Maria Brink fronts In This Moment, and she’s a howler.
That’s okay, man, ’cause what she and the boys are doing, they’re doing well. And, they’re taking it home here in the next few days; home, being, Brink’s home. Yes, she’s a native of the Capital Region. But, she high-tailed it out of “Smallbany” to go after her dreams in Los Angeles. (And, you so had a picture of Axl Rose walking off the bus ala Welcome to the Jungle.) But, that’s so nine years ago.
This Saturday, November 9th, In This Moment will be rocking the set at Clifton Park’s Upstate Concert Hall, as they continue on their leg of the Hell Pop Tour. They’ll only wake up to do it all again down in New York City’s Best Buy Theater on Sunday, November 10th.
The band is still riding the high from the 2012 release of their fourth studio album, Blood, which reached No 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart, and No. 15 on the overall Top 200, back in February. It’s the band’s biggest success, which came shortly after the band nearly fell apart, which Upstate Metal’s Kate Drexel asked Brink in her June interview.
“We (Brink and Chris Howorth) really just rallied together,” she said. “We cannot let other people’s disbeliefs in our band and everything we’ve created, everything we’ve worked for, we’ve strived for, we’ve sacrificed for, hinder us from moving forward.”
It was after the release of their third album in 2012 that founding members Jeff Fabb and Blake Bunzel quit the band. The nation was just taking notice. Just the previous summer they had played alongside Korn, Rob Zombie, Five Finder Death Punch, and Hatebreed at the annual Mayhem Festival. This was followed up by the Hell Hath No Fury Tour. Brink had also received personal recognition as she was named the Hottest Chick in metal by Revolver magazine.
“This is our moment. (Pause). No pun intended. And we’re going to take everything and we’re going to take it into the next level, we’re going to take our live show, our songs, every single thing that has to do with us, we’re bringing it to the next level and we’re going to do this hard.”
Despite their confidence, they ran into tough times. With Fabb and Buzel gone, few managers wanted to give them the time of day, said Brink. But, their producer, Kevin Churko, kept his patience and Brink said his commitment helped the band survive.
“We went into the studio and we wrote the song Blood,” she said. “And right when we heard it back, we knew that everything was going to change right when we heard that song. We felt it, we knew it and we started setting it up with managers and we started having managers fly out from everywhere and everything shifted from then.” The band now consists of Tom Hane on drums, Travis Johnson on bass and Randy Weitzel on rhythm guitar, in addition to Brink’s vocals and Howorth’s lead guitar.
The hardship inspired their song material, Brink said. And, In This Moment has been a soaring Phoenix ever since.
“So kind of everything falling apart and then building it brand new, and all of these beautiful new things, is where all the inspirations from the album came from.”
Oh, one more thing. You’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t check out the acoustic version of Blood on YouTube. Just listen to Brink’s soulful vocals and you’ll see why, among other things, we like these guys.
Experimental and progressive Rock, powerhouses – Aqueous and Tauk will play 2 Upstate, NY shows this week. Both bands have continued to grow from high school bands to Nationally performing, festival favorites. There is no doubt that the musical bonds that brought them together have produced some of the East Coast’s most spectacular funktastic rock infused musical acts – Aqueous and Tauk may be separate bands but their paths are shared on a journey to musical stardom.
He started the solo acoustic performance with “Scar on the Sky” and treated the nearly sold out crowd to almost two and a half hours of musical talent spanning over 20 years of his musical career. Stripped down to just a voice and a guitar, Cornell’s raspy voice stood out and with power and emotion. Playing favorite tunes such as “Hunger Strike” and “Sunshower”, Cornell kept the crowds excitement at a high. In between songs, Cornell told stories behind the meaning of each tune. He explained, “Dandelion” was written for his unborn daughter while anticipating her arrival. He also remarked that “Can’t Change Me” was written when he was tired of worrying about others perceptions of him.
