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)

Alissa White-Gluz is the lead singer for the heavy metal group Arch Enemy. Alissa stepped up to the microphone after long time lead vocalist Angela Gossow chose to retire from performing earlier this year. The band has just released their 9^th studio album and first featuring Alissa titled “War Eternal”. Media Mikes spoke with Alissa about how she came to join the band, what it was like working on the new record and the bands current tour plans.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some info on how you came to join the band?
Alissa White-Gluz: I had been working in the metal scene for about 10 years. I had created a bunch of bands myself and I also sang along other bands such as Kamelot. I was friends with Angela Gossow for years and at some point last year she and Michael Ammott contacted me with news that Angela wanted to retire from singing and take over the role as manager for the group. They then asked if I would be interesting in filling that spot as the wanted to continue the band. This was a huge shock to me but also a great honor. I was very excited for the opportunity because I was familiar with Arch Enemy and a fan of their music. We had such great chemistry from the first time we worked together.

AL: Was there any hesitation on your part to join the group knowing that Angela was still going to be involved?
AWG: I spoke with Angela right away about this and she told me that this was her decision to step down from the band as the singer and that she now only wanted to manage the band. She wanted me to know that I was free to do my thing and that there would be no ego’s involved.

AL: What were the recording sessions like for the new album?
AWG: The band had already started working on instrumental tracks. They sent those over to me to put vocals on and I was just blown away. The songs were just so good. They were 100% Arch Enemy but with a twist. When we got together to work on more songs we realized we had quite a big range of styles. I brought a new background of influences. I worked very closely with Michael and we each wrote about 5 songs. It was a crazy time as we all had huge changes going on in our lives. The album was a very cathartic experience.

AL: The band has already released two video for songs off the new album. Are there plans to release anymore?
AWG: We have a whole arsenal of stuff that has yet to be released. We are very prepared as we didn’t want to just tell the world that I was the new singer. We wanted to inform our fans as to what was going on and what they could be expecting from the new album. We had a really crazy tour schedule lined up and we wanted to have everything set before we started that. There’s a lot of great stuff to be watching for.

AL: The album is going to be available with a number of bonus options. Can you tell us about some of those packages?
AWG: All the packages look really great! Fans will be able to get everything from the arm band that we wear on stage to a special necklace that coincides with the album. There is a really beautifully printed art book that comes with the vinyl version of the album. We also are including with some of the versions bonus discs that include what we are calling “Shades of War” which are the demos I recorded for the album. There is also a guitar notation disc that Michael and Nick put together which is really cool as well. There are just so many different things fans can get by pre-ordering the album.

AL: Can you tell us about your current tour plans?
AWG: We are basically touring non-stop until next year. We are overseas right now then I have two weeks off then we leave for the U.S. with Kreator. We also will be doing some festival sows here and there as well so our tour schedule is just insane.

AL: How has the fan reception been since you started performing live with the band?
AWG: It’s been fantastic.  I totally can understand skepticism when a band changes its singer. I have seen it happen myself where a group changes singers and it didn’t really work out. I feel that if the group makes solid music and the group works well together then nothing can take away from that. If the music is good then it’s good no matter what but it has to be done the right way. I think in our case things worked out really well. We were very aware of things that could happen and we paid extra close attention to ensure everything went the way we wanted. Fans have been chanting my name which is just been really great!

Eric Johnson is a platinum selling guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who’s extensive career dates back to the mid 1970’s. Johnson’s latest offering is a live album titled “Europe Live” which is a collection of tracks recorded during Johnson’s recent European tour. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Eric recently about the new release as well as his current plans for a new studio album.

Adam Lawton: What was it that interested you in doing a live album as opposed to a traditional studio album?
Eric Johnson: We were touring Europe and at some point during that run the company who put out the European version of my album “Up Close” contacted me asking if they could record some of the shows. It wasn’t anything that was planned ahead of time. After everything was done they sent me the tracks to see what I thought. We went through all the tapes and there ended up being quite a bit of stuff we were able to work with.

AL: So the album is a collection of takes from a number of different shows?
EJ: We recorded 4 different cities with the bulk of the performances coming from the Amsterdam show. The forth city we recorded in was Paris and that was just a board tape. It was never meant for anything. I decided to put one acoustic song on the record which was different from the electric stuff and that ended up coming from that board tape. What you hear is the actual two track tape from the board as there was nothing we could really do to that track being is was done from the board.

AL: What do find to be the most challenging aspect of doing a live album?
EJ: Keeping everything live and performance oriented is certainly the hardest part. When you have that reference point of the live material there is a raw spark that happens. When you deviate from that it’s really obvious. This has been a great thing for me to do and I have found a lot of entertainment in it.

AL: Do you see yourself doing more live recording as opposed to studio recording?
EJ: Yes, Definitely. Even working live in the studio is something I am open for. The more you are able to do in real time the more energy and emotion I think the work will have. This has made me rethink my entire way of doing things as I want to be able to incorporate more of the live process whenever I can.

AL: For the shows that were recorded to you alter the night’s set list in any way from the nights that weren’t being recorded?
EJ: Not really. We just did our sets and I didn’t think much about the recordings. Other than a couple extra lines running off the amps to the back room I never actually saw what was going on. There wasn’t a vibe of we were making a live record it was more of just someone was out there recording the show that night. Everything was very off the cuff.

AL: With your last studio album being a reworking of the “Up Close” album do you have plans to start on a new studio record any time soon?
EJ: Right now I am currently working with Mike Stern on a collaboration record. We have finished all of the recording and we are in the middle of mixing as we speak. That album should be out in November. The album is sort of a fusion record as Mike comes from the jazz world and I from the rock world. It’s mostly an instrumental record with the exception of one track. The album is very song oriented and not just a bunch of riffing. I am really excited about it as it turned out great. I also am finishing up a solo acoustic record that I hope to get out soon. Doing an acoustic record is something that I have wanted to do for about 10 years now. I am a big folk music fan so I am excited to do something in that style.

AL: When you are working on a record outside of the rock genre what steps do you take to adjust your playing and tone?
EJ: I just try to keep my ears open and learn more about music. I try and take the new things I have learned and incorporate those things into my own sound and playing. Being around other musicians from different areas they are naturally going to play things that I don’t know. I am always listening to try and make my playing better and to support those I am playing with. It’s been a great learning experience for me.

AL: Do you have any tour plans in place for this spring/summer?
EJ: We have a 3 week Midwest tour planned for August. That will take us to Chicago, Minneapolis and a few other places. In November Mike and I will be doing a 2 week tour of the East Coast.

Kevin Kliesch is a composer that recently earned his first Emmy nomination for his work on the hit Disney Junior series “Sofia The First”. He has worked as a composer and orchestrator on over 100 feature films spanning the past seventeen years, including “Frozen”, “The Hangover” and “Tangled”. He also received his first Annie Award nomination for his work on the “Thundercats” series in 2012. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Kevin about his work both composing and orchestrating.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you got started composing for the Disney Junior series “Sofia the First”?
Kevin Kliesch: I had worked as an orchestrator on “Tangled” in 2010 and became friends with the film’s editor. After hearing my mockups and orchestrations from Alan Menken’s score, he happened to recommend me to the head of music at the Disney Channel since they were looking for a composer to score their new series “Sofia the First.” I met with the Sofia team and they liked my background, so I got the job.

MG: Congrats on your first Emmy nomination for your work on the show; what do you enjoy most about composing for this show?
KK: Thanks! The best thing about writing for Sofia is that I get to write the traditional Disney-style music that we all grew up with. The producers wanted to stay away from typical cartoon music and instead draw on the lush sound of past Disney films, which I am honored to have been a part of, having worked as an orchestrator on “Enchanted,” “The Muppets” and “Tangled.”

MG: How is it going from a show like “Sofia the First” to working with DC Comics’ animated movies like “Superman: Unbound” and “Justice League: War”?
KK: The two are musically about as far apart as you can get! I really enjoy scoring the DC films because it gives me a chance to write in a completely different genre than the Disney style. I’ve always been a fan of action scores, so it’s great to be able to call up a different palette of sounds and get my superhero vibe going.

MG: “Frozen” and Tangled” are two of my favorite newer Disney films; tell us about your involvement with these films?
KK: I was the orchestrator on both of those films. On “Tangled,” I worked with the legendary Alan Menken on bringing his score to life. He would send me complete piano sketches and I would have to take those and make complete orchestra scores from those sketches. I also had to do computer mockups of all of the music so the directors and producers could hear what the score was going to sound like before we went to record it with a live orchestra. On “Frozen,” I didn’t have to do any of the mockups since the composer Christophe Beck did his own mockups, but I did wind up orchestrating about two thirds of the score from his sketches.

MG: Switching roles from orchestrator to composer; what do you enjoy most and why?
KK: As an orchestrator, I get to work on someone else’s vision of how the score should support the film’s narrative. As a composer, I get to create that vision myself – which is eminently enjoyable. Being able to translate emotion into music is both very challenging and rewarding.

MG: How does it differ doing a score for a film than it does for a television series?
KK: There’s not much difference in terms of how I approach the story. Both genres require that the music support the drama and the characters; I always strive to give emotional weight to what’s happening on screen. There’s also not much difference in the time I have to do each project. While a DC film might have 70 minutes of music, I’m usually given a few weeks to complete it. On my television series, I usually wind up writing 20 minutes per episode, and I get anywhere from 7-14 days to do that. Both genres require that I write about 3 minutes a day to reach my deadline.

MG: I have a two year old daughter, who loves “Sofia the First”; with you also having a young daughter, does it only making working on a show like this 100% better?
KK: Absolutely! My 6-year-old comes into my studio every day and asks me what episode I’m working on. Sometimes I’ll play the whole episode for her, which she loves because she gets to watch it before anyone else! I also really enjoy watching the episodes with her when they air on tv.

MG: Being a fan of the series; I have to ask was it a daunting task to redo the theme song for the reboot series of “Thundercats”?
KK: It was daunting only for the fact that the producers wanted to compress the 2-minute original theme song down into 10 seconds, so I had to figure out how not to make the die-hard fans angry!

MG: What else do you have in the cards for the rest of 2014 and onwards?
KK: “Sofia the First” has been renewed for a third season, so that will keep me busy well into 2015. I’ve also been approached to orchestrate a new ABC/Disney television series called “Galavant” which will have original songs written by Alan Menken and an original score by Christopher Lennertz. So I’m super-excited to be working with the Disney team again!

Scott Stapp is probably best known as the singer for the Grammy award winning rock band Creed who’s music dominated the airwaves in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In 2005 after Creed’s initial breakup Stapp began a solo career with the release of “The Great Divide” which was certified platinum within a month of its release. Scott is back with his second solo album titled “Proof of Life” a very dark and personal record that reflects on Scott’s life over the past few years. Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Scott recently about the album and his thoughts on the future of Creed.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some of the background that led up to the recording of this album?
Scott Stapp: This album to me symbolizes the next chapter in my life. It concludes the first half of my life and opens up the next. A lot of life was lived in between “The Great Divide” and now. I went through some of the darkest days as a human being between these two albums. I battled depression which led to fighting a battle with drugs and alcohol. That stuff was like a tornado that wrecked a lot of things in my life. This album really symbolizes me coming to grips with those things, understanding them and finding my way out. The school of hard knocks and life had to happen in order to get me to place to where I could write this record. I had to come out of the fog to be able to write this record. I had to realize that the stuff that happened in the past wasn’t going to happen again.

AL: What was it like revisiting some of those more painful memories while writing the album?
SS: It was very cathartic. It was part of the process of getting through and coming out of those periods. It was party of making peace with that and developing incite and an honest reflection on that so I could grow and mature. All though there were things I wish didn’t happen or wished I could forget I was able to repurpose those experiences and see that those things didn’t happen for nothing. There was purpose in those things so that I could pay it forward and share how I made it through. This added a deeper purpose to my life both in and out of rock and roll.

AL: Can you tell us about the song “Break Out” which you wrote with your son?
SS: Jagger actually wrote the first three lines of the chorus a few years ago however we never got around to finishing the song. I just kept challenging him to work on it and finish the song as he was working on being in a band with some friends of his. During the writing process this song kept coming in to my head. I was connecting with the theme and the words so I went to Jagger and told him I was going to finish the song he started. Part of me working on the song became an exercise and instruction to him on how to turn his ideas in to songs. He has some really great ideas and it was definitely a bonding experience for the both of us. When it came time to finish the song I worked with Julia Michaels which was really great. I liked seeing that we could connect over similar emotions.

AL: Can you tell us about the upcoming tour you have planned?
SS: We just wrapped up our first run of US and European shows which went really good. This will be the second round of shows in the states and I am really excited to be able to bring this music and performance out on tour. It’s a rock and roll show that also encapsulates our journey as human beings. I am very connected to that. The stage performance and my connection with the emotions in each song and how I connect with those things are very important to me. I want the audiences to not only feel the power of rock and roll but also feel the spirit and emotion that each song represents.

AL: You had a number of musicians perform on the CD. Will some of them also be a part of the live band?
SS: I was fortunate that in the studio I got to use the best of the best. I was able to use guys like Josh Freese and Kenny Arnoff to Tim Pierce and Phil X among others. There was a lot of chemistry during those studio sessions and it was important for me to capture that with the live band as well. I am really excited with the group of guys I have behind me. I have Andy Wood on guitar, Chad Szeliga former of Breaking Benjamin on drums, Travis Colmer is my second guitarist and then I have Andy Waldeck on bass. Andy is a really talented guy that has worked with Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and a bunch of others. These guys have such a desire and passion for this band and project. These guys have rekindled that fire and drive to perform. Its great working with like minded guys with that same passion for what they are doing.

AL: Do you feel this new found passion will transfer over to new Creed material?
SS: It’s always there. The door is never closed and we are still together. When the time is right and that fire and organic desire is all there I am sure we will make another record. Until then I don’t think it would be worth it as it would be a disservice to the fans.

Back in late 2006, the experimental metal band, Dog Fashion Disco, announced to their fans that they had decided to call it quits. They had just spent the last 12 years constantly pushing themselves to be more creative and crazy, playing different styles like ska, piano, and metal with many calling them circus metal. They had recently just released their sixth studio album, Adultery, and were reaching more fans than ever before. Since then, they have played a couple of reunion shows running through a marathon of fan favorites and keeping the camaraderie alive amongst the bandmates. In late 2013, the announcement was made that not only would DFD get back together, but they would be putting out a new album, called “Sweet Nothings”. They would then launch a highly successful Indiegogo campaign and realized that fans not only wanted a new album, but that they want two new albums, a music video and some overseas shows in Britain. Media Mikes recently caught up with the lead singer, Todd Smith, about their upcoming summer tour, the release of “Sweet Nothings” and the hectic schedule they’re about to enter.

Jeremy Werner: I guess the first thing that automatically comes to mind is what was it that lead you guys getting the band back together and put out another album?
Todd Smith: Since the break-up, we’d done several reunion shows and we’re all friends…so because the demand was still there and people were planting those ideas in our head about doing another tour, another album, so forth and so on, we figured why not? Like I said, we’re all very close friends. We enjoy creating and performing music together. It was just like a reunion with old friends who happen to make music together. It seemed like a no-brainer really.

JW: Your last album, back in 2006, “Adultery”, was what a lot of fans and critics would say is your best album. Was there any pressure heading back into the studio to match that same level or was it just business as usual?
TS: For the most part it was business as usual. Of course, opinions are subjective. I’m flattered that people love “Adultery” so much and are pleased that we went out on a high note, and I think we’re reemerging on a high note as well. Everyone who’s heard “Sweet Nothings”, is gushing over it and saying they love it. Will it be as well received as “Adultery”? I have no idea, but I think people are definitely gonna think it’s a solid release. I definitely do, the rest of the guys in the band do. The engineer that we recorded with said it was the best sounding he’s ever had come out of his studios. There’s a lot of positive things being said about the new album.

JW: Going back to the people who’ve heard it. You guys played the full album for a group of people that paid a certain amount towards your Indiegogo campaign. Was the room just ecstatic?
TS: Oh yeah, absolutely. There were loud cheers and applause after every song. A lot of smiles. As far as the comments when we were mingling after we played the record, they were gushing as well. They were really digging it. It’s a lot to digest in one sitting, but the reaction we got was very positive.

JW: Did the crowd have any favorites?
TS: I mean…they all seemed to be well received, but as for a crowd favorite…it’s kind of hard to tell. I had quite a few glasses of wine. (laughs) The memory’s a bit spotty, but I remember we all had a great time and they seemed to like every song, so I really can’t pinpoint a favorite.

JW: Now I remember a while back you mentioned that you guys might avoid playing new music on your upcoming tour, is that still true?
TS: Jason and I had a conversation that we totally misunderstood each other. I was saying that I would entertain performing two new songs, but we have such a catalogue of music, that I think giving people just a hint of a few new tunes and then just playing through a retrospective from each album we put out would probably be more pleasing to the crowd. So we’re going to do two new songs for the most part, every night. If for some reason we decided to just do one new song a night, that might happen as well.

JW: Going back through all your songs, what are some of the songs that you might be playing that you have rarely, if ever, played?
TS: Let me think…I mean we haven’t played in so long, I don’t remember what was in rotation back then, but we’re gonna revisit “Satanic Cowboy”. I’m trying to think what else…”Dr. Piranha”, we haven’t played that in a while. “Valley Girl Ventriloquist”, we’re gonna do that one. Pink Riots, we’re gonna do that one. Besides the reunion shows, they haven’t been played in many, many years. There’s gonna be plenty of songs to choose from every night. We’ll try to cover all our bases.

JW: Please tell me “Darkest Days” is one of those.
TS: One of those is “Darkest Days” (laughs)

JW: (laughs) Awesome, I love that song. With DFD’s music, it’s always been experimental. Sometimes it’s different from song to song or completely changes tempo within the song. It’s very Mr. Bungle with how you guys can just flip on a dime. So I gotta ask, with the new album, what kind of musical ideas went into this or is there a running theme on “Sweet Nothings”?
TS: There’s definitely not a running theme. The album is all over the place. It starts out with a jazz…smokey lounge…kind of 1940’s kind of vibe and then ends with a song that starts out acoustic country…mellow…goes to dub and ends with a three minute section of stoner rock doom metal. So it’s all over the place. We have a short attention span and we like a lot of different types of music so we tend to write a lot of different styles and try to incorporate them into an album. Even several styles into one song as you know. A lot of twists and turns, and I think our fans love twists and turns. They’re fun to perform live.

JW: I see you guys haven’t released a single yet. Is there a song you’re looking at as your first single?
TS: As far as I know, the first single would be a song called “Taste So Sweet”. It kind of goes back to maybe, “Committed to a Bright Future” era with a catchy hooky chorus, lots of horn lines. We’re making a video for that in July. So that’ll most likely be our first or second single. We had talked about a song as a lyric video, initially a song called “We Aren’t the World” which is more of an “Adultery” vibe. It has tons of horror lines, cello, lots of moods, lots of twists and turns, a big epic chorus. That would probably be the first one we do a lyric video for just to get something out there because we’re not available to do the video shoot and release the “Taste So Sweet” video until July.

JW: I want to touch upon your Indiegogo campaign for a bit. A lot of bands will put it up and will slowly watch the money crawl to their goal, but with you guys it was extraordinary how fast and how many people latched on as soon as it was live. I bet as a band, it’s a great feeling to reach your goal that quickly.
TS: To meet our goal of $30,000 in 27 hours was completely unexpected. I remember going about my day, that first day, and just seeing the totals just go up and up and up and up. I hadn’t checked in a few hours and they were way up. Our fans are absolutely incredibly and I don’t just say that lightly. Granted we’d possibly still be making music if we had no fans because we enjoy it, but they keep the train rolling. We’re very humbled by the generosity of everybody and how much they actually cared about DFD getting back together and how they care about whatever project we do. We’re very lucky in that respect.

JW: I’m sure before starting you guys didn’t have stretch goals in mind, but after that response, you got to. Even more amazing is reaching all of them. Didn’t you guys break the top 10 most successful Indiegogo music campaigns?
TS: Yeah. I think we’re in the top 10. In regards to the stretch goals, once we hit $30,000 and added the first stretch goal of $50,000 for the video, I mean I thought that was gonna peak and it just kept going and going. We ended up at $85,000 which is a staggering amount. Shows how much people love Dog Fashion Disco.

JW: You guys are incredibly busy with side projects like Polkadot Cadaver, El-Creepo, Knives Out and other things…and with such an impressive and positive response to DFD…do you think DFD now deserves your undivided attention and everything else kind of has to sit on the back burner for the time being?
TS: I would say that everything is on the back burner now. The last stretch goal was to do two albums to be released within a year of each other. So with all the tours we have coming up, there’s really no time to devote to anything else besides Dog Fashion Disco, which is fine. We just wrapped up, mixed, mastered, put a nice little bow on “Sweet Nothings” and we’re already psyched to get back into the studio, wishing it was happening next month. Everybody will go into their little corners and start writing and then we’ll reconvene in December and have another album out by next May or June.

JW: Might be too early, but do you have any ideas for the next album?
TS: Not really. I definitely wanna utilize the horns a lot like we did on “Sweet Nothings”. I mean, they’re just too good not to have. So ya know, a lot of twists and turns. Maybe have more extremes. I’d like to do like a 50’s doo-wop kind of song and then a song that’s just the heaviest thing we’ve ever done. Just a lot of polar opposite dimensions and dynamics to the album. And really like there are no rules, not like there are any rules on “Sweet Nothings”. Going into it, wanna try to do something new and push the envelope as far as what we’ve done before.

JW: So what is the future now of Polkadot Cadaver, El Creepo, Knives Out and other projects?
TS: It’s really hard to predict. I would love to do another El-Creepo record. Something that’s a little more acoustic and mellow. That’s always fun to do. Polkadot has a handful of shows that we’re doing until the end of this year. We’re going out with Bam Margera and his band in August, doing a run on the east coast and then doing a full national tour with him in October and November for Polkadot. So that would be the next in line to revisit after the next DFD record considering that that band tours as well. Kind of like a missed opportunity if we don’t put out a record and do more shows. I would say DFD and Polkadot would work simultaneously and then maybe El-Creepo would be the next thing to get to. As far as Knives Out or anything else, I would seriously doubt that there would be another album that we would put out with Knives Out. It doesn’t make any sense. The band doesn’t tour and the members aren’t available to do shows, so it’s like…what’s the point?

JW: Looking at this upcoming year, in terms of tours, it looks like the one big thing of note is that you guys will be heading across the big pond for the first time.
TS: This would actually be our second time. The first time Dog Fashion went over there was 2001.

JW: Oh shit, I guess my Dog Fashion Disco history is a bit rusty…so I guess the obvious dumb follow up question would be are you excited?
TS: We’re extremely excited and psyched that the first two shows have been sold out and that the third is on it’s way to being sold out. So that’s incredible, it’s gonna be a lot of fun. The weekend is gonna be a blast. We’re looking forward to it.

JW: Because it’s doing well in ticket sales, do you see yourself branching out in Europe?
TS: Our agent overseas is actively seeking out a support band for Dog Fashion Disco. Most likely that would happen next year. I would love to go deeper into Europe. That would be blast. So hopefully that will happen next summer.

JW: I’m out of questions, any last thing you wanna tell the fans?
TS: I just wanna say thanks for all the support on Indiegogo and support they constantly give us. Spread the word: the new Dog Fashion Disco album, “Sweet Nothings”, is coming out July 22nd. We’re psyched to be back on the road and hearing people’s reactions to the new album.

You can check out Dog Fashion Disco on their summer tour, ‘The Merica F*ck Yeah Tour’, playing alongside Psychostick and The Bunny The Bear, at the following dates:
May 29th: Amityville, NY
May 30th: Albany, NY
May 31st: Pennellville, NY
June 1st: Watkins Glen, NY
June 2nd: Trenton, NJ
June 3rd: Providence, RI
June 5th: Westland, MI
June 6th: Cleveland, OH
June 7th: Cherry Valley, IL
June 8th: Joliet, IL
June 9th: Minneapolis, MN
June 10th: Merriam, KS
June 11th: Waterloo, IA
June 12th: Des Moines, IA
June 13th: Lincoln, NE
June 14th: Denver, CO
June 16th: Salt Lake City, UT
June 17th: Sacramento, CA
June 18th: West Hollywood, CA
June 19th: Las Vegas, NV
June 20th: Tuscon, AZ
June 21st: Scottsdale, AZ
June 23rd: San Antonio, TX
June 24th: Houston, TX
June 25th: Fort Worth, TX
June 26th: Oklahoma City, OK
June 27th: St. Louis, MO
June 28th: Indianapolis, IN
June 29th: Columbus, OH

Psychostick is probably best known for their song “BEER!!”, the heavy metal anthem to irresponsible drinkers everywhere that made the rounds on the Internet back in the early 2000’s and popped up frequently on active rock stations across the country. They’ve had their tongue firmly planted in their cheek for nearly a decade and a half and now they’re about to enter a new chapter in their band history. After a successful Indiegogo campaign, Psychostick was able to raise the funds to build their very own studio in their home. That means they’ll be able to put out more music and content to their rabid comedy-metal fans. Media Mikes had a chance to catch up with the lead singer, Rawrb, about what kind of plans they got in the works and their upcoming summer tour with Dog Fashion Disco and The Bunny The Bear.

Jeremy Werner: I know the first thing people will wanna know is everything and anything about the new album you’re working on. So, is there anything new about the album you’d like to share with us that people might not already know about?
Rawrb: The only thing that’s been released about the new album has been “Obey the Beard”. The actual title and track listing hasn’t been announced yet because we’re still going back and forth on a lot of that stuff. We’ve recorded a lot of songs and it’s coming together. Once everything really starts to get finalized. We’ll really start releasing more info.

Jeremy: Do you guys have an estimated release date?
Rawrb: Hopefully early fall…I’m guessing.

JW: Now I know during the Indiegogo campaign, one of your stretch goals, if you raised the money, was to release a covers album. Sadly you guys didn’t reach that goal, but is a cover album still in the cards?
Rawrb: We talked about it, but we still might do it eventually. We were gonna do it sooner than later if we hit the stretch goal but we definitely want to. It’ll just be longer before we can.

JW: So you’re about to hit the road with Dog Fashion Disco and The Bunny The Bear…can fans heading out to the shows expect a new song on this upcoming tour?
Rawrb: We’re going back and forth on that one too. There’s one in particular we wanna play, but I’m not sure if we’re gonna have time. We’re a little bit short on the set for us, but I think we’re gonna try and squeeze another new one in there. We’ll see.

JW: A short set-list? It’s not a co-headlining tour with Dog Fashion Disco?
Rawrb: No, probably not, it’s pretty much their tour. They invited us out and we were very ecstatic to do that because .they still have a huge fanbase. I don’t know if you saw their Indiegogo, but they just blew it out of the water.

JW: Oh yeah. It was really impressive. It’s good to see both of you guys hitting your initial goals without a problem.
Rawrb: Yeah, so honestly, it’s not a co-headlining tour. We’re the opening act for them the whole tour.

JW: Now I saw they’re heading overseas for the first time to play three nights in England…so is that a sign that maybe you guys are heading overseas for the first time?
Rawrb: We’re trying. We’ve made a few new contacts and it’s the closest it’s ever been so I’m pretty optimistic. I think it will happen, maybe this year or maybe next year, hopefully. I’m hoping that it will happen later this year because we’ve been overdue for this for a long time. We have a pretty good following overseas and we’ve just never had an opportunity jump over there because of…silly reasons like money (laughs).

JW: So going back to the new studio you guys were able to build…what exactly does it mean for the future of Psychostick?
Rawrb: We’ll be able to produce music more frequently. One of the biggest challenges and why it’s been so long since we’ve had a new album, is that we tour so much and don’t have the resources to sit down and just crank out another album on a more frequent basis, but now we’ll be able to do that. I’m hoping we’ll release more music, more frequently. Instead of waiting three years, it’ll be a year and a half or less. We live in our studio too, so we can wake up and write a song and record it then and there. It’s really nice to be able to do that. A lot of the obstacles have been removed so we can get a lot more done and there will be a lot more stuff coming.

JW: What musical direction will you go with now that you have this studio? Will you be focusing on cranking out more albums or maybe a couple EP’s here and there or will it be like the video posted a while back…your cover of “Reading Rainbow”?
Rawrb: We put out the “Reading Rainbow” cover a couple weeks ago and that was just us testing out the studio. We just wanted to see how it was gonna work. It happened really fast and we were super excited. We’re gonna do full length albums and little tidbits like “Reading Rainbow” We’re gonna try and do more covers too because we have a great idea and we can’t sell it because it’s owned by somebody else. So since it’s a cover, we can just go crazy with it. There’s no limits to this now, except for time…(laughs)…we’re excited.

JW: Now that you have your own studio, are you guys thinking about dropping from your label and creating your own?
Rawrb: We haven’t really thought about it. We’re very happy with Rock Ridge. We handle all of our own production, they don’t have any say in that and that’s part of the reason why we love them is because we can do what we want. We built the studio so we can crank out whatever we want and when we want.

JW: Is there anything else you want your fans to know?
Rawrb: We’re working on new stuff and there’s gonna be a lot more content like videos and gags and things like that, that we got planned. When it hits, you’ll know. It’s gonna be non-stop and there’s gonna be more music from us now that we have a studio. So we’re excited about all these things and I think our fans will be really happy with what we come out with because we are. And that’s the first step, we have to like it, before we let it out…(laughs)…it’ll be good.

You can check out Psychostick on their summer tour, ‘The Merica F*ck Yeah Tour’, playing alongside Dog Fashion Disco and The Bunny The Bear, at the following dates:
May 29th: Amityville, NY
May 30th: Albany, NY
May 31st: Pennellville, NY
June 1st: Watkins Glen, NY
June 2nd: Trenton, NJ
June 3rd: Providence, RI
June 5th: Westland, MI
June 6th: Cleveland, OH
June 7th: Cherry Valley, IL
June 8th: Joliet, IL
June 9th: Minneapolis, MN
June 10th: Merriam, KS
June 11th: Waterloo, IA
June 12th: Des Moines, IA
June 13th: Lincoln, NE
June 14th: Denver, CO
June 16th: Salt Lake City, UT
June 17th: Sacramento, CA
June 18th: West Hollywood, CA
June 19th: Las Vegas, NV
June 20th: Tuscon, AZ
June 21st: Scottsdale, AZ
June 23rd: San Antonio, TX
June 24th: Houston, TX
June 25th: Fort Worth, TX
June 26th: Oklahoma City, OK
June 27th: St. Louis, MO
June 28th: Indianapolis, IN
June 29th: Columbus, OH

Jesse Ketive is the guitarist for the Queens, NY metal band Emmure. The group released their 6th studio album in April of this year via Victory records titled “Eternal Enemies”. The album landed at number 4 on the Top Hard Rock charts giving the band some solid ground to stand on as they join this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Media Mikes spoke with Jesse recently about the album’s release and what the band is most looking forward to during this summer’s tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us the lowdown on the band’s new album “Eternal Enemies”?
Jesse Ketive: We mostly stuck with the same formula that we have always used but added in a few new tricks. The biggest thing with this record is how the vocals and instrumentation go back and forth.  Things like this always seem to happen during production because we hear something happen that was unplanned and like it so we keep it. Those are pleasant surprises.

AL: What is a general studio session like for the band?
JK: Ever since the very first album I have recorded all of the guitar and bass. Sometimes the other guys will come in and throw some things down but for the most part I am the guy doing the recording. We all do different things and contribute to one another’s ideas.

AL: What steps do you take to try and evolve your sound while still keeping in-line with what you are known for musically?
JK: Our songs don’t have standard structures. We like to change up the flow and style of things. Sometimes a song will be short and sometimes it will be a bit longer. We just try and keep things aggressive with a groovy pace.

AL: What are you guys most looking forward to about being a part of Mayhem Festival this summer?
JK: We are ready to get out there and have a great time and put on an awesome set. We have some shows lined up in Canada and overseas where we will be working on refining the set so it’s going to be really great.

AL: What was it that made you choose Mayhem Festival over a traditional solo tour?
JK: There are a lot of bands and tours that go out during the summer. They all sport great lineups and to go out on your own it can be very easy to get passed over. So it’s that “if you can’t beat them, join them” mentality. You look for a package that best fits your style and you go out there and put on some great shows. Everyone involved with Mayhem is great so joining up with them again was an easy decision.

AL: What are the plans for the band after Mayhem wraps up?
JK: We have a very exciting headlining tour lined up for the fall/winter seasons. I can’t announce it just yet but we will be out there doing shows for sure.

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Levi Benton is the lead singer for the Metal-core band Miss May I. The group has just released their 4th studio album titled “Rise of the Lion” which debuted at number 21 on the US Billboard chart. Along with the release of the new album the band will also be a part of this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Media Mikes spoke with Levi recently about the creation of the new album and what they are most looking forward to about this summer’s tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some info on the recording of the new album?
Levi Benton: This time around we were really able to give the album more of a grown up sound. We had time to sit down and really think about the record as a whole as our last couple albums were done in between touring so our time was limited. With “Rise of the Lion” we were able to just focus on the album and not worry about anything else. This record is more diverse and one that I think that will be a timeless record that doesn’t get old. This record is a lot more than just riff after riff. Having producer Terry Date involved helped make the record diverse along with giving it a really old school metal sound.

AL: The new album is very melodic. Was this something that happened consciously or just came out naturally as the sessions progressed?
LB: I think that element came out due to the fact of having that extra time to work on the songs. We went in with the record written and then Terry put us in stations and had us rewrite the songs as much as possible. The songs heard on our previous releases were pretty much the first draft of those songs. With the new record your hearing songs that were rewritten at least five different times. What you are hearing is the best of the best. I think that’s what brought the melody out in a lot of the songs.

AL: At what stage of the process do you generally start bringing lyrics in?
LB: We always do lyrics last. I like to divide out the sounds and see how I feel about each one. I really try to wait until the song is basically fully written before I add my parts to it. I think it’s easier for me than trying to add lyrics then because if something needs a little bit of changing to fit a lyric or something then we can just length or shorten a section.

AL: Can you tell us about the videos you guys shot for this release?
LB: Prior to the album’s release we shot three separate videos. Two of those have been released so far and the last one will be coming out shortly. This third video is probably our most cinematic release to date. It’s a bit gory and was a totally different vibe for us. I can tell everyone that we shot it in black and white.

AL: What are you guys looking forward to most about being a part of this year’s Mayhem Festival?
LB: I am looking forward to playing for a heavier crowd. Some of the tours we have done in the past we were the scary band that made everyone run so it will be great to get up there in front of giant families of metal heads.

AL: What was it that appealed to you most about going out on a package tour as opposed to a solo headlining tour?
LB: The new record has put us in a whole new world. We sort of started the transition with our last record and we have continued following through with that by going out with bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Trivium and Killswitch Engage. That has helped us find our place in the metal world and led us to signing on to play Mayhem with groups like Korn and Cannibal Corpse. It’s going to be great to get up there in front of fans that just completely love metal music.

AL: What are the bands pans after the Mayhem Festival wraps up?
LB: We will be out this whole year promoting the record. There are a bunch of things in talks but I can’t talk about them just yet for fear of getting my hands chopped off. (Laughs)

Sal Lococo is the lead singer for the New York hardcore band Sworn Enemy. The band is set to release their first new album in 5 years titled “Living on Borrowed Time”. Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Sal about the album the current state of the hardcore music scene and what type of tour plans the band has in place to support their new release.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some info on the new album?
Sal Lococo: The new album has 11 tracks of basically ripping your head off music. Sworn Enemy hasn’t really deviated from their formula for writing so don’t let the fact that this record has new players on it change your thoughts

AL: With that said the album has a much heavier sound when compared to the bands previous albums. What do you think was the main contributing factor to that?
SL: I’m sure that has a lot to do with 2 different guitar players from our last release. They have a different writing style from Lorenzo and we can hear the subtle difference but all and all it still has that Sworn Enemy sound

AL: With almost 5 years between the new album and the previous release do you find it hard to reconnect with the bands fan base?
SL: From the shows we have been playing over the past 5 years I haven’t seen that at all. I think most of our fans were just waiting for us to get back on our feet and release some new material after most members left the band.

AL: Traditional hardcore seems to be a bit of a rarity these days. What is your take on the current HC scene?
SL: To be honest I’ve been out of the loop when it comes to music so I’m not really sure what is going on with the HC scene maybe you can fill me in on what’s going on. (Laughs)

AL: Can you tell us about the bands upcoming tour plans?
SL: The new record comes out May 13th and our tour starts May 17th at this year’s Black and Blue bowl. We are all looking forward for the show as well as the upcoming tour. We also have plans to head back to Europe at the year’s end and then we want to try and be part of some bigger US tours to get us right back in into the swing of things

AL: Besides the new album and subsequent tour do you have any other projects in the works you would like to mention?
SL: Right now the only project me and the guys will be working on is getting Sworn Enemy back into top form. Once we accomplish that then we can talk about other projects

Lauri “Varulven” Ounapuu is the lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the folk heavy metal band Metsatöll.  Formed in 1999 in the Baltic region of Northern Europe Metsatöll has been pummeling audiences with their unique sound which features a blend of traditional Estonia instrumentation and modern day heavy metal. The group just released a brand new album titled “Karjajuht” via Spinefarm Records and Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Lauri about the album and the group’s beginnings.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us a little bit about the bands formation?
Lauri Ounapuu: Markus our singer started this band in 1990. I joined the band after we starting jamming in my apartment one day. I play a number of traditional Estonian instruments and what we were playing sounded really interesting. My neighbors weren’t too happy at the time however as we ended up playing until like four in the morning. We really were having a good time. I did my first show with band in Estonia and afterwards we started working on new material. Back then I played mostly guitar but I am a lousy guitar player and eventually moved to the more traditional instruments. It was also at this time they I mentioned adding more guitar parts to what we had already in order to make things more metal sounding. Our style wasn’t anything we specifically set out to create. Things just sort of evolved and people started to really enjoy what we were doing.

AL: Would you say your background as a musician is more in traditional music than say heavy metal?
LO: As a child I spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s houses. They lived in the tradition style of Estonia. They also listed to traditional Estonian music. When they passed away I was looking for some way to connect so I started learning traditional instrumentation and songs. At the same time my friends were all in to heavy metal so that too played a big part in my life. When your friends are all metal heads you start enjoying it yourself.

AL: Can you tell us about the new album “Karjajuht”?
LO: Every time we start on a new record it seems as though things happen differently than they did on the previous. It might be someone different brings in a melody or lyrics or something along that lines. We take all those ideas and see if those ideas can be played in our style of music. With the new record we did a lot of improvising and arranging while we were in the studio. We started making this album quite quickly as we no sooner finished the demos and it was time to start recording. Usually we don’t make a lot of changes once we are in the studio however this album worked a little differently. Again things went really fast and of course as a musician there is always something you may want to change or try to do better but it just wasn’t possible for us to do that this time around. This was ok though as everything turned out pretty good.

AL: Over the past couple of years we have seen a rise in bands that also incorporate traditional instrumentation and styles. Do you think this is something that we will continue to see more of as more and more people are exposed to the various groups?
LO: There are a lot of bands out there labeling themselves as folk-metal and playing music with traditional elements. The big thing to point out is that they are all very different. Though there are a lot of bands in our genre I don’t think there is really one like MetsatÖll. We are the only band in the world playing Estonian bagpipes. (Laughs)

AL: What are the bands tour plans in support of the release?
LO: We have been doing some gigs around Estonia and we also did a small tour Finland as well. We have been talking about coming to the States in the fall but we are still trying to coordinate all of that.