Morgan Steinmeyer Hakansson is the guitarist/ founding member of the legendary black metal group Marduk. The band is set to release it’s 12^th studio album titled “Serpent Sermon” in early June of this year. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Morgan about the bands history and what we can expect from the group’s latest offering.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us a brief history of the band?
Morgan Steinmeyer Hakansson: It can be tough to sum up a 22 year career. We started in 1990 wanting to push the limits of what was being done at that time. We have our 12^th studio album coming out this month to add to the other albums and DVD’s we have put out. We have been spreading our message across most parts of the world for quite some time now. We just keep marching all over.

AL: Did you ever envision a 20+ year career with the band?
MSH: The same time we started the band we were expanding and getting more into what we were doing. Things around us were also expanding. We were pushing the limits of what had been done previously and while doing so we realized there were no limits. We just kept going with making our visions come to life. Over time we started to see things in a broader way. That kept us going.

AL: Other than the bands lineup changes. Have you noticed any other changes in the band?
MSH: Not really. Music has always been written in a variety of different ways. Nothing comes to you the same way as another. Sometimes we can base a whole album of a single title. We go where things take us.

AL: How would you describe the band’s new album “Serpent Sermon”?
MSH: I think it is a very good reflection of the band in 2012. This album has everything an extreme heavy metal album should have. The last few albums we have done have been very focused around the themes of death and decay. This album is a return to the diabolical decent of what black metal really is about. This album is I think maybe more focused on that than the previous 2 release. I think the title really speaks for the whole album. We really had a vision behind this album and want people to know the meaning of the album’s title.

AL: Are there video plans for any of the albums tracks?
MSH: We just finished a shoot for the track “Souls of Belial”. I think it will start airing the beginning of May. We have a few things left to finalize but I think this video is a good reflection of the spirit of the song.

AL: What are the exact release plans for the album?
MSH: I think it is coming out in Europe around the 29^th or 30^th of May and in the States during the first week of June. There is about a week difference between the release dates across the world.

AL: What are the tour plans for the album?
MSH: We are still on the process of finalizing everything. There will be a lot of dates being announced shortly. The plan is to start around May 11^th. The tour is going to take us to places like Russia and Siberia. From there we will hit Puerto Rico, the United States and Canada before returning to Europe at the end of June. We have some festival dates in the works as well as a headlining European tour. The headlining tour will be around 40 dates. It’s going to be intense!

Joey La Rocca is a solo artist as well as the lead singer for the punk rock band The Briggs. After a 2 year hiatus The Briggs have released a new single titled “Panic!”. Media Mikes recently spoke with Joey about the song and the bands plans for the future.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the bands newest song “Panic!”?
Joey LaRocca: I feel right now I am inspired by music that has urgency to it. Lately I like the feeling of uneasiness in music. That I guess might be the way I feel a lot of the time. This was sort of the inspiration behind the song.  The animosity and un-comfortableness is sort of what makes me feel alive and shows me that I am alive. I embrace that feeling of anguish and pain at times.

AL: Can you tell us about the video plans for the song?
JB: The video was really fun. Our buddy Beau Coulon who directed the video is brilliant. He had a concept for the video that has somewhat of a narrative that follows the story line of the song but at the same time it has a lot of energetic shots of the band. We spent a day on a sound stage just banging out the song 20,000 times. I think those shot are probably some of my favorite parts. I feel they really embrace the energy of the song and give it its fury. The narrative is fun also because it gives people something else to look at other than the band. (Laughs)

AL: Now that the band is back after a couple year hiatus what has been the biggest change in the industry you have noticed since your return?
JB: As a band we hadn’t been doing much however a few of us have still been involved in theindustry. I have been working on a solo project under the name Joey Briggs and have also done some touring. I have seen a lot of interesting changes. When we were first got out of doing the Briggs for awhile I was very bitter about how things were. I don’t necessarily feel that way anymore though. I see that there is an amazing breed of bands and fans that are creating a real scene again. It maybe sounds cliché but I have seen all these bands that are doing house and basement shows. In some degree that never went away but there just weren’t the people to support it. I feel now there is a good amount of people embracing the whole world of DIY. There are a lot of cool bands and houses involved in this movement. We haven’t done something like this in a long time. The scene has come back around and people have decided not to pay the high prices a lot of venues charge. There are other options to get people out and interested in what you are doing.

AL: Has there been any talks of a full-length Briggs release?

JB: I think the plan is to definitely do a full-length release. It’s something that sort of has to happen. We weren’t really 100% sure what was happening at the time we started. We were honestly just flying by the seat of our pants. We created a song and then put it out but now there is that expectation. People are going to hear the song and want to know where the rest of the album is. Its cool people want that so we will have to fill our obligations. It’s really fun to write a song but it not as fulfilling as a musician as when you have an entire album. I want 12 songs with 12 different stories and emotions. One song isn’t quite enough.

AL: What are your spring/summer tour plans?
JB: As far as summer goes I am completely booked doing Joey Briggs stuff. I will be doing a few dates on Warped Tour this summer. They are going to be doing an acoustic stage this year and I am really stoked to be a part of that. I then have a month long tour of Europe. When I come back from that I will be back on Warped Tour for a few more shows. The Briggs will be doing a return show at the House of Blues in Anaheim at the end of May to kind of say were back. Before the Briggs get fully back out there I would like to have a new album out. I don’t want to get the cart before the horse so to speak.

Foreigner
Alive & Rockin’
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Tracks: 9

Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars

I would like to consider myself a huge Foreigner fan. I recently saw them perform this past Spring and SeaWorld Orlando and they put on a hell of a live show.
This album was recorded at the 2006 Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen, Germany. This 9-track concert was released previously on DVD but never as an audio CD. I feel that it is definitely missing the energy of the live show. The instruments seems a little bit toned down or muted during the songs. I still have a few original Foreigner albums on my iPhone and I re-listened to those track (of course a different singer), they just sound so much more energetic.

The line up for the concert includes Mick Jones (guitars), Kelly Hansen (vocals), Jason Bonham (drums), Jeff Jacobs (keyboards), Tom Gimbel (guitars, saxophone, flute) and Jeff Pilson (bass). Let me tell you after seeing Kelly Hansen perform live this year, I totally love this voice and he is able to belt out these songs well. This release though didn’t really show that wonderful aspect.

The set list, of course includes the classic crowd-pleasing tracks including U.S. Top 20 hits like “Juke Box Hero”, “Cold As Ice” and “Hot Blooded.” There is even a little tribute to Zeppelin with “Whole Lotta Love”. I have never been a mega big fan of “Starrider and I feel it slows down the album a bit as well. Overall if you are a fan of Foreigner, I would honestly say skip this album, re-listen to your classic vinyls or CD’s and catch these guys live.

Track Listing:
1) Double Vision
2) Head Games
3) Dirty White Boy
4) Cold As Ice
5) Starrider
6) Feels Like The First Time
7) Urgent
8) Juke Box Hero / Whole Lotta Love
9) Hot Blooded

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Deep Purple
“Total Abandon: Australia ‘99”
Eagle Rock Entertainment
Tracks: 12
Running Time: 73 minutes

Our Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I doubt I’d still be playing guitar if it wasn’t for “Smoke On the Water”.

As a young kid, I expected to pick up a Stratocaster and immediately rock. It didn’t work out that way, though, as my hands didn’t seem to want to merge with the singles in my mental jukebox.

But then Ritchie Blackmore came to my rescue. Armed with the four distinctive power chords that comprise the first 10 seconds of “Smoke on the Water”, I suddenly became the rock deity that I had dreamed of being. I went from being the kid who regularly got beaten up for his lunch money to being an absolute bad-ass that nobody would dare fuck with. The power of “Bom-bommm-bommmmm. Bom-bommm-b-bommmmm. Bom-bommm-bommmm-bom-b-bommmmm” would defeat all.

It’s very clear on “Total Abandon: Australia ‘99”, that Deep Purple knows full well that they created one of rock’s most sacred sonic icons that probably – along with the Ramones – launched hordes of dreamy youth into being legends in their own minds. Before “Smokin’” the Aussie crowd, guitarist Steve Morse – the fourth guitarist in the group’s history – takes them on an aural tour of some of the most well-known riffs in rock history (from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Beatles and the Kinks). And then, after a pregnant pause, he and the rest of the band – including lifer Ian Paice and long-time members Ian Gillan on vocals and bassist Roger Glover – deliver the chords. Indeed, rock and roll’s mothership has arrived to give us all some Close Encounters of the Violet Kind.

The rest of the disc – which is essentially a truncated one-disc edition of a 2CD set that was released in late 1999 that included the entire 116-minute live show – proves that Deep Purple is timeless. Despite the fact that they’d been going for a full 31 years prior to the performance this disc documents, they’d never been trapped by the flash-in-the-pan styles that would claim the musical souls of so many of hard rock’s greatest bands. While bands like Van Halen used the mid-80’s went to the dark side and dabbled with synthesizers and other trendy instrumentation, a reunited Deep Purple delivered some of the most hard-hitting songs of their career – ones that would simply refuse to age.

The only problem with “Total Abandon” is the absence of Ritchie Blackmore’s unique style that, despite its raw and sometimes fumbly nature, was always comprised of rapid-fire notes that pierced like daggers. Guitar wizard Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs joined Purple in 1994 shortly after Blackmore’s departure in 1993. While he definitely has the skills to pay the bills, he often exhibits too much pyrotechnic flash that’s saturated with blisteringly fast hammer-ons and ridiculous bends. It’s impressive fretwork to be sure but 18 years later it sounds rather dated and ready to be filed under “chronic guitar masturbators of 80’s and 90’s” with the likes of Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Despite Morse’s antics, “Total Abandon” shows that Purple could still bash out the goods more than three decades into their career. For 73 solid minutes, we get to explore the violet vaults and enjoy one of the best hard rock bands that the genre has ever spawned.

Chris Rene performed on season one of Simon Cowell’s television show “The X Factor”. Rene’s single “Young Homie” received almost 1 million hits within 10 days after its release via vevo.com. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with Chris about the show and the success of the single.

Adam Lawton: What made you want to try out for the “The X Factor”?
Chris Rene: After people heard me sing they often would ask why my music was not on the radio. I got asked all sorts of questions. A lot of questions would be about going on “American Idol”. I didn’t think that show was for me. Last year I finally decided to give it a shot as I had nothing really to lose.

AL: What was the audition process like?
CR: I got to Los Angeles at 4am on the day of the audition and then waited in line for between 10 and 12 hours. I sang in front of one judge and got through. I then had to
three more judges after which they said they would call me in a few months. When they finally called me with a yes is when I got to go to Seattle. The process is much bigger than is shown sing in front of on television.

AL: What were your first thoughts when you got to Seattle?
CR: I was really excited to have the opportunity. When I got on the stage I knew this was a onetime chance that I needed to give my all.

AL: What has been your take on the success of the video “Young Homie”?
CR: It is just motivation for me to do better and get more and more fans. It makes me want to continue to do what I love.

AL: What made you choose this song to release first?
CR: I have been doing music since I was twelve. By the time I was fifteen my band and I had put out 5 CD’s. In 2009 I put out my first solo CD. I have been writing songs for a long time and “Young Homie” is a song that I think is universal. A lot of people can connect with it. The song is about overcoming struggle.

AL: What has been your favorite part of your success so far?
CR: I have enjoyed going to the different radio stations and meeting people. It’s been great seeing different cities. Recording has probably been the best part.

AL: What are your upcoming plans?
CR: We are going to be doing an EP release and then I have some shows scheduled for the summertime. We also are looking at doing a full tour. I also have something clothing that will be coming out soon and, I am looking to do a cameo in an upcoming film as well.

Aretha Franklin
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Kansas City, Missouri
May 8, 2012

A few years ago, “Rolling Stone” magazine published a list of the 100 greatest voices in rock and roll history.  No surprise that number one went to the Queen of Soul herself, Ms. Aretha Franklin.  At the beautiful Kauffman Center in Kansas City, her majesty held court for a sold out audience.  And she didn’t disappoint.

Cloaked in a fur coat and carrying her pocketbook, as if she was just stopping by to say hello, Ms. Franklin opened her show with a rousing version of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher.”  For the next hour and a half she regaled the audience with many of her hits (“Think,” “Chain of Fools”) as well as some surprises.

The show went off without a hitch.  Almost.  After her second number Ms. Franklin requested that the stage airconditioning be turned off, threatening to leave the stage if it wasn’t.  “I came to give Kansas City my best performance,” she informed the unknown tech, again requesting the a/c be cut.  Thankfully for all in attendance it was.  Later in the show one of her bracelets fell off.  She eventually enlisted the help of her band director, who refastened it to much applause.

Ms. Franklin was in fine voice, hitting all of the notes the audience expected.  She kicked off the second act of her show by sitting down at the piano and paying tribute to one of her mentors, the late, great Sam Cooke.  While images of Cooke were shown on the video screen, Ms. Franklin sang one of Cooke’s biggest hits, “You Send Me.”  “Jesus” she said, as shots of the handsome Cooke filled the screen, “he was a fine man!”  She followed up with a moving tribute

to the late Whitney Houston, singing a few bars of “I Will Always Love You.”  She concluded the second act with an audience favorite, “Freeway of Love.”

For her encore she informed the audience that the other night she had seen one of her five favorite films on television (among her favorites: “Dr. Zhivago,” “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”  I can only assume one of them is “The Blues Brothers.”)  She then delivered a moving version of “The Way We Were.”  She concluded the evening with her signature number, “Respect.”

On a side note, I must add here that this was my first visit to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and it was easily one of the most beautiful venues I’ve attended an event at, The complex, along with the Sprint Center, is one of the crown jewels in Kansas City’s performing arts crown.

SET LIST:  (Your Love Is Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Share Your Love with Me, Think, Baby I Love You, Something He Can Feel, Chain of Fools, Ain’t No Way, Instrumental Highlights (the band was TIGHT), Find Me An Angel, Help Me Lift Him Up, You Send Me, I Will Always Love You, Freeway of Love.  ENCORE:  The Way We Were, Respect.

Tenacious D
“Rize Of The Fenix”
Produced by: John Kimbrough
Label: Columbia
Tracks: 16 (including bonus tracks)
Running Time: 45 minutes
Release Date: May 15, 2012

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

I have been a loyal ‘D’ fan since 1997 going all the way back to the HBO TV series.  I remember being in college back in 2001 and seeing flyers everywhere for their album and that just sealed the deal of my lifelong fandom.  I know people did not like the film “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny” but I was a huge fan…and no I am not a stoner either.  I have had the album on my iPhone since it was released. “Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)”  is truly the great song in the world…but I later found out it was just a tribute.  Oh well, let’s get to “Rize of the Fenix”, the third album from Tenacious D.  I listened to this album for about three weeks before writing this review.  In that short period of time, this album grew on me quite a bit and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since.  “Rize of the Fenix” is a travel back to the bands roots and without a doubt delivers the goods.  The D is back and better than ever!

The title track, “Rize of the Fenix” is a fantastic opener and really leads the album for success.  It is long and doesn’t let up from the moment it begins, while changing tempos and pace throughout.  The band even goes back to their skits with “Classical Teacher” and Flutes and Trombones”.  Though “Classical” is a little too long for me and “Flutes” has potential but its punchline falls a little short.  Overall I still enjoyed them but I do find myself occasionally skipping them to get back to the kick-ass music.  “To Be the Best” always gets me pumped but only runs a minute, I wish it was longer because it would be my new pump up song like the ‘Your the Best Around’ from “The Karate Kid”.  Two of my favorite tracks is “Deth Star” and “Roadie”, the first being a fast sci-fi kick-ass track and the latter is more soft yet reminiscent of “Wonder Boy”.  “Ballad of Hollywood Jack and Rage Kage” is also a really great track.  All the tracks just seems to really shine and delivers what the D does best, belt out fun silly songs.

Jack Black and Kyle Gass recorded this album in a garage on a budget of only $600 dollars and even though the album still sounds freaking sweet.  If you put the first album and this one on random, I would have a hard time distinguishing the two if I never heard them before.  The music sounds great and, of course, even has Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) tearing up those drums on the album.  Overall the D has never broken any musical standards but it is just a really fun 45 minutes.   Also make sure to pre-order the album on iTunes before May 15th, so you can score the super rare D Track, “5 Needs” which was from Tenacious D’s cameo in the 1996 movie “Bio-Dome”.

Track Listing:
1. Rize of the Fenix
2. Low Hangin’ Fruit
3. Classical Teacher
4. Senorita
5. Deth Starr
6. Roadie
7. Flutes and Trombones
8. Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage
9. Throwdown
10. Rock Is Dead
11. They Fucked Our Asses
12. To Be The Best
13. 39
14. Quantum Leap (Bonus Track)
15. Rivers of Brown (Bonus Track)
16. 5 Needs (iTunes Pre-Order Track)

What makes a hard working union man in Pennsylvania suddenly decide to chuck everything aside and head to Texas? That’s one of the things I made sure I asked Rick Hornyak when we spoke. A singer/songwriter with a great gift for lyrics, Hornyak is currently embarking on one of several short tours planned for 2012 in support of his new CD, “Marigold.” I recently talked to Rick about his music, his passions and, of course, why Texas?

Mike Smith: How long had you been writing songs before you decided to pursue music as a career?
Rick Hornyak: I guess I started writing songs when I was about 19. I used to work in a steel mill and that kept me pretty busy so there weren’t a lot of songs from age 20 to 27, when I finally had a dozen or so that I was kicking around. When I was 27 I moved to Austin (Texas) and I’ve written a lot more since. So probably when I was around 19 or 20 years old was when I started coming up with original songs.

MS: How was it adjusting from quiet, sleepy Pennsylvania to wild and crazy Austin?
RH: I have to tell you it was really terrifying for the first six months. I really am from one of those middle-of-nowhere, one traffic light towns in Pennsylvania. I was afraid of the city. My parents had lived in Pennsylvania as did their parents and we grew up thinking that the city was dangerous. I was always afraid I would end up in the bad part of town or that something was going to happen to me. But as soon as I learned the names of a few main roads I discovered I could get where I needed to go. I’d have to say it was terrifying, but exciting, at the same time.

MS: “Marigold” is your first full length CD. Is there a deliberate tone to the album? You have a nice collection of ballads mixed in with some up-tempo tunes.
RH: We actually sent around a pre-release survey to friends and family and people we already knew who were familiar with the band. We sent them mixes of the songs and tried to get an idea of the order to put the songs in…what were their strong points. We went through about 30 of those. I’m so happy that people took the time to fill them out. To listen to the songs and fill them out. The song “See This Through” was a very popular one. Another song that people were really leaning towards is “Right in Front of Me.” As for any kind of theme, I’ve recently just discovered that I was reaching a kind of inner peace when I was writing. I fell in love again after ten years of sort of being single and a little bit bitter. My life was starting to get a little more stable. I wanted to start taking care of my body more…to be a little less self destructive. So that’s really the kind of general tone…it captures a time of my life when I did a lot of reflecting.

MS: I’m glad you mentioned “See This Through.” It’s one of the songs that I really took notice of on the CD. I’m a fan of great lyrics and that song definitely fits the bill. Were there any musicians that influenced you when you were growing up…made you say “Wow, this is what I want to be!”
RH: I have a really diverse music sense because I listened to everything growing up. When I was a kid I listened to 50s and 60s pop records that my parents had. I’ve loved music, as I’m sure you have, probably since I was 5 years old. It made me want to dance around the living room. I grew up listening to Tommy James and the Shondells…the Supremes…the Beatles. Those were my parent’s records. I don’t know how much of his actual style I picked up, but Bob Dylan, when I was in my early 20s, he showed me the power of what a songwriter could be. The way that somebody else’s words can make you think that song was written just for you. I’ve had people tell me that about a couple of my songs and it’s so flattering. The song we were just talking about…”See This Through”…a friend of mine was inspired by the song to put her bar up for sale and move to Hawaii. She gathered enough money for a couple of months, got an apartment and got a bartender job. She let her employees run the bar until it sold. I kind of got off the question (laughs)…I’d definitely have to say Bob Dylan was a real influence.

MS: You’re on the first leg of several short tours this summer. Do you have any plans to record again soon?
RH: I’ve got some songs in the works. All of the new candidates are here. A few that are done and about a dozen or so in the refining process. That’s something that’s tough to do when you’re on the road and touring. You’ve got so many things to do that you often lack that three hours you need to go in and try to write every day. But that’s what I’m doing in my free time. I’m trying to make sure that I’ve got a lot of new material ready. I feel I need to push myself. I want to top my next record in my own head. That’s how I felt with “Marigold.” I felt I had taken a big step. That I was getting better. I could hear it and that’s a great feeling for a song writer.

Rick concludes this leg of his 2012 tour with a stop Sunday night, May 13, at Ernie Biggs in Kansas City. For more tour information, or to order his new CD, go to www.rickhornyak.com

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Rick Hornyak
“Marigold”
Produced by: Rick Hornyak
11 tracks
Running time: 45 mins

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

It was about three songs in, on the second listening of Rick Hornyak’s new CD, “Marigold,” that I put my finger on how to best describe his sound. The Austin, Texas resident, by way of Clarks Mills, Pennsylvania, was spinning beautiful stories that made my mind wander. And then it hit me. Hornyak’s music is best described as Mike Nesmith (his solo stuff (“Different Drum”), not his Monkees years) meets Jimmy Buffett. Like Nesmith, who hailed from Houston, Hornyak has a smooth, folksy delivery that emphasizes the moods of each song. Like Buffett, his lyrics tell amazing stories. He is also an accomplished guitarist, starting of songs like “So Many Times Before” with some fancy guitar work. To me the standout song is “See This Through,” delivered so sincerely it could have been part of Bad Blake’s concert set in the film “Crazy Heart.” Other notable songs are “Foolish Love” (good for slow dancing) and the cheerfully delivered “The
Monkey Song.”

Track Listing:
1. So Many Times Before
2. See This Through
3. Right in Front of Me
4. Cigarettes
5. Homesick Blues
6. Don’t Hide Away
7. Foolish Love
8. Door to Your Heart
9. Far From Home
10. The Monkey Song
11. Moving On (Without You)

John 5 has played guitar for many notable acts in variety of music genres. He is probably best known for his work with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. John 5 is set to release his 7^th solo album titled “God Told Me To” in early May. Media Mikes was very fortunate to be able to talk with John 5 recently about his work on the new album as well as his work on the new Rob Zombie film “Lords of Salem”.

Adam Lawton: What can we expect from the new solo album “God Told Me To”?
John 5: What I wanted to do with this album was to make something a little different from my previous releases. I wanted to do a half electric and half acoustic album. I was really into doing some cool Spanish style acoustic songs. I also wanted to incorporate some rhythmic styles played on the body of the guitar. The idea was do something more than just your standard strumming techniques. I was really into that style of playing on the album. The other cool thing about this album is that it is going to come with a DVD as well. The DVD will have clips of me in the studio recording the songs as well as some footage from being on the road. It even will have its own horror host hosting the DVD. It’s really a cool CD/DVD package which is something I personally love. I am very excited for the album’s release.

AL: Are there any guest performers on the album?
J5: No. I did a lot of this while I was on the road or writing with other people. I didn’t really have a chance to do anything like that. I did everything on my own when I had some free time. Maybe for the next album I will do a bunch of guest appearance type things.

AL: Do you plan to make a guitar tablature book to accompany the CD?
J5: I don’t think so. I did put out a book recently titled “The Book of John” which shows a bunch of my techniques. I don’t think we will be doing that for this album because there is a lot of transposing which is a lot of work. We will have to see.

AL: What can you tell us about your work on “Lords of Salem”?
J5: I did the musical scoring for the film. I love challenges and scoring is definitely a challenge. You are dealing with music that sometimes does not have a time signature or even a certain key. You are also dealing with a variety of instruments and musical styles. It was so much fun. I actually just finished it and it turned out great. I am very proud of it. I saw some of the movie and it is going to blow people away.

AL: Did you provide all of the instrumentation on the score?
J5: I and Griffin Boyce did everything. It was just me and him. I did a lot of the stuff on guitar using an Ebow or a violin bow. It’s really cool.

AL: Do you see yourself doing more scoring in the future?
J5: I don’t know. I worked so hard on the project but it’s kind of just background music. There is a lot of work for that. I love Rob’s movies and I was very honored to be a part of the project. If Rob does another movie of course I will do it. I don’t know if I will venture off.

AL: How is it working with Rob in a band setting compared to a directorial setting?
J5: We have a great time just hanging out with each other. However when its business its business. He gives me clear ideas of what he wants and as long as that’s what I deliver we have no problems. I have always listened to talk about how certain people don’t listen to what he is saying. I have made sure to always listen. A lot of times when he is explaining something I will record the conversation and I will tell him that I am doing so. By doing that I will have exactly what he said and I will go from there. This has worked out amazingly for us. A lot of times you can forget what somebody says during conversation so this has really helped.

AL: Can you tell us about this summer’s tour?
J5: We are going to be touring this summer with Megadeth. I am really excited about this because they are a band I love. It’s great being on tour. It’s like heavy metal summer camp. There is nothing better to me than touring in the warm weather in the United States. I love it!

AL: What will the bands lineup be for the tour?
J5: It will be me on guitar, Piggy D on bass and then Ginger Fish from Marilyn Manson on drums. Ginger has a really great groove. I played with him for sometime in Marilyn Manson as well and we are really happy to have him on board.

AL: Do you have any other plans in the works?
J5: I wrote some music for the next Lynyrd Skynyrd album as well as for the next Rod Stewart album. We also will be starting the recording of a new Rob Zombie record in June after the tour ends.

AL: This will be the second time you have worked with Lynyrd Skynyrd. How did that all come about?
J5: I did 6 songs on the bands last album. I did “Storm”, “Gifted Hands”, “Skynyrd Nation”, “Floyd” and a bunch of other tracks.  I got involved with the band through my publisher who asked if I would be interested in writing some tunes. I love Skynyrd more than anything else in the world!  I am very educated in the bands catalog so writing with them was an honor and a treat.

For more information on John 5 be sure to check out his website at www.john-5.com

Andy Milonakis is known best for his TV series “The Andy Milonakis Show” on MTV. Andy also loves rapping as seen in the movie “Waiting…”, which he co-stared and provided a single to the film. Andy has teamed up with MTV alumni’s Riff Riff and Dirt Nasty (aka Simon Rex) to form Three Loco. Andy took out some time to chat about this new group and their upcoming album.

Mike Gencarelli: How did you get together with Riff Riff and Dirt Nasty?
Andy Milonakis: Dirt Nasty showed me Riff Raff on YouTube. Riff gave out his number on some funny video and Dirt called it. We both met up with Riff Raff, we stopped by the weed shop first to make sure he had a warm welcome. We met up with him and got fucked up and started recording videos. My favorite thing that riff raff did was off camera. We got burgers and I threw my lettuce on the ground, he got mad at me and was like “ahh man why did you waste that, I love lettuce”

MG: Who is the leader of the group?
AM: We don’t really have one, Dirt is good at organizing real life shit, like studio sessions and all that good stuff, he also is the only producer out of us 3… I’m the internet geek and I’ve been giving a lot of cool sample ideas to producers. Riff Raff is the funniest, I never thought I would play the straight man, but I feel like my rhymes are the most normal and least funny out of all of us. It kinda pisses me off but for some reason I’ve been writing less jokey shit lately.

MG: Are you jealous that you partners have all cool stage names?
AM: A little bit, I mean, a cool thing that goes along with rapping or being in a band is coming up with a cool name, and I just made it a choice to keep my own name, I thought it was cool. Also fuck those guys, I came up with the name Three Loco, so I have something to hold on to..

MG: What kind of fresh rhymes can we expect from this album?
AM: Super fresh, Riff Raff has been killing it with the hooks and we’ve been working with all kinds of dope producers. IDAP, Diplo, DJA, Rich Skillz, Sinden etc, sorry if I missed any, my brain is tired.

MG: Where they all freestyles or scripted songs?
AM: Mostly written, we did a few freestyle bits here and there, not sure what will make it on the album yet.

MG: How long did it take to complete and when is the second album coming out?
AM: Most of the work was done in 1 month. Not sure about the second album yet, damn, why are you rushing us [laughs].

MG: Is there going to be a remix album?
AM: We might, we’ll at least have people remix some of the songs, but possibly the whole album.

MG: How can we purchase this album when it drops? iTunes? Vinyl?
AM: iTunes definitely, we’ll probably print a few hard copy ancient shiny disc things and Vinyl would be cool just for the fuck of it.

MG: The band is all alumns from MTV, have you ever considered pitching reality show for Three Loco?
AM: Prob more interested in developing it as a sketch show more than reality

MG: Can we get you to record a song about MediaMikes.com?
AM: For about 10K we can make it happen. Thanks, and look out for our first video and live performance, should be both happening on Cinco De Mayo.

Tony Foresta is the lead singer for the thrash band Municipal Waste. The band just released their 5^th studio album titled “The Fatal Feast: Waste in Space”. Media Mikes caught up with Tony prior to the bands show in Syracuse, NY to talk about the new album.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the band’s latest album?
Tony Foresta: We basically took a year and a half off and just started writing. We spent quite a bit of time prepping and getting everything from the layout to the art work all in order. It’s probably the hardest we have every worked on a record. We wrote around 20 songs however only 17 made the album. We wanted to write as much as we could and then go in the studio and pick our favorites. I think everything worked out really well and we have gotten some real positive feedback so far. We worked our butts off on this album.

AL: What is the writing process generally like for the band?
TF: It varies. Sometimes Ryan and Phil will come up with riffs and we will just knock around different ideas. A lot really just depends on the type of song. We usually will practice between tours and during that time write a couple songs here and there. What seems to happen most often is when we start getting tired of playing the same songs out on tour we then decide to start working on some new stuff. You start to have a feeling when it’s time to do a new record.

AL: Did you approach things differently with the new album since changing labels?
TF: I don’t think we did on purpose but, there definitely was more fresh air. Things had started to get stale with our previous label so we wanted to branch out and do something different. It has been kind of like dating a new girlfriend. The band really needed that to help us be more creative and have fun.

AL: Are you guys going to be doing any video shoots for any of the songs off the new album?
TF:  We just shot two prior to leaving for this tour. We knew we were going to be out on the road for awhile so we figured we better bust some out. We shot one video for “Repossession” and one for “Fatal Feast”.  We worked with Josh Speed who did our “Sadistic Magician” video. That video has been one of our more popular ones so we decided to go with Josh again.

AL: What are the bands plans for the summer and fall?
TF: We are going to do a full US tour which will last about a month. We plan on bringing out some cool bands with us on that one. After that wraps up we will be going to Europe and then Australia. We definitely will not be staying home for any length of time.

Jake “Dyno-Mite” Turner and Loaf have been bound by standard terrestrial radio for years. Now we have found a new home at The Grave Radio… and with that comes freedom the FCC would never allow!

The Hangover will help change the mornings on internet stations, we are ready to blow your mind and crush your funny bone. We team up with Cory “Doc” Amen and Breawna Nylen from Flaunt (As seen on TRU TV’s Full Throttle Saloon).  Breawna will be joining us when she isn’t cracking her whip across the country.

We will stumble out of the bed with interviews, weird and zany topics with a crude politeness. We want to give you that “WTF” moment you will be talking about all week. Plus we will have Nate Gonner from KKWK 100.1fm calling in to give you sports highlights, news and upcoming sports events.

The Hangover will be delivering the news from music, movies, and all the latest in the entertainment world. Tell your friends, that The Hangover is the internet radio show to be plugged into!

Click here to listen live to Media Mikes every Friday at 9:00am CST as we join the team for The Hangover Morning Show

Norwood Fisher is the bassist and a founding member of the legendary punk/ska band Fishbone. Media Mikes got to talk with Norwood recently about the bands recent documentary “Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone” and their upcoming album.

Adam Lawton: What were your first thoughts when the idea of a documentary film was brought up?
Norwood Fisher: I thought it was a nice idea but I wanted to wait till we were done writing the story. I wanted to be closer to the finish line. The band at that time was in a bad place and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell that story from where I was sitting. I wanted to be able to see a curve/arc from where I was at.

AL: Was it hard working with the cameras around?
NF: Once we had agreed to do the film we knew that we would be fully exposing the inner workings of the band. Personally I am not so attached to looking good. We knew going in that we would have to let the film be what it was going to be. I did talk to the directors as they were sensitive to the fact that we might not want them to film certain things. My attitude was fuck it! Let it slide.

AL: Was it hard reflecting on some of the bands past?
NF: I had made friends for the most part with all of the dark corners of my past. When everything was happening I really faced it head on. I know it was hard at times for Angelo to talk about some of the things that had happened. For me I don’t hold any resentment. It took all of those hardships to get me to where I am now. My life isn’t always easy but, I like being me.

AL: Do you have any regrets towards anything shown in the film?
NF: For me I don’t have any regrets. I am looking at it as an honest story that I said yes to allowing it be captured and displayed. If I look like and asshole then that just might be who I am. (Laughs) If I could see it then I have the opportunity to do something about it or not. I think everything is good and the difficulties of the band were shown. When we started we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We may not have known how deep things were but, we did know we were the ones laying on the barbwire so that others could cross over. I think we all knew pretty early on how that was going to work.

AL: What can you tell us about the new Fishbone record?
NF: We have about 4 new songs but they are not quite completed. We started them back in September and Angelo finished the lyrics in January. We have a few more over dubs to work on and then we will be done. I am really happy with the songs that we have and the energy is very good. It’s different from what we did on the “Crazy Glue” EP but, it still has some of that same spirit. If you put these tracks along with the “Crazy Glue” EP it might read like an older full length Fishbone record. The tracks are groovy rocking.

AL: What is the bands approach to song writing like?
NF: Recently we have been thrust into the recording situation without a whole lot of thought. The last few records were basically what we thought we could do quickly. We were very fortunate that what we did do was cool. The next batch of songs we are going to do full pre-production. We will probably go in with 25-30 songs and pick out the best 10 or 15. As a band we try to jam and Angelo will try and find lyrics that marry best to the songs. The last album that Angelo and I actually sat down together and wrote was “Still Stuck in Your Throat”. There wasn’t a lot of pre-production on that because at the time we were basically putting together a new band. Sometimes Angelo will hear a piece of music and instantly have a lyric. Other times I will see a lyric and have the perfect piece of music for that. Then there are times where it’s like a cage match.(Laughs)

AL: Is there a chance we will see a reunion of the original line up?
NF: Right now it doesn’t seem so possible. However in the long run it’s not impossible. I personally have a lot of love and respect for those guys. I try my best to honor the legacy that we all laid down together but, we do have some difficulties.

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects we can be watching for?
NF: Fishbone has a lot of work ahead of it. We have some international touring to cover as well as a good portion of the United States left to hit. If everything goes right we will probably be doing a couple more videos from the “Crazy Glue” release. We will be working from now until at least September on the new full length record. Personally I have a record in the can from my side project that I want to release at some point as well. I have been playing with a number of different people lately also and that’s been really great. However, right now Fishbone is my priority.

Rise Against
“EndGame”
DGC/Interscope
Producer: Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore
Tracks: 12

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

“Endgame” is the 7^th studio album from the punk rock band Rise Against. The album is the follow up release to the bands successful “Appeal to Reason” album. Produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore and released via DGC/Interscope “Endgame” features 12 high energy songs chocked full of great instrumentation and lyrical references to recent events around the world.

The latest album by Rise Against features everything fans of the band have come to know and love. From Catchy sing-along choruses to thought provoking lyrics front man Tim McIIrath takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. “EndGame” seemed to have a much more polished approach compared to the bands previous release and even though it doesn’t seem to cover as much territory musically the group’s sheer intensity and in your face approach really grabs you. Songs such as “Help is on its Way” and “Disparity by Design” were instant favorites that I’m sure will garner some really great live performances. Crunchy guitars and catchy choruses consume almost all 12 tracks on the album making any one of the songs capable of becoming a hit.

Straight forward and thought provoking “EndGame” is everything you could want from a punk rock album and more! The band appears to be at the top of their game and is showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. If you haven’t done so already get to the store or your computer and add this album to your collection. Also be sure to check out the band on their current 2012 spring tour which will also feature special guests A Day to Remember.

Track Listing:
1.)    Architects
2.)    Help is on the Way
3.)    Make it Stop (September’s Children)
4.)    Disparity by Design
5.)    Satellite
6.)    Midnight Hands
7.)    Survivor Guilt
8.)    Broken Mirrors
9.)    Wait for Me
10.)  A Gentleman’s Coup
11.)  This is Letting Go
12.)  Endgame