Is there a better way to spend Easter Sunday than diving into the depths of great metal music? I don't fucking think so! And you know me....if I'm gonna rock out, I'm gonna rock out to the best! It didn't take too many clicks of my mouse to find a great metal band out of Texas. Fuck, I really have to get to Texas one day because those boys fucking know how to rock hard!
Born & Raised is a prime example of how to do it right! At first listen I was hooked. They have that hard rock metal sound with a touch of blues rhythms that turns me on in a way like nothing else. Electric guitar like it was meant to be played, drums that keep the rhythm without getting boring, and those fucking vocals that awaken the darkest part of my soul, yet lift me back into the light.
These boys have gone through a number of member changes and as you listen through their music library, you can hear the evolution of this band. I've only heard a few songs by this killer band and already I'm craving more! Fuck it.... here listen to this while I visit bornandraisedband.com to buy this fucking hard hitting CD, Ghosts of Tomorrow.....
Okay, I'm back....my credit card hardly dented at all yet my CD collection improved greatly by the addition of Born & Raised. I know this won't be the last time I'm raving about this band as I hear they're working on new music right now between live gigs. Fuck I'm cool.... and you can be too when your blasting this music out of your speakers.........; )
What is music? It's a question I've been hearing a lot
lately and it is one that is posed to all the musicians who make up the Avalon
LP in Sully Erna's documentary Journey to Avalon. It was fascinating to
hear their answers and after each answer I said hell yeah! That's what music is!
Music is an energy, and we're energy, and so it affects us
thoroughly ~ Lisa Guyer (vocals)
Music is the International language, no matter where you go it
communicates in a very kind of primal way ~ Niall Gregory (drums, percussion)
I believe it's in our genetic code. I do believe it's
has been passed down, before written time through history. I'm sure we
were making music before it was ever written down or even acknowledged, so it's
been there I'm sure since day one ~ Chris Lester (guitars, bass, mandolin)
It's a spectacular way of connecting with other human beings, in a
way that you really can't do any other way ~ Chris Decato (keyboards, midi, vocals)
Music is built off of vibrations, and for some reason when they
resonate with our body it creates emotion, and that's the miracle of music,
that's the gift of music ~ Sully Erna (vocals, piano, guitars, drums, percussion)
I've been enjoying my copy of Sully Erna's Avalon since it's
release in 2010. I’ve been able to relate to the songs on a
deeply personal level. It made me fall
even more in love with Sully…and I already loved him in a big way through his
work with Godsmack! He has no idea who I
am and no idea how much he understands me.
I just can't get enough of him, so when the box set for Avalon became
available, well fuck....I had to have it!
The box set includes a ton of fucking stuff... t-shirt, cap,
necklace, signed poster, 3 DVDs, the CD of course, Sully's book - The Paths We
Choose (great read by the way), and my favorite, the above mentioned
documentary. I ordered early enough to get a numbered box set! #523 - my birthday...May 23 hehehehe!
Music fascinates me, enlivens me and comforts me...so to watch and
listen to what musicians are feeling while they're making music is an
incredible high for me. The documentary goes on to explain why Sully
chose these particular musicians to bring together his vision of Avalon.
He couldn't have made better choices for this project. Lisa Guyer, David Stefanelli, Niall Gregory, Chris Lester, Irena Chirkova,Tim Therault and Chris Decato are incredible musicians and together along with Sully they have created a
fucking amazing emotional sound experience!
Sully also gets a little personal…talking about his lyrics and
where they come from – his life experience (Broken Road), his heart (My Light)
and his soul (Avalon). He also goes on
to explain that even though these songs mean so much to him, he understands and
enjoys how others listening can take them and relate them to their own
experiences and emotions.
It’s an incredible documentary, part of an incredible collection
of Avalon memorabilia. Sully even
appears shirtless in a number of scenes….now to just get him out of those
pants………; ) It's not too late! You can still get your box set here > www.sullyernaavalon.com
Are you one of those people wondering what the hell happened to metal? Remember the greats we used to rock out to? -uh, excuse me....still fucking rock out to - Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc.... Well, that kind of metal is making a huge comeback. How could it not? It's fucking great music. There are many retro heavy metal bands out there, putting their spin on a sound that's been rocking our world since the eighties. One of the best that I've heard recently, oops, let me correct that...One of the best that I have EVER heard is Oblidian.
Rapid Healing is the first song on their first album, self-titled simply Oblidian. Take a listen and try to fucking disagree with me....
These guys have a sound that is all their own but is still reminiscent of the greats of the past mixed in with some greats of the present and that's just their first album. Their second rocks even harder. If you're into hard rocking metal like Disturbed and Mudvayne, you have to check out Oblidian II! Get in the fucking pit!! Here comes Feed the Rage!
Lucian Tu, musician extraordinaire, writes and plays all the music as well as produces. He produced both Oblidian albums...hey record labels,wake the fuck up and take note. Michael "Mudpig" Moreno writes the incredible lyrics and lends his voice, oh, that by the way is fucking made for metal music, to make up Oblidian. Thus far they are a recording band, but I have it on good authority that they've recently took on a bass player, Jon Reed - y'know ...in case you were wondering where that killer bass was coming from - and are working their way to perform live!
I've purchased both albums because bands that have this much fucking talent deserve to be supported. That being said, if you follow them on facebook at facebook.com/oblidianmusic you'll find they're always fucking giving away tunes! Rock and fucking roll baby.......... ; )
I always get excited to hear new music...so excited in fact that I will often seek out new music online. I hear about new bands through social media and recommendations through friends. There are a lot of really talented rockers out there, many of which unfortunately will never hit traditional radio airwaves....and that just fucking sucks. Some though, through perseverance, hard work and of course a little bit of good luck will.
That being said, a couple of weeks ago I was on my way to a friend's house and listening to Nanaimo's best rock station, 106.9 The Wolf, when I just about drove off the road with excitement. Over the airwaves I heard a very familiar sound...a favorite sound! They were playing One Bad Son!!!
I heard One Bad Son for the first time online over a year ago...they fucking rock! They originally come from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but have relocated to one of Canada's rock capitals, Vancouver, British Columbia. I was blown away by their sound! Fuck it....don't take my word for it...take a listen. This was the first song I heard by them - Retribution Blues!
Now anybody who knows me well knows I love all music but my heart beats for hard rock and blues. One Bad Son does a great fucking job of melding these two genres - so of course I bought up everything they had released at that point - two full length albums and an EP. As I listened it just got better and better. One Bad Son first started as the embryonic child of Shane Volk's fucking awesome vocals, Adam Hicks' incredible guitar licks and Kurt Dahl keeping the beat on drums. It was just the three of them that brought together their two first albums Orange City and This Aggression Will Not Stand. Well, they haven't stopped there. With the addition of Adam Grant on bass, One Bad Son has truly been born and breathing life. Together in September of 2012 they released their self titled full length album, produced by Default's Danny Craig and released by 604 Records!
There is no dispute that these boys rock hard but that doesn't mean they don't have a deeper side. Scarecrows is one of a few songs that One Bad Son slows downs a little to spotlight that particular side and it was the song I heard on the radio as I drove. Here, take a listen....
There is not one fucking song on this album that I don't absolutely love. It's one of those albums I can play over and over and never tire of it. If you're a fan of hard rock music, you MUST add this album to your music library! As the lyrics of She's on Fire suggests "you can't stop what you can't slow down" there is no stopping One Bad Son from going all the way! I can't fucking wait to see them play live! Hope you like Tequila boys........... ; )
To check out and keep up with what's happening with One Bad Son, check out there website at www.onebadson.com. You can catch their links and buy their tunes there!
Wouldn't you fucking love to be the fly the wall of your favorite rock star? Oh hell! Wouldn't you love to be the fly on the wall of ANY rock star?! Imagine the stories we never hear. Well, I got one rock star to open up a little and let me tell his story. It's a story of pain and perseverance, of love and hope and of course.... of music. The rock star is Johnny AK from The AK Band and this is his story....
Johnny AK was a budding musician starting to see success with his band, The AK Band in the 1980's. The AK band consisted of Johnny AK on guitar, Nev on vocals and bass and Maz on drums. They were signed with RCA and had played with well knowns such as The Kinks and Joe Cocker. Their style, a self described Rock/Reggae was categorized as Power Punk....a very popular sound in the 80's.
Then fucking disaster struck....Johnny suffered a horrific accident and was crushed underneath heavy objects, sending him to the hospital near death. After weeks of being touch and go, with the aid of intense medical therapy Johnny came out of the danger zone and started to slowly recover. Now I tend to believe we all have those people in our lives that serve as angels when we need them. God knows I've had mine. As it turns out, Johnny had one at that critical time too.
A significant other in Johnny's life at that time also happened to be a general and psychiatric nurse...who worked using music therapy to help heal mind and body. Could you fucking possible think of anything that Johnny might have needed more at this time? Neither can I. In any case, Johnny was released from the hospital and into her care. After several months of intense medical treatment, Johnny's angel started Johnny on musical therapy, slowly bringing him back to what he loved with small sessions.
As his therapy intensified, Johnny used the tools that were available to him...in this case, recording equipment, and started the Fat Bastard Sound Therapy recordings. As Johnny was quite removed from the music business at this point, family members were recruited to join in the recordings to back him up and to sing.
For 10 years Johnny lived his own fucking personal hell of pain and suffering. Through the power of love and music, Johnny was able to recover, to take back his life and make music once again. He calls Portugal home and in the years since 1999, he has played to audiences in Turkey, The Balkins, The Caribbean and others. Along with the Fat Bastard Sound Therapy recordings there is a demo album of tracks entitled Beyond Devastation as well as the pre-production Tequila Sunset in which Johnny had worked on with The AK Band. Johnny continues to write songs including one entitled Hope in which he describes as being a sum up of his life.
We can all learn a lesson from Johnny and his devastating experience. Music lifts us and heals us, hope lives within us and we can rise above anything with a little help from our friends....... ; )
What goes around comes around…. at least that’s what they
say. I think it’s true. Take Folk music, a genre that had a great following in the 1960’s. There seems to be a resurrection of folk music
as of late - only this time
around it has a rockin' new edge and attitude.
Bands such as Mumford and Sons, The Dropkick Murphys and Of Monsters
and Men are gaining popularity and recognition and deservedly so! They’ve opened our minds to listening to
Alternative Folk and as a result I'm very much enjoying the tunes coming from
Canada’s own ultimate table pounding, drinking, sing along at the top
of your fucking lungs, partying Alternative Folk/Rock band, Streets of Hastings.
Canada has very strong Celtic roots and let’s face it… we
know how to fucking party! After all, we
learned from the best… the Newfies!
They’ve been pounding back beers as hard as they pound on their tables at kitchen
parties for ages, listening to Celtic Folk music. Streets of Hastings have definitely got that
party vibe down. They're a self described drinking band with a rock n roll problem. Not to mention they do
have their own token Newfoundlander.
Streets of Hastings is made up of Phil Alexander on lead
vocals and guitar, originally from North Bay Ontario; Jason Bedard (Trucker), a Rockland Ontario original on bass guitar
and vocals; and Larry Peyton (Peyts), keeper of the beat on drums and vocals.
Yes…you guess it, Peyts is originally from St. John’s Newfoundland. Their current home is Rockland Ontario and
I’m thinking there’s gotta be party wherever they go! Let’s all move to Rockland!
These guys are fucking funny! I love their sense of humor and their love of
life and fun shows through in their music, especially in their songs such as 1812 (Proud Canadians),
Sea Bag and Kelly Ann. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be serious
and sensitive. Songs like Comfort No
More, Don’t Go Away, and 31(I Ain’t Gonna Make It) show the deeper side of these
guys. Now I've said that they have a
that table pounding Celtic sound and that’s true…just listen to Kelly Ann, Drinkin Like it’s Free and Slainte, but keep listening to Three Streets to the Wind and you’ll discover many music styles including
a retro punk sound – Rupture and Faceless being perfect examples. And well, they just fucking rock when they
cover House of The Rising Sun!
Go ahead, preview their music below....
Not only do I like the music of Streets of Hastings, I like the men that make up this band. I highly recommend you visit their website at www.streetsofhastings.com and while you're there definitely check out their personal and band bios! I guarantee you'll laugh your ass off! Then, while you're in a really good mood, support this rockin band and buy some of their tunes............. ; )
Hey everyone... I've been so fucking busy lately but I've come up with a new time management plan and I should be posting regularly again! It requires getting up at 4:30 am, but at least this way I'll have time to write. Good thing I'm a morning person! Anyway, I've been itching to talk about two of my very favorite Indie music artists. I've written blogs/reviews for both these groups in the past but this summer and fall I was fucking lucky enough to see them both perform live!
I'll start with C-Leb and The Kettle Black because I caught them live first in August at the Summer Meltdown festival in Darrington Washington. Yeah...that's how much I love these guys - took the ferry over to the mainland, crossed the border, drove 3 hours there and back in one day to catch these rockers blow up the fucking stage! And of course they didn't disappoint!
Let me refresh your memory, C-Leb and The Kettle Black are an urban blues band from Seattle Washington. The first time I heard one of their songs, I fucking couldn't run fast enough to buy their album. Between C-Leb and Jesse's writing talents, C-Leb's strong vocals, Jesse's slide guitar, Sandy's bass lines and Jazz keeping the beat on his skins, these guys have got it fucking goin on!! Not to mention they are all fucking sexy as hell!
The boys weren't headlining the festival and being Indie artists they are still making a name for themselves. I watched them start out performing to a fairly small crowd, but as their set progressed I wasn't surprised to turn and see the crowd had substantially grown and were calling out for more! And more is what C-Leb and the Kettle Black gave to us! They surprised us by performing a new song for their encore - Flat Black will be on their next album....(rumor has it, they're working on it now! I can't fucking wait!!) Holy fucking shit! I thought I couldn't love these boys more but this song blew me the fuck away! Needless to say, I was very happy I made the trip!
The boys were great too! Though they were busy with putting away their equipment, and they had their families there, they were still kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to me... and oh yeah, I got hugs too - score! Every one of their songs is a favorite of mine, so it's hard to pick and choose one to share... I'm gonna share Guilty with you, but be sure to head over to their website at c-lebsounds.com to check out more! You won't be fucking disappointed!
The second band that I had the opportunity to check out was Cupla! I couldn't wait to ferry over to catch their show in September in Vancouver at the Princeton Pub. And again, I was not disappointed! Like C-Leb and The Kettle Black, I've been a fan of Cupla from the first time I heard them. Everybody who knows me, knows I love all music but my heart lives in hard rock and blues. Another thing that attracts me is originality... well, Cupla has originality all wrapped up with a fucking bow and their blues riffs drive me wild!
I was curious to see how Cupla would sound live.... Tricia McAloney has that sultry low voice and I wondered if the music would overpower her in a live show. Turns out that I had nothing to be fucking concerned about. They sounded even better live than on their CD (which I love, by the way). And this was in a small pub with not so great acoustics. What I wouldn't fucking give to hear them perform in a Theater Arts center, such as the Esplanade in Medicine Hat. I bet they would blow that fucking place up!
Not only do I love Cupla's music... I love Cupla. Bobby and Billy McAloney could possibly be two of my favorite people alive. These are a couple of the sweetest guys I've ever met and considering the life these two young men have lived so far, it is surprising. Just another argument for how expressing yourself through music is healing and therapeutic. Tricia is beautiful and cool, Brando is a sweetheart and Andrew is sexy time!
Another thing to love about Cupla is how they are willing to stand up to bullies! My Stand, the song they wrote and performed to shine a light an age old problem that has been tormenting our children for as long as I can remember is touching, beautiful and relevant. It means more to me than they can possibly know. I moved around a lot as a kid and almost every year I was the new kid. The new kid gets bullied a lot, believe me! If you haven't heard it, please check it out now...
To get more information and links to all their music, please visit Cupla at www.supernova.com/cupla1. Not only are they my heroes, they are a hell of a lot of fun to do Tequila shots with too! I can't wait for the next time.........; )
