Craig Mabbitt of Escape The Fate

silver lining to the whole pandemic, I guess. Another guest on the album was Travis Barker from Blink 182. Tell me about that song Not My Problem and how Travis became involved. So Not My Problem – the inspiration behind that was actually somebody’s roommate – like hey, do you ever have somebody in your life or a roommate or what have you that’s just kind of like a Debbie Downer – just always in the dumps? And that was inspiration behind that track. And Feldy works with Travis a lot with the new Blink stuff and same thing – he was just hanging around the studio and working on a bunch of stuff – and everybody’s trying to figure out what’s going on with the Covid thing. And Feldy’s like “I’ve got Escape The Fate in here if you want to listen to a few of the tracks.” And he’s like, “Yeah, let me hear it.” And he’s like “I love that one. I’d love to drum on it.” And everybody’s that’s asked about Travis, I just tell ‘em “If Travis Barker tells you he’s down to play drums on your song, you let Travis Barker play drums on your song!” And that’s what you do. The opening song Lightning Strikes is a big burst of en-

me a little about that song. So that one is kind of like when I envision what I want for rock anthemic songs to sound like – I didn’t really know how to explain it until we finished Lightning Strikes and I heard it front to back. And I was like “This is what’s up! This is what some of the older songs should have sounded like.” It really embodied what I thought where a lot of the past songs should have gone. So, this has got to be the track that kicks off the record 100 percent!

What has it been like to record and release new music in the middle of a pandemic? I kind of like it more than I liked before. It’s weird – I don’t know. I feel like I can get more involved in it – I can focus on it a little more – your head’s not getting through the show day and what city are we going to tomorrow and how many tickets were sold tonight and what are we doing in merch and how long is the drive. None of that. It’s just in the comfort of your home really getting involved in the music – working on it – talking to each other because you’re not like spending every second of the day around each other. So, it’s like “Hey man, how are you doing? How is your work going? I’m really pumped to release this song.” I don’t know man – I kind of like it more…

produced this new album. What was it like working with John this time around and what does he contribute to the overall recording process? You know, I would say that John IS a member of Escape The Fate – or he always should have been. Not playing with us live, but in the studio for sure. He was a huge helping hand in helping us find our new sound which was when I joined the band in 2007 and when we worked on This War Is Ours. So back in the studio with him – it felt like I was getting back to my roots – I felt comfortable, and I was back at home. Feldy is literally family to me now. So, it just felt really good, and I felt like I could open up and really get involved. In addition to the new Escape The Fate album, you released a solo song called Never Be. Tell me about that song and will there be any other solo material? Yeah, so that’s something I worked on just randomly. I had someone hit me up wanting me to do some guest vocals – and so they got me a plane ticket and I flew out to Staten Island and kind of did the guest vocals for him. And the guy who put the song together – he wanted to show me some other things that he had. And I’m like, “Oh that’s sick! I’ll sing on that!” And I put that song together and it just got kind of put on the backburner. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with it. I’ve always wanted to do solo music, but I never really knew what I wanted it to sound like. And when the pandemic happened and when I started streaming on Twitch literally every day, I’m like “You know, this might be cool to drop. I’ll just put it up on Soundcloud and put like a download link.” It’s not like it had an official release or anything, but I just put it out there and people seemed to like it – so now I’m even more interested in getting involved with some solo stuff and really working on it and releasing an album. I got all the free time in the world right now and nobody’s talking about getting back on the road for at least another year – so that year is going to see Chemical Warfare drop and it’s probably going to see another ETF album at least being promoted – we’re probably going to track another album. I’ve got new Dead Rabbitts stuff coming out – and probably a solo album as well. And what is going on with Dead Rabbitts right now? So right now, I have the ability to work on more music. I write with Eric who plays guitar in that band – and he also plays bass with us in ETF. He’s got a studio that he’s built in this house and he lives like 20 minutes down the

street from me. But he’s been on a Twitch grind as well, so whenever we have time, and he shows me some demos he’s working on – and I just pop in the vocal booth and lay some stuff down. We’ve got almost an album’s worth of songs put together. The other cool thing is that so many musicians are just wanting to be creative right now – so not only do we have a bunch of Dead Rabbitts tracks, but Mikey from Islander got down and sang on one of the songs. Ronnie from Red Jumpsuit Apparatus just sent me some vocals – he’s guesting on a Dead Rabbitts track. I sing some vocals for a Red Jumpsuit song. Me and him also did a cover of Let It Go – the James Bay song – and we dropped that on Twitch for Valentine’s Day. I’ve had the ability to go on with Eric and do some other cover songs for my Twitch streams. People are like “You should cover this” and I’ll be like “Screw it! I’ll cover it!” And then I just drop it and release it. I2I (Eye To Eye) from the Goofy Movie was one of the songs I covered. It’s just being creative and it’s a lot of fun – and you even have a closer connection with the fans pretty much. They’re not just seeing you for an hour on a stage – they’re kind of hanging out with you there on that platform every day. So, I get to do cool things and release new songs that they only get to hear – and I don’t know man – it’s fun! It’s a good time. What do you think has kept you so passionate and creative about Escape The Fate since 2007? The thing that’s kept me involved with the band is it’s kind of like it’s my baby – it’s all I had. I gave it all up at one point and just didn’t know where my life was going to go. Escape The Fate kind of came along and I’ve been with them ever since. It’s almost ironic – I feel like I cannot escape the fate of Escape The Fate. What do you hope the rest of 2021 brings for you, for Escape The Fate, and your other projects? I hope it brings the fans we’ve had over the course of all these years some enjoyment – some new music. I hope it brings in some new fans who might not have heard of us or who have just discovered us. I’ve noticed a bunch of people that I’ve talking to every day in my chat room who are just like “Oh, I just got into you guys!” That’s always really cool and shocking – like “Damn we’ve been around forever! Late to the party, huh?” But you kind of get into your own little world when you’re out there on the road 24/7 – and you kind of forget that there’s more out there. So, I hope the fans just enjoy the new music and new fans find us and enjoy the music – and I hope 2021 brings some more opportunities to maybe do some live streams and get in the studio and do some new music…

www.escapethefate.com www.twitch.tv/craigmabbitt

MANAGED BY VICKY MANAGED BY VICKY HAMILTON HAMILTON

Interview by Ken Morton Live Photo by Tammy Greene of Sound Lens Photography Ronnie Atkins is best known as the acclaimed vocalist for Pretty Maids and Nordic Union - and in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and a personal health scare, Ronnie Atkins took the time to record One Shot, his very first solo album now available via Frontiers Music Srl. Diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer over a year ago, this devasting news would be the catalyst for Ronnie to write and record One Shot with the help of his many friends in the music industry. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Ronnie Atkins to discuss the vibrantly inspiring One Shot solo endeavor, 40 years within the ranks of Pretty Maids, his total admiration for his fans, and other topics. It is a real honor to present to you the one and only Ronnie Atkins. Read on...

First of all, how are you feeling and could you give us an update on your health? I’m feeling good at the moment. Just been through a lot of scans a few weeks ago – and actually another cancer scare – but to make a long story short, it was all good and I was cleared. I’m feeling good. I’ve got some pain issues from the surgery and radiation that I’ll have till the day I die. But I can deal with that with pain killers and stuff like that. But right now the cancer is at ease. I’m feeling good and I’m positive. The diagnosis is what it is, and I can’t change that – and I just want to get the best out of every day – get the best out of life and cross my fingers that I have many years still. I still feel I have a lot to give.

Well, it was pretty surreal. Basically I wasn’t able to meet anybody. One of the musicians on this album was Swedish – comes from Stockholm – literally we couldn’t hook up. I couldn’t even hook up with Chris Laney (rhythm guitars, keyboards) who was also the producer. There was a lot of files forth and back and talk on the phone. I’d never done anything like this before, because normally when we write songs, we meet up in the rehearsal room and do some pre-production – then normally we just go back into the studio to do the basic recordings and go from there. This time is was totally different. I never played these songs in a rehearsal room or anything like that, so that was the way it was done. Actually, because of my situation, it was done the way where I send up my ideas on an iPhone to Chris Laney in Stockholm. He did like a quick demo on it and sent it back to me and I did the vocals – and then I sent it back to him – and then later on we did the instrumentation. The last thing we did for this album more less were the drums – which is totally upside down from how it used to be. But I mean I did it. And I’m talking to you a year on – it sounds a little like a drama queen or something like that. But that’s how I felt at the time, being that I had just gotten the diagnosis from the doctor. There was no guarantee – they couldn’t say whether I would live three months, three years or whatever. So I felt I was racing with time and that I had a gun against my head – which in principle I had. So I just wanted to get my stuff done in the case I would get very sick again or eventually die. So it was pretty surreal. Very surreal indeed.

There could be and there is. To begin with – One Shot the title track – of course it could be like my One Shot for doing a solo album you know. And of course that thought crossed my mind a couple of times. Now I don’t hope it is. But basically and generally, the message is that obviously we’ve got one shot with life – “one shot, one life, one chance to throw the dice.” It’s actually a positive