JT Hodges is a country singer known best for his singles “Hunt You Down” and “Goodbyes Make You Mine”. He recently released his debut self-titled album and is hitting the road soon touring. Media Mikes got a chance to chat with JT again about this debut album and the inspiration behind it.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how it feels to finally have this album released?
JT Hodges: It is a breath of fresh air, for one. You spend the whole year working a few different singles that is all that people have to go by. I have said from the beginning that if you are fan or not of this song, wait till the record comes out. I feel that there is a song for everyone on the record. It is very diverse and I just don’t do one thing. What I do though is all within the frame of the style. It’s what I have been doing over the years and will only to continue to grow and expand from it. I am just happy the first album is out and people can decide for themselves what they like.

MG: I thought “Hunt You Down” was a great track but I think you outdid youself with each track on the album.
JH: Well dude, that means a lot man!. In the world we have today everything is subjective but if the majority of the comments are positive, that is always great to hear.

MG: Has any of this CD release madness been overwhelming at all for you?
JH: No, I really love it. Thank God for social media. I have made a lot of great friends in radio. Radio has really kind to me. We have been lucky to get a few songs out there already. I just love all the social media and a good way for me to get the word out.

MG: When we last spoke in October of 2011 you mentioned “Hunt You Down” was found on Beale street, tell us about where the rest of the album was discovered?
JH: Honestly if we had all day I could do through each song and tell you. Really a lot of them are going back to almost 10 years ago. When I was in thee writers room, just thinking about a mood and it transports you back to a specific time in your life and different situations. That probably means that you are going to write a real song that day. The majority of the songs on the record really bared that process for me. There are also some observation songs like “Sleepy Little Town”. It was just an image for me just driving through this small town. There are a lot of things that go a little astray in life and we deal with them. That song is just three separate stories exposing secrets that everyone finds out about since they are in this small town. All across the board with the record, each track is very personal to me. When you are writing a record you realize that you are not the only one going through heartbreak or have some hard times. You find out you are not only writing it for yourself but also for your listener.

MG: What do you think will be the next single for this album?
JH: The next single is “Sleepy Little Town”. It is going to be released to radio on September 10th.

MG: Are you hitting the road soon and if so where and with you?
JH: We have got a few potential tour plans. Fingers crossed those are going to work out. A lot of the shows are being booked for the Fall. I traveled the country this year and played a lot of show. We are building one fan at a time and having a blast doing it.

Rickey Medlocke originally joined with Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the early 70’s before forming the band “Blackfoot”.  He re-joined Skynyrd in 1996 and has been rocking out since.  He is one of the bands guitarist along with Garry Rossington and Mark Matejka.  Rickey took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about the band’s latest album “Last of a Dyin’ Breed”.

Mike Gencarelli: What was the driving force inspiration behind “Last of a Dyin’ Breed”?
Rickey Medlocke: I feel like we are the last of a dyin’ breed. Along with our band and others like The Stones, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and The Allman Brothers, we all are the last of our kind. Even by the way we recorded this album was a great approach. After it was written, we setup in the studio live and recorded it.  Just like the way you hear it is the way it went down. It has really been a great experience.

MG: I’ve been a member of the Skynyrd Nation for 20 years and now I can’t wait to introduce my daughter to you as well; How can you reflect on Skynyrd being so multi-generational and still relevant today?
RM: First of all the bands fan-base is definitely multi-generational. Our fans span three generations and our fans are anywhere from 15 to 70. It is pretty cool when we you get to see fans that love your music and just enjoy listening to the songs. It goes to show what music represents. That is one of the key secrets in making new music to give fans something new to listen to. I guess we could sit back and rely on our classic tracks but if we can put out new music and material, it will keep things from getting stale.

MG: Tell us about the fierce use of guitar on these tracks?
RM: When we started this album, Garry (Rossington), Mark (Matejka) and myself had decided that we were going to try and bring the guitars out more. We wanted to make it more of a guitar based record, since the band is a guitar band. I believe what we have done is created a solid foundation of all three guitars. Each guy has his own place within each song. Everyone stepped up when they needed to take lead. You know what man, I think worked out really great. I for one am very happy with work that I did on it. Anyone always look back at their own work and think maybe I could have done better here or there but I think we nailed it. There are some guys that strive for perfection but hey man it is rock ‘n roll and rock ‘n roll is not perfect. It came out the way it was suppose to and we couldn’t be happier.

MG: You are working again with “God and Guns” producer Bob Marlette, how does the collaboration on this album differ?
RM: We decided way before this record that we were going to go out with Bob again. Bob is a really good director and producer. We are able to go off and do what we do. He is not one of these guys that it has to be his way or no way. With Bob on board, we planned to get into the studio and setup it up old school like. We wanted to record this live as we were performing it. We loved working with Bob and we are all the better for it.

MG: Love your vocal track on “Mississippi Blood”, how did that come about?
RM: Johnny (Van Zant) and I throughout the last several records have tried to do a duet. I like being a part of a song vocally, it is always a lot of fun. With that particular tune, the way it was written it fitted what Johnny and I wanted to go after. I really enjoyed it.

MG: For me it would be “Simple Man” and those opening cords, what is the one track that when it goes on you completely jam into it?
RM: There are a lot of songs in the Lynyrd Skynrd catalog. Right now in the shows, we are doing a melody of songs. We got “Needle and the Song” leading into “Tuesday’s Gone”. I really get off on those and love doing those two together.

MG: With each track omitting gold, which ones do you foresee becoming part of a must play list during touring?
RM: As far as the new stuff, we are doing “One Day at a Time”, “Last of a Dyin’ Breed” and “Good Teacher”. We wrote “One Day at a Time” we Kid Rock’s guitar player and writer Marlon Young. I really like doing “Good Teacher” because it has this Hendrix-style Wah-Wah. I broke out my ole Cry Baby for that tune when we recorded the track. I really enjoyed doing that. I also think that “Homegrown” is a great track to play live also. It has that Drop C that I really like. And of course, I also love “Mississippi Blood”, it has got some really great elements in it. Jerry Douglas played a great lap steel lead in that. This album overall is just loaded with good songs.

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• Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Rickey Medlocke chats about band’s latest album “Last of a Dyin’ Breed”
• White Chapel’s Phil Bozeman talks about new album
• Interview with John Doe

Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen are the co-writers behind such amazing projects like “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog” and Fox’s Dollhouse.  They recently released an EP album together under the name of This Girl.  Everyone seriously needs to check out this album, it is very fun and catchy.  They also just recently announced that they will be writing Marvel’s upcoming “S.H.I.E.L.D” TV pilot with “The Avengers” helmer Joss Whedon.  Jed & Maurissa took out a great deal of time to do a song-by-song analysis of their album and also discussed the long-awaited “Dr. Horrible” sequel.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how the name This Girl came about?
Jed Whedon: We were trying to present something that wasn’t just us and was trying to put a concept behind it. If you look at the photo shoot we did, it was me pushing Maurissa into the front.  And I think we were just talking and I was like “Hey look at this girl!” and Maurissa said “Hey, that could be the name” [laughs]. So that is how it happened.

MG: How long would you say this album took to complete?
Maurissa Tancharoen: Well it was sort of drawn out over the course of last year. It is a side project to pass the time since we were stuck at home for a long time. I had a rough health year last year. So Jed out of the kindness of his loving-husband heart [laughs], figured to pass the time we should record some songs. We worked on it sporadically over the course of last year. We never pushed to get it done and took our time we it. Right Jed?
JW: Yeah, I would say about a year. We would work on it for a while and then just toy around. When we realized that we were close to being done, then we gave a real push to finish it up.

MG: Tell us the inspiration behind the songs first up “Bombs” Away”
JW: Usually the way we work is music first. We just started building tracks and of course a ton of then never go anywhere. So, I think the general concept of the record was the make something upbeat and fun. Maurissa has a little bit of the R&B background.
MT: [laughs] Yeah, he told me “Let try and make you sing as white as possible.
JW: [laughs] Yeah. Like a androgynous, very vanilla sounding pop record. That was our inital concept.
MT: That was also the concept behind This Girl was that the songs do fall under the indie pop category. But overall they are all over the map. Like “Mr. Electric” is just so different” and “Dangerous” has a little bit of hip-hop and R&B vibe but very subtle. You are this girl on each track basically.

MG: Speaking of “Dangerous”, tell us a little more about that track?
JW: “Dangerous” was our first track. The concept was basically to do a really light vocal about getting your heart ripped out of your chest. The idea was that the music would be so kind and easy-going but the lyrics would be darker.
MT: She is basically a stalker or the quiet voice of the stalker. She is saying take my hard and crush it cause I am watching you and that is all I want.
JW: We had the track and had the idea of a jazz guitar. So I brought my older brother Sam in, he is an amazing guitarist. We recorded for an hour and just riffed on it. The guitar wasn’t meant to be this epic solo. But on one of the takes, I told him to just go crazy with it and that is the one we used.

MG: Next up we have “In Your Dreams”, tell us about that one?
JW: The idea was to make a five song album. We had the five tracks and Maurissa said we should just put it out. I thought let’s just do one more and whatever it is it will end up being our favorite. Your last song always ends up being your favorite.
MT: And it is…it is definitely our favorite.
JW: So, that one was the only one with a chorus before any tracks were laid down.
MT: I just love the story about a guy living a very monotonous life and wanting to be elsewhere.
JW: It is sort of a braggy mean song.
MT: It is a very mean song but again it is sang so gently it tricks you.
JW:  I just love the idea of “Your obsessed with me. You know it. Your pathetic” and then the last line of the chorus is “In your dreams”. Like “Yeah right, you wish”. In general that is something we like to do, which is play the lyrics against the song. It gives it this nice extra layer.

MG: Awesome, I love that song also; next up tell us about where “Second Nature” came from?
JW: That is another one that started with a drum beat feel. We wanted that to be kind of upbeat…
MT: That is also a sad song…all of our songs are sad [laughs].
JW: Yeah [laughs], considering how upbeat we always are.
MT: I guess since we were having a harder year, it came out in the lyrics.
JW: Happy lyrics are boring. Jane Doe is about a girl feeling sorry for herself. The music just grew organically from a general feel and then just sort of evolved.  I know that may seem a bit boring but it is true.
MT: That is the way that Jed has always worked. It is the music first. It is funny when he comes up with the melody. He will sort of half record the melody. It will be a bunch of gibberish and then a line that totally sticks and becomes the actual chorus.

MG: One of my favorites, tell me about “Mr. Electric”?
JW: That was one of the tracks that I had the hardest time with, since it was a hard mix for me.
MT: We almost took it off.
JW: We didn’t like it very much and now of course it’s everyone’s favorite.
MT: It just stuck out and was different from the rest. Up to the very last minute we were going to yank it. It is just unbelievable the response we have gotten about it from fans.
JW: It is basically another dark side of a happy song. I guess it is sort of a 50’s upset, “Mr. Sandman” rip-off. It is about a drug dealer and a girl that keep getting hooked. We also have a cool video concept in mind for it.

MG: “Remains” was previously released a single back in 2009 for “Dollhouse”, tell us about why you chose to close the album with it?
JW: We just wanted to put in on the album. Since we only had one tune out there together, we wanted want to put it on one album. “Remains” is a more genuine track and we  felt like it was a good bridge between “In Your Dreams” and would also work well after “Mr. Electric”.

MG: Any more plans for Jed Whedon and The Willing in the future?
JW: We do have a lot of projects going on right now. If we ever have any downtime, which is where This Girl came from, I will definitely spend time making a new one. That is the plan right now. I hate saying that though since when it comes out in four years people are going to wonder what took so long.

MG: Jed, if your brother can stop making films that gross $1 billion dollars [laughs], where do you guys think that a “Dr. Horrible” sequel lands your timeline?
MT: It is definitely in our timeline.
JW: It is for sure. There are a lot of projects in the works now. Everyone in the world now know how busy Joss is now. We are definitely planning to do it.
MT: We have more of a solid plan to aim to start next year.
JW: Not only do we think we will get it done, we also think it will be pretty great.

photos by kate danson
http://katedansonphotography.com/

Ryan Mendez is the lead guitarist for the pop-punk band Yellowcard. The group is set to release its 8^th studio album in August titled “Southern Air”. Media Mikes caught up with Ryan at this year’s Vans Warped Tour to discuss the band’s new album?

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the bands upcoming album “Southern Air”?
Ryan Mendez: The album will be out August 14^th on Hopeless Records. We are all beyond excited for this album to come out. I want to say that this is the most proud we have ever been of a record. There is just something about how this album turned out that has a confidence to it. We didn’t go into the studio trying to make anything specific happen but this just turned out so strong in our opinions. We can’t wait for everybody to hear it.

AL: How did the writing process on this album compare to that of the album you put out in 2011?
RM: We had a pretty similar process. We went in to things not having any specific agenda or direction. We just wanted to write songs that were fun. We didn’t want to over think things. We just wanted songs that were rad and energetic. We thought about what would be fun to play live and have kids sing along to. We would write things we thought sounded good and then just moved on to the next thing. In the end I think the album has an energy and a rawness to it that just seems natural.

AL: Are any of the songs on the new album left over from the previous albums recording sessions?
RM: For the most part this is a new batch of material. There is one song that was taken from an Idea Ryan and I had years ago. When we were on hiatus myself, Ryan and our previous bass player were doing a side project called Big If. We wrote 12 songs and on the last record we took some of those songs a re-worked them to be Yellowcard songs. For the new record we did that with just one song. We took pieces of that song and wrote a new song around it. Aside from that everything else is new.

AL: Is there a song of the new record that you are really looking forward to playing live?
RM: That’s an interesting question. A lot of times when we are making records we don’t spend a lot of time in the rehearsal room playing the songs over and over. The songs are in a way birthed in the studio. There are so many of these songs that we have never sat down and played as a group. It is going to be interesting to see which ones are fun and which ones aren’t. Sometimes there are songs that you really love but are not fun to play live. If the song requires a lot of work or has a lot of changes then that can make it not so fun to play. I really have to just wait and see what songs will be fun or not.

AL: What are the bands plans after the Warped tour finishes up?
RM: I believe the 5^th of August is the last day of the Warped tour. After that we have a couple days off andthen we head over to Europe for some festivals. I think we will be over there for about two and a half weeks. Starting in September we have some more international shows which take us to Japan, Australia and Singapore. There also will be some more stuff announced as it gets closer. The idea is to do a fall states tour. More details about that will be announced after Warped tour.

AL: What is the best place for fans to keep up with the band and watch for these upcoming announcements?
RM: We are all pretty up on using the band Twitter and Facebook accounts. Also all five of us have our own personal Twitter accounts that we are active with as well. We really try to make a conscious effort to interact with the fans. Fans can write to us on any of our pages and we will write you back. For general news our Facebook page will be the one to be watching.

Ola Lindgren is the vocalist/guitarist for the death metal band Grave. The band has just released their 10 full length studio album titled “Endless Procession of Souls”. Media Mikes talked with Ola recently about the album and the bands upcoming tour with Morbid Angel.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the band’s new album?
Ola Lindgren: I would say it is very much back to the bands roots. It is very old school and straight forward. The album has a very heavy, death metal groove. We set out to do an album that could sound like it could have been released in the early days of the band some 20 years ago. I think we accomplished that pretty well with not only the songwriting but also the arrangements. We recorded this album ourselves in our own studio. It’s crushing in every way.

AL: Was there any specific reason for wanting an album that sounded like the band in its early days?
OL: Our two previous albums were a lot more in this same direction. We are sticking to what we know best. We have never really been technical or complicated. We are very straight forward. This album also featured some new blood in the band. Everyone contributed with their own ideas. The process both writing it and putting it together has been pretty easy.

AL: Did having new members in the band change the writing/recording process at all?
OL: I would say the process was very much a band effort. It was different though from the previous 3 albums. It has always been pretty much myself and Ronnie doing everything. We had been sitting at home shooting tracks back and forth and also doing some pre-production stuff. This time it was everyone together in a rehearsal room. Everything felt very right and that’s the way we wanted to do it. Each member had a part in how the songs came together.

AL: Are you planning to shoot a video for any of the songs on the album?
OL: We have some plans but nothing is definite yet. There is one track that I really want to do a video for however we have to decide when to do it and what song we actually want to use.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands upcoming tour?
OL: It’s a very cool idea I think. We actually toured with Morbid Angel back in 1993 here in Europe. They are good friends. We got asked very early in the process about doing this tour. The addition of Dark Funeral is very cool as well. We are really looking forward to playing a lot of the new material and I think the tour will be very successful. The tour starts Sept. 20^th and runs through Oct. 26^th.

AL: Are you hitting any places that you haven’t been to before?
OL: I don’t think so. I recognize most of the cities on the list as this will be our 5^th or 6^th time to the States. We also have some Canadian dates and we have played there as well so I don’t think we will be making any new discoveries this time around.

AL: Is there any place the band wants to tour but has not been able to yet?
OL: The only place we have really toured or played is Japan. That has always been something that I thought would be very cool to be able to do. It’s very hard to get over there but we have people working on it for us. Lately there are a lot of things opening up in China and it would be cool to go there as well.

AL: What are the bands plans after the tour wraps up in October?
OL: There are plans for more touring. Before we come over to the States we are doing a small 2 week headlining run here in Europe. We can’t do much more than that as we have to head over to the states. When we get back we are looking to do a more extensive headlining tour as well as a tour in South America and Australia.

Brian Slagel is the founder/owner of Metal Blade Records. This year marks the labels 30^th anniversary and Media Mikes had the chance recently to talk with Brian about the labels history and what it has planned to celebrate this monumental occasion.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us what initially led you to putting together the first Metal Massacre compilation?
Brian Slagel: I was in Los Angeles and saw so many really great metal bands playing around. At that
time there was no way for them to get heard. I was a huge fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in England and its DIY attitude and from there I got the idea to do a compilation of local LA heavy metal bands. I was also working at a record store and I asked the import distributors I bought from if they would buy a compilation if I put one out. They said yes and the album became a reality.

AL: Did the success of that release plant the seed for you in starting Metal Blade Records or was starting/having your own label always something you wanted?
BS: I never intended to start a label. I was working at a record store and also doing a fanzine. After the album was released, I was offered a pressing and distribution deal from one of the importers. That is when it started to become a label.

AL: You gave Metallica their first real exposure with the Metal Massacre release. Was there a specific reason the band did not sign to Metal Blade?
BS: Yes I had no money as did they. So with no money there was no way to record an album. They came to me first, but no money meant it never happened.

AL: What do you feel has been the labels biggest accomplishment in its 30 years of existence?
BS: Probably just being around for 30 years and still going strong. It is a difficult business, but we have been lucky to still be around and doing what we love.

AL: With the 30 year anniversary of the label is their going to be any special edition releases or re-releases from the label?
BS: Yes we are doing special versions, vinyl, picture discs all year long. Also we are doing special sales around the world as well tied into the 30th.

AL: When signing bands to your label are there any specific qualities or characteristics you look for?
BS: There is nothing specific. We always look for bands that sound a bit different and also are willing to work with us. Getting signed these days is the easy part, and then the work really begins. It’s always helpful if the band has something happening before they ever sign with us.

Singer/Songwriter Chad Kichula’s latest album “A Fire” was released in May of this year and Media Mikes had a chance recently to ask Chad a few questions about the new album and about his writing process.

Adam Lawton: What sparked your interest in music?
Chad Kichula: As far as I can remember I’ve always been interested in music. As a kid, I’d play old records that I’d find around the house, and I’d always have a radio on in my room. As I got older, I tried to figure out how to write and play my own music.

AL: Can you tell us about your new album?
CK: The new album is a mix of rockabilly and rock influences. It is mostly about my working life and what drives me. The album is a very blue-collar record.

AL: What is your writing process like?
CK: My process starts with an inspiration, which can come from any where these days. Sometimes good things happen, and the music meshes with the lyrical side. If it doesn’t, some parts get used later for future songs or it all gets thrown out. It’s kind of like spare parts from a car. After releasing 5 albums, I find that the more songs that I write, the harder it is to come up with something new.

AL: Do you have any music video in the works?
CK: We created some videos in the spring and then I started working on a new project. I do want to get some more live videos from shows this summer up on YouTube.

AL: Do you have any other thing in the works you can tell us about?
CK: We’re recording a new EP that should be ready for a late fall release. It’s pretty exciting. The single from this new EP is sounding really good.

Josh Gilbert is the bassist for the metal-core band As I Lay Dying. The band is set to release its 6^th full length studio album titled “Awakened” on September 25^th and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Josh recently about the upcoming release.

Adam Lawton: What can we expect from the band’s new album “Awakened”?
Josh Gilbert: We worked with producer Bill Stevenson this time around and approached things much differently. We added more of a punk rock attitude to Bill’s suggestions and routines. I think that had a part in how the record was shaped and sounds. The album still sounds like us but we spent a lot more time on crafting the flow of the songs and not just the actual riffs.

AL: Did you have any reservations about going into the studio with a new producer?
JG: I think we were all pretty excited about it. We probably would have used Adam D. but he was busy finishing up things for Killswitch Engage. We had been at a standstill and the idea to work with Bill came up. It was a bit out of the ordinary but I think that is what peaked our interest. Once we talked with Bill everything started to click. He had these very detailed notes on the songs and we all got really excited.

AL: Was there a lot of pre-production for this album?
JG: We went in with 14 or 16 songs that we had fully demoed with vocals and guitars. We usually will write a riff and then show it to one another and go from there. We basically will record the album twice because we want to hear how everything will sound together. We are very thorough and we get a bit obsessive about the writing process.

AL: Can you tell us about the video you shot recently?
JG:  We just finished shooting a video for the song “The Greater Foundation”. We have started to get edits back on it and its looking really cool. We hope to release it very soon.

AL: How does this album compare to the bands previous work?
JG: Are previous albums all have the classic As I Lay Dying sound to them. They are very melodic with a Swedish metal influence. Then there is version 2 of our sound which is more brutal and less melodic. When we do a record we usually have a few songs in each of those styles. On this record our goal was to craft these songs to be as seamless as possible. We didn’t want there to be any gaps as we wanted to cover the full spectrum of our sound in each song.

AL: What are the bands plans after the Mayhem Festival wraps up?
JG: We get to go home for about a month just to re-group. We have been in the studio and on the road for a few months now. While we are home we will be finishing everything up that we need to for the new album to be released. In October we will be heading over to Europe with Trivium and Caliban. After that we will be hitting the states for a club tour.

Ricky J is a singer/songwriter whose album “Paint the Town” hit the Canadian music charts at #3. His latest single “One Drop” is currently also making its way up the charts. Media Mikes had a chance to ask Ricky a few questions about the album and his involvement with the internet site Cheaterville.com.

Adam Lawton: What made you want to get into music?
Ricky J: I was always into music for some reason. My parents always had music playing around. I always felt a strong connection to music. It’s like a gut feeling that’s kind of hard to explain.

AL: Can you tell us about your latest video/single “One Drop”?
RJ: “One drop” is my current single in Canada off my current album “Paint the Town”. The album has been #3 on the hit charts in Canada. I’m still working the single so I can say we are still building and pushing that song. “One Drop” came about through my co writer DatDude back in Montreal. He had an idea started that he showed me and I came on and we wrote pretty much the entire song together. The aim was to get a Taio Cruz vibe but with my swag and vibe on it. The song is about how there are some girls that you can buy them everything and there are some girls who just want to go out and have fun. They are the girls who don’t care about money or status.

AL: Can you tell us about your work with cheaterville.com?
RJ: Cheaterville! I Love that site. The owner James is a cool dude. Here is a guy who got cheated on and based a site out of it. (Laughs) CheaterVille was looking for an anthem for their site and we connected through mutual friends. I wanted to give them an anthem that was NOT cheesy and not too cliché. I wanted the song to be a little more real. I produced and wrote this song with Sibley who is another HOT L.A artist. I took some of my thoughts and also based it on some situations people I know were kind of going through. Cheaterville wanted it to be something that would work for their site, for radio and for clubs. Don’t forget the song is on iTunes now! (plug plug).

AL: How would you describe you latest album?
RJ: “Paint the town” is a feel good album. It hits you with a little bit of all my influences. The album makes you want to get up and move. Expect a good time with some good music.

AL: Where is the best place for people to go to keep up with your latest news and releases?
RJ: Fans can always check out my music on iTunes. For anybody that wants to check out my music videos or all the online content I have they can go to  www.youtubec.com/rickyjmusic and or all the readers can show their support and follow me on www.twitter.com/officialrickyj

The Los Angeles based rock band Attaloss released their first EP earlier this year titled “Attaloss”. The band is currently out on tour in support of the release and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with the band about the formation of the group and the making of the EP.

Adam Lawton:  What led to you guys starting the band?
Chris Johansen: The band started about two years ago. We had all came from other projects and each of us knew what we did and didn’t want to do. We really took our time and made sure we had great people who were in it for the right reasons. We took about 6 months getting it all together as we all came from different cities. When we all finally met each other in person we knew we had the right group.

AL: How would you describe the band’s sound? And what makes Attaloss stand out from other bands?
Matt: I would probably put us in the modern rock category. We have a very popular sound (Laughs). Other than our live show which I think is what really sets us apart, I would say our music is fresh and it keeps your attention.

AL: How would you describe the band’s latest release?
Danny Aguiluz: We are extremely excited about this album. We have been on tour now since before its release in March. We have gotten a lot of really great feedback from people who have bought the album which has been cool. We are very proud of how it turned out.

AL: What was the recording process like for the album?
Dakota Clark: We wrote as many songs together as a band as we could. I think we had 30 verse/choruses written. After that we got a hold of our producer and just rapid fired the songs at him. He would tell us what songs he thought would work and which ones didn’t. We would then take the remaining songs and work them really hard. We started out with 5 songs which we worked on for about 2 months in the studio. Once we had those done we thought it would be cool to just do a full length album. We wanted to show people that not only could we play rock music but we could also play acoustic.

AL: Did you find performing the acoustic versions of the songs to be any harder than the electric versions?
CJ: The songs were all originally written on an acoustic guitar. It was almost like taking them back to their birth. During this time we were still a four piece until Matt Geronimo joined us. He added a whole other layer of harmonies and vocals. Those added things really changed how the songs sounded. When we went back to playing them acoustically it opened up an entire new world of sound which we were really excited about.

AL: Are there plans to release a video for any of the songs?
CJ: We have  a video for our first single “Open Door”. We had also planned on doing another single/video release however the director who we worked with on “Open Door” got called out to shoot in China. This guys works all over the world and we had him locked in for about two weeks but then he got called out. Hopefully when we are done with this tour we will be able to work on the video.

AL: How much longer will you be out touring? And what other plans does the band have?
Zo Perea: We are actually going to be out for a couple more months. When we get back we plan to take 6 months off from touring to do some songwriting and hopefully release a new EP.
CJ: This whole year has been about being on the road. We will have been on the road for more than half the year when this tour wraps up. This has been about just getting out there and building up our fan base. We have been lucky enough to get on 27 different radio stations and made our way out to those places that have supported us. We now know a lot more about who we are as a band and I think our next release will be a true 12-14 song album.

Michael “Vampire” Orlando is the lead singer of the metal group Vampires Everywhere. The group recently released its second full-length album titled “Hellbound and Heartless”. Media Mikes caught with Michael at this year’s Vans Warped tour to discuss the band’s latest work.

Adam Lawton: How would you describe the band’s latest album?
Michael Orlando: I would say its more dark and message driven. The album is more real and less contrived. Our previous record was more of a cluster fuck of what we were and it featured a different line up. “Hellbound and Heartless” is more of what we are trying to be.

AL: How does the band generally go about writing its material?
MO: This time around we produced the record ourselves. We had a demo process at our house and we went in to the studio with the album pretty much completed. We just showed the engineers what we needed to lay down. It was more or less me writing the lyrics and our rhythm guitarist DJ “Black “ Blacker writing the music and we all just put everything together.

AL: Is there a track that’s sticks out as a personal favorite for you?
MO: “Star of 666” is one of my favorites. It’s a very 90’s/new metal sound. The song has a really cool vibe and an awesome message that means a lot to me. It’s an awesome track.

AL: Have there been any highlights for the band on this year’s Warped tour?
MO: Las Vegas! We played in front of Mandalay Bay and had a main stage slot that day. There was a sea of people there as was our label. It was really good timing and it was a lot of fun.

AL: What are the bands plans after Warped tour ends?
MO: We have a cool tour coming up that we can’t announce just yet. There are some pretty big sponsors that are going to be behind it. We also just released a new video for the song “Drug of Choice”. Other than that we are going to just keep pushing the new record.

AL: What type of treatment did you give the new video?
MO: The video is about social climate in Hollywood and it follows a girl though Hollywood who is trying to be noticed. The video has a really cool twist at the end that I think people will enjoy.

Dj Ashba is the guitarist for the hard rock/metal groups Guns N’ Roses and Sixx AM. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Dj about his work with the groups and hit recent connection with Bullyville.com.

Adam Lawton: How did you first get hooked-up with Axl Rose?
Dj Ashba: Sharon Osbourne introduced me to Axl in 2000 during the time I was recording the Beautiful Creatures album.

AL: What is the hardest part about balancing your work in Guns N’ Roses and your work with Sixx: A.M.?
DA: Well due to the fact that Sixx: A.M. is not really a touring band it makes things much easier. That’s not to say we won’t ever get out and play some shows, but we really enjoy just writing and putting out great albums. We tour a lot in Guns but we have some nice breaks which allows me to focus on my other passions.

AL: What was it that made you want to start your own media company “ASHBA Media, Inc.”?
DA: I was an artist before I was a musician, and in my mind art always goes hand-in-hand with music. When I was in Jr. High, I had a cartoon in the local newspaper and I have always been the “artsy kid”. I created ASHBA Media, Inc. when my artwork was seen by Virgin, and they appointed me as their agency of records to brand and market all of the Virgin Megastores worldwide.

AL: You are involved in a number of different ventures (music, art, clothing, etc.). Is there one that you find more satisfying than the others?
DA: No, One is a nice head break from the next, but they are all part of the same world.

AL: How did you get started with BullyVille.com?
DA: I had bought a brand-new house in Las Vegas, and my neighbor happened to be James McGibney-the CEO of Bullyville. After sitting down and talking to him I felt I needed to get involved. I think it’s a wonderful thing that he is giving people a place to go online to raise awareness. Because of what I had been through in my childhood, I wanted to help and Bullyville.com was the perfect vehicle.

AL: What other projects do you have in the works?
DA: I started a corporation called ASHBA AUTOMOTIVE GROUP with Ryan Freidlinghaus of WEST COAST CUSTOMS. We will be launching the brand-new, Limited Edition ASHBA CHALLENGER, by Dodge. We are very proud. It is the ultimate, modern “Rock N’ Roll Hotrod”. Rock N’ Roll and hotrods used to go hand in hand, and it’s an American tradition that we want to bring back in a big way. I will also be launching a social network, called “ASHBALAND.COM, A Rock n’ Roll community”. It’s the ultimate place on the net for fans to unite, come together, and share their love for music.

Matt Jones is the vocalist for the British rock band The Treatment. Media Mikes talked with Matt recently about the band’s debut album titled “This Might Hurt” and what they are most looking forward to this summer touring with Motley Crue and Kiss.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the band?
Matt Jones: Dhani Mansworth our drummer started the band when he was 14 and still in school. He kind of brought us in from all different areas. He found Ben Brookland our guitar player first and then it was like a snowball effect after that. Ben knew Rick and then Rick knew Tag Grey. They found me on Myspace when that was still doing stuff. Over the last couple years we have just gone from there really.

AL: How would you describe the band’s sound?
MJ: We are a straight up hard rock band. You can kind of here some of our influences like Judas Priest and AC/DC in our sound. People call us classic rock all the time which is fine. That is a great genre of music and it’s what we all listen to.

AL: Can you tell us about the band’s debut album?
MJ: We released it here in England last September. It took about a year to record prior to that. It has been a long going thing for us. It will be brand new for those people in the States which is great. The album has been well received so far and we have been having a lot of fun playing the tunes.

AL: What type of writing approach does the band generally take?
MJ: We all kind of work as a group. Ideas seem to come from everywhere and we actually record as we are writing. When someone has an idea we press record on the computer. We will record the guitars and then just build up from there. When we listen back to it is when we may decide to make changes. It is a really sort of slow building process.

AL: Does the band write all the time or do you set aside specific times to get together and write?
MJ: We write all the time as we are lucky enough to all live together. We live with our manager’s family as our drummers dad is our manager. As soon as we have ideas we just get together and start jamming. We are always working on something.

AL: What are the video/single release plans for the album?
MJ: We just released a video for the song “Nothing to Lose”. Fans can check that out on YouTube. The video is a bit of a performance piece as we rented out a recording studio and gave the video a real old school vibe. We wanted it to look like when all thebands that we like we’re doing things. It’s a real fun video.

AL: What can you tell us about your upcoming tour with Motley Crue and Kiss?
MJ: This will be the bands first trip to the U.S. and we are really excited. This is a huge tour. For us being an English band that gets to come to the U.S.A. it’s just amazing. Bands from the UK have been going over to you guys for some time now. It’s kind of like the promise land. (Laughs) Nikki Sixx has been a massive supporter of ours even though we don’t know how he really came across us. Ever since he did he has been very good to us. We are really grateful for all of his support. It’s going to be great playing our songs and getting to see Motley Crue and Kiss every night.

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Thomas Augusto is a member of the pop group Midnight Red. The group has recently released a new single titled “Hell Yeah” and Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Thomas about the single and the groups plans for the summer.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about the formation of the group?
Thomas Augusto: I first met Eric Secharia about 5 or 6 years ago. He at the time was living in California and I was living in Texas. Eric had started to put a group together with Anthony Ladao and they called me to join them. From there we found Colton Rudloff by searching “kid that can sing” on YouTube and, from there we had found Joey Diggs through a mutual producer. That was pretty much the formation of Midnight Red.

AL: What was it like when you all first got together in the same room for the first time?
TA: I think we were all measuring each other up. There was definitely no tension but we were trying to figure out what each other was about. We had actually met Colton and Joey on the exact same day. We took some time to get to know each other but once we were Midnight Red things were effortless.Everything blended together well and it seemed meant to be.

AL: What is the group’s writing process like?
TA:  There is a mixture. Some of the things we write on our own and some of it is written as a group. Anthony is a very talented producer who makes some great beats. We usually will just bring all of our ideas together and go from there.

AL: Can you tell us about the new single “Hell Yeah”?
TA: We recorded “Hell yeah” in Paris with Red One. It was just a blast! It’s a really cool song that we all like. The song fuses several genres in to one. There are some huge pop elements in the song along with dance elements and hip-hop elements. There is a guitar riff in the song that almost reminds me of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

AL: How did the idea for the song come about?
TA: “Hell yeah” was actually created by Red One and his team. We first heard the instrumental portion of the track before it was even done being made. There was a portion of the chorus done but when we heard it we just started exchanging ideas.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands EP?
TA: The EP is currently available on ITunes and was something we put out to help promote us out on the roadduring our tour with New Kids on the Block and The Backstreet Boys. We worked with Red One on that as well and it was a really fun project. We recorded it in Los Angeles and performed a number of the songs while we were out on that tour. The EP gives fan a taste of what they can expect from the full length album.

AL: What are the bands plans for the rest of this year?
TA: The full length album will be out towards the end of this year. We also will be touring and doing a lot of radio promotion.

Ricky Phillips is no stranger to world of rock music. Over his 30+ year career Phillips has played bass for a number of successful groups. He is probably best known for holding down the low end for the legendary classic rock band Styx. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Ricky recently about the bands current tour with Reo Speedwagon and Ted Nugent as well as about the bands recent Blu-Ray release titled “Styx: Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight- Live”.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the bands current tour with Reo Speedwagon and Ted Nugent?
Ricky Phillips: Both Styx and Reo Speedwagon have some incredible history that goes way back. We are both from Illinois and have toured together before but this is the first one we have done together in about 3 or 4 years. We did do some one off shows here and there but the idea came up to put us together and have Ted Nugent open. It is sort of a collaboration of Mid-West rock bands. The attendance at these shows has just been amazing. When you go out each year you never know what the shows will be like. The first leg of the tour went well and was sort of business as usual. This second leg has been sold out every night which just blew us away. It’s really crazy how it’s caught on. This success may lead to us doing a similar tour sometime next year. The fans seem to really enjoy the line up and if you think about it each group is quite different so we are trying to put a different slant on mid-west rock.

AL: What has been the biggest difference in the crowds as of late?
RP: There are so many young people now that have discovered classic rock bands. They seem to be at a point in their music listening lives where they are looking for what came before. We are those guys. When I and the rest of the guys in the band were younger and at this point we were heavily influenced by the British music movement. From there we looked back and found artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Guys like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page were into these acts so we started searching them out as well. It is pretty cool seeing these new young faces as they watch and sing along. We have a great cross section of fans.

AL: Can you tell us about the DVD/Blu-Ray the band recently released?
RP: The “Styx: Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight- Live” came out really great. The Blu-Ray did amazing and I couldn’t believe how many people were waiting for that. I think we were actually number 2 in sales for the first couple weeks on Amazon.com. Those two albums go together so well that the discs came out beautifully. Doing those shows was like going back the vinyl era where you dropped the needle and boom the music kicks in. We did each album in its entirety the way it was recorded so fans could have that feeling of knowing what the next song is. They could get wrapped up in the songs. We would then take an intermission and come back and play “Pieces of Eight”. It was just so much fun. When we first did those records and you were trying to get them on the radio you would pack one side with what you thought were going to be the hits. You were trying to foresee the future. When you do a live concert things are exactly the opposite. You generally start with the B cuts then the hits and close out with your encores. It was a bizarre way to do a live show like an album but it seemed to work really well. The Blu-Ray version of the show is definitely the way to see it.

AL: Was it hard going back and playing some of the material that you hadn’t played in awhile?
RP: At first it was a little tough. We worked pretty hard on the material and once we got in to it we knew we weren’t turning back. We did a lot of switching off between vocals parts as there are just so many stacked vocal parts on those albums. We even threw a microphone back to our drummer Todd Sucherman who is a great singer. Getting those extra voices were crucial and probably the biggest challenge. We like challenges like that and we welcomed it. Things turned out really well.

AL: VH1 recently did a re-mastered episode of the “Styx: Behind the Music” episode. What was it like having to delve once again back in to the bands history?
RP: Personally I am not a fan of those kinds of shows. I am a bit of a weirdo. I don’t like people knowing my bands business. I liked the concept of not knowing about a band until you went and saw them live. You might see a picture or two of a band in a magazine or something but that was about it. I loved that mystique. Watching these types of shows is a little difficult. I know fans like them and we are in a different age now. With reality television and things I guess these types of shows fit right in. The episode is pretty well represented I think. They shot some footage of me while I was in England and I was a little afraid to watch the show. After seeing I thought it was good and gladthat it was out there for fans to see how the band came about and how we have evolved.

AL: What other plans are in the works for the band?
RP: The band will continue to tour and live its daily life. As that happens things are always evolving and stuff start to tell their own stories. We have been writing new material and talking about getting it recorded for some time. I have started to hear more and more about it as of late. We may find some time in our schedules to actually do that. For us it’s really about the touring business. After this tour wraps up I think we have about a week off and then we go back out doing “An Evening with Styx”. I kind of know what parts of the country we will be in but I don’t know the exact venues.