think it’s still a great album. I still play it now and again, but yeah, it was just a great time. The 90s was a fantastic phenomenal time to be making the music. It was like our 60s, if you look at it, Britpop was our 60s. I think that’s what we love so much because we had so many great bands. The UK scene was absolute, it was the best scene since the 60s. In the 60s were The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, and all that. Then we had Oasis, Primal Scream, Hurricane #1, and Teenage Fanclub. So, many great bands out there. Yeah, it was cool.

You did a few shows here in the States, and one of them was at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip. What was that experience playing on the Sunset Strip and what were your overall impressions of Hollywood and West Hollywood?

Oh, it was just phenomenal. Just absolutely fantastic. It was just a big buzz, it was just so cool and it was just because you’ve got to remember, I’m from a little town in Scotland and nothing ever happens in that town. Six months before we flew to Japan, I was picking raspberries for a living. I had no money. I had never seen any of the world. I couldn’t afford to go anywhere and then when I got that phone call from Creation that Andy Bell was putting a band together and they wants me to be the singer, then everything in my life totally changed. It still has changed from today. When you’re from a small town and you’re doing nothing, and then suddenly you’re just forced into the limelight and playing Japan to 10,000 people, and then you go to Hollywood after that, it’s like, “Wow.” It’s just your whole world just opens up. I met so many cool people there. I met Debbie Harry, and I met so many other people, just like bands, Weezer was there. Then I met Lemmy from Motörhead. I ended up staying with him. So, me and Lemmy became good friends. You got to realize six months before this, I was nobody. I was nothing. I was a struggling musician 42

trying to make a living. When we touched down in LA my eyes were just like rabbits in the headlights.

It was just absolutely phenomenal and it was just one of these experiences. The thing is, we’re going back there this year. We’re coming back to LA in November!

Do you have any messages for Hurricane #1 fans here in the States who are reading this now?

Yeah, come and see us. As soon as we get there, please, come and see us. You’re going to love the new stuff. New stuff live is really good. You’ll enjoy it.

Come and say hello backstage, let’s get together and I’ll ask the fans some questions, what they like and they can ask me questions and it’s just going to be a pleasure and a privilege to get back to LA because it’s basically, I think it’s one of my favorite places in the world to play in Los Angeles, it’s just phenomenal. Hopefully, we’ve got fans still out there. I’m sure there are a few that still are kicking it around and thinking, “Wow, whatever happened to Hurricane?”

Well, here we are, new album and yeah, we’re coming over and we’re going to play a few shows.

https://www.facebook.com/hurricaneno12021 July/August 2023

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The Apocalyptic Doom Metal Reveries of

Adversvm

Interview by Ken Morton

The monumental modern Doom / Death act Adversvm has returned to enrapture the senses! Established in Germany in 2015, Adversvm has unleashed the apocalyptic reveries of Vama Marga - their 3rd full-length manifesto now available from the Moribund Records compound.

Vama Marga unveils 10 anthems of left-hand-path apotheosis that are absolutely staggering to behold! There is a darkness and intrigue to be found when exploring what Adversvm has to offer with their auditory artistry.

Highwire Daze recently conducted an interview with Adversvm to find out more about their malevolent soundscapes...

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

Sascha: Sascha, vocalist and guitarist in Adversvm. The Band was founded in 2015 Donald: My name is Donald Zaros and I am the new keyboardist with Adversvm. I joined the group just this past year.

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music/metal scene like there?

Sascha: The band based out of Germany. Don is a member from New York. The metal scene here in north Germany is not as big as in south and east Germany.

How did you wind up signing with the legendary underground label Moribund Records?

Sascha: Moribund Records was always an important 44

label for me since I heard Judas Iscariot over 20 years ago. After we finished our second album Dysangelion I was looking for a new label. I remembered that Moribund once released Catacombs who were similar to our musical style on Dysangelion. So I sent Odin a promo CD. He liked it and offered us a contract for two albums.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Vama Marga album title?

Sascha: It’s about different elements of the Left-HandPath and the philosophy of the hammer.

Select two songs from Vama Marga and what inspired the lyrics.

Sascha: Vindex is inspired by Nietzsche’s The AntiJuly/August 2023

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christ. Sinistrum is inspired by the 21 Satanic Points from the Codex Saerus.

Who did the cover art for Vama Marga and how much input did you have on it?

Sascha: The cover artwork was done by Vhan Artworks. I was mesmerized since the first moment I saw it. It fits very well to our topic about transformation.

Your current guitarist Fabian Guschlbauer is also in Dawn Of Dreams and Apophis. How did Fabian become involved with Adversvm?

Sascha: In 2004 I saw a live show of his past band Mental Amputation. I was very impressed

by Fabian’s lead guitar. 13 years later after our debut album we were looking for a lead guitarist and contacted him. He met us to talk about all details and started the recordings for Dysangelion in 2018.

Drummer Jörg Uken’s credits include working with the likes of Stromwarrior, Nightfall, and Mandrake. How did Jörg become involved with Adversvm?

Sascha: After the guitar recording sessions at Jörg’s Studio he offered us to play the drums. We agreed and so he became our new drummer.

Donald: I am the keyboardist for the bands Evoken and Dimentianon. I have also collaborated with other bands over the years, providing vocals, flute and keys for the bands: Quercus, Po-ema Arcanvs, Bastard Sapling, Mesmur and Echo to name a few.

Keyboardist Don Zaros is a long running member of Evoken. What has it been like working with Don on Adversvm?

Sascha: It was really straight to work with Don. He has the absolutely right feeling for atmospheric music and did a great job on Vama Marga“.

There are also two personal musical projects I have been doing for many, many years now. Marshmallow Bunnies, which is a project that is an amalgamation of all the styles of music that have influenced me over the years and Somber Catalyst which is an outlet for my more personal experimental and ambient material.

What could one expect from a live Adversvm show?

Sascha: Unfortunately we won’t play live gigs in the near future.

What’s up next for Adversvm?

Sascha: Some new songs for an EP or a full length album are in progress.

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

Sascha: When the Manson Family sings the songs of Charles Manson. For my taste it would be a nice musical combination.

Donald: I am told that there may be new music on the horizon (already written) and I look forward to contributing to these new songs and seeing where the music takes us next…

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

Sascha: No.

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Any final words of wisdom?

Sascha: Thank you for the interview.

http://www.moribundcult.com/ 45

Toby Knapp and The Power of

the Almighty Waxen

Interview by Ken Morton America’s Guitar Virtuoso Toby Knapp returns with his unique brand of Shredding Black Thrash Metal with Waxen’s long awaited 6th album entitled Die Macht Von Hassen!

Signing with world-renowned guitar god label Shrapnel Records in 1992 at the unheard of age of 19, Toby Knapp continues to have a productive & prolific career in rock and heavy metal.

Recording albums with 20+ of his own bands including Onward, Toby Knapp, Waxen, Where Evil Follows, Necrytis, Affliktor & Darken, Mr. Knapp is also a full time guitar teacher. A session studio and live musician for many world class national artists including Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Godless Rising, Fetid Zombie, Abhor and more!

Highwire Daze recently interviewed Toby Knapp to discuss the just unleashed Waxen Die Macht Von Hassen manifesto, his many other intriguing music projects, looking back on his time with Shrapnel Records, his currently collaboration with the almighty Moribund Records, and more!

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

I’m Toby Knapp and I’m the creator of Waxen, I write, record and produce everything myself. The newest album had a few guest drum tracks from M Ahrin - great Italian drummer who’s done lots of work in underground Black Metal.

Waxen started in 2004 after Onward split up. I wanted different music and total control.

What do you think has made your collaboration with Moribund Records 46

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work so well over the years?

We just get along great and share so many of the same views and musical tastes. Moribund is like family at this point.

They got my back and I got theirs. I’m on my 11th album for them and they give me total artistic freedom.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Die Macht Von Hassen album title?

The title translates to “The Power of Hate” but I’m not hateful or pushing a radical agenda. I’m emphasizing the feeling of hatred that flows from many early and great Extreme Metal artists. Hateful vocals and music. I don’t agree with bands like Dawn’s Ray’d who are calling themselves Black Metal and preaching this weird communist shit and hippie mentality. I liked the albums that hated my guts like Kreator’s Terrible Certainly and Algaion’s Oimai Algaiou. The concept is simply aggressive and destructive music. That’s what Black Metal is supposed to be.

Select two songs from Die Macht Von Hassen and what inspired the lyrics.

God of All Endings looks at the world from the Creator’s perspective. Everything is wrong, twisted, filthy and immoral.

He had given the people a perfect utopia and they started destroying it and sodomizing each other. He destroys mankind with malice and scorn. Not just by a simple flood...he wants everyone to pay and feel the pain, it’s personal. He has it out for everyone that crossed him and has constructed horrific endings that even Satan is mortified about.

Holocaust Lights introduces “the rise of a dark force, the eternal desecration and the conjuring of destruction”. Those lyrics are just me describing Waxen’s music. Waxen is musically pretty twisted at times because I purposely go against music theory and do things that sound sickening and combine that with brute force and intelligence.

Who did the cover art for Die Macht Von Hassen and how much input did you have on it?

That’s Moribund President Odin Thompson on the cover doing some rituals. He had the pic in his archives and I thought it would be a good album cover. It looks right for the music somehow. A Metal conflagration.

What has it been like working with M. Ahrim from Graveland on this album?

He had provided me real drum tracks about four years ago for a solo album I had planned with all guest drummers. I asked each drummer to record and compose their parts first and then I would put guitar riffs and solos to what they did- reverse composing. M Ahrin was the only one who delivered and the project got shelved for awhile. I finally found a place for his drum tracks; this Waxen album. He wasn’t happy with the outcome. I shouldn’t have blended his drums in with the drum machine. I should have individually numbered his tracks. I created a collage with them. I understand his frustration. His drums are usually intros or outros to the songs to break up the drum machine monotony. So, for the record, this HIGHWIRE DAZE

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is not what he wanted with his drum tracks.

Would you like to do any live performances with Waxen?

I don’t know. I could put a good touring band together if it was worth the effort. I’m not losing one cent just to play live.

Pay to play, pay to tour - I just won’t do it. Pay me motherfucker!

What has it been like to return with Onward and what made you decide to restart the band after a lengthy hiatus?

It felt like “now or never” with Onward. I could have called a few of my projects “Onward” but chose not to. I decided it’s mine to use in a Traditional Heavy Metal context and it will bring some listeners back. It did do that. I would say 80% of original Onward fans are on board with the new music but I definitely lost Michael Grant purists - but new vocalist, Robert Van War, is his own man and we’re enjoying what we’re doing. I wanted a different sound but still rooted in 80’s metal tradition. I don’t want to try to get a Michael Grant clone and try to recreate 20 year old music. It wouldn’t be natural. This is Onward and this is where we are today.

What was it like playing legendary festivals with Onward such as the Milwaukee Metalfest and November To Dismember?

The early days of Onward were lots of fun. I just loved being able to see and meet so many bands I admired. The audience was all smiles at the Milwaukee Metal Fest. It was a great experience.

When you look back on your Guitar Distortion album from 1993 on Shrapnel Records, what do you think of it now in retrospect and the fact that it’s now been 30 years since the release date?

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I think it’s a great album and man am I old! I look back at the 20 year old me who worked hard and accomplished his life’s dream very early. I’m 51 which I think is still “young” in metal years. I want to continue building off that album and path for at least another decade. In a weird way I’m glad I was never a “hit” or gained big league success. I’m still climbing the mountain. You can’t miss what you never had (fame and fortune) and I still love music and the guitar so much. I like retaining this feeling. It’s a bit late to be in this for anything other than the love of music. Some of my peers who actually “made it” are so jaded and bitter, dead or burnt out. I’m still the 16 year old kid going nuts over Racer X albums and dreaming about Fender Stratocasters. I love that feeling.

You covered Dance Your Life Away by UFO on a Michael Schenker/UFO tribute album called Spaced Out. What made you choose that song and did Michael Schenker or anyone in UFO comment on the song?

No, that song was recorded for a tribute album over 20 years ago and the record company picked the song. I personally wouldn’t have picked that one but it was fun and I love Schenker. No commentary from anyone regarding that album.

When you look back on the first Waxen album Fumaroth released in 2006, what do you think of it now in retrospect?

I’ve always liked that album and boy was I in a fucked up frame of mind at the time. WW3 Records called me immediately wanting to sign Waxen...then they just kinda disappeared. The album sat for 2 years until an acquaintance of mine started a record label based out of my hometown. He actually did a really good job with it. We had good distribution from labels like Moribund, Full Moon Productions and Red Stream.

What’s up next for Waxen (and any of your other projects)?

Solo album Transmission to Purgatory on Moribund Records later this year and then onto the next Onward album.

Waxen have signed to Moribund for another album but there’s no real strict timetable for delivery. A few years maybe or when I’m feeling it again.

Any final words of wisdom?

I’m still working on the wisdom thing. Lots of trial and error.

Life is such a minuscule and fast little blip. Don’t waste it.

https://tobyknappmusic.com/

Friday August 11 2023 7:30PM w/Trixter Friday November 3 2023 8:45PM w/ Hookers N’ Blow

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Ash Blair Photo by Jack Lue

The Shades of Ash Blair

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue

Ash Blair is a dynamic artist on the rise who has been playing the guitar since 2016. She is passionate about all things music: playing the guitar, singing, songwriting, and learning new instruments. She has her Bachelors of Arts in Guitar from Berklee College of Music. Ash recently issued her debut EP titled Shades of Ash and it’s a stunning auditory odyssey well worth seeking out. Highwire Daze recently caught up with Ash Blair to find out more about her Shades Of Ash endeavor, new music in the works, guitar influences, and a whole lot more! Read on...

Introduce yourself, where you are based out of, and how long you’ve been playing guitar?

Hi! My name is Ash Blair. I am based out of the US! I have been playing the guitar since 2016.

How did Shades Of Ash come about, who produced the EP, and what was it like working with them?

I always wanted to create my own music. It is very gratifying to be able to call a piece of music your own! That’s why I decided to create an EP. I love writing melodies, guitar parts, lyrics, etc. so it was truly a blast to make Shades of Ash. It is such a rewarding creative outlet!

Give me a little background on each of the songs and the story behind their titles: Glimmer: Glimmer got its title because when I was creating the song, it gave me majestic and triumphant vibes. It gave me a glimmer of hope, and I feel as if it can be an anthem of hope for others, too. In the song, I put nods to some of my favorite players.

Unrequited: The song Unrequited is about love that isn’t reciprocated. I feel like most people can relate to having feelings for someone who doesn’t return the same feelings. This song is a cry for them to not let a potential love slip away.

Grit: Grit is more of a straight up rock track. This title came to mind because it represented my resolve to put out the EP, and the hard work that went into it.

All Four Walls: This song is about someone breaking down all of your walls and being able to let yourself fall in love.

What is your guitar of choice and why?

My guitar of choice is a Fender Strat! Specifically my American Professional Strat with Shawbuckers in Olympic White. It is the guitar that I always reach for first!

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Who are some of the guitarists that inspire you?

Guitarists that inspire me include Steve Vai, Slash, Vito Bratta, and Paul Gilbert! Each guitarist has their own awesome playing style that always inspires me.

How would a young musician go about seeking an endorsement?

I would tell someone who is seeking an endorsement to keep working on their craft, to build up their following on social media, and in many cases I think releasing your own music helps as well. If you are passionate about a company and their products, don’t be afraid to reach out to them regarding an endorsement. The worst they can say is no! And you can always try again later!

What is your favorite NAMM show experience?

My favorite NAMM Show experience was when I attended in 2020. It was my first time ever going to NAMM, so seeing everything for the first time was overwhelming in the best way!

Has any artist that you’ve covered heard or commented on your cover videos?

Yes, I’m thankful to say that artists/bands that I’ve covered have commented or liked my videos several times. It is a big thrill for someone you admire to see your work and appreciate it!

What was it like doing a photo shoot with legendary photographer Jack Lue? It was truly an amazing experience getting to do a photo shoot with the super talented Jack Lue! He was kind, so creative, and a joy to get to work with! He has worked with many greats, so it was an honor to be photographed by him.

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects?

I am open to being in a band should the right opportunity arise, but in the meantime, I am gonna keep working hard on my solo music!

Any new music on the horizon?

Yes, I’m excited to say that there is new music on the horizon! I am working on an album that will be out before the end of the year! This album will have instrumentals as well as songs that include my vocals! Follow me @guitarbyash on Instagram for weekly content and updates about my album!

Any final words of wisdom?

Some words of wisdom from me are to keep going, and don’t give up on your dreams! When I first started playing guitar, I had no idea the opportunities that would arise, so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

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Jei-Rynn Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

Introducing Jei-Rynn Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

some lyrics that could be kind of biting too, and dark at times, but also maybe funny.

Jei-Rynn is an artist on the rise based out of the LA/OC music scene who has just released a brand new EP entitled Overreacting. Fans of pop punk and emo should be over the moon when encountering the exhillarating songs Jei-Rynn has to offer the world at large. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Jei-Rynn at a Dystopian Studios photo shoot to find out more about the standout Overreacting EP and the mastermind behind it. Read on...

And I’m Done. Tell me about that one.

I’m Done. I’m just feeling like I’m done with people pigeonholing me, being labeled, et cetera. I think in this day and age it’s important for people to see the beauty in their individuality and so that’s always been a struggle for myself as well. So it’s sort of an attempt of owning all of that.

We’re here with Jei-Rynn. Prior to pursuing your solo career, what other bands or projects were you involved with?

I’ve played in a couple of different projects. My main band was called Stereodove, which I played in for a few years in high school as I was in a bunch of bands too. A band called The Wind Chasers Club. It was like a punk band. Yeah, I’ve been around in the SoCal music scene for a little bit.

So you’ve just released a new EP called Overreacting. Is there any overall story or constant behind that title, Overreacting? Do you overreact, Jei? Yeah, definitely just kind of an emotional kind of person, so yeah, so I tend to overreact at times. I think people can relate to that.

Oxytocin. What was the inspiration behind that song and the lyrics?

Oxytocin is kind of about... it’s sort of a love song. It’s sort of about feeling connected to a person amidst feeling ostracized by others. So it’s also sort of a love letter to people who’ve been with others because I feel like I’ve experienced a lot of that. Kind of a fight song as well for people who feel othered.

Sleeping All Day. Something that’s quite enjoyable. Tell me about that song and the inspiration behind it.

Oh, I think that one, I think I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety quite a bit. In those days I would just want to literally sleep all day and just be away from everything mentally. So just kind of metaphorically too, just being away from things, I guess. Live the existing fantasy.

Make Me, is one of my favorite songs. So tell me about that one.

Make Me is a fun song. It’s sort of about a lot of things. I think the idea with that song was just to create something that was really energetic that people can move to and also with HIGHWIRE DAZE

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How did your record release show go last night and what were some of the highlights?

I think it was amazing. I thought all of the bands played really well. It seemed like the crowd liked all of the bands, so I think it was really great. I really enjoyed performing for everyone. I was really happy with my band. It was a lot of fun.

What could one expect from a live Jei-Rynn show if they didn’t go last night?

I think we try to keep the energy high. We don’t try to play for too long because we’re trying not to bore anyone. It’s sort of like pop music in like punk fashion when we play live.

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

I think a lot of people have compared my stuff to My Chemical Romance, so I think it’d be really fun to play with them.

They’re one of my favorite bands as well. We actually just saw them at the Inglewood Forum a few months ago. They’re amazing. So yeah, that’d be a good pick.

Since we’re both part of the LA Rock Collective, let’s plug that and how you became involved with that.

Yeah, so I met the band Against the Sun. I was actually in a band with their bass player, Alex, in high school and so I was going to see their shows and met some of the other bands from LA Rock Collective and was really impressed with everyone. I met with David and eventually got involved. That’s really great to try and show support for all those great bands.

Everyone’s really supportive and it’s a good community.

What do you hope that 2023 brings for you and for your music?

We just want to keep recording new songs and writing better material and playing as many shows as possible, and meeting new artists and things like that is always fun for me too. Just trying to grow the listenership and meet new people.

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Jordi presents Sorry I’m Late Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Jack Lue Jordi is Jordan Radnoti, a native of Monrovia, California. A versatile and intuitive player, Jordi is first and foremost an accomplished drummer and voracious student of rock, pop and punk music who cites John Bonham and Taylor Hawkins as heroes. Drummer/singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, Jordi, has officially announced her upcoming debut album Sorry I’m Late out August 4 on Dangerbird Records. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Jordi after a Jack Lue photo shoot to find out more about this amazing artist!

Introduce yourself, where are you based out of and what is your local music scene like there?

Hiiii my name is Jordi! I am from LA, more specifically Monrovia. Monrovia doesn’t have a very active scene, but we’re close to Pomona and there is a good indie scene there. I know a lot of musicians from Monrovia though (like my live band)!

How did you wind up signing with Dangerbird Records?

I play drums in a band called Unicorns at Heart and they were doing a “Microdose deal” with Dangerbird. This deal basically has the artist release 2 singles. The producer I wound up working with who I knew from Monrovia mentioned my music to some of the team at the label. Then, Jim Fairchild from Dangerbird reached out asking to hear a demo of my song that was mentioned, and then we continued the convo and boom.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Sorry I’m Late?

If I’m being honest, I don’t know. It’s a culmination of my youth and growing pains. It’s all over the place in terms of sound, and I feel like there’s a sense of confusion and trying to navigate my identity throughout the length of the album. So essentially, if I were to define the album’s concept, it is basically an homage to youth.

Select two songs from Sorry I’m Late and what inspired the lyrics.

Spilled myself all over the place - odd day. I felt like I pour my emotions and sometimes not at all, but when I do, I’m a mess. This line just felt like an extension of that.

Leave my own decision to my bad indecision - so easy.

I was mad when I wrote this song. I get impatient with myself and am constantly contemplating what to do in the 54

moment, it consumes me.

Who produced Sorry I’m Late and what was it like working with them?

Joe Reinhart! He is amazing. I feel so lucky to have gotten to work with him. I think we worked really well together and he’s just an amazing person and musician.

What could one expect from a live Jordi show?

At a Jordi show, you could expect on mosh-y music with a big sound.

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

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Now, it’d be sick to open for Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Deftones or Foo Fighters. In the past, definitely Nirvana or even Led Zeppelin.

You cite John Bonham and Taylor Hawkins as your influences. Here’s a two-part question. Part 1 – if you could cover a Led Zeppelin song, what song would you cover and why?

If there’s one Led Zeppelin song I could cover, it’d be Dazed and Confused. The song has so much dynamic, and at the high energy parts I could really dig in. I love the Bonham triplets in it too.

Part 2 - Were you ever able to see the Foo Fighters live prior to Taylor Hawkins’ passing, and what does his overall legacy mean to you?

I was super fortunate to catch Foo Fighters at The Forum for their last L.A. show with Taylor. I actually snuck onto the floor and getting to experience the live performance, I cried (which is not often for me at concerts). Taylor was truly amazing and passionate, a legend whose legacy will live forever.

What was it like being on the KROQ Locals Only Playlist?

Being on KROQ was so surreal. I was beyond ecstatic to listen every time locals only played; and to be played HIGHWIRE DAZE

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alongside artists such as Phoebe Bridgers and Grace Mckagan and from THE Kat Corbett? It felt unreal.

Are you currently involved with any other bands or projects outside of your solo project?

Yes! I play drums for a band called SideChicks, The Steens, and Unicorns at Heart.

The photos from this article are from a Jack Lue photo shoot. What was it like working with Jack Lue, whose credits include some very iconic Guns N’ Roses photos?

It is always an amazing opportunity to be shot by Jack, and I, along with everyone in the scene, is lucky to have such a talented and legendary photographer working with us.

What is up next for you?

After the album releases August 4th, I am hoping to tour with the Jordi band, and keep playing live, as well as work on more new music!

Any final words of wisdom?

Be good to each other, live each day to the fullest, and tell the people you hold close to your heart that you love them.

Peace and love.

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SO VAIN: L.A. BAD BOYS ROCKING YOUR WORLD

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography If The Stooges and My Chemical Romance were to spawn a great mutation after a blurry night out that neither would be able to recall in the morning, the beautiful nine-month hangover would result in a diabolic pack of quadruplet rockers going by the name of So Vain. With sinfully chaotic live shows and super catchy songs that are rapturously way off the hook, So Vain is ready to rock music fans from their Los Angeles hometown and beyond. Highwire Daze recently caught up with So Vain for an interview and photo shoot at Dystopian Studios in Downtown LA. And while the photo shoot went great, the free for all interview was 10 minutes of nonstop madness that was unusable for print. But we at Highwire Daze love the bad boys of So Vain, so an email missive was sent – it still reads like sheer carnage, but here you will find out a whole lot more about an absolutely amazing band ready 56

to rock your world and leave you craving a whole lot more!

Enter the wickedly wonderful world of So Vain at your own risk here…

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

Saifest Kane: I’m Saifest Kane (after a hypothetical cowboy from my childhood), I play leader guitar, I write the songs and I drink! I’m sort of the heart and soul of the company.

Anton Quail: I’m Anton Quail (after a homoerotic WW2 fanfic I had in high school), little bit spunky, little bit spooky, I sing and write and tap dance for the band.

Link Sappho: My name is Link Sappho (after the knight and poet respectively) and I play bass on most songs, guitar July/August 2023

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on others, as well as do the screams, highs, and backing vocals, and also act as the band’s resident fashionista. You could say I’m kinda like the sexy bad boy, apart from Kiki, of course.

Kiki Mora: I’m Kiki Mora, I’m the sexy bad boy of the band. Ask any of them, they won’t stop talking about it.

What do you think of our local Los Angeles music scene, and how does So Vain fit into the scheme of things?

Saifest Kane: Ooooooooh I’ve fancied a great love for the LA scene, since I moved here from BlackRock, Dublin… 16 months ago. Lots of good Irish boys out here, treating me and the lads real well.

Anton: I think LA is fokken great, a lot of weirdo punk and art energy, people hungry for shows, etc. It feels like everyone wants to go for it and if they’re not there yet they’re approaching that mentality.

Link: So Vain has been active in our local LA Scene in its current form for about 6 or 7 months, and in that time, I’ve seen that we have so many goddamn talented bands playing in these streets just waiting to be found, it’s kind of insane.

As far as where So Vain fits into our local scene; even though I said what I said about how our scene is so densely packed with talent, I truly believe there is no band that fills the niches of both live shows and recorded music quite like So Vain does. No other band on the scene, or that I’ve heard on the internet has quite the same sound we do with our mix of pop punk, emo, midwest emo, indie and britpop, latino music, horror, and gang vocals. It creates a feel that makes us my favorite band in the scene, unironically removed from the fact that I play and write for us.

Mood – what is the inspiration behind this song?

Saifest: It started with Link singing the words “I’m your broken booler lover boy, don’t you find another boy,” and I got really stoned in the woods soon after that and took a long hike writing music in my head for the theme song to an imaginary show about a teenage girl struggling to adjust to her circumstances. Obviously, I had to change the words once I had the harmonies and chords figured out, so I pawned it to Anton, who did his typical bullshit to it. The only lyrics I insisted on keeping from my original forest composition were the chorus lines, “I can’t help it if you can’t help it, I’m not laughing, you’re not laughing,” where I was really resonating with this hypothetical girl struggling to keep afloat in a tumultuous scenario where the people around her were making her life difficult. This is sort of how living with Anton is, which is what I was doing at the time I wrote it, lol.

Anton: Sai sent me a demo of the song and I was seeing a person at the time, a local teeth collector who is a talented music lady in LA who also owns a baby head based clothing line, and I was on her floor singing ideas over it, tryna make it HIGHWIRE DAZE

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poppy and energetic to impress her. I think it turned out great but she’s hard to impress. Anyway, lyrically it starts with a line Sai had “Won’t you tell me what you think of me?” And he had a loose melody I started mutilating into “Or we’ll settle on acetylene: often I’ll set it, I’m often already, I’m off and on, I’m rated R,” playing with the word sounds, but touching on the idea that I just can’t start this fucking thing sometimes, lol. Whether that thing is: impressing a big headed lil gnome woman (god bless her) or even getting yourself together and stop being lazy or sad or loaded or so on and so forth.

Link: and I sing the highs, cause Anton can’t (what a schmuck).

Tell me about the video for Moods and Wankys Adult Store.

Link: Well, the idea for the video actually came from the fact that Anton used to work at a sex shop, and one day while working there, he came up with this shot idea of us robbing the sex store and tossing all of our stolen goods in slow motion as we were chased by the cops or security. As for the inspiration for Wankey’s specifically and that title card, when I (Link Sappho, pleased to meet ya) was color grading the video and doing final edits, I decided to make this little skit for us leading into Anton’s initial shot for the video, I chose a random funny name for a sex store and then I spoofed the title card for the band’s favorite comedy show, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.

Anton: I used to work at an adult store called Excitement in Tarzana, amazing place and honest to Allah, it’s the best sex store in LA (sending love to Bill, their bossman). I wear my Crave Vesper necklace from there all the time, and I’ve even met women via their recognizing it and soliciting me, which is about the strongest endorsement one can give a product, and I do expect a band sponsorship from Crave. Anyway, I got the idea that the video would be us robbing a sex store and getting pursued by a sex cop, but invert the usual sexy woman cop to be like a Tom of Finland big ass man cop. Now, we’re a mess so we never coordinated using Excitement, who was totally down for this idea cause Bill is the best, and the biggest ass man we know is my brother Saifest so the video is in some sense a failed approximate of the original idea, that said, I love how it turned out and I plan to shoot at Excitement down the line.

What could one expect from a live So Vain show?

Anton: Our goal is to create a massive weirdo arthaus Jackass gang, so we try to bring a lot of positive energy, campiness, pursue that cathartic emotional release but rapidly and every song. We all have a big vision for our stage show, and the mannequins are only the beginning. I want to start incorporating fire, glitter, blood, more mannequins, big headed papier-mache figures like from the “Mood” video. I want it to feel authentic and pure every step of the way while still being twacked out and over the top.

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Link: WELL, Firstly you better be ready to receive a papier-mache mannequin body part being thrown at you or your drink during “Release the Bats”. You could expect to see all of us give all of our energy at every single show and perform like our lives depended on it. Sometimes they do. You can expect to see Anton climbing something, Sai will most likely stick his tongue out while doing a guitar solo, I’ll walk into the crowd and look all moody and bounce around and make goofy faces too or whatever and then Kiki… Kiki will be chilling on stage, not having moved an inch BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE TO. HE’S TOO EFFORTLESSLY COOL AND IT PUTS US ALL TO SHAME SO WE NEED TO OVERCOMPENSATE BY BEING ZANY AND “INTERACTIVE AND FUNNY” OR WHATEVER. Saifest: I’m this close to having my ass out at any given time, but you have to make the crowd work for that. You’ve got to have self-respect, and that’s what we’re all about, Self-Respect and big meaty cheeks. So…expect that, and loud songs about our feelings. My feelings, specifically, cause I have to write everything.

Kiki: You can expect me to be chilling on stage, not having moved an inch, because I don’t have to. I’m effortlessly cool and it puts them all to shame, so they need to overcompensate by being zany and “interactive and funny” or whatever.

What was it like performing at the LA Rock Collective Show?

Saifest: - Oh It’s been an absolute thrill to play with these Lads, though a wee bit nerve racking- you see, they run a tight ship and me and the boys here are, well, we are not a tight ship. We’re sure to make a mess whether we want to or not, whether they like it or not. We just happen to be in the fortuitous position of, so far, they like the mess we make hahaha.

Anton: LA Rock Collective is a gem. They’ve put us on twice now and they’re creating a consistent and professional flagship for bands to meet and connect, book shows and play together, etc. It’s really important that all these promoters get support and respect and we pay it back, all of us meet, create a scene and unite the tribes so we can all get filthy fat and rich, you know? That’s what I want, all these different cliques and scenes in SoCal to be under one banner making a lot of noise. Sending love to Clear Vision Collective, Venom Verbatim, Planet Everything, everybody who’s been putting us on, man.

Link: So far we’ve only played 2 shows with the LA Rock Collective, but even from those 2 shows we can tell that this collective is made of such great people who are all so insanely passionate about the art they make and those they make it for; it’s really inspiring to be a part of. As far as the PERFORMANCE itself? Awesome. Always such a helpful sound crew that makes getting set up a breeze, and they’re definitely 58

some of our best sounding shows from the audio live mixing perspective, I can always hear myself perfectly when we play their shows.

What’s up next for So Vain?

Saifest: Yer mummy and daddy, ye Tory wanker.

Anton: We’re trying to get more organized, good luck to us right, but I want us to book at least 100 shows in this first year of our band and keep that pace. I want us to play everywhere, the cool spots that the kids all clout about in, the gnarly bars, the lame ass nowheres, any backyard or bar mitzvah, fuck it even a Bar Exam. I want us to get a feel for everything and everywhere. We’re in the process of shooting more videos for songs we’re about to release called “Sugar Ray Toro” “Dead Girl” “Suelta Los Murcielagos” “Woof” and “Sick New Dabset”, learning to do all the social media stuff as well. We’re gonna try to have merch out by the next show we have..

Link: THE WORLD. Ideally we want to keep playing as many shows as possible, meeting as many people as possible, and making as much content as possible. We are without a doubt the most hungry band on the scene and we know that for a fact. We are here to take over the scene, and bring all our homies up with us. And ofc, make kickass art ‘cause that’s what we do. Have you seen our name?

Any final words of wisdom?

Anton: I want to pay respects and send love to everybody supporting us as we finally get this shit together and make all the necessary moves. I believe in what music can do for your soul and your life, and know we can bring an intensity and positivity to people, we’re just honing it. We’d all like to pay specific love and respects to: Nick Mick, Adam Bretall, Mark Picar, Chris Watkins (RIP all) and their families.

Also love and respect out to Toren Brown, Vivian Ortega, Bridget Frances, Chloe ‘Soupcan’ Campbell, my lawyer Jesse Printz, Wynn Tutt, Isaiah Rolow, my work homies from Nueva Venice, Charlie and Topher at TK Rehearsals, Jessica and Josh and Richard who are all photographers we recently met, and especially thank you to Mister Big Daddy Ken for putting us on like this, m8, appreciate and love ya lots, band parents Dano and Carrie mega smooches. Cheers.

Link: STREAM “MOOD REMASTERED” ON SPOTIFY WATCH THE MOOD MUSIC VIDEO ON YOUTUBE FOLLOW US @sovainofficial ON INSTAGRAM Anton: Wait, yeah, fuck all that shit I said about thank you to people, go stream our music, come to our shows and check out “Mood” on Youtube and Spotify!

Saifest: Listen to Thin Lizzy and c*m hard.

https://www.instagram.com/sovainofficial/ July/August 2023

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We Are The Black Things Movements From West Hollywood Hills

2023 pandemic record Down In Wuhan for the healing rocker heart.

Article By Highwire Daze Magazine “We Are The Black Things have been doing really great playing out in West Hollywood at Whisky A Go Go predominantly lately, and that’s ok, it could be worse. It’s the way we like it.The mere fact we established the name change at Whisky A Go Go on March 8 2018 is a celebration. We are playing new songs off our new Down In Wuhan record like Drop The Bomb, Bomb, Down In Wuhan and The Chinese Virus Song.

Song. We have our new outfit up and on at at the Whisky A Go Go.. Come out and see us with BulletBoys in Go June, Trixter in August, or Hookers N’ Blow in November, please come out to all of em,”exclaims Tone Raven.

Raven.

We Are The Black Things are Tone Raven guitar/vocals, Frank Garrett - Bass, Rae Owl Starling - Keyboard, Luthario Mitcho - Turntable, and Carrie Cane on Drums.

Movements from West Hollywood is the latest sense of what you’re getting with We Are The Black Things.

Things. X band at Whisky A Go Go and overlooked during the pandemic and scratched off their current scheduled show at the time, which was originally scheduled on April 9 2020, but was cancelled for pandemic reasons.

“Like the whole world was shut out from the HIGHWIRE DAZE

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live playing season, and at that time We Are The BlackThings was scheduled to play at Whisky A Go Go in April of 2020, and the show was cancelled due to Covid-19.

That’s where the blinders come in on the Down In Wuhan cover. The cover symbolizes the way our band felt at the time of the shut down as well as other people we loved around us, which was shut out, locked down, and fed a bunch of garbage from the Chinese Authoritarian infiltration that’s bleeding into our country, and wants to bleed our society of great generations of Americans dry etc. I was behind those blinders on our new Down In Wuhan album cover, I’m like all other sensible American God, Guns, n Family people. I saw through the lies of the lockdown rules by the far left winger fanatics and put pen to paper during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and wrote and recorded our new We Are The Black Things Down In Wuhan record,” Expresses Tone Raven..

Raven

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L.A. Rock Collective Show Lucky Strikes Live Hollywood, July 25, 2023

Photos by Jessica Greif

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Campbell and Stepson

Carry The Day

Helens Bay

The Toxhards July/August 2023

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Thy Antichrist/The Black Realm Over The Border, Chula Vista, CA, June 17, 2023

Post Mortem Superstar The Whisky, West Hollywood, CA, June 14, 2023

Review and Photo by Tony F. Corpse Driven by artistic inclination and exuding enough energy to summon a thunderstorm is the underground’s own dirty little secret The Black Realm, Realm, a formidable maelstrom of Blackened Thrash Punk energy filtered through an infected heroin needle filled with melodicism, dark symbolism and a spite ridden agenda.

Running on pure2023 adrenaline and seething HIGHWIRE DAZE July/August with an overabundance of vitriol Guitarist/Vocalist Corpse Dusty prowled the stage like an unchained wolf. His barbaric enunciations during opener “Awaken “Awaken In Me” Me” emitted dissatisfaction with existence itself. A deep rooted longing for more, obvious in the ferocity of his feral screams. The rhythm section comprised of the grievously drear yet acutely precise Mick on Bass and a dynamo of hurricane inducing motion named Screech on Drums punctuated the brackish melee of such cranium pounders as “Scream “Scream The Reaper” Reaper” and the poetically titled grandiosity of “Lo “Lo To The Lullaby Of Death”.

Death”. If in the deconstructed outer parameters of some alternate universe a group existed that melded Nirvana with Dissection then The Black Realm would be that very oddball creature itself, void of definition. With baited, rancid breath I anxiously await a full length, properly produced album. Sooner than later.

Arthritic fingers crossed.

Thy Antichrist was summoned forth from the abyssic hinter realms to quell our morbid thirst for exotic black metal. Like a bulldozer from hell the devil’s kin rampaged the periphery, swarming like a rabid flock of famished vultures, eager to suck blood and tongue rotten meat. Serpentine Lord Andres Vargas led his troupe with witchy vocals that throttled your soul as his band hammered anti-christian rebellion into our anti-social craniums. Pounders such as “Cleaved “Cleaved From Flesh” Flesh” and “Purifying “Purifying Blade” Blade” deviously entered the foray of our dark subconscious, spanning transgressions of power and self belief. High octane riffs embedded themselves as if shot from an industrial powered nail gun, frenzied blast beats concaved our chest cavity’s like a jackhammer and the Lord of fevers and plagues sat upon his magical throne....utterly satisfied.

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Review by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue The almighty Post Mortem Superstar (PMS) opened for the one and only Otep at The Whisky on the Sunset Strip, and definitely made an everlasting impression on the early arrivals. Unleashing a set filled with imagination and intrigue, PMS played songs from their recently issued Which Witch Wroughts manifesto as well as other grim and unholy sonnets. Opening with a Backwards Drumming Intro featuring Tony F. Corpse of Willow Wisp infamy, the PMS army then slammed into a dark and deathly rendition of The Antagomist.. PMS presented a stunning cover of MS Salmonella by mist underground legends Lifelover - one of the many highlights of their set.

Tony F. Corpse spent years defying the mundane in Willow Wisp,, and his legacy continues tenfold within PMS Wisp PMS.. Mr. Corpse is definitely one of the most entertaining and compelling drummers on this otherwise dismal planet - all this, and his sinister growling vocals penetrate deeply into your withered soul. Krystal Fantom is wickedly charasmatic and vibrantly talented on guitar and vocals while bassist Christopher Jackyl presents a thunderous low end filled with fiendish hellfire. Together, PMS unveil gloriously dark auditory art you’ll want to experience time and again!

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ALBUM REVIEWS MADAM BOMBS MADAM BOMBS (SELF-RELEASED) Review by Ken Morton Madam Bombs present their own dynamic take on the classic punk girl bands made famous by programs such as Rodney On The ROQ and other adventurous radio programmers all over the world. And this trio of musicians does it so well, delivering an infectious and wildly scorching selection of the songs on their debut Self-Titled album. Not only do Madam Bombs unleash nine top notch songs that go straight into heart of the matter, but the absolutely brilliant packaging provides a glimpse into the world of this very amazing band on the rise.

From the impassioned refrains of Get Me Out to the biting commentary of Compliment and beyond, Madam Bombs

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clearly gain the undivided attention of the listener. Last Dream is a vibrant reverie showing a very diverse and compelling side to the Madam Bombs sound with its gorgeously hazy day melodies. Thoughts On Paper is a grand slam anthem for the band that will have you singing along to its dazzling choruses. Liar, Liar demands to be ripped all over the radio airwaves and is one of the many rocking standouts.

Be sure to stay until the grand finale where the slamming (Not) With Me will make you want to launch headfirst into the nearest slam dance pit.

The explosively talented Madam Bombs lineup consists of Claire FitzGerald on guitar and vocals, Marlowe Shachory on bass and vocals, and Samara Ellis on drums and backing vocals. With a debut this stunning, it’s no wonder the band is securing shows such the recent Punk Rock Bowling event in Las Vegas as well as airplay on the highly influential KCRW. Expect Madam Bombs to blast out of the Los Angeles music scene and into the hearts and minds of all music fans looking for their fix of melodic punk rock and roll. Add in the garage and grunge influences, and you have songs that are truly timeless and well worth seeking out.

https://www.instagram.com/madambombs/

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