NYS Music 20​14

Category: Interviews

  • Interview: Unearth talks of new tour, new record, and new friends

    Unearth, hailing from Eastern Massachusetts, are primed to hit the road on tour in support of their new album, Watchers of Rule, from eOne Entertainment on Oct. 27. A week before the tour started, I got the chance to sit down with the singer and guitarist, Trevor Phipps and Buz McGrath respectively, to have a fun chat about what was in store for the tour and the album.

    Tour starts October 13.
    Tour starts October 13.

    Jeff Ayers: So your tour starts in a week, are you guys pumped?

    Trevor Phipps: Yea super pumped.

    Buz McGrath: Fully pumped, i mean, we got Darkest Hour, the realist motherfuckers in the game –

    TP: Carnifex, Origin, it is going to be a hot bill.

    JA: Yea, can you guys speak a little bit about how this tour lineup came to be? It seems really well put together.

    BG: We went through a hundred lineup changes, and everyone canceled on us, so Darkest Hour, we suckered them into it.

    TP: [laughs]

    BG: Then they agreed, and it was supposed to be a month, but they [could only do] twelve shows. But everyone on this tour is awesome.

    JA: I actually got the opportunity to talk with Jason Keyser, the singer of Origin on their last tour, and he said he was excited to hit the road with these bands, being such a different kind of lineup.

    BG: His last name is Keyser?

    JA: Yea, Jason.

    BG: Oh I can’t wait to meet him, I am just gonna call him KEYSER all day.

    JA: [laughs] He will probably love it.

    BG: Yeah, we never met them, but we are hoping to make some new friends there.

    JA: I bet you will, they are great dudes. This tour is going to end with the Housecore Horror Film Festival. Were you guys on that last year, and what is that going to be like?

    TP: No, this is our first time. Horror movies and heavy metal! How can you go wrong?

    JA: So let’s talk a little bit about Watchers of Rule. Where did the name come from?

    BG: It was originally called Breakdown Lane, but we changed it to something more epic. [laugh] But [Trevor] Phipps is going to tell you more about that.

    TP: Yeah, Watchers of Rule came from the entire record being about personal experiences and current events, not politics. Watchers of Rule to me means those that have the power to watch over us, are actually the ones with the power.

    JA: Very cool. I love the album artwork as well, who was the artist?

    TP: That’s Richey Beckett, he is from the U.K., he did the album artwork for a band on my label IronClad Recordings, called Armed for Apocalypse, and the album was The Road Will End. It was killer cover, and everyone in Unearth liked what he had to offer, and it turned out he was a fan of the band as well, so he drew up a cover for our record.

    JA: Awesome, it totally fits the sound. I listened to the whole record, and I thought you guys brought a solid full album experience on this. What is your writing process? Do you hit the studio with a ton of ideas or does it take shape in the recording process?

    BG: We have a lot of it down before we hit the studio, but a lot of the ‘detail’ stuff happens in the studio while you are doing it. But ninety percent of the music is there before we get into the studio.

    JA: Lyrically speaking too, do you go into an album with an overall idea lyrically? Or does that kind of morph as the music is being written?

    TP: It kind of morphs as the music evolves. It is a mood a might feel with a specific song. Also though, it does reflect the past year or two before the record was written. On tour, if I come across something that inspires me, I’ll just jot down a note that might impact me at that time, and I will go back and revisit that and if it matches up how I feel about a certain song, I’ll jot down some lyrics to it.

    JA: So I am sure you have been playing some of this new material out, and getting the crowd feel for it. My favorite track on the record is “Guards of Contagion”, I think that you guys bring everything that Unearth is about with that track. Is there any track you guys are excited to start working into sets?

    BG: Yeah that is one of them!

    TP: That is the second single that is coming out, in a month or two.

    JA: Awesome!

    BG: We haven’t played that one live yet, we are playing it on this upcoming tour, and it should be fun.

    JA: Speaking of this tour, what’s next for you guys after this wraps up?

    BG: I don’t know, do you know any bands that need someone to tour with them?

    JA: [laughs] I could put the word out!

    BG: Tell em Unearth is looking for gigs!

    TP: We don’t have anything solid, but we will be touring on this record, so keep an eye out.

    Unearth in South Africa
    Unearth in South Africa

    JA: You guys are usually busy, touring and playing as much as you can. Do you have any favorite places to play?

    BG: I like Los Angeles. Just because it’s kind of shitty, and Hollywood. It’s fun to visit once a year, and be a “hollywood” band.

    TP: I also like Japan. It’s like a different country there. Most countries around the world are either very American or very European, and there is something different about Japan, unique from the rest of the world.

    BG: Keith Buckley put it best. When we toured with Every Time I Die in Japan, Keith said ‘If you gave a five year old girl ecstasy, and then constructed everything she rambled on about, you would have Japan.’

    JA: [laughs] Wow. I love that!

    BG: It’s perfect.

    JA: Final question. Are there any bands that are currently in constant rotation on your IPod or whatever?

    TP: The band I discovered [recently], our merch guy showed us the band Nails, and I know they have a few records out now, and they are ridiculously heavy. Very much enjoying them right now.

    BG: Solid band, that is. Let me tell you about another band, called Nails. [laughs] They are so heavy. [laughs]

    TP: What about the new Body Count?

    BG: Yeah, that is hot. You want to hate on it? You are hustling in reverse.

    TP: What about a band you want to champion? Who are you listening to?

    JA: Me? Well I can’t get enough of the new Black Crown Initiate album, and I know they are going on tour with you guys.

    TP: Right on!

    JA: Also, I consider myself lucky to be in this area, because there is always a budding metal scene in Albany and the surrounding areas, so I get to see a lot of great, talented bands.

    BG: Do you know Ted E. Toll?

    JA: Oh yeah!

    BG: Good ol’ Teddy. [in a Ted impression] Hot Shit!

    JA: Ha! [my impression] Have ya met my dog?

    BG: Everyone has an impression of that guy! He was one of the first guys that brought us out there. I remember we showed up to Albany, and the first time I’ve been there, and he shows up with an envelope of money, to give us to play, and then gave us beer –

    TP: And Oreo cookies!

    BG: Yeah! Before we even played. I was like this is great!

    JA: What was the venue?

    BG: Valentines. We got to thank Ted for doing that for us and other bands, great guy. Great area to play.

  • Interview: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, an Insight to Music, Career and Family

    Sometimes you just know you are in the presence of greatness. I recently experienced this moment watching Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band perform September 4, 2014 at the Turning Stone Showroom in Verona, N.Y . It was one of those moments you just automatically realize you’re in the presence of a legend; a history maker; a significant part of a musical phenomenon. His ability to entrance his audiences by drawing them in to each and every note and keep them on the edge of their seats is mesmerizing. Now add to the mix a collection of the most talented musicians of the same caliber, and you have the perfect storm.

    Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Turning Stone
    Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Turning Stone

    I had an opportunity prior to the show to speak with Kenny and ask him a few questions. A little tongue-tied and star struck, I found him kind, patient, accommodating, a true professional, and one of nicest and most humble individuals I’ve met. He made me feel right at ease immediately as we spoke about his career, his family, and his passion for music and cars.

    Kathy Stockbridge – NYS Music:   Hi Kenny…thank you so much for agreeing to speak with NYS Music. We really appreciate it. We’re extremely excited about you coming to the Turning Stone, and doing the show for us here in Central NY. I have to say I’m kinda late to the party as I just discovered you one day when I was watching tv. I believe it was a documentary on Palladia or AXS, and I must say I was amazed. You blew me away. So I am really excited to be covering the show tonight, and bringing the review and interview to our readers at NYS Music. Thank you so much.

    ….after discovering you, I was super impressed to learn that you are completely self-taught. Talk to me a little about how that came about.

    Kenny Wayne Shepherd:   Well I just play by ear. I don’t read music. I learned to play songs by sounding songs out literally one note at a time, and piecing these songs together literally from the first note to the last note, which was a tedious process.

    KS:   Yes, I imagine it was. When I read about the process…you listened to the music, and then turned off the tape and learned the notes…getting that one down pat and then turning on the tape to listen and learn the next one.. it gives me hope I will be able to pick up an instrument and teach myself how to play one day, that it can be done. Very impressive.

    So after teaching yourself to do that, at the age of 13 you were discovered and got your first record deal? Talk to me a little about that.

    KWS:   When I when I was thirteen a friend of ours Bill Fordam, he was a record producer, saw me play down in New Orleans when I was a kid. He asked my dad have you ever thought about taking this kid into the studio and making a record? So that was when I was thirteen. And when I was 14, I actually went in and did my first demo recording which Bill produced. Then when I was 15 I put my band together and started doing live shows. Then when I was 16 I actually signed my record deal.

    KS:   You grew up in Lousiana, which is the heart and soul of jazz and blues and R&B. How much of that influenced what you play today and what you like to play?

    KWS:   I think a lot of it. I mean, I was exposed to all kinds of music because my dad was in radio, so he played a lot music on the radio, and we went to a lot of concerts. And being that I’m from Shreevport, its like is a perfect location. Shreevport has a rich musical heritage itself, but we would make road trips all the time and drive down to New Orleans to see live music; or go to Dallas, Texas and see live music; or Austin, Texas; or Memphis, Tennessee.  We’re surrounded by all these music cities, in addition to all the great music being generated in my hometown as well. I had a pretty rich childhood.

    KS:   Do you find yourself being drawn to that genre, that type of music, or do you like to mix in different genres to make your own sound?

    KWS:   Well, my first real love musically is blues and traditional blues music, and that’s always the foundation of everything I create.  But sometimes we’ll push our music into different directions mixing in rock.  Makes it a little bit more contemporary and opens up more possiblities.

    KS:   Now you’ve collaborated with some of the most influential blues and r&b musicians in the world, and had the opportunity to open for huge name bands such as Aerosmith, Bob Dylon, Rolling Stones, I mean HUGE acts. ..What makes them stand out…the ones you’ve collaborated with, the ones you want to collaborate with in the future..what are you looking for this point and time in your career?

    KWS:   Well I don’t know. I’ve really gotten to play with just about everybody I could think I think I ever could have wanted to play with. So at this point I’m not really sitting around with a pen and paper thinking, hmm… who else I can go play with..Really Im just focusing on my own music and challenging myself musically every time we make a record, and every time we walk out on stage and perform no matter who we are playing with.

    KS:   So what is your creative process like right now…do you like to sit down and jam with the band, or do you put something together in your head and then go and record it, or how do you..?

    KWS:   All of the above…when we go and do sound checks every day before the shows, we start jamming on something totally spontaneous and that always helps come up with ideas. But then other times, it’s just me sitting at home with a guitar and I usually when I pick up a guitar more than five minutes, then usually something starts coming out, something new. Then what’s great is having the technology we have today..with my phone I have the ability to record my ideas on the spot so I don’t forget them.  Since I don’t’ read music, it’s not like I can write them down on paper.  So it’s a big help. But usually it generally starts with music, then lyrics, then vocals and such and matter of things like that come after.

    KS:   Well I read that this new music you are touring with, the Going Home album, was recorded in between gigs on an eleven day stint at home..how is this different from some of your previous albums, and what were you trying to achieve with this new album?

    KWS:   Well this album is really us paying tribute and showing our respect and appreciation for artists in particular that have influenced me over the years and their music.  So it’s us doing our versions of their songs, and its kinda like the soundtrack of my childhood. These are all songs that I grew up listening to as a kid, that I cut my teeth learing how to play guitar listening to these songs. So it was a lot of fun. We did this album all live in the studio.  We recorded it the old-fashioned way on two-inch tape, and we didn’t use any modern trickery like auto tune or anything like that. It’s really an honest album, recorded in the studio..the original recordings, and I think the end result is a really fun record to listen to.  And it’s certainly going over well in the live shows.

    KS:   I am really looking forward to hearing it live. Now you have a really great band behind you, just tons and tons of talent up on that stage. How did you guys all come together? Did you collect them as you went along? Did you just find each other? You’ve been together now for a while haven’t you?

    KWS:   Well every situation is unique you know. I had a different guy sing lead vocals on my first album, and on the second album is when Noah and I met and he’s been in the band now seventeen years. Chris I met when I was 15 or 16 the first time I played down in Austin, Texas at Antones. I opened for this man, Bill Carter, who wrote a couple Stevie Ray Vaughn songs, and Chris was playing with him that night. That was the first time I met Chris.  We became friends, and he played on my first record with me, and has played on almost every record since. He’s been in the touring band for 7 or 8 years now full-time which is great. And Riley?   Chris recommended Riley, so that’s how we met Riley. And Tony? I met Tony because Tony was actually working at Fender Musical Instruments. He was an artist representative over there.  He decided he wanted to get back into playing music so he joined the band.

    KS:   You have been credited in bringing back a new generation into jazz and blues.  As a child growing up in an area where it was abundant, what appealed to you about that genre? How do you bring the audiences now that appeals to them today?

    KWS:   I think for me as a kid I identified with music because music is about as real as it gets.  Straight from the heart. And when people play music from the heart,  it’s like the most organic place it can happen.  Age doesn’t play a factor.  As far as our music, I think we have a fresh take on the music just by the way we interpret it.  I think that people dig it.

    KS:   I think so too. Personally I think this generation is more open to a variety of music.  More so than previous generations.  I have a son that is 16, and he and his friends listen to anything and everything from early Beatles to rap and hip hop. I find I appreciate their openness to listen to all types of music, especially blues and jazz.
    Youre a family man as well  How do you do with juggling the touring , the recording, the family and the kids. How have you worked this part out?

    KWS:   That’s the challenge for me now. Tying to find the right balance. I have a commitment to my fans, and I certainly have a commitment to my family; and trying to be able to fulfill my obligations to both and never leave one or the other neglected. Sometimes my family will come out and travel with me on the road when it’s possible.  Some of my kids are in school, so some times that’s not possible.  It’s really just trying to look ahead when we book the tours, and scheduling my work, and make sure there’s also consideration taken into account for the family so that I can be there for them. And trying to not be gone too much.

    KS:   Do your children show any signs of being musically inclined?

    KWS:   Oh yeah!

    KS:   Naturally talented huh?

    KWS:   It’s definitely in their blood.  But it’s not anything I’m trying to push or really even encouraged that much as no one encouraged me to do it.  I did it.  I was drawn to it, and I did it because I wanted to.  And I did it because I loved to do it. And I feel like if they want to, they’ll find their way.

    KS:   I have to say most musicians I have spoken to say it’s something they knew they would always do…there was never a back up plan. It was just something they always knew they wanted to do.  And it just happened.

    Is there anything new on the horizon we should be looking forward to here?

    KWS:   Yah, at the end of this year I’ll be going into the studio again with another band that I have, called The Rides. Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg and I put a band together last year and put a record out under the name of The Rides.  We’ll be going into the studio this winter, and doing a second album that will come out next year. So we’ll be on the road next year promoting that. And then soon after that, I will be back in the studio with my band making another record with my band.

    KS:   Oh my gosh..you are a really busy person! I really appreciate you agreeing to speak with us. I try to give my readers an insight into those I interview that is outside the realm of music and more on a personal level. If you don’t mind playing along I have a quick speed round of questions I ask…you don’t have to…but we would love it if you could.

    KWS:  We’ll see.

    Social Speed Round

    KS:  Your on tour and have a day off to do anything in the area you are in ..do you ? 1. Catch up on sleep 2. Hit the road and sightsee 3. Or this..

    KWS:   For me on my day off I exercise then we try to find some place local to eat that has that “you only can find in that town atmosphere”.  We like to find something unique that you only can experience in that area we are visiting.

    KS:  You have a chance to be on a reality tv show..you choose this show to show off your…

    KWS:   If I was on any reality tv show it would have to do with cars because I’m a huge car nut..so it would have to be something to do with cars.

    KS:  Go to food on the road?

    KWS:   Tripple expresso

    KS:   Go to food at home?

    KWS:   I actually just started using my vegetable juicer and I started buying all these organic vegetables and like throwing them in this juicer. I have a hard time eating vegetables. But I have a very easy time drinking them. I’ve realling got into juicing since going back home.  The first thing I do is bust out the juicer and make my own vegetable juice. That way I don’t have to eat them.

    KS:  Dogs/cats/or snakes?

    KWS:   Dogs!  I have a mix…half beagle and half terrier so he looks like a baby golden lab..He’s like 7 years old and full grown..but he looks like a puppy.

    KS:   A few names currently on your playlist?

    KWS:   Nothing too exciting.. the same stuff you know…like Muddy Waters and Jimmy Hendrics . There is a young rock band though that I’ve been listening to the other day on my phone called Rival Sons.  They’re pretty good,  straight head young rock band.

    KS:  Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. We are stoked for your performance tomorrow night, and look forward to bringing our readers the highlights.

    Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Turning Stone
    Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Turning Stone

    As I reflected upon our interview and sat there watching Kenny, Noah Hunt, Chris Layton, Tony Franklin, and Riley Osborne, I couldn’t help counting my blessings to be experiencing this moment.  A lover of all types of music, there is something about Kenny and his band and their music that touches your soul.  It reaches inside you and you truly experience the music.  As he played covers of some of his favorite songs such as House is Rockin’ by Stevie Ray Vaugh and his BB Medley, as well as original favorites such as Deja Voodoo and Blue on Black the combination of Noah’s sultry sexy voice and Kenny’s ability to shred like no other, draws you in and definitely puts you under a spell.  I definitely was transfixed.

    Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Turning Stone
    Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Turning Stone

    KWS Set List: Never Looking Back > Somehow > Everything is Broken > House is Rockin’ > Search and Destroy > Heat o the Sun > Talk To Me Baby > Can’t Judge A Book > Breaking Up Somebody’s Home > Looking Back > BB Medley > Shotgun > Encore – Blue On Black > King Bee > Oh Well > Voodoo

    [FinalTilesGallery id=’7′]

  • Interviewing Wild Adriatic on Pulling Double Duty, and more

    Albany’s own Wild Adriatic will be playing two shows on Saturday October 11, one in Lake George and one in Albany. The two shows cap a week-long tour that saw the band go down to Texas for a few shows before making their way back home. To start off their day they will be on the bill alongside Rusted Root, Black Mountain Symphony, and AM Bodega at Lake George’s Oktoberfest taking place at Charles R. Wood Park, where The American Music Festival just took place. Following that show the band will pack up the van and head down the northway to Albany and make their way to The Hollow Bar for their show with locals’ Titanics and Party Boat. I got the chance to speak to Mateo Vosganian, drummer and beard extraordinaire of Wild Adriatic. It included interviewing Wild Adriatic about this past summer, playing multiple shows in a day, their upcoming European tour and more.

    Bryan-Lasky-Wild-Adriatic-09

    Bryan Lasky :How was the past week or so of tour in Texas?
    Mateo Vosganian: The past week in TX was a crazy one! Every time we go back the shows get a little better and we keep making new friends along the way. This time we were fortunate enough to join our friends The Continuums from Austin on a little run of shows. It was our first time in Bryan and Houston but both cities were cool with smaller shows at sweet venues. The San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Austin shows were all awesome and then yesterday we had the pleasure of playing New Orleans for our first time! It was a small Monday night show with some great local acts, but the venue was awesome and we’ll be back in town for Mardi Gras 2015.
    BL: What is it about Texas that keep you going back? I think this was the second or third time for you there if I’m correct.
    MV: Texas is awesome. Plain and simple. The weather is always nice (if a little overwhelming with the heat/humidity, but hey…), the people are typically laid back and fun in the bigger cities we visit, and the music fans there love rock and roll. Playing to a room of new faces in TX is one of our favorite things to do because we’re always confident in more than half the room being very into what we’re doing. Texas has stayed engaged with us as a band, even though we’re in NY and only tour down every 3 months or so. There are a few great promoters and venues down there who have put their faith in the band and are working to help us grow down there. We’re grateful for the little set up we’ve been ushered into down in TX. So much so that we’ve decided to move to Austin from 2/10-3/23 this year. We’ve rented a house and rehearsal space and will be writing and demoing for a new album down there. We’re going to be meeting with producers and basically figuring out the vibe for the next record while we’re there, as well as a 4 week residency at Empire Garage & Control Room before a crazy week at SXSW 2015. We have some great friends down there we’d like to collaborate with and we all feel like living there for a bit will help us bolster even more of a buzz down that way. And even if not, it’ll be a totally sweet vacation from NY to escape the middle/end of winter.
    BL: Is there any new music on the horizon? I know Big Suspicious only came out in January, but fans are already clamoring some new tunes.
    MV: Hell yeah. We’ve got 2-3 tunes we’re going to start playing in Europe hopefully. We’ll probably play a few over this next month as we prepare for the Euro tour. Then when we get home we’re back in writing and US touring mode til we move to Austin for a more focused writing push. I’d really like to do a new single EP with a new single, a new b-side, a few b-sides from Big Suspicious, and a live or cover track early in 2015. I’m hoping to have something together  for that before SXSW. Then LP #2 will be aiming for January 2016.
    BL: Is it difficult playing 2 or more shows in a day? It seems like you guys have been doing it a lot lately
    MV: I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. Oftentimes it’s stressful since it involves a cramped timeframe and everyone is rushing to get everything done and get it done perfectly so we can be on time for the next gig. Typically if we have 2+ gigs in a day, we’re excited about all of them so we’re able to keep the energy high and adrenaline flowing for the whole day. We had a conversation in June 2013 and then again when the album came out about how it was time to say yes to everything. I think we’re winding down on the say yes to EVERYTHING thing but having a solid work ethic and be willing and available to play early and often has helped us immensely.
    BL: So a European tour is happening next month. How did that come about and how are you guys feeling going into the shows?
    MV: We are all anxious as hell to get over there and get started. We’ve had a great publicist, Carmen, working hard for us in Europe and have had some great reviews of the album and have heard from a lot of excited European fans. We’ve been touring relentlessly since the album came out and I think we all feel really good on stage right now as a trio. We’re learning and growing together, and it’s made for some nice transitions in how we play live. We’re as high energy as ever but the amount of attention we’re each paying to each other on stage is at a heightened level. We’re all much more aware and that’s allowed us to take a few more risks and read the room (and each other) a lot better. As far as how it came about, our European booking agency Teenage Head Music heard about us randomly through a friend and reached out. THM is an awesome agency because pretty much their entire roster is American bands or bands from other countries like Australia and New Zealand, all going to Europe for tours on a very cool routing of venues in a handful of great countries.
    BL: How important do you feel having a local radio station is to building a following for a band around a city with how the music business has changed and everything is accessible online?
    MV: I think it’s pretty important, but building a following for a band is a very complex undertaking. The way to do it varies by band, by city, by genre, etc and there are so many contributing factors to what builds a band these days. A local radio station that is active and involved in the community is absolutely a key factor to spreading the word. We’re fortunate to have snagged the ears of WEQX listeners and the local area has been crazy supportive as far as showing up at our shows, dancing their faces off, buying merch, and spreading the word. We meet so many awesome people who tell us they’re going to bring more people next time they come see a show, and that is priceless. I think one of the things that has become clear is that the music business relies a lot more on having a supportive community of people invested in each other than ever before. We’ve had a very successful year and we owe it all to the help of other bands and their management (at every level of the game, from moe. to our homeboys the Continuums in Austin, TX and beyond), the promoters who take continual risks on bands, the radio stations who play bands when no one else is, and the music lovers who come out to shows, buy the album, and tell a friend. There’s a whole lot of people who rely on each other to bring new music to the world, and we try to re-invest in our friends and business acquaintances who do good things for the community around them.
    BL: Any other plans you have coming up that you’d like to let the public in on yet, or do you want to leave some surprises for everyone?
    MV: Announcing our New Years Eve plans soon! It’ll be our first and only Upstate NY show after returning home from Europe and before 2015! More exciting things will be announced over the next few months, I promise!
    Tickets for both shows this Saturday are available now. Catch them at these small shows while you can before they move on up to hopefully some larger venues in the near future.

  • Interview: Hellyeah! Vinnie Paul talks about touring, Blood for Blood, and the story behind Rebel Meets Rebel

    In the world of hard rock and heavy metal, there are drummers, and then there is Vinnie Paul. Starting up his first project in 1981, which would soon become the game-changing metal band Pantera, Vinnie has been delivering crushing drum beats for three solid decades. When tragedy struck in 2004 while playing with Damageplan, it was unclear if Vinnie would ever play drums again. But you can’t take the music out of the man, and soon Hellyeah, a veritable metal supergroup, was formed in 2006 with Vinnie once again behind the kit. interview

    On the recent Five Finger Death Punch and Volbeat tour, Hellyeah brought their incredible sound and heavy presence in support every night. When the tour came to The Times Union Center in Albany New York, I was lucky and honored to be able to talk with Vinnie about the road, the band’s newest record, and the future. Because of a scheduling error, Jim Gilbert and myself were rushed into a small back room with a broken cooler and a chair, and were warmly welcomed by rock royalty.

    Interview Vinnie Paul
    Vinnie Paul (Hellyeah, Damageplan, Pantera) and Jeff Ayers (NYSMusic)

    Jeff Ayers: So how has this tour been going? I’ve been following you on social media, it looks great.

    Vinnie Paul: Absolutely awesome. One of the favorite tours I have ever been a part of. Every band is different from each other, and unique from each other. It’s been sold out, or nearly sold out every night, and it’s a great opportunity for us to play to a lot of people that have never seen us, and to play to people who have seen us before. It’s just been awesome man. Five Finger and Volbeat have been treating us great, and we are all really good friends, everybody gets along, so everybody’s having a great time.

    JA: That’s great. Speaking of social media, you really do a lot on the internet.

    VP: I try to keep the fans informed as much as I can.

    JA: You definitely do, and speaking from people who came up in the music business before all that, was that easy for you to pick up, or did it take some getting used to?

    VP: You just have to catch up, you know? Back in the day it was word of mouth. “You gotta check this band out”. This guy went and told this guy, and that guy went and told these girls, and those girls went and told their friends. Five people told ten people, and that is how it spread. Nowadays you can touch so many people with just a touch of the button, it’s incredible.

    JA: Recently in the press, Gene Simmons said Rock is Dead. Your band, and this tour, is direct opposition to that statement. In your own opinion, what do you believe is the current state of rock music?

    VP: I think Gene was speaking from a different perspective. We are talking about, if you wanna look at the bands that are still headlining huge festivals and stuff, it’s still KISS, it’s still Motley Crue, it’s still Metallica. It’s the same bands that were doing it fifteen or twenty years ago. There hasn’t been any bands that have stepped to the forefront to be as big as those bands. So that’s where his perspective is coming from. But as far as rock and metal being dead, there is no way it will ever die. It is the greatest form of music there ever was, people love it and still support it. Sometimes it goes through phases of more popularity or less popularity, unfortunately with all the downloading that goes on it is harder and harder for artists to tour, especially young bands that are just coming up. But there are still people who are out there fighting, we are here, Five Finger is here, Volbeat is here, there are a lot of great bands out there doing this. I’m not going away from it. It has changed a ton from when you would buy Pantera albums, and not CD’s and all that, but you either get in line with or you fucking fall by the wayside.

    Interview Vinnie Paul
    Album Cover

    JA: Very true. As a drummer, and from maybe a non-metal area, what are some of your lesser known influences? Maybe something that drives you from the beginning of your career, or music that you have found as your career has taken you places?

    VP: I’m a fan of any kind of music except hip-hop. Hip-hop just doesn’t do anything for me. I grew up listening to a lot of country and western, a lot of David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings, and stuff like that. And, you know, all the bands from Texas; Kings X, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, all that stuff was really influential and good to go watch at an early age. I don’t think there are any big ‘secrets’ as to something in my [music] vault that you don’t know anything about. I love female singers. I like Christina Aguilera, and I like the Heart sisters. Lzzy Hale, from Halestorm is an amazing vocalist, Pat Benetar, so maybe that’s something people didn’t really know.

    JA: Lots of great music. Pat Benetar is actually going to be [in Albany] very soon. So this just hit me, because you mentioned David Allan Coe, how did the album that you guys did [Vinnie, his brother Dimebag Darryl and Rex Brown from Pantera] with David Allan Coe come about? What’s the story behind Rebel Meets Rebel?

    VP: Well it’s really crazy. Like I said, my brother and I used to hear him [a lot], he was one of my mom’s favorite country artists back in the day. My brother went over in 1999 to see David Allan Coe play at a place called Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas. So, you know, we always would take our Pantera CD’s and DVD’s with us to pass them off to people, and Dime actually stood in line, the meet and greet line, for David Allan, and he stood there with like a hundred people and he was at the end of the line. So when he got up to David he said “Hey man, I know you don’t know who I am or anything, but I play in this band Pantera and I love your music, and I wanna give you a DVD, and maybe we can get together and write some songs sometime.” So Dime gave him his phone number, and the next day about eight o’clock in the morning, Dime said his phone rang, and he said there was this country dude on the phone and [laughs, in his best David Allan impression] “Hey man, this David Allan Coe” and Dime was like David Allan Coe? At eight o’clock in the morning? What’s going on?

    Jim Gilbert: I would not think he would be up at eight in the morning.

    VP: Yeah, right? [laughs] But he was like, “I just watched this DVD you gave me man, and you guys are like the fucking Beatles of fucking 1999 man! When are we gonna get together and start writing some songs?” That is basically how it happened. So he came into town, and everytime he would come to town after that we would write a few songs with him. This happened like four times and by that point we had enough stuff for a record, and we finished it. At that time, we were doing Damageplan, and the fans were really confused as to what had happened with Pantera, and we didn’t want to confuse them further, so we put it on the shelf. Then, after the horrible thing that happened with my brother, it took me about eight months to get my life together, and the first thing that came to me was man, Dime was really proud of that album, and I gotta get it out for him, you know? It was really important to me, so I started my own label and put it out, and it did really well.

    JA: Yea, I love that record.

    VP: Thank you. Honestly, it was the first true collaboration between a heavy metal outlaw band and a country outlaw together. Some people had done it with a single or something, but that was the first full length record.

    JG: Also, country music influencing metal right now, is so popular, there is such a blend.

    VP: Yeah there is a great crossover there, for sure.

    JA: So back to Hellyeah. Blood for Blood, marks in my opinion, the best, most coherent version of the band to date.

    VP: Thanks man.

    JA: Did you guys go into the studio with that mindset, or was that born from the recording process?

    VP: Well, we felt like we got back on track with what we wanted to do, and what the fans wanted us to do, being a metal band. The first two records were really experimentally, doing things outside of what we had done with Nothing Face, Mudvayne and Pantera, and songs like “Alcohaulin’ Ass” and “Hell of a Time” were songs that wouldn’t work in those bands. So once we got that out of our system, we got back to doing what are roots are, which is metal, with Band of Brothers. Once we finished the Gigantour last year with Megadeth and Black Label Society, we felt like we pulled the heavy fans back in. We wanted to get in the studio and make the best record of our careers. At that time, that is when we realised that Greg [Tribbett] and Bob[Zilla] didn’t have the same vision or focus, and they both had serious personal issues that were taking away from the band, so we parted company. So myself, Tom [Maxwell] and Chad [Gray] wrote the entire record with a brand new producer [for us] Kevin Churko, and he really understood the vision we had and we made the best record we ever made, so we are really proud of it.

    JA: You should be, it is a really great record. You said that the track “Say When” is the first time you have written a drum part that extreme since the Far Beyond Driven days. Do see more parts like that in the future?

    VP: Yeah man, especially with the direction we are going, it allows for more drumming, and heavier stuff. Like I said, the other records, the earlier Hellyeah was more rock and roll influenced, so it required me to be more of a back beat on things. Going back in the metal direction, it gives me more freedom as a drummer to tear it up and do more.

    JA: Awesome! What’s next for Hellyeah after this tour?

    VP: Well we have a long tour to go, this is only the tenth show! [laughs]. So this goes until November, then we will be off until New Years Eve, with a show I can’t talk about yet, and then next year is a whole year of touring. Definitely a tour of the U.S., Europe again in the spring, we will be going to South America, Japan, all that and non-stop touring until probably October next year, then back to the studio and do it all over again!

    JA: That is the dream.

    VP: Hellyeah!

  • Have some Funk with your Waffles: An Interview with Greg Ormont of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

    If you attend college at SU, every now and then you need an excuse to go to Funk N’ Waffles. Maybe it’s the sweet aroma, abstract art, or the dynamic acts they book. No matter what your reasoning is, October 9th is the day to be at the Funk, because the one the only Pigeons Playing Ping Pong will astound all of us with a funky fresh energy that will make the best (waffle) dinner and a show of all time. Based out of Baltimore, this quirky combo has sailed to the top in the past five years, from the University of Maryland dorms to prestigious stages across the nation. I got to talk with the lead singer Greg Ormont about their past summer festival season, greatest moments, and upcoming releases.

    Julia Wolfe: If you were describing your music to someone who doesn’t know your band, what three adjectives would you use?

    Greg Ormont: High energy, psychedelic, and funk. I would need to put fun in there somewhere, so I would probably do that for extra credit?

    pigeons

    JW: Sure! I’m cool with bonus points. I also noticed you guys recently played at the Catskill Chill Music Festival, alongside Lettuce, Papadosio, and Dopapod. What was that like?

    GO: It was an honor to play Catskill Chill. It was our second time playing there, and the lineup is just so impressive from top to bottom. It was an incredibly deep and fanastic, funky lineup, so playing alongside those musicians is just a dream come true. We were able to invite some of our friends up on stage, so we had Mihali Savoulidis from Twiddle play guitar with us, along with others. There’s so much great cool stuff to see and great music.

    JW: What would you say is your dream gig? What bands do you idolize?

    GO: My dream gigs would be Jam Cruise, Madison Square Garden, and Vegas on Halloween somewhere. I would play with Phish, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. If I had to answer with one dream gig, though, it would be the Superbowl Halftime Show with special guest Stevie Wonder.

    JW: I looked into your discography, and it shows your first record was released in 2010, so you guys are still pretty new. How have you handled taking off so quickly in the past 5 years?

    GO: We just love to play music. Back when we started this band, it was for fun. To this day, it’s still about the fun. As we play bigger venues and have more prestigious lineups, we continue to focus on having a good time on stage and have the crowd have an even better time. We’ve always been drawn to the energy that we share with an audience, and that’s what we focus on. It’s nice that we get to play later and longer at shows, but it all boils down to having a great time.

    JW: It looks like you’ve hit up a ton of venues across the US. What has been your favorite so far?

    GO: Opening for the Disco Biscuits at the Best Buy Theatre on New Year’s Eve. The 930 Club in DC and the 8 by 10 in Baltimore were also some of our favorites.

    JW: Where can we expect to see you in the future? Any cool shows or releases coming up?

    GO: We just recently announced New Year’s Eve in Richmond, Virginia. Just yesterday, we announced more shows in Upstate New York. We’re also playing Aura Music Festival in Florida, which is one of my favorite places to play by far. It’s one of the most beautiful grounds I’ve ever stepped on with the most visionary lineups of the year. It’s going to be a great show.

    JW: If people want to follow your updates, where can they find you?

    GO: Definitely on our facebook page as well as our website, but I also would recommend to follow our Instagram. Facebook has most of our band information, but our Instagram has all of our wacky, spur of the moment photos from our tour, so both are worth checking out.

    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong released their second album, Psychology in July of 2014, and have undergone an extensive season of touring since. Despite their multiple stops in upstate New York, you won’t get as much of an inclusive experience unless you go to Funk N’ Waffles on South Crouse Ave. They stop here October 9th at 8:30pm, and food and beverages will be available for sale, as always. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door, but I’d recommend getting there early to secure a seat. See ya there!

  • A Sound Man – An Interview with John Chiara

    The role of the sound engineer is overlooked during live performances, with attention given to the musicians performing on stage and the product of the lightning designer’s illumination. Having good sound is an important component to the live music experience in tandem with these two, and a factor that can ruin a show experience without the proper attention or sound engineer behind the board. Local sound engineer John Chiara from Albany Audio sat down with and provided insight into the local Albany music scene, hinted at what it would take for a potential new venue in the Albany area, and the challenges that are presented in running a sound business.

    Pete Mason: Growing up in Upstate New York, what was the first music that piqued your interest?

    John Chiara: I grew up in Amsterdam. I used to see bands like 805, Dove, and lots of Western NY show type bands so I developed a liking for high production acts even in the club scene.

    PM: How did you first get into running sound?

    JC: My first band had one microphone. I became the singer and the sound engineer at our first rehearsal! We purchased a solid state Bogen 3 input mixer/amp and 2 4 x 12″ column speakers with Paisley grill cloth.

    john chiaraPM: Over the past decade in particular, how have you seen the music scene in the Capital District rise and fall and rise again? Is it rising again?

    JC: The scene has not been great since the late ’80’s. Most kinds of original music are not very actively supported by fans in the local bar scene. A few genres have ‘survived’. The hardcore bands pretty much support themselves, meaning that most band members actively attend other shows and can produce enough revenue to keep bands working, even though the actual audience makes up a very small percentage of the club going public. The Jam scene is really the only one that functions somewhat normally, meaning there is a structure that a local band can get into that allows them to profess from local to regional, and hopefully beyond.

    Music mainly happens in restaurants so it usually is not the top priority for owners. Therefore they seek out less expensive and less risky options. Local party bands dominate for those reasons. Seeking out original music is not that popular so original bands, which are necessary for any real music ‘scene’ to exist, are not encouraged or rewarded and become a tough sell. I believe that a locally subsidized venue is necessary to revitalize the local music business. I have been working on this but right now the process is stalled until 2015.

    PM: What issues does the Capital District face in trying to open up new music venues? Will we ever see a venue akin to the former Revolution Hall?

    JC: The overhead of a for-profit music venue is pretty much overwhelming unless an investor gets involved for the sake of the music, understanding that it will take many years to establish a reliable reputation and clientele. Club Helsinki in Hudson is a good example. While not exactly a rock venue, the fact that they spent literally millions on the building, which may never be recouped, and host national acts show what’s needed to be competitive.

    Revolution Hall was a unique situation, with me taking all that risk and while a great place to see shows could not generate enough profit to survive on its own, at the end it was actually at a place that I believe could have turned profitable, but ownership changes pretty much destroyed that possibility.

    PM: In what way are sound guys a critical component to putting on a full live music experience, in a way that might not be obvious to fans?

    JC: In my opinion, the ‘sound guys’ should be the most important and valued component of a live show as they are in direct control, hopefully, of what gets presented to the audience. Their first job is hospitality to the performers and making them feel comfortable so they can put on the best show possible. After that, they are supposed to then ‘perform’ themselves and contribute to the ‘magic’ of the performance.

    A little aside here: this is what I see lacking in most performances, both local and national. I can’t count how many shows I attend and walk away thinking “Wow, the lights and video were really together and well done and the audio was, meh.” It’s a different skill set. The lighting and video can all bed pre-programmed to look and move in predetermined ways, but lived audio cannot, so the mixer must ‘perform’ as well. Most bodies behind the mixing boards got there because they were loyal employees that showed up on time and worked hard, .valuable traits but has nothing to do with having the knowledge and skills to mix music. Kinda like rewarding the busboy for 5 years of service by making him the  Head Chef! I offer classes and private sessions to teach these skills at all levels.

    PM: What bands that he has seen grow from the local scene into having the greatest potential?

    JC: Phantogram, Eastbound Jesus, Sean Rowe, The Chronicles. I am sure there are others. Success is mostly determined by a good plan, ability and willingness to work endlessly, travel, work with good managers, booking agents and promoters, and being flexible enough to adapt to changing possibilities.

    PM: How did your sound business develop over time and what venues do you most enjoy running sound at?

    JC: My sound business grew into Revolution Hall out of necessity. I have worked for other companies on and off over the years. I started a portable sound company a few years back and quickly found the local market. The musician side of the market was completely saturated and because of that no one was charging enough for actual sound gigs to generate enough to make it a profitable business. Most companies also do online sales, installations and other self contained projects that subsidize the actual live show work. While this makes sense financially for the business it is also a contributing factor to the overall, in my opinion, low quality presentations at local live shows.

    I was not successful because my skills, making the music sound great, did not fit into that type of business plan, as crazy as that sounds. My explanation for this is a form of ‘trickle down’ skill sets. If the company owner is not an expert at certain skills, he probably will not value them as highly as someone who is.  I am often asked what I think about live shows I attend. I explain my visualization of the situations like this. For me, it is like The Terminator, where there is a little checklist that comes up in my left eye and things get checked off as being good or bad. I can identify, in order of importance, what changes will make the most impact of the result. This overview comes from doing nearly 5000 shows and pretty much seeing it all and understanding what works and what doesn’t. I assume a chef eating at a new restaurant does the same thing. He tasters the dish and immediately rifles through all that ingredients in his mind and evaluates what needs to change. The hard part is when the cook in the kitchen only knows about using salt and pepper and the concept of a cupboard full of spices is lost. My experience tells me that even the use of salt and pepper is enhanced by knowledge of the other spices.

    PM: What makes running sound for shows a rewarding experience?

    JC: Having the performers and audience members enjoying a great experience. I have had some great shows lately that were greatly appreciated by all involved and resulted in others requesting training from me. Usually this comes from less experienced techs who actually realize the value of advanced knowledge. Their perspective is enhanced by the fact that they are not worried about job security so they can be honestly curious and willing to learn. I am lucky to do a wide variety of different kind of acts, and I believe that getting a gig doing sound for popular local cover bands, while overall financially viable and predictable, is a great recipe for stagnation, with no real pressure to improve your skill set and get progressively better at the job; kind of the ‘cubicle’ job of music mixing! Revolution Hall was great because I got to mix all kinds of stuff in and environment that I had control over. I could eliminate variables and concentrate on the music and performance. Most gigs are predominately making sure the gear gets set up, works, and that nothing breaks! Not exactly a creative environment!

    PM: What are your favorite places to go for shows?

    JC: I like the big theater at Proctors. I mixed a show there in August and it is a really good theater setup.

    PM: What influences had the greatest impact in your understanding of sound and sound mixing?

    JC: My main knowledge source is studio work. I read all the time but without the studio to actually practice what I learn, I would not be as comfortable and willing to take chances in a live setting. I try things live because I know from studio mixing what results should occur from certain actions. Most mixers who don’t practice their skills in a setting where they can check results will never push themselves. It really amazes me that the musicians all learn their instruments, practice their instruments, rehearse with the band, work on arrangements and parts, etc… and the person mixing the show, the person with direct control over how the performance is presented to the audience, usually never moves a fader except during a show! It really doesn’t make sense, but that is the norm. I think people think that the ability to comprehend a complex process, examine and judge all their variables of a live show, interpret how to put all these variables together into a coherent mix, in what is usually an inhospitable environment, is something that is just going to ‘come’ to them magically! I have NEVER seen an example of this! I teach private and group classes for live mixing and offer on site consultations and system service. This is a great starting point for bands running their own sound as well. Just email john@albanyaudio.com!

  • Interview: Vintage Trouble, Set to Take Over The Hollow and the World

    This Sunday, Sept. 28 Vintage Trouble will be coming to The Hollow Bar in Albany, N.Y. This four piece rock n’ roll blues band hailing from California have been touring the country for a few years now, at times being asked to support major acts such as, The Who, Bon Jovi, and the Dave  Matthews Band.

    In a phone interview earlier this week with NYS Music’s Jim Gilbert, all four members were excited to play Albany and share their music with the Capital Region.  “We’ve been touring non-stop for three and a half years now, just getting off the ‘Summer of Trouble’ tour and extending it to the ‘Swinghouse Acoustic’ tour that we are on now.”  Vintage Trouble has toured the world and plays around “200 shows a year, but up to 260 if you include radio stations” and other similar media outlets.  The even played the Jay Leno Show four times in one year.

    When asked how he is able to continuing to sing every night with the brutal tour schedule, lead vocalist, Ty Taylor explained, “By not thinking about it. Stress is horrible and if you think too much [you could cause the issues]. Drink plenty of water and [practice] mental control.” He went on to say that he, “relies on the microphone to do its job” and trusting the mic allows him not to strain too much.

    While the band is getting well-known for its initial release, The Bomb Shelter Sessions, drummer Richard Danielson reassured us that the band has been, “writing on the road and we have a lot more than those 10 songs.  We have three-quarters of the new album done and other songs to fill two hours.”  Stops on this tour can hear potentially up to 20 or more songs in a night, that will surely leave them craving for more.

    People began to hear about them from these support gigs and began to arrive early to hear the band blaze through their short opening sets. With front man Ty Taylor moving about the stage like a mix between James Brown and Roger Daltrey, Nalle Colt soloing all over the songs, and Rich Barrio Dill and Richard Danielson holding down the rhythm section, the band is a sight to see and a pleasure to your ears.

    It was this energy that attracted acts such as Bon Jovi, Lenny Kravitz and even The Who, to include them on European legs of their tour.  Bassist Rock Barrio Dill said they were “only going to be in the UK for three weeks, but ended up staying for seven months because these opportunities kept coming up”.  All the touring and travel, “cultivated a lot of new material.”

    Taylor proudly went on to say that Vintage Trouble is “an independent band. It cost us less than $1000 to make the record. We couldn’t do a world release, [so it was slow to hit some countries.] It was released only a year ago in Japan and debuted at #4.  It took three years to get around the world, but like my mother always said ‘patience is a virtue.”

    While Vintage Trouble just went into a recording partnership with Blue Note Records, the label is giving them a lot of freedom.  There is a mutual feeling of pride in releasing their own work, but it is nice to have a big brother helping them out.  However, recording is only a part of the equation.  Rick emphasized that “we consider ourselves a live band first. Wherever we take it, we will be a live band.”

    Starting out at Harvelle’s Blues Club in Long Beach playing a weekly residency in a place with “true old blues energy” the locals dubbed it Trouble Tuesday. In fact, a friend of the band called the ever-growing weekly audience, “TroubleMakers”.  That name stuck and fans from around the world have joined the TroubleMakers.  With nearly 12,000 in their Facebook group, Nalle added, “the band stays in touch daily with the group.”.  It is also THE place to go to find out about the pre-show parties and after show events, as well as interact with like-minded fans.

    Tickets are currently on sale now. The show starts at 7PM with The Soul Selector Tom PaPa Ray. Make sure to come out for this show and end the week with some rock n’ roll medicine.

  • Rob Caggiano of Volbeat talks tour with Five Finger Death Punch and coming back to Upstate New York

    The massive success of Volbeat and Five Finger Death Punch in the last year has led to a co-headlining tour that is built on epic proportions. The lineup is filled out by rockers Hellyeah and Nothing More, and will wind up playing two shows in the Upstate area. I got the chance to talk with Rob Caggiano, the new guitarist of Volbeat, as well as alumni of the bands Anthrax and The Damned Things. We talked about what it’s like to be in Volbeat, and what this tour has in store for the fans.

    Photo by Amy Harris from thefirst3songs.com
    Photo by Amy Harris from thefirst3songs.com

    Jeff Ayers: So the tour started last night Sept. 16, in Salt Lake City, how did it go? How was the first show?

    Rob Caggiano: The first show went great, really good. As to be expected though, with any ‘first show’ on a tour like this, there are some kinks that need to be worked out, some technical stuff, but overall it was killer, and a great crowd.

    JA: Yea I saw pictures online, that crowd looked insane! This tour is being heralded by the press as the two hottest rock bands co headlining a U.S. tour. Rightfully so, with both bands increasing successes. The response from the fans when you announced this tour must have been incredible.

    RC: Yeah, there was a lot of excitement about this lineup, and it feels really good. We are very excited to be on this run, and all shows coming up.

    JA: Awesome. Speaking on that a little, Volbeat and Five Finger Death Punch both have been doing great things for rock, and heavy rock, on the charts and off. Do you have any thoughts on Gene Simmons recent comments about how rock is dead?

    RC: He’s been making a lot of comments lately, about [all kinds of] stuff. [laughs]. I don’t know where he was going with that. I saw something on twitter about that, but obviously, rock is not dead.

    JA: You guys are a testament that it is not!

    RC: I mean, the music business is very different these days, than it was even five years ago. So it’s changing rapidly, and things are different. Record sales aren’t even what they used to be, it’s a totally different landscape right now. That might be what Gene Simmons was referring to, but I don’t know. It is certainly not dead.

    JA: Most definitely. So the most recent Volbeat album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies, which by the way, is an awesome title —

    RC: [laughs] Yeah!

    JA: [The album] has done really well since it’s release. You helped produce that album, how was that experience?

    RC: It was great. We were in Denmark, on the countryside at a place called Randers, and it was cool. We were isolated in the studio, and totally focused on the record. We had a great team too, Jacob Hansen was also there, and has been Volbeat’s long time producer. I had one of my engineers out there too, Brian Russell, and it all came together. I am really proud of this record.

    JA: Cool. You joined up with Volbeat in the midst of recording the album, correct?

    RC: Yes.

    JA: How did that come about, you guys all just hit it off in the studio?

    RC: I have been friends with the guys for a few years, before I got that call to produce the record, so we get along great. I‘ve known them since about 2010 when they took The Damned Things on tour, and we would hang out every night on that tour. But I got [to produce the record] and we started going over the pre-production, to figure out what was going to be on the record. There were a few songs that were unfinished, and Michael and I started collaborating on few things. The chemistry was really great, and from that first pre-production meeting, it kind of set the tone for everything. A couple of weeks later they asked me to be a part of the band.

    JA: That’s awesome. Before you joined up with Volbeat, you pretty much exclusively behind the soundboard for a little bit. Were you actively looking for projects at that time, or did this kind of fall in your lap?

    RC: I think people misunderstood what I said in my press release when I quit Anthrax. It was never about not wanting to tour anymore, or not play guitar anymore. It was just about wanting a change, and I just wanted to produce some records while I figured out what I wanted to do next with my career as an artist, as a guitarist. When the Volbeat record came across my table as a production gig, I was like “Wow this is perfect!” I love the band, and always thought we could make a great record together. It was something we talked about on The Damned Things tour, years ago. Everything just happened at once! [laughs] I ended up producing a record and joining the band.

    JA: You can’t beat pure serendipity like that though!

    RC: Yes! Yeah, totally.

    JA: Volbeat as a band is always so busy, since you joined, how many tours have you played with them?

    RC: Wow. That’s a good question. Not sure I know that myself. [laughs]

    JA: Yeah, I was trying to look online, and it just seems that Volbeat is constantly on tour.

    RC: Yeah we are. I haven’t been home at all, it’s crazy. We have been all over the world a couple of times now, and honestly I don’t know the exact number.

    JA: That is totally fine! [laughs] It’s great work if you can’t even count all the jobs. Speaking of circling the world though, with all the times you have with Volbeat, and also with Anthrax especially playing on The Big 4 tour, personally speaking, do you have a favorite place to play or return to?

    RC: Oh, I have so many favorite places to play. In America, I love playing New York, I love playing Chicago, Los Angeles, I love Europe as well though. Scandinavia is great, and I love Germany. One of my favorite places in the world is Australia, because it’s so beautiful. I love going over there.

    JA: Being an American in a Danish band, is there any culture shock?

    RC: I don’t know if you would call it culture shock. It’s a little different for me, coming from New York, everything with me is fast paced, because of New York.

    JA: Hell yeah!

    RC: So I am always in that mode, where as these guys are little more laid back, which is great. We get along great, it’s really cool.

    tour flyer
    tour flyer

    JA: So for this tour, with Five Finger Death Punch, Hellyeah and Nothing More, what can fans expect, are there any surprises in store from Volbeat?

    RC: Well if we did have any surprises, I wouldn’t tell you!

    JA: Good answer!

    RC: [laughs] It is just going to be a great all around rock and roll show. I think the fans are going to be in for a real treat.

    JA: Well the tour is going to be making a few stops in Upstate New York, one at the OnCenter in Syracuse on September 23rd, and then at the Times Union Center on the 27th. You being from the Bronx, and being in multiple bands, you have played this area a bunch. Do you like playing around here, any thoughts on Upstate NY?

    RC: I always loved Upstate New York. To me, it’s so crazy. You know, coming from the city, there are so many amazing, beautiful places in New York, if you are a city person, you don’t even realize they are there. The crowds are always great up there though. Joey Belladonna from Anthrax, he’s from up there. [Oswego]. It’s cool, I love it up there.

    JA: Cool. What’s next for Volbeat after this tour? Another tour? [laughs] Or are you guys going to take a break and write material, or what?

    RC: After this tour, we are actually going back to the U.K. That will be the last thing we do for this year. Then we are going to lay low, the holidays will be coming up, and then we will get into creative mode basically.

    JA: This tour ends in Vegas, what are your experiences playing there?

    RC: Vegas is cool. For me, I have a three-day limit on Vegas. In three days I have to get out of there, because it is crazy. [laughs] But the crowds are really good, and Five Finger Death Punch is from Vegas, so that final show should be completely off the wall.

  • Dan Maines, bassist of Clutch, talks Upstate NY, a new record, and The Walking Dead

    When Clutch came to Upstate Concert Hall in September, I was lucky enough to sit down with the bassist, Dan Maines. The lineup of the band has added members to it’s roster over the years, but the core lineup of Dan, Neil Fallon, Jean-Paul Gaster and Tim Sult has remained the constant for over twenty years. Clutch has been a staple to the Upstate New York music scene for most of their career, and it was great to talk about the area, the band and the process with Dan. Also, for the first time, we brought along a local musician, Dustin Alexander, who plays in the band Jesus Christ and the Hallucinogenic Allstars to ask a few questions, bassist to bassist.

    Dustin Alexander (JCHA), Dan Maines (Clutch) and Jeff Ayers (NYS Music) backstage of Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY. Photo by Jim 'JT' Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
    Dustin Alexander (JCHA), Dan Maines (Clutch) and Jeff Ayers (NYS Music) backstage of Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com

    Jeff Ayers: In your personal opinion, how has playing in the heavy rock scene changed in the last two decades? Do you still feel like it’s an uphill battle?

    Dan Maines: I don’t know, that’s kind of a hard question to answer. We are not in the position to really know what it’s like for a band starting out now. It might be a little more difficult for them now, as opposed to when we started. We were coming up at a point in time when a whole new genre of music was moving into the mainstream. Bands that we were listening to for years, that we were looking at as influences, they were suddenly becoming major label bands. That happened for us as well, and we got swept up in that frenzy, to jump on that bandwagon. What people were calling alternative, or grunge rock, and some bands that didn’t even fit into that category were swept up too, for better or worse. Talking with the band we are on tour with now, Lionize, they are in a better position nowadays. Hearing the things they pick up on [coming up in the industry.] Now, it seems like it’s not even mandatory to be a legitimate band anymore.

     JA: Yeah, I see that too.

    DM: Bands that play along to recorded tracks, that isn’t really being in a band. The whole thing for us is playing a live show, to be entertaining for us and the live audience.

    JA: You guys do that very well, I have to say.

    DM: Thank you. I mean if you can’t do that as a band, without the use of computers or backtracks, you should probably rethink your approach.

    JA: I totally agree. You talked about being swept up by the major label race in the 90’s to sign a bunch of bands.  You guys started on Atlantic or Columbia Records right?

    DM: We started on East West. Which was part of that Atlantic family, and that was in 1992, when we signed, and the record (Transnational Speedway League) didn’t come out until 93. We actually released an EP on Earache Records before that. (Passive Restraints).

    JA: Then in 2008, you started WeatherMaker Records.  How was that process, being in the business for a while at that point then starting your own label? Was it tough?

    DM: Yeah, it definitely was. We were on East West, then moved to Columbia, and then Atlantic. We just got fed up with the game. It’s a weird business, so many personal changes happen on the fly, on a weekly basis sometimes. We felt like there wasn’t any real direction, and nobody knew what the hell to do with us. We signed with an independent label, DRT, and put out three records with them. But that was the slow decline with our relationship with labels. We had to go to court, and winning that decision bolstered our resolve to just say, “Let’s do it ourselves”. At that point, we were in the right position, we had already put out records on our own. We put out Jam Room on Riverroad Records, which was basically selling records out the backdoor of the van. So we had been doing it already to a point, and the only thing we didn’t have was distribution. So we had to find a couple of really good people in that field to work for us in an unconventional label.

    JA: Speaking a little about Upstate NY, you guys have been coming to this area for a long time. I can’t even count the amount of times I have seen you play this area. Do you enjoy Upstate NY? Are you happy with the response you get from this area?

    DM: Definitely. That is kinda how we started out. Being from Baltimore, we would play up to Boston, and then head to Detroit, and then play our way back home. So this became our spot, or one of them.

    Dan Maines (Clutch) at Upstate Concert Hall. Photo by Jim 'JT' Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
    Dan Maines (Clutch) at Upstate Concert Hall. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com

    JA: Do you remember Saratoga Winners?

    DM: Absolutely. I mean they were one of the earliest supporters of us, even more so than our hometown. This has always been a really great place for us to play.

    JA: We have a great metal scene in this area, but also a great jam scene. You guys fit into so many pieces of that puzzle.

    DM: Yeah that’s good. Man, I’ve never even thought about that. Makes sense.

    JA: Personally speaking, I started listening to you guys in the mid nineties because a local radio station was playing you (Z-Rock), and then you guys started playing up here. Not only a fan of you guys, but through the times I have seen you tour, I have found favorite bands because the were your openers. Like The Sword, and Mastodon. Do you hand-pick your tour mates?

    DM: We get a lot of help from our booking agency, when we are planning on touring, they also have bands on their roster that they suggest to us. Also, bands that we might not know exist, but want to tour with us, submit themselves through our booking agency. We are with The Agency Group. That’s how we found out about American Sharks, when we were touring with The Sword. Kyle (Shutt) suggested that we play with them, and I am really glad he did, because they are great.

    JA: You guys have been really lucky to have your music attached to other aspects in the media. You have your songs used in sports games and broadcasts, and video games like Tony Hawk, and also television. Do you see a big help from that stuff? More recent example was when “Regulator” was used in a 2012 episode of The Walking Dead.

    DM: That was huge for us!

    Dustin Alexander: Are you a Walking Dead fan?

    DM: Absolutely! I lost my mind when I got that email.

    DA: I got the chills when that song came on.

    JA: Dustin and I were watching that episode together, and we jumped off the couch when that scene happened, screaming “Clutch is on the Walking Dead!”

    DM: That was amazing. It definitely helped us reach new people, too. Before that episode came out, we keep track of what songs and albums are doing the best on iTunes for example. After that episode aired, there was a huge spike in interest in that song. Same thing goes for like hockey or baseball teams that will sometimes use one of our tunes. I think the Vancouver Canucks, they were using ‘Electric Worry’ as their goal song.

    JA: So cool!

    DM: Yeah, it’s a hockey stadium, so I guarantee you that more than half the people in that place have never heard of us before. They get that [song] in their heads, and they go ask their friends, or they go look it up. It all helps.

    JA: Because I am a giant nerd, I have to ask you this question. On the new record, “Earth Rocker”, the song ‘Unto the Breech’ has a lot of Doctor Who references. Who is the fan in the band?

    DM: Neil! To be honest, I didn’t know about half the shit he was talking about.

    JA: Ha! But whatever works for the song I guess?

    DM: Oh yeah.

    JA: I’m going to turn this over to Dustin Alexander, who is a local musician playing in the same genre as you guys, to ask a few more questions:

    DA: My biggest concern, as far as touring, is how do you keep healthy? You guys play hard and long, and are playing huge sets night after night. How do you maintain yourselves?

    DM: I drink a lot more water than I ever did. That is the biggest thing. Because, you are not gonna stop drinking beer, that just isn’t gonna happen. You are not gonna stop eating pizza. You can eat less pizza, but just drink as much water as you can. I wish I knew that fifteen years ago. It catches up to you. Don’t eat McDonalds.

    DA: Since you guys have been together for so long, how do you get everybody to be on the same frequency and the same mindset? How has that worked out for you in Clutch, creating records?

    DM: You kinda just have to be honest about it. It’s a weird thing for us. As long as it doesn’t remind us of something we have already done, or another band entirely, we are always down to try something a little different. At the same time, there is never any spoken direction. We don’t even know what the hell we are doing sometimes. We are writing a new record right now, and the only goal posts we have is to write. The more open you are to musical ideas, the easier it is to write songs, because you aren’t pigeon holed into a specific sound. There are instances where individual instruments can throw something new into a song that the other members won’t pick up on[right away]. Like, Jean-Paul could do some kind of a New Orleans shuffle kind of beat in a song, and that song could have nothing to do with funk whatsoever, but it fits that groove.

    DA: Sometimes you are in the studio and laying down stuff, and you pick up on things you didn’t even know were part of the song.

    DM: That’s what makes it interesting, especially in this band.

    DA: What’s next after the tour, are you planning on going back in the studio?

    DM: This tour is the last “Earth Rocker” tour that we will do. We are going to take three months off, and write and finish the material for this new record, and hopefully go into the studio as soon as we can next year and get something out.

    DA: Do you guys have a method you follow each year, time to tour, time to get in the studio kind of thing?

    DM: Yeah we have to plan it out quite a bit, because we don’t really write on the road. It’s hard to set aside a big chunk of time at home to write. So when we are home, we get together as often as we can at our studio and record every single idea we have. Whether it is a single riff, or a whole song, we get it down on tape and move on. Then a few months later we go back to it, and listen to everything we have and try to see what we can piece together into a song or an album. Sometimes it comes together in the matter of an hour, sometimes it takes weeks.

    DA: Do you feel like after you write the riffs and give it that break, it helps?

    DM: Sure, it does.

    DA: As a bassist, I have to ask, your rig set-up is pretty rad. Are you using the Orange Tiny Terror?

    DM: Yeah, I got the terror running through the Orange fifteen, and the SVT through the other cab.

    DA: Is that the 1000 watt head or the 500?

    DM: I’m not sure. I have both, and one is set up for the European tours, and the other is for the U.S.

    DA: I have the 500 watt and i’ve been so happy with it.

    DM: Yeah, they are awesome.

    DA: Your rig sounds powerful up there. Do you use a pedal rig at all?

    DM: No, I used to try and mess around with a wah pedal, and I liked the stuff I used it for on the records, but it’s kind of a trap for me I think. So I took it out of the mix completely, to force myself to think of something to play, rather than rely on the crutch of a pedal.

    DA: I noticed that your lines are sturdy, and hold the floor down, and not too intricate. Do you notice yourself pulling back a bit to keep it a little less complicated?

    DM: Yeah. That is the kind of playing a like in a bass player anyway, for the most part. The Band of Gypsys is my epitome of perfect music. Billy Cox is solid as a rock, and I use that as a starting point to my approach to playing. When I feel like I can elaborate a little, and do a “Look what I can do” riff, then I’ll do it. It’s not like, “Where can I do something sick in this song?” That’s not what it is about for me. You can find the balance though.

    DA: Well that is why I like your playing because of how sturdy you keep it.

    DM: Well, I get to play with Jean-Paul, so I’m lucky.

     

     

  • American Sharks talk Touring and Having a Great Time at Upstate Concert Hall

    Good bands and fun times seem to come out of Texas a lot these days. American Sharks are a prime example of the type of music and tour ethos that can be attributed to bands like The Sword and The Black Angels.

    After their head-turning set at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY opening up for Clutch, I got to sit down with Mike Hardin (bass/vocals) and Will Ellis (guitar) to talk about touring, the fast pace the band has been coming up in the music scene, and what it means to have a good time. This was also the second interview I got to do with local musician Dustin Alexander from Jesus Christ and the Hallucinogenic Allstars(JCHA), bringing a “in the trenches” point of view to this article. We hope to include more local musicians talking to touring musicians in subsequent articles at .

    Interview with American Sharks. Photo by Jim 'JT' Gilbert.
    Interview with American Sharks. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert.

    Jeff Ayers: So when did the band start? Where did the band come from?

    Mike Hardin: Will and I started the band a while back in Houston, Texas.

    JA: Are you originally from Houston?

    MH: Sort of. We are kind of from a mish-mash of place, but we are all from Texas. The band kinda started when we were living in downtown Houston. Then we moved to Austin and that’s where we met Nick [Cornetti] our drummer. After that we went through a change and became a three piece, and that would be the actual beginning of the band. From then on we changed a lot.

    JA: When was this?

    Will Ellis: 2009

    JA: How about musical influences? What influenced you to start this project?

    WE: Roky Erickson, ELO

    MH: I listen to David Bowie. Only David Bowie. [laughs]. But, I’d say Roky Erickson was a huge influence. Roky Erickson and the Aliens, specifically, was a big influence on this band.

    JA: Cool. First time I heard you guys, I thought I was listening to Motorhead and Red Fang fighting. I was instantly hooked. 

    WE: Awesome!

    JA: You guys are already making waves. Speaking of Red Fang, you have done some tours with them, and you’ve played with The Sword, and now Clutch. How has the response for you on these tours been?

    WE: Yeah, very positive. It’s been really awesome man. It’s slowly getting better and better, where we show up in cities we have never played before and people are there wearing out shirts and stuff.

    MH: We were touring for a few years by ourselves, and you go to cities and no one knows who you are. Now we can come to cities and there are people coming out to see us play.

    20140906-AmericanSharks-11

    JA: Well that is the name of the game right? Specifically with this tour with Clutch, I think you guys are a great fit. How did that come about, for you guys to get on this tour?

    MH: We toured with Clutch and The Sword last year. Basically, we are friends with The Sword, and Kyle[Shutt] is our manager, and he was trying for us.

    WE: We asked him to nudge [Clutch] a bit, asked him to give them our music. He told them they needed to see us play, so when they came through Houston, they had us play one show with them. Next thing we knew we were going out on tour with them.

    Jim Gilbert: Actually, the room we are in, The Sword once set off all the fire alarms and they claimed they were only using a vaporizer.

    MH: [laughs] This has happened a couple of times being on tour with The Sword actually. Once, on tour with Clutch and The Sword, Clutch was playing and the fire alarms started going off–

    WE: Yeah, that place was in Athens, Georgia (The Georgia Theatre), and it had burned down years before, so everyone in the place was freaking out thinking it was burning down again

    JA: Thats hilarious, I’ve met those guys and they seem like fun dudes. Speaking of the future, you guys are coming back to Upstate Concert Hall opening up for GWAR. It’s the first tour without Dave [Brockie] too. How did that tour come about?

    WE: I don’t really know! Our booking agent submitted us, and it just happened.

    JA: Well that is going to be an awesome tour, and I’ll be back to see you guys then.

    MH: Yeah, we can’t wait.

    JA: So, right before this, you wrapped up a tour with The Whores, and now Clutch, and then GWAR. How many shows a year do you think you play?

    WE: Probably over 200.

    JA: That is living the dream. Are you predominantly touring the U.S.?

    WE: Yes, just U.S. so far.

    JA: Is there anything on the horizon for other countries?

    MH: Nothing set in stone. We have things we are working on, but nothing we can talk about yet.

    JA: What’s next for you guys after the GWAR tour?

    WE: Take a nap. [laughs] We are going to start working on our next record. It’s tough touring in the winter, so we want to hunker down and start pushing through our second record.

    20140906-AmericanSharks-08
    American Sharks. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com

    JG: [speaking of Nick the drummer] I got to ask, what is like being onstage with Animal from The Muppets?

    MH: Ha! No one has ever called him that before! Animal! [laughs] He does do the drums like that. That is so hilarious. I’m going to tell him that for sure.

    JG: I had to look quick a couple times to see if he was using a stick or a hammer.

    JA: You guys have a great stage presence.

    WE: I think Animal might be his favorite drummer actually.

    MH: Oh dude! I didn’t know that!

    JA: Well it shows [laughs] I ask this of a lot of bands, are there any bands you just can’t stop listening to at this moment?

    WE: I’ve been listening to a lot of Roedelius, Arthur Verocai, and a lot of different chill stuff. Helps keep everything nice and calm.

    JA: So when you get on stage you can rage it!

    MH: I almost exclusively listen to David Bowie all the time

    JA: I have to ask the obligatory question: pre-Ziggy [Stardust], Ziggy, or post Ziggy?

    MH: All of it. Well like late 80’s through the 90’s, there is some really terrible shit in there [laughs]. But also, there is this band called Midnight, which is a newish band and they shred. If you like Motorhead, they are like an even crazier Motorhead. They played in Austin the day we left for this tour and I was so pissed I had to miss them.

    JG: Be honest, have you[Will] ever walked in on Mike in the bathroom painting a Bowie lightning bolt on his face?

    MH: [laughs] Yea and we lock eyes in the mirror

    WE: [laughs] No I haven’t!

    JA: I am now going to throw the questions to Dusitn, a local musician from this area

    Dustin Alexander: The first thing that always comes to mind is how do you toe the line between partying and having fun on tour, and feeling better the next day? Having to play night after night, how do you maintain that?

    WE: I just smoke weed most of the time.

    MH: Yeah. But also, to be honest, partying and playing can spiral out of control really fucking fast. People say that, and you go “Haha, VH1 Behind the Music”. It doesn’t seem real to you until you are in it, and you can see the effects [this lifestyle] can have on you. Personally, I had some very negative experiences with alcohol. Be responsible. All of the sudden you can realize that you haven’t been sober in a year, and that is not good. I feel like I’m going to die. Not in a “I’m tired” way, but in a real, I am dependent on getting drunk when I wake up until I fall asleep. That is now O.K. That happens and that’s real, and you don’t think about that [when you are starting out].

    WE: You get on each other’s nerves and stuff, you are on edge because you are hungover, and you are cooped up with everyone. It’s best to choose your party nights wisely, and I mostly drink maybe a couple beers a night, and just smoke a lot of weed.

    20140906-AmericanSharks-09

    DA: I feel marijuana is almost a performance enhancing drug for touring anyways. I mean sore muscles, can’t get sleep, a little nervous? That will take care of it!

    MH: [laughs] Yeah, yeah.

    DA: You have pretty aggressive vocals, and to do that night after night, is there something you do to prep, or cool down?

    MH: I try to drink at least a gallon of water a day. More if I can, but I am a notorious voice loser. Also, I need to get sleep. If I don’t get enough sleep, I’ll lose my voice, and that sucks. Sleep is probably the most important thing in my opinion.

    DA: How do you deal with that, when your voice kicks out and you are on tour?

    MH: You get pissed off. It can be pretty embarrassing when you are playing in front of a packed house and you can’t sing. It can be a little frustrating.

    WE: Usually whenever his voice does give out, we get to a place so he can get some sleep, and then it can come right back.

    MH: I think people don’t put enough thought behind getting sleep. If I get a full night’s rest, I’m great. I normally do, I try for a full eight hours a night. I think it works wonders, because I rarely get sick.

    JG: Where do you guys get sleep on tour? Do you get hotels, or the van?

    WE: It depends on the tour usually. We try to get hotels, because when we crash at people’s houses, a lot of people want to hang out and talk to you all night. We might have an eight hour drive the next morning and we won’t get enough sleep. So we have to drop a little money [for a hotel] to make sure we get our rest.

    MH: When you are on tour with a band like Clutch, they have a bus. So they route the tour based on that. All of us would rather spend money on a hotel than laying in a ditch because we flipped our van because we were so tired. It’s not worth it.

    DA: A question about your bass rig. Are you running through and overdrive pedal or anything?

    MH: Oh yeah! I use a pedal called the assmaster. [laughs]. It’s like B: assmaster. It’s made by Malekko. It’s 250 dollars, so it’s a little pricey, but it’s totally worth it. It’s the best thing I’ve found.

    DA: Yeah it sounds thick, and you weren’t losing anything in the mix. It sounded gnarly.

    MH: It has a really great bass boost on it, and you can make a lot of adjustments on it too.

    DA: I play bass and sing at the same time like yourself. Do you find that singing sometimes gets in your way, because you might want to play a heavier bass line, but you have to worry about singing too?

    MH: Oh for sure. But most of the time, the way we try and write music, it by simplifying and making it a little more accessible. Especially being a three piece, I don’t have to be [so busy]. As long as the bass is driving and thick, I can leave the other stuff to Will, because he has magic fingers. But I know what you mean, because sometimes there is a part in my head that I want to play, but I can’t because I’m doing a lot of singing there as well.

    JG: Where did the idea for short songs come about, most of your songs top out around two or three minutes.

    MH: The thoughts complete at that point. We don’t have to keep dragging on.

    WE: We try to cut all the bullshit out of the writing.

    MH: The Beatles, they were writing two minute songs, and they were great. The Ramones as well. Why should we try for more if we can get out what we want in that timeframe.

    American Sharks at Upstate Concert Hall. Photo by Jim 'JT' Gilbert / JTGphoto.com
    American Sharks at Upstate Concert Hall. Photo by Jim ‘JT’ Gilbert / JTGphoto.com

    JG: You guys are on tour 200+ days a year, can you give us one hilarious story from the road?

    MH: We were on tour with The Sword one time, and we were going through Albuquerque, but we weren’t playing there, so we all stayed there for the night. I don’t know if you have ever been there, but it is a crazy kind of city, there is definitely something in the air or the water. We get a hotel and all get rooms on the same floor right next to each other, and we are going to party all night. So we go to this strip club, and get kicked out. [laughs]. Well first Kyle from The Sword gets kicked out of a bar, in the beginning of the night. We were already loaded and they wouldn’t serve him and they are like “Get out of here!” So we show up and Kyle is in the streets so mad, screaming “Let me back in” and another dude from the bar is apologizing profusely because he knows he is in The Sword. So we go down to this strip club, and we are hanging out, doing strip club stuff, you know, and how does the rest of this go?

    WE: We had a guy on tour, our camera guy, and I was gone at another bar when they first got to the strip club. When I showed up, there was this woman trying to stab our camera guy with her stiletto, and everybody’s holding her back and she’s screaming about money. Apparently he got one dance, and she said it was like five dance, and the bouncers are telling everyone to get out. So I acted like I wasn’t friends with any of them, and sat down at this other chair and finished my drink.

    MH: So we were pretty wasted and we met all these people from Albuquerque and we all went back to our rooms on the top floor and had a raging party. All the classics that you would do if you were, say Van Halen, we did all of those things. I literally fell to the carpet at one point and passed out.

    JG: That was not a night you got good sleep.

    MH: [laughs] No way! But it was fun.