Andy Timmons has been performing on stages all over the world since the mid 1980’s most notably with the band Danger Danger, Kip Winger and as the musical director/guitarist for Olivia Newton-John. When not working in the studio or with one of his many projects Andy focuses on his group The Andy Timmons Band. The group has just released a new instrumental album titled “Theme From a Perfect World” and Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Andy recently about the albums creation, his creative process and the bands current U.S. tour.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about your bands latest album?

Andy Timmons: We started working on the record about six years ago. What happened was is we started working on “Theme From a Perfect World” and that sort of morphed in to the “Sgt. Pepper” album. That really took on a life of its own and we ended up finishing the Pepper record first. It took us a little bit of time to get back to this new record as we had been doing a bunch of live shows along with all of us being very busy outside of the Andy Timmons. We are here now after about ten years with a new batch of original material. That certainly was much too long of a stretch and we hope to correct that in the coming years.

AL: Can you tell us about the decision to do an all instrumental album?

AT: For me I think my uniqueness to music is my voice on the guitar. I have certainly done a fair share of music with vocals and such but I think guitar is what I do best and that’s really what I have spent my life doing. Instrumental music is a more pure and direct way of communicating especially if you are able to develop that connection on your instrument. With the guitar I think I am just scratching the surface really. Two of my heroes are Jeff Beck and Pat Matheny. Those guys really set a bench mark with their level of expression. There are a lot of great players out there but those two guys are at the forefront of people who raise the bar. That’s the path I am aspiring to and the band and I are just really trying to strike a deeper chord with our music as opposed to taking a more generic route.

AL: Is there a different creative process for you when writing instrumental music as opposed to lyrical
music?

AT: It’s all driven by the same muse. I am trying to create music that I love. I think the songwriting process or the guitar soloing process is really driven by that same desire. I want to create something that’s equal in quality to all the music I have taken in over the course of my life.

AL: The album has a deep melodic feel to it. Is that something that evolved over the course of making the album or was that something you consciously wanted to do?

AT: That has been sort of an ongoing growth/development. It’s been a natural progression for me. I think there have been some good songs on some of my earlier releases but what has always been in the forefront of my mind. Yes I wanted to write some good songs but I also wanted to play my ass off. With the maturing and growing process it’s clear that none of that means anything unless you have a great song. You want people to listen repeatedly and it to be something they want to hear multiple times.

AL: How do you think your songwriting has evolved since your early days with Danger Danger?

AT: It sort of has just evolved in the way it’s evolved. It’s hard for me to really speak much about that because I am so close to it. The inspirations and motivations haven’t changed that much. I do think I am getting better at reflecting the emotions that I want to get across. Not every moment on the new record has a deep meaning but there are a handful of the songs that are based around some very heavy life changing events. Everything was very much in the moment and a heartfelt document of what was happening at that time.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands current tour?

AT: This is the bands very first U.S. tour. It’s a bit crazy to hear me say that because we have been a band since 1988! It’s been an interesting trajectory for the band in that our career has sort of lived more in Europe and South East Asia. In the States things seemed a bit more daunting. We have all done higher level touring here in the states with other bands so the prospect of jumping in a band and potentially lose money didn’t seem that appealing. Doing that is fine in your early 20’s but not so much these days. Thanks to the internet and things like that people have been able to find more of our material which is great because we now are able to get out on the road here in the States. We will be out in the states for three weeks then we head over to Asia in November. We have December off and then in January we will be appearing at the NAMM show in California. I want to concentrate more on the U.S. at this point. We will still probably hit Europe sometime next year as well. There’s going to be several pockets of touring activity but Mike and I have a lot of recording we want to do as well. There’s going to be a much more ongoing creative process going forward.

For more info on Andy and the Andy Timmons Band you can visit http://andytimmons.com/

Rumer Willis may be the daughter of Hollywood heavy weights Bruce Willis and Demi Moore however her own career is nothing to be ashamed of having appeared not only in a number of television series and films but she also enjoyed a successful stint on Broadway as well. Rumer’s latest project has her singing front in center on her debut music tour which is being called the “Over the Love” Tour. Media Mikes had the opportunity to talk with Rumer recently about the upcoming tour and her foray in to music.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on your relationship with music and your decision to start performing live?

Rumer Willis: I have been singing since I was very young. I think I spent quite a bit of time coming up with the best way for me to outlet my music. There have been actors and children of successful parents who have tried to come out and do an album after they have been successful at something else. I always wanted to make sure that when I did do that that I did things right. I didn’t try to put something out there just to have something out. I wanted to make sure that how I present myself is truly what I want to share with people. I feel what we are about to do really represents myself.

AL: What can you tell us about your upcoming debut tour?

RW: I got the idea after performing at a place called the Café Carlisle. A friend of mine mentioned that I should think about doing a full tour as he thought it could totally work. I had never really thought that something like that was possible with me carrying the whole thing. When we started looking more in to the idea and things started to come together we got more and more excited. I never thought I could do music like this or that there was an audience for it. Each show should be really great as it won’t just be me up there singing. I plan to talk a little bit about the songs and explain a little bit about what they mean to me.

AL: How did you go about putting your band together and also selecting the songs for the show?

RW: The band is made up of people I have done shows with before and they are all friends of mine. The songs I selected are more cabaret and jazz type songs. Those are where my normal musical interests are. Even on a daily basis I listen to those types of music. I think there is something to be said about music that really captures emotion. All the songs I picked make me feel something when I hear them and hopefully I can deliver the same response to the people in the audience.

AL: How has performing in a band setup compared to you performing on Broadway?

RW: On Broadway along with the singing there is also a lot about acting as well so it’s a package. There are a lot of things to look at during a Broadway show. Everything is moving very fast and is very colorful. When you are doing a show with a band it’s just you. You have to be more vulnerable and be able to connect with the audience. It’s almost like you are having a conversation.

AL: Overall what has been your transition like moving from film to music?

RW: For me in a weird way it never felt like I was transitioning from one thing to another. Both music and acting have always both been my passion. Thankfully I never was really forced to choose one or the other. I do think figuring out which projects to be in and auditioning was a lot easier than figuring out how I wanted to put myself out there as a musician.

AL: Are there plans to do more shows after this first initial run?

RW: With this first tour I wanted to make sure I played enough places to where I could give people a good idea as to what I am about. I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew for a first tour so we are going to be figuring out what works and what doesn’t as we go along. My philosophy for this whole thing is not to get too big for my britches. Just because someone says they are a good singer or puts on a good show doesn’t mean they really are or can. You have to prove to people that you are worth their time. At the end of the day I want people to come out and just be able to have a great time.

AL: With a new season of “Dancing With The Stars” just starting and you being a past Mirror Ball champion what are your predictions for this year?

RW: I think that Val and Laurie are a very strong team. I think that Laurie is very talented and they have a really strong chance of winning. I am definatley behind them one hundred percent.

For a list of tour dates be sure to check out http://www.Overthelovetour.comfor a complete listing and info

Richard Christy may be best known for his work on the Howard Stern radio show however long before his antics made him a regular fixture on the long running show Richard was a heavy metal drummer for bands like Death and Iced Earth. In 2009 Richard formed his latest group Charred Walls of the Damned. The group’s current lineup which along with Christy features Jason Suecof, Steve DiGiorgio and former Judas Priest front man Tim “Ripper” Owens are set to release their fourth studio album titled “Creatures Watching Over the Dead” on September 23rd. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Richard recently about the new album and its creation, possible tour plans and this year’s hot Halloween trends.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the new album?

Richard Christy: The new album is called “Creatures Watching Over the Dead”. It has nine songs on it and it’s been five years since the bands second album. I took quite a bit more time with the writing on this one than the previous two. A lot of that has to do with Brian Slagel from Metal Blade Records who is real cool about letting us take our time when getting an album out. He really understands our schedules and knows how busy we are all. Aside from the schedules I wanted to take the extra time because with song writing there is always a learning process. Just like with anything else the more time you spend doing it the better you start to get at it. I went through each song to make it the best I possibly could. I initially ended up writing 24 songs between the last album and this one. I had always heard about bands writing a bunch of material and then picking the best from that and with this album we were able to do that as well. I always do pre-production for the albums so during that time Jason Suecof and I picked what we thought were the best 9 tracks and those are what took in to record. It took about a year to get everything recorded from there.

AL: What type of process did you have for selecting the 9 songs that make the album?

RC: That’s what the great thing is about having Jason as our guitarist and producer. When he hears these songs fresh for the first time he is able to pick the ones pretty quickly that catch his ear. For me it’s hard to choose as I wrote them and am a little too close to the song to be objective. Jason has a great ear for songs and melody. He is also a really great song writer. I told him the ones that catch his ear right away are the ones we should go with and that is kind of how we did it. When we finally got together for pre-production we started tweaking the nine songs a little further so we had them exactly the way we wanted them on the album. By the time we get in the studio we are pretty much set to go which allows things to flow pretty smoothly.

AL: With you doing a majority of the songwriting where do the other members fit in during the creative process for a new album?

RC: The other guys in the band have total creative freedom. I basically give them the blue print and then have them add to it or make changes if they need/want to. I am not a good bass player or singer. I can do enough to get what I am hearing in my head out but with Steve Digiorgio and Tim “Ripper” Owens those guys are great and can just go crazy. When we go in to record the guitars and drums are already done so I tell those guys just go as nuts as you want to go. I love when Steve matches stuff up to my drum fills. When we do the vocals we are generally all there and we work together with Tim. Jason is great with vocal patterns and melodies so usually what happens is if we can’t come up with something better than what I put down on the demo or everyone really likes what I did on the demo we will go with that but, I like to get Tim and Jason’s ideas for the vocals first and then we just pick the best of those ideas.

AL: The album has sort of a dark title however a majority of the vocals are rather positive. Was this something that happened consciously or did those themes develop more naturally over the course of writing?

RC: I guess it’s sort of a conscious thing. I am a pretty positive person. I have tried to write lyrics about more brutal subjects or what’s going on in the news. When I was in Burning Inside I would write about horror movies and things like that but with getting older these days I like to think about things that make me happy. It’s not that these lyrics are about it being a nice sunny day but I try and make the lyrics about stuff I have experienced and also about things that inspire me. I write about a lot of stuff I see just living in New York City and walking the streets there. I find it’s easier for me to write and things flow better when I am writing about something that means a lot to mean. I do try and write things in a way that doesn’t make them sound too happy or cheerful. I want things to sound cool but at the same mean something to me and to other people.

AL: Can you tell us a little about the album art?

RC: Being a huge fan of Halloween I came across this really great photographer by the name of Pumpkin Rot. He has a website called www.pumpkinrot.com where he showcases his photos of these scenes he sets up where he lives in Pennsylvania. One day I saw a cool picture of his and I decided to just email him and ask if we could use that picture for the album art. He was totally cool about it and with the name of the band and that photo I thought it fit very well together. The title of the album actually comes from me staring at that picture trying to come up with a title for it. I also wanted to come up with something that started with the letters CWOTD to fit in with the theme of our previous album titles. I have been asked if there was some sort of deep meaning to the cover but really it’s just a picture that I liked which I came up with a cool sounding title for. (Laughs)

AL: A lot can happen when a band takes an extended amount of time between albums. Were you ever worry about the effects that it could have not only on the band but also your fans?

RC: I don’t think there was anything that difficult for us as we are all a little bit older as are our fans. I also don’t think the extended time between albums is as much of an issue with metal fans in general. For me once you’re a metal head you are always going to be a metal head. If a band that was around in the early eighties comes out with a new album today I would still be in to checking it out. I am very open minded as a metal head. The culture as well as social media has changed a lot since our last record but we are not really a trendy band. We are a band that has aspects of having a modern metal sound but we also have a very classic metal sound to us as well. We try to blend all that together. Because of all that I don’t think we as affected by changes and trends going on. In fact I think it may have helped us. A lot of people weren’t sure if we were still going to be together but I think people are pleasantly surprised that there is a new album coming out. I think also because all the guys in the band myself included have other projects that keep us busy people may have thought we would do just one album and be done but, we are now on our third album with the same line up and people are seeing this is a legitimate thing. I think those five years as helped us. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.

AL: What does touring look like for this release?

RC: It is something that really depends on our schedule. I am excited because have been asking me a lot about if and when we are going to be playing. It shows me people do want to see us and it’s something that I really want to do. Hopefully it is something we will get to do. Festivals would seem to be the best option for us because of all our different schedules. We played Orion Fest with Metallica for our last album and that was amazing! We did a two week tour run for the first album which was awesome as well. We can’t promise anything just yet as we don’t have anything booked but it’s something we definitely want to do. I am really hoping we get to do some stuff. With all of us living in different places we have to make sure all of the logistics will work for everyone so something can happen.

AL: Knowing that you’re a big fan of Halloween and with the day just around the corner what do you think will be some of this year’s hot trends?

RC: Definitely anything having to do with the show “Stranger Things”. I have watched that series twice now all the way through and can’t stop listening to the soundtrack as well. I have been listening to it since August when it first came out. I think anything having to do with that show is going to be big. Also with this being an election year I think there is going to be a lot of Donald’s and Hillary’s. I have heard that the sales of masks determines the election. I want to say that the last few elections have in fact been determined by who sold the most masks. Pumpkin Beers are going to be big again this year as well as haunted houses. I think you will start to see more of the “extreme” haunted houses where you have to sign a waiver to go in because the actors can touch you and stuff. People seem to always be looking to take things to the next level. Me personally I will just stick to the ones where people jump out at you and that’s it. I don’t need people’s hands in my mouth or something like that. (Laughs)

For more info on Richard Christy and Charred Walls of the Damned be sure to check out www.richardchristy.com

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Eat The Turnbuckle is a heavy metal band hailing from Philadelphia, PA. Despite being from “The City of Brotherly Love” the groups sound and stage show which features elements of extreme wrestling couldn’t be further from the cities well know moniker. The band recently released a new EP titled “The Great American Head Bash In” and Media Mikes had the chance to speak with the bands vocalist Jag 13 to discuss the new EP, the group’s intense stage shows and their plans for the remainder of 2016.

Adam Lawton: Is Eat the Turnbuckle a band who wrestles or, wrestler that play in a band?

Jag 13: It’s kind of both honestly. Some of the older guys in the band used to wrestle and Shlak one of our guitarists wrestles now for CZW. For me personally I have always been into both wrestling and music. Philadelphia has always been a great town for wrestling and when I was younger I remember the WWF coming through a lot. I got to see the whole ECW thing come into play as well. With music I think that’s something almost everyone gets in to at a young age so I have been in to both for as long as I can remember.

AL: What can you tell us about the bands most recent EP?

Jag 13: We did “The Great American Bash Your Head In” for our most recent tour. We try and have new material out each time we go on the road. If we know we are going to be heading out at a certain time we start writing and putting things together. This EP has 5 new songs which have been going over really well so far. We only did one show here in the states on this run with the rest of the dates being over in Europe. We did about 22 shows over there and wrapped things up with our performance at this year’s Gwar B-Q inn Virginia. We were actually supposed to do one other show however we had to cancel due to our drummer having a broken ankle. He actually broke it the second day of tour and finally went to the hospital on the fourth day of the tour. He had a cast on but didn’t miss one show. Like a dummy he took the cast off when we got back home and things got messed up even worse.(Laughs)

AL: Speaking of the Gwar B-Q. This was the second time you guys have been asked to play. How did this year’s event differ from the previous year you performed?

Jag 13: The first time we played they had us going on pretty early. Something happened with the doors and we ended up playing to a small group as a lot of people were stuck at the gates. I think the reception from those who saw was really good and the fact that a lot of people who wanted to see us couldn’t helped with us getting asked back this year. This year was off the hook! We played the Slutman Pavilion which was a lot of fun. I think I would prefer playing that stage over one of the bigger stages. We have sort of gotten used to playing on smaller stages but even if we were on the bigger stage things would have definitely spilled over. (Laughs) A bigger stage means we have to do bigger gimmicks!

AL: With your show incorporating extreme/hardcore wrestling elements and references what was the European reception like being that type of wrestling isn’t as common there?

Jag 13: I think those things were why we have caught on so well over there. They don’t have the hardcore and extreme matches in their wrestling shows so this is something new for them. We had people coming up to us after the shows who weren’t fans of the music but they came out to check out the wrestling. We played a lot of smaller countries over there and those people just ate it up. They loved watching the shows. We did a festival in the Czech Republic where they actually got a wring for us. Shlak ended up wrestling the Champ from the league there in a death match. It was in front of about five thousand people and it was just crazy. Both the guys needed to get stitched up afterwards.

AL: What type of planning goes into one of your shows being that not only are you performing musically but you are also including wrestling elements as well?

Jag 13: We argue a lot. (Laughs) Right before the show we sort of get the lay of the land and plan out what we are going to do. At the same time we have work with the venue to make sure we know what we can and can’t do. Like when we did the Gwar B-Q you can’t have any glass. Every show is a little different so we have to just go with the flow. People have been really accommodating. We have all been in bands that have crazy stage shows. That’s how we all came together. Philadelphia has a history of violent shows so we sort of just fit in to that. When things started to get a little more PC within the scene myself and Shlak started gathering guys who still wanted something crazy.

AL: Do you ever feel that the graphic nature of your shows limits your audience?

Jag 13: We have had shows cancelled due to people finding out about our shows and in turn not wanting anything to do with it. At this point I have become so used to that type of thing that it doesn’t bother me. If they don’t want us, they don’t want us. We have a pretty good booking agent who lets all the places know what type of show we put on. Some of the show we have done in the past we just showed up and started going at it. (Laughs) That tended not to work out real well for any one.

AL: With your drumming being laid up with an injury does that end the year for you or do you still have things plans?

Jag 13: We don’t have anything planned until October then after that we don’t anything planned until spring time of next year. We have some bids in on tours that we think will work well for us here in the states so we have our fingers crossed.

For more info on Eat The Turnbuckle be sure to check out the bands official website at www.facebook.com/eattheturnbuckle

Reyka Osburn is the vocalist/guitarist for the California based goth/rock band Death Valley High. The group is set to release their second full length album on November 4th 2016 titled “CVLT [AS FVK]” and Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Reyka about the albums creation, the addition of guitarist Sean Bivins and the group’s plans for 2016/2017.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some info on the band and how everything came together?

Reyka Osburn: Death Valley High was sort of born out of my previous band Tinfed. Things had sort of begun to get a bit watered down towards the end of it. I wanted to keep doing a project that was going to be darker so eventually Tinfed disbanded and I kept going with the start of Death Valley High. When the band first started I had some people from the previous project on board but when we started playing live was when I started to get new members in the band as I continued to flesh things out. It really just grew from there.

AL: What can you tell us about the band’s new album which has sort of a unique title?

RO: We were looking for something that was us. We were all having sort of a tough time pin pointing where we were at so we thought that by blending the night culture that we love with dance/death rock/goth clubs with the hardcore scene which we also love. “Cvlt [AS Fvk]” was a morphing of several ideas we put together from various ideas.

AL: What has the addition of guitarist Sean Bivins been like for the group?

RO: We had been having Sean come out on tour with us so when it was time to record everything felt very natural. It was great to have Shawn help fill things out while still being able to keep our signature tone but with something a little more. We were able to mix in some more modern tones which were really cool. It was great for us as a band to have all this new stuff put together before going in to record.

AL: How did your partnering with producer Ulrich Wild come about for this record?

RO: Ulrich had approached actually and we just hit it off. He asked what we were looking for which led to us talking about some of his previous work with White Zombie. He told us about how he did those albums and things ended up being a lot of fun. We were able to throw any ideas at him and if it was worthy of keeping he would make it work. Ulrich was willing to give things his best sot to make sure we got what we wanted. I feel you can hear all the work we put into this record and the relationship between the band and Ulrich as well.

AL: How did you go about choosing “Warm Bodies” as the album’s first single?

RO: All the songs are my babies. “Warm Bodies” was one we completed later on in the recording process. We got everything laid out and people started just gravitating towards that song. We started playing the song live to test it out and crowds were definitely in to it so we ran with it. I think there is a bunch of great single worthy tracks on the album which makes me question if this one is the strongest but we have gotten a lot of good feedback thus far with this track.

AL: Have you started to map out any touring plans to support the release?

RO: We have some European things happening along with a few other things which are being scheduled for both this year and next. There are talks of both tours and a few festival dates as well.

For more info on Death Valley High be sure to check out their official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/deathvalleyhigh

Dave Davidson is the guitarist/vocalist for the Boston based death metal band Revocation. The group just released their 6th studio album titled “Great Is Our Sin” via Metal Blade Records and is currently out on the road in support of that release with the Summer Slaughter tour. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Dave recently about the new album, the bands new drummer and the group’s plans for the rest of 2016.

RA: The new album “Great Is Our Sin” is absolutely mind-blowing. How was the writing process different on this album versus previous ones?

DD: To be honest, it wasn’t really that different from what we have done on previous albums. It’s usually the same process every time. We just get better at refining and honing our ideas. For me it always starts with the riffs. I will come up with a series of riffs while we’re in a period of writing. The writing period between albums could start the very next day we’re done recording the whole record. I don’t wait around a month before we’re supposed to go in the studio to start writing things. When the inspiration hits me I record it. That way I have a stockpile of material to pull from when I’m organizing my ideas for the next record. Once I have a bunch of riffs set up from there I’ll go through them and start organizing different sections in my head. That’s the way it’s always been. It starts with this germ of an idea, and then it spreads and multiplies from there. We’ve never been afraid to experiment and I think that experimenting over the years has helped us realize what we want our sound to be.

RA: Do you do any writing while you’re touring?

DD: Sometimes. The verse riff for “Communion” came to me while we were in sound check in Hungary and Ash was filling in for us on that tour. I just started playing something and Ash played a thrash beat along with it. Later on that day we recorded it. Inspiration can hit me whenever.

RA: What has the transition been like for the band now having Ash Pearson on drums?

DD: We have known Ash for awhile and have toured with him in the past so we knew going in what he was capable of. I think that has made things a bit easier for us. The thing that was most different is he lives in Vancouver so we when we get together to practice and work on material we have to make sure to make the most out of that time together. What was happening was Ash would fly out when we were doing weekend warrior touring in Boston and New York so we would work on the set and some new material to get a head start. We would be going back and forth with a number of ideas and Ash would record all of that stuff. He travels with a Go-Pro so he’d set that up and film me playing riffs or him playing along to me playing. Then we could go back and refine things from there. Even though we didn’t have the luxury of getting together multiple times a week, I think it made us more focused because we really had to buckle down to make sure we got everything. We would also do Skype sessions back and forth. He would be in Vancouver, I’d be in Boston and I would play him a riff over the computer and he’d have his practice pad out and we’d talk about riffs that way. Luckily he’s such a great drummer who really understands the ins and outs of rhythm so I could give him feedback. He was able to pick up on all the little cues and the feeling of the music which I thought was kind of cool.

RA: How was it working Marty Friedman again?

DD: It was great. It was my second time working with him, having worked on his previous record Inferno. I definitely knew then that I wanted to have him on our record. It really blew me away. It’s weird having one of your idols that you grew up listening to be on one of your records.

RA: What type of gear setup did you use this time around for recording?

DD: I’m using my Jackson signature series guitar which has my DiMarzio signature pickups in it. I feel like it really has my sound. Zeus does a great job with the mixing and mastering and he knows the sounds that we’re looking for. The guitar tone on this album I think is my favorite tone we’ve had so far. It sounds really organic, but also razor sharp and super clean.

RA: What’s the band’s upcoming tour plans for the album?

DD: We’re out on Summer Slaughter with Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Suffocation, and some other great death metal bands right now. After that we have a little downtime before our next tour in Europe with Obscura. I think we’re all sharing a bunk together, so it’ll be like the music nerd bandwagon rolling into town every city. I can’t talk about it too much, but after that we’re planning on doing a headliner or co-headliner when we get back to the states.

RA: You guys have recorded a few covers songs in the past. Has there been any talks of possibly doing and entire EP of cover material?

DD: We actually have talked about that before. We have about six cover songs that we’ve done for records. At this point it would be cool to have each member pick a different cover we could do. It’s just a matter of timing and scheduling. We also have to see what the demand for that kind of thing is. We would also have to have two different labels work together to make that happen as some of cover songs were on Relapse and some released on Metal Blade. There are no concrete plans right now, but it would be cool.

Be sure to checkout our album review of “Great Is Our Sin” in the review section of the site.

Old Wounds an up and coming hardcore band from New Jersey are out on the 2016 Vans Warped Tour promoting their newest release “The Suffering Spirit”. Being the bands first time on the tour they are eager to show fans both old and new their unique style of modern hardcore through energetic live performances. Media Mikes had the opportunity to sit down with the band and talk about their experience on the tour and what’s next for the band.

Ryan Albro: What made the band decide to do Warped Tour versus a smaller tour on your own?

Mikey: Our label came to us and offered us a spot on the tour. It’s an incredible opportunity to be given. It’s really a no-brainer. If you bust your ass for nearly 6 years doing this and it comes to a point where somebody is pretty much handing you a slot on Warped Tour, you have to say yes.

RA: Overall how do you like the tour thus far?

Mikey: It’s a lot more fun than I think any of us had anticipated. We had a strong feeling it was going to be good, but it’s been a blast. It’s a very unique time.

Matt: I’m having a great time and I love the food. A lot of us are vegan or don’t eat meat and the catering is really great helping us out with our needs and they make really great food. We made a lot of friends and it’s been a good time for sure.

RA: Who are you excited to see play each day?

Kevin: Every Time I Die and Motionless in White.

Matt: There are two bands that play on the Full Sail Stage with us that I love! two One is called Mother Feather and the other band is called Safe to Say. We’ve made great friends with Like Pacific as well. I usually hang close to our stage so I watch a lot of bands on our stage and those are some of my favorites that play every single day.

RA: Any cool stories from the shows so far?

Mikey: Not so much from this one. It seems every other tour we’ve done though a lot of funny and stupid shit happens.

Matt: One thing that sticks out from this tour is the storm we got in New Orleans. We were loading our stuff out and out of nowhere this crazy monsoon hit. A lot of our stuff got completely soaked. . A lot of our gear was drenched and we had to throw out all the cardboard boxes and stuff for our merch away. Everyone except for Kevin and me was just drenched.

Kevin: I always carry an umbrella around just because I don’t want to get tan.

Matt: That umbrella wouldn’t have done you any good anyway

Mikey: Luckily we didn’t lose anything gear wise. All of our cabs, heads, and guitars were totally fine. We got lucky.

RA: You guys are approaching the end of “The Suffering Spirit” tour cycle, what’s next for the band?

Mikey: We do have a tour about a month and a half after this ends. I can’t say what it is just yet though. We’re in the middle of writing a new album right now so that’s going to take priority. We toured a lot on this record and we really want to get the next record out.

RA: What can you tell us about the new material you’re working on?

Mikey: We have actually been playing one of the new songs in our set each day so we’ll be playing that on the remainder of Warped Tour. That’ll give everyone a taste of what’s to come.

Zak: Now that we have Matt as our second guitar player, the dynamics are definitely a little different. There are more harmonious guitar riffs. It’s definitely a combination of everything we’ve been doing. It’s heavy where it should be and there are melodies where they should be. There’s more of a metal influence for sure.

Kevin: It not going to be something where when you hear it you think “Oh that doesn’t sound like Old Wounds.”

For over 20 years singer/guitarist John Corabi has been recording and performing with a number of hard rock acts ranging from Union and ESP to being the replacement for Motley Crue vocalist Vince Neil for a period of time in the mid 90’s. Since that time Corabi has embarked on a successful solo career and also joined the group The Dead Daisies a group whose current lineup also includes Marco Mendoza, Doug Aldrich, Brian Tichy and David Lowy. Media Mikes spoke with John recently about The Dead Daises upcoming album titled “Make Some Noise” which is due out on August 5th and also about the groups upcoming U.S. Tour with Kiss.

Adam Lawton: You joined The Dead Daisies in 2015. What has the first year of being in the band been like for you thus far?

John Corabi: It has been crazy! I got the call originally from Marco as they had been working with someone prior to me and things weren’t working out. They had plans to go over to Cuba and they asked me if I would be willing to go with them. I went and did that and we had an amazing time there. I think that was sort of a way for the guys to feel me out a bit. I think they wanted to see if I was a good fit or not. After that trip I got a call from the guys asking if I wanted to go to Australia and do an album. We got together in March of last year and wrote and recorded the “Revolucion” album in about 33 days. After flying home from that I did some solo shows with my band and the next thing I know I was in California doing a video with guys and also rehearsing for some upcoming European shows with Kiss. We then came back and did a run with Whitesnake after which we went back to Australia with Kiss. We then did the Kiss cruise and went back to Europe again but this time with Whitesnake. I got home at the end of December and by January of this year we were back in the studio working on the new record “Make Some Noise”. Things have been pretty busy. When I’m not out with The Daisies I’m out with my solo band which has a live album coming out in October.

AL: What has the addition of Doug Aldrich been like for the band?

JC: When Dizzy Reed and Richard Fortus got the call to go do the Guns N’ Roses tour we reached out to Doug. He is a really great player who has just jumped right in. I have known Doug since he was about 17 as we grew up in Philadelphia together. With this band it’s about friendship as we all hang out and have known each other for a long time. Doug was able to step in to that as he has a great sense of humor to go along with his amazing playing and song writing ability. With this new record we wanted to go in and do a straight forward 70’s era type rock album. All the guys in the band have similar influences so for us to be able to go in and do that with the addition of Doug was really great.

AL: How did the writing for “Make Some Noise” compare to that of your previous album with the band?

JC: When you bring in a different member things do change a little. Doug fits in with everyone and we all have similar interest so that certainly helped. I think the biggest difference with the new record wasn’t really anything with the guitars but it was more so the fact that we didn’t add keyboards this time around. That allowed the guitars more room to be a little more aggressive. David Lowy made that decision as doing a band similar to the style of AC/DC was his original idea for the band. When Richard and Dizzy left it was decided not to replace them so Doug and David had a little more space to expand on their parts in each song.

AL: Do you prefer working on material that is more stripped down and straight forward as opposed to something with a lot of layers and instrumentation?

JC: I think the song really dictates how much or how little it needs. There was one song we did that we didn’t end up putting on the album that I want to put on my new solo album that had a lot of stuff going on within it. When we looked at what we had this song didn’t really fit in with the others because they are all very straight forward. Again the song really decides what it needs in the way of production. I think back to the first album I did with Union which is a pretty stripped down album as that’s what most of those songs required but there is one on that recorded titled “Let It Flow” which has a bunch of cool over dubs and instrumentation on it because that’s what it sort of dictated.

AL: How was it working with producer Marti Frederiksen this time around?

JC: I had known Marti since he opened for my band The Scream in the early Nineties. I always sort of kept an eye on his career. I realized when he started working with groups like Brother Cane and Aerosmith that he was going to do a lot of cool stuff. We were looking for not just a producer but also someone who understood the writing process and would actually listen to what we were doing with a fresh set of ears. Marti was very open to suggestions throughout the process. We have all been making records for quite some time now so things worked well. We would just record things and if for some reason if something didn’t work we would just take it out after the fact. Marti was great in that he knew when to reel us in and also we to let us keep going. It was a two way street that worked pretty effortlessly.

AL: Can you tell us about the bands upcoming tour with Kiss and any other plans you and the band have scheduled?

JC: We start in the states with Kiss on August 10. Those guys have been really great to us. The shows are going to be very high energy. I am not sure how long we are going to be playing just yet but no matter how long we play its going to be pedal to the metal. We plan to do a mix of both old and new material along with a few covers to get the crowd riled up. That tour goes through mid September then we have a headlining show set in Los Angeles. After that I start rehearsals with my solo band and then we go out on the Monsters of Rock Cruise. From there The Daisies head over to Japan for the Loud Park Festival and we are booked all the way through December. We will be hitting a bunch a places all over.

For more info on John Corabi and The Dead Daisies be sure to head over to http://www.thedeaddaisies.comand also www.johncorabimusic.com

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Jay Jay French is the guitarist/founding member of the heavy metal group Twisted Sister. The band which is gearing up for a run of farewell shows in the summer/fall of this year is set to release a new live CD/DVD release titled “Twisted Sister: Metal Meltdown Live at the Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas- A Concert to Honor A.J. Pero” on July 22nd. Media Mikes spoke with Jay Jay recently about the upcoming release, the group’s final shows and what he will miss most about being on the road.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us an overview of the new CD/DVD Twisted Sister has coming out on July 22nd?

Jay Jay French: The whole focus of “Twisted Sister: Metal Meltdown Live” was to celebrate our drummer A.J. Pero who had recently passed away. This show was the bands first show after A.J.’s death and so much of his life and death was around that show that it made things very important to us. Subsequently this was also our first performance with Mike Portnoy on drums. The sound was produced by our bass player Mark Mendoza and the video was done by Barry Summers. Barry’s first exposure to the band was when he was a kid and saw play in a bar. I think because of that experience Barry brought sort of a fan boy type desire and approach to this project. I think Barry definitely tried to transfer his love of rock and roll over to people through this film.

AL: What was it like for the band going into this show knowing it was being filmed along with the fact that is was also going to be the bands first live performance with Mike on drums?

JJF: What band in their right fucking mind would have a new drummer come on and then have their first performance record for television? (Laughs) Mike is such a pro and a really great guy. I don’t know if we could have done this with any other person. This was a very hard and emotional thing. In the film there is a drum solo that is just A.J. That wasn’t a production trick or anything like that. That was actually up on the screen during the show. We did every show like that last year. Mike is so respectful of A.J. that he was up for whatever we wanted/needed.

AL: How does this film differ from that of the recently released “We Are Twisted F****** Sister” documentary?

JJF: We have a very unusual story. Every other story ends after being told about the ups and downs the band went through to make it. This story ends before we end up getting a record deal. “We Are Twisted F****** Sister” shows the struggle we went through to make it. We were basically just the focal point of that film. We didn’t know where the production was going or what portion of our career it was going to actually cover. It was interesting to see the director’s final interpretation of it. “Metal Meltdown Featuring: Twisted Sister” we were more involved in and I see it acting almost like a book end. The first film shows the beginning of the band and the new film shows the ending. The contrast between the two films is amazing. I think the coda being the Vegas show proves that not every band in their 60’s has to suck. We have a lot of pride in what we do and I think this DVD shows that not only are we still good but we are actually better.

AL: Was the Las Vegas show one you guys picked to film or was it sort of predetermined by the production company?

JFF: We had booked that to be filmed prior to A.J.’s passing. The big question was what we were going to do. The producers of the film as well as all of the promoters we worked with that summer were really great. They all told us that if we wanted to pull out of the events we could and that they would totally understand. We asked for a couple weeks away in order to be able to digest what all had happened. We had planned to end the band that year and I had actually talked with A.J. the day before his passing about the discussion I had with Dee related to this being it. During that conversation A.J. mentioned that he was going to need to drop off his current tour with Adrenalin Mob because he was in need of some rehab on his shoulders. He didn’t want me to be alarmed so he was letting me know ahead of time. That ended up being the heart attack. I guess he had actually had a heart attack three days prior also. I didn’t think anything of it as drummers tend to have aches and pains. I wished him well and that was it. That next morning I got the phone call that had passed. Shortly after I got a call asking if I would come out to the Adrenalin Mob show at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey to do a song dedicated to A.J. I gladly accepted and that’s when Mike Portnoy came up to me and told me had always been a fan of the band and if we needed any help he would be glad to jump on board. I initially thought that after the funeral we would all sit down and that would be the end of things however after talking we decided to honor all of our commitments for 2015 and then wrap things up in 2016.

AL: What can you tell us about the bands remaining shows and, what are your plans once the band is done?

JJF: Our last show will be on Oct. 1st in New Jersey. We will be doing a bunch of well known festivals leading up to that. Due to all of our personal schedules the band can only play 10 or 15 shows a year as we just don’t all have the time. Outside of the band I write for Ink magazine and also write a business column for their online site. I am doing motivational speaking engagements and I am writing a book as well. I also like to do business advice for people. Those things are really my focus these days.

AL: Is there any part of you that will miss being on the road and in the band?

JJF: I don’t think I am going to miss any part of being on the road. I have done over 9,000 shows which is like being in the heavy metal version of “Cats” accept because were Jewish it’s spelled Katz. (Laughs) Those shows were all fun and everything and I loved being up there but I’m ready for it to be over.

Kevin Bivona is the guitarist/keyboardist of the ska/punk band The Interrupters. The L.A. based band just released their second full length album titled “Say It Out Loud” via Hellcat Records and are currently out on the Vans Warped tour in support of the release. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Kevin prior to the bands set in Syracuse, NY about the group’s background, their new album and their relationship with Rancid front man Tim Armstrong.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background info on the band?

Kevin Bivona: The Interrupters are from Los Angeles, and are sound is kind of a mixture of ska and punk. We started the band at the end of 2011 and release our first record in 2014 in Hellcat Records. Our second album “Say It Out Loud” just came out in June and we have been touring pretty solid since the release of the first album. This is our first summer out on Warped tour and so far we are having a really great time.

AL: What was that appealed to the band about doing a tour like Warped tour as opposed to a traditional headlining tour?

KB: We had actually planned on doing our own headlining tour. The band has been very fortunate in that we have been able to open for a lot of great bands who have amazing fan bases. We have been out on tour with Rancid, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Less Than Jake to name just a few. Through opening for all those bands we felt we had developed a solid enough fan base to go out and do our own headlining tour. We then got the offer to join the Warped tour which was taking place the same time as our newest record was scheduled to come out. We wanted to take that huge opportunity to expand our fan base even more before going out on our own. We were really lucky to get the offer. There is so much variety on this tour and you get to play for people who might not otherwise check out your band so this was just the perfect thing for us as a band.

AL: With Warped tour being one of the few remaining touring festivals in the U.S. What do you feel attributes to the shows staying power?

KB: Warped tour has a very loyal fan base. As that fan base evolves sound does the line up from year to year. If you look back 20 years ago when bands like Bad Religion, Nofx and Rancid were playing it and who could still play it today as they are the godfathers of the tour off of them sprouted all these sub-genres of music who have found a home here on the Warped tour. I think the fact that Warped tour stays current with what’s going on in the various scenes and fans know this that’s why more and more people come out to see the shows each summer. What I am seeing a lot of this summer is parents who bring their kids to the shows who have their own set of bands they want see which is just really cool. Having a multi-generational appeal like Warped tour has is something very rare.

AL: With the band being on the tour all summer who are some of the bands you like to check out each day?

KB: There are so many. I like to see Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish; Masked Intruder is amazing and really fun to watch. Teenage Bottlerocket and Pepper are a couple others I like as well. I found out about this band Ballyhoo! while being out here and there are great as well.

AL: How did your relationship with Tim Armstrong and Hellcat Records come about and what is it like working with him?

KB: I first met Tim in 2005 after getting the job as the touring keyboard player in The Transplants. While we were out on Warped tour that year Tim had a studio on the bus so him I started working together. Pretty much any project he has going on I try and get on in one way or another be it playing or working behind the console. I have worked on all sorts of projects with Tim from his Tim Timebomb solo stuff to the Jimmy Cliff record. It’s just a lot of working with Tim and he is always down to check out what I have going on as well which is really cool. With The Interrupters I think we definitely have a sound that fits the Hellcat sound and all of us individually and collectively had worked with him before so when we started the band he jumped on board as a producer/collaborator. Tim was super helpful while we nailed down the band’s sound and vibe. Making our second record with him was a lot different than our previous as we had more time together and some shows under our belts. That first record is sort of an introduction to who we are as a band. We had a solid and defined vision of who we are with this second album so it made things much easier I think when it came time to write and record.

AL: You mentioned a headlining tour was in the works after Warped tour wraps up. Can you tell us anymore about that?

KB: We are trying to put all of that together right now. We have never done a headlining tour in the states before so that’s going to be something new. Right now we are focusing all of our energy on these Warped tour shows and then once we wrap up with that in mid August we should have some more concrete plans for the band and the rest of 2016. We want to play as many places as we can in support of this new record.

For more info on The Interrupters you can check out http://www.wearetheinterrupters.com/

Ray Carlisle is the singer/guitarist for the Wyoming based punk band Teenage Bottlerocket. In November of 2015 the group suffered a devastating blow in the death of their drummer (Ray’s brother) Brandon Carlisle. The group made the decision to keep going and, is currently out on Warped Tour 2016 this summer promoting their latest studio release “Tales From Wyoming”. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Ray after the bands set in Syracuse, NY where he spoke candidly about the bands decision to move forward and about what the band has planned for the remainder of the year.

Adam Lawton: Tell us about the bands decision to keep going after the passing of your brother in November of last year?

Ray Carlisle: The decision was something that didn’t happen overnight. Brandon passing away put a lot of things up in the like if we were going to keep going as a band and playing music and also if we were going to go out on the Warped tour this summer. We had actually confirmed our spot on the tour before Brandon passed. I personally felt that I had already lost my brother and I didn’t want to lose my band as well. I truly feel that Brandon would have wanted us to keep going. We take the stage each day with him in our minds and in our hearts. His spirit is there while we play. It’s very helpful because I like being up there playing with my buddies. Brandon and I were really close so when I’m up there it’s a chance for me to not feel alone. We were just together all the time and I miss him very much. When we finally decided to get back together Darren Chewka our new drummer was the first guy I thought of to fill Brandon’s spot. We had him come down to Wyoming for a couple days to see how he fit in and everything went real well. We are really finding our chemistry together out here and have played about 45 or so songs together throughout Warped tour as we try and play a couple different songs each day. Needless to say we have been really throwing him for a loop. That’s kind of the spirit of this band is to just go song after song so we have had some great days out here so far and we have had some terrible ones.

AL: Today you guys opened up one of the stages here. Do you find that changing set times each day makes it a little more difficult to get in to a solid routine as a band?

RC: You sort of just have to go with the groove. When you are out on Warped tour you find out at 9:30am what time your set is for that day. You then just have to adjust your whole day around that. Going first is awesome! Everyone is fresh and super excited. The down side is some people who up late so they miss things. I enjoy the earlier slots over the later ones because you can just see the energy change as the day goes on. The heat can be tough on the crowd during these shows.

AL: With this being the bands second run on the Warped tour how do you feel the tour has changed since your last appearance in 2014?

RC: I am kind of bummed that they don’t have the acoustic stage this year. I recently had a solo album come out titled “Do You Wanna Go To Tijuana” and I was hoping to be able to do double duty and play some songs off of that. They also did away with the hip hop/rap stage this year. There are less bands and stages which means a smaller line in catering. Kevin I think really did his research this year for which bands he wanted to bring out and things are really positive around everything.

AL: Your latest album came out in March of 2015. Where are you at in the writing process for your next release?

RC: We are still on the cycle for “Tales From Wyoming” however Brandon did have some songs he was working on before he passed away. Cody and I have been talking about maybe finishing those up. They don’t necessarily sound like Teenage Bottlerocket so we will have to see. Cody and I are both still writing music and we have also talked about doing a concept album as well. There will definitely be more music and shows in the future. Things really changed when Brandon died so it’s something we are going to have to embrace and move forward.

AL: After Warped tour wraps up what are the tour plans for the band?

RC: In September were going to be doing a few shows in Canada which is where our new drummer is from. We will be up there to prove to all of Derrick buddies that he is in fact in the band. It’s also really great touring up in the Edmonton area. In December we are going to be doing a European tour with a band by the name of Bones.

For more info on Teenage Bottlerocket you can check them out at http://teenagebottlerocket.com/

Jesse Zuretti is the founding member of the New Jersey based progressive metal band Binary Code. The group recently released their four full-length album titled “Moonsblood” in May of this year and are set to begin touring in support of the release in July. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Jesse recently about the new album, his new found writing freedom and about the groups upcoming summer tour.

Ryan Albro: It seems a lot has changed in the band over the last 7 years since your first album was released, most notably, line-up changes. How much would you say the band has changed over that period of time?

Jesse Zuretti: That time period was mostly due to the writing process. This is the first release we have done where I was in control of writing the entire thing. I would say that because it was put into a position of songs get written when they get written instead of forcing them out it took a little bit of time. The end result was songs truer to the mindset that I was in each time they were written. Since nothing was forced it kind of allowed the songs to come at a natural pace, which is for me, in hindsight, a better way for the music to come about in the natural process. My drummer and I at the time used to jam a lot and write songs very quickly because we both had one another to hash things out with. This new stuff comes from me sitting down and very methodically coming up with the songs and being able to emphasize more of a song structure behind it. In my opinion as much as I like the contribution from the whole band it was definitely easier for me to come up with the songs in those moments. In the future there’s going to be a lot more involvement from the guys that are in the band right now. It will be more of a fusion. I think it’s for the best.

RA: What was the recording and writing process like this time around versus your previous releases?

JZ: The last two releases that we did were a combination of DYI mixed with help from a friend of ours who was manning the studio. It was very hands on for me in the recording process the last time. This time it was 100% we had a producer there. He would very uniformly tell me when things were right and wrong. The input from having an outside prospective on the music really helped with getting the best out of the music. It’s always really good to have a second set of ears on something. Having Eyal Levi involved with his music background thrown into the mix with guys who aren’t super musically schooled really made me a better musician at the end because the amount of preparation that goes into recording with Eyal is unbelievable. You go into it and you come out a better musician. In the past we would write a song and then show up to the studio. This time I would write the song and have it pre-produced. That would give me the option of look back at the songs and adding or changing things that I wish I could have done before. I just really got to have my influences shine through a little bit more because it was kind of like a representation of the song writing that I do.

RA: That album art is killer, what can you tell us about that?

JZ: The artist who did it, his name is Acid Toad, he’s an artist from Bangalore. I was blown away when I first saw his artwork. He does everything with paper and ink. I just feel like the market in the progressive metal scene right now in terms of art is very homogenous. There’s a constant flow of similarities between the bands, like everyone is drawing influence from another band. This guy’s artwork is so otherworldly that I thought he would be the guy. We had a lot of amazing guys do art for us and we noticed a lot of it was similar to the style of other bands and we didn’t want to do that. He was awesome, he’s going to do stuff for us in the future without a doubt. I really want to have a relationship with an artist. The influence behind that was the relationship H.R. Giger had with the band Triptykon and their history together. I really wanted to do the same thing with this guy.

RA: What made you to decide to release the album yourselves?

JZ: It came down to whether or not we wanted to continue waiting for a business opportunity to come along to help with the release. We had just been waiting so long. We all decided it was time we did this on our own and it ended up being really exciting for us. I expected to be devastated be the idea of doing this on our own after all this time and it actually was a very exciting thing for us. We’re really happy to be doing it this way. There’s definitely a possibility of it in the future, just at this point we had to make a move.

RA: What are your plans to tour the highly anticipated new material?

JZ: We have a tour that’s being worked out for the end of July into August. We decided instead of wearing ourselves thin with a one month long tour we’re going to have a little space in-between and change it up with different bands. That will be hitting most of the U.S. After that we have something we’re working on with a band from Norway. We’re not really at a point where we can really say who it is, but they’re a band that we’ve played with before. We’re hoping that works out and the line-up for that tour’s killer and if that goes through that will be September. We’re definitely going to be a very busy band over the summer. We put so much work into the music and we waited so long and have been so patient, so the best thing for us is to go out and work as hard as we can.

Dee Snider is the out spoken, wild hair front man of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Dee is currently one of the subjects in a recent exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame titled “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics”. The exhibit showcases some of the most important debates of our country through the lens of rock music. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Dee recently about the exhibit, his thoughts on the country’s current political climate and the Twisted Sisters farewell shows scheduled for this fall.

Adam Lawton: How did you become involved with the current Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit “Louder Than Words”?

Dee Snider: As it turned out my involvement during the 1980’s in Washington was a significant rock and politics moment. They reached out to me to do an interview and afterwards asked if I had any items I could loan them for a display. I ended up donating some of the things I wore the day I testified before congress. After talking with them more I was invited to the opening of the event which evolved into me singing an acoustic version of “Were Not Gonna Take It”. We did that with just piano and vocals and it went real well. This song is so much more important and says so much. It’s a lot more than just a great party song.

AL: Prior to your appearance before congress were politics something you had always been interested in?

DS: I had no interest in politics at that time. I was a young man in rock and roll and you just don’t think about those things. The song was written about my/our oppressors and I was sharing it with our audience who were equally frustrated. Now were older and there are greater concerns. The political climate right now is just awful! The fact that we have probably the most despised person in the history of presidential elections running against the second most despised person. The elections are going to come down to voting for one of those two people. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be so that’s why now more than ever I want “Were Not Gonna Take It” to inspire people. I want people to listen to that song and have it inspire them to try and make a change to get things back to the way our fore fathers intended it to be. People have to vote based on if they like the other guy or girl candidate instead of what issues they stand for. People are viewing this election like a reality television show. We all know reality television is not real but this is! When it comes down to this election we are just boned. I am actually in the process of shooting a new video for “Were Not Gonna Take It” with the guy who shot the original. This time around the video is not going to be funny. It’s going to be a fucking statement! The thing is its too late now but it’s not too late for the future to make something happen.

AL: Initially “Were Not Gonna Take It” was attached to Donald Trump’s campaign. How did that come and about and how did things work when you asked them to stop using it?

DS: I want to make something very clear. Donald Trump is a friend, a great guy and a class act. Unlike most politicians he called me and asked if he could start using the song. Him being my friend I told him he certainly could use it. Now when you are friends with people there is a rule. You don’t talk about three things sports, religion or politics. We never talked about the things he was standing for so when I started to see and read this stuff I thought “Holy Shit!” I called him up and told him I couldn’t stand behind the things he was saying. He said ok and that was it. Donald is a class act because he asked me first to use the song and then stopped using it when I asked him. I still like him as a person but we definitely don’t see eye to eye politically.

AL: Having seen where “Were Not Gonna Take It” has gone what do you think the young Dee Snider would think of all this?

DS: Young Dee Snider would be stunned. That song was written to rile up the masses and scare parents and it did that. Then it leads to me being the poster boy for all things bad about rock music and having to defend my songs and speaking out about censorship. Cut to now and it’s a rock and jock anthem, It’s on kids shows and commercials for women’s pre-menopausal medications. The ultimate irony of all happened a couple of years ago when the “Rock of Ages” film came out. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a typical esc character fronting a PMRC esc organization who is trying to stop rock and roll. What song do they end up singing? “Were Not Gonna Take It”. You had to be fucking kidding me! That was the ultimate definition of irony. If you told young Dee Snider that thirty or forty years ago he probably would have punched you in the face! (Laughs)

AL: Twisted Sister was recently the topic of a documentary titled “Twisted F****** Sister” which showcased the bands early career. Are there plans to release a second part to that showing the success of the band?

DS: We sort of covered that with the “Behind the Music” special that aired on VH1. That’s the story most people tend to already know. We supported the making of that documentary but it was not something that was instigated by us. There was a documentarian who was intrigued by our story having learned that we were a band for ten years prior to making it big. This was something he was taken with and we welcomed his interest as too many people think that we jumped on the bandwagon of hair metal. We didn’t jump on it we built it! There were no bands like Motley Crue or Poison when we started. I give credit to Hanoi Rocks and Quiet Riot as well for also contributing but there was certainly no wagon to be jumped on. We were carrying the torch for something that record companies were rejecting. This film shows how hard we fought to get noticed and to where we are.

AL: It was recently announced that the band will be playing a handful of farewell shows this year. Can you tell us about those plans and what prompted this decision?

DS: I think this is long overdue. I don’t want anyone to take that the wrong way but I never intended to reunite Twisted Sister and then be together longer than we were when we first got together. I wanted to fix the broken relationships we had with one another and then end on a higher note than the one we ended on when we quietly disbanded in 1987. After a few years of reunion shows we had accomplished what I had wanted. We played the Wacken Festival to seventy five thousand people and it was a perfect show played to a perfect crowd on a perfect night. It also was captured by a dozen or so HD cameras and is available on DVD. That’s how I wanted to end things and I asked the guys if we could stop however the guys voted to keep going. With AJ passing away the sense of who Twisted Sister is and how we wanted to be remembered has become very strong. We know guys have members die and they keep going but we don’t want to be that band. After AJ died it seemed like a logical stopping point for us but with one caveat. AJ was the nice guy in the band however he didn’t have any sort of estate planning set up in the event something happened to him. These shows are going to allow us to say our goodbyes to the fans but also help raise some money for AJ’s estate. Along with our love for AJ and with the help of Mike Portnoy who is one hell of a drummer we did a run of shows last year and will be doing some this year as it will be our 40th anniversary. After these show’s that will be it for us. I don’t think anyone would fault us if we wanted to continue on indefinitely however there are other things we have to take in to account besides the loss of AJ. We perform with a very high energy rate and aggressiveness which has become expected of us. I don’t want to let our fans down. With a lot of work at the age of 61 I am still in great shape but no one beats gravity. I don’t want to go down on stage with a broken hip or something. If I did I don’t think the guys would even know something happened because they have seen my roll around on the floor before. (Laughs) Those guys wouldn’t think anything was really wrong until the EMT’s showed up as they probably would just assume I was milking it.

Punk mainstay Harley Flanagan is often recognized as one of the most influential members of the NY hardcore/punk scene of the early 1980’s. His band the Cro-Mags set the early standard for hardcore which is still followed and recognized to this day. Harley recently released his first solo album titled “Cro-Mags” and Media Mikes had the chance to speak with him recently about the album, his trials and tribulations with his former band and also about his upcoming book.

Ryan Albro: At what moment did you decided it was time to release your first solo album?

Harley Flanagan: I had some ideas in my head that I had been working on and at one point I was fortunate enough to have some studio time made available to me so I decided that I was going to use that time to start laying down some demos. From there one thing led to another and it wound up turning into this album.

RA: What was the writing process like working on a solo album versus previous albums?

HF: It was really the same process as I am the guy who came up with riffs. Back in the old days, I would have be recording them on a cassette player or when I was living with Squatch I used to call up Parris’s house and tell him not to pick up the phone so I could hum riffs on his answering machine. He’d learn the riffs and then we’d meet up later and we’d play them together. Now I sit around the house and record them on my phone. Whenever a riff comes I put it down and I work with it. I had a ton of riffs on my phone and when the studio time became available I went in and just waded through everything and picked out a bunch that I thought had an old school type of feel. I wanted to write a bunch of short songs that just come in, punch you in the face and walk right over you. I actually wrote everything believe it or not on an acoustic. I am actually thinking about releasing an acoustic version online just for fun because that’s how this whole album was originally recorded

RA: What made you decide to name the album Cro-Mags, considering the issues you have with the band?

HF: I basically felt like it was time for me to reclaim something that is rightfully mine. All bullshit aside, my hand has always been extended to those guys and even after all the shit went down at Webster Hall and along with everything else, my hand is still extended. The fact of the matter is that so called band is just John and occasionally Matthew. There’s nobody playing in that so-called band that has ever written a Cro-mags song and the Cro-mags have not written a song since I haven’t been involved. They are like a tribute band doing songs and other covers. This new record sounds more like Cro-Mags than anything anybody’s done since. I’m taking back the name. That magic is never going to be recaptured without everyone being involved. I believe that and I know that and that’s why I’m the sentimental fool that’s always fucking extending my hand to these guys, but obviously it doesn’t mean as much to those guys as it does to me. The good that game out of it far outweighs the bad, but unfortunately there has been a lot of bad. For me that whole interruption in 2012 and then putting out this album and really venting my feelings about that moment has been a real positive thing for me because it has helped me exorcise a lot of those demons.

RA: You also have a book coming out can you tell us about that?

HF: As far back as I can remember people have been telling me I should write a book, at least going back to like the 80’s but, I never really wanted to. Despite being told I have some really great stories it’s just never been something I had the desire to do. When I was going through some particularly tough times in my life I started thinking that in case anything happens I do want my side of the story to get out. I already knew that hardcore had made enough of an impact culturally where there would inevitably be books written and bullshit said and bullshit told. I was like I’m going to get my side of this out and I’m going to tell my story, the actual story. If I don’t I’m going to wind up with some asshole telling my life story the way they perceived it or the way they want it told to serve their purpose. I started writing everything down that I could remember going back as far as I could to my early childhood. Over the years of working on it I kept going back and fact checking and, double checking and, confirming facts with my family members. My mom was helpful with that before she passed away. I did a lot or research on everything. I wrote this book with the intention of it being something that people would want to read and them to see what it was like living in that time period through the eyes of a child, through the eyes of someone that was there growing up in it. There has been a lot of books about punk rock but there haven’t been any written by someone who was 10 years old when this happened. It goes through my whole life. It starts off with the day that Webster Hall went down and then right when that started to erupt it goes back to my early childhood and it retraces everything through as much as I could. Obviously I had to cut a lot of shit out or it would have been like a 10,000 page book but I wound up getting an editor and after everything was written and really narrowed down to the most powerful stuff. People can get a taste of what will be in the book if they check out www.harleyflanagan.com

RA: Lastly, What are your plans for touring in support of the new album?

HF: I have looked into doing some shows and some touring but so far the right show hasn’t come up. I work 6 days a week, I love my job, I love the people I work with and I love being home with my wife and spending as much time with my kids as I can. For me to get out there and tour it has to be the right shows. When the book comes out I will definitely be doing a book tour and, the idea is I would like to try and book shows that coincide with that so I can perhaps do a book thing during the day and maybe a show that same evening in the same city. That way you can kill two birds with one stone while having fun.

You may recognize Phil Sgrosso as the guitarist for bands such as As I Lay Dying and Wovenwar However, not one to sit idle for any length of time Phil is back with yet another new band, Poison Headache. The 3 piece power trio is set to release their self-titled debut album in June via Metal Blade Records and Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Phil recently about the group’s formation, the albums creation and the status of his other projects.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the band how everything came together?

Phil Sgrosso: Andy Kukta the bands other guitarist/co-vocalist and Kyle Rosa our drummer had been friends for quite some time and this sort of started up when I was with As I Lay Dying. Andy is a fellow riff writer who was looking to put a band together after his previous one broke up. He reached out to Kyle and I and we would jam off and on when I wasn’t out with my current band. Nothing serious really came of it until we had enough songs to make up an album. We decided that’s what we were going to do and got Metal Blade Records on board and they were super supportive of the whole thing which was great. Things were a bit slow starting out but we are now ready to kick things into the next gear and get going.

AL: Where did Poison Headache fit in during that period of time where As I Lay Dying was ending and Wovenwar was beginning?

PS: It was something we wanted to do and during that time I actually had the time to do it. We were just waiting for that window to open. Now that we are making a go of this we have to make the most out of it. I don’t for see Wovenwar being as busy as it was when we first started. It will still be an active band but I want to be doing as many musical projects as I can be. I don’t want to put all of my eggs in one basket because if I have another band that I really love doing that’s something I want to be able to go out and do. So far this year I have the Poison Headache album coming, we are finalizing the second Wovenwar record and I also have been out on tour with the band Saosin as well as one called Nails who I also have been touring with. I try to fill my schedule with as many musical things as I can to keep me busy and going.

AL: What type of adjustment period did you have to allow yourself for going from playing/writing in 5 piece bands to now doing the same for a 3 piece band?

PS: It is a very different animal. With all the bands I have done I tend to like being the overseer of things. When I have someone like Andy writing a lot of stuff and I can play the producer role on the songs he has written which allows me to hone in on his vision within that role. In a way its easier being in a three piece but there is still a lot of work. You have to take on more roles that may be delegated to another member in a bigger band. Knowing that I have that type of control over things I can process things the way I do. There is a little bit of a different mentality especially with gear and such. We both want to play guitar live so we have to be creative with our tones and things like that. Once we start moving into the live stage of things we will have all that stuff figured out. Vocally it takes a lot of practice to build up your stamina to be able to do a whole song and not just backup vocals and then to take it further being able to perform an entire set.

AL: How do you separate your roles as Producer and Performer?

PS: You have to really rely on your band to produce you when you are in that type of situation. What’s nice about a three piece is you ask the other two guys what they think and their cool with it that’s really it. I really trust Andy and Kyle’s opinions so I think that’s what keeps me in check when I am trying to oversee the big picture of things. I feel trust and respect is the foundation of any relationship so the fact that we have that together along with being on the same creative page has made things very easy.

AL: Is a majority of what makes up the album material Andy had written or is there new material you all contributed to on here as well?

PS: I would say probably a third of the album is stuff Andy had written with another third of it being stuff I had written. The other third was probably pieced together from things the three of us had written together. Andy and I are both capable of writing a complete song and seeing its vision so we bounce a lot of ideas off of one another. I can say that Andy’s approach and style has been the inspiration behind the sound of the band.

AL: The album has a very hardcore meets thrash sound to it. Was this sound something that evolved over time or was it present from the very beginning?

PS: I think having that hardcore type feel or groove is something completely Andy. When I hear the album and a part like that comes on, I can say that’s totally Andy. Kyle is a very dynamic drummer that is able to adapt to that which is certainly a strength. That’s the type of music that we like and want to play so when we can include those elements we enjoy that. There is one track on the record called “Be Numbed” which is an instrumental track that I wrote to break things up a little. That track has more of a shoe-gazing, post metal vibe. We just sort of threw in things here or there which we may have not done yet. I don’t think there was ever an instance where we said “no we can’t do that”. If a song called for something we went for it. This really helped push our creativity.

AL: What types of touring plans are in place for you guys at this point?

PS: It’s tough for any new band to get out there on the road. We could do that but being older now we have more responsibilities. We just can’t go jump in the van for a tour and come home with no money and be ok with that like we did when we were teenagers. We all want to have jobs and security for our families so with Poison Headache we plan to build gradually within out scene in Southern California. I also co-own a venue with two of the other guys in Wovenwar with my wife acting as the promoter so we know a lot of bands and we feel that’s a smart way for us to start. From there we will see what opportunities come our way.

AL: Where are things at with the upcoming Wovenwar album?

PS: Things were a bit different when we shifted from As I Lay Dying to Wovenwar. We had become this machine and had gotten used to a certain way of doing things that when we had the rug sort of pulled out from under us we tried using that same design with Wovenwar. We had to step back and realize that we were still a new band despite our previous work together. The business side of things is a bit different and where we are at with life now is all different. We have to be smart about what we do. We are all at different stages in our lives with having kids and being married and what not so we all had to look at what we wanted to do and how we could make the band work. We did all of the production ourselves and it is currently being mixed by Nolly from Periphery. Everything is just now entering the final stages.

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