Zack Merrick is best known as the bassist for the pop/punk band All Time Low. However in his down time away from the band he designs limited addition clothing for his company Amerrickan. Zack took time out of his busy schedule recently to discuss the clothing line his partnership with Killbrand and gave us an update on All Time Low’s upcoming album.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the new run from Amerrickan?
Zack Merrick: Right now we have pulled everything off of our website because we are trying to push the designs that are on hottopic.com. So anyone wanting to pick up some of our designs can get them directly through Hot Topic.

AL: What was that initially interested you in doing a clothing line?
ZM: It was a great way to keep myself creative while I wasn’t playing music. I started taking photos and Jonny from Killbrand really liked them. We saw that there was a great response so we teamed up together and started Americkan.

AL: Can you tell us a little more about your partnership with Jonny and Kill Brand?
ZM: We have a lot of “joint meetings” and “joint files”. (Laughs) Jonny is like my big brother. He takes care of me and is always looking out for me and worrying about me. He is just as worried about me as my mom is sometimes. Jonny is super easy to work with and it’s really a lot of fun. When I head to California to work on designs with him I usually end up staying on his couch

AL: Most of the line is done as limited edition runs. Can you tell us a little bit about that decision?
ZM: It’s easier for me to make designs and think of things in a limited run. It’s also a unique way of doing things so that only 50-100 fans can get a shirt instead of everyone having the same shirt. This way you don’t over saturate the market.

AL: Can you give us an update on All Time Low and what the band has planned for the coming year?
ZM: I just finished recording my bass tracks the other day. Alex is in the studio currently working on vocals and guitar tracks. As a whole we are all gearing up to start press for the new album along with some doing some new photo shoots. We start touring in February over in UK with You and Me at Six and then we bounce around the planet to Australia then back to the States and so forth. With the new record coming out in 2015 it should be a good year and a long touring run.

 

As I imagine many of us do, I dabble in late night encounters with the YouTube wormhole. I start by looking up some silly video of a cat riding a Roomba, or pull up a music video for one of my favorite bands. On September 28th, I was watching a DevilDriver video on the Napalm Records YouTube channel and an image on the side bar caught my eye; some oddly costumed farmer looking fellow screaming into the camera and the band name “Kontrust” with a song titled “Hey DJ!”.

Throwing caution to the wind, I clicked the link and the video started. The aforementioned farmer pulled out a vinyl and spun it on an antique phonograph. A female voice screamed “Don’t play me a punk song!” and a barrage of metal power chords followed. I’ll admit, I’m very selective about female lead singers in metal music, but once Agata Jarosz’ powerful voice hit on the first line of the verse, I was hooked. What followed was a seamless, intricate blend of funk, metal, and industrial music. I was sold. Kontrust had just made its way onto my play list and I hadn’t even made it through the entire song.

The follow up video to my Kontrust introduction was a song called “Sock N Doll.” Extremely unique, the video features a venue filled with sock puppets, and the band represented in the same fashion, but dressed in traditional Austrian garb. A quick yodeling lead in by Agata and then the vocals of Stefan Lichtenberger took over. Mixing elements of Korn, Pink and Buju Banton, this was one of the most beautifully diverse and energizing songs I had ever heard! I couldn’t get enough – so I took my crusade to eBay and secured a copy of Kontrust’s “Secondhand Wonderland.”

Song after song, my interest for this band and its musical prowess grew. I had Secondhand Wonderland playing non-stop in the Camaro, at work and at home. It was an obsession because the music made me feel good. It was the ultimate “Party Metal” album, without the after effects of a hangover. Much to my delight, I found out that there was going to be a follow up to this masterpiece – and extremely soon! “Explositive” is due to be released by Napalm Records on November 7^th, 2014. I wanted desperately to get a hold of the band to talk about the successes of “Secondhand Wonderland” and what fans (and new listeners) could expect from the new album. I was fortunate enough to be granted a live Skype session (from Austria!) with three of the band’s members: Agata (vocals), Mike (guitar) and Gregor (bass and synth).

Eric Schmitt: So how was Kontrust formed? As far as where did the members come from and how did you decide on the direction to go in?
Gregor Kutschera: In the beginnings it was a band from the countryside in upper Austria – you may know it from “The Sound of Music” musical. We three, are actually from Vienna. The other guys, they are from Up-Austria. They formed the band, like 10 years, 12 years ago or something. We joined in 2005, mixed Up-Austria with Vienna, the big city, you know? They moved to Vienna to work and to study. They played mostly in a hardcore band, you know, before Agata joined with her clean vocals.
Agata Jarosz: It was really bad (bad-ass) and really {growls}. Then Agata came and said, “I’m sorry, that’s not my way. You have to come with me and go my way.” {laughs}So Kontrust started!.
Mike Wolff: It all started around 2001, then in 2005 the major change was applied. Agata joined and the whole band structure changed – it’s gotta have a little more “pop” factor in there.
GK: Or melody.
MW: Yes, melodies, to go a little bit in the pop music direction. Well, 9 years later, we’re still here and the last 3 albums, Time to Tango, Secondhand Wonderland and Explositive channel what we’ve been doing for those 9 years. Explositive is definitely something to more of the essence to what we are doing; reduced to the maximum if you want.

ES: The mix of musical genres is really successful with the albums, it works. The way you go from pop to metal to reggae. So I wanted to get an idea of what kind of musical influences brought everything together. In particular, personal influences that drove you to mix the genres together.
AJ: There is one band that every one of us was hearing when we were younger – it was Rage; Rage Against the Machine.
GK: Yeah, that’s the band we can all agree on. It’s the only act we can all agree on. {laughs}
AJ: I think the 90’s – we are all kids of the 90’s, so this is our music.
MW: Well, Rage Against the Machine was the only band that we agreed upon, that each of us likes. I mean there is so much other stuff in there that adds to it. From Skunk Anansie to even Iron Maiden. {Laughter} I have to say that! I’m the biggest Iron Maiden fan.
GK: Run to the…… {Laughter}
MW: We’ve got to leave that in the interview! Anyways, I guess it’s just – I don’t know – It’s kinda hard to say. I think of Kontrust basically being something where all of the musical influences we have where we can agree on those things.
GK: Some of us like some songs more than others.
MW: It’s diverse, but I guess that’s what drives us. There’s always so much tension when we’re writing the songs, it doesn’t just happen. You have to convince the others in the band-
GK: It’s fighting, it’s struggling, it’s pain….. And it’s awesome!

ES: As far as the new album, Explositive goes, what were the driving forces behind the tracks that you decided on?  What factored in to actually choosing the tracks to go on the new album?
AJ: Good question.
GK: We did lose some of our best parts (of tracks) along the way because they didn’t fit into songs. In the end, we all took the best the songs that worked. Every part fits perfectly well. It’s hard to say, I just have the feeling we lost some good parts and heavy parts along the way, but that doesn’t matter. The song was the focus.
MW: We write like 120 ideas and lose so much along the way. It’s just because we find something to start the song, then everything else has to fit. In the end we find it doesn’t fit Kontrust, so that song is going to get thrown out. Then we go back into the archive and digging for material, then start putting that (material) together. So basically, it’s all about an idea – is this Kontrust? Or could we sell this, say to Megadeth? {Laughter} When you work together as a band, with us being six people, there’s so much input you have to filter. Then it ends up with ideas that everyone is happy with.

ES: What are the tour plans once the new album is released?
AJ: The dates are in progress. We are planning a tour next year in the Netherlands, Germany and in Europe. This autumn, we will only play in Austria, in every major city. Next summer is festival season, and that’s the most important part (of the year) for us.
GK: So we take a slow start in the winter, then start out in spring and summer for festivals. There are a lot of big festivals in Europe, so we’re looking forward to that.
MW: We’re thinking about coming over the pond (to America), it all depends on how the album is perceived in the States.

ES: Are there any differences (from Secondhand Wonderland) in the new album that you would like to elaborate on?
Mike: Everyone is looking at me! {Laughter}
GK: We will give this to Mike, because he is our Minister of Propaganda. {Laughter}
MW: First of all, this album has been the easiest for us.
AJ: I think that we all like this album more than Secondhand Wonderland. It’s more “back to the roots,” that’s a very big reason why I like the album. Secondhand Wonderland was very over-produced. We wanted to over-produce the album, it was something special and different. (But) it was too much “pling pling”. Explositive is more “in your face”.
MW: It’s more in your face, it’s kind of reduced. All the stuff you hear, there’s almost no added artificial samples or anything, (as) compared to Secondhand Wonderland. It’s us playing, a little bit of synth, which Gregor plays,  and everything else, all the effects, are all natural. The reverb you hear is real. It’s basically this room here.
AJ: We recorded the album in this room (a slow turn of the phone shows me Kontrust’s spacious studio).
MW: The album, we think, is straight forward, in your face, has the party mood and has the feel of “bang your head on something hard and see what happens.” I guess when people who already like Kontrust will like this album a lot because it’s more of essentially what Kontrust is. Less of  the added stuff. And people who don’t know us yet will probably have an easier time to get into us just because the album, at least we think, is really “simple”.

If Explositive is Kontrust’s idea of “simple,” I would be intrigued to hear what “complex” would sound like to them. Napalm Records posted a preview of all of the songs on the new album, which can be heard by clicking HERE, or see above, as well as the first release on the album “Just Propaganda.” The new album sounds just as diverse and intricate as Secondhand Wonderland, but offers more of a raw appeal. Explositive can be pre-ordered through the Napalm Records Webstore as well as Secondhand Wonderland, which this author HIGHLY recommends! I am personally looking forward to November 7^th and the release of Explositive, and have high hopes that 2015 will bring this extremely talented, energetic and most of all, friendly band stateside, so that Americans can see what we’ve been missing out on all these years!

Photo by Dean Karr

Joseph Bishara is the amazing composer for horror films like “Insidious”, “The Conjuring” and most recently “Annabelle”. He is also probably the cause of a few of your nightmares since he played great characters like Lipstick-Face Demon in “Insidious” and Bathsheba in “The Conjuring”. Joseph took out some time to chat with Media Mikes again about his new film “Annabelle” and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: From your role of Lipstick-Face Demon in “Insidious” to Bathsheba in “The Conjuring” to your latest role in “Annabelle”; what do you enjoy most about getting to play these roles?
Joseph Bishara: I like being able to look through the eyes of these characters, and getting to have a different perspective and take on the film. It’s seeing the scenes unfold from the inside. They were all very interesting characters to explore.

MG: We got to learn about your character in “Insidious” and “The Conjuring” but not much in “Annabelle”, give us some background on your role?
JB: It’s the demon that’s attached to the doll. When discussing the character with James (Wan), his take described it more specifically, as Lorraine Warren would explain as a “latching demonic”.

MG: Which of the three was the most challenging for you?
JB: I would have to say “The Conjuring” because it was the most time I was on set and also the longest to get into the makeup. “Insidious” was challenging also but it was different because it was more guerrilla filmmaking, where we had to make do with what we had to work with.

MG: How does it feel like to give a grown man nightmares with these roles?
JB: [laughs] That’s a good thing. I won’t apologize for anyone losing sleep, everyone needs to have nightmares.

MG: You not only have roles in the above-mentioned films but you also are the composer delivering spin-tingling scores; what do you enjoy most about working in this genre?
JB: It’s the genre that I feel most comfortable in, and with the directors that I have worked with I have been given a lot of freedom to take the scores in the directions I wanted. Horror is always a favorite of mine and I just really enjoy creating in that space.

MG: “Insidious” is easily one of the best horror scores in recent years; how do you approach a score when you are working with the film?
JB: When I start on a score, I just start hearing it in my head often from the moment it starts being discussed. I can’t really explain it but if the project is right, ideas will just come. It’s finding what the language is and isn’t, and then speaking it.

MG: What can we expect from you in terms of role and composer in “Insidious: Chapter 3″?
JB: I can’t say much just yet, but Leigh did an excellent job with it and brings a bit of a different flavor. Hopefully you’ll lose more sleep.

For more info, check out his official sites: www.jbishara.com and www.voidrecordings.com

Jesse Hofstee is the guitarist and vocalist for the band Spero. Based out of San Diego, CA Spero plays a blend of rock, folk and blues and have been compared to the Black Keys and Jack White. The groups newest EP titled “Pride” is set for a mid November release and Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Jesse recently about the group and their new release.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us a little bit about the formation of the band?
Jesse Hofstee: I think everything started in or around 2011. I had known Hillary Laughery the keyboard player from high school and had just gotten out of another band I was in while in college. I wasn’t really playing at the time but would jam and work on some songs. Hillary and I got together to play some songs and we connected almost instantly. We spent the whole summer just playing and writing songs. We would play for 8 hours at a time. Things just went together really easy. After that we decided we were going to try and make it and set out to put a band together. I got Nick Hankins to come play bass and then Ryan Malette to play drums. I had actually played in a heavy metal band with both of them in high school.

AL: How would you describe the band’s sound as it is quite unique?
JH: We have elements of blues, rock and roll and at time indie rock. It’s really just a mix of blues and rock. Some of our songs have more blues elements while others are more rock. We sort of cross a number genres but I think if I had to pick one to put us in it would be more of the blues/rock genre.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands new EP?
JH: For most of the songs it’s either I or Hillary writing the foundation or structure of the songs. We then work on them as a band and change things around as we want everyone input and style to be a part of the process. One of the first songs we did for this EP was the title track “Pride”. I think that song was sort of a theme over the others that were written. It’s about taking pride in your work and who you are while not giving up. That’s really the overlying theme on the EP. I wrote 4 of the songs and Hillary wrote 2. We really were refining our sound as we went along and were happy with how things went. The release has a lot of variety and doesn’t really stick us into a specific genre.

AL: How would you describe the progression from your previous release to where you are now?
JH: With the last album we were still sort of figuring out what we wanted to do. We sort of just went straight through with things on that record. With the new EP we were able to expand more and spend more time on each of the tracks. Some of the songs came quickly while other took a little longer. We did some demoing and then sent them over to a producer. We wanted a more complete release and push things a bit further this time.

AL: What was it about doing an EP that was more appealing rather than doing another full length album?
JH: Where we are at right now we are still just trying to get our sound out to new people. I felt we had a handful of songs that went together well and followed the same theme. I wanted to get new music out there and wasn’t really concerned with doing a full length. We are still trying to attract new people and I think giving people a full album can be a bit overwhelming. With an EP it’s a little easier to digest and it’s a less expensive process.

AL: What are the bands current tour plans?
JH: We are hoping to do another coastal tour once the EP is out. We did a run of shows up the west coast a little bit ago and that went really well so we definitely want to do something like that again. We are looking to find a team to help get us out to more people as its hard to focus on both that and the writing aspect of things.
 

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Page Hamilton Music (www.pagehamiltonmusic.com)

Page Hamilton is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Helmet. The band is currently celebrating their 20th anniversary of hit album “Betty”. Page has also collaborated on numerous film scores like “Heat” and also recently created an original score for the film “Sons of Liberty”. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Page about music, movies and Helmet’s anniversary tour.

Mike Gencarelli: How is it going from playing with Helmet to collaborating on film scores like “Heat” and “Titus” with Elliot Goldenthall?
Page Hamilton: Playing our music live is physically demanding, there’s no coasting with backing tracks or candlelit, acoustic-sit-down sections in the set, and with a 70+ song repertoire remembering lyrics and certain guitar parts can be challenging. Working with Elliott is a whole different kind of challenge. Sometimes he has concrete ideas and colors he describes or sings to me, sometimes there are written parts and other times he wants me to ad-lib. Elliott works with very talented people, there is a lot of trust in the room; it feels like a brilliant family that adopted me to come in and mess up Elliott’s beautiful music. Teese, Joel, Rick, Lawrence etc. are all amazing people to work with. Also Julie Taymor (Elliott’s wife and director extraordinaire) has been there for the movies of hers I’ve worked on: “Titus”, “The Tempest” and “Across the Universe”. I love working with them.

MG: Tell us about what we can expect from your upcoming compilation album of your own film scores?
PH: I chose to do new mixes of about 40 cues from the 1st 3 movies I scored for Mudbrick media in Mobile, Alabama. When we’re doing music for a scene obviously the director has ideas regarding what works and what doesn’t for each scene but he gives me a lot of freedom to experiment. We disagree from time to time so I wanted mixes for my compilation that I dug compositionally, i.e. remove the visual imagery & dialog and make sure the music is still interesting. In many cases I put back parts I had removed for him and even added a few things. I wrote, recorded, programmed & mixed everything so it’s pretty, low-tech and raw with a fair amount of my guitar mess spilling over the rim.

MG: How do did you approach your original score for the film “Sons of Liberty” and how did it compare to your other scores?
PH: I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Patrick Kirst for several years, we wrote the “Sons of Liberty” score together, though it was mostly a dropbox collaboration between Hollywood (my place) & Venice (his place). He brings a lot of film scoring experience so I bounce music bits off his stubborn German brain & classical music ears and then create sounds that annoy him, sonically, melodically and harmonically. That’s what they get for hiring a noise-metal guitarist.

MG: This year is the 20th anniversary of “Betty”, which was (and still is) a sick album; how can you reflect on this album?
PH: We’re 20 shows into our European “Betty” tour, it’s not an easy album to pull off live but it’s been really fun to perform. I had to work on a variety of guitar and vocal sounds to get the vibe we had on the recording. I remember everyone having an idea about what we should do after the success of “Meantime”, they wanted “Meantime” part ll but it’s not in my nature to rewrite songs. Fortunately my bandmates were on board and contributed in a big way. Either that or they were just humoring me.

MG: Looking back on 1994 in general, why do you think it was such an epic and important year for music?
PH: I’m not sure though part of it has to do with the strong indie rock scene from the previous 10 + years. Labels like Am Rep, Discord, SST, Blast First and Touch & Go had a lot of good bands that could develop without industry interference. When the demand grew, major labels saw money to be made so a bunch of us signed deals to get paid & quit our bartending jobs. We didn’t know any better so we (more or less) continued as if we were still on Am Rep. Maybe this was the case with other indie bands as well? Melvins and The Pixies come to mind.

MG: How did you get involved working with Linkin Park on their new song “All for Nothing”, from their latest album The Hunting Party?
PH: They contacted my manager in NY and asked if I’d do some guest vocal & guitar bits on their new album. I met with the guys and liked them a lot. They played me a bunch of new songs including “All for Nothing”; I couldn’t get that chorus out of my head. I really enjoyed their recording process and had a great time.

MG: You are currently on tour with Helmet across Europe; tell us what we can expect from the tour and any plans for US dates?
PH: We’re playing the “Betty” album beginning to end followed by a second set of material including songs from “Strap it On”, “Meantime”, “Aftertaste”, “Size Matters”, “Monochrome” and “Seeing Eye Dog”. I’ve always wanted to tour without any opening bands so this is it; 30-35 songs a night. We have some east coast US “Betty” dates booked for December.

MG: What else do you have planned for the rest of the year and in store for 2015?
PH: I’ll be in the south of France producing a French band between the Europe & US “Betty” dates. We have a movie lined up for early next year and I plan to finish writing and recording a new Helmet album. I’ll continue to flounder around with my Jazz Wannabes group back east and my good NYC pals M’Lumbo have asked me to sit in for some recording and a few live gigs.

Carla Harvey is the lead singer of the heavy metal band, Butcher Babies. The band recently released a new EP called “Uncovered” and is planning the upcoming “No One Can Hear You Scream” Tour across North America. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Carla about the EP and what we can expect from the tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us a little background on the new EP?
Carla Harvey: Well, “Goliath”, our debut album came out in July of 2013 and our new album doesn’t come out until early summer 2015 so we wanted to give our fans a little appetizer in between.  Not to mention we wanted to play some new songs to spice things up for ourselves! Believe it or not we get tired of playing the same set over and over again.  Making this EP of cover songs seemed like the perfect solution. Growing up I was a huge fan of my favorite bands like Guns N Roses and Metallica doing albums of covers…they introduced me to songs I might never have heard if they hadn’t been reinvented on the “Spaghetti Incident” or “Garage Days”.

AL: What was the process like for choosing the songs and were there any others chosen which didn’t make the EP?
CH: For the EP we didn’t want to go with obvious song choices.  People expected a Plasmatics cover or a Pantera cover and what ended up with on our album was very different. In the end we chose the Osmonds, Napolean 14, Suicidal Tendencies, SOD and ZZ TOP. Some of the songs we considered that didn’t end up making the cut were songs by Fishbone, Living Colour, 45 Grave and Agent Orange.

AL: The songs you guys chose are quite different. Was that something that happened naturally or was it the plan to choose songs that hadn’t been done before?
CH: We wanted each song to have a special meaning for us. We each made a short list of songs that had struck a chord with us when we were young and narrowed it down from there.  For instance, they’re coming to take me away was my pick because I have a vivid memory of my stepdad playing it over and over again in the car. My stepdad was a bit off his rocker and the song is about being taken away to a mental institution so I always found it ironic that he loved that song so much.  Heidi chose “Crazy Horses” because it was the heaviest song she heard as a kid and she was really drawn to it.

AL: Can you tell us about the upcoming tour run the band has planned?
CH: We just started our first headlining tour, the No One Can Hear You Scream Tour across North America. We have been extremely lucky to garner a huge fan base the last couple of years by hitting the road with likes of Marilyn Manson, Danzig, Black Label Society and of course the Mayhem Festival, so the time was right for us to see what we can do on our own.  We are only on show three but the response has been incredible. After this tour, we hit the road with BLS and Hatebreed for a winter tour.

AL: What are the band’s plans so far for the next full length release?
CH: We are working on our second album right now. We finish recording when we get home from our headlining tour and the album will be released early summer 2015. We are pumped for it and hope that you all are as well!

Former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo is back with a brand new release from his band Philm. Titled “Fire from the Evening Sun” the album is a blending of music styles ranging from full on thrash to progressive rock and everything in between. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Dave recently about the bands sophomore release and their plans to take their unique sound on the road.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on how this album came together?
Dave Lombardo: We are a very productive group. We tend to do a lot of improvisations when we are together and we record those. From there we do what I call “trim the fat”. We take out all the pieces that don’t really work and only focus on the high points. From there we create the traditional elements of the song such as the verses and choruses. When we are done we like to the songs sit for a bit before Jerry goes in and works on the vocals. The material on the new album is songs that we have been working on since we recorded our first album “Harmonic”. A lot of these songs were written during the mix down of the first. How we go about our song writing is pretty interesting. There is not just one person who brings in material and they dictate how the song is to go. We are very collective.

AL: Can you tell us about the different style you guys took on “Fire from the Evening Sun” as compared to “Harmonic”?
DL: There are some production differences between the two. I also feel this album has a more straight forward and in your face approach related to the sound. With “Harmonic” that was a more laid back and experimental album. On the first record I let guys come in and play whatever that wanted. With the new record I feel like I had a little more say in making sure the songs were concise and aggressive. There are a lot of different approaches you can take when making an album. The next album we might decide to throw everyone a curve ball and do something completely different from the previous two albums.

AL: Do you prefer creating music out of improvisation as compared to more traditional approaches?
DL: It’s more fulfilling. When you do things this way it’s more organic and less thought. When you improvise you are creating on the fly. You have to come up with something really quick as there is really no time to think. You play what you feel. That’s how all of this music was created. These songs came from three people improvising with one another. I think doing things this way gives the songs a certain level of excitement.

AL: Being involved as an artist and a producer on both of the bands release do you ever find it hard balancing the two roles?
DL: It’s not difficult but I will take that producer hat off within the process but at the same time I have to be able to make decisions on issues as they come up. Having worked with so many amazing producers and song writers I am able to do what I do by consciously and subconsciously using their approach. The guys in the band know how I work and I will tell them before we start what I am feeling. Most of the time we are all on the same page and do what is best for the material.

AL: You brought in outside help to mix the album this time. Can you tell us about that decision?
DL: When you are a producer you have to step out and let others take control for a second to ensure things are not one sided. I brought in Robert Carranza to mix this album because I felt that the mix wasn’t where it should be. Robert did a great job and shortly after Tyler Bates offered to master it. It was actually Tyler’s idea to bring in Robert to do the mixing. I appreciated his input and was thankful for the advice.

AL: Tell us a little bit about the two singles the band has released thus far?
DL: We have released “Fire from the Evening Son” and “Train”. “Fire from the Evening Son” is a song we chose because it has a very thrash metal feel. I believe that’s what fans want from me. They want something aggressive in my drumming and my band. I think that’s what this song is about. The song has a great drive and shows our versatility. Both songs I think have that signature sound I am known for.

AL: When you take this material out on the road will there be elements of improvisation or will you be sticking to what is heard on the album?
DL: We are going to be doing what is heard on the album. We can certainly get up on stage and show people how improvisation is done but I don’t think they are ready for that yet. All the songs we are playing live are complete songs from the albums. We have 6 songs done for the next album. They don’t have words just yet so sometimes we will go out and do some of the new material for an encore. We play around on those and try some different things.

AL: Can you tell us what the tour plans are for you guys?
DL: I would like to start performing here in the States as soon we can. I would love to tour the world with this we just have to find a booking agent who is this with us whole heartedly. We have done four shows in Europe as well as some shows in Colombia and Ecuador. We also have some things planned for November as well.

 

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• Weston Cage talks about music and solo album “Wes Cage”

Steven Price is the very talented composer behind the film “Gravity”, which ended up winning him last year’s Oscar for Best Score (along with numerous other awards). Steven has also worked on film like “The World’s End” with Edgar Wright and TV series like “Believe” with “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuarón. Media Mikes had a chance to follow-up with Steven to discuss his new score for “Fury” and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: You worked on the score for “Gravity” for about two years; at what point in the production did you come on board “Fury”?
Steven Price: I started on “Fury” about a year ago. I got the scripts and read through them. Usually, I am pretty useless at judging scripts. I tend to do better off waiting until I can see a little bit of what they have shot. But with this film, the script was really gripping. (Director) David Ayer has this ridiculous ability when writing characters that you feel like you totally know them in only a couple of pages, you care about them and you want to know what is going to happen to them. I loved the script. So I made a couple of calls and it turns out they were shooting it about 40 minutes from where I live. So I asked if I could visit and I actually ended up going a couple of times while they were shooting. I got to watch it being shot but also I got to spend a bit of time talking with David discussing what he was doing and what he hoped the music would be. It was an amazing opportunity to get to work with another director that really values what music can do for a film. It was important for him to have the music to carry emotion and be a part of the experience. So I was very keen to be involved.

MG: “Gravity” was set in the vast unknowns of space; tell us about how you approached “Fury”, which is set in the hell of World War II?
SP: I think “hell” was the key to it actually. We talked about what the characters had already been through by the time that we meet up with them in the first reel of the film. They have been in the war for 3-4 years by that point and have seen and done unimaginable things. They are exhausted and terrified but they have to keep going forward. So it was a matter of capturing that sense of exhaustion and of being in hell with this constant motion and this grinding forward. I wanted to capture that quality in the music whilst putting you there with the men and their emotions throughout the film. So that’s the conversation we had at the start and then had to work out how that would actually sound.

MG: I was going to ask if you looked for influence from other World War II films but this has such a unique sound for the genre and even sort of crosses over the line of horror with the use of the overlying chanting throughout.
SP: With where they are within the timeline of WW2, the film being set just 3 weeks before the Nazi surrender, I think it is easy to imagine that things were less intense at that point, but in actual fact the crews were in the middle of Nazi Germany… they were surrounded, and things were unimaginably bleak and threatening. I did a lot of work with a choir that is constantly chanting and whispering around you. It is an eerie sound in lots of ways. You never feel, like they never felt, safe for a moment. There is something that could happen that would be life ending, you never know. It was a real turning point for me, while writing, when I got the idea to use the choir in that way. I recorded them in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes it was as a choir but often times I would give them all their own individual microphones and get them saying different things. We could make it sound like individuals at times or make them sound like this group marching forward. They are only really used as a traditional choir in terms of singing at the very end of the film. So until then, they are this voice of constant persistent danger.

MG: Were you able to able anything you learned from “Gravity” on this project?
SP: I think the great thing I learned from “Gravity” experience was to just keep trying and keep experimenting with new things. That was a process for me that was really useful on this. The film was evolving as I was working on it and there was always a chance to look at something from a different angle.

MG: What were some of your biggest challenges that you faced here?
SP: The biggest challenge on this film was just getting the journeys right. Take the character, Norman (played by Logan Lerman), when we first meet him in the film and he goes from being terrified to suddenly plunged into a tank battle. So trying to figure out musically, how was his journey through the film and his growing and understanding of what it means to be in this was a challenge. Also Brad Pitt’s character, Wardaddy, was challenging since his enigma itself almost could be played musically and how much we should learn about him and his team through the music. So a lot of it were character challenges and trying to support them and their stories. That was the stuff that got me scratching my head at night and trying different things.

MG: I love that the score is so epic and yet you still have some beautiful piano work in tracks like “I’m Scared Too”.
SP: I did an early demo with piano and David sort of immediately attached to it. It is very simple piano work and all quite blunt actually in terms of the musical construction of it. They characters aren’t verbose sort of characters. They speak clearly and what they say is clear. Musically, I wanted it to be like that too. I wanted it to be very concise. The piano writing was very simple and also it needed to be played with great emotion. One of my oldest friends, who is not a full time professional musician but is a great player, ended up playing it for me. He came in and just completely understood what I wanted to do with it. His touch on the piano really made the whole thing work. We spend a long time getting the right sound for it as well. We ended up going about it in a peculiar way using two very old 1940’s microphones underneath the piano. It is not the sound that you would ordinarily do for a big posh film piano sound but it just felt right. You hear the mechanics of the piano, the pedal sounds, the contacts between the hammers and the strings and that seemed like it was suitable for this film.

MG: Since you are no longer working on “Ant-Man”; what is your next project?
SP: There is stuff knocking around a bit but not allowed to say much about anything at the moment though. But at the moment, I am in the bit where I should have been doing “Ant-Man”. Having spent a lot of time with Edgar Wright and considering him a good friend, it was never going to be an option for me to do that film. We spent so long talking about musical ideas for the film and it would have been so wrong taking it with someone else’s vision really. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to work with him again soon. But we will see what is around the corner next, yeah!

Engelbert Humperdinck is an international bestselling artist. He has numerous hits including “Release Me”. His latest venture is a duet album, called “Engelbert Calling”, singing classics along with Elton John, Olivia Newton-John, Il Divo, Willie Nelson, Gene Simmons, Wyonna Judd, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Mathis, and Neil Sedaka to name a few. Media Mikes had a chance to chat again with the legendary singer to discuss the new album and how it all came about.

Mike Gencarelli: We first spoke back in July of 2011 and you mentioned you were working on the album; how does it feel to final have this album available to fans?
Engelbert Humperdinck: Good to speak with you again Mike. Yeah, can you believe it has taken that long? It has taken just over three years to complete this particular album. Thank God for internet for being able to send these tracks across the world to each of the artists involved with this album. It was a lot of work and I am glad that it is finally available to my fans to enjoy!

MG: Pretty ambitious having a 2 CD, 23 track debuts CD; how did they idea come about to do a debut album?
EH: You know, Elton John was responsible for starting this off. I was listening to one of his live albums and on one song he says something like “This song I wrote many years ago as a struggling artist, living in a flat in London and was waiting for an Engelbert Humperdinck to call and take it off my hands and make it a hit”. So I finally called and told him I was listening to this album and it gave me a great idea. I asked him to sing a debut on my next album and he said “Yes”. So, once you get someone like Elton John, he is the honeycomb, everyone else is just drawn to it.

MG: With “Spinning Wheel”, it seems like you and Gene Simmons had a lot of fun with this song; how was it in the studio with him?
EH: Gene was great in the studio. He really brought a lot of pizazz into the studio. He was very loose and very charismatic. They took a photo of half of each of our faces and we really do look alike [laughs]. Overall, it was great fun working with him.

MG: So besides Gene, who else did you record with in the studio?
EH: Elton John was the other. Those were the only two and the rest were done via the airways. Technology has made it possible to do things that are impossible in real life. This album was done in England, London, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, South America and Europe. At least, I was in the studio with a couple of them. Sinatra wasn’t in the studio with any of his artists for his “Duets” album [laughs].

MG: Tell us about the title “Engelbert Calling”? I picture you going through your contact list and calling out all your friends.
EH: Yeah, the biggest challenge was putting it all together and making my wish list of people I wanted to work with. Johnny Mattis is one of my favorite singers of all time. I love his work. Kenny Rogers was great getting to work with. I mentioned Gene Simmons already, which was a highlight. When I called Willie Nelson, he recorded his part in Nashville, I told him that I was so thrilled to have him on the album, especially singing a Bob Dylan song. Along with signing, I also asked him to play guitar since he has such a great unique style. He was so accommodating and after he recorded it called and made sure it was ok. So that was really great.

MG: Your debut with Elton John for “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” is an amazing way to kick off the album?
EH: With total respect for Elton and since he was the first, I had to put him right at the top of the list. He is the person that started the whole ball rolling.

MG: How was it singing with your kids, Louise and Bradley on this album?
EH: Yep, that is my son and daughter at the end of each disc as a bonus track. I was thrilled to have them there. I wanted to show the world, since this is a world release record, that my children can sing and also pay tribute on my album.

MG: “I Need You Know” with Lulu is one of the newest songs that you covered; what made you choose this song?
EH: I had to have Lulu on this album. Many years ago, when my single for “Release Me” came out, she was on a show in England called “Jukebox Jury”. There were four people on the panel and Lulu was the only one who voted my song a hit. She did a super job on this song. It is a great duet song, so it was easy picking. Plus it suited her voice very well.

MG: After such an amazing album like this; how do you plan to top this?
EH: For the people that didn’t make it onto this album, we will make sure that they make it onto the next one called “Engelbert Redialed”. But that is down the road and preparation is the hardest work.

MG: In your current touring, do you plan on covering any of these duets?
EH: Oh, it is already in the show. I do a virtual debut with Elton John. It is going over absolutely fantastic and people are loving the idea of it.

Casey Orr is the bassist for the band Warbeast. He has also been a member of such bands as GWAR, Ministry, Ex-Cops and thrash/metal legends Rigor Mortis. Media Mikes spoke with Casey recently about Rigor Mortis’ new album (their first in 23 years) titled “Slaves to the Grave”. We also spoke about the hardships which occurred during its creation and the whether or not the band plans to continue despite the death of guitarist/founding member Mike Scaccia in 2012.

Adam Lawton: Tell us about the new album and the struggles you encountered during the recording process?
Casey Orr: It’s been a pretty fucked up turn of events. We lost our guitarist Mike Saccia in December of 2012. He had actually been in the studio 3 days before he died and signed off on all of his parts for the album. He had finished everything he had to do and was happy with his work. Even still it was hard to really say that the album was done. We spent a lot of time listening to it and tweaking things and we got it to where we think it’s perfect but Mike’s not here to enjoy it with us. That really sucks because after all the years and ups and downs we were excited to hit the road and work on more new material. It’s bitter sweet. We are glad the record is coming out but it’s the end of an era.

AL: From start to finish how long did the writing/recording process take?
CO: It was relatively short. We had a couple songs we were working on for about a year before they were recorded. The majority of the record was written about 3 months prior to it being recorded. We did do some last minute arrangement stuff. We wanted that type of element to the album. We didn’t want it to be like we spent months and months on the album. That just wasn’t the vibe we were going for. We had a window of studio time become available and we just went in and did it. We did a lot of work and the crew we worked with was really great.

AL: How long after Mike’s passing did you wait to start working again on the record?
CO: We went back in after about two weeks to listen to what we had. We didn’t really do any work that first time back and from there it was kind of a slow process. It was hard to listen to Mike’s playing. There’s some real heartfelt playing on there. Mike could transition from style to style and just sound great. That was really his strong suit. We knew Mike would have wanted us to finish these tracks and that was our drive to get things done.

AL: Tell us about the decision to use IndieGogo to help with the release of the album?
CO: Rigor Mortis never had a business plan or a bank account. At the end of the night we split the money and went to the bar. Things were just so loose and punk rock. It was so wrong. (Laughs) We were going to shop the record to a label and start talking to people however a lot of the interest we had thought was going to be there just wasn’t. We weren’t asking for a lot of money or anything we just wanted to get this record out. Even before Mike died the interest was just sort of gone. We got a lot of positive feedback but because there wasn’t going to be a tour or anything behind it places didn’t want to take the risk. We said “fuck it” and we did it ourselves. We rolled the dice and went for it. We reached our goal and we were able to do things just right. Now I have to fill all the requests for paintings from the campaign as that was one of the things people could choose. I have to do 10 original paintings! It’s going to be fun.

AL: Can you tell us about the bonus DVD which will be included?
CO: There’s a short 30 minute DVD that comes with the record. There’s some behind the scenes stuff from the studio. There’s some other really cool stuff on along with a live song performance. It’s not a full length by any means but we are working on something bigger for the future.

AL: Has the band thought further about performing any of this material live?
CO: After Mike died it wasn’t even a thought. We just weren’t going to perform as Rigor Mortis again because without Mike it isn’t the same. We did a benefit as a one off thing calling ourselves “The Scotchinators”. Doyle our second singer came out as did Mikes guitar tech who really captured Mike’s style and sound. The show resulted in getting offers to do more shows. It’s fine line because we don’t want to come off as a tribute band of ourselves but we don’t want to let the music die either. My thoughts are if we are going to continue on then we start a new band and create new material to go along with the other stuff. Nothing is really long term at this point but the thought is there.

AL: Can you give us a quick update about your other projects?
CO: My band Warbeast will be performing at the House Core Festival this year. We are also slowly in the process of writing a new record. I haven’t been able to be much help as the Rigor Mortis stuff has kept me pretty busy. Shelby our guitarist who’s a brilliant writer has been working hard on that. I also will be reuniting with my punk band The Hellions for a show in December with D.R.I. We might be starting a new version of The Hellions as some of the original lineups aren’t able to continue. Guys will be moving around and we also are changing the name. Things are really busy right now.

Photo by Hordur Sveinsson

Markéta Irglová is known best for her work with the band, The Swell Season with Glen Hansard. The two also starred in the film “Once”, which these also took home the Oscar for Best Song from the film. Markéta released her first solo album “Anar” in 2011. Her latest solo album “Muna” is a continuation of that album. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Markéta about the album and her music.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about where you pulled your inspiration for your latest solo album “Muna”?
Markéta Irglová: I usually draw inspiration for my work based on experience and what is going on in my life in terms of what resonates. I find that I am not able to write about something that I can’t connect with from an emotional place. So it ends up being things that I am drawn to at that time. It could be things that I am reading or stories that I heard. At the time for “Muna”, I was having an introspective journey and asking myself a lot of questions about life in general. In the past, I would have written songs about relationships because that was how I was learning to relate to the world. This album was a lot about widening my relationship with the world and looking for my own sense of spirituality and outlook on life. In that searching, I came across a lot of material that actually helped me in my own life as well.

MG: How did you come up with the title “Muna”? (Icelandic for “remember”)
MI: For me this is part two of a trilogy of records, which “Anar” was the first. When I finished making “Anar”, I knew that it had to be the first of these three records. It would be connected to the others and be a continuation and extension of each other. I wanted there to be a synchronicity between these three records. I wanted each record to also have a title of one word and consisting of four letters. When I was recording “Muna” in Iceland, I was wondering what it would be called and I was looking for a word. I was thinking that remembering is sort of a theme for this record. The idea of remembering something that you forgot a long time ago and trying to chase that memory again. So I asked my engineer/producer, “How do you say remember in Icelandic?” He said “Muna” and I said “Perfect, that is the title”.

MG: Can you compare your recording experiences of “Anar” and “Muna”?
MI: I recorded “Anar” in Chicago and I didn’t have a huge budget for it. I liked the idea though of keeping it simple anyway. I wanted to go in for a couple of weeks and have the recording sessions with local musicians and my friend Aida (Shahghasemi), who I have been playing with at the time. I originally went in to record an EP and ended up having way more material than I needed for an EP, so it turned into a whole record. When I was making “Muna”, I wanted to build on the experience of “Anar” and wanted to have a more lush sound with string arrangements. At the time when I was looking for a studio, I was recommend to a recording studio in Iceland. I knew it was a long way to travel but we decided to do it. Again a lot of local musicians got involved and it developed a more structured lush sound for this album.

MG: The album has religion overtones throughout, especially including part of “The Lord’s Prayer” in the track “Without a Map”; tell us about spiritual influence for this album?
MI: Yeah, I was reading a trilogy of books called “Conversations with God” by Neale Donald Walsch. It happened by accident really, I was visiting a friend of mine and while she was making me some tea, I was going through her books and I just came across these books. I didn’t understand how someone could be having a conversation with God. Was he actually having talks with God or did he make it all up? I didn’t know the answer but I liked what I was reading and ended up getting stuck into these books. At the same time, I was allowing myself to ask all these questions as well. So that was one of the main influences for me. There is also a musical called “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which is something that I saw when I was four years old. It really inspired my entire musical journey through my life and even now it still resonates with me with the songs and performances. It is a musical, so the story is told with song and there is this sort of call and answer between them. I think my approach to song writing is very similar. I have these conversations within these songs, I ask questions and answer them through the music. I ended up reaching through myself and finding out answers to questions that I realized that I already knew the answers to.

MG: “The Leading Bird” is easily one of my favorite tracks on the album; can you talk a little bit about how it was born?
MI: “The Leading Bird”, I actually co-wrote with my friend Aida. She is a friend of mine that I met when I moved to New York. She is a daf percussionist, which is like a Persian drum. She is also a vocalist. She first wrote a poem and then was writing music to it and she told me she was having an issue finishing it. She asked if she could play it for me and maybe I could help her. She played me this idea which was the verse and the bridge of what became “The Leading Bird”. She didn’t know where to take it. We forgot about it for some time and was both working on other things. I was writing this piece a while later on the piano, which I was really liking. It would become the cord progression of the chorus for “The Leading Bird”. When working on it, it occurred to me that it was perfect for Aida’s song. I thought if we joined these two songs together it would be perfect. When I saw her again, we joined the melodies together and put her lyrics over my parts and it was like it was always meant to be. It was a really incredible experience and I have never written a song like that before in my life. It was very inspiring to have this song born in this way.

Photo by Hordur Sveinsson

MG: My other favorite is “This Right Here”; any story behind this one?
MI: “This Right Here” is a very traditional love song with piano and vocal. It was actually written, the entire thing, music and lyrics within one afternoon. I had just sat at the piano and the song just appeared to me. That doesn’t happen very often. Usually an idea will appear and then I put a lot of effort in in order to crystalize the lyrics and music. But this song just kind of appeared, finished in a way. I don’t know how but it did [laughs].

MG: Was there any plan to the order of the songs on the album?
MI: Yeah, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to approach the track list. Mio (Thorisson), my partner, and I had been doing a lot of the post production on the album ourselves. We would burn CDs and listen to them in the car when we went on drives. We would then go back and fix different parts. We also burned them with the tracks in different order. Over the course of listening to these songs together and in different environments, it started to become really clear as how they should be arranged to showcase the gradual growth of the record over the 50 minutes.

MG: Tell us about your upcoming North America and Europe tour?
MI: It is going to be five of us on stage. Aida, who plays the daf and sings with me. Rob Bochnik and Joe Doyle are the bass player and guitar player, who were also part of The Swell Season and also in The Frames. The four of us have done some shows together before when we went to Asia last summer and it worked out really well. I am really excited that they are in for this tour. Also Rosi Golan, a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter is joining us as a support act and also will be on stage for our set as a vocalist as well. So it is going to be a lot of fun.

Troy Baker is one of most well known voice actors in the business. He is known for his roles as Booker DeWitt in “BioShock Infinite”, Joel in “The Last of Us”, Kanji Tatsumi in “Persona 4”, Pain in “Naruto Shippuden”, Hawkeye & Loki in “Avengers Assemble” and The Joker in “Batman: Arkham Origins” and “Batman: Assault on Arkham”. In conjunction with New York Comic Con 2014 and the first annual New York Super Week Festival, Tina Guo will be performing as a guest artist in MYTHOS! A thrilling and unique concert experience, MYTHOS, showcases great music from across the spectrum of modern orchestral genres – inclusive of music from the concert stage, television and film, and video games – featuring the all-star orchestra The Third Estate, conducted by Grammy Award nominee, Austin Wintory, composer of Journey, as well as vocalists from Choral Chameleon.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your involvement with “Mythos” video game concert?
Troy Baker: This counts as a win in my book for social media and for the community of gamers. I was a fan of Journey and especially the music. I reached out to Austin Wintory to compliment him not only on his amazing score but also his subsequent success. That began a long Twitter conversation back and forth about games and how we should collaborate on something musically. Also, competitive cat pictures might have been involved. This happened over at least a year and has culminated into this amazing event.

MG: What do you think that video game music is so important to its fans?
TB: The entire soundscape of a game plays such an integral part in the overall interactive experience. The same is true with movies. Dramatic moments are supported by a musical movement. Games are no different. Everyone can hum the underground tune from Mario Bros, some of us can hum selected themes from Final Fantasy of Metal Gear. What we’ve seen recently is how these thematic musical elements play such a crucial element, almost a character in these games. The main theme and even all the music from The Last of Us is a perfect example of this. Look how much of a role the music in Bioshock Infinite played in the overall experience!

MG: You have voiced many great video games including “Persona 4”, “Diablo III” and upcoming “Batman: Arkham Knight”; what do you enjoy most about video games?
TB: First and foremost I love being a part of making something that I’m going to geek out over later. As a gamer, I get to experience these games on two completely different levels and both are equally magical, first as an actor, then as a player. There’s not too many jobs that can boast that kind of benefit. I love that in the gamespace some no name kid from Texas can be a “leading man” in a huge franchise and maintain some anonymity that allows me to hide behind the character. I always want the role I am playing to take center stage, not me.

MG: Ranging from anime to video games; which is more challenging to work in?
TB: Both have their intrinsic challenges and each job requires a certain skill set. I view myself as a carpenter. I come into every job with my toolbox and I pull out the necessary tool for the job. At it’s root, however, everything I do has a foundation in just being an actor. Sometimes you’ll only use your voice and allow the animators to interpret your performance, others the onus is on you to present that character soup to nuts in your performance.

MG: How was it taking on the role of such an iconic character as The Joker in “Batman: Assault on Arkham”?
TB: In a single word: “humbling”. I grew up on Batman. It was my first comic I ever purchased. I’ve seen everyone from Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and, of course, Mark Hamill portray that role. To in any way be counted among those people, to have stepped into those shoes in any way, is an honor. I would rush home from school to make sure I caught Batman: The Animated Series on TV. Which to me, changed mover animation and how we tell a story in that medium. That show is unparalleled. To be directed by Andrea Romano was nothing short of a dream come true.

MG: What was the best part of getting to voice both Hawkeye and Loki in “Avengers Assemble”?
TB: The fact that they let me! I was cast as Loki first and really thought I would be recast as soon as I was cast in Avengers Assemble as Hawkeye. I’ve always loved Hawkeye, especially after The Ultimates series, because you got to see him as just a guy. Not a superhero with crazy powers, but just someone who is really REALLY good at what they do and can fight shoulder to shoulder along side a god, a gamma freak and a billionaire in an iron suit.

MG: Tell us about your first solo album “Sitting in the Fire”?
TB: It’s been such a labor of love. Some of these songs have been gestating for almost 10 years, waiting for the right time, right place. We finally found both. Our producer, Johnny What, our engineer and mixer Rob King and I, along with our musicians went up into the mountains of Big Bear, California with almost a half a million dollars in gear and tracked this record in an amazing cabin. It was a truly remarkable experience. Death bed moment for me. I’m proud and excited that the album is finally coming out. It’ll be available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and all digital retailers as well as an actual “digital LP” physical copy in select stores October 14th.

Weston Cage is no stranger to the entertainment business. The son of Hollywood heavy weight Nicholas Cage, Weston has dabbled in everything from acting and soundtrack scoring to fronting his own underground metal band “Eyes of Noctum”. Weston’s newest project is his first solo music effort simply titled “Wes Cage”. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Weston recently about the project which he describes simply as “Ghost Metal”.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about your new single?
Weston Cage: “Tell Me Why” is one of those songs that is very different from the rest of the tracks on the album. The record was written with a specific formula in order to have traditional ghost metal sound. It is true to the essence of what I was going for. “Tell Me Why” has a lot of classic roots as it’s a little thrashy while the chorus sticks out. We used a detuned piano in the background along with a lot of industrial elements. My wife wrote the lyrics which are sort about this tortured individual. What’s amazing about the interpretation of the song is that the lyrics can be taken in any way that the listener wants.

AL: What was it like working with your wife on the song lyrics?
WC: It was very refreshing. It was easier for me as the lyrics I write tend to be a bit wordy. Sometimes we have to go in and sort of Frankenstein up my lyrics to make them a little more workable. Having Danielle come in for this track was really great.

AL: Can you tell us about the decision to shift from being in a band to being a solo artist?
WC: I definitely wanted to cater to a larger audience. I also wanted to experiment with some things that are disliked in the black metal genre. I wanted to add more industrial elements and draw on some of my world influence. I wanted to be able to just explore a little more. The other tracks on this new album have more of a symphonic/industrial element to them. Again I just really wanted to be free to explore my influences.

AL: What type of process do you take creatively when working on new material?
WC: It’s a pretty interesting process actually.  I am very unorthodox. I meditate and, during meditation I go so deep that I start to hear things which stem from the unknown. I might hear a melody or something and then elaborate from there. Before I know it I have two or three riffs and the rest of the song starts to come together. I use a variety of instrumentation while creating.

AL: Coming from a family mostly known for film what do you think it was that sparked your interest in music?
WC: Music has been a passion of mine from very early on. When I heard some of my great grandfather and great uncles music I got inspired. Some of that music from “The Godfather” really sparked my interest. As a kid there was always music playing in the background. Everything from Enya to Nine Inch Nails along with other music that had these vast array of sounds. Those definitely planted the seeds in my blood.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the other projects you have in the works?
WC: I have quite a few films lined up right now. I have one that will be shooting Portland that is sort of like a grittier version of “Harold and Kumar”. There are a few others that will be quite interesting as well. One film is dealing with Babylonian/Sumerian history. Musically has been pretty focused on this new solo stuff. On average I have been writing about 15 songs per month. Right now I think I have enough material for 4 more albums.  It will be the gnarly reduction process that I have to get myself through to get rid of the songs that maybe aren’t the best.

 

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Zeta Wave is the musical alias of Aliya Hashemi an up and coming singer-songwriter from Seattle, WA. Her unique sound draws influences from a variety of genres ranging from A Tribe Called Quest to The Beatles and Fiona Apple. Zeta Wave’s debut EP “Over” was released in mid October of this year and Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Aliya recently about the new EP, her first exposure to music and the benefits of being an independent artist.

Adam Lawton: How did you get started in music?
Aliya Hashemi: That is something that goes way, way back. I had gotten a little red piano for Christmas when I was about 4 and from there I just loved anything that made noise. I learned piano when I was 8 and then moved on to flute when I was 12. I wrote my first song around that same time. It was actually an answering machine recording sung to the tune of the “Addams Family” theme song. (Laughs) Also during this time I began to be really drawn to the electric guitar. I don’t know why but it was something I had to do. From there I just started writing more and more songs.

AL: Tell me how you came up with name Zeta Wave?
AH: I have always had some reservations about going by just my name. I think sometimes when that is the case you can easily get billed as a singer/songwriter. I never really wanted to go the Folk route as I feel I have a little more of an edge. I was talking with a friend one night and we threw out the name “Zeta Wave”. I thought it was kind of interesting and spacey. Space is something I have always been interested in so I think it works.

AL: What can you tell us about the new EP?
AH: I have wanted to record now for some time. As I mentioned before I have been writing songs for quite some time. It really a big endeavor when you are putting everything together on your own. It’s pretty amazing now that it’s all done. I am excited to finally have an EP that’s done to the quality and standard that I want. There’s a song on the EP titled “Waltz” that is very dear to me. I lived in Seattle for a long time and the weather especially the winters are very depressing. This song is about being a part of something bigger than you despite what might be going on at a specific moment. It’s basically a love song.

AL: Can you tell us about the first single “Strange Heart Beat”?
AH: That song was one of a bunch that was written during a breakup I was going through. This was one of my favorite from those songs. It has a really catchy chorus and goes over well live. It actually features Zach Nicita from MSMR on drums.

AL: Can you tell how you ended up working with Zach?
AH: Well that song wasn’t originally going to be on the EP but we had some extra time so we added it to the release. A friend of mine turned me on to Zach’s YouTube videos and I thought he was just amazing. I sent him a message through Facebook asking if he would play on the track and he actually responded. It took a little while to get the track done as he was on tour with MSMR but I was patient and that track turned out really great. Zach is a guy who you can tell really loves music so getting to work with him was great.

AL: What is your creative process like?
AH: It has changed over the years. It seems as times goes on I tend to start with the melody. It might be just something I hear in my head and then leave myself a voice memo on my phone. Other times I might be playing guitar and I work out a phrasing and build a melody off of that.

AL: What do you enjoy most about being an independent artist?
AH: Being an independent artist gives you a lot of freedom. You are able to do want you want without any added pressure. There are certainly benefits to being on a major label as they are able to do a lot more but they also have a lot more control over the artists.

AL: Do you have any live shows coming up in the near future and, what do you enjoy most about performing for a live audience?
AH: I hope to do a little more recording, possibly shoot some videos and then start touring in the spring. I did a solo tour a couple winters ago as I figured it would fairly easy to put together since it was just going to be me and my guitar. One of the shows I did was in Washington near my home town and the weather wasn’t the greatest out so I figured the show probably wasn’t going to be overly crowded. There happened to be some older men there that stayed for show and listened to me sing all these songs about break ups and whatever else. They were probably the most intent listeners. It felt like I was singing to my grandfather which was just so great. I love the direct and honest connection you have with the audiences.

Tina Guo has developed an international multi-faceted performance and recording career as a classical cellist and heavy metal electric cellist, erhuist, and composer known for her distinctive sound and improvisatory style in major motion picture, television, and game scores. Tina toured with Japanese superstar Yoshiki of X Japan on his Classical World Tour, and recently appeared with the Tenerife Symphony and Choir in the Canary Islands performing “Batman: The Dark Knight” Suite at the 2014 Tenerife International Film Festival, featured on Electric Cello. In conjunction with New York Comic Con 2014 and the first annual New York Super Week Festival, Tina Guo will be performing as a guest artist in MYTHOS! A thrilling and unique concert experience, MYTHOS, showcases great music from across the spectrum of modern orchestral genres – inclusive of music from the concert stage, television and film, and video games – featuring the all-star orchestra The Third Estate, conducted by Grammy Award nominee, Austin Wintory, composer of Journey, as well as vocalists from Choral Chameleon.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your involvement with “Mythos” video game concert?
Tina Guo: I’ve known Austin (Wintory) since University at USC and have enjoyed working with him over the years on all kinds of musical projects! In the Mythos concert, I will be playing cello on 3 different tracks that are based around the music from his Grammy-nominated score for the PS3 game, Journey, on which I did the original solos as well. I’m super excited and can’t wait to perform these completely new arrangements with a fantastic group of musicians in NYC!

MG: How much of a difference is there between the worlds of a classical cellist and heavy metal electric cellist?
TG: All music is music… for me there’s no difference between genres or even in different kinds of art, whether it be playing the cello, singing, dancing, painting… any kind of expression is expression, and some genres or ways of expression may be more suited to expressing different feelings or energies than others, but in the end, everything is simply a reflection of ourselves. I love dichotomy and extremes, and although there are some extremes between classical music and industrial metal, there are also heavy similarities. For me, the passion, depth, and fury expressed in these two genres make them siblings rather than opposite polarities.

MG: You have worked on various video games including “Diablo III” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”, what do you enjoy most about the genre?
TG: I love to work on all kinds of recording projects- on the Video Game Scores, working with the composers to create a feeling and bringing their notes and their ideas with what the cello and electric cello can bring mood-wise to the score is super fun! Video Games are an important and popular form of entertainment, and the music is such an integral part of it.

MG: Tell us about your one night only solo show “A Journey Through Music”?
TG: That’s my solo show at the Center for the Arts in Escondido, CA which is a gorgeous 1500 seat theatre in the San Diego area. I’ll be playing everything from classical works by Bach and Vivaldi to my Industrial Metal “Queen Bee” to covers of Beatles and Game of Thrones music. (I love Game of Thrones!!) I’ll be joined by a chamber ensemble of amazing musician friends from Los Angeles, my dad will be making a guest appearance to play the Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto, wonderfully talented Uyanga who is an ethnic Mongolian singer will be performing a few pieces with me, and my husband who composed the final two pieces in the show will be joining us onstage as well on keyboard/samples/electronics for those Trailer Music “Epic Music” songs. The show is sponsored by the Asian Heritage Awards, which is the evening before my show in which I will be receiving the 2014 Award in Innovation. I feel very honored and a little intimidated to be among the award recipients, who include molecular biologists, the scientist who discovered the greenhouse effect of halocarbons and led the first NASA assessment on the climate effects of non-CO2 greenhouse gasses, a California Assembly Speaker, the founder of the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and scientist responsible for uncovering the structure of neuroligin, the founders of the Global Institute of Stem Cello Therapy and Research… etc… and then… there’s me… Tina, the girl who saws wood. *hand to forehead* I’m very grateful for the Asian Heritage Society for sponsoring my solo show however, and I hope that I can express through the multimedia performance my version of Innovation through music and art. You can find more info here: http://artcenter.org/event/tina-guo/

MG: Tell us about your upcoming albums?
TG: I just released an album on Oct 1, 2014 called “Tina Guo & Composers for Charity” which is available on iTunes, Loudr.fm, Google Play, and other digital retailers. 100% of the album proceeds are going directly to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to support music education in our underfunded music programs here in America. 13 amazing Film, TV, and Video Game Composers (including Austin Wintory) contributed original pieces that feature the cello for the CD.  In February 2015, I will be releasing a Heavy Metal EP of Metal Classics played on Electric Cello with a full band- Raining Blood, Sanitarium, The Trooper, Iron Man, and Cowboys from Hell. The EP features guest guitarists on a few tracks, including my friends Al Di Meola, Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, and Nita Strauss.