Adam Lawton, Author at MediaMikes

Sicksense Vocalist Robby J. Discusses The Bands Debut LP “Kings Today”

Robby J. is the Co-Lead vocalist for the band “Sicksense”. The band recently released their debut EP titled “Kings Today” which is a fresh and blazing mix of rock and metal stylings which harkens back to the sounds of the late 90’s Nu Metal movement. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Robby about the formation of the band, what its like to work with your significant other and the bands ominous bear mascot.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the formation of Sicksense?

Robby J.: The band first started with our guitarist and drummer back in 2017. They were in another band at the time that had recently parted ways with their singer. They were holding auditions and a former guitar player of mine suggested to me about auditioning. I ended up contacting them and they sent me three tracks which would subsequently become Sicksense songs. While I was working on those, I was asked what I thought about having a second vocalist. I was completely fine with that, but I did say that I would like creative control of the lyrical direction and storytelling. They agreed and I knew I had the right person in mind for the job. It ended up being my wife Vickie and the rest is history. Shortly after that decision was made, we started working on more songs and once we had those all down, we recruited our bassist Sam, and the lineup was complete.

AL: How do you and Vicky balance your band/home relationships?

RJ: Not to get cheesy with it but it’s all about being entirely supportive of one another. Being in a relationship of this nature you must be willing to work with each other. Over the last few years, we have gotten to the point where we have really built each other up. We are fortune in that we both work from home and behind the scenes I do a lot of work on Vicky’s social media for her own stuff as well as for her other band The Agonist. It’s very cool and easy to work with your significant other in this capacity especially if you are so supportive. We are at the point where even while we are working on other projects, we can at the same time bounce ideas for Sicksense off one another. It’s great having each other right there as a lot of times in bands you must schedule a time and place to meet which takes time. In our situation we are right there and can instantly start working on something the moment an idea hits. As long as there is balance and no egos involved, I think something like this can be a beautiful thing.

AL: Were some of those early songs that band first worked on what we are hearing on the new EP?

RJ: Two of those three demos that we first worked on in 2017 are on the “Kings Today” EP. When the pandemic happened, we got together and wrote and recorded a full lengths album worth of material. We then decided to split that in to two separate EP releases. The song “Make Believe” is one of those first songs and one that I did with Vicky in mind. The song “Soul Snatcher” was the other song from the 2017 demos we included. We have one other song that was from those demo sessions that will be on the following EP.

AL: When you are writing are you doing so with Vicky in mind or do you adjust what you had already written after the fact?

RJ: I try to base my work around what is going on with the instrumentation. I will either follow along with what the instrument is playing, or I will try to come up with something different to make things less monotonous. I tend to write my parts first. What sometimes will happen is I write a specific piece with me in mind but then Vicky will take it. I wrote a lot of the music for these EP’s with myself in mind but if I ever got stumped on something, I would let Vicky take control. That goes back to our understanding of each other and her knowing where I am trying to go with a song while at the same time adding her own twist to it. We have some songs coming out in the future that were entirely written by Vicky. For the “Kings Today” release I feel the material is very Robby heavy.

AL: Can you tell us about the decision to release these songs as two separate EP’s rather than one full-length album?

RJ: That was an easy decision actually and It really came down to Vicky and I living in Chicago
and it was during the early stages of the pandemic that we finished recording. It was becoming difficult to travel back and forth to Canada, so we decided to wait until we travel a little easier. We started to get a little tired of waiting and eventually bit the bullet and made the trip to Canada where we ended up having to quarantine for almost a month. After all of that and being a new band, we just wanted to get our music out for people to listen to. We decided it would easier to get things going if we split the ten songs in to the two separate five song EP’s along with three music videos for each. This gave us a lot of content to put out which helped our exposure.

AL: You also have a new video for the song “Forgotten Days”. Can you tell us about that?

RJ: The idea for this video was something that had been suggested at the last minute by our PR team to help support the EP release. Vicky and I reside in Chicago, IL while the rest of the band members are spread out in Eastern Canada, so it was a little challenging to come up with a concept so quickly and having to work remotely. We worked with the director who did our previous videos, and he had a concept based around the song and shot everything remotely with each member which ended up working out really well.

AL: Some of your other videos as well as a few social media posts feature a yellow bear. What is the story behind this guy?

RJ: (Laughs) That guy has become a little bit of a cult figure for us. I guess its our version of Iron Maiden’s “Eddie”. He has sort of become our mascot. The idea for him originated when we were shooting the food fight video for “Kings Today”. We wanted to have an even number of people at the table we were sitting at, so we created this character who we now call “Deli the Bear”. It ended up being played by our friend who has the same nickname just spelled differently. The idea behind him in the music video is that he has multiple meanings for us. We encourage our listeners and watcher to come up with their own interpretation of him. For me personally he represents that elephant in the room or “bear” in this case. He is this problem that no one wants to talk about or acknowledge that its there. He can also be an interpretation of social media in that there are people arguing amongst themselves and there could be these strangers/outsiders you are not aware of that are looking in. Deli is/can be anything we want him to be. We have adopted him as our mascot, and you will probably be seeing more of him in the future.

AL: The genre or term “Nu-Metal” is a moniker that seems to be closely associated with Sicksense. What are your feelings on this?

RJ: I think this goes back to a couple of the founding members previous band which was shamelessly Nu-Metal. I loved that about them! I feel like its sort of a taboo thing to be proud of in the music scene, but I love/loved a lot of Nu-Metal bands. This is what we sound like and we are just running with it. Being branded as “Nu-Metal” is fine with me.

AL: I know the band just finished up a run of live shows. What do you have planned next?

RJ: We have some more content based around the “Kings Today” EP that we want to still get out but just as we were releasing this EP, we were finishing up a new video for a song that will appear on our next release. We hope to have that out in early 2023 with the EP release shortly following that. The rest of this year will be just wrapping up things such as graphics and what not related to our next release. We are planning to release a vinyl version of the 2023 EP which will be on one side of the record with the “Kings Today” EP being on the other. That might be out a little later than the EP, but I think that’s going to be a cool thing for fans to be able to get. We have also already started working on what we want to release after the 2023 EP so will be working on that through out the summer as well.

For more information on Sicksense you can visit their official website at www.soundescapeagency.com/sicksense

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Anthrax’s FRANK BELLO Announces Debut Solo EP with Rare Bird

Then I’m Gone Includes Scored Audiobook with excerpts from his autobiography

Then I’m Gone EP + Vinyl Audiobook Official Promo Video:

Photo: Jeremy Saffer

Frank Bello and Rare Bird proudly present the famed Anthrax bassist’s debut solo EP, Then I’m Gone. Issued as a deluxe gatefold split 12”, the EP contains three songs alongside excerpts from his 2021 autobiography, read by the author and accompanied by additional new music.

Bello performs all instruments (except drums) on “Then I’m Gone,” “It Won’t Be Long,” and “See Me Now,” as well as the score accompanying the narrated pieces, each selected and read from the book released with Rare Bird last year, Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax.

“I revisited some really dark times in my life when I was writing my book, and writing these songs was the result of reliving them,” explains Bello, who appears on every Anthrax release since 1985. “Music has always been a great outlet for me as a coping mechanism. I felt it was a good time to put out these songs for people who connected with the book and maybe some who haven’t yet. Thanks for listening!”

A cornerstone of the legendary “Big 4” of metal alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, Anthrax has sold over ten million albums, traveled the globe countless times, and collaborated with a diverse list of creative icons, including Public Enemy, Keanu Reeves, and the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. Fathers, Brothers, and Sons details the tragedy and triumph of the music industry and Bello’s intense personal life.

Like the book, the songs on Then I’m Gone are intimate, revealing, and powerful. Then I’m Gone EP deluxe gatefold vinyl is available for preorder now in limited-edition purple and white/purple splatter variants, as well as standard black vinyl, direct through Rare Bird (www.rarebirdlit.com) and Experience Vinyl (www.experiencevinyl.com).

All Preorders include a digital download code with the full vinyl audiobook in the sealed vinyl jacket and a monthly email with links to audio, video, instrumentals, and bonus material.

Then I’m Gone is scheduled for release on November 4, 2022.

Tracklisting:

Side A: “Then I’m Gone,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “See Me Now”

Side B: “First Kiss,” “Compass Point,” “See Me Now [Revisited]”

ABOUT FRANK BELLO:
Frank Bello is among the most respected, talented, and charismatic musicians in hard rock. A diehard New Yorker, Bello joined Anthrax shortly after the release of the band’s 1984 debut and has appeared on every Anthrax release since, including classic albums like Among the Living (1987), Sound of White Noise (1993), and For All Kings (2016), totaling well over ten million in album sales around the world. Anthrax cemented a place in metal history as part of the “Big 4,” alongside Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer. In 2011, the band was honored with special proclamations from the city on “Anthrax Day in the Bronx” at Yankee Stadium. Bello was briefly the bassist in Helmet and fronts Altitudes & Attitude as both singer and guitarist. He’s appeared on Law & Order in a small role and played himself on Married… with Children and Newsradio. Fathers, Brothers, and Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, and Anthrax was written with Joel McIver.

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CD Review: Gwar “The New Dark Ages”

“The New Dark Ages”

GWAR
Slave Pit Records
Tracks: 15

Our score 3 out of 5 stars

When Earth is threatened by Ancient and unspeakable terrors there is only one group of crack fueled, intergalactic creatures that can help put a stop to the mysterious forces that threaten to bring an End to the Age of Man. The ever-loveable GWAR return with their 15th studio album titled “The New Dark Ages” to take on all those who threaten their home away from home know as Earth. The album is being released via the bands own Slave Pit Records and features fifteen tracks which titillate some and scare other.

Much like the previous few releases from the band “The New Dark Ages” is a concept album which documents the ongoing adventures of everyone’s favorite space aliens. In their latest endeavor the five members must once again save mankind by rediscovering long forgotten powers which are needed to defeat their latest foe. The underlying narrative weaves in and out of tracks like “Berserker Mode” a thrash infused face-melter that goes straight for the throat and “Rise Again” an eerie sonic scape brimming over with instrumentation that is an equal blending of soulfulness and crunch. Tracks like “Completely Fucked” and “Ratcatcher” employ GWAR’s signature tongue and cheek lyricism backed by needling instrumentation which continually pokes at your cortex throughout the duration of the track. Other tracks worth checking out are “The Cutter” which features a guest performance by Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale and “Bored to Death” which has guitarist Pustulus Maximus handling the vocal duties for this classic thrasher which I guarantee will have you banging your head by the first chorus.

GWAR’s latest album “The New Dark Ages” may not be their most cohesive record however it certainly shows the band still is not afraid of trying something different while at the same time not completely reinventing the wheel. “The New Dark Ages” comes packed with plenty of great guitar riffs, pounding drums and side-splitting lyrics that will sit nicely with Bohabs both young and old for many eternities to come.

“The New Dark Ages” Track Listing:

1.) New Dark Age
2.) Blood Libel
3.) Berserker Mode
4.) Mother Fucking Liar
5.) Unto the Breach
6.) Completely Fucked
7.) The Cutter
8.) Rise Again
9.) The Beast Will Eat Itself
10.) Venom of the Platypus
11.) Ratcatcher
12.) Bored to Death
13.) Temple Ascent
14.) Starving Gods
15.) Deus Ex Monstrum

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Filed Under: CD Reviews, Music Tagged With: ages, cd, dark, gwar, review

Anti-Flag Announce Fall 2022 Tour Dates + ANTIFest Shows

ANTIfest TO PLAY AT MULTIPLE CITIES

Anti-Flag are returning to the road this fall. The band will embark on a headline run of the U.S. before heading to Canada.

Anti-Flag’s tour will kick off on September 16 in Burlington, Vermont and run through November 6 with an appearance at Punk Rock in the Park in Silverado, California. The band will also head to Quebec for a trek with Vulgares Machins and Mudie in November.

The band has also announced ANTIfest dates in multiple cities in the U.S. and will be appearing at other major festivals through the fall.

All dates are below.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, June 17 at 12 pm ET. Get tickets here.

“For a band that has been together for almost 30 years, and one who is putting the finishing touches on its 13th album, finding new ways to share these stories, build community, and put empathy first is always a considerable challenge,” Anti-Flag states.

“To embark on this next chapter of Anti-Flag, we are taking ANTIfest around the U.S. We will be looking to share new music with each one of these shows. It’s the constant search for solace that lead us to punk rock, and these shows will be a celebration of that search. Another world is possible, and it’s within our reach.”

ANTI-FLAG ON TOUR:

9/16—Burlington, VT—Higher Ground (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/17—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall—ANTIfest (Early Show) With Mint Green
9/17—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall—ANTIfest (Late Show) With Brendan Kelly, Oxymorrons*
9/18—Hamden, CT—Space Ballroom (With Brendan Kelly, Mint Green)
9/23—Birmingham, AL—Furnace Fest—Sloss Furnaces*
9/24—Charleston, SC—Music Farm (With Doll Skin, Teens in Trouble)
9/25—Louisville, KY@ Louder Than Life Festival—Highland Festival Grounds— KY Expo Center*
9/30—Washington, DC—Black Cat
10/1—Pittsburgh, PA—Roxian Theatre—ANTIfest (With Four Year Strong, Microwave, Heart Attack Man, Catbite, Dissidente)*
10/6—Boise, ID—The Shredder (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/7—Seattle, WA—El Corazon (With Bad Cop / Bad Cop, The Last Gang)
10/8—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom—ANTIfest (With Good Riddance, Bad Cop/ Bad Cop, The Last Gang, The Black Tones, The Macks)*
10/13—Richmond, VA—Canal Club
10/14—Virginia Beach, VA—Elevation 27
10/15—TBD NJ show
10/29—Gainesville, FL—FEST 20—Bo Diddly Plaza*
10/30—Gainesville, FL—FEST 20—Bo Diddly Plaza*
11/4—Chicago, IL—The Metro—ANTIfest (With We Are The Union, Suicide Machines, Gully Boys, Blind Adam, and the Federal League)*
11/5—Detroit, MI—The Sanctuary (We Are The Union, Blind Adam and the Federal League)
11/6—Silverado, CA—Punk In The Park—Oak Canyon Park*
12/4—Phoenix, AZ—Crescent Ballroom (With We Are The Union)
12/9—Buffalo, NY—Rec Room (With Cancer Bats)
12/10—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall—ANTIfest (With Cancer Bats, Dilly Dally, Dead Tired, Indian Giver)*

*FESTIVAL DATE

WITH VULGAIRES MACHINS AND MUDIE:

11/12—Sherbrooke, QC—Granada Theater
11/13—Quebec City, QC—Imperial Bell
11/15—Joliette, QC—Salle Rolland-Brunelle
11/16—Ville de Saguenay, QC—Théâtre du Palais Municipal
11/18—Trois-Rivières, QC—Cabaret de l’Amphithéâtre Cogeco
11/19—Montreal, QC—MTELUS

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: 2022, announce, antifest, antiflag, dates, fall, ...

FOO FIGHTERS Together with the Hawkins Family Present THE TAYLOR HAWKINS TRIBUTE CONCERTS

Two Global Events Celebrating the Memory & Music of a Rock Legend

September 3 at Wembley Stadium
September 27 at The Kia Forum

Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear and Rami Jaffee will come together with the Hawkins family to celebrate the life, music and love of their husband, father, brother and bandmate with The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts.

As one of the most respected and beloved figures in modern music, Taylor’s monolithic talent and magnetic personality endeared him to millions of fans, peers, friends and fellow musical legends the world over. Millions mourned his untimely passing on March 25, with passionate and sincere tributes coming from fans as well as musicians Taylor idolized. The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will unite several of those artists, the Hawkins family and of course his Foo Fighters brothers in celebration of Taylor’s memory and his legacy as a global rock icon—his bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.

The all-star rock and roll shows will take place September 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium and September 27 at The Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

The lineups for each show will be announced shortly. Sign up to receive information on timings, ticketing links and on sale dates at https://www.foofighters.com/.

Taylor Hawkins joined Foo Fighters in 1997, first appearing with the band on the tour supporting sophomore album The Colour & The Shape. He made his recorded debut with Foo Fighters with 1999’s There Is Nothing Left To Lose, playing on every subsequent FF album, including One By One, In Your Honor (the first FF album to feature him assuming lead vocal duties on his song “Cold Day In The Sun”), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Wasting Light, Sonic Highways, Concrete & Gold (also featuring him as lead singer on “Sunday Rain”) and Medicine at Midnight. As a member of Foo Fighters, Taylor was a 15-time GRAMMY Award winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He lived and loved music to an insatiable degree, with Foo Fighters as well as his numerous solo and side projects and collaborations.

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: concerts, family, fighters, foo, hawkins, present, ...

LAMB OF GOD Reveals New Album & Tour Details

Omens Arrives October 7
Tickets For The Omens Tour On Sale
Friday, June 10 At 10 AM Local

Photo: Travis Shinn

LAMB OF GOD follows 2020’s No. 1 Hard Rock Album with a vicious new testament. Riding high on a creative renaissance saluted by the likes of Rolling Stone and NME, the Grammy-nominated goliath returns with the gloriously unhinged Omens, produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur (Korn, Megadeth).

The first single, “Nevermore,” arrives on Friday, June 10. Omens follows on October 7 via Epic Records.

The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal architects will support the new album with a massive Live Nation produced U.S. headlining tour, The Omens Tour, featuring special guests Killswitch Engage on all dates. Different legs will also see support from Baroness, Motionless In White, Spiritbox, Animals As Leaders as well as Suicide Silence and Fit For An Autopsy. The tour kicks off September 9 in Brooklyn and runs through October 20, see full routing below. Tickets go on sale starting Friday, June 10 at 10am local time on lamb-of-god.com.

Citi is the official card of the The Omens Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, June 7 at 10am ET until Thursday, June 9 at 10pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit Citi Entertainment®

“Two decades ago, Lamb of God, along with Killswitch Engage, were a part of a new wave of American heavy metal music. Our scene grew from a small, loosely connected network of underground shows in basements and warehouses, into a global phenomenon that helped define an entire generation of modern heavy metal. We are thrilled to announce The Omens Tour, which celebrates not only the perseverance and impact of that original movement, but also the creativity and originality of the bands that it influenced. Heavy metal is alive and well.

The Omens Tour proudly showcases the depth and diversity of our scene. This is not a tour to miss.” – Mark Morton

Densely muscular, soaked in unnerving spite, with a pessimistic eye toward inner struggles and global affairs alike, Omens is a furious entry in the Lamb Of God catalog, perhaps their angriest album yet. “The world is crazy and keeps changing. Omens is a reaction to the state of the world,” explains vocalist D. Randall Blythe. “It’s a very pissed-off record.” He pauses for emphasis. “It is extremely pissed-off.”

Omens is also Lamb Of God’s most diverse affair. The band tracked live in the room together at Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios) in Los Angeles, California, a location that birthed classics from The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Ramones, and Soundgarden, among others. “The inner workings of the band have never been better,” explains guitarist Mark Morton. “You can hear it in Omens. You can see it in our performances, and if you’re around us for five minutes, you can feel it.”

The Omens album pre-order is live now at Lamb-Of-God.com, boasting several exclusive items, including a signed colored vinyl variant, shirt, hoodie, and signed CDs with an alternate color cover. All physical CD and Vinyl releases will include a free access code to watch the livestream viewing of “The Making of Omens” documentary, which will premiere the week of album release.

Pre-order link: https://lamb-of-god.lnk.to/Omens

Omens tracklisting:

1.) Nevermore
2.) Vanishing
3.) To The Grave
4.) Ditch
5.) Omens
6.) Gomorrah
7.) Ill Designs
8.) Grayscale
9.) Denial Mechanism
10.) September Song

The Omens Tour dates are as follows:

Lamb of God w/ Killswitch Engage, Baroness, Suicide Silence

Sep 09 – Brooklyn, NY – Coney Island
Sep 10 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Sep 11 – Alton, VA – Blue Ridge Music Festival
Sep 13 – Youngstown, OH – Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater
Sep 14 – Baltimore, MD – Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena
Sep 16 – Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy
Sep 17 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
Sep 18 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sep 21 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Sep 23 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival *No KSE, No Suicide Silence
Sep 24 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Sep 25 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amp at Freedom Hill
Sep 26 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
Sep 30 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium

Lamb of God w/ Killswitch Engage, Motionless In White, Fit For An Autopsy

Oct 01 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Great SaltAir
Oct 02 – Grand Junction, CO – Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park *
Oct 04 – Fresno, CA – Exhibit Hall at Selland Arena
Oct 07 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival *No Fit For An Autopsy

Lamb of God w/ Killswitch Engage, Spiritbox, Fit For An Autopsy

Oct 09 – Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
Oct 10 – Kent (Seattle), WA – Accesso ShoWare Center *
Oct 11 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds

Lamb of God w/ Killswitch Engage, Animals As Leaders, Fit For An Autopsy

Oct 13 – Inglewood, CA – YouTube Theater
Oct 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theater
Oct 15 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Oct 16 – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center
Oct 18 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum
Oct 19 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Oct 20 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
* Not A Live Nation Date

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: album, details, god, lamb, reveals, tour, ...

CD Review: Mark Tremonti “Tremonti Sings Sinatra”

“Tremonti Sings Sinatra”

Mark Tremonti
Tracks: 14

Our score 4 out of 5 stars

Grammy Award Winning musician, producer, and author Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter-Bridge) has teamed up with the surviving members of legendary singer Frank Sinatra’s orchestra to release a covers album titled “Tremonti Sings Sinatra”. Consisting of both classic and deeper cuts approved by the Sinatra Estate Tremonti took extra steps to make this release even more special by gifting the album to the National Down Syndrome Society. All proceeds from the album will be going towards bringing the gift of music to children with developmental disabilities.

Take whatever you may know about Creed/Alter-Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti and set it aside for 47 minutes. That’s the runtime of the award-winning guitarists latest offering “Tremonti Sings Sinatra”. Backed by some of the same legendary players who made up “Ol Blue Eyes” Orchestra through-out his career Tremonti takes the helm attempting to fill some pretty big shoes, A feet he does with surprising believability. Over the course of the albums 14 tracks Mark shows a different side of his musicality as he croons his way through well know tracks like “I’ve Got The World On A String”, “Fly Me To The Moon” and a classical guitar tinged version of “My Way”. The guitarist turned singer goes one step further in ensuring this isn’t just another interpretation of Sinatra’s greatest hits by digging deep into the Sinatra song catalog with the inclusion of songs like “Wave”, “Nancy (With The Laughing Face)” and “This Song Is You”. Fresh and colorful backing instrumentation (provided by some of the same players heard on the originals) sets a near perfect backdrop for Tremonti to lay down his vocal interpretation.

If you are a Sinatra purist don’t let Tremonti’ s heavy metal guitar roots sway your decision in checking out this record. The guitarist turned crooner in my opinion does a really great job staying true to the original versions of each song while at the same time adding his own elements and style. “Tremonti Sings Sinatra” is like putting a new pair of laces in your favorite pair of old shoes. By doing so you retain that element of comfortability while adding a newness that doesn’t cheapen or change the original. To top things off Mark has donated this release and its proceeds to the National Down Syndrome Society a group very close to the artist (Tremonti has a daughter with Down Syndrome). To assume this was a labor of love project could probably go without saying but I can only think that if this record was as fun to make as it was to listen to then I hope this is only the first and there more albums like this to come from the veteran rocker.

Track Listing:

1.) I’ve Got You Under My Skin
2.) I’ve Got The World On A String
3.) I Fall In Love Too Easily
4.) Wave
5.) Fly Me To The Moon
6.) Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
7.) My Way
8.) You Make Me Feel So Young
9.) Luck Be A Lady
10.) That’s Life
11.) Come Fly With Me
12.) In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning
13.) This Song is You
14.) All Or Nothing At All

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Filed Under: CD Reviews, Music Tagged With: cd, mark, review, sinatra, sings, tremonti, ...

GWAR Releases Video For “Ratcatcher”

Watch it HERE

New Album “The New Dark Ages” Out Digitally Today on Pit Records

Human Scum! Today is the day! “The New Dark Ages” has finally been unleashed on the public. The album is available digitally today! It will be released on CD July 15th and vinyl and cassette on September 16th via the band’s own Pit Records. Order and stream the album at https://lnk.to/GWAR_TNDA

In celebration of the album’s release, GWAR has released a video for their big-time, sell-out, soon-to-be hit radio single “Ratcatcher.” Watch the video HERE.

Lead singer Blóthar sez: “What better way to celebrate the end of human existence than a little reminder of your dark and violent past from the disease-ridden middle ages! Ratcatcher is the true story of the mysterious Pied Piper of Hamelin. HA! It was GWAR all along! This tune, and every single song on this album is red hot molten lead poured directly into your ears! GWAR is eternal!”

“The New Dark Ages” chronicles GWAR’s adventures in the Duoverse, where the band rediscovers old powers such as Blóthar’s terrifying Berserker Mode, and encounter new allies, such as the murderous maven known as The Cutter. Along the way, they battle the living monuments of a lost cause and armies of undead soldiers who Rise Again to fight a New Civil War.

The New Dark Ages Tracklisting:

1. New Dark Age
2. Blood Libel
3. Berserker Mode
4. Mother Fucking Liar
5. Unto the Breach
6. Completely Fucked
7. The Cutter
8. Rise Again
9. The Beast Will Eat Itself
10. The Venom of the Platypus
11. Ratcatcher
12. Bored to Death
13. Death Whistle Suite:
-Temple Ascent
-Starving Gods
-Deus Ex Monstrum

The album concept is tied to a companion graphic novel, “GWAR In the Duoverse of Absurdity,” which will also be released by Z2 Comics on July 15th. In the graphic novel the band are sucked off into an alternate universe to do battle with their evil twins and the specter of rogue technology.

In support of the album, GWAR the band is currently on “The Black Death Rager World Tour.” The tour stops tonight in Chattanooga, TN and runs through June 17th in Reading, PA. Support will be provided by Goatwhore, The Native Howl and Nekrogoblikon.

Following the US leg of the tour, GWAR will return to Europe this Summer, including appearances at the Bloodstock and Wacken Open Air Festivals. Find a complete list of dates below.

GWAR LIVE:

Support: Goatwhore, The Native Howl, Nekrogoblikon

6/3: Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
6/4: Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
6/5: Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
6/7: Joliet, IL @ The Forge
6/8: Green Bay, WI @ EPIC Event Center
6/10: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
6/11: Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
6/12: Albany, NY @ Empire Live
6/14: Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally’s
6/15: Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
6/16: Providence, RI @ The Strand
6/17: Reading, PA @ Reverb
6/18: Norfolk, VA @ The Norva

“The Black Death Rager World Tour”
29/7: Tilburg, NL @ 013
31/7: Berlin, DE @ SO 26
3/8: Essen, DE @ Turock
4/8: Wacken, DE @ Wacken*
8/8: Dover, UK @ The Booking Hall
9/8: Brighton, UK @ Chalk
10/8: Bristol, UK @Fleece
12/8: Catton Park, UK @ Bloodstock Open Air*
13/8: Norwich, UK @ Waterfront
14/8: Leeds, UK @ Key Club
16/8: Glasgow, UK @ Garage
17/8: Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
18/8: London, UK @ The Dome

*Festival

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: gwar, ratcatcher, releases, video

DOWN To Kick Off Spring Mini Tour This Week + European Festival Appearances Draw Near

Photo by Tomoko Inoue

Long-running heavy metal supergroup DOWN, featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower, and bassist Pat Bruders, will return to the stage for a trio of live dates beginning this Thursday, May 19th at the Welcome To Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. From there the band will play shows in Atlanta and Dallas before reconvening in June for three European festival appearances: Copenhell, Graspop Metal Meeting, and Hellfest.

In September, DOWN will take the stage at Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia with additional performances to be announced in the months to come. Comments Anselmo, “It’s gonna be good to be out playing shows with the DOWN boys again!” See all confirmed dates below.

DOWN:

5/19/2022 Welcome To Rockville – Daytona Beach, FL

5/20/2022 Buckhead Theatre – Atlanta, GA w/ Ill Nino

5/22/2022 Amplified Live – Dallas, TX w/ Ill Nino, Cutthroat Conspiracy, Driven Below

6/16/2022 Copenhell – Copenhagen, DK

6/18/2022 Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel, BE

6/19/2022 Hellfest – Clisson, FR

9/09/2022 Blue Ridge Rock Festival – Alton, VA

You know it’s DOWN as soon as you hear them. There’s no mistaking those gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing drums, and hypnotic howls for absolutely anybody else under the sun. The band upholds a certain tradition that countless fans celebrate, expanding their own musical mythos as they leave its pillars intact and untouched.

With a collective resume encompassing Pantera, Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar, and EyeHateGod, the quintet puffed out its first haze of sonic smoke from the belly of gritty old New Orleans on the 1995 platinum-selling classic, NOLA. At that moment, they naturally summoned something akin to a ritual, continually partaking in it with critically revered offerings — Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow in 2002, Down III: Over The Under in 2007, Down IV – Part One in 2012, and Down IV – Part Two in 2014. Their shows built a certain live lore with unforgettable runs alongside Metallica and Heaven & Hell, as well as coveted spots on iconic festivals like Download, Soundwave, Ozzfest, and so many others, forever delivering passionate, powerful, pure heavy music you can feel deep down in your soul.

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GHOST ANNOUNCE “IMPERATOUR” NORTH AMERICAN ARENA TOUR

Featuring Special Guests Mastodon

Tickets On Sale May 20 at 10am Local Time at https://found.ee/Ghost_Tour

“Call Me Little Sunshine” #1 at Rock Radio

New Ghost Webisode Chapter 11: Family Dinner Live Now at https://found.ee/Ghost_Chapter11

Children of North America, rejoice… GHOST will once again bring the “euphoric spectacle” (ROLLING STONE) of its live ritual to North America for the next leg of its globally dominating IMPERATOUR. The North American IMPERATOUR will see the GRAMMY® Award-winning Swedish theatrical rock band headlining 19 arenas across the U.S. and Canada (plus an appearance at Virginia’s Blue Ridge Rock Fest), kicking off August 26 at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena and running through September 23 at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

The newly announced dates will comprise Ghost’s first North American run since the March 11, 2022 release of its fifth album IMPERA via Loma Vista Recordings. As reported by THE LOS ANGELES TIMES in a Calendar cover story, Ghost “conquered metal and the charts” as IMPERA debuted at #1 in a sweep of the U.S. album charts, entering the BILLBOARD 200 at #2 with first week sales of nearly 70,000. Internationally, IMPERA bowed at #1 in the band’s native Sweden as well as Germany and Finland, while cracking the top 5 in the UK (#2), Netherlands (#2), Belgium (#2), Canada (#3), Australia (#3), France (#5), Ireland (#5), and more. Produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace — and featuring “Spillways”—hailed as a “sweetly constructed rock tune” by THE NEW YORK TIMES, the Billboard Rock Chart (BDS) #1 charting “Call Me Little Sunshine,” and Active Rock #1 radio single “Hunter’s Moon” — IMPERA finds Ghost transported centuries forward from the Black Plague era of its previous album, 2018 Best Rock Album GRAMMY® nominee Prequelle—or as ROLLING STONE put it, “Ghost predicted the pandemic, Now the metal band is foretelling the fall of empires.” The result is the most ambitious and lyrically incisive entry in the Ghost canon: Over the course of IMPERA’s 12-song cycle, empires rise and fall, would-be messiahs ply their hype (financial and spiritual alike), prophecies are foretold as the skies fill with celestial bodies divine and man-made… All in all, the most current and topical Ghost subject matter to date is set against a hypnotic and darkly colorful melodic backdrop making IMPERA a listen like no other — yet unmistakably, quintessentially Ghost.

The announcement of IMPERATOUR’s North American swing completes a perfect storm of Ghost mania, coinciding with this week’s ascension of “Call Me Little Sunshine” to the top of the Rock Radio chart and the unveiling of Chapter 11: Family Dinner, the newest installment of Ghost’s long-running narrative series of webisodes. In this next chapter, we find Papa Emeritus IV, having returned to the Ministry, joining Sister Imperator, Mr. Saltarian, and the spirit of Papa Nihil for a meal of Chinese takeout. To take your seat at the reunion dinner, go HERE.

Support on all dates (with the exception of Green Bay which will feature support from Carcass, and the Blue Ridge Rock Fest) will come from GRAMMY® Award-winning band Mastodon, who have quietly evolved into one of the most influential, inimitable, and iconic rock bands of the modern era. Since emerging in 2000, the Atlanta quartet have defied both sonic and thematic boundaries with an uncategorizable, undeniable, and uncompromising vision unlike anything else in music. This vision manifested over the course of canonical albums such as Leviathan, which landed on Rolling Stone’s coveted The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. Following the seminal Crack The Skye [named one of the best albums of 2009 by Time], they earned three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with The Hunter [2011], Once More ‘Round the Sun [2014], and Emperor of Sand [2017]. Out of six career nominations, they received a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Metal Performance” for “Sultan’s Curse.” They are the rare creative force whose music can be felt everywhere from Game of Thrones, Adult Swim, The History Channel, and DC comics films to Coachella and Bonnaroo. They notably supported the Hirschberg Foundation For Pancreatic Cancer Research with a rendition of “Stairway To Heaven” in honor of late manager Nick John. The group reached another critical high watermark via their ninth full-length, Hushed and Grim. Featuring the GRAMMY® Award-nominated “Pushing The Tides,” it marked the band’s third straight #1 bow on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums Chart. It concluded 2021 on over a dozen year-end lists with Rolling Stone raving, “we get everything from some of the band’s hookiest rockers to date to some of their most awe-inspiring epics.” Evolving as they usher rock into new realms, they forever remain the same unpredictable trailblazing beast—Mastodon.

Tickets for Ghost’s North American IMPERATOUR will be on sale from May 20 at 10am local time at https://found.ee/Ghost_Tour. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets in select markets before the general public beginning Wednesday, May 18 at 12pm local time through Thursday, May 19 at 10pm local time.

See below for a complete list of dates. For more information, including details re: limited VIP packages, go to www.ghost-official.com

GHOST
IMPERATOUR
North America 2022

Fri Aug 26 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego
Sat Aug 27 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center Arena
Tue Aug 30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Wed Aug 31 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center Arena
Fri Sep 2 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena
Sat Sep 3 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena
Sun Sep 4 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena
Tue Sep 6 – Tampa, FL – Yuengling Arena
Thu Sep 8 – Danville, VA – BLUE RIDGE ROCK FEST*
Fri Sep 9 – Trenton, NJ – CURE Insurance Arena
Sat Sep 10 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
Mon Sep 12 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center
Tue Sep 13 – Bangor, ME – Cross Insurance Center
Thu Sep 15 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre
Fri Sep 16 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Sat Sep 17 – Toronto, ON – Coca Cola Coliseum
Mon Sep 19 – Saginaw, MI – Dow Event Center
Tue Sep 20 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
Wed Sep 21 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena
Fri Sep 23 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center**

*Ghost and Spiritbox only
**Ghost, Spiritbox and special guest Carcass

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: american, announce, arena, ghost, imperatour, north, ...

BLACK VEIL BRIDES RELEASE VIDEO FOR “BORN AGAIN”

BLACK VEIL BRIDES ARE “BORN AGAIN”
https://youtu.be/XAjq9x8shbk

New Music Video For Track From Band’s Latest Release
The Phantom Tomorrow Arrives Friday the 13th

BLACK VEIL BRIDES are “Born Again.” Immediately following the conclusion of the sold-out Trinity Of Terror Tour across America, the band unveils the cinematic clip for “Born Again,” the fourth single from their latest album, The Phantom Tomorrow. Helmed by feature film and music video director Vicente Cordero (Cradle Of Filth, DevilDriver, David Hasselhoff) and produced in collaboration with occult luxury/streetwear masterminds MM Custom Fabrications, the evocative “Born Again” video arrives, appropriately, on Friday the 13th. The music video for “Born Again” can be seen here:

“This video was an opportunity to use the more macabre imagery we grew up loving as fans of classic horror movies,” explains Black Veil Brides frontman and founder Andy Biersack. It also offered a chance to further flesh out the immersive world of The Phantom Tomorrow, told in multiple companion mediums, including comic books, action figures, and of course, music videos.

“We show a bit of what goes on in the ‘9th Circle,’ which is the location in our Phantom Tomorrow storyline that exists as a plane of existence outside of reality,” says Andy. “It’s a more esoteric version of a fire-and-brimstone afterlife, but one that is directly attacking your daily life.”

Produced by Erik Ron (Godsmack, Bush, Set It Off), The Phantom Tomorrow gave the band their first Top 10 hit on Mainstream Rock Radio, “Scarlet Cross.” Like that song or the group’s gold-certified 2013 anthem “In The End,” “Born Again” blends accessible hooks and sharp metaphors.

“I think all of us struggle with demons that hold us back or make it difficult to get through life,” adds Andy. “This song and video are about that push and pull. And how, ultimately, the battle is won not by pretending these parts of ourselves don’t exist but by facing them head-on. And by saying no matter what we struggle with or the fears and anxieties we experience, we can defeat them and be ‘born again’ as the person we know ourselves to be in our hearts and minds.”

Completed by longtime guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx, drummer Christian “CC” Coma, and bassist Lonny Eagleton, Black Veil Brides is a transcendent celebration of life-affirming power and anthemic catharsis. A gothic vision first summoned in a small town by an isolated kid fascinated with death, rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined), Black Veil Brides is now a postmodern hard rock institution with a legion of like-minded fans and supporters worldwide.

Photo Credit: Joshua Shultz L to R: Christian Coma (Drums), Jinxx (Guitars), Andy Biersack (Vocals), Jake Pitts (Guitars), Lonny Eagleton (Bass)

Black Veil Brides will next appear at several major rock festivals in the UK and Europe in June; Australia in July; and back home in the United States at RockFest WI 2022, Inkarceration Festival, and October’s highly anticipated When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Like their band name suggests, Black Veil Brides evoke transcendent visions of an impenetrable hereafter, intermingling with a steely focus on the dark passions and elusive mysteries of the here and now. A romantic fantasy first summoned in a small town by founder Andy Biersack – a creative who was fascinated with death rock, theatricality, and monsters (both real and imagined). It wasn’t until moving to Los Angeles that the unstoppable force the band is currently was finalized. The band (and its members Andy Biersack, Jake Pitts, Jinxx, Lonny Eagleton, Christian Coma) Instagram and Twitter accounts command close to 10 million followers between them. Vale, the group’s most recent full-length album, went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart. In the hearts and minds of their fans, Black Veil Brides represents an unwillingness to compromise and a resistance to critics (personal and professional), fueled by the same fire as the group’s own heroes, the iconoclasts whose creative output, once dismissed, is now canonized.

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ORIANTHI ANNOUNCES NEW LIVE RELEASE “LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD”

“LIVE FROM HOLLYWOOD” SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE JULY 15, 2022
AUDIO & VIDEO OF ‘CONTAGIOUS’ PERFORMANCE AVAILABLE NOW
NEW STUDIO ALBUM COMING THIS FALL

Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to present “Live From Hollywood”, a new live album and long-form video from internationally renowned rock guitarist Orianthi. Available on CD/DVD and Blu-ray, “Live From Hollywood” will be released on July 15, 2022. The performance was captured on January 8, 2022 at the Bourbon Room in Hollywood, CA and sees the guitarist and her excellent backing band in fine form, playing songs from Orianthi’s most recent release “O” and cuts like her hit, ‘According To You’.

Watch a performance of ‘Contagious’ HERE:

Pre-order/save “Live From Hollywood” HERE:

This new live release serves as an appetizer for Orianthi’s upcoming new studio album, which will be released later in 2022.

Orianthi’s first major solo artist success, as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, was with the Geffen Records release of “According To You,” which is now RIAA-Certified Platinum® and has over 17 million streams on Spotify. Her music’s ability to transcend time and remain relevant cannot be more clear than it’s recent resurgence on TikTok. There are over 83 million views on the “According to You” hashtag making it a viral trend that is introducing Gen Z to Orianthi for the first time in a big way. Career-long fans are used to seeing their favorite world class guitarist playing arenas with rock royalty and global superstars like Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana, Carrie Underwood, Alice Cooper and more. The juxtaposition of her newly arrived online popularity and her lifelong pursuit of artistic credibility is the nebulous of this shining star.

“Live From Hollywood” Tracklisting:

1. Contagious
2. Sinners Hymn
3. Heaven In This Hell
4. Think Like A Man
5. You Don’t Wanna Know
6. What’s It Gonna Be
7. Courage
8. Blow
9. Impulsive
10. Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone
11. According To You
12. How Do You Sleep

LINE-UP:
Orianthi – Guitar, Vocals
Nick Mayfield – Guitar
Carmen Vandenberg – Guitar
Justin Andres – Bass
Michael Bearden – Keyboards
Glen Sobel – Drums

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: announces, hollywood, live, orianthi, release

Concert Review: “New York United 2022” Agnostic Front, Sick of It All, Crown of Thornz. Syracuse, NY

“New York United 2022”

Agnostic Front, Sick of It All, Crown of Thornz
Friday, May 6th, 2022
The Lost Horizon, Syracuse, NY

Our Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

Veteran NY hardcore bands Agnostic Front, Sick of It All and Crown of Thornz made a stop at the intimate Lost Horizon in Syracuse, NY on May 6th as part of the co-headlining “New York United” tour. Originally slated for Spring 2021 but cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic the tour brings together three of the biggest names in hardcore music.

Taking the stage first were Queens NY natives Crown of Thornz. The Danny Diablo (Skarhead) fronted group wasted no time letting the audience know that they were taking no prisoners as the band ripped through songs like “Head Check”, “Icepick”, “Mental Masquerade” and “Juggernaut”. Diablo and company worked the crowd to a steaming simmer often taking time to share the mic with fans (many of whom didn’t miss a beat filling in the correct lyrics) energizing the room further before bringing their set to a close. Sick of It All would be tasked next with keeping the nights energy going and they quickly got to it by launching into the tracks “Injustice System” and “Clobberin’ Time” both from the band’s debut 1989 release “Blood, Sweat and No Tears” before taking a brief pause which allowed vocalist Lou Koller to catch his breath and to address the Syracuse crowd. As the set stretched on through songs like “Good Lookin’ Out”, “World Full of Hate” and “Pushed Too Far” Bassist Craig Setari, guitarist Pete Koller and drummer Armand Majidi pummeled the audience song after song with impressive cohesiveness and a percussive attack which obliterated your senses.

Hardcore legends Agnostic Front would close out the evening in signature NYHC style kicking off their twenty plus song set with the title track from their 1984 debut “Victim in Pain”. Vocalist Roger Miret fresh off a bout with cancer in late 2021 commanded the audience’s attention over the course of the night pausing only briefly to share his thanks for the support during recent health troubles and to announce the start of tracks like “New Jack”, “For My Family” and “Crucified”. Guitarist and founding member Vinnie Stigma sneered, snarled, and smiled at the crowd as he made his way around the cramped stage pausing from time to time to address the crowd in his thick NY accent which garnered loud applause and cheers of “STIGMA, STIGMA”. The band closed out the evening with a spot-on rendition of the classic Ramones song “Blitzkrieg Bop”. The punk staple had those in the crowd expelling any energy they may have had left before being basked in the grow on the house lights which signaled the end of the evening.

Despite reschedules, cancelations and a very serious medical scare the power of hardcore persevered as fans are now able to see some of the biggest names in the genre back up where they belong. All three bands give their all to make sure no one goes away unhappy. With East Coast dates running through May and a West Coast leg of the tour kicking off in September do yourself a favor and grab a ticket to one of these shows and get in the pit!

Sick of It All Set List:
1.) Injustice System
2.) Clobberin’ Time
3.) Take the Night Off
4.) Rat Pack
5.) Us vs. Them
6.) Inner Vision
7.) Good Lookin’ Out
8.) World Full of Hate
9.) Pushed Too Far
10.) Friends Like You
11.) Sanctuary
12.) Uprising Nation
13.) My Life
14.) Road Less Traveled
15.) Machete
16.) Bull’s Anthem
17.) Busted
18.) Scratch the Surface
19.) Step Down

Agnostic Front Setlist:
1.) Victim in Pain
2.) Your Mistake
3.) Blind Justice
4.) Last Warning
5.) With Time
6.) The Eliminator
7.) New Jack
8.) Strength
9.) For My Family
10.) Friend or Foe
11.) Discriminate Me
12.) Crucified
13.) United Blood
14.) Fascist Attitudes
15.) Peace
16.) United & Strong
17.) Power
18.) Gotta Go
19.) Police State
20.) Hiding Inside
21.) Society Sucker
22.) Blitzkrieg Bop

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Filed Under: Concert Reviews, Music Tagged With: 2022, agnostic, concert, crown, front, ny, ...

ARCADE FIRE WE NEW ALBUM OUT TODAY

WORLD TOUR ANNOUNCED — NORTH AMERICAN DATES TO FEATURE A SPECIAL ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE BY BECK, EUROPEAN DATES TO FEATURE SPECIAL GUEST FEIST

APPEARING ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MAY 7

Following the universally rapturous reception to singles “The Lightning I, II” and “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid),” Arcade Fire’s “excellent sixth album” (The New Yorker) WE is released to the world in its entirety today, May 6th 2022, via Columbia Records at http://af.lnk.to/_we.

WE’s release coincides with the announcement of Arcade Fire’s fall world tour. In the wake of surprise underplays including New Orleans’ Toulouse Theatre, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Coachella’s Mojave Tent and KOKO in London, the WE world tour will bring the full production of Arcade Fire’s “must-see live act” (Variety) experience to global stages, launching in Dublin on Tuesday, August 30th and running through December 1st in Toronto. The North American leg of the WE tour — featuring very special guest Beck playing a nightly acoustic set — will kick off October 28th in Washington D.C., while Europe will include special guest Feist for all shows.

Tickets for all dates will be on sale to the public beginning Friday, May 13th at 10am local time. Arcade Fire has partnered with PLUS1 (http://www.plus1.org) so that $1/£1/€1 per ticket goes to KANPE (http://www.kanpe.org), and their work bringing support to the most vulnerable communities in Haiti. For further information on this initiative, visit www.arcadefire.com.

Make sure to tune into SNL tomorrow as Arcade Fire join the Saturday Night Live 5-timers club.

ARCADE FIRE
WE
European Tour 2022

08/30/22 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena *
09/02/22 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham *
09/03/22 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena *
09/05/22 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro *
09/08/22 – London, UK – The O2 *
09/11/22 – Lille, FR – Zenith*
09/12/22 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis *
09/14/22 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena *
09/15/22 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena *
09/17/22 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum *
09/18/22 – Munich, DE – Olympiahalle *
09/21/22 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Center *
09/22/22 – Lisbon, PT – Campo Pequeno *
09/23/22 – Lisbon, PT – Campo Pequeno *
09/25/22 – Bordeaux, FR – Arkea Arena *
09/26/22 – Nantes, FR – Zenith de Nantes *
09/28/22 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome *
09/29/22 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena *
10/01/22 – Warsaw, PL – COS Torwar *

North American Tour 2022
10/28/22 – Washington, DC – The Anthem ^
11/01/22 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion ^
11/04/22 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center ^
11/08/22 – Boston, MA – MGM Fenway Music Hall ^
11/10/22 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena ^
11/12/22 – Chicago, IL – United Center ^
11/13/22 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory ^
11/16/22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum ^
11/19/22 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium ^
11/22/22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena ^
11/25/22 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena ^
11/27/22 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place ^
12/01/22 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena ^

* with special guest Feist
^ with special guest Beck (acoustic)

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Filed Under: Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: album, arcade, fire, today

Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick Discusses The Bands New Studio Album “Pop Drunk Snot Bread”

Jaret Reddick is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Pop-Punk band Bowling For Soup. The group has been turning out tongue and cheek hits like “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” and “1985” since the early 2000’s. On April 22nd the band released their 11th studio album titled “Pop Drunk Snot Bread”. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Jaret recently about the album, what it was like working with WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss and how he balances both performance and production roles.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us background info on the new album “Pop Drunk Snot Bread”?

Jaret Reddick: Our last studio album came in 2016 which is crazy that it’s been that long. We did do a greatest hits and a couple live records between now and then, but it’s been a while since we went into the studio. Honestly are plan was never really to release or make a record now. When quarantine hit this album ended up becoming a reaction to not being together with everyone. We thought the best and safest way for us to all get together was to create our own bubble and make this record. In August of 2020 we took a tour bus to the Pocono Mountains and stayed in an Air B and B which was only about a mile from the studio we were recording in. This album came out of all that. There is a lot of reflection in this material which I feel has to do largely with how it was all conceived.

AL: The album’s first single “Alexa Bliss” was released in 2020. Can you tell us about that?

JR: “Alexa Bliss” was originally intended as a bonus track for our second greatest hits album which is still not out. When the new record came to be, we felt this song fit the vibe of that well. It’s funny because this song existed long before there were any talks of a new album.

AL: Alexa also appears in the video for the song. How did that relationship come to be?

JR: My son is a big wrestling fan. I was a fan in the 80’s but I wasn’t really up to date with any of the new stuff. I didn’t know anything about her, but I had been sent some photos of her wearing a Bowling For Soup shirt. I told my son about the photos and he told me that I should send her a message. I ended up sending a message and she replied and from there we became good friends. When we were talking, I told her she needed a pop-punk song as most of the other wrestlers have these cock-rock type songs which is great as it fits the brand. I didn’t write the song with intentions of it being her walk out song. It’s just a tribute to her being a cool individual and great character on the show. She’s a great friend.

AL: Was it difficult working with the WWE to make all this happen?

JR: Alexa helped navigate those things quite a bite. This was something she really wanted to do. I would have never asked her to be in the video as much as she. That was all her. I was cool with just getting a look alike and have this be more of a dream for the kid. She loved the project so much that she walked it into Vince McMahon’s office and got me hooked up with all the right people. Whenever I would hit a snag, she would help me out. The WWE was very gracious and happy. There were a few rules with what we could and couldn’t have in the video but for the most part it was simple. WWE ended up sending out one of their digital media staff to film a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff which was cool.

AL: “Alexa Bliss” was the first of four singles you have released from the new album. How does the band go about selecting which songs will be released as singles?

JR: “Getting Old Sucks” was the next track we chose to release. We picked that one because the song is about us and I had already had the video made. I found this guy on Instagram by the name of Mike Roche whose daughter made these cool little puppets. I always wanted to do a puppet video for the band, and these were just perfect. I didn’t want the puppets to be so good that it wasn’t funny anymore. I do voice over work and some of those puppets are insanely good. That’s good for that type of platform but for it to work in this context where we are singing about getting old the beards had to be stringy and they had to bring some humor to this thing. Mike’s daughter nailed the puppets. I think at the time she was around 13. Her and her family ate up six weeks of their quarantine working on this project for us. They all appear in it and they knocked it out of the park. For the next single which was “Killin’ ‘Em With Kindness” it was getting close to the time of the album’s release before being pushed back a third time. The band has a character called “Super Rob” and he is featured in that video. We have a comic book centered around the character that is coming out as well. That video was made almost entirely by Rob and his brother. They shot most of it around where they live in the Pocono’s and then came out and shot some band footage where we are located. Our fourth and most recent single is titled “Brad Pitt”. We took more of a traditional route with that as we hired a director and then flew out to the location to shoot which was a lot of fun.

AL: Do you think big budget production Music Videos are making their way back around in popularity?

JR: I don’t think its that they are coming back around more as they have been around and never really left. The viewing platform has shifted. You used to see music videos on television now you watch them on YouTube. Every video released doesn’t need to be a professional quality video but there needs to be a visual representation of your music this day and age. Video is king! Its starting to get to be where places like Instagram which weren’t originally video based are now predominantly videos. I miss when you had different apps for different things like Vine was for mainly video and Instagram was just a quick snap of what you were doing in that moment. Those big budget videos only really disappeared for a couple years as you still have artists like Taylor Swift putting big budget material out and getting millions of hits.

AL: You mentioned that the album was pushed back three different times. When that keeps happening does it affect the bands mindset at all?

JR: Luckily for us we were on a major label for nine years. During those years we got used to these types of things as nothing ever happened on time. It’s always hurry up as there are deadlines which need to be made and then when you meet those you are told things are getting pushed back for some reason. For this record and for the first time since 2009 we let our managers and distribution company have some input on the release. The record just came out on the 22nd so we will have to see if it worked.

AL: Being that you also produced the record how do you go about balancing your production duties and your musician duties?

JR: From the beginning I have always co-produced our stuff. I think a lot of that comes from when you are working through the songs and arranging that’s all considered production. I take my songs in pretty much done. From the standpoint of when is it done? I am the worst. Once I have something recorded and I get it back and say that’s fine then I am good with it. Unless something completely horrible jumps out at me I tend not to want to make any changes. Thankfully I have been working with Linus of Hollywood for the last thirteen years as it takes having another person to help me with these types of decisions. He is the guy that decides if it needs more bass or treble. I am usually ready to move on to something else by that point.

AL: Now that the album is out what are the bands plans going forward.

JR: We just got back from the UK and I will be heading back there again soon to do some make up shows for an acoustic tour which never was able to happen because of the pandemic. Once we wrap those dates up, we will be mostly caught up except for one or two dates. This summer we will be out in the United States with Less Than Jake and then in October I will be heading to Hawaii for a solo show there.

For more info on Jaret and Bowling For Soup head over to www.bowlingforsoup.com and www.jaretreddick.com

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, bands, bowling, bread, discusses, drunk, ...

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