Monthly Archives: October 2011

Interview w/ Former Korn Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch

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Interview w/ Former Korn Guitarist Brian “Head” Welch

I conducted an interview with Brian “Head Welch shortly following his performance on 10/21 at Eleanor Rigby‘s in Jermyn PA. Check it out……

RN: How is the tour going?

B.H.W. Good. It’s been big and small places. Every show has been great.

RN: Tell me about your new single “Paralyzed”. It sounds a lot like Korn.

B.H.W. I think the band was going in a different direction when I was leaving. They wanted to try more stuff like the “See You On The Other Side” record. I liked more of the old school sound and they like to reinvent them selves. I think that’s the main reason.

RN: How different is your new CD going to be from your last CD “Save Me From Myself”?

B.H.W. It’s going to be more mainstream. My first solo record was more experimental. The songs were long. It had some tripped out sounds and stuff like that. This one is going to be more like a mainstream record. I’m getting back into playing heavy riffs. The first one didn’t have a lot of that.

RN: You recently put out a video for “Paralyzed“. Looking back on making the video what are your thoughts on it?

B.H.W. That was a fun video to shoot. What was cool, a lot of directors do take after take after take. This guy only did four takes of the big room with the whole band. And three takes each of the band members and that was it. It was a wrap.

RN: Since you found God how has the your fan acceptance been?

B.H.W. It’s getting better. I think the first solo record was ok. It had some decent moments. Some people dug it. I don’t think a lot of people jumped on it. But the last couple weeks paralyzed got 40,000 views on Youtube for so I think that’s speaking for itself. More people are opening up to it. So we will see how it goes.

RN: Is your band considered a Christian rock band.

B.H.W. I am a Christine guy. But I would prefer not to be labeled that. I’m a Christian guy playing the same metal music I have always played. Singing about pain and things we all go through. People are going to say what they are going to say. Some people shut their doors on things that are labeled Christine. Don’t be so uptight everybody.  We are all the same.

RN: I noticed you have speaking events booked. I have also watched one on youtube that you did not to long ago. Do you do these often?

B.H.W. Whenever I’m not touring I go out and speak. It’s fun for me to do. I love it. And I have this gift; I attract people that are really hurting in life. And I look at them and I tell them I was hurting too and I got out of it. You can see hope and positive things happening in their eyes. And people tell me “man you make me feel like I can do this” and for me there is nothing better than that. It’s really cool and I love it.

RN: How do you separate your live performance from your speaking engagements?

B.H.W. It is just who I am inside. If I’m on stage or not. I want to connect with people however I can. My music is hard and powerful but at the same time I just want to tell the truth about the whole rock star thing. It can be a trap if you are not careful. Drugs and alcohol can really ruin lives. I have seen it ruin a lot of people and it almost ruined my life.

RN: After this tour what are your plans. As far as getting the new album finished and touring?

B.H.W. We are hitting the studio November 7th. And we will be in the studio until the album is done. We are going to be focused. Nothing until April of next year as far as traveling goes. So we will see.

RN: Brian thank you for your time.

B.H.W. No problem Dante, Thank you for yours.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO FOR ”PARALYZED” HERE

FOR MORE INFO CHECK OUT HEAD’S FACEBOOK PAGE HERE

AND DON’T FORGET TO LIKE ”ROCKNIGHTMARE.COM”  ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Interview w/ The Dogs Divine Bassist Jim Hart

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Interview w/ The Dogs Divine Bassist Jim Hart

The wait is over. After four years The Dogs Divine have returned and will drop their new CD “Size Of The Fight” on November 8th via Mortal Music. This CD is classic Dogs Divine with a modern feel that any rock/metal fan could appreciate. Killer walking bass lines, heavy riffs, wicked guitar solos and I think vocalist Tom Heart has a very unique vocal style that makes this band stand out from a lot of other bands out there that have fallen into the trap of sounding like everyone else. The CD is solid all the way through so I can not pick a stand out song. But I will say the band puts an ass kickin on Queen’s “I’m In Love With My Car”. I never liked that song. But I like it now. I had to go back and check out Queen’s version of the song. I must say The Dogs do it better.

I had a chance to Interview Bassist Jim Hart check out the interview below and check out The Dogs Diving here.

RN: Jim how are you? It’s been along time since I seen you.

Jim Hart: I’m good man. I’m just hanging out waiting for this CD to be released.

RN: Well I don’t want to waste your time we can get right into it if you want?

Jim Hart: Sure go for it.

RN: What can people expect from the new Dogs CD “Size Of The Fight”?

Jim Hart: On the new album you can hear typical Dogs style music but you can also hear a difference between this new album and the last one. . I think we have the same writing style but the music has a heavier edge to it.

RN: Your old school influences really bleed through on your last CD “Way Of Life” does the same go for the new CD.

Jim Hart: I think so. We have a song call “FDLF”. That song is very Sunset Strip, Sleazy Rock kind of a Faster Pussycat type sound. On our last CD you can hear the bands we listened to growing up. Motley Crue, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat. On this one you can hear our heavier influences that came later.  On this album we have an instrumental, we use violin. There is a song called Gypsy King that is kind of bluesy. Where we use slide guitar and stuff like that. We let all the stuff we grew up on influence us. And we let it take its course. To be honest I think I’m to close to it to judge it. Sometimes when you are in a band and you write it you might think it sounds one way and other people will tell you they hear something different.

RN: Tell me about the instrumental.

Jim Hart: We wanted to do an instrumental and we dedicated it to our grandpa Gussie who passed away a couple years ago. He bought us guitars and drums and P.As when we were kids and used to let us practice at his house. He would give us money when we went out on tour. He was very supportive.

RN: “Way Of Life” came out in 2008 why such a long wait?

Jim Hart: We toured a lot. Than we had a few lineup changes. Than we toured some more. And when it was time to go in and do a new album we had more lineup changes. It took some time but we self financed the album. It was kind of hard because we don’t live near each other. We would get a couple thousand dollars and get together and do a few songs. Then we would get another couple thousand dollars saved up and do a few more songs. So it took awhile.

RN: Are you guys going independent?

Jim Hart: No, we signed with a label called Mortal Music. They are based in Chicago. Owned by SOiL bassist Tim King and Twelfth Gate’s Rob Such.

RN: Any Videos we should be on the look out for?

Jim Hart: We shot two videos. We shot one for the song “Hell Wouldn’t Have Me” that is going to be the single. And another for the song “Dogs” That we will do something with later on down the road.

RN: And what about touring.

Jim Hart: Right now we are doing little runs. Until the CD comes out and we will see what happens.

RN: I know you have toured and played shows with a lot of bands. Who are some of the people you would like tour with?

Jim Hart:  I’m a huge Motorhead fan. I would pass out if someone told me we were going to do a show with Motorhead.

RN: Why did you decide to become a bass player?

Jim Hart: Bob Daisley. I heard “Diary Of  A Madman” first. I was amazed. He was the biggest influence on me playing bass. When I was a kid music was everything to me. Even if you were not in a band. It was everything to everyone I knew. We would have parties based around video release dates on MTV. Back then you knew everybody’s name and you knew everything about your favorite band. Now I don’t think it matters to anyone anymore.

RN: Jim thank you for your time.

Jim Hart: No problem thanks for having me.

Check Out The Dogs Diving here

Pre Order The Dogs Divine “Size Of The Fight” HERE

AND DON’T FORGET TO LIKE ”ROCKNIGHTMARE.COM”  ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Rains frontman Jeff Rains Interviewed

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What going on everyone? I had a conversation with Singer / Song Writer Jeff Rains from the band “Rains” sometime last week. Check it out.

RN: How long ago did you start the band “Rains“?

Jeff Rains: I started about 10 years ago. And at first I just wrote and recorded everything my self. About 6 years ago I started to hire random musicians to play live with me. I would teach them the stuff and we would do shows. About four years ago we were getting looked at by Hollywood Records and they referred us to a management group that was based in Toronto. That was a production studio as well. And I would say it was in that four years the band started to come together.  And we were not a band until about 2 years ago.

RN: I heard you just got added to the “Share The Welt Tour” featuring Five Finger Death Punch, Hatebreed and All That Remains.

Jeff Rains: We wanted to do the whole tour because there are a lot of places that we are going to hit that we have not been able to get to. Places we have a good fan base in. Plus Five Finger Death Punch, Hatebreed and All That Remains are great bands. This is going to be a great tour. So we are excited about that.

RN: Who have you toured with in the past?

Jeff Rains: We did a lot of club tours. We toured with Framing Hanley a lot. There are too many to remember. But the Framing Hanley tour was sold out everywhere we went.

RN: You also have a new single out now?

Jeff Rains: Look in my eyes is #63 on the media based charts right now.

RN: What about a video?

Jeff Rains: That is just video clips of past tours. We plan on going in and doing a proper video but tour dates keep coming up so we are going to play it by ear.

RN: You guys are an independent band, correct?

Jeff Rains: We are totally independent.

RN: Are you looking for a label or are you happy being independent?

Jeff Rains: I’m not going to lie to you. It takes a lot of money to do this. But if you can find somebody that believes in you and believes in what you are doing and is willing to invest, it makes it a lot easier. Going independent is hard. But I don’t see any point in signing to a label. We have our own distribution set up. Our own PR. Our own radio and promo you name we have it. So I am very content with where I am at.

RN: Being the main song writer, how do you come up with things to write about? Do you pick a topic and roll with it or does it just hit you?

Jeff Rains: It’s a lot of 3 in the morning stuff. It just kind of happens. I have tried to pick it apart to find out how and why people relate to it. I think you just have to be honest and write how you write. I personally can not sit down and write a song. It just happens when it happens. Unfortunately an album can take two months or it can take two years. I have no idea. It just happens.

RN: How many Albums have you released?

Jeff Rains: There are three out there out there floating around. The very first one I did sold 12,000 copies and I wish I can get all 12,000 back. Somehow we timed myspace right and people liked it and bought the record. Then we did a demo and somehow that got released. Now we have this record. And this one you can get at Best Buy and stuff like that.

RN: To someone that has never heard you, how would you describe the sound of the band?

Jeff Rains: I was brought up on 70’s rock, country music and the Seattle music scene. I would say it’s a strong combination.

RN: Have you written any new stuff since the release of “Stories”?

Jeff Rains: Yes, we have had a lot of time since this album has been done. Our first single “Liar” was released 2 years ago on Octane. It was requested and made it to the top five on the station. I have had a lot of time to write in between tours. I think that’s a good thing because when you are dealing with a major label you get pushed to keep putting out records. That’s when people start putting out shit just to put something out to meet their quota.

RN: Do you have an idea of when you are going to start recording you next CD?

Jeff Rains: It pretty much depends on touring. I have been talking to some producers. That’s one good thing I have in my favor. I can pretty much work with who I want to as far as production goes. If we have January off than I want to go in and get some stuff done but if we are touring than it will have to wait. But I would like to have a new record out by summer 2012.  I have way to much shit on my mind to write about to hold it in for another year.

RN: Hey Jeff thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you when you come through Pennsylvania.

Jeff Rains: No problem. Thank you for having me see you soon.

FOR MORE INFO AND TOUR DATES CHECK OUT:

RAINS ON FACEBOOK 

AND DON’T FORGET TO LIKE ”ROCKNIGHTMARE.COM”  ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

ZO2’S ROCK ASYLUM October 13 at the Hiro Ballroom

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 – LIVE MUSIC, CELEBRITIES, FOOD TO HIGHLIGHT ZO2’S ROCK ASYLUM BENEFIT AT HIRO BALLROOM Proceeds to Provide Free Rock Concerts to Schools

   (NEW YORK, NY) — Rock singer, Broadway star, and American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis will be among the celebrities walking the purple carpet at ZO2’s ROCK ASYLUM benefit concert on Thursday, October 13 at the Hiro Ballroom.

Other expected celebrities include former Journey frontman Steve Augeri, retired NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp, musician Zach89 of Team Blackout and comedian Big Jay Oakerson.

Rock Asylum will feature performances by ZO2 and some of the hottest bands around: Daredevil Squadron, Stoned Fire, All Pointz West, Our Black Friday and Queen V.

Celebrity Top Chef contestant Danny Gagnon will provide hors d‘oeuvres in the VIP Lounge.

The benefit will raise funds for the Rock Asylum non-profit organization (501 aa. D-(c) (3) pending), which provides free rock concerts to schools around the country with the goal of inspiring young people to succeed in their education and become creative well-rounded adults. The concerts are performed by the Z Brothers, a highly acclaimed kid’s band and alter-ego of ZO2. ZO2 is a Brooklyn, NY-based power rock trio featuring brothers Paulie Z (vocals, guitar) and David Z (vocals, bass) along with their close friend Joey Cassata (drums, vocals). Their debut independent release, “Tuesdays & Thursdays” won the band surprising attention. Within weeks of its release, ZO2 was on the main stage opening for Kiss and Poison on their entire 40 city national VH1 sponsored “Rock the Nation” tour. Shortly after that, the band released its second album “Ain’t It Beautiful” and landed a TV series called Z Rock which was a semi-scripted comedy that aired for two seasons on the IFC channel. ZO2’s third album “Casino Logic” produced the singles Painted Lady and No Way Out along with their respective music videos, which were in heavy rotation on Music Choice TV. They recently released four new singles on iTunes including the song, That’s What’s Up! Rock Asylum’s Purple Carpet Event will take place 7:30 p.m. at the Hiro Ballroom, 88 9th Ave., New York City.

AdaKain Frontman Travis Buck Interviewed

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Quite directly, AdaKaiN are four guys in search of the rock’n’roll dream.  At a time when that dream has become more elusive, AdaKaiN refuses to take anything but “yes” for an answer.  Drummer Ryan Carroll, was in a Universal Republic band named Element 80, that got some national attention.  But other than Carroll,  the members of AdaKaiN have been struggling at day jobs to accumulate enough money to help make their dream come true.

In 2008 they first burst on the local Dallas scene.  Their self-released LP “Together In the Heart” garnered support in Texas and surrounding areas.  The band set out to tour “hard core” as they put it.  Living on less than $10 a day each, they toured with bands such as Crossfade, Bobaflex, Pop Evil, Taproot and many others.

They collected  a strong local following in Dallas and America’s Southwest.  It was time to reach further.  In early 2011 they released “Silhouette of Lies” an EP, produced by Travis Wyrick (Ten  Years, Since October, Disciple) featuring their dynamic new vocalist Travis Buck.

Buck’s soaring vocals enhance the melodic nature of the the band and quickly has attracted new fans.  “Good Time Girl” a biographical track, written by Buck about a good girl gone bad, is the the lead track from the EP.  It has already attracted the attention of radio programmers coast to coast.

 

Travis Buck took time out to give me a buzz check out the interview below

RN: Travis how are you.

Travis Buck: I’m good. How are you?

RN: All is good. Thanks for calling. Where are you at right now?

Travis Buck: Right now we are in Chico, California. We are out with Crossfade.

RN: How is that going?

Travis Buck: Real good.

RN: How long are you going to be out for?

Travis Buck: This is kind of a short run. I think it ends Oct. 8th.  It’s going to be all west coast dates. We did some east coast dates with them late spring early summer. We seem to fit well with them so it’s going great.

RN: So what’s going on? I heard you guys are releasing another single?

Travis Buck: Yeah, Good Time Girl was our first. Now “Sky Is Falling” is going to radio from our Silhouette Of Lies EP.

RN: When was Silhouette Of Lies released?

Travis Buck: Back in March.

RN: If you had to sum up “Silhouette Of Lies” by picking one aspect of the CD what would it be?

Travis Buck: One thing I’m really proud of on this EP is that no one song is the same. They are all really different, but the album as a whole flows really well. So there is something for everyone.

RN: What’s it like on the Dallas scene?

Travis Buck: I have to be honest. I love Dallas but the scene has really gone down hill over the last 5 years. It’s real clicky. It’s weird how different the markets are. We love the east coast. And people in Michigan really love their music. The come out to see new music. And that is dieing out in a lot of places.

RN: Considering I’m in Pennsylvania I have to ask what are some of your favorite places around here.

Travis Buck: Allentown was pretty nice. It’s a unique place and looks like it has a lot of history. The pizza place out front has its own vibe. And Lancaster was great as well.

RN:  When do you plan on getting back over here?

Travis Buck: We want to come to the east coast as soon as we can but we have to see.

RN: What got you into playing music?

Travis Buck: I have always enjoyed music. When I was in 6th grade I got my first guitar. I was in a high school band and I thought I should try singing and here I am. There is some thing about being on a stage. It’s a feeling that I really can’t describe. But I really like Deftones and bands link that.

RN: What are some of the challenges of being an opening act?

Travis Buck: As an opener you have to fight for that spot in their memory of that night. You want them to remember your performance. They are going to remember the headliner. As an opener you really are out here to prove yourself. So the next time we come through hopefully you think we are worth checking out again.

RN:  Where can people buy you CD.?

Travis Buck: I-Tunes, and if they want a hard copy that can be picked up at a show.

RN:  Hey Travis thank you for your time and giving us a buzz from the road.

Travis Buck: No man than you.

FOR MORE INFOR CHECK OUT  THE BAND’S FACEBOOK PAGE

AND DON’T FORGET TO LIKE ”ROCKNIGHTMARE.COM”  ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Hierosonic interview W/ Guitar player Jarred Cannon

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Hierosonic interview W/ Guitar player Jarred Cannon

On Friday 9/30 Hierosonic played “Brews Brothers West” in recently flood ravaged Luzerne County PA. They opened their set with “Slave Machine” followed by “Tongues” and their new single “The Media Taught You That”. After eight more songs the band said good night and unplugged their guitars. The house lights and music came on but the crowd didn’t want them to leave. They started to chant encore, and Hierosonic graciously plugged back in and played another song.

 

Hierosonic will be on tour with “Seven Day Sonnett”, and “Sugar Red Drive”. Initial dates have been announced for “THE FALLEN HEROES / RISING ROCK TOUR”

10/07 Great Lakes, IL @ Great Lakes Naval Station
10/08 Appleton, WI @ JJ Maloney’s
10/09 Joliet, IL @ Mojo’s
10/14 Fargo, ND @ Nestor Tavern
10/15 Waterloo, IA @ The Wheelhouse
10/20 Springfield, MA @ The Iron Horse
10/21 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
10/27 Kinsport, TN @ Conley’s Overlook
10/30 Biloxi, MS @ Thunders Tavern

I interviewed guitarist Jarred Cannon before the bands set. Check out the interview below:

RN: How did you guys come up with the name Hierosonic?

Jarred Cannon: It’s sort of a compound word that means sacred sound. It’s a word that’s exclusive to the band. It’s not a word that you will see anywhere else.

RN: Let’s talk about your music. Your lyrics and song titles are deep, but your music is upbeat. After checking out your CD I can’t help but feel you can easily attach your lyrics and song titles to the films Ben (Stewart) has made. (Kymatica & Esoteric Agenda).

Jarred Cannon: The message is something that we all stand behind. Ben writes all the lyrics, he is the voice of the band. He is the guy that takes the way we feel inside and outside of the band and voices it. And it’s funny you mention the difference between the music and the message. I don’t think we planned it that way. If you listen to any of our old stuff, it was kind of progressive. It was kind of out there.

When we did the record, we recorded the whole thing once before we went into the studio. So when we got into the studio January of this year we knew how all the parts should fit together and we just went in and did it. We were very surprised with the attitude of the songs. At first we kept asking ourselves “Is this too upbeat, is this too poppy, is it too fun?” But if you think about it, some of the strongest messages out there have been a result of pop art. So for us it was kind of ironic to speak up with message based songs and have it come out the way it did. And we liked that feel. It is relatable and there definitely is a dynamic between the message and the music. That is why I am absolutely in love with this record. It’s very rare that you set out to do one thing and something completely different happens and you are ok with it.

RN: Where did the idea for “The Media Taught You That” come from?

Jarred Cannon: “The Media Taught You That” even though it’s blatant you can take it a lot of different ways. There has been a lot of finger pointing lately between social groups, political parties, activist groups and other movements. And people love to point the finger at someone else for their problems. There is a definite correlation between the media and the song but beyond that the album as a whole is about self accountability and self responsibility. The media itself is responsible for pushing things and sometimes they have agendas that are beyond information.

RN: And what about the video? When will that be released?

Jarred Cannon: It’s finished. But we are still working on the date for it to be seen.

RN: I wanted your thoughts about your upcoming tour with Seven Day Sonnett and Sugar Red Drive.  “THE FALLEN HEROES / RISING ROCK TOUR”

Jarred Cannon: I’m really excited. Seven Day Sonnett and Sugar Red Drive are both great bands. I think more importantly I am excited to go on the road with two other bands and have that comradery. We have toured independently and opened for some nationals on the road but we have never toured as a package, and we are hitting some areas we have never played before. So we are really excited about it.

FOR MORE INFOR CHECK OUT  THE BAND’S FACEBOOK PAGE

AND DON’T FORGET TO LIKE ”ROCKNIGHTMARE.COM”  ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER