Pat Mastelotto is many things – but definitely not a slouch.  Best known as the percussive genius behind current iteration of progressive uber-band King Crimson and as the drummer for the best-selling ‘80s favorite, Mr. Mister (remember “Broken Wings” and “Kyrie”?), Pat has also been a session drummer for many artists such as XTC, Scandal, Al Jarreau, the Pointer Sisters, Kenny Loggins and Martin Briley.  In his copious spare time, he’s a core part of a vast number of Crimson spin-off projects as well as various progressive “supergroups” that have featured renowned musicians such as Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons), Allan Holdsworth, Eddie Jobson, the California Guitar Trio and a host of others.

He’s recently finished being a part of the “Three of a Perfect Pair” Camp, a week-long music camp in New York state that allowed its campers – musicians and non-musicians alike – to learn from, jam out and hang with him and two other members of the Crimson court: Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. He’s currently on the road with Belew and Levin on the “Two of a Perfect Trio” tour which pairs Belew’s Power Trio with Levin’s Stick Men trio.  The show closes with “an extended Crim-centric encore.”

I caught up with Pat just before embarking on the “Perfect Trio” tour and we covered a broad range of topics including the Camp, the tour, and being a member of King Crimson as well as his past involvement with other musicians work and ongoing work with the myriad of musical projects of which he is a part.  He also shared his thoughts about a certain percussion-related virally-famous YouTube video – and we even found out why an iPod wouldn’t be a bad item for him to find under his Chrismas tree this year.

Russell Hitchcock is one of the two members of the band “Air Supply”, along with Graham Russell.  The band has been around since 1975 and show no signs of slowing down.  They are currently playing over 100 shows per year and still releasing new music.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Russell about Air Supply’s new album as well as his new solo album.

Mike Gencarelli: Can you tell us about the new album “Mumbo Jumbo” and its creative process?
Russell Hitchcock: As all of our CD’s recently have taken about 2 to 3 years to put together as we spend a lot of time on the road. Generally what we will do is we record for a few days then go on the road for 3 or 4 weeks then back to recording. The album was a long time coming but it’s the first conceptual album of ours. Graham integrated a great story in the songs. The album is about a young guy who is just trying to find himself in the world today. It was time for us to do an album like this. We are always getting asked how we have changed in the last 36 years. It’s obvious that we are a lot older now and we are a lot more mature about the music we play and how we think about life. I think the album is a very mature body of work. It’s nice to be back in the lime light for a little bit of time.

MG: Can you tell us what you felt being back on the billboard charts for the first time in 17 years?
RH: It’s just a great feeling as we had so much resistance from radio basically after 1987. “Mumbo Jumbo” is actually our 24th or 25th studio album. People were always thinking we broke up. The bottom line was in North America we couldn’t get played on the radio. It’s a really great feeling to be recognized again and to be able to say that we have had chart success spanning over four decades.

MG: Air Supply has been together for over 35 years now. What drives you guys to continue recording and touring?
RH: We have a great passion for performing live together. When we first started we made sort of an unofficial pact that as long as we enjoyed working together still and people wanted to see us we would keep going. None of those things have changed other than we know more about the business now and we are way more experienced on stage. We play around 130 shows a year all around the world, which runs us about 9 months out of the year.

MG: Do you see the band slowing down anytime soon?
RH: I hope it keeps going! Physically and mentally we are both in good shape and we are playing with some fantastic musicians. What it really comes down to is the audiences and their response. Our shows are selling out quite regularly and the response to the old songs is phenomenal and we always are playing new songs in the show as well and the responses to those have been great also. We don’t see any reason for us to slow down just yet.

MG: What do you like most about playing the new songs to the audiences?
RH: I think it’s exciting to play something new and something that you have put your heart into. Graham works very hard at writing quality material and we always want the best vocally we can get out of it. To play something new and getting to see the reactions is fantastic. People always seem really into it. We have a great core of material to build on and we also have a very distinctive way of singing together so we are in good shape from the start.

MG: What can you tell us about your new single which hasn’t been released on any album yet?
RH: We are going to do that and we have two songs in mind but we haven’t picked which one its definitely going to be so I don’t want to tell you too much just yet. We just finished the vocals last week and its going to be a nice surprise.

MG: What can you tell us about your new album “Tennessee: The Nashville Sessions”? How do you feel it differs from your work with Air Supply?
RH: It certainly has a Nashville feel to it and that’s obvious from the musicians playing on the album and the instrumentation that was used. I was offered the opportunity a few years a go by a friend to come to Nashville and record. Finding the time was the hardest part. We listened to around 100 songs before picking 24-28. Originally the producer wanted to release a double album and I told him he was out of his mind! I have had some critics ask why I’m in Nashville being I am not a country singer. I have responded by saying I am a singer and just want to sing all kinds of songs. I have had some good response to a few of the songs. We are currently in the early stages of promotion so we will see what happens. I hope to put some of the songs in our set starting next year.

Don Barnes is one of the founding members of the Southern rock band .38 Special.  He provides vocals and guitar for the band and is responsible for many of the group’s biggest hits, including “Rockin’ into the Night”, “Hold On Loosely” and  “Caught Up in You.  .38 Special is tours constantly and currently took out some time to chat with Media Mikes about his music and how he keeps touring fresh over the years.

Mike Gencarelli: So where are you currently touring this week?
Don Barnes: We are currently appearing at Epcot’s Food and Fine Festival concert series on 10-3-11 through 10-5-11.  It is a very exciting venue.

MG: Let’s talk about the many generations of fans that you have. How can you reflect that you not only have one generation of fans but many?
DB: Well I think it is really great because a lot of the fans were fans back in the 80’s and they played our music. We have a lot of cross sections of ages that come to our show and we like to see that. We are all big cult kid oriented kids…I mean we’re basically kids our selves. We like to crank the guitar up and be 19 years old again. People come out and it’s always a good cross-section. It’s everything you want to hear from a band. It’s just your high energy, bombastic presentation. We have people singing along and it’s a real surreal thing for us. Donny and I remember sitting at the kitchen table and scratching out lyrics and trying to come up with just the right thing to say, and then to see ten thousand people singing along. It’s an experience that not a lot of people get to have.

MG: You guys tour a lot all year. What do you guy’s do to keep that fresh and original for you?
DB: We do a hundred cities a year, every year. We’ve been doing that the past 25 years or so. We try to get our quota in, but we change the set up a bit. We move things around, we put new songs in and things. But we realized over the years that somebody that bought the album, the old vintage antique album and held on to it, that there are other songs there that may not have been top charting songs but they remember them because from when they play that album. We try to put things in that we like that are kind of in your face attitude. We’ve become kind of the premier live act because people know it’s a successful event because we bring the party to the people all the time. It’s really about the celebration of the brotherhood of us neighborhood guys. We started out a long time ago like anybody, practicing in the garage and you get the cops called on you for being too loud. But you know it’s a celebration and it’s carried us into the future. We appreciate everybody making us a part of their lives all these years. We try to bring those  songs out and we see the reaction immediately. We see high fives out there we see people singing along that have tears in their eyes because it reminds them of some time in their lives for nostalgic reasons or whatever. It really makes us play those  songs with just as much passion and commitment that was there the first time that we recorded them. It’s always been 110% from us and it’s kind of unspoken thing from us that we don’t slack up we stack up. It’s a team effort. We look at it as a real team thing. We go out there to win every night and I think that’s what has contributed to the longevity of the group.

MG: I’ve seen you all live a few times and you always have so much energy it’s unbelievable.
DB:  I appreciate that, we all played our dues, we all starved together. We all came from Jacksonville. All the groups, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to The Allman Brothers, to Molly Hatchet. Everybody came from Jacksonville and wonders if it’s in the water or something. Even The Outlaws are right down the road. It really was as young kids…young boys, we were playing in sailors clubs at 15 years old. We made $150 a week and that was pretty good for 15 years old. The fundamentals we learned early on about structures of songs and the craft of song writing because you learned all the popular songs back then. You start sensing the elements about what makes it popular to get it on the radio. You then decide how you will write your own songs and you starve for 10 years [laughs]. If it was easy everybody would be doing it.

MG: You have such a great library of songs, what do you do to choose your set list for each show?
DB: We see the reaction from songs we try songs out, we try to line them up. We look at it like a graph. It starts off with a big opening and the graph goes up and up and up and in the middle you give a little relief like Donnie does a tribute to his brother Ronnie from Lynyrd Skynyrd. You know Ronnie was killed in a plane crash in ’77 so we do a song called “Rebel to Rebel” that relaxes the people with the emotions and nature of the song. Then we go on climbing and climbing and we end with a big high note and everybody is exhausted along with us. It’s everything you want to hear through the history of the band. We put together a medley of secondary songs from movies. A lot of soundtracks and things. We want to make sure people hear their favorite song. Even “Back to Paradise” from “Revenge of the Nerds’ movies. We make sure we get them all in there.

MG: You’ve toured with thousands of people, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, REO Speedwagon, Hank Williams; can you share any crazy tour stories?
DB: We opened for Kiss back in the 70’s and they had a radio contest and this was back when nobody had heard about us before. Kiss was in their big wave of success, they grossed something like four million dollars that year or something. Every city had Kiss face contests and we would play and just for the first hundred rows we would see nothing but people with grease paint on their faces and it was really like “The Twilight Zone” to us.

MG: How did you all become involved with CMT’s “Road Pranks”?
DB: They just called us up and said they wanted to do a show about what people  do on their day off. That was the whole ruse was to include our crew. We talked about the ruse was they wanted to come film what bands does on their day off. In reality it was going to be that we were going to set them up and play a trick on them. The fake show was going to be called “Down Time” and I told all the crew guys so we would see all the hobbies that they have. Of course all the crew guys are all gear heads, rocket enthusiasts and tech heads with miniature rockets and stuff. We set them up bad [laughs]. In the mean time we are planning on having the fire department, Home Land Security, the cops are going to come raining down on us for using rockets and stuff.  Of course we were all in on the joke but we had to act like we were in trouble too. It worked out pretty good. Those cops were pretty good. Those cops even had me scared a little bit! When we finally revealed it to them they weren’t very happy about all that. They didn’t speak to us for a day or two there. They didn’t know how to take it. They have sworn revenge on us though that they will get us back.

MG: Tell us about the new album, Live In Texas, recently released on August 31st, 2011.
DB: We are putting together a collection of songs through several cities from Texas and calling it “Live From Texas: 36 Special”. We were able to use a lot of advances in technology, we were able to bring our own equipment and record. At first we were just going to record it and have them at the merchandise table at the shows so the fans could sort of bring the party home with them, but when we listened back we realized this was some killer stuff, it came out a lot better than we thought it was. We decided to get them packaged up and distributed. A lot of pictures and everything. The main thing with utilizing the technology though is that a listener could put on headphones on and it literally feels like you’re sitting right in the middle of the crowd and right in front of the band. That’s not something that a lot of live acts can do. It’s almost like surround sound. You can just place the crowd behind you and around you and of course the sound of the band is all over you. It’s just the celebration of all that and it’s just rockin’. We’re real happy with the way it came out. It is available now on Amazon.com and iTunes and in stores. “Live From Texas: 38 Special”.

MG: I hear that you are in pre-production for a new studio album, is that true?
DB: Yeah. I mean we have several projects going right now. Of course newly written songs, big rock stuff, you know, we call it Muscle and Melody. We put the Muscle of the Guitars and the strength of that in your face and good melody and story over the top. We have that going and that should be released next year. We also have an acoustic sort of version of some of the classic songs that we were able to take poetic license to change the keys and rearrange things, like the song If I’d Been the One became a really beautiful ballad. We didn’t want to take it where it was an unplugged series where bands just sat on a stools and basically played the songs the same they do electrically because that is kind of boring to us. So like “Caught Up In You”, has a beat too it and a bit of reggae. Also we are entertaining some new movie projects…soundtracks and things.

MG: What is your process when you create new songs? Where do you draw your inspiration from for certain projects?
DB: Songwriters tend to always be in search of a great premise, a good title, anything that sort of sparks the  original germ of the idea. Like Caught Up In You; years ago I was dating this girl and I said You know I can’t every get any work done, I’m just so caught up in you all the time. It was like  a lightbulb went on, like that was a great positive thing. A happy angle to it. There are other songs that have a darker side but A Whole Lot of Loosely was about a marriage that I’d gone through. It was going down hill and I thought “Why Can’t people Celebrate their differences and not try and control each other”. So out of a negative message came a positive piece of advice. We try to put the truth in our songs so people can relate to their own lives. It’s kind of undeniable thing when you use the truth.  It’s one thing to say “Ooo baby I need you, I miss you.” but that’s kind of made up, contrived song, and people sense that. If there is a real story there, I can just tell you to keep the antenna up there, from personal experiences, there is just a wealth of information there. If you can scratch down a title you can come back to it later. As far as the musical side of it, that all comes from just noodling around on a guitar or piano or something with a little micro cassette player and I can take just ten seconds of something and then move on to something else Then when you come back to it you almost can’t remember that you’d played it so you listen to it more objectively from a different perspective and you think “Hey that’s not a bad idea, I can make a song out of that.” That all comes from experience, of learning how to noodle around and how to entertain yourself.

Brian “Slider” Azzoto has played guitar in many Syracuse based band most notable Brand New Sin who were signed to Century Media Records and toured with bands such as Black Label Society and Motorhead. Brian’s newest project with former Brand New Sin band mate Joe Altier title Elephant Mountain just released their first album titled “The Last Days of Planet Earth” which Brian also produced. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Brian recently about the new band/album and what it was like working with his old band mate again.

Adam Lawton: How does it feel to be working with Joe Altier again?
Brian “Slider” Azzoto: It feels good. It’s nice because when we are working together it’s like we know what each other is thinking and how we want a song to go. It’s nice to already know what our expectations of each other are. We knew that we worked well together from our time together in Brand new Sin so it just really makes the song writing process a lot easier. Joe is one of my best friends so it’s great to be able to work with him again.

AL: How did you guys go about getting back together?
BA: Joe and I both lost our fathers in about a 6 month period. He and I started talking and helping each other get through that. A mutual friend of ours John Hanus, who I went to high school with actually brought up the idea of jamming together again. Joe was about a year out of Brand New Sin and I was in Ledyard but we were starting to move in a heavier direction musically so I thought it would be nice to play some more rock-n-roller type stuff. There were really expectations for Elephant Mountain because at the time everyone in the group had other bands or projects. We were just doing it for fun.

AL: Can you briefly describe the new Elephant Mountain album for us?
BA: I think the new Elephant Mountain album is like a melting pot of retro 70’s classic rock but with a modern edge to it. We didn’t set out to be a classic rock band as we wanted to be relevant while at the same time bringing out our influences from when we were growing up.

AL: Do you have a favorite track off the album?
BA: Of course I’m going to say I like them all equally but I will say my favorite song to play live is “Words with Friends”. I love the energy of that song and the riffs are really fun to play. I love how we jump from this AC/DC/Motorhead vibe to a Led Zeppelin type feel in the middle and end of the song. The song came out really cool. When I was writing the music I thought that we weren’t going to be able to use it as I couldn’t come up with a bridge part to tie everything together but then I came up with the bridge part and it all seemed to work.

AL: I’m sure people always ask but how did you get the nickname “Slider” come from?
BA: Back in 1992 I started a band called Mudslide and we used to practice in this building on the North side of Syracuse with like 20 other bands. We all used to call it the Love Shack
because the owner’s last name was Love. Everyone in the building used to call me Brian Mudslide. Over time the Brian dropped off and then the Mud dropped off and an R was added to the end. That’s where the name “Slider” came from.

AL: Knowing you are big Kiss fan what is you take on the bands current lineup?
BA: Of course I would love it if the original line up was together but I know music is a business and Kiss definitely a brand name. Gene and Paul have to do whatever it takes to keep it going. I’m not a fan of two other guys playing Ace and Peter but Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer are great musicians so they will make Kiss sound great but it’s not the real Kiss. I know I’m not spending over $100.00 to see half of Kiss I will tell you that! I was lucky enough to catch the original band in 2000 so I’m all good!

AL: Any other upcoming plans for releases, shows or anything else you would like to mention?
BA: We are just writing as much as we can for the new record. Hopefully we will be starting the recording process soon. We don’t have any shows really planned until after winter unfortunately but we are all so busy it makes it tough. I hope to see everyone the next time we play out and we plan on playing a bunch of festivals next spring and summer.

For more info on Elephant Mountain head over to www.elephant-mountain.com

Also be sure to check out our album review of Elephant Mountains “The Last Days of Planet Earth” as well as our interview with Elephant Mountain singer Joe Altier

Steve Hackett is probably best known for his work with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Genesis. Hackett played guitar for the group during what could be argued as one of the bands most successful periods. Steve has just released a new solo album titled “Beyond the Shrouded Horizon” and we caught up with him to discuss the new album

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us a little bit about the new album “Beyond the Shrouded Horizon”?
Steve Hackett: It’s a virtual voyage, a musical continuum. Several of the tracks bridge and segue into each other, carrying themes back and forth over the whole construction. It’s a journey into both inner and outer space, from the shores of Loch Lomond through a number of exotic locations to the limits of our solar system and beyond.

AL: Do you have a favorite track from the new album and why?
SH: For guitar playing my favorite is “The Phoenix Flown” I felt each note of that song so passionately. It has a charge all of its own and a sense of liberation and renewed energy.

 AL: How did you go about getting Chris Squire involved with the album?
SH: Chris and I have worked on a number of projects together, especially in recent years. We share many of the same musical friends and we work very naturally with each other in a spontaneous, enthusiastic way. I was also thrilled that Simon Phillips played on the album too.

AL: How do you think this album compares to your previous albums?
SH: I think the production is the best I’ve ever been involved with. I also feel it’s the best vocals I’ve ever produced, running the whole gamut of vocal styles from ballads to country to rock and blues. It has the most diverse material I’ve ever attempted. It takes the spirit of my previous album “Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth” on a further journey.

AL: What was it like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
SH: I felt thrilled and honored to be in such exalted company along with many of my own heroes and influences.

AL: Any other upcoming plans? (releases/touring)
SH: I’ll be touring in Europe and the UK this autumn and winter. I’m intending to tour in the States and Canada with material from the new album, along with past numbers both solo and Genesis in June / July 2012! Negotiations are in process and the goat entrails are being consulted. In addition, Chris Squire and I have a project called “Squackett” which is potentially due for release in the early part of next year.

Be sure to check out our review of Steve’s newest album “Beyond the Shrouded Horizon”

“Wasting Light Tour 2011”
Foo Fighters, Rise Against, Mariachi El Bronx
Date: Sunday, September 25^th 2011
Venue: First Niagara Center Buffalo, NY

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Foo Fighters, Rise Against and Mariachi El Bronx played the newly renamed First Niagara Center (formerly HSBC Arena) in downtown Buffalo on September 25^th to a capacity crowd in support of the Foo Fighters latest album release titled ‘”Wasting Light”. Mariachi El Bronx took the stage first and baffled the audience with their full on mariachi performance complete with outfits that appeared to be straight out of a Cinco De Mayo parade. The group played a brief lackluster 30 minute set which was more than enough for the crowd as well as for front man Matt Caughthran who aptly announced that he was extremely drunk.

Next to take the stage was the Chicago area band Rise Against who despite sound issues related to the PA provided a high energy performance. The band played a variety song which included “Re-Education (Through Labor) and the fan favorite Savior which are both from the bands “Appeal to reason” album. Even though problems with the PA caused lead singer Tim Mcllrath’s vocals to sound like he had a mouth full of marbles the band still put on a performance that made you want to jump up and pump your fist to the catchy sing along choruses.

Last to take the stage and entertain the now capacity crowd were the Foo Fighters. As the house lights went out the crowd was instantly on their feet a spot where they would remain for the next two and a half hours. Dave Grohl and the band treated concert goers to hit after hit playing fan favorites such as “Monkey Wrench”, “My Hero” and “Learning to Fly”. The set also feature a variety of songs off the band’s latest album “Wasting Light”. Songs such as “White Limo”, “Walk”, and “Rope” followed suit and fit right in with the classic tracks complied from the bands 16 year career. The big highlights in the set and of the night came when Grohl mentioned the 20^th anniversary of his previous band Nirvana’s landmark album “Nevermind”. As the crowd roared with appreciation Grohl brought out special guest fellow Nirvana band member Krist Novoselic who would go on to play accordion on the track “Skin and Bones”. This truly was a treat for fans as Novoselic has made very few appearances since the suicide of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain. From there the band took it to a whole new level belting out a stunning rendition of Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh” complete with lasers which shot out from the stage and only added to the already impressive light show. The band also performed the Tom Petty classic “Break Down” which instantly turned into a singing match between the band and the crowd. To cap of an already stellar evening Grohl performed three acoustic tracks which included “Best of You” before returning to the stage to perform “Everlong” like only the Foo Fighter could.

Despite rough starts by both opening acts the Foo Fighters really brought it to the Buffalo crowd. More and more these days you see less and less bands touring or putting on a quality show that compares to the extremely high ticket prices. Yes the price of tickets were high for this show however Foo Fighters fully made up for that by playing a two and half hour set that was so spot on it was if you were listening to the album. Combine the stellar performance of the band with a state of the art light system which even incorporated the floor of the stage into the production and you have only half of what the Foo Fighters offer. If the group comes even remotely close to your town or city pay the money and drive the distance as shows like this are a very rare occurrence.

Rise Against Set List:
1.)    Re-Education (Through Labor)
2.)    The Good Left Undone
3.)    Satellite
4.)    Audience of One
5.)    Ready to Fall
6.)    Make it Stop (September’s Children)
7.)    Help is on the Way
8.)    Prayer of the Refugee
9.)    Give it All
10.) Savior

Foo Fighters Set List:
1.)    Bridge Burning
2.)    Rope
3.)    The Pretender
4.)    My Hero
5.)    Learn to Fly
6.)    White Limo
7.)    Arlandria
8.)    Breakout
9.)    Cold in the Sun
10.)  Stacked Actors
11.)  Walk
12.)  Monkey Wrench
13.)  Let it Die
14.)  These Days
15.)  Skin and Bones (w/ Krist Novoselic)
16.)  This is a Call
17.)  In The Flesh (Pink Floyd Cover)
18.)  All My Life

Encore:
19.)  Long Road to Ruin (Acoustic)
20.)  Best of You (Acoustic)
21.)  Times Like These (Acoustic)
22.)  Dear Rosemary
23.)  Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Cover)
24.)  Everlong

Joseph Bishara is the composer for films like “Insidious” and the upcoming “11-11-11”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Joseph about working in the horror genre and about his recent projects.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about what was your inspiration for working on “Insidious”, which is one of the creepiest score since “Halloween”?
Joseph Bishara: Well thank you for that, “Halloween” is quite high company to be held in.
The inspiration for the film really came from the film itself – those were the things I was hearing when looking into the world. James and I talked about some harsh string sounds, extreme dynamics, and I know Leigh sometimes writes with music in mind – but when it comes down it I try not to reference existing music. I wrote a lot and recorded some before the film was even shot, started from the script and was giving James music to edit to early on.

MG: You also have a role in that film as the Lipstick-Face Demon, tell us about that as well?
JB: Yes, James also asked me to be the demon. I had the build he had in mind, already shaved my head, and the temperament to sit in makeup for 5 hours a day. I went in and took a series of pictures with Aaron Sims, who designed the demon over the images. Spent a fair bit of time learning to walk in the hooves, which were built onto 9″ platform heels and strapped to my legs. It was very physical, just standing upright required being fully engaged. I was pretty beat up by the end, but absolutely worth it.

MG: Tell us about working with Dante Tomaselli on his latest film “Torture Chamber”?together
JB: Working with Dante for me is a totally free process in that I just read the script, respond musically and send it off to him.I haven’t seen a single scene; only some stills. He makes music himself, and works with a couple of other composers, then edits it all into a ‘soup’. I do look forward to seeing the film though.

MG: You are currently working on “11-11-11” with Darren Lynn Bousman, tell us the sound that you are creating for this score?
JB: “11-11-11” was written for flute, clarinet, cello and a chorus of voices. Worked with writing and translating Sumerian chants… there’s darkness and devils within.

MG: How are you planning to top your score for “Insidious”, which set the bar high?
JB: Thank you again, I don’t really see it in terms of topping things. I see each world of every project as a different sounding place – they all, even in subtle ways feel different to me.

MG: You also worked with him on “Repo! The Genetic Opera”, tell us about that experience?
JB: “Repo” was dense, a ton of music to keep track of through various stages. Projects like that really don’t come around often, so out of the box as to be completely polarizing… love it or hate it, it’s different. Just to get to work with that many great musicians was such a reward in itself.

MG: How was it getting to work with master horror director and composer, John Carpenter on “Ghosts of Mars” & “Masters of Horror: Pro-Life”?
JB: John is awesome. I was very excited to just get to meet him, but yeah… got a call to come by the studio and a couple of days later was working away. He seemed to be enjoying the process at that point, to be able to sit back and just listen to and make music… very relaxed in the studio. On “Pro-Life”, he asked me to mix his son Cody’s score… again, very relaxed and enjoyable. One of our cooler filmmakers for sure… no bullshit is a great understatement.

MG: Your work is primarily in the horror genre, is that where you feel the most comfortable?
JB: Yes, I’ve always loved the genre, and it seems a good fit for what sounds most natural to me. Certainly darker genre are the films I’m most interested in as a viewer.

MG: After “11-11-11”, what are you planning on working on next?
JB: Have a handful of projects in different stages, not sure which happen next.

9101 International Drive – Suite 2310 – Pointe Orlando
Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: 407-480-5233
Running Time: 90 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When you come to an Eddie Griffin show, you can easily expect your ass off. That was exactly the case with this show as well and nothing was safe relationships, politics or religions. What I like most about Eddie Griffin, which you can read in our interview with him, is that he doesn’t prepare much for his show. When he gets out on stage he just goes with the flow and speaks whatever is on him mind. He also says what everyone is thinking and no one is saying.  Some topics are edgy and controversial but he proves he is a smart guy and backs up what he is saying but also throws the funny twist in there. He is very engaging with the audience and pokes a little fun but all in good intentions.

Throughout our show, Eddie was enjoying his French champagne very much, which probably caused him to run about 30 minutes over his allotted time. Either way the audience loved it and he made it clear that this is his last stand-up tour (hopefully not forever), so it was no holds barred. In my eyes, I did feel though that the last 30 minutes dragged a little due to it being more audience based and less content based, but overall the show was very entertaining and packed with non-stops laughs.  If I have another opportunity to catch a show I will be there in the drop of a hat.

Joe Altier is the former front man of the Syracuse based hard rock band Brand New Sin. Joe has a new group called Elephant Mountain which features former Brand new Sin guitar player Brian “Slider” Azzoto. The group has just released their first CD and Joe took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with Media Mikes about the release.

Adam Lawton: What led to your decision of leaving Brand New Sin?
Joe Altier: There were a lot of reasons for me leaving Brand New Sin but without a long winded answer I was unhappy not just with my position in the band, but with myself in life. A lot had happened in 2007 leading up to my departure good, bad and, ugly. Basically I hit a turning point where I was re evaluating my life. I decided the best thing was to leave the band and let them move forward. I needed to fall in love again with myself and with music.

AL: What was it like writing songs again with Brian “Slider” Azzoto?
JA: Writing with Slider again was surreal. He was my compadre in Brand New Sin and when we kicked him out, I felt I lost a little bit of myself. He and I didn’t talk for a few years but after reconnecting and becoming friends again, I knew that we would eventually work together again. Next thing I know we start jamming again and we picked up right where we left off. We have a great bond not only as friends but as songwriters as well.

AL: Was there any reason you guys decided to release the Elephant Mountain album independently?
JA: We decided to do it on our own because honestly there are no record labels anymore. It was nice to write at our own pace and with no outside influences or deadlines. Also who is going to sign a bunch of guys pushing 40! (Laughs) We had the means to record and release it ourselves so we did! We won’t ever do any extensive touring with Elephant Mountain but we just want to make good music and have fun.

AL: Do you have a favorite track off the new album?
JA: My favorite track off the Elephant Mountain album is “Pray”. That song was written about my late father and the traumatic events of the day he passed. That song is the most soulful, personal song I have ever written.

AL: Can you tell us about your other two projects Just Joe and Aylyst?
JA: Aylyst which is my cover band that plays mostly classic rock and heavy metal tunes. That project really kept my chops up while I was waiting for Elephant Mountain. As of right now it is on hiatus as I have been busy with Elephant Mountain and Just Joe. Just Joe is what keeps me the busiest these days. I am playing 4-5 days a week with a song catalog of close to 2000 songs which range from Frank Sinatra to Metallica! Just Joe also is an outlet for my “lighter side”, “country side”, “soulful side” and so on. I have released an EP and a full length in the past year and am working on another EP and album as we speak!

AL: 2000 songs is a lot of songs.
JA: I am busting with songs! Some of them were written over the past 10 years and were never used in Brand New Sin or they were something I just kept to myself. I live, breathe and eat music!

AL: Other upcoming projects or plans?
JA: Well I play to release a Just Joe EP at Christmas time and a full length album by summer of 2012. Elephant Mountain is knee deep in writing a new album and we have about 5 songs written far. We probably will finish writing and recording that over the winter and release that in 2012 as well!

To find out more about Joe Altier and to hear some of his music click on the links below. Also be sure to read our review of Elephant Mountain’s debut release, here:

Charlie Benante is the drummer for the legendary thrash metal band Anthrax. The band just released their newest studio album titled “Worship Music” which is the first Anthrax album to feature singer Joey Belladonna since the bands 1990 release “Persistence of Time”. Media Mikes caught up with Charlie after the bands performance at the Big 4 concert held at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Adam Lawton: What was your first response when it was announced you and the band would be playing at Yankee stadium as part of the Big 4?
Charlie Benante: (Laughs) I was like “Oh my god! We are playing Yankee Stadium!” We have a couple really huge Yankee fans in the band so it was just awesome. The anticipation leading up to the show was crazy. It felt like we waited a year to do the show and then all of a sudden it was here. Then it was like “Oh Shit! It just happened”.

AL: Will the set you guys played tonight be the same one you will be playing on your upcoming tour?
CB: The set we played tonight was just something we sort of threw together. We sort of screwed up as we had a little bit more time to play today but didn’t. I think we had about 5 extra minutes.

AL: Do you have a favorite track off the new album “Worship Music”?
CB: It’s hard to pick one of them. Each track brings back different moments and moods so it’s hard to pick just one. However if I had to pick a song based on today I would probably pick “Judas Priest”. Yesterday I was feeling the song “In the End”. Day by day it just depends on what my mood is and what that song represents to me.

AL: Do you have a favorite song that you guys don’t play live but would like to?
CB: Oh Yeah! There is a song off the album “Spreading the Disease” called “Long Justice” that fans just love. It’s seems like every time we try and play that song live it just doesn’t work. It’s a tricky song. There always are songs on a record that people want to hear live but then when you do try it, it just doesn’t seem to work.

AL: I happen to be from the Ithaca, NY area where you guys worked a lot early in your career with producer Alex Perialas. Can you tell us what that was like?
CB: Our experiences there were all great! We built a lot of great relationships there. I haven’t seen Alex in a long time and I wish I have. He is an awesome guy and I learned a lot from him Alex is one of those true real people! Alex is a great guy.

AL: Other than the tour is there anything else planned for you guys?
CB: This week has been a crazy world wind with the album release and the show tonight. We have been just enjoying everything. The tour starts and runs Oct/Nov. and we are just looking for feedback from fans and how they are enjoying this. I am really just enjoying this ride.

For more info on Charlie and Anthrax head over to www.anthrax.com also be sure to check out our review of the band’s latest release “Worship Music” as well as our coverage of the Anthrax from “The Big 4”.

The Big 4 Yankee Stadium
Date: Wednesday, September 13^th 2011
Venue: Yankees Stadium, the Bronx, NY

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The most anticipated concert on the east coast in quite some time took place Wednesday, September 13^th in the most unlikely of places. The newly built Yankee Stadium located in The Bronx borough of New York City played host to an announced crowd of 41,454 rabid metal fans who turned out to see The Big 4 which consists of Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica. The concert was a one off show put on by the New York Yankees organization and for each band it was the first time the 4 legends of thrash had shared a stage on the east coast and, only the 2^nd time the bands have played together in the United States. The Big 4 had previously played several large shows overseas in the spring of 2010 before rejoining on April 23^rd 2001 for a performance in Indio, California. That concert marked the first time the 4 had ever played together in the U.S. In July of 2011 the 4 bands once again flew overseas to perform 5 shows that included a stop at the famous Knebworth Sonisphere festival in the UK.

Growing up with these 4 bands on my bedroom walls it was only natural that I immediately freak out when it was announced that they were touring together. Even though I would have to wait over a year before they reached a venue that was feasible for me to attend it was worth the wait. Though the concert was held mid week it did not deter fans who like myself had waited so long for something like this. Anticipation was high as the thousands of fans waiting to get into the stadium at 2pm slowly made their way through the gates as security was fairly heightened due to the nature of the event. As fans were still filling the massive stadium Anthrax took the stage at 4pm capping off the bands 3 day world wind sweep of the NY area as the Bronx based band was honored with September 14^th being marked as “Anthrax Day”. The announcement corresponded with the band’s latest studio release “Worship Music”. Clad in pinstriped Anthrax jerseys the band opened with their newest single titled “Fight ‘Em Till you Can’t” which led into classic tracks such as “Madhouse”, Anti-Social” and closing out with “I Am The Law”. The band was tighter than ever and each member was at the top of their game. After speculation and announcements related to Megadeth’s participation or lack thereof in the concert Dave Mustain and the rest of Megadeth took to the stage and unleashed a variety of classic tunes sprinkled with newer tracks. The set also featured the song “Public Enemy #1” a song that will be featured on the bands upcoming November 1^st release titled “13”. Mustain did make a statement to the crowd that despite being advised by Doctors not to play because of a neck injury requiring surgery the band was going to perform at their fullest. As promised the band ripped through songs like “Symphony of Destruction”, “Sweating Bullets” and “Peace Sells”. Slayer would take the stage next featuring Exodus guitarist Gary Holt who is still filling in for Jeff Hanneman who was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis back in February. The band delivered their take no prisoner’s attitude and provided very little banter to the almost capacity crowd who was worked into a frenzy by songs such as “South of Heaven”, “Raining Blood” and “Angel of Death” which closed out the bands set. Metallica would take the stage next and delivered the only way Metallica knows how.

The set featured something off almost all of the bands releases. Songs like “Fuel”, Sad but True” and “Cyanide” kicked off the night while setting the stage for songs like “Orion”, “One” and Yankee closer Mariano Rivera’s entrance song “Enter Sandman”. The crowd was a captive audience and upon demand recited every word Metallica front man James Hetfield requested. As with previous Big 4 shows all of the bands who played returned to the stage for a jam session/song. This nights show featured the Motorhead classic “Overkill” and despite a few noted absences by Tom Araya of Slayer and Dave Mustain of Megadeth the jam was phenomenal and was highlighted buy each drummer taking a turn behind Lars Ulrich’s kit to play a verse of the song. Before leaving the stage for the final time Metallica belted out their classic song “Seek and Destroy” which brought a close to a night made in metal history.

Being at the Big 4 will definitely be a highlight of my concert going experiences. The lineup alone is one that probably won’t ever be topped for me. Though I felt that some of the performances were a touch bland and scripted the show was still great. I think the Yankees really made a great move bringing the Big 4 to the NY area and despite fears of riots the organization hung in there and did not pull out of the event. The stadium proved to be a great venue for a concert as it provided a variety of amenities your standard venues just do not have. Surprisingly the sound of the bands playing in a venue not designed for music in my opinion sounded amazing. Though the talks of there ever being another Big 4 event are almost non-existent the event held on September 14^th 2011 would be a great one top of the touring history of the Big 4.

Steve Hackett
“Beyond the Shrouded Horizon”
Inside Out Music
Producer: Steve Hackett/Roger King
Tracks: 13

Our Score: 3 out of 5

“Beyond the Shrouded Horizon” is the latest release from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Hackett. Hackett a former member of the group Genesis has been releasing solo albums since before his departure from the group in 1977. “Beyond the Shrouded Horizon” will be Steve’s 20^th solo studio album. The album is being released by Inside Out Music and features an array of sounds and special guest appearance by peoples such as Chris Squire and Simon Phillips. The album features 13 new tracks and is the follow up release to Hackett’s 2009 release “Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth”.

“Beyond the Shrouded Horizon” is a very detailed album. Hackett’s playing on the 13 tracks contained within the album is very refined and spot on. Though the songs all feature vast arrangements with a variety of instruments I was drawn instantly to the guitars. Tracks like “The Phoenix Flown” and “Catwalk” a very sleazy feeling type song with a great solid groove are just a couple gems found on “Beyond the Shrouded Horizon”. Though the albums tracks may have a little too much going on for casual listeners the album is still a pretty good listen

Track Listing:
1.)    Loch Lomond
2.)    The Phoenix Flown
3.)    Wanderlust
4.)    Til These Eyes
5.)    Prairie Angel
6.)    A Place Called Freedom
7.)    Between the Sunset and the Coconut Palms
8.)    Waking the Life
9.)    Two Faces of Cairo
10.)  Looking for Fantasy
11.)  Summers Breath
12.)  Catwalk
13.) Turn This Island Earth

Paul DeGeorge and his brother Joe started the band Harry and the Potter in 2002. Since that time the duo have been the subject of a documentary titled “We Are Wizards” a film that delves into the impact of the Harry Potter book series on its fans. The group has also been credited with the creation of “Wizard Rock”. Media Mikes had a chance recently to talk with Paul about a variety of things related to the band.

Adam Lawton: What led you to starting Harry and the Potters?
Paul DeGeorge: It kind of started with reading the books. My brother and sort of pop culture at large turned me onto the books. I just thought there was something about the Harry Potter character that was similar to some of my punk rock heroes. I figured it would be cool if Harry had his own punk rock band.

AL: Can you tell us what some of those influences were?
PD: I would say as far as punk rock goes Fugazi as well as Adam and his Package were both real big influences. The thing about Adam and his Package was that they played really fun and goofy punk rock songs that were also smart. I remember being in college reading their tour diaries which made it sound like anyone could get out on the road and have a band.

AL: How did you guys get involved with the “We Are Wizards” documentary?
PD: We had received an email from the directors of the film telling us that they were interested in us being a part of a film they were planning that was going to talk about Harry Potter fans and different theories and phenomena’s related to Harry Potter. We said sure we would be interested and then one day they showed up to film us at our parents house.

AL: How was your experience with the filming?
PD: It was fun! Every two or three months the guys would pop up at a show or something and start shooting. As with most documentaries they use only a small portion of what they shoot. They shot some of our coolest shows ever played and I wish I could see some of the footage. I remember they were at one show in Brooklyn and it was a bigger show at a newer venue. At night I guess it’s a pretty intense place so they had their normal security crew there who were these huge dudes. These guys were patting down every 12 year old that was trying to get into the show. It started to freak everyone out so we moved the show to the space next door and it was really great. The place we had the show at now has shows pretty regular and is called Death by Audio.

AL: What is your take on being dubbed the originators of “Wizard Rock”?
PD: I guess we were in the right place and right time. (Laughs) We didn’t set out with any purpose to create a genre. A lot of what our band is about fostering the DIY punk spirit of doing things for yourself.

AL: Other than the show you already mentioned are there any others that stick out?
PD: We are all about pushing the boundaries of what you would expect a concert to be. From the start we were trying to do rock shows in libraries. The library is already a safe all ages places for anyone to go to. No one gets turned away at the library. We don’t want people to be turned away from our shows and the library is that kind of space for us.

AL: Can you tell us about the Harry Potter Alliance?
PD: The idea behind the Harry Potter Alliance was to form a real world Dumbledore’s Army and become the heroes that we read about. The books are really empowering and tell the storey of teens who all stick together to help change the world. We wanted to use the premise of the books to get youth involved with social activism and social justice issues. We try to draw parallels out of the books and relate them to real social and political issues. One of the current campaigns we are working on is that we are trying to get Harry Potter fans to lobby Warner Brothers who control all the merchandising related to the films to make their Harry Potter chocolate fair trade chocolate. Chocolate is notorious for really bad working conditions especially along the Ivory Coast where about 2/3rds of the worlds chocolate comes from. The main idea behind the campaign is to educate Harry Potter fans about the fair trade issues. We also have the opportunity to use our power as Harry Potter fans to maybe affect change on a large corporate level. We can use our leverage as an organization to get our message into the press which will hopefully influence Warner Brothers to change their business practices. We really want to tryand use Harry Potter as a tool to create global citizenship.

AL: What other upcoming plans do you have for the band?
PD: We just finished a two month summer tour and we are going to take it easy during the fall. I think the biggest thing on the horizon for us as of right now is we are in the planning stages for our annual Christmas shows. We have been doing these shows for a few years now in our home base of Boston, MA. This year will be our 7^th annual Yule Ball in Boston. Last year we branched out to New York and Philadelphia which we plan to do again this year. We might possibly being do one other city but I can’t say too much about that just yet.

For more info on Harry and the Potters you can go to www.harryandthepotters.com