Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French talks about the bands new live DVD/CD and upcoming farewell shows.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: bands, dvdcd, farewell, french, jay, live, ...

The Interrupters Kevin Bivona talks about being a part of this years Vans Warped Tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, bivona, groups, interrupters, kevin, talks, ...

Teenage Bottlerocket’s Ray Carlisle talks about being out on Warped Tour 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: 2016, bottlerockets, carlisle, ray, talks, teenage, ...

Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider talks about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fames latest exhibit “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: dee, exhibit, fames, hall, latest, louder, ...

Hardcore legend Harley Flanagan talks about his debut solo album “Cro-Mags”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, cromags, debut, flanagan, hardcore, harley, ...

Guitarist Phil Sgrosso talks about his new band Poison Headache

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Related Content

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: band, guitarist, headache, phil, poison, sgrosso, ...

Corey Beaulieu of Trivium talks new album and Summer Festivals

Heavy Metal band Trivium released their 7th full length studio album titled “Silence in the Snow” in October of 2015. Since that time the band has been performing at a relentless pace playing to thousands and thousands of fans all across the world. As the summer tour months get closer and closer the band is showing no signs of slowing down. Media Mikes caught up with the bands co-guitarist Cory Beaulieu recently to discuss the latest album, the bands upcoming performance at the inaugural “Rock N’ Derby” event and his thoughts on the changing tour landscape here in the United States.

Adam Lawton: Now that “Silence in the Snow” has been for a few month how do you feel the reception has been not only from a sales stand point but also from live performance reception?

Corey Beaulieu: Every record we put out there is always this quick knee jerk reaction from various places that either love it or think it sucks. A lot of time people build up these expectations in their head of what a record is going to be and if it ends up being something different than they expected there tends to be a negative reaction. There are also people who take their time with a record and really digest it and take it for what it’s worth. A lot of people have come up to us and said they weren’t sure about the album at first but after giving it some time they really like it. The album has been doing great and gotten on radio in a big way. Because of that we have been able to reach new fans that didn’t know who we were. We also have been able to change radio’s perception of who they thought Trivium was. I think there were some out there that thought we were a death metal band from Sweden and weren’t too sure about playing our albums. After meeting us and hearing the new material they have jumped on board and this new exposure here in the States has been really great.

AL: From a player/band stand point is there anything you would want to go back and change about the album?

CB: We spent a lot of time honing in the songs for this album. We knew exactly what type of record we wanted to make and what songs we needed to write. We spent a lot of time jamming and feeling the songs out. We wanted everything to feel very smooth and natural. If something didn’t feel natural we would re-write it. We didn’t stop till every key point we wanted to achieve with the record was done. I don’t think there is anything we would want to change however when you reflect back on a record you look at it and pick out things that you may or may not want to do with the next record. This record is definitely a great step for us and how we plan to do the next one.

AL: How much of the new album has made its way into your live set thus far?

CB: We have been doing a lot of headlining on this album which has allowed us to have longer set times which has been great. So far in the set we have four or five new songs that we have played. We try and balance things out between the newer and older material. Our new drummer has been learning a lot of the older stuff that we haven’t performed in years so to add in some of that stuff along with the new material has been a lot of fun. Each show we have been changing the set list so it’s a little different each night. By doing this we have been able to play a lot more material and we keep working on other songs to add in to the set on different nights and for future tours. I think it would be a lot of fun to be able to play “Breath in the Flames” and “Rise Above the Tides” which are both off the new record so hopefully for the next U.S. run of shows we will be able to debut some of these.

AL: With each album release do you find it harder to fit new material into your sets due to fans wanting to hear a lot of your back catalog?

CB: It seems like every song we rotate in and out fits pretty well. We aren’t switching a real popular one with a more obscure one or anything like that. All of the swaps are pretty equal. I think each of the sets that we play is equally strong regardless. With the internet it seems after you do your first show fans can check out the set list and know what you are playing ahead of time. It’s cool being able to swap sets because people come in not knowing what we are going to be playing that night. That brings back the excitement of not knowing what’s going to be played and makes for a cool surprise. Also with our new drummer learning more and more of our back catalog and by us adding in stuff here and there people will see that we are trying to cover all of our history and by doing that we hope more people will come out to the shows and see what we bring. Every show is different and the excitement that fans want is there each night.

AL: What are your thoughts on the recent climate shift in touring here in the States where we are seeing less multi-city traveling festivals and more single city weekend festivals similar to what have been done in Europe for quite a long time now?

CB: There is definitely more of a Euro style going on as of late. Weekend destination festivals are a model that has worked in Europe for twenty plus years. Traveling festivals like Mayhem and Ozz-fest were great in that they helped break a lot of bands but a lot of those shows took place during the week when a lot of fans were working an unable to attend. With shows shifting to a more weekend based time frame more fans are able to attend. People fly in from all over for these types of shows. Festivals like “Rock on the Range”, “Knot-Fest” and “Rock N Derby” show that this type of model is working here and are very popular.

AL: Outside of the bands appearances at various festivals this summer what other plans does the band have?

CB: “Rock N’ Derby” is actually our last show on this run of shows. After that we have a little time off then we head over to Germany to start a Euro festival run that is four weeks of shows over there. After that we are taking some time off from touring but will be working on other band related work. After that we are looking to finalize a fall headlining tour that will start in September and run through October. There is also potential for us to hit some new territories in the winter months and then wrapping up the album cycle early next year with another possible European run. You never know what else may pop up in between now and then though.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, beaulieu, corey, festivals, summer, talks, ...

Greg Bell talks about working with Sirius/XM on Radio Classics

It was called “the theater of the mind.” Back before television families would huddle around their radio and listen to such popular shows as “Gunsmoke” or “Burns and Allen.” I still have fond memories as a young boy going to bed on Sunday nights and listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, drifting off to sleep while picturing the program’s action in my head.

I bought a Sirius/XM radio for my car because I love to listen to the music of the 1970s. But more often than not you’ll find me tooling down the road listening to a great old radio drama on Channel 148, hosted by Greg Bell. I recently had the opportunity to ask Greg some questions about his interest in Classic Radio and why it’s still so popular 50 years after the last program aired.

Mike Smith: Where did you develop your interest in the radio programs of the past?
Greg Bell: As I was born in the 1960s, I was too young to have listened to these shows when they originally played. What is often called “The Golden Age Of Radio” wrapped up in 1962, when CBS, the last network still playing weekly radio theater, ended that with the final episodes of “Suspense” and “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.” Personally I was always a fan of classic media, old films, TV shows and radio. I grew up listening to the revival radio shows including Himan Brown’s “CBS Radio Mystery Theater” in the 1970s and The Elliott Lewis led “Sears Radio Theater” in the late 70s and early 80s. And later I listened to “When Radio Was” during the Art Fleming and Stan Freberg era. The entire reason the XM (now Sirius XM) RadioClassics channel was created was to introduce all these wonderful shows to a whole new audience, who like myself, were not around when they originally aired. Great storytelling is truly timeless, and these shows prove that.

MS: How did the gig at Sirius come about?
GB: In December of 2001, I was hired at XM Satellite Radio in DC for the now-defunct USA Today channel (basically a radio version of the newspaper.) In the summer of 2002, they launched two new spoken word channels, Sonic Theater and RadioClassics. I was hired to run the classic radio channel, and was able to draw on my knowledge of classic films and television to also host the channel. XM merged with Sirius in 2008, and I was retained as the host of RadioClassics. And then following the retirement of Stan Freberg in 2006, I took over as the host of the syndicated series “When Radio Was” airing on approximately 200 radio stations across North America.

MS: You’ve hosted several radio themed cruises. What all do they entail?
GB: What a blast! We are currently preparing for the Fourth Annual Radio Spirits sponsored sea cruise: www.cruisingwithgregbell.com The first three were tremendous successes. While at sea we re-create both classic and original radio plays live on stage with the fans as the actors as well as handling the sound effects also created live. We also have old time radio trivia, show discussions, listening parties, gift bags, and perhaps most importantly it’s a place where I lot of folks, from all over the nation, who love the same stuff (classic radio theater) can meet.

MS: What are some of your favorite radio programs?
GB: Only way to answer that is to break it down by genre:

Comedies: Jack Benny is the king, but for great chemistry and timeless humor; my favorite is “The Phil Harris & Alice Faye Program.” Harris and Elliott Lewis as his pal, Frankie Remley were Cramden and Norton before the “Honeymooners” came along.

The top thriller and mystery series: For me they are “Suspense” and “The Whistler.” Both had tremendous storytelling and featured different themes each week, so it might be a murder mystery one week, science fiction the next and so on.

Police dramas: “Dragnet” was a radio show first and is very well done, but I also recommend “Broadway Is My Beat” (follows NYPD detective Danny Clover) and “The Lineup.”

The Westerns; sure everyone remembers “The Lone Ranger,” “Hopalong Cassidy” and “Red Ryder,” and they are entertaining but were targeted for younger listeners. So my favorites are “The Six-Shooter” (with Jimmy Stewart), “Fort Laramie” (featuring future “Perry Mason” star Raymond Burr) and “Gunsmoke.” Radio’s “Gunsmoke” which debuted three years before the TV version, is easily the best of the bunch. With a whole different cast (William Conrad was the voice of Marshall Dillon) “Gunsmoke” was much more than a western. The writers tackled issues of the 1950s like racism, xenophobia, domestic abuse, etc while setting the stories in the late 19th Century American West.

MS: Why do you think the medium is still popular?
GB: As I said earlier, great storytelling is truly timeless!

MS: With the popularity of satellite radio growing, do you think that radio dramas/comedies could return? Maybe “Screen Directors Playhouse presents ‘Jaws’?”
GB: It’s already here; there are tons of modern radio theater groups all over the country performing both classic and original scripts, so it’s truly alive and well.

MS: Do you have any new programs coming to the channel this year?
GB: There will always be series that our exclusive content provider, Radio Spirits, is able to get legal broadcasting rights to air and/or have digitally restored and prepped for satellite radio, plus they periodically supply us with more “new to the channel” episodes from series we currently feature.

For a list of the weekly shows, click here http://www.siriusxm.com/radioclassics/weeklyschedule

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: bell, classics, greg, radio, siriusxm, talks, ...

Bella D. talks about her new album titled “The Crystal Ceiling”

Bella D. pushes the boundaries of artistic hard rock with a unique signature blend of operatic vocals and intricate steampunk themed storytelling. This blend of interesting styles can be heard on Bella D’s new album titled “The Crystal Ceiling” which will be released on May 13th. Media Mikes had the pleasure of speaking with Bella D. recently about the albums creation, her partnership with drummer Charlie Zeleny and her plans for upcoming live performances.

Ryan Albro: How did you and Charlie Zeleny come together to work on this project?

Bella D.: Charlie went to high School together but we didn’t really know each other. We just saw each other in the hallway kind of thing. We actually met in college as we had a class together and that’s where our friendship started. I did a lot of theater at the time and I got him a lot of jobs as a theater music and stuff. He and I worked in together a lot and then we parted ways for a little while his career went 1 way and my career went another way. When I got the wild hair to finally do this album I knew I really needed a partner to help me with it. It was one of these things where the album became so big that there was no way I was going to be able to do this by myself. After talking with Charlie he asked me to do a video with him which got us back in touch with each other. I told him the idea about the album and he said he might be interested, Charlie wanted to see if we could write a song together before we invested a lot of time in the project so that’s what we did first. We sat down and wrote one song which went very quickly. From there we tried another and so on. All of a sudden things just exploded and the album literally started to take on a life of its own.

RA: Where did the idea for the dystopian, steampunk theme come from?

BD: It came from me. Charlie’s alter ego is very cyberpunk but I have always been very theatrical and I have always been in love with the Victorian age. I wound up discovering steampunk and fell in love with the idea of a very modern world, with modern objects that are all run by clockwork, steam power. There is something very romantic and badass about it at the same time. Steampunk started off as kind of very small niche and now you are starting to see it a lot more.

RA: The majority of great song lyrics generally can be traced back to writers telling very personal stories in the form of song. What was it like for you to tell not only your own incredible story, but to shape it into a hard rock, steampunk fueled album?

BD: Charlie and I worked very closely together on this album. The album is made up of a lot of my experiences which at times was very emotional for me. We all go through these moments where we feel like we’re beaten up, either by life or just by every day conflict. We are all beaten up and we are all fighting against something and the album sort of reflects that battle. It is one of these things that you have to go into full force and swing that sword, shoot the gun, whatever genre you’re fighting whether its fantasy or steampunk or modern cyberpunk. That is the general feel of it. I have gone through a couple really rough patches in life and I really drew from that. That’s where the story came from.

RA: How did you going about selecting the musicians who appeared on the album?

BD: That all comes down to Charlie. I always joke that he has got this little black book, not of women, but of every musician he has ever worked with. I think it rivals the New York City phonebook. He has had a fantastic career and is really amazing at what he does so because of that he has been able to build up some great connections with all of these artists. Charlie reached out to everyone with the idea of what we were doing and they were like that’s insane, I want in. That’s basically all that happened and the even crazier thing is that none of these artists were in the same room with each other at any time. This was all done digitally. Charlie would plug the performances into pro-tools and tweak little things here and there to make everything sound fantastic.

RA: What can you share about the comic book series that’s coming out with the album?

BD: Basically the music and the story coincide with one other. When we wrote the concept album I wrote the lyrics with a story in mind but not in such a way that you’re going to sit down a listen to a recording of a musical. This is a concept album and each song stands on its own 100% but, if somebody really wanted to sit down and listen and actually enjoy the whole concept of it they could. I really wanted to be able to tell my vision with this album. Being a huge comic book fan and knowing how popular comics are right now it made perfect sense to make this something that if people want to know what was going on story wise in the music they could follow along in the book. I worked with a really great artist who I think captured the first portion of the story quite well.

RA: What do you want listeners to take away from the album and your story?

BD: I think the biggest lesson I’d love people to take away from this is an understanding that we all have been there, we all have been that person who’s been struggling and feeling like the world is literally falling apart around them. The biggest message is that you can make it through, but you have to work at it, you have to pick yourself up, you have to have those moments of “yeah this stuff is horrible” but I’m still going, I’m still alive, I’m still breathing and today I’m going to kick its ass.

RA: What are some of the plans you have for live performances of the material?

BD: We are doing a release party at Carroll Place in New York City on May 19th. As far as live performances past that we don’t have anything locked in yet. I am working on getting into Comic Con as I would love to perform there, especially since I am releasing a comic along with the album. We also have two lyrics videos being released online soon and also a full production video of another song. That’s all in the can ready to go, it looks fantastic, we’re just waiting for the release date.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, bella, ceiling, crystal, talks, titled, ...

Guitarist Paul Gilbert talks about Great Guitar Escape 3.0

Paul Gilbert is probably best known as the guitarist/co-founder of the rock group Mr. Big a band who dominated the airwaves in 1991 with their acoustic ballad “To Be With You”. After the group broke up in 1996 Gilbert embarked on a solo career while also performing in numerous other side projects and groups. Paul recently announced the 3rd installment of his “Great Guitar Escape” which is set for late July. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Paul recently about the upcoming event and what those who attend can expect.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the recently announced Great Guitar Escape 3.0?

Paul Gilbert: It’s the most fantastic, inspirational and unforgettable guitar event of all time! There will be concerts every night, Seminars every day and lots of opportunities to jam. It’s just going to be great mix of good food, the California coast, and great times with people who love the guitar.

AL: With this being the camps 3rd yr are there things you have planned which weren’t possible during the camps previous 2 sessions?

PG: The first two Great Guitar Escapes were both really great, so I don’t want to make any drastic changes. The biggest difference would be the location. The Cambria Pines Lodge is about halfway between L.A. and San Francisco, so it’s an easy drive for people who live in California. But for the last two camps, I had people fly in from South America and Russia, so I know that nothing will hold back guitar players who really want to rock.

AL: Can you tell us a little bit about this year’s guest counselors and how you went

PG: Andy Timmons and Bruce Bouillet are both incredible guitarists that I’ve spent a lot of time with. Bruce and I played together in the band, Racer X, and Bruce toured in my band when I did Joe Satriani’s G3 tour. He’s a monster player, and a great teacher. Andy is an Ibanez endorser like me, so we’ve played together at a lot of Ibanez events, and of course, Andy was at my last Great Guitar Escape camp. He’s one of my favorite guys in the world to jam with. He’s somehow intimidating and generous at the same time. I’ve met Kiko Loureiro several times over the years, and he’s always been super cool. He can play a lot of different styles, but I’m happy that he’s getting a taste of big gigs with Megadeth. Dave Ellefson, who plays bass with Megadeth, is from my generation of musicians, so he’ll have a head start on the songs that I’ll be playing in the jams. And Bumblefoot has a reputation for being creative and surprising… and still rocking hard, so I’m excited to finally get to jam with him.

AL: Is this camp designed for all level of players or is it geared more towards advanced players?

PG: The GGE is good for anyone who wants to get motivated. You can sit back and enjoy the concerts and seminars, or you can plug in and join the jams. We’re all there, in person, so I like to be flexible enough to work with anything that people are interested in. Also, my idea of “advanced” has really changed over the years. To me, an advanced musician is not necessarily somebody who can play fast or complicated, but just a person who can sound really good. I could talk about this sort of thing for the next 10 hours, so I’d better save it for the camp!

AL: As we start to see more and more interactive camps taking place how do you go about keeping things fresh and making your camp stand out above others?

PG: There are some musicians who are best known for what they do visually. They’ve got the best leather jacket, the most explosions in their stage production, or just an astounding number of consecutive good-hair days. I’ve got legendary musicians at my camp, but they are legendary for the way that they play. And they’re good people. No bodyguards or attitudes. Just a great time being immersed in music, and the guitar.

AL: What other projects are you currently working on outside of Guitar Escape 3.0?

PG: I’ve got a new solo album coming out soon called, “I Can Destroy.” Kevin Shirley produced it, and it turned out great. The opening track is called, “Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal,” and I think I might actually save a few lives, if people heed the message of this song. I’m also nearing my fourth year with my online rock guitar school for Artistworks. I’ve recorded nearly 4000 Video Exchange lessons, and I’m still having a great time, so I’m going to keep going. And later this year, I’ll be going on tour with my solo band to play my new songs, and my favorite songs from my previous albums. Life continues to rock!

For more info on Paul’s Great Guitar Escape 3.0 you can visit http://greatguitarescape.com

 

Related Content

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: 30, escape, gilbert, great, guitar, guitarist, ...

Director Jon Cassar Talks About His New Film, “Forsaken” and the Possible Return of “24”

You may know the name Jon Cassar from his Emmy Award winning association with the popular television series, “24.” But when he’s not putting Jack Bauer through his paces, he’s taking the reigns of one of the best Westerns of the past decade.

“Forsaken,” which Mr. Cassar directed, boasts a strong script and an even stronger cast, including Donald and Keifer Sutherland, who star as father and son. Mr. Cassar took some time out to talk to me about “Forsaken,” the return of the Kennedys and what may be next for “24.”

MIKE SMITH: What attracted you to “Forsaken?”
JON CASSAR: Actually I was there when the project was born. A few of us were sitting around on the set of “24” talking, waiting to set up a shot when we started asking each other, ‘what would be a great thing to do once “24” ends?’ Eventually we all decided, ‘let’s do a Western together.’ So that’s really where it started. Once we decided on that Keifer came along. He wanted to do a film with his father so everything just worked. I’m happy to say that I was there at the inception. We got a brilliant writer (Brad Mirman) who not only wrote us a classic Western but also a touching father/son story. So by then I had Keifer, I had a great script and THEN I get Donald Sutherland? There’s no way I wasn’t going to be involved!

MS: Any trepidations about taking on a Western? They seem to be so hit and miss these days.
JC: Yeah, of course. I mean you do worry about it. I mean at one point it was the most popular film genre’. The most popular television genre’ also. I mean, it’s amazing how many popular television shows were Westerns. But it did, of course, begin to fall out of favor, all though it is making a little bitty comeback over the past few months. But you’re right. But I knew I had a great Western story. And I knew I had a great father/son story that people could connect with. I knew that relationship was really the heart of it and if we did it right I knew if would connect. And it’s fun doing something that isn’t a true CGI film. It’s fun doing something where the effects are more simple.

MS: What was it like as an observer to watch Keifer and his father work together?
JC: It was great. I’m very fortunate to have had a front row seat to watch Keifer and Donald working together. From the first time it was fantastic. They are both veteran actors and, in my opinion, two of the best actors of our time. To watch them work together was a pleasure. As it was watching all of the actors. Demi Moore. Brian Cox. Michael Wincott. They are all so experienced. I was very lucky to have a front row seat and watch them work.

MS: Keifer. Michael Wincott. Greg Ellis. You used quite a few of your “24” company in the film. Was that because you already had a good familiarity with them and their work?
JC: Absolutely. First of all, you have to know that all of the actors in the film were basically my friends. I didn’t have a studio dictating who was going to play what part. We actually got to pick who we liked. A lot of them were Keifer’s friends. And of course, by having done “24,” they knew me so it made the connection easier for sure.

MS; The recent return of “24” was very successful. I’ve heard rumors that Fox is considering re-booting the show. Is that something you plan to be involved with?
JC: Nothing is official yet. I am involved and we have talked. I can say that if it goes forward I won’t be involved in the pilot but I do hope to be involved in the series. However, at this point I’m not.

MS: What else are you working on now?
JC: A few years ago I did a mini-series called “The Kennedys,” which was an eight-part mini-series that starred Greg Kinnear as JFK and Katie Holmes as Jackie. We’re doing a sequel to that, called “After Camelot,” based on a book. It will deal with what happened to the Kennedys after John and Robert died. It’s mostly the Jackie story and it follow her during her marriage to Onassis as well as John Jr. and Ted Kennedy. It will encompass all of that history. We shoot that soon in Toronto. It will run on the Reelz Channel. It’s actually a fun project for me to do because we’re re-creating all of the history that we all grew up with.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: 24, cassar, director, film, foresaken, jon, ...

Chantel Riley Talks About Broadway’s “The Lion King” and Her Role in the New Film “Race”

Born in Toronto, Chantel Riley’s path to stardom began when she realized she wasn’t doing what she truly wanted in her life. She is now. Since 2012 she has starred as Nala in the Broadway musical “The Lion King” and last year was able to take time off from the show to begin her movie career with a pivotal role in the new Jesse Owens bio-film RACE.

During a break in her busy schedule, Ms. Riley took the time to speak with me about the physicality of “The Lion King,” her role in RACE and why one day she hopes to be able to “ease on down the road!”

MIKE SMITH: Tell us a little bit about your background? How did you end up on Broadway?
CHANTEL RILEY: I’m originally from Toronto and I went to University in Toronto. After school I pretty much got a 9-5 job but after about a year and a half I realized it definitely wasn’t my thing. (laughs) Because I was a performer. I had taken dance lessons and I had grown up singing in my church. I just had an idea that something else was out there for me. I had no idea what it was but I knew I needed a change. A friend of mine told me about an open casting call they were having in Toronto for “The Lion King.” I had never auditioned for anything before in my life. This was my first time doing anything like this. So I went to the audition and got a few callbacks, which was very exciting. I had a couple well extended lunch breaks…I kept having to go downtown for these callbacks. A couple months later I got a call from my agent and they wanted me to audition to be part of the cast of “The Lion King” in Germany. So I flew to Germany, did the audition and booked the job on the spot. I did the show there for about a year and then I auditioned again for Julie Taymor, who directed “The Lion King” on Broadway, and was offered the role of Nala in New York on the Broadway stage. And here I am!

MS: So basically you’re just like Shirley Jones…you just show up and you’re on Broadway!
CR: (laughing) Exactly!

MS: You’ve portrayed Nala for quite a while now. Do you have to prepare anything special for yourself to keep the performance fresh? I can imagine doing the same thing 8 shows a week for a couple of years might get boring after awhile.
CR: Yes I do. I keep occupied by taking classes and making short films. These things keep me thinking outside the box. I also use what I learn from the classes and the films and bring it with me on the stage. It gives me a new sense at how I look at each performance every night. And this also gives me the chance to try something new. Every night we have a new audience. So it’s a great way for me to try new techniques and to find different ways of performing.

MS: I’ve never seen the show on Broadway but I’ve seen photos and the occasional video clip. It’s a lot more than just standing on a stage and singing. Is the show more difficult physically as opposed to musically?
CR: The show is very physical. We’re constantly on stage and we play lions and zebras and other animals. My role has me constantly running around. If Nala isn’t jumping on-stage she’s jumping off-stage. There’s a lot of activity. AND singing. I sing two songs in the show. We sing live and the dancers are moving non-stop. So it is a very physical show.

MS: You have an important role in the upcoming film RACE. What is your character’s relationship to Jesse Owens in the film?
CR: Quincella Nickerson was someone who was very close to Jesse Owens. She was not only his friend but a huge fan of his. She was a socialite whose father owned a huge insurance company in California. At that time that was pretty huge…that an African-American could be that affluent. She spent a lot of time with Jesse…attending parties and things. There were rumors going around that she and Jesse were engaged to be married. They spent a lot of time together. So we see a lot of that in the film…a lot of her in the film.

MS: If you could play one role on Broadway, either current or a show from the past, what would it be?
CR: Definitely Dorothy from “The Wiz.” I think that would be such a fun role. It would be so exciting. And it’s such fun music. That would be so much fun!

MS: What do you have coming up next?
CR: I’m working on a new short film with James Brown-Orleans, a fellow cast member from “The Lion King.” We’ve done a lot of short films together. Our most recent film, “Teacher’s Nightmare,” just won the Wendy’s International Short Film Award for Best Drama. That’s pretty cool.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Art/Theatre, Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: broadways, chantel, film, king, lion, race, ...

Anvil’s Steve “Lips” Kudlow talks about the album “Anvil is Anvil”

Steve “Lips” Kudlow is the lead singer and guitar player for the band Anvil. After a period of mainstream obscurity the band was thrust back into the spotlight due to the award winning documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”. The group’s 16th and latest studio album “Anvil is Anvil” comes out at the end of February and Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Lips recently about the album’s release.

Adam Lawton: Tell us about the new albums opening track “Daggers and Rum”

Steve Kudlow: I got a call from this guy to be a pirate in a play he was putting together. I thought it sounded like fun so I said sure. He cast me in the role of Captain Snarls and also asked if I could write a song to go along with the play. I ended up becoming super inspired and started writing. I had the music already and was trying to come up with a title. At first I was thinking “Swords and Tequila” (laughs). I knew that wasn’t going to work so I started to think about what I associated with pirates. The first thing I thought was rum, and then I thought about what they used as weapons. That’s sort of how the title came about. I did some more research on pirate music and what are called “shanties” which originated from musical plays. It was sort of mind blowing that I was being asked to make up my own shanty for this play. It was all pretty cool. The song really sounds like it came from a musical play.

AL: Was this one of the first songs you ended up writing for the album?

SK: Yes it actually was. It was the first song I had lyrics for. I had probably written a couple others at the same time and musically this was I think number 3 or 4. In the studio we called all the songs by their numbers and this one was done really early. Despite it being 3rd musically it was the first completed. Interesting enough song 2 as it was known as was actually one of the last ones to be finished.

AL: The album has 12 tracks listed but a 13th track is included as a bonus on some versions. Can you tell us about that?

SK: Truth be told there is no such thing as bonus tracks. We recorded 13 tracks and all 13 tracks are going to be released eventually. Considering 99% of people listen to music free on the internet these days there is really no such thing as bonus tracks because no matter what version of an album you may get it ends up out on the web for everyone. The “bonus” tracks were just additional tracks that needed to be separated for distribution purposes. We did one version of the album for people who pledged money towards its being made which of course is different from the one found in stores. By doing that we also were able to give the fans in Japan that additional pledge track. The Japan version of the album ended up being the pledge version and easily the most obscure.

AL: Do you guys have any special packaging or limited edition versions of the album planned for release?

SK: Most everything is going to be done in digi-packs. We also are going to be releasing the album in a clear double vinyl format which is going to be really cool. What’s great about the vinyl is it will also come with a digital version of the album so fans can put the vinyl away as a collector’s piece.

AL: Being 16 albums in your career as a band how do you go about keeping things fresh and new from album to album?

SK: I don’t think that is something you consciously do. I don’t really think about it in those types of terms. For me it not about wondering how am I going to come up with something but more so how am I NOT going to come up with something. (Laughs) Every time I get to express myself it’s exciting. It’s a hell of a lot of fun to make new songs. You have to make it that way because if it’s not then the end result isn’t probably going to turn out very well. Just have to have fun with and not waste time. Working with Rob (Reiner) he always wants the next part and to be able to keep going so that’s what I mean by not wasting time.

AL: Do you and Rob have the same relationship now as you did when you first started the group in the late 70’s?

SK: Absolutely! Our relationship is actually the most magical aspect of all this. You end up meeting someone and you find out they think the same way as you. I compare it to when people finish each other’s sentences. With Rob and I we finish each other’s riffs. We grew up together and have listened to the same music our entire lives so we have the same mind set on things. We are very in-tune with one another.

AL: How has the addition of Chris Robertson on bass helped the bands dynamics?

SK: Chris has been with band for about 2 years now however this is his first time actually recording with us. We are really blessed to have Chris and things just fell into place with him. At the time when we needed a new bass player we weren’t really out there searching for someone. We had a tour coming up in 3 weeks and we needed someone pretty quick. We had our friend Sal Italiano come on board for the tour and after worked with him and Jon another friend of ours through the “Hope in Hell” album. When it came time to find someone again I asked my friend Jon if he knew any one. He suggested this guy Chris as he was the guy who taught Jon how to play all of our songs. Chris came in and just blew us away. Sal did another tour with us and we had Chris along as part of the road crew. When the tour ended we had a one off show in Germany that we still had to do so I called Sal to confirm everything. While we were talking Sal stated he wasn’t going to be going. There wasn’t much I could say other than ok. Chris joined the band and here we are. Chris has a great sound and style and along with being a killer bass player he is a great back up vocalist. Chris is really great to work with and is honored to be part of Anvil.

AL: What type of tour plans are in place and has there been any more discussions about another Anvil film?

SK: We are currently out on the road in Europe with Udo Dirkschneider. We will be overseas until early April supporting Udo and then after that we will be starting a headlining tour in the U.S. in mid April. That tour is set to run through mid June. As for another film we have about 40 minutes or so of usable footage and it’s something we continue to work on as the band continues to progress.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, anvil, anvils, kudlow, lips, steve, ...

Tommy Wiseau talks about “The Room” Rifftrax Live, James Franco in “The Disaster Artist” and his Hulu series “The Neighbors”

Tommy Wiseau is the director, producer, writer and star of the cult classic film “The Room”. Since the film was released back in 2003 it has achieved “Rocky Horror” like fame playing to midnight screenings non-stop to a huge fan base. Some called the film one of the worst ever made but true fans see “The Room” for what it really it, which is fun! The film was parodied live by the Rifftrax gang last year and is heading back to theaters again on January 28th, 2016. Media Mikes had a chance to catch up with Tommy again to discuss “The Room”, James Franco playing him in “The Disaster Artist” film adaptation and what else he is currently working on.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us how you feel about “The Room” being parodied by Rifftrax Live?
Tommy Wiseau: Yeah they reached out to me about a year ago about doing it. I liked what they did, I mean, I don’t support parts of it 100%, but it does show how fun “The Room” is. People take things too serious and the film isn’t made to be serious, it is made to be fun. If you haven’t seen the Rifftrax Live version of “The Room” in theaters, I would recommend it highly when it comes around again January 28th, 2016. And bring a big group of friends with you as well.

Mike Gencarelli: The film has been out for 13 years now, are you ever taken back by the continued interested in it year after year?
Tommy Wiseau: Yes, I am still surprised. I am happy that people are still talking about it and still seeing it in theaters. I also have been working a few new projects as well that I am excited for fans of “The Room” to see as well. I love touring with the film across the country. I usually show “The Room” and an episode of “The Neighbors” as a double header. It is a lot of fun to do and also getting to interact with the fans.

Mike Gencarelli: Last time we spoke back in 2011, you mentioned you were planning a 3D release for “The Room”; can we expect that soon?
Tommy Wiseau: Yeah that is something that I have wanted to do for a while. Making a film into 3D is definitely not an easy process. So yes, I still want to release “The Room” in 3D, but right now I am not sure if I want to reshoot the entire film in 3D or just convert it. But I am definitely still planning and exploring my options. Right now James Franco is making his film of “The Disaster Artist”, so I will let him have that and then I will focus more on the 3D after it is released.

Mike Gencarelli: Speaking of that, tell us about your feelings on James Franco playing you in the film adaption of Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell’s book “The Disaster Artist”?
Tommy Wiseau: I think James is one best actors in the business. I feel good that someone like him is playing me. Of course, I also feel a little like they are taking something away from me since it is based around my life and my movie. I hope that this is a big success for James since then in return I think it will also then bring more people to “The Room” and that’s good.

Mike Gencarelli: Exactly, I think that this will put your film back in the spotlight and also introduce it to a new audience…
Tommy Wiseau: Yes, exactly. I am hoping about that. James and his brothers are doing a very good job so far and I am excited to see it when it comes out later this year.

Mike Gencarelli: Do you have any involvement or input on the upcoming film?
Yeah James did speak with me about the role and I gave him some tips. My life is very complex but I believe he will do a good job. I also have a small part in the film as well, which is cool.

Mike Gencarelli: Did you enjoy playing the villain Linton Kitano in newly released “Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance”?
Tommy Wiseau: It is always great to play a villain, I loved it. This film was a very fun experience for me I can tell you that.

Mike Gencarelli: Your TV series “The Neighbors” has aired 6 episodes on Hulu; any plans for more episodes on that format?
Tommy Wiseau: Yes! Currently 6 episodes have aired on Hulu and the fans really have been excited about what we have so far. I am currently working on another 6 episodes for Hulu. We have been also exploring releasing the episodes in animated format as well. So that is something that we were trying and it also getting a good response. I hope to have the next 6 episodes on Hulu by the end of 2016.

Mike Gencarelli: You did a Reddit AMA last year where you mentioned a new project called “The Foreclosure”, what can you tell us?
Tommy Wiseau: Yeah that is a project that I am currently working on as well as “The Neighbors”. “The Foreclosure” focuses on the housing market right now and looks into the current situation that we are facing today with people not being able to pay for their houses and being forced to foreclose. It is a current topic. There is also another project that I have that is currently untitled but that I cannot talk about right now…maybe in about 3-4 months, I can. But a lot of very excited stuff coming up for my fans!

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: artist, disaster, franco, hulu, james, live, ...

Wizards of Winter’s Fred Gorhau talks about album “The Magic of Winter”


Fred Gorhau is the guitarist for the NY, NJ, and PA metro area band The Wizards of Winter. The group which formed in 2010 has strong classical and progressive rock influences features several former Trans Siberian Orchestra members. The group recently released their second full length album titled “The Magic of Winter” which is a continuation of the groups 2014 self titled release. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Frank recently about the new album, the group’s ties to the Trans Siberian Orchestra and the bands upcoming holiday tour.

Adam Lawton: Can you tell us about the group’s initial formation?
Frank Gorhau: We all come from different backgrounds. Me personally I come from a rock and heavy metal background. The group was put together by our keyboardist Scott Kelly, his wife Sharon and Steve Ratchen the bass player. The whole concept behind the group was there was a food pantry in the area that needed help. Scott and company wanted to do something so they decided to put a band together. The first year they were performing they did strictly Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) music. I joined the group in the second year when things really started picking up. People were asking where they could get our music and there really wasn’t a place. We decided we better do a CD so we did and now we are just releasing our second album. We have some former members of TSO appearing on the album and have had the chance to tour with 5 former members thus far. It’s great to be able to get together and do something that has grown exponentially. The group has gone from being a TSO tribute act to performing 20 of our own original songs with just a couple TSO classics thrown in for the member of that group who our now playing with us. We are doing a holiday rock concert of our own so it’s fitting to throw in some of those great TSO pieces.

AL: You recently started working with Jonny Z and Chuck Billy how did that partnership come about?
FG: I think Jon had seen some things from us and he reached out to me while we were on the road last year. He asked me for my info which I jumped at right away because Jon’s pedigree speaks for himself. We spoke and he asked if we had any video of a full show. Sadly I did not have any pro-shot material at the time. He really wanted to see our full show and as luck would have it he happened to be in Philadelphia when we were playing in nearby Easton, PA. The show was sold out and from there one thing just led to another. He started Breaking Bands with Chuck Billy and Maria Ferrero and they have been making things happen for us quite a bit this year. We are super excited and can’t wait to get out there.

AL: What can you tell us about the new album which came out earlier this month?
FG: I think “The Magic of Winter” is sort of a continuation of our first album. I am really happy with my playing on this record and our producer Eric Rachel did a fantastic job on things. It’s a really great sounding record. Tony Gaynor who was the original announcer for TSO does a great job not only announcing the song but tying the story in with everything. The story acts as this metaphorical train which takes the listeners from one place to another as it looks into various people lives during the holiday season. At first I wasn’t too sure of the story line and how it would all work but after seeing how it affects our fans and having some of those fans come up to me crying after the show really meant a lot. The album was a lot of fun and with it being the holiday season people can get emotionally involved with this release. We try to address all aspects of the holidays both happy and sad with our songs. We know that sometimes the holidays can be difficult for people and we do try to address that. I think people appreciate at that as it shows that they might not be the only ones with those feelings at this time of year.

AL: Were you more involved with the creation of the new album as compared to the previous when you were still relatively new to the group?
FG: I did play on the whole first album but only really had my hands in a couple of the songs. Most of the stuff was already there and I just put my spin on things. With “The Magic of Winter” I was intimately involved with the writing and arranging. We started putting all this stuff together in March or April so to have it all done for a November release is pretty good. There was a lot of good feedback that happened during the creation of this project and I am just super happy and proud of what we came up with in such a short time.

AL: How does the writing process work for the group being that there are quite a few members in the group?
FG: If there is one person more than any that brings in material I would have to say it is Scott. He comes up with a lot of ideas just sort playing around. Scott and I work well together whether we are retooling a traditional Christmas song or working on a new piece of material. Everyone brings something to the table. All twelve of us don’t normally get together to write but there is a core four or five that do work together and throw ideas back and forth. From there we bring the more solid ideas to the rest of the group and share with them what we think would benefit the track. It’s just been a really great experience.

AL: Having a history that is really entrenched with pieces of the Trans Siberian Orchestra be it through starting as a TSO tribute band to recruiting former TSO members, how do you go about differentiating those similarities from your own material?
FG: We are definitely similar and that’s not something I am going to pretend we are not. We started as a TSO tribute, our name comes from a TSO song. I wear that on my sleeve as sort of a badge of honor. I am a fan and to get to know these guys as friends now is something very special to me. We do have some differences in that we don’t take as much of the traditional Christmas music and rework it with a modern spin. TSO has done quite of bit of that. I think a larger portion of our material has vocals too it where TSO is mostly instrumental. We try to have about a 60/40 split between songs with vocals and straight instrumentals. We try to keep things interesting for the listener without going too far outside of the normal song structure.

AL: What can you tell us about the bands current holiday tour run?
FG: We are bringing out a few new effects with us this tour to help enhance the stage show. We have changed up the storyline a little bit as we don’t want to keep doing the same thing year after year. We won’t be doing all of the new record but we will be doing somewhere between 5 and 6 songs from that. The idea of the show is that it all takes place within a snow globe and as the globe is shaken the scenes change. The new material is sounding really great live and I think people are going to really enjoy what we have in store for everyone this year.

Read Complete Article
Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: album, fred, gorhau, magic, talks, winter, ...
« sdf
Previous
Page 6 of 55
Next
Next Page »