Scott Durbin is one of the founding members of the popular kids television show and band “Imagination Movers”. They have a successfully show that currently airs on Disney Junior. They are also constanstly touring bringing their music to fans all over the world. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Scott about their music, their tour plans for this summer and also what the future brings.

Mike Gencarelli: When you guys started “Imagination Movers” back in 2003, did you ever think that you would be still going this strong today?
Scott Durbin: I would have never imagined this that show would be seen in 50+ countries, translated in 12 languages and we are recognized around the world. For that part of it, I would say “Definitely no”. On the other side, we were so tenacious when we started. We believed that we wanted to create something to encourage creativity in kids, modeling problem-solving and create music for kids that challenged them and did not pacify them. This gets them off the couch and gets them moving around and also their brain moving. Even for parents, like yourself, we wanted to make it something that you could listen to over and over without starting to hate it. We also wanted to make it developmental and age appropriate, so it really connects with the kids. So that part of me says “Yes, I knew we were going to be a success”. We are coming from a real place and doing it for the right reasons.

MG: I love that you guys have such strong educational messages in your show and music while still being entertaining and having fun…
SD: I think it is important to balance them both. If there is too much entertainment it can become campy. If it is too educational, it can be a turn off. But if there is a good balance, you can get the best of both worlds. You can teach and the kids will enjoy learning. I started off teaching in elementary education for 10 years. So in those years that I taught, I saw this level of creativity in the kids was just decreasing and I saw this need for creativity. I think part of the reason why we began. We say that there was no “real people” in kid’s entertainment (going back over 10 years now) and we wanted to change that. We wanted to bring strong male role models to kids. As a teacher, you had a lot of kids that didn’t have a strong male role model at home and I found that having that was invaluable.

MG: You guys are touring all this summer and through the fall, tell us about what you enjoy most about performing live?
SD: Obviously, we have been so blessed with just being able to travel and meet our fans across the globe. We just got back from the UK. We recently did a show in Dubai. An interesting thing about Dubai is that about 80% of the people there are ex-pats from direct countries. The group that brought us over there told us that most of the Western acts they bring over there, potential 95% of the audience are expats other countries like Australia, UK, Canada, or the States. So essentially they are all Western, but when we played in Dubai the audience was Indian, Philippian, Saudi Arabian and the group that brought us in said that they have never seen the amount of diversity that we brought to one of their shows. So for us, I think being able and being accessible to such a diverse group of people makes it worth it. That was so special. It just showed how four dudes from Louisiana can resonate with a six year old from India. When we tour, we get to meet families and hear stories about how the music has affected them and that is so humbling. We are very fortunate to be able to participate in this. There is a certain glimmer of magic in what we get to do.

MG: On July 27th, you guys are playing after the Tampa Bay Rays game at Tropicana Field for a special Christmas in July concert; tell us about that?
SD: I am very excited for this. We got to do it last year and we are lucky enough to get to do it again. The hard part about this is that the Rays are playing the Red Socks. I have a real soft spot for the Rays since I have been following them much more but my dad was a huge Red Socks fan. So I grew up rooting for the Red Socks, so I am little torn here [laughs]. For the Christmas in July, we will probably play about 70 minutes and throw in some fun Christmas songs. We have a really interactive set and the kids have a lot of fun. It is actually really a family concert that moms and dads will enjoy as well. We play live music, so there is so much great energy going around.

MG: Your latest album “Back in Blue” was released last summer which includes second set of songs from season 3; do you have plans for new music?
SD: Yeah, that is a great question. The music industry is changing and how bands get music out to their fans are changing. “Back in Blue” was our first digital release only, so there was no hard copy available. That is something that was so new to us to think that we can’t give you a CD and you have to download it. There are so many great songs from that CD including “Robot Chase Song” and “Have You Ever Seen a Unicorn”. In fact, right now we are actually starting on our ninth album. We did an album called “Rock-o-matic” a few years back, which was a CD/DVD. We created about 35 minutes of additional content with videos, sketches etc and we are looking to do a follow up to that. This time we are going to get our fans to participate. They are also going to get to experience more of the making of the CD and DVD. If you “Like” our Facebook, you can find out more about this.

MG: There hasn’t been new episodes for over a year now; is there a fourth season in the horizon for the “Imagination Movers”?
SD: Right now, episodes are currently are airing on Disney Junior. I don’t know if a fourth season will ever be made. But we are currently working with a production company in Canada right now to create new “Movers” content… So I will leave that at that because I do not know how much I can say right now. Around the corner, don’t be surprised if you are seeing some new content. So we are very excited about that.

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“Weird Al” Yankovic has been parodying music for over 30 years. He has won three Grammy Awards and scored four gold records and six platinum records in his career. Yankovic’s last album “Alpocalypse” in 2011, was his highest Billboard charted album to date coming in at number 9. His latest “Mandatory Fun” was just released and contains some of his best work including parodies on songs by Pharrell and Robin Thicke. He is also supporting the new album with releasing 8 new videos in 8 days (see the first three below). Media Mikes had a chance with chat with “Weird Al” to chat about the new album and his plans for the future.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you chose which songs to parody on “Mandatory Fun” including songs originally performed by Pharrell, Robin Thicke, Iggy Azalea & Lorde?
“Weird Al” Yankovic: Well, it is not a huge secret obviously. I choose songs that are on the top of the charts. I create a list of songs that would be good candidates and that people would be most familiar with. I tend to pick songs that have some really identifiable musical and lyrical hook to them. I look for something that really jumps out of you when you hear it on the radio. Once I have that list, then I narrow it down to the ones that I can come up with a funny idea for.

MG: With “Mandatory Fun”, you produced eight music videos for this album; tell us these and your plan for them?
AY: I decided to do eight videos in eight days because I wanted to make the release of this album a bit of an event. MTV isn’t really music television anymore and video channels don’t exist for the most part. The internet is the new MTV. So I wanted to do a big internet promotion to get a lot of people’s attention. My videos are usually consumed rapidly and enthusiastly but in a much shorter cycle. So I thought if I can get each of my videos to go crazy viral for just one day each that would be a wonderful weeklong event for this new album. I wanted to make this first week very special.

MG: The video for “Tacky” is already a viral hit including celeb cameos from Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal, Jack Black; how was it shooting this? Also it was done all in one shot right?
AY: It was, yes! I know there is one part where it looks like it might have been cut but I guarantee you there were no edits. It was one continuous shot. This was the most fun that I have ever had working on a video. I got to work with such fun, talented and professional people. It was like playtime and we never wanted it to end. We went through six takes and afterwards I looked at them all and the last take had a little something special to it, so we used that one. Jack Black, I have to tell you was just amazing. His energy was so intense. Every take he has this amazing level of enthusiasm that was just impossible to match.

MG: Do you find that the songs that you parody actually become more popular due to your work?
AY: Well, I have been told that my parodies do help the artists sell more albums. Executives at Nirvana’s record label once told me they sold the band an extra million copies of “Nevermind” due to my song. So from an artist’s prospective, if you look at the bottom line, it is in their favor to have a parody.

MG: When you do a “style parody” of a band like Foo Fighters or a full out song parody like “Word Crimes”, which takes on “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke; which is more challenging?
AY: The song parodies have a little more pressure because they are going to get the most attention. The style parodies are a whole lot more work and a lot more of me invested in them. I am writing the music as well. They sound like another artist but it is even a lot more work than writing a straight original because not only am I writing an original but I have to study an artists’ body of work, take notes and use every type of stylistic idiosyncrasy that I can to shape that song and have it sound like someone else.

MG: What would you say is your most successfully song? Personal favorite?
AY: Successful is easy. That would be “White & Nerdy”. It was the highest charting and highest selling song. It is a platinum hit selling over a million downloads. So in this day and age, that is pretty impressive. Personal favorite might be that one also. “White & Nerdy” is probably my most autobiographical song [laughs]. You don’t have to dig too deep or do too much reference because I have lived that life.

MG: I heard that “Mandatory Fun” may be your last traditional full length album; what are your future plans?
AY: I figure there is a very good chance of that happening. Yes, this is my last album on my record contract. Going forward, I don’t really think I should be doing full length albums anymore. If I have wait until I have twelve songs all at once, then a lot of those songs might not be fresh or timely. So I think it would behoove me to go with a system that would allow me to release new songs more frequently, maybe not all at once but just to get the songs out there.

MG: Are you planning a tour to accompany “Mandatory Fun”?
AY: Yes, the “Mandatory Tour” will commence in 2015. I don’t know exactly when or where just yet but we will be on the road then and doing a bunch of shows.

Dave “The Snake” Sabo is the guitarist for the hard rock/heavy metal band Skid Row who recently released the first of 3 EP’s titled “United World Rebellion Chapter 1”. With Chapter 2 set for an early August release and Chapter 3 slated for release in 2015 the band originally from Toms River, NJ shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Media Mikes recently had the pleasure of speaking with Snake about the bands current releases, his 28 yr writing/band partnership with bassist Rachel Boland and balancing the duties of being a guitarist and manager.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the second EP you have coming out and why you chose to release the album via 3 separate EP’s?
Snake Sabo: The music business is much more different now that it was through the better part of our career. We were raised on doing things a certain way in that you release a record of 12 or 14 songs and then you go out and tour for 2 years. For us that just doesn’t work anymore. We are living in an age of information overload. Things are being thrown at us at such a rapid basis that it’s hard to take it all in and navigate through the white noise. With the way music is being delivered these days we started to feel that maybe less is more. We figured we could hit people with a few songs, let them digest a bit and hopefully you have left them wanting more. Doing things this ways makes sense on a number of different levels. Economically we are able to keep costs down in the studio as we are only in there for about 2 weeks which is awesome. We can also keep the retail/download prices down as well. We aren’t asking the listeners to invest a lot of time or money in to something we are just hoping that we can provide them with something they can get off on and enjoy. We then do the whole process again 8 or 9 months down the line which gives us a steady stream of material being released. Things are very much in the moment because that’s how we are creating it. It is very fresh and pure and not convoluted in anyway. We didn’t go in and write 20 songs that we are just released over time we have written separately for each release so far. Things are working really well for us this way and it feels great. We are having a lot of fun. This new EP was probably the most fun I have ever had doing a Skid Row record. Rachel and I were pretty much on the same page the whole time and everyone in the band was galvanized. We dove head first in to this and no matter where something started it became all of ours in the end. It was really great to be a part of that.

AL: The new EP’s both seem to be quite a bit heavier than the bands previous releases. Was this something you did consciously or did that happen more naturally?
SS: Things happened very naturally. We want to write the best songs we can within where are collective headspaces are at during that time. Things tend to start out with a conversation and from there we just follow things in to songwriting.  This time around we asked ourselves why we make music. It always comes back to it being the most pure form of expression for us even from the time we were teenagers. Music was and still is the great escape for us. We found that feeling again and got back to it. We noticed things really didn’t change from when we used to stand in front of the mirror dreaming we were Gene Simmons or Ace Frehley. Our problems might be different these days but things are just as impactful and dramatic as they were when we were 16. Music is our avenue for expression so we pealed back some layers of the onion to get to the heart of things again and that helped us realize what was going on. From there the light just kicked on and away we went.

AL: How has yours and Rachel’s writing relationship evolved over the years?
 SS: I think we probably know each other better than anyone else in our lives. 28 years will do that. It’s one of those things where if we aren’t hanging out every day we are at least communication in some form or another. It’s very rare we go through a day without speaking. With all the life we have experienced together we just have a tremendous amount of respect for one another. We have each other’s backs regardless. When we are working and I come with an idea in my head and Rachel has a feeling in his heart we go with that feeling over the head every time. That’s not always the easiest thing to do but judgment wise it has always worked out in the end. It takes a lot of living life to get to that point with somebody. I am really proud we have been able to not only coexist but flourish in keeping Skid Row alive for 28 years now.

AL: What is it that appeals to you about putting out new music? And is it hard to introduce that new material being that you have such a well know back catalog?
SS: Sure it can be hard. You want to be self indulgent but at the same time people are paying money to see you play and you know they want to hear specific songs. I believe there is a way to make both sides happy. I am proud of everything we have ever done as a band. I have no problem playing “Youth Gone Wild” or a new song like “Kings of Demolition”. To me it is all cut from the same cloth so I can be upset if people want to hear one song more than another. I am thankful people want to listen and am very proud of that. We have been introducing some newer stuff and it has been going over well lately and it has been getting more than just a golf clap. The songs are infectious so you can’t help but bob your head to a song like “Kings”. When I go to shows I find it exciting to hear new music. I remember seeing Soundgarden open up for Neil Young one time and they played the song “Spoon Man”. This was just before “Super Unknown” came out. I loved that song! I think about how that experience had an impact on me and I hope that our material will have the same impact.

AL: The band has been out since April touring. How far will this current tour run take the band?
SS: We are booked through mid December. We plan to take some time off for the holidays and we are talking about getting together sometime in January to start writing the 3^rd EP. With the second EP coming out in August we want to go out and tour on that as well so by January it will have been out 4 or 5 months by then so we will probably want to tour some more in support of that. Our goal is to tour 6 to 8 months for each EP release. A lot will depend on how the releases are received by the public as well as with where are heads are at when we decide to sit down and start writing. As long as we are still having fun each night we will continue to be out there.

AL: You also manage bands. How do you go about balancing your duties for each project?
SS: I don’t know. (Laughs) I love working with the guys from Down and Vintage Trouble. Doing that almost balances everything out. At one point I’m out on the road doing shows and all that and then I get to step out of that roll and in to the role of manager where I still get to be involved in music but on a different level. It can be trying at time but technology has a wonderful way of keeping everyone connected. If I didn’t have that I don’t know what I would do.

 

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Mike Watt is probably best known as the bassist for the influential 80’s punk band Minutemen.  Following the death of the group’s lead singer D. Boon in 1985 Watt went on to form and play with other seminal rock groups such as Firehose, Dos and more recently The Stooges. Watt’s latest project Il Sogno Del Marinaio is a 3 piece Avant-garde group that bends and blends musical genres and instrumentation. Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Mike recently about the group’s new album and their upcoming 53 date tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some back ground on Il Sogno Del Marinaio?
Mike Watt: I’m a bit partial to trio’s and this new group is a very traditional trio however lately things been a bit different. With Missingmen and Black Gang I put those groups together to play my opera’s. I asked the guys who made up those groups if they would take direction to help me realize that piece of work. Then for 125 months I helped the Stooges which were the opposite as they were the ones telling me what needed to be done. With Il Sogno Del Marinaio its closer to what I was doing with D. Boon in Minutemen as there is a lot more collaboration going on. The band’s name means sailors dream and the other two guys in the group Stefano Pilia and Andrea Belfi are from Italy. They are about 20 years younger than me so I am like their student. How we came together was a total accident. I was in Italy doing some shows with Secondman and the promoter put Stefano with us to help navigate the area. About 4 or 5 years later I get an email out of the blue from Stefano asking me to come play some shows with him and a friend of his (Andrea Belfi). I didn’t even know Stefano was a musician. I knew he knew about the music scene but come to find out both him and Andrea are schooled musicians whose styles come from Avant-garde. Though our styles are different we share the same punk roots. That’s part of the reason why I feel like I am their student as I am learning a new style of music from them. It’s going to be great to bring these guys over here to the states and show them the landscape and expose American listeners to their playing. Here in the states you don’t get to hear a lot of Italian artists so this run of shows is going to be really special.

AL: The tour is very fast paced in that you are doing 53 shows in 53 days. Can you tell us about that?
MW: Coming from groups like the Minutemen who toured with bands like Black Flag doing shows like this is a tradition. It’s not really too wild or crazy as this is what I have always done. When Stefano asked me to first play with them we had to get the material together. My idea was to do some more shows together so the guys put together a small mini tour of 6 gigs.  Between the 3^rd and 4^th gig we made our first album. This will actually be our second tour for our second album. The guys know it will be a lot of work but they don’t see the B in burden they see the O in opportunity. If you really want to get out there and do a tour right you have to hit all the places not just the big ones.

AL: Can you tell us about the new album?
MW: This second album is much different from the first. When we did the first album we had just those three gigs together and that was it. The album was informed by just knowing each other and that was it. This new album is definitely formed from a different place. I think it’s important to make something different each time. Albums are almost like diary entries as they almost document what was going on during the time it was made. We worked with Bruno Germano in Bologna at a studio that was built inside a barn. It was such a cool place that the whole time I was there I never left it. Bruno has a more natural direction that doesn’t use a lot of effects to capture the moment. Bruno also brought a fourth man perspective which made the sound much more different. Bruno also was the guy who mixed the album. We did the album in about 8 days and I think it turned out really well. I got put in some interesting places and I thank the guys for that.

AL: Was there ever a time you were asked to step too far out of your comfort zone?
MW: The first thing was that those guys are trained musicians in other forms of playing than just rock and roll. They are capable of playing all these different time signatures very naturally. For me it was a bit harder to go back and forth from 4/4 to a more intricate signature. These guys have an expertise that is more accomplished. I had a similar problem when I worked on the song I did with Miku which was written in 7. In fact the drummer had to pound the rhythm for that out on my back. (Laughs) I got it but I needed a little help. It’s not bad to do things like this though because I think that if you don’t try shit and you always have the training wheels on then I feel it cheats things a little bit. You should always give things a try even if they may frustrate you a little bit at first.

AL: Was the song writing a collective effort or was there one guy who wrote a majority of the music?
MW: We all brought in our own tunes. I think I brought in 4 or 5 things. I didn’t honesty think that we would do all of what I brought in but when it was all said and 4 of my songs made it on the album. We did 12 songs all together. We all have distinctive ways of writing. I write on the bass on purpose and I don’t write anyone else’s parts. Andrea writes for everyone and Stefano writes only the guitar. We all take different approaches to composition. I come in with the bass lines and then give them to other guys to do their thing. I will change structure based on what the other person comes up with.  Stefano likes to put out guitar licks and then watches for what we do. He then will develop a melody right there in the moment. Andrea’s like to map everything out via Midi demos. We did a lot of work right there in the studio. Prior to the sessions starting we all did our homework and were prepared.

AL: Besides this album coming out in August what other releases do you have planned for this year?
MW: I just had an album come out titled “CUZ”. We started that fucker 6 years ago and just by coincidence it came out right now. That’s the problem with doing a lot of projects as things start to overlap yet you want to make sure that you give each project the proper respect. This “CUZ” album was the first time I ever made an album in England. Recording there was a bit different. We did a couple days of jamming and then parts were pulled from those sessions to make songs from. This is a very strange yet interesting album. This is something they want to try and do live which is pretty trippy to think about.

AL: Do you find it hard splitting time between multiple projects?
MW: (Laughs) Look what happened with Il Sogno Del Marinaio. I could even release the record because we couldn’t tour for three years! When I am working with a group I work with them like it is my only band. You don’t want to give a half ass effort. I go all the way with everything so I have to dedicate my time to each project. It’s hard to be in more than one place so I have to plan further ahead than I used to. This tour coming up I started booking back in January. If you want to give people a good shot of what you can do for them then you have to be planning ahead. I just did some shows with Big Walnuts Yonder that have been in the works for a couple years now. Those guys have some really crazy schedules.

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March 13, 1979. A group of friends and I are at the Lakeland (Florida) Civic Center to take in a concert by STYX. The opening band that night is The Baby’s, fronted by singer/songwriter John Waite. As the concert begins, I meet a young lady who surprisingly takes a keen interest in me. As a gentleman never reveals his secrets, I’ll just say that every time I hear the song “Every Time I Think of You”…I think of her.

I recount this story to John Waite as we meet up to talk about his long musical career and the new release of “BEST,” an 18-song collection of Waite’s favorite songs, both as a member of the Babys and Bad English as well as his successful solo career, which includes the huge #1 hit “Missing You.”

Mike Smith: Why did you feel that now was the right time to release a “Best of” collection?
John Waite: Last year I put out an amazing live album. It shook me at how amazingly true it was. It was one of my greatest wishes to be able to put out an album like that while I was still able to sing the way I sing. Having done that I became aware of what songs were included on the live album and wished there were more. To make a long story short, I went to a photography exhibition by Richard Avedon on accident at Christmas. I went and stared at this wall of photos and wondered what they would sound like with music. To see this collection of his favorite photos not only planted the seed…it kicked me up the ass! I went back to England for Christmas with my sketch book and just made notes over a two week period. And then I hit the ground running. I re-cut “Back on My Feet Again” because I thought I could sing it better. I had only written it three hours before I first sang it all those years ago. I wanted to do it “stripped down,” as most of my music is now. I wanted to do it very “spar.” And I’ve always wanted another crack at “Missing You,” because I think it’s a great song. And I think it really has a lot in it when it has “less” in it. It’s a true child of the 80’s for sure…it’s a “singles” mix.

MS: How long did it take you to decide what songs you wanted to include?
JW: I went into the project with 18 songs in mind. Well, 17 really. There is an acoustic song called “I’m Ready” which is just me playing the guitar. It’s a song about reincarnation and I was hesitant about putting it on. But it was so much “me” and so much about my roots. It’s a sweet song, really. And then there are songs like “Bluebird Café” that maybe got away from people. These are the songs I felt were my best. They were the ones that always stuck out to me like a sore thumb and they’re the ones that I like the best. I rang up a friend of mine who played bass and asked him “should I put on this song…should I put on that song” and he said “what are you asking me for…just put on your best!” That was the opinion I got and that was the opinion I took. It’s my life…this is who I am.

MS: Do you have a personal favorite among your own songs?
JW: I think “Bluebird Café” is great because it’s just me and a guitar, with a little violin in the back somewhere. It’s a story. And I like story songs. Those are my roots. I grew up with Western-songs (NOTE: rock and roll, blues – NOT country and western). A song like “Suicide Life” is dark. A really dark song. But it’s also a true story in some ways. It’s my take of being in the belly of Hollywood at night. It’s about the people that inhabit the streets…the ones behind the neon. The society of people that take over when no one is looking. I love singing that song too. All the songs I’ve put on there are ones I love singing the most. So in answering your question, maybe that’s why all 18 songs are on there. They’re the ones that are closest to my heart.

MS: I guess it’s almost like asking a parent which child is his favorite.
JW: Yeah, yeah…absolutely. These are the ones that I’ve put the most heart in to. I wanted to explain where I come from. And the live section features the band playing the living shit out of the songs (laughs). And then there is the duet (NOTE: Waite duets with Allison Krauss on a new version of “Missing You”) which I thought was a great way for the album to go out. I’m very happy with it…it was a very satisfying project. It’s left me looking at my work and knowing what it meant. And it makes me excited to start a new record. I’ve got enough new songs that I could go into the studio today. But I’m putting it off because this record is occupying my time now. I’m sure I could go in and knock it out in two weeks as most of it is going to be acoustic. It’s going to be a very interesting record.

MS: If the album is successful, can you find another 18 songs for a ‘BEST: PART 2”?
JW: No, I wouldn’t do that. These are the songs. I went and re-recorded the ones I felt needed to be re-recorded. I wanted to show off the band, playing live. That is something you’re not going to get, at a high degree, on a “greatest hits” record. There’s the duet…there are some current songs. It’s my take on ME. Like I said, I asked my friend the bass player and this is what I want. It’s like the Richard Avedon photo exhibition. Those were his favorites…his best. I think it would be a bit boring trying to do Volume 2.

MS: What do you have coming up? I know you said you hope to record again shortly. Are you touring this year?
JW: Yes, we’ve gotten a few gigs in this year and we’ve done quite well, actually. The response has been “5 star” caliber reviews. And I’m very pleased with that. Especially with playing the acoustic songs. We have 10 gigs on the book now and we should be done with them by the end of next month. And hopefully we’ll double that or triple that. I just want to keep playing. And then there’s the next album. I think now is the right time to begin it.

MS: Well I hope you make it here to the Midwest. I’ve seen you a few times over the years and you never disappoint.
JW: Thank you. Apparently I’m good luck for you. (laughs and then begins singing) “Every time I think of you…..”

MS: Exactly! When you’re 17 or 18, that’s a memory that stays with you for the rest of your life!
JW: 17 is a magical age. I think it was my favorite year. 17 was the big one!

Genevieve Goings is best known for her work with Disney Junior’s Choo Choo Soul. You might also know her as Miss Hugs from Fisher-Price’s Little People product line. She just released her first solo children’s album called “Do You Know” with amazing and fun new music for kids (and parents) to enjoy and learn from. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Genevieve (again) to discuss the album as well as her new role at Disney Junior.

Mike Gencarelli: This is your first solo children’s album; tell us about the evolution of “Do You Know”?
Genevieve Goings: Yes it is, I am just so happy that it is finally out! It started when I was working with Fisher Price. It sparked something inside me. When we came to the end of that project, I felt like I had more creativity left in me. It is more important with programming and corporations not to stuff the education aspect down kid’s throat, so to speak. There is more of a storyline with magic and the discovery. So none of my clients are looking for those straight educational songs but I have had so many ideas for these songs. I thought how about if I put out the educational album and I can stick with the magical storytelling songs for them. I think when I completed the song “How Many Fives Around The Clock?”, that was when I knew I had something special. That song is so cool, catchy and fun. So it all started with that.

MG: How does these songs differ from Choo Choo Soul?
GG: When I was working on the songs, I had a white board up jotting down ideas and putting different pictures up on a cork board. I was looking at photos for Choo Choo Soul and I was thinking who that person would be if is she wasn’t in that costume. I was making a list of my favorite parts of Choo Choo Soul, like the fact that I have a costume and not showing any skins. I wanted to find the places where I can push the boundaries. Some of those are just being really super silly and not following any of the rules for songwriting, especially in the song “Aeiou”, which is just completely ridiculous and I love it [laughs]. I think a lot more humor came out in this album as well. It still really pulls from my roots in R&B and soul music though. I discovered myself also while making this album. I have been and still am the train conductor, but I got to find out who is Genevieve by herself.

MG: “My Telephone Number is…” is one heck of catchy song and honestly can’t get it out of my head; tell us about how the song came to be?
GG: I thought it encompassed the idea of what “Do You Know” is. I couldn’t find any other songs like this out there. I did that with the whole album. I wanted to see what was needed out there. I also went out and asked parents what song topics they wanted. I feel like that melody is so catchy and fun. I even got responses already from parents that their kids were learning their own number due to it. So that is so amazing to hear.

MG: The video for “My Telephone Number is…” was very fun; what future videos do you have planned for this album?
GG: “Inside Voice” was just released, which I just love. It is such a fun video to shoot. I also have a video “How Many Fives Around The Clock?” and “Rainbow Colors” coming up but they were shot on a green screen and are just waiting to be animated. So that is very exciting.

MG: Congrats on being named the new host on the “Radio Disney Junior” hour on Radio Disney! Tell us about this new gig?
GG: Thanks! They are really pushing the new Watch Disney Junior app. They added a radio function to the app. I am hosting that whole radio station for that app. It is a loop that plays throughout the day. There is a “Pirate and Princess Hour”. There is a “Storybook Hour”. There is a “Magic of Disney Hour”. So it started with me working with the app and then I guess they thought, “Why we don’t bring her over to the real radio station”. So I have been recording for that as well now. I have been doing voice over so long that I expected a script but it is a free formed thing and I am able to talk with just the kids and it has been so amazing.

MG: Tell us about the PSA you recorded for Disney Junior as well?
GG: I love this PSA! When you purchase Disney Junior branded products that say “Give a book, Get a book” on it, you get a code and go online to enter it. You select a region you want to give a book to and they really are delivering actual book. Then you also get a digital copy of a book yourself. I have always been into literacy and teaching, so this is really great.

MG: With these two new Disney Junior projects; any plans for new videos or songs in the works for Choo Choo Soul?
GG: We don’t have any planned right now but I have been doing some other new songs with Disney Junior’s “The Power of Doing Good”, which is their new initiative now. I have been doing some commercial voice work for them. It is definitely promising that they are keeping me around and using my voice. It is such a production to put on for Choo Choo Soul with the cast of kids, the costumes and the animation. We are also trying to share Disney Junior with so countries around the world. So you take a show like “Sofia the First”, it is easy to translate into 36 different languages but not so much for myself and my voice. But I wouldn’t say the door is completely closed for Choo Choo Soul. Like the way that the PSA was, there could be more opportunities that way. I guess as long as I can fit into the costume [laughs].

Click here to purchase “Do You Know” on CD

Click here to download “Do You Know” on iTunes

Michelle Beebs is the lead vocalist for the funk/ska band Beebs and Her Money Makers. The group was featured heavily on the Fuse Channels original series “Warped Roadies” and have been burning up stages across the U.S. ever since. The group recently released a brand new studio album titled “The Wurst Album Ever” and is set to take over the Journey’s stage as part of this year’s Warped Tour line up. Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Beebs recently about the new album as well as about the impact of being on “Warped Roadies”.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the band’s new album?
Michelle Beebs: Honestly it’s the worst album ever! (Laughs) We didn’t put a lot of effort in to it but we did what we could. (Laughs)  It’s a really fun album that I think everyone is going to really enjoy. We have been on this sort of ska frenzy lately so there is quite a bit of that on their mixed in with some funk as we certainly are a funky band. We also included a cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls” on the record which was a lot of fun to work on.

AL: Were you working on this record while being out on the road this past year?
MB: We were writing while we were out on tour and as soon as we got home we just started compiling everything. We found that the songs you work on the most tend to be the ones that suck while the ones that come together pretty quickly tend to be more fun. We work pretty fast and generally end up with songs that are really poppy and catchy. The ones that we decide to put to the side and go back to later generally don’t make it.

AL: can you tell us about the video for “Out the Door” and what made you decide to choose that particular song?
MB: We had originally planned to release a video for “Death to Ego” first but last minute we switched it to “Out the Door”. We just weren’t quite sure if the world was ready for that much funk at once. Our drummer Paul actually directed the video and I got to drive the coolest car ever. I wish I could have kept that car but they wouldn’t let. I keep trying to wear them down so I can have it. I have found that being persistent can either get you a restraining order or get you lunch with someone. (Laughs) That was the case with John Stamos.

AL: John Stamos has a restraining order against you or you guys are going to lunch?
MB: Well I want to put on record that Beebs and Her Money Makers have beef with John Stamos. He promised to have lunch with the band and then totally bailed on us. I’m not saying that my feelings are hurt but he certainly disappointed me.

AL: This album has similar artwork to your previous releases. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
MB: We have had the same guy doing our art work since the very first album. His name is Tony Baldini and he is just amazing. He actually did a full comic book on as and we are currently working on a second one which should be out next year.

AL: Can you tell us how you first got involved with performing on the Warped Tour?
MB: It was like magic! We were playing the Florida Music Festival which was being held in downtown Orlando and Kevin Lyman was a keynote for the festival. He saw our performance and came up to me afterwards and introduced himself. He said he thought we were amazing and asked if we would come out on Warped Tour the following year. I still to this day don’t know if that was even real.

AL: How did being involved with the television show come about?
MB: Kevin called me and told me they were going to do a second season of “Warped Roadies” and they were looking to follow two female artists this time around. They were looking at doing one independent artist and one that was on a label. They chose us and Echosmith who are on Warner Brothers.

AL: You and the band had a lot of big moments happen while on the tour. What was it like having the cameras there to capture everything?
MB: It was all just so crazy! Everything you saw was real and I am glad the cameras were there as the summer just happened so fast. So much went on it was hard to retain it all. (Laughs) I met my brother for the first time, my dad came out to the tour, I met a boy, got to sing with Reel Big Fish and ended up becoming good friends with those guys. We actually got to tour with them recently which was awesome! It’s really just hard to believe that all that stuff happened within two months.

AL: Were you surprised with the impact the show has had on the band?
MB: Kevin Lyman has been a huge inspiration to me on a business level. I was already trying to make it to the lecture the day he asked us to be on Warped Tour but I didn’t make it. That day was crazy and then I end up meeting him and being asked to be on the tour. This whole experience has been so surreal and leading up to all this we were working and still are working very hard. I will forever be in debt to Kevin for everything.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands plans for this summer and any other plans you guys might have?
MB: This summer is going to be crazy! We partnered with a company called Flutter Fetti who is the industry’s leading confetti maker. We are going to be playing on the Journey’s stage this year and we have so much cool stuff added to the show that our performances are going to awesome. We are going to have confetti at our merchandise stand for people to throw during our set. We are bringing out the Jam Bot this year and we are also encouraging people to come dressed as their own super hero. It can’t be one that already exists it has to be something they created. We plan to pick the top three or four at each show to come up and dance on stage with us during our set. It’s just going to be a lot of fun.

Ruben Alvarez is the guitarist for the San Antonio, Texas based band Upon a Burning Body. The group recently released their 2nd full length album titled “Red. White. Green.” Via Sumerian Records and will once again be a part of this year’s Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Media Mikes spoke recently with Ruben about the album’s release and the bands plans for this summer’s tour run.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us a little background on the bands formation?
Ruben Alvarez: We had all been members of different bands here in the San Antonio area. Danny and Sal had wanted to start up a side project and they were the ones who started Upon a Burning Body. I jumped in a month or two later. Basically this side project took off way faster than any of our other bands. People really started liking us and were coming out to the shows so we realized we had something with this group.

AL: Can you tell us about the new album “Red. White. Green.”?
RA: When the band goes out on the road it becomes very hard to write so this time around we had our producer and a couple other songwriters working with us. We still brought a lot of songs to the table as a band but we chose a couple of their songs do go along with six of ours to help change the feel of the record. We wanted to keep our style while adding some diversity. I think it’s going to be our biggest record so far.

AL: how do you guys go about adding in that diversity while staying true to your original sound/style?
RA: I have always looked at song writing and you are telling a story through music. I feel that if we can write a good story and we can add in some chaos to that it will make for a fun listen. It definitely changes with each song. A lot really depends on what we want the song to be about. We like to listen to the songs and see what type of emotion it has and then go deeper from there.

AL: Do you ever feel limited or confined to write in the genre you are identified with?
RA: There is definitely a barter that goes on. We have to stay true to our sound because this is what we have always been and what our fans like. It’s always a scary moment for a band when you transition to a bigger sound because you don’t know how many fans you may lose or gain. You have to try and keep that familiar vibe. For us it’s all about the energy.

AL: What are you guys most looking forward to about being back on this year’s Mayhem Festival?
RA: The cool thing about this year’s tour is that we are going to be on a bigger stage. When we did the tour the first time we were on a small side stage. Last time out we were playing to around 3,000 people per shows and this time were going to be playing to around 15,000 people per show. This is a big step up for us.

AL: What is it that appealed to you about joining Mayhem Festival as opposed to going out on your own solo headlining tour?
RA: I think Mayhem is just such an awesome tour to be on. For me it’s the new “”OzzFest”. It’s a big metal tour for metal heads. I love metal heads because they are just so crazy and into the bands. I think if we toured on our own we would get sort of demolished as there are so many great tour packages out there. We had to be very precise with what we want to do as a band because of that.

AL: What are the bands plans after Mayhem Festival?
RA: Things are pretty crazy right now. Even before Mayhem starts we are going to be out on a short headliner run then we are going out with Emmure for some show in Canada before we take off for Download Festival. We get a couple weeks off and then we hit the road for Mayhem and go from there.

Trevor Jackson is the guitarist for the punk rock band The Revenant. The band which also includes former Unwritten Law members Derik Envy and Kevin Besignano along with Lit drummer Nathan Walker has just released their self titled debut album to rave reviews. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Trevor recently about the album, what it was like balancing multiple projects and the bands upcoming tour plans.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us what led to you guys forming the band?
Trevor Jackson: We had all known each other from touring and we all had a common ground in that we wanted to do something that was our own. We have all had some great opportunities in the past but at the end of the day we wanted to see what could happen if we got together and wrote some songs. Derik and Kevin knew each other from playing together in Unwritten Law and I had toured with Nate so it really was probably the easiest way a band could come together. We never really did any auditioning or things like that just started writing music together. Things just worked.

AL: How did you go about deciding which direction to take the band in stylistically?
TJ: We all came from playing in other people’s band so we weren’t too sure which direction to go. When you get together with 4 new guys you have no idea what things will sound like. We pretty much went in completely open. We just started writing together and let things develop throughout the pre-production process. We all come from different music backgrounds and everybody in the band has a specific strong point. Writing wise we would all sit down together and work through the different ideas. No one really had any egos. An idea would get thrown out and we would all just start working on it together. A lot of times Kevin or Derik would come in with a song and we could hammer it out in 45 minutes or so. We all just worked really well together.

AL: Was it hard for you guys to balance your time between multiple projects?
TJ: Making the transition from one project to another came with some difficulty however it was something that we all really wanted to do. We really believed in what we were doing so anytime we had down time we went right in to the garage to demo songs or rehearse.

AL: Can you tell us about the first 4 songs you guys released?
TJ: The full album came out June 17^th but to get people familiar with who we are prior to that we decided to release 4 songs from the album. These were songs that we really liked but it was a little weird only picking the 4. Our whole record is 10 songs that run just over 20 minutes. Those first few songs sort of showcase the albums variety.

AL: Have you guys started discussing tour plans yet?
TJ: That’s all we talk about. (Laughs) We have been putting the word out and talking about some different things but I think the biggest thing we wanted to do first was to get the record out. We want fans of music and punk rock to get the album and decide for themselves what they think of it. If we get a phone call today I am sure we would have the van packed and be on the road but right now we are shooting for towards the end of summer to back out on the road. This project was something that we have been pretty quiet about thus far. We wanted to get everything recorded and done before we really started telling anyone about it. This is something we are having great time doing it and we can’t wait for people to hear the album.

Spider One is the lead vocalist for the industrial metal band Powerman 5000. The group has just recently released a brand new album of original material titled “Builders of the Future” and will be hitting the States this summer with (hed) p.e. Media Mikes had the chance recently to speak with Spider about the new album, the bands creative process and their upcoming video release.

AL: Can you give us some info on the band new album “Builders of the Future”?
Spider One: We are so bad about putting out new material in a timely way. The last album of original material we put out was in 2009 and then we had an album of covers come out which was a bit weird. That covers album was a project that I thought was never going to come out. I didn’t want it to be a record but somehow it ended up being one.  I had thought we were going to do some songs for licensing purposes but then it turned into more than that. That album took up some time but in reality the band doesn’t work in the traditional schedule of record and tour then repeat. We sort of work more off and on. This record was made in bits and pieces and probably if you added up all the time we put into the record it would all even out but this one did take a little longer. I like how we work as it give me time to think about the songs and even try stuff out on the road. We actually started playing the first single off this record “How to Be a Human” over a year ago. We were able to get a good test of how people reacted to it. By the time it came out as a proper single people were expecting it and knew it. We create things sort of erratically.

AL: By working in the way you described do you find yourself revisiting material that at one time you felt was completed and reworking on it?
SO: Sometimes. We do a lot of self editing. You always hear about bands recording 40 plus songs and then narrowing it down to 11. We edit things as we go so by the time we get to the end we have the songs that are going on the record. We don’t end up with a lot of extra material. If something isn’t working we just scrap it. There are some older ideas that made it on the album but for the most part we don’t keep a lot of extra stuff lying around.

AL: Does everyone bring in song ideas or are you the primary writer for the group?
SO: I usually work in conjunction with at least one other member. I play a little guitar but not enough to where I can do everything on my own. I write a majority of the lyrics and handle the arrangements but as far as guitar parts go I might lay out something very primitive and then give it over to the other guys to give it that little something extra. I’m definitely not in the studio creating these songs on my own. Everyone works on the track to make it their own.

AL: Being known as a visual band has there been any talks of releasing a new music video?
SO: We released a lyric video for “How to Be a Human” and we also have a more traditional video set to release for that same song. Things are much simpler these days when it comes to shooting a video. The days of making million dollar videos that at the time were considered “cheap” are long gone. If you can scrounge $5,000 to do a video today you’re doing ok. We went very stripped down with this new video and I think it looks really cool. It was kind of a relief to make a video that basically just shows the band playing.

AL: Did you find it harder to capture what you wanted to get across with that limited budget?
SO: You have to be smart about what you are doing. You have to know that you aren’t going to be able to make “Star Wars” on a $5,000 budget. You have to approach things correctly. I have shot videos for other bands as well and it’s pretty amazing what you can do with a smaller budget. You don’t need a huge budget to make a quality video. Things can certainly be more challenging but there are a number of elements that are a lot easier.

AL: Can you tell us about the two versions of the album which are available?
SO: A lot of times with certain retailers they ask for different versions of an album that is sold exclusively in their stores. Obviously the idea is to get the person buying the album to come to their store. We don’t generally have a lot of material lying around but we were able to come up with a couple bonus tracks for a deluxe version of the album which will be available exclusively at Best Buy.

AL: Are there plans to tour behind the release?
SO: We just wrapped up a 6 week U.S. run and we getting ready to head over to Europe for a run of shows over there. We will be hitting a number of the big festivals over there which puts us on bills with ands like Metallica, The Rolling Stones and Prodigy. When we get back from there we will be hitting the States again with the band Hed P.E.

 

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Constantly changing, constantly evolving and constantly honing their craft is the sign of a good musician and K. Flay, is one of them. While in college, K.Flay found she had the chops to rap with some of the best and began to experiment, musically and lyrically. Since 2004, she has put out a myriad of music with everything from singles and EPs to collaborating with other aspiring up-and-comers like MC Lars. Her continuous, hard work has finally paid off as she releases her debut album, “Life as a Dog”. She’s also about to embark on the Warped Tour, a staple of the summer touring circuit. Media Mikes recently caught up with K.Flay about how she’s handling and preparing for these high marks of her career.

Jeremy Werner: When I was getting ready for this interview…I was a bit surprised how much music you had, in terms of singles, EPs, guest vocals, and other things spanning over half a decade. To me it’s crazy because you’re now just able to release your debut album. I’m sure all your fans, die-hard and new, who’ve recognized your hard work and talent over the years are seeing and wondering the same thing I was, which is why has it taken so long to be able to release your debut album?
K.Flay: I was actually just having this conversation with my drummer because we’re working on setlist stuff for Warped Tour this summer. But basically the reason is…I signed to a major label a little over two years ago and while I was on there, I put out a mixtape and a couple of EPs and singles and things of that nature. But I was never able to release an album. I was working on a lot of stuff, but I think they didn’t necessarily feel like anything was single worthy or ready to be part of an album, so I was kind of in this weird limbo while I was there. Which on some level was a really interesting experience in that I was able to do a ton of experimentation and really kind of take time to figure out more about the kind of music I like making and think about the music I was better at making than other kinds. It was sort of a weird process because I signed and wasn’t able to put out enough to show for a debut album, but I left the label in the fall and then worked on this.

JW: I’ve actually talked to quite a few artists as of late who’ve used online fundraising for their music and just like them, yours was very successful.
K.Flay: Yes.

JW: So I’m wondering…with no problems reaching your target goal, do you feel like this is your way of telling potential record labels, “I can sell music if give me a chance,” or is this your way of saying, “Fuck you guys. My music speaks for yourself and I don’t need you”?
K.Flay: You know, I think for me in large part, this is just about a personal goal as a human/artist in the sense of making a statement. And even if albums are becoming outdated in some capacity or whatever, I think having a statement and a body of work that has cohesive quality, to me, is really important on a fundamental level. But on the flip side of it, the experience on the label was at times, kind of frustrating and it felt like I was a little bit stuck. So it feels really good to return to how I began with music which is independently releasing things and having control over all aspects of the creative process. It just feels really empowering, really good and really natural.

JW: Is there anything with “Life as a Dog”, musically, that you’re doing different or for the first time on this album?
K.Flay: Ya know, I think this album is a little bit of shift in that it’s less like rap and it’s a little more…I don’t know…I try to be more conscious of melody a little bit. One of the things I discovered over the last two-three years it that I really do like singing and I like incorporating melodic components into the music. It’s definitely less electronic, less rap, but I don’t think in a super drastic way. It felt kind of like the natural, next step.

JW: Lyrically, when I listen to your music, it feels like there’s a lot of deep personal emotions attached to the music and it’s kind of a dumb, broad statement to say that because yeah…all music is personal. But while some bands like to play with words and allude to different ideas without completely giving themselves away, I feel like you’re more blunt and honest with what you say. What are some of things you draw from when writing lyrics?
K.Flay: Obviously there’s a lot of myself in the music and there’s always gonna be that component, but I think more than ever, especially with this record, I really tried to embody, even just for a few moments in a song, people in my life and people that I’ve met along the way. I think one of the compelling parts of being a full-time musician is the cast of characters, both bad and good, that you run into on a daily basis. I still use the first person pronoun so they feel like they’re about me, but some of them are really about people that I’ve met and experiences that I’ve kind of witnessed second hand. Which is really cool. I think it taught to expand my ideas of how to start a song. Usually for me, it starts with some kind of emotion I’m feeling at that moment. Which is interesting conceptually to experiment from a different perspective a little bit.

JW: Anything you’ve wanted to sing about, but you’re hesitant to?
K.Flay: Umm…not really. I guess there’s nothing in my life that I wouldn’t want to share. Obviously very specific details, but songwriting and performing is such a liberating thing in general and so I think that’s why I feel comfortable talking about a lot of stuff in that
capacity.

JW: Let’s switch gears. You are on Warped Tour this summer. Is this the largest tour you’ve had to tackle yet?
K.Flay: It is, definitely. I’ve done festivals before, but never anything of this kind of length or consistency. I’m really excited. I have a lot of friends who’ve done Warped in the past and literally everyone has great things to say about it. I know it’s gonna be a challenge…*laughs*…not to be covered in sweat constantly, but I’m really looking forward to it.

JW: Besides being stupid hot, Warped Tour is also known for jamming nearly every act they can on to stages. Will it be hard trying to condense what you want to express into a limited setlist?
K.Flay: I think it is gonna be a really interesting challenge. There is such a large catalog and I want to represent the new album and I also wanna represent some of the old stuff. And obviously play music that is emblematic of where I’m at, but also music that will appeal to people. I think it’s gonna be a little bit of messing around once we get started. The live shows have always been a real focus for me and touring is a place where I feel really comfortable and I’m really comfortable with experimenting. I think the first week, we’ll probably test about a bunch of different stuff. More than anything, not like anybody else wants me to, but I kind of wanna play for two hours and go through everything. It’ll be an interesting little experiment.

JW: Have you factored in fans? I mean obviously you have…but the typical Warped Tour attendee is traditionally, a punk rock enthusiast and it’s definitely changed over the past decade.
K.Flay: Totally. The show has always had a punk spirit to it. There’s headbanging and a lot of jumping around and kind of more archetypal rock moments in it. So obviously something within that spirit. I’m kind of excited to try some new stuff.

JW: Big tour…debut album…with all this success…do you see yourself being a music artist for the long haul or is there something you still wanna do or try?
K.Flay: Ya know…I don’t really know. I get asked this sometimes and I kind of have no fucking clue. Which is strange because you’d think it’d be good to have a back-up plan, but I just decide on something and I just do it. So I think I’m still in that mode of perspective where this is what I’m doing and I think if I really started to consider other viable options, it would probably be a bad sign. So I don’t know. I read a lot…so maybe something with books. That’s all I can think of at the moment.

JW: My last question, a bit random, and you don’t have to answer this, but I’ve noticed a couple of other female artists, entertainers and others have said it’s bothersome when they’re told by fans, “Oh you’re my favorite female comedian…artist…”. Things like that.
K.Flay: Right.

JW: I think this boils down to where we’re at in a society right now and how we’re starting to mold how we view gender. But I’m curious, does it bother you if a fan tells you that you’re their favorite female rapper instead of just simply saying you’re their favorite rapper.
K.Flay: I know there’s like something I got sent earlier about Neko Case talking about this, but I wouldn’t say it happens all the time. Usually people say I like you’re stuff or whatever, but I think any time you’re a little bit in the minority, I think that that’s an unfortunate byproduct. Although I am a woman and have a gendered perspective to a certain extent, just like anybody else, when I write, I’ve always just sort of naturally wanted to create music that didn’t feel super gendered, if that makes any sense. But I think it can certainly undermine what you’re doing a little bit. I’m honestly happy anyone listens to it (laughs) I’m just always stoked if anybody’s checked it out and trying to find out about what I’m doing.

Gilby Clarke is a guitarist/producer best known for a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N’ Roses replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991. Following his departure from the group, Clarke began solo career as well playing guitar with a number of groups such as Slash’s Snakepit, Heart and Nancy Sinatra, Clarke recently announce he will be heading out on the road this summer for a solo tour along with Quiet Riot and Faster Pussycat. Gilby spoke with Media Mikes recently about the upcoming tour as well as his new single and the new video for his song “Tijuana Jail” which was originally released in 1994.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some info on your new single?
Gilby Clarke: I had been trying to put a record together however I just wasn’t happy with things. In the past I always put a record out when I felt I had 10 or 12 strong songs that I would be happy listening to. I just didn’t have that and to put something out that I ‘m not happy with was not what I wanted to do. I decided that I am just going to release singles now. I have a couple tours lined up so I figured I would put out one good song and then follow it up with another a couple months later.

AL: Did the music industry and how music is distributed these days have any impact on your decision to release only singles?
GC: I think the industry being the way it is now allowed me to do things this way. (Laughs) It didn’t drive me the decision but it did allow me to do things this way.

AL: You also recently released a video for an older song of your “Tijuana Jail” correct?
GC: Yes. Before I dropped the new single I wanted to put out a few other points of interest. “Tijuana Jail” is an older song as it came out in 1994 but it’s the most popular song when I play live. We play the song differently now than we did 20 years ago so I wanted to do a video for the song and put a new touch on it. When I originally recorded the song Slash played the solo so to go all these years with a song I didn’t play lead on was something I wanted to fix. (Laughs) We worked on the song at my home studio and it’s really just a recording of our rehearsal of how we do that song live.

AL: Can you tell us about your upcoming summer tours?
GC: Over the past 10 years or so I have been playing as a trio. When I first started doing my solo stuff I always had another guitarist with me. As the years changed it started to become more fun to just do things by myself. I like the challenge of makes a multi guitar song in to a single guitar song. I am having a lot of fun doing things this way and that’s really what it’s all about. For my solo tour I’m going to be going overseas for some shows including a show in Hungry which is a country I have never been to before as a solo artist. We also will be hitting Spain which is another place I haven’t been to in awhile. After that wraps up I will back in the states for a summer tour with Quiet Riot and Faster Pussycat.

AL: What do you find to be the biggest difference in performing overseas as compared to here in the states?
GC: The biggest difference I have noticed performing overseas is that a lot more people come out to the shows. In the states the rock market is sort of fashionable and it goes through phases of being cool or not. Right now big bands like Black Sabbath and Aerosmith are doing great but smaller bands like mine are having a tough time unless you do a multiband line up. My solo band is more of a club band and right now clubs are rare in the states. Things are the complete opposite overseas as there are tons of clubs to play and the scene is thriving.

AL: You recently performed with Guns n’ Roses minus Axl at the Rock Hall inductions can you tell us a little about that?
GC: Most of the Guns guys still play together quite often. The hard rock scene is relatively small and we all know each other fairly well. What was different about the Rock Hall show compared to the other times we have gotten together was it was specifically Guns n’ Roses tunes. It was a little strange playing some of that material as I had never performed it with some of the other members. I had played with Steven Adler before but we never did any Guns material. It was both interesting and fun as Steven has a completely different feel than Matt Sorum who I played with more often. Personally I had the time of my life and I think we did a great job under the circumstances. It’s something I will never forget.

AL: What were the rehearsals like leading up to the performance?
GC: We really only decided to do the show a couple days before. Duff had called me I think the Thursday before the induction he told me they had decided to play and they wanted me there. I couldn’t refuse my friends. I know Izzy is the guy’s first choice and I get that as I am a fan of the band myself. Knowing Izzy wasn’t going to be there I was happy they asked to be a part of it.

AL: Was there any animosity leading up to or during the event?
GC: We all knew that Axl wasn’t coming. We all got the same information as everyone else. There was no extra phone call or anything like that. In a way that sort of lifted what could have been a black cloud over everyone’s head. I do think however that if Axl had shown up things would have been fine. It’s been a lot of years and this was a celebration of the band and the fans that supported it. I don’t think there would have been any problems but that black cloud was there. We just all went about our business and didn’t really mention his name. Duff did a show in Cleveland the night before and I think it was about 1 or 2 in the am when we all finally got together. We did a few songs with Matt and a few with Steven and then went and did the show. I think we kicked ass and it turned out well.

 

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David Paich is a keyboardist, singer, composer, recording producer, and arranger, best known for his work with the rock band Toto. The band has sold over 30 million records and recently released a live DVD and CD titled “35 Year Anniversary: Live in Poland”. Media Mikes spoke with David recently about the live release, the bands staying power after 35 years and their upcoming studio album.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us a little bit about the bands new live CD/DVD?
David Paich: We are really excited about this release and it has been doing great so far around the world as well as here in the U.S. We shot the concert in Poland as we had played there in the past and our guitarist Steve Lukather had been there more recently in support of his solo record. The fans there are just outstanding and very passionate. With the band celebrating its 35 year anniversary we decided to document the show. We originally were going to shoot in Amsterdam however due to a transportation strike things got pushed back and we decided to go with our original idea of shooting in Poland. We wanted to make this release as much about the fans as it is about the band. We are very lucky to still be able to do what we love.

AL: Were there any reservations about shooting/recording a live album?
DP: We always do. We have never really been a great live video band. We are just a bunch of musicians from the valley. We aren’t rock stars like Aerosmith and Van Halen on stage but we knew it was important that this get documented. When you get to where we are in our career things go from year to year and summer to summer. We had actually done a video the year before this one and it didn’t turn out like we had hoped so it was shelved.

AL: Is the DVD compiled of multi-night footage or is this one show from that tour?
DP: This was a one night shot. When you are shooting over multiple nights it tends to make things harder. Normally you say you are playing three nights at one place and you shoot all three nights and pull the best performances. We got very lucky shooting this one night as the crowd was sensational so things worked out great. We put in a lot of preparation before the show that night to make sure that everything went off without issue.

AL: What do you think has kept Toto relevant 35 years after its initial inception?
DP: I think it’s mainly based on the fact that we can still pull this material off. Our musicianship is at a very high level. That’s us up there playing every note, every night. I don’t think there are a lot of bands still out there like us that have the scope and the range that Toto has. We cover a lot of genres and unless you are listening to a DJ or something like that a lot of bands can’t do what we do during our live shows. The way the music interacts with the crowds is just great and fans get to hear what they hear on the records.

AL: Toto is currently working on a new album. What is it that made you guys want to put out new music when a lot of bands from your era are going out and performing just their greatest hits?
DP: It was a combination of things. We had originally thought that our album from 2004 was going to be our last record. Through a bunch of legal stuff we found out that we had still owed our record label one more album. Instead of throwing just a bunch of stuff on there to fulfill our contract we decided to really put our whole heart in this thing and so far it’s turning out to be one of my favorite Toto records. I think the crowds are going to be pleasantly surprised by how much this new album reverts back to the sounds on the band’s first album. We really had a “go for it” attitude and we definitely pushed ourselves.

AL: Do you think your level of experimentation on the upcoming record is what will separate it from your 2004 release?
DP: One of the biggest changes was we didn’t have our bassist Mike Porcaro there or Jeff Porcaro for that matter. We were short handed and some of that work camaraderie was missing. When you bring in new players that can certainly be a big change. Keith Carlock has been great on drums and we have been playing with a number of different bassist’s who all have been given Mike’s blessing. Brining in those new elements makes it challenging but were uniquely bonded through music and it has been going great.

AL: Can you tell us about the band’s upcoming summer tour?
DP: We are doing a co-headlining tour with Michael McDonald for six weeks here in the U.S. We are going to be playing on a few different songs with one another each night and its going to be a lot of fun. We are packing the night with all of our hits and we also went back and grab some other favorites from the inner albums as well.

AL: You also do a lot of work outside of Toto can you tell us about some of the other projects you are working on?
DP: I just finished working with a 16 year old guitarist by the name of Andreas Varady. He is managed by Quincy Jones and he is just a great jazz guitarists. I just finished mastering his album which I believe will be coming out in early August. It’s going to be a really great contemporary Jazz album.

 

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J Mann is one of three vocalists for the industrial heavy metal band Mushroomhead. The masked group recently released their 8th studio album titled “The Righteous & the Butterfly” which entered the Billboard charts at #20. The band will also be a part of this year’s Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with J recently about the upcoming tour, the new album and how he ended up rejoining the band after almost a 10 year leave from the group.

Adam Lawton: What were some of the things that led to you rejoining the band full time again?
J Mann: I think a lot of it had to do with timing and maturity. We have all grown as people. We never drifted as friends during the time I wasn’t officially in the band. I would get up there and do shows with them when they were in the Cleveland area and what not. We never lost contact we were just doing different things for awhile. We had talked about working together again and the timing just seemed to work out. We had the 20 year anniversary of the band coming up at that time and then we started working on a new record. Originally I got asked to come in and sing on just a couple songs. We got in there and it was just so much fun and very reminiscent of 1993. We all re-found our passion. Making this record was just a lot of fun. After a few weeks we looked at how many songs I was on and it ended up being like 11 songs or something like that. Being on that record led to me doing the 20^th anniversary tour and things just sort of snowballed and before I knew it I was back in the band.

AL: Having not worked with the band in the studio for almost 8 years what were those first sessions like?
J Mann: A lot of it was like riding a bike but I was also working with some guys I had never worked with before. Church and Dr. F were still kind of the new guys. What was cool with those guys is they joined a band that was already established. They were instrumental in getting us back to our roots. They rained us in and brought the band back to what it was originally about. That made things very exciting for me. We all had the same goal in making a great record.

AL: Were the tracks that you sang on pre-arranged or did you bring in your own material?
J Mann: When I came aboard the band had been working on the instrumental portion of the album for almost a year. There were some scratch vocals laid down by Jeff and Waylon and I sort of filled in the holes. We all would talk after working on the songs and we all just looked at the big picture as to what would serve the song best. Sometimes Jeff was writing for me or I was writing for him or Waylon. We all worked together real well and because we have been around each other for so long we are comfortable enough to where we can work like that.

AL: What was the bands main goal with the release of this album?
J Mann: We really wanted to get back to our roots with this record. We wanted to revisit whatever it was that made us initially want to work together some 20 plus years ago. However while searching for that spark we also didn’t want to sound like some dated dinosaur. I think there was a time when the band may have gotten caught up in whatever trend was happening at the time but then we realized that we lost a lot of the things that made us who we are and what our fans liked about us. This new album brings all those things back with a fresh take.

AL: With Mushroomhead being a very visual band have you guys shot any videos for any of the new songs yet?
J Mann: We have shot one video so far. We had been sort of holding on to it until the album release but it’s out now and fans will definitely want to check that out. It’s for the song “Qwerty” and it’s got a really scary vibe to it. We shot it at a haunted house in Cleveland called The Fear Experience. Stitch who does our sampling and art design is the director there. He designed all of the rooms which was great as it was like a built in. There is a little girl in the video that was just a trooper throughout the whole thing as it took us a couple days to finish. The video is very dark.

AL: The band is a part of this year’s Rock Star Mayhem Festival. What can fans be expecting from the bands performances?
J Mann: I am really looking forward to being a part of this year’s tour. We just played over in Australia as part of the Sound Wave festival. A lot of the same bands that were on that are also going to be on Mayhem Festival. It’s going to be almost like a reunion with those bands. Of course Avenged Seven Fold who we took out on their first national tour is going to be cool to be out with again. It’s awesome to have watched those guys blow up. It’s just going to be a great summer.

Michael Sweet is best known as co-founder, writer, lead guitarist, lead vocalist and front man of the Christian rock band Stryper which were synonymous with their over the top black and yellow stage attire in the 1980’s. Michael was also co-lead vocalist and guitarist for the band Boston from 2007-2011. In the past couple of years Michael has been busier than ever releasing a new Stryper album in 2013 and more recently a solo album titled “I’m Not Your Suicide” and an autobiography titled “Honestly: My Life in Stryper Revealed”. Media Mikes spoke with Michael recently about his recent body of work and what he feels has contributed to his and the bands recent re-surge.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on your new solo album?
Michael Sweet: A lot of people often wonder why I put out these solo albums. I am always writing songs and sometimes some of those songs don’t fit in with the Stryper material. I listen to all different kinds of music and I like to be able to go and express myself and show people the other side of myself. The material on this new album is still edgy however they wouldn’t exactly fit on a Stryper album. I tried some different things with this album and it was a lot of fun. I tried some country music as my dad had written a #1 country song in 1979 so I wanted to show my roots a little bit.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the guest appearances on the album?
MS: I took everything with this album song by song. For instance I was working on the song “This Time” and though Kevin Max would be great to have in there. He has a unique quality in his voice and he fit perfectly with that song. Then for “Taking on the World Tonight” Tony Harnell was a no brainer. All of the people on the album are dear friends of mine. I had never done an album that incorporated guests but it was something that I had always wanted to do. This was the album where it finally happened. I have Doug Aldrich and Chris Jericho on a track, Robert Sweet and Timothy Gaines on a track and Dave Mustaine’s daughter Electra sings with me on Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”. Everyone brought something to the table which took each song to the next level.

AL: Did you have an idea as to what you wanted each guest to do on their tracks or were they free to experiment?
MS: I had an idea for some of the parts. For example the song Doug Aldrich appears on I knew he was the guy I wanted to play the solo. I sent him the song and he sent it back and it was just perfect. It was so simple of a process. The same thing happened with Electra’s performance. I had been thinking about having a female voice on that song and I had become good friends with Dave Mustaine over the years and mentioned the idea to him about having his daughter sing on the track. She has such a pure and angelic voice. They both thought the idea was great and Dave produce Electra’s vocals and it sound great! It was like clockwork as everything went as planned.

AL: Can you give us a little bit of background on your recent autobiography?
MS: I needed to write this book for myself. There is a lot of healing still taking place within my heart and my soul. There have been a lot of things that have happened in my life. There were a lot of questions from throughout my career that were still getting asked today so I wanted to answer all of those at once. That’s what I did with this book. There was a fine line I had to walk between being brutally honest and not hurting people. I’m not sure if that is totally possible. Anytime you talk about someone in a different light than what they want to be talked about in your going to offend or hurt them.  That is certainly the case with some of the stories in the book. I think I did a good job of not going down some of those dark paths that purposely hurt people. I didn’t want to hurt anyone and that’s not what the book is about. I cover everything from when my mom managed Stryper to the choice we made that led us to bankruptcy. The book is my take on the situations as it’s told from my perspective.

AL: Was it hard revisiting some of the more painful memories?
MS: It definitely was. As I was sitting there rethinking these stories part of me was revisiting those emotions while another part was saying that I had moved on but obviously I really hadn’t as there was still some pain and emotion there. This book was a big step in the right direction as I come clean with the mistakes I have made be it good or bad.

AL: Within the past couple of years Stryper has started to make a resurge. What do you feel has contributed to that?
MS: I think for the most part it’s been hard work. The band has worked very hard. After I finished the album with Stryper I went immediately back in and started work on this solo album. After that recording wrapped up I went back in the studio again but this time with Michael Sweet and George Lynch. It’s a constant evolution of continuing on and growing. I couldn’t have it any other way.

AL: Can you tell us a little bit about the project you have going on with George Lynch?
MS: This was a project I co-wrote with George and it was one I got to produce as well. The group has Brian Tichy on drums and James LoMenzo on bass. It’s really a great band and album that I am super excited about. That should be coming out in early 2015. We plan to tour around this release as well.

AL: Do you have other projects you would like to mention?
MS: Stryper has a bunch of shows planned for the rest of this year before we take off most of next year to work on the new album. I will also be out doing some solo shows as well. Right now I have my schedule booked through the end of 2016. There’s just so much going on that it’s hard to keep track of it all. Maybe by 2020 I can start to think about retiring. (Laughs)