Intervju med Trivett Wingo i The Sword!



Ännu en intervju som blivit liggande opublicerad. Senast Metallica var här, 2009, träffade jag trummisen Trivett i The Sword i deras loge i Globen. Det blev en trevlig pratstund om lite allt möjligt, bl a författaren Cormac McCarty, Guitar Hero och recensioner.
Nedan följer hela intervjun.

So, what is it like being in cold Sweden?

Trivett Wingo: Uuhm, what is it like? I don´t know. It´s actually been really gloomy as well. Kind of like what the Hebrew afterlife is supposed to be like in the Old Testament. A cold, grey place for our souls.

Did you guys come in to day?

TW: Yesterday! Came in yesterday and went to museums and saw the Vasa and it was very impressive. But we haven´t really explored the town too much.

I guess that´s the way it is. You come in, play your show and…

TW: And hang out in this room! Walking the room and then you leave, unfortunately.

You guys started out in 2003. What were you up to before The Sword? A lot of different bands?

TW: Yeah you know, JD, the principle song writer and singer, he and I had played together for years in Richmond, Virginia in a band called The Ultimate Dragons and then that band dissolved and most of those guys moved down to Texas and I kind of wandered the earth for a little while in both hemispheres and then I kind of haphazardly made my way down to Austin and we started playing together. JD was in a band called Those Peabodys and after The Sword started taking off a bit, he quit that band and the other two guys… Brian was in another metal band called The Pirates of Dark Water. They broke up and Kyle quit his other band he was in, so we were all playing in other bands except for myself really. I´d taken a break to kind of get lost somewhere and the sort of all the players we needed to put the band together were hushed from other groups and then kind of ultimately all those bands dissolved and The Sword went on to do the things we´ve done to this point.

Did JD come up with the name The Sword as well?

TW: He did, technically. Other people have come up with it before.

Yeah, because it´s such a cool name and I just thought that somebody must´ve thought about that before?

TW: It is a really cool name and yeah, there´s a band from Canada called Sword, but they had no objection to us being called The Sword and then there was a band in Richmond, Virginia called The Sword and they had started at the exact time we had, but we I guess kind of blew up or whatever and I think they thought we were gonna sue them, so they changed their name. We never threatened to do anything. They got weird and I tried to talk to the guy on the phone. I thought they were gonna sue us or something, so I tried to call the guy and say “Hey, are you ok with us using the same name?”, but then he he just wouldn’t return my phonecalls or whatever. I think he thought we were gonna do something horrible to them, or something. We´re not that predacious. But yeah, JD came up with the name and not only that but the general aesthetic of the band, sort of the philosophy. What it would be like visually, sonically and he still is sort of the final arbiter of all things The Sword.

A name like that, do you copyright it or what?

TW: No, what happens is when you go to release your first album, at least in the States, someone at the record label will go and check the copyrights and see if someone else has a claim to this and as it turns out, bands go and put out records and realize that somebody has already used that name. That´s why you see so many bands with “something” AD or “Something” UK. It´s because someone else already had their name. We went actually to release our record and there was a band from Seattle or Portland, I think, called The Sword´s Project and the claimed they were known as Swords and that we were infringing on their indierock territory. Anyway, that was all sorted out and I don´t think they exist anymore. But that´s sort of what happens. The record label will look and see what there is and sometimes sadly you discover that someone else has already used your band name.

The logo then, as that something you came up with or did you give that job to someone at the label?

TW: We really control everything and give directions to all of the artists we work with. The logo was something that JD and a friend of ours who does a lot of drawing, sort of collaborated on and created. We made that to look specifically like it does.

And the same goes for the album cover I guess? It´s kind of an “Excalibur” thing.

TW: Yeah, there was an artist whose work we had seen and really liked and we said “Hey, we want you to make an album cover that sort of includes these elements!” and that is what he came up with. It looks really killer, if I do say so myself. It´s a beautiful cd!

Is this released on vinyl as well?

TW: It is! It´s an embossed cover where the like the columns are raised and everything. I think that with the latest pressing they did not emboss the cover. It is a bit expensive, but yeah, it is available. It´s in its third pressing now, I think.

About the drumming? When did you pick up the drums?

TW: When I was 15! I guess I got a drum set when I was 15. I was always intensely interested in playing the drums since I was very young, but my parents were never receptive to that so there was never a way for me to actually play a drum set anywhere. But then after I nagged for about five or six years, I got a really crappy drum set and I played it constantly for months and months and they realized it was something I was seriously interested in. I don´t think they ever started liking it, but they were very tolerant or even supportive.

Were there any “legends” that kind of influenced you? Like Bonham?

TW: Yeah! It´s extremely cliché, but I have to admit that John Bonham probably was the single greatest inspiration for me to start playing the drums. I was obsessed with Led Zeppelin from the time I was a little boy. I´ve always loved Led Zeppelin and I used to have a little tape case that held 12 tapes. I had all of the Led Zeppelin tapes in there and it was all I listened to for years really. I was obsessed, like very literally obsessed with Led Zeppelin and so before I even ever had a drum set I listened to the songs 1000´s of times and learned them in my head. When I finally did start playing I already had a very definite idea of 1000´s of things that I wanted to do and try.

Have you read the latest biography by Mick Wall, “When giants walked the earth”?

TW: No, I haven´t!

It´s really good! What was it like releasing your first album? Did it turn out they you wanted it to?

TW: It was pretty awesome! I personally had never… I had been in so many bands that had never really generated anything that I could be proud of, so when that first album came out and it was a real release, video on MTV and finally had press and all these things, it was very validating. I felt like I was actually legitimately a musician in some sense that I had not been before. That record was really a watershed for me personally in my life.

How long are you staying with the record company Kemado?

TW: We owe them another record, but no one knows what the future holds.

Then the giants step in and…

TW: Crush everything.

But this is an independent label right?

TW: Yeah!

Because I saw that a Swedish band are signed to them, Dungen.

TW: Dungen, yeah! That was one of their earlier releases.

Which is very different from the stuff you do.

TW: It´s very different yeah. Their whole roster is very eclectic to put it mildly.

I read that someone over at Allmusic.com called you “at the forefront of the retro metal movement”. What do you think of that?

TW: I don´t know! Retro seems to imply something anachronistic, somehow out of place in time and I really don´t see that as the case at all. I think it´s obvious that we´re influenced by a lot of heavier bands from the past. Everyone´s influenced by bands from the past, because that´s the only possibility in a universe where time goes forward. I think what we do is actually pretty inventive in a way that we combine elements in a novel fashion and I think some people are just too astute to appreciate the subtleties and complexities of the music. I don´t know! I don´t think of it as a retro thing. The albums are coming out now, it´s in the present, it´s new and it harkens to something that was maybe lost from the press and the public eye for a long time, but something that´s always been there and resonates with people very deeply now today. It´s current.

Are you all avid readers?

TW: JD and I are pretty avid readers. Books are like kryptonite to Brian and Kyle reads here and there. He likes to savor some of the finer works of literature. (laughs9. JD really… his literally tastes dictate the lyrical content for the band and my studies (laughs) if you will, is really for my personal enrichments, kind of apart from the band.

Have you read any good books lately?

TW: Yeah, I´ve read quite a few good books lately. I read several books by Cormac McCarthy. He wrote “No country for old men” and “The road”, but I read this one called “Blood Meridian”. It´s about these Apache scalp hunters down on the Texas – Mexico border, like in 1849, and it´s kind of about good and evil, the war and the devil. A lot of things, but it´s one of the most brilliantly, ingeniously crafted books I´ve ever read! Actually, I read it twice in a row. I read it and I was like “Shit, I have to read this again!” and I started back at the beginning. That´s probably the best book I´ve read in ages.

But that guy´s been around for a long time, hasn´t he? But it seems like he´s taken off now.

TW: Yeah it´s weird. He´s been around for a long time and I hadn´t really heard of him and it´s one of those things where they just started making movies out of his books.

Isn´t he the guy that doesn´t do interviews?

TW: I don´t know! I know that Thomas Pynchon doesn´t do interviews, but someone said “You should read The Road!” and I thought “Ok, I´ll read this.” And I didn´t think it was something I would like, but it was really amazing. Then I kind of went on a binge and started reading one after the other of his books and I´ve got a whole stack at my house that I haven´t read yet, so I can´t wait to get home so I can dig into those.

I gotta check that out! How did you guys end up on “Guitar Hero”?

TW: You know, it´s kind of random. They just approached us. I don´t have a name to put with anything. I don´t know whose flavor we happen to be, but it was just one of those random phone calls and then the new Metallica edition of “Guitar Hero”, that is of course Lars´ doing. But the first time around it was just random.

That´s got to be pretty cool? That´s got to be a great way to reach the masses, so to speak?

TW: Yeah! It sounds kind of cheesy, but it is a really good way to expose your band to a lot of people that otherwise wouldn´t hear it. They´re just trying to get to all the levels of this video game and they have to play your song, so yeah, it was actually really good for us.

You´ve been out with Metallica now for several times?

TW: We´ve been out with them since July of last year.

Did they pick you or is it a company thing?

TW: No, Lars… for what I understand, they are all fans of ours, but Lars is very outspoken and kind of an obsessed fan. He actually came out to see us one night at a club and introduced himself and told us that he loved our band and that Metallica would be taking us on tour. That was the first time we met him and we said “Ok, that´s interesting!”. We took that with a grain of salt, but he came out again and talking about it more elaborately, like “Here´s what I´m thinking! Metallica, The Sword, Machine Head!” and lo and behold it happened. We went to Eastern Europe with them and then we came back to the States and we just did three runs over there, western Canada, western United States and the north east and now we´re over here and this is the first of three more trips we´re doing and hopefully we´ll be able to do the whole world tour with them. We couldn´t really ask for anything. We´re really flattered and enamoured of Metallica, so it´s quite an honor.

It´s got to be an incredible opportunity for being such a new and young band as you are? Playing all over the world in front of gigantic crowds.

TW: Yeah, it is the most badass shit you can do! It´s unreal! We´re kind of blown away and just very happy to be here.

Do you ever get to meet the guys or is it total security?

TW: They´re pretty… they´re very accessable. They´re really nice, down to earth dudes and we see them and occasionally go out to dinner or chat. They´re all really cool. I really admire Metallica and especially Lars is very friendly and kind of wants to hang out a lot, which is totally weird but totally awesome too.

Next album then? Are you coming up with ideas or do you have songs already?

TW: We´re always kind of thinking about it and we´re always thinking about doing new stuff and we have a couple of songs written, but nowhere near enough material for an album. We´ve been on tour now almost without a break since “Gods of the earth” came out. It´s been about a year, so there hasn´t been any time to do any intensive song writing, but it´s something we´re definitely aware of and when we have the time we know we have to get on that. But when Metallica asks you to go on tour forever, you just say yes and pack your bags and go.

Do you think it will be like the stuff on your latest album or will you take it further?

TW: It´ll go further! We always have our eyes set on something transcendent. We want to go beyond where we´ve already been. I think the second album is a lot different than the first album and hopefully the third album will be the best of the three. Yeah, I´m really looking forward to making that third record some day!

Finally, as a band, do you care about reviews? Do you read reviews? Concert reviews, record reviews and stuff like that?

TW: You know, I used to read more of them. It´s funny, even the ones that are positive often are so inaccurate and the ones that are negative seem so confused, you know. Reviews are just… I do not know what the word is… it´s just some wind blowing. It´s no big deal! I used to be interested in press. Now I kind of accept it as a part of the job. I tend to read interviews. Sometimes to kind of see how they turn out. Certain writers are interesting to me, but interviews are really of no concern. It´s part of the regiment. You know, everyone´s got an opinion, so you can´t be bothered with the negative stuff and you can´t really rest on the laurels of the positive stuff. It´s all kind of worthless really. At least there´s a little tiny picture of your record in there. That´s the best part of the review. (laughs)

Right! Well, thanks a lot!

TW: No problem, man!

/Niclas

Intervju med Ron Keel!



För en tid sedan hade jag nöjet att ringa upp Ron Keel. Bandet är ju aktuellt för den nya festivalen Stockholm Rock Out i början av september och vi pratade om bl a nya plattan, hans namn, Gene Simmons, kommande dvd, kommande bok mm.
Släng nu på "The right to rock" och dröm er tillbaka till tiden då man kunde bära spandex och ändå vara tuffast i världen.

Intervjun:

When we started out with our website back in 2001, which was called Metal Shrine, the first interview we did, or actually, we sent you questions in an e-mail. But you were the first one and we were so damn proud that we got you to do that, so I wanna thank you for that! It got us all started.

Ron Keel: Of course. Man, I´d like to read that today and see how much have changed. (laughs) That´s cool! I´m glad I could help with that and I´m glad to be talking to you today.

Thank you!

RK: Almost ten years later, it´s cool man!

Well, getting started here, what was it like getting the band back together again? Did it work out smoothly or were there any rough edges? What was it like?

RK: You know, the hardest part was making that commitment, because we were not going to do it unless we could really focus our energy and do it right. And once we decided to do that, then it was smooth and natural. The very first rehearsal, the very first song of the first rehearsal, it was just like old times. It was like 20 years just melted away and it was fun. The whole thing has just been way more rewarding and gratifying than I ever thought it could be. In terms of how much fun we´ve had working together, rehearsing, recording, writing songs, it was really smooth and natural. Way more that I expected and I think that´s the reason why the shows took on so well. We´ve got good shows, we´ve got a good, strong, new album, “The streets of rock and roll” and new songs and new music and I think that´s because of the people, the guys in the band and because of the energy between each other. We´ve been through a lot together and we´ve stayed friends and we´ve always gotten along and that´s a big benefit.

Was there any special thing or moment that made you decide “Well hell, let´s give it a try!”?

RK: The deciding factor was really the fact that we have someone on our team, a booking agent. His name is Sullivan Bigg and we wanted to do it and the guys in the band always wanted to do it, but it takes more than just the five guys in the band, it takes a team of people around you, that believe in you, that will help you achieve your goals and Sullivan Bigg is a representative of people like Great White, KIX and some of the other bands from our genre and our era. He´s a big KEEL fan and he assured us that “Guys, if you do this, I can get you the shows! I can make sure that you have the opportunity to get back on stage where you belong, on the big stages on some of these festivals!”, and that was really the deciding factor. We wanted to do it, but we didn´t want to play in small clubs or bars. We wanted to get back on the big stage, where this band and the music belongs. And Sullivan Bigg assured us that he can make that happen and he did. He got us great shows last year, Rocklahoma, the South Texas Festival, the Mid West Rockfest and now he has booked our first show of 2010 at the Stockhol Rock Out. So he´s made it happen for us and that was really the deciding factor. The guys in the band kind of always wanted to do it, but we wanted to make sure we could do it right and he certainly helped us to accomplish that goal.

Are you the main song writer in the band?

RK: On this album it´s been a team effort. More collaboration than we ever did in the past. I wrote all the lyrics on this new album, but we all contributed musically in different ways. Marc and Brian both wrote great music on this record and we co-wrote a lot of stuff on this album. I haven´t really counted who´s the main song writer on this album. I wrote maybe half the music, but it really is a team effort and that´s been one of the great pleasures of making this new album, is collaborating with the guys. Marc flew out to my house in Las Vegas. We wrote two songs the first day, the ballad “Does anybody belive” and “Hold steady”. In the first day we started we wrote those two songs. Bryan Jay and I wrote, before we even did the reunion, we wrote “ Looking for a good time” and “Hit the ground running”. We were doing those songs for the Tv and Film Library and realized these have all the characteristics and elements of KEEL music. The big shouting choruses, the driving and thunderous drums and bass, screaming guitars going back and forth. It sounded like KEEL music and once we did that, Bryan put the music together for “Come hell or high water” and “The devil may care”. He sent me the music, I wrote the lyrics for those two and all of a sudden we had four songs that we felt could make a strong foundation for a new album, so that´s kind of how the wheels got turning to decide to make a new record. When we put the band back together we did not plan to make new music. We didn´t plan to create songs or write or record. We simply wanted to do some shows and celebrate 25 years of the band. The new music kind of happened like sex, you know, you´re with somebody and it starts happening and that´s really how it happened. We didn´t intend it and part of the charm and the magic of the new album is that we never intended to do this. It just happened on its own.

Did you have any thoughts of making it sound like classic KEEL, which I think it does, or were your thoughts of making it more like music is today? Was it just like “Let´s go for classic KEEL music!”?

RK: The cool thing man, was that we didn´t think of it at all! We didn´t talk about it, we didn´t have a band meeting where we discussed “Let´s go in this direction or let´s be this and do that!”. We just started spitting out songs. We didn´t even think about it. Not one discussion did we have about direction. We just wrote the songs, we listened to them and said “Yeah, I like that!”, “Ok, next!”. It was very natural, an easy process and it was all impulse, it all came from the heart and the soul and really didn´t have a whole lot of thought or discussion behind it at all.

Getting this album done, were you shopping it around to different record labels and how come you ended up on Frontiers?

RK: Once we made the decision to record a new album, that´s when we started looking for a home for it. We would have recorded it on our own if we had to, but of course we wanted them to work with us. You know, we´re not a record company, we´re a rock and roll band nad we didn´t want that responsibility. These guys are experts. Frontiers knows what they´re doing. Of course there´s a very short list of record companies in this genre of commercial hard rock, that really can get the job done. It´s not like there are 100 labels out there like Frontiers. There are maybe a handful. Start at the top and we went with Frontiers and told them we wanted to do this and they got behind it emmediately and gave us the opportunity and the budget to do it right. They believed in what we had going. We sent them a few of the demos, we had done some home demo recordings because they wanted to know in what direction we were going in and what kind of style it was and make sure it was classic KEEL. So we sent them a few of the home demos and we got the deal on the spot. They couldn´have turned out to be a better situation for us. Obviously they know what they´re doing with this style of music, with bands like Winger and Whitesnake. They do everything first rate and they do everything right and they gave us the freedom and the budget to make the album that we wanted to do make and we couldn´t have done it without them. We´re very fortunate and it ended up in a great situation.

Is it a one record deal or do you take it year by year? Did you sign on for several albums?

RK: We have some options. Obviously, if this one is successful there will be some demands dor another record down the road, either from the label or the fans. We´re not thinking about that right now. We just want to enjoy 2010, enjoy the success and the response that “Streets of rock and roll” has enjoyed from the fans and the media and everyone else. Just kind of taking it one day at a time and one song at a time. If there´s a demand for another album, maybe next year, we´ll address that when it comes.

Did you produce it yourselves or did you have an outside producer for it?

RK: No, this record was produced by Pat Regan, who´s worked with Deep Purple, KISS and so on, a long list of incredible sounding music that Pat has produced. He´s the guy that we wanted for this project. I´ve been wanting to work with Pat for 20 years now because everything he does sounds great. It literally sounds incredible! He produced a couple of Marc´s Medicine Wheel albums and had worked with Marc before. I first heard some of Pat´s work in the late 80´s when he was producing Black N´Blue. The best that they ever sounded and I always wanted to work with him and luckily we were able to get him And Frontiers were able to pay him (laughs) and he did a great job. The combination of Pat Regan producing the album and the guys in KEEL, we´re still old school man! We learned from guys like Gene Simmons, who produced us in the 80´s. This is how we work and we didn´t want to change that approach, so Pat took that modern recording technology and the ability to make it sound great and combine that with our old school philosophy of work hard, bust your ass and the lead singer´s gotta leave a lot of sweat and spit on the floor. That´s the way it is for me. I don´t know any other way. I don´t like a lot of technology, like photoshop where you can take a photograph and change it. You can even take somebody´s clothes off and put different clothes on or a different head on a different body. They have the same kind of stuff in the studio, where you can really alter and enhance what the musicians do. I think one of the charming things about “Streets of rock and rock and roll” is that is sounds like a real, natural album. It sounds like a bunch of really excited guys playing rock and roll music together. You have to be able to play it in a stereo and listen to this record and the new Judas Priest and the new Scorpions or whatever. It´s gotta sound good like those other records, but it also gotta feel right and it´s gotta sound natural.

Makes sense. When you started the band KEEL, did you come up with the logo for KEEL or was that somebody else?

RK: I came up with the original logo that´s on the “Lay down the law” album, because I came from a band called Steeler and we just kind of took the EEL from Steeler and put a K in front of it, so we could have some continiuity. When we got signed and went to A&M Records in 1985 and we´re doing the “The right to rock” album, I went to the art director at the label and I said “You do whatever you want, just don´t change the logo! Don´t fuck with my logo! It´s really cool and I want to keep it the way it is!”. Of course I come back two weeks later and I see the cover for “The right to rock” and I say “Ok, that´s cool!”. It´s just a beautiful piece of artwork . The guy who did it has done some other album covers and some artwork for film and tv stuff, like Batman and other stuff. He designed that logo so I can´t take credit for that. With the new album we wanted to keep the continuity of “The right to rock”, 25 years later, so I wanted that logo with the sword and the Flying V guitar and the name of the band and kind of age it. Make it look like it´s been through hell, but it´s carved in stone and it´s built to last. It´s got some cracks and some rust and it´s damaged, but it´s still standing strong. That´s kind of the message behind the new album, with the logo being reincarnated in stone.

Right! I was kind of wondering about your name KEEL? What´s the history behind it?

RK: Dude, I don´t really know!

Is it an American name?

RK: The family legends… there´s not much documentation because my family was very poor. My father didn´t even know how old he was. My father was born in a little cabin in the woods. He never had a birth certificate and he never had a passport, so I don´t have a whole lot of lineage. I don´t have a whole generations of culture. I don´t know where I came from, man. All I know is that I´m here right now and I´m ready to enjoy this life. All I have are stories and legends that are passed down from my father and my father drank a lot too. (laughs). I love the guy! My father can tell some really tall tales, so I don´t know. I have no idea where I´m from. I don´t know if I´m Irish, German… I know I´m half Irish because my mother did have some documentation, but I don´t know. I´m just a rock and roll outlaw and that´s how I live my life!

That´s good enough! When you decided to form the band KEEL, using your name, was that the initial thought or did you have other names before that, that you thought of?

RK: That was a business decision. I was in the band Steeler for three years and Steeler was a great band. We were very close to getting a big deal and of course everybody knows that Yngwie Malmsteen was in the band, but Yngwie left and it created an aura of instability, even though we kept the band going for a year after he left, it was not the same and that instability kept me from getting a record deal and I wanted to build something that even if somebody quit or got fired, I could still survive. It´s very strange that it turned out that KEEL was such a band. KEEl has nothing to do with my name, that was a business decision at the time. I had no idea that it would really turn into a band that had that chemistry, that camaraderie and friendship and all that. It was not intended to be that way. It was intended to be my project and a bunch of other guys with me. It wasn´t that way even in the start. That was a business decision and I never wanted to call it KEEL, but I thought that was my best shot at getting a record deal and succeeding. Within nine months of making that decision and calling my band KEEL, we had released to albums, “Lay down the law” and “The right to rock”, we were signed to a major label, we were being produced by Gene Simmons and we were on tour all over the country. It was the right decision for me, but I had no idea that it would turn out to be the way it did.

Back in the day, do you remember the first real gig as KEEL? Was that in LA?

RK: Oh, I remember it very well! It was April 27th 1984 at Perkins Palace in Pasadena. Sold out, 1700 people and we tore it up. (laughs)

Do you know if it was recorded? Audio or video?

RK: We have a video of it, yeah!

Cool! That´s music history!

RK: Yeah, it is! It was a great night. It was supposed to be a Steeler gig. It was originally posted as a Steeler show and I made the decision to move on from Steeler and form KEEL and decided to make that our debut show and we really literally had three to four weeks to put the band together, rehearse and get ready for that first gig and we tore it up, man! A lot of excitement, a lot of fire and two weeks after that we did our first Hollywood gig at The Roxy. All of this is pretty well documented. We´ve saved all the flyers and magazine ads and stuff. There´s videotape of these shows as well so we have a pretty good grasp of our history and those are some very special and magical times for us and I´ll never forget those days.

You should put something together for a dvd?

RK: At some point we would like to do a dvd for our 25th anniversary and kind of document what we´ve done the last year with the big shows, the photo sessions and the recording sessions and the rehearsals and the live footage from back in the day. Hopefully get clips from our broadcast videos, “The right to rock, “Because the night”, Somebody´s waiting” and kind of put it all together in one package. That´s a goal and a dream of mine. We´ve been so busy man! Once we got done with the album, I went on a tour of the UK with Y&T. We did England, Scotland, Wales and I got back in time for the holidays and then the album came out. I´ve spent the last six weeks really doing a lot of interviews and work on the Internet promoting the album, so there hasn´t been a whole lot of time to think about projects or anything else. Maybe we can have something out this year.

Looking forward to it. Have you ever thought of writing a book?

RK: I am writing a book! It would be done by now if I had the time to finish it. I do enjoy working on it and I´ve been working on it for quite some time. My autobiography, the story of all the adventures and travels of my life and my career and I think that so far it´s really good! I think it´s entertaining, I think it´s fun and it´s supposed to be. I hope to have it out this year but I haven´t had a lot of time to work on it. I work on it a little bit every day and I´m kind of enjoying the process of creating and writing it. Maybe I don´t even want it to be done, I´m still enjoying the ride. I´d like to get it out there this year if possible and hopefully the fans will enjoy it. It´s called “Even KEEL: Life on the streets of rock and roll”. So far it´s really good. I´m enjoying the writing and I think the fans will enjoy it, my friends and people that don´t even know me. The intention is that if you don´t even know who Ron Keel is, you´ll still enjoy reading the story. I´ll keep you posted!

I´m looking forward to that a lot! If you ever got the chance to work with Gene Simmons again, would you do it?

RK: Absolutely! In a heartbeat!

Have you stayed in touch in any way?

RK: Yes! I saw him on a recent trip to Vegas. We got to sit backstage for a few minutes, about 20 minutes and talked about old times. We have nothing but love for Gene. He certainly taught me and taught the band a lot back in the day. He was extremely helpful in building our career when we first started out and his presence was felt in the studio for this most recent album. We felt his presence in the studio. I´m still using lessons that he taught me years ago. How to make a great record. His spirit and his presence is definitely felt on “Streets of rock and roll”.

Finally, you´re coming to Sweden for Stockholm Rock Out. What can the Swedes expect from KEEL?

RK: We´re gonna be extremely excited and fired up. It´s gonna kick start into high gear. It´s our first show in Europe in 24 years and the first time ever that we´re gonna be playing some of the new songs. There´s a lot to look forward to and we´re really excited about it. Of course you´re gonna hear all the songs that you want to hear, “The right to rock”, “Because the night”, “Somebody´s waiting”, “Rock and roll outlaw”, you´re not gonna have a KEEL show without playing those shows. That´s what it´s all about! Maybe two or three songs off the new album will inject a lot of energy into the show. A KEEL show is a good time, that´s the adjective. We want you to have fun. We´re there to celebrate our friendship, our music and this genre and this culture with our fans. A lot of energy, a lot of sweat and a lot of good music! We´re really excited to come to Sweden and we really want to thank everybody at Stockholm Rock Out for bringing us over there for our first European show.

It´s been a pleasure talking to you Ron and I wish you all the best and it´s gonna be a blast catching you live in Stockholm.

RK: That´s awesome! Thank you for all that and I look forward to seeing you there!

I´ll be there!

/Niclas

"If heavy metal bands ruled the world we'd be a lot better off."



Bruce Dickinson är i mitt tycke en ganska dryg typ, men ibland kan han slänga ur sig en del roliga saker, som nu senast på Sonisphere i Knebworth.

Läs NME här

/Niclas

Bröderna Robinson fightas fortfarande!



Jag såg Black Crowes live på första europaturnén 1990 och har varit ett fan sedan dess. Under alla dessa år har bröderna Robinson varit de amerikanska versionen av bröderna Gallagher, dock inte lika öppet inför media.
Nu släpper de en samlingsskiva med akustiska tolkningar av sina största låtar och NY Post fick ett litet snack med sångaren Chris om "brotherly love", ny turné och minnen.

Black Crowes här

/Niclas

Duff om rasism i sin senaste krönika!

Den gamle Gunsbasisten har sedan en tid tillbaka en veckokrönika i Seattle Weekly. Oftast väldigt intressanta berättelser om tankar och händelser i hans liv. Nu senast om bl a rasism, KKK och "One in a million".

Läs här

/Niclas

RATM sparkar rumpa i Kalifornien!




Zach de la Rocha är som alla vet, förbannad på både det ena och det andra. Givetvis med all rätt.
RATM spelade nyligen sin första headline show i södra Kalifornien sedan turnén för "The battle of Los Angeles". Kan vi hoppas på ett gig i Svedala inom en snar framtid?
Recension och bilder från Palladium i LA via länken!

RATM

/Niclas

Ny platta med KISS nästa sommar!



Ja, enligt Paul Stanley går bandet åter in i studion redan i februari nästa år och räknar med att släppa en ny platta under sommaren 2011. Den som lever får se.
Här är en liten artikel med liverecension och intervju från Pittsburgh under pågående USA-turné.

KISS i Rolling Stone

/Niclas

Tänk om man bodde i Chicago...

Are you coming to Chicago to see the return of the mighty Soundgarden atLollapalooza 2010? If so, you may be in luck. Soundgarden has announced thatthey are playing an intimate show at the legendary Vic Theatre in Chicago onThursday, August 5th…and here's your chance to get a couple of tickets. Click here: http://bit.ly/sgregister to sign up as amember of Soundgarden World. Members will be given the chance to purchase apair of tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime show. If selected, you'll be sentan email with a link to purchase a pair of tickets. If you already have anaccount, login and update your profile.

Let's review: Sign up or login here: http://bit.ly/sgregister (it'sfree and you'll be on the ground level of SG's official fan club). Duringthe registration process you will be given the option to enter the drawing.Be sure to check this box! Drawing registration will end the night ofThursday, July 29th at Midnight CDT (Chicago time). Drawing winners will be randomly selected and emailed a unique ticket codethe morning of Friday, July 30th. Winners will be able to purchase ticketsthat same day Friday, July 30th at 2 PM CDT.

There are a bunch of rules here so READ CAREFULLY! Must be 18 to attend this show. This is not an all ages show. IDs will bechecked at point of entry. There will be no hard tickets to this show. Alltickets are paperless and will be distributed at will call the day of theshow. All ticket sales are final. NO EXCHANGE, REFUND, OR TRANSFER of namesfor these tickets. The SoundgardenWorld member must show government issuedphoto identification to collect their paperless tickets. No exceptions.Tickets are purchased in pairs (2) only. No single tickets sold. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Sorry, but in order for us to insure that these tickets are allused by REAL FANS, we must make this rule. Please enter your chance only ifyou can realistically attend this show. For example, if you live in Slovenia and really, really, really want to go,but there's no frickin' way you're flying all the way to Chicago for theshow, don't make it harder for someone who can attend by putting in arequest. Please direct all ticket related questions to tickets@soundgardenworld.com Good luck to you all!

/Niclas

RUSH!



Den kanadensiska powertrion har nu blivit film och bakom det hela ligger Sam Dunn och Scot McFayden. Dessa två herrar har ju tidigare berikat filmvärlden med bl a "A headbanger´s journey" och "Iron Maiden: Flight 666".
Filmen av Rush verkar av förhandssnacket vara minst lika intressant.



/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Mer om The Runaways!



Intressanta Q&A´s i Rolling Stone med Cherie, Joan, Lita och Kim Fowley om filmen, trassel och bandet i allmänhet.

Story

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Skivrecension

Godsplague

"H8" 2008



När finska Godsplague smådundrar igång deras tredje album med ”Zero Mission” som låter som en blandning av Pantera och ett lite mjukare Slayer. I infon som följer med ”H8” så har detta för mig okända band turnerat med Finntroll, Candlemass, Ensiferum och Paradise Lost. Jag försöker att känna av eventuella likheter med de nämnda banden men finner väldigt få. Mestadels av tiden är Godsplague inte stenhårda utan lite lagom finsk melodisk metal som leker lite med amerikansk thrash och traditionell heavy. Det påminner också om lite svängig metal, smått alkoholiserad sådan, som t ex Black Label Society.
Fast jag tycker ju inte att Godsplague är lika gudalika som Zakk Wylde.
I Nico Hartonens röst får jag vibbar av Phil Anselmo men hör också likheter med sångaren i Faith No More.
Helt klart är att det svänger en del om ”H8” men det är ändå för tråkig musik för att vara en riktigt grym platta. Den kommer säkert att spelas flitigt till diverse grillpartyn i sommar, men det är inget man seriöst sitter och lyssnar om och om på. Eller hur?

Betyg: 2/5

/Sara Andersson

"Thank you ladies and Germans!"
Pete Steele 1962-2010



2007 hade jag nöjet att få intervjua Pete Steele och Johnny Kelly i Type O Negative. I och med Steele´s bortgång tänkte jag att det kunde vara kul med en repris på själva intervjun.



"Type O Negative blev ett namn för den större massan i och med "Bloody kisses" (93) och har sedan dess skrämt livet ur moraltanterna. Efterföljande alster har kanske inte riktigt nått upp till samma höjder som nyss nämnda släpp, men flertalet har ändå visat att bandet fortfarande är att räkna med.
Nu skriver vi 2007 och "Dead again" finns snart i en skivhandel nära dig. I Stockholm ligger det snö på gatorna, temperaturen närmar sig noll och en genuint gladlynt Peter Steele stormar in på Playgrounds kontor med en magnifik romarhjälm på huvudet.
Han och trummisen Johnny Kelly är på promotionbesök och visar sig vara två förträffligt trevliga personer, trots all dyster musik de prånglat ut under åren.
Tillsammans med en utsänd reporter från getmetal.com (med andra ord är en del av frågorna inte ställda av Metal Shrine) fick jag möjlighet att få den senaste informationen från Brooklyn´s finest."

It´s been quite a long time since you guys toured here. When can we expect to see you again?

JK: We´re coming to Europe and Scandinavia in late May. We´re gonna do like four or five weeks. I´m not sure and I can´t say for certain exactly where we gonna be, but it looks like we´re gonna be hitting a bunch of festivals and stuff. All that stuff is in the middle of being planned. I did see a possibility of us playing in Malmö, so it´s not too far from Stockholm. That was like the one Swedish date that I saw.

The new album? It took along time to do. Tell us about why?

PS: "Life is killing me" was released when?

JK: June 2003.

PS: After that we did a couple of US tours and a European tour and at the same time we were switching record labels, which is really not a good tactic for a band to do when you´re trying to support an album. So after that we didn´t sign with Roadrunner Records anymore. They didn´t give us any tour support or anything else, so we kind of fell of the face of the earth for a little while. On the same time we were working on the "Sympathy of the devil" dvd and that took up a lot of time and in the mean time I was writing songs for this forthcoming album. After we finished the dvd we finally went into the studio and started to rehearse for the album and brings us to March 19 (release date).

I´m wondering about Rasputin on the cover? And I read earlier that the working title for the album was "The profits of doom"?

PS: "The profits of doom", I thought was ok, but the song "Dead again" was one of the least songs I had written and I fully expected that song to be the first single, but it´s not going to be. The first single is going to be "Profits of doom". I´m the songwriter and the art coordinator for Type O Negative and I was thinking about what visual with go with the title "Dead again". Being slavik and having quite a bit in common with Rasputin. He was an alcoholic, a drug addict, a womanizer, a brawler and he had a big penis and it´s also the whole blood thing. He could cure the Romanov prince of hemophilia just by looking at the kid. The communist couldn´t kill him as much as they couldn´t kill me. Four times in a row...and he looks like a Type O Negative member, but a very good looking one.

I was reading the lyrics for "Helloween in heaven" and it´s some of the funnier lyrics I´ve read for a while. Dead rock stars and all.

PS: It actually has a very somber meaning. Dimebag Darrel was a very close friend with Type O Negative and a very close friend to many many people and it kind of inspired me to write that song, because I know that Dimebag´s in a better place now and I´m sure he´s up there with Bonham, Entwistle and Lennon and all these other famous rock´n´rollers. I miss him and we all miss him very much and I´m still in shock about what happened. I left his name off the list of the deceased, because I didn´t want people to think I was exploiting his death. But it was like kind of a hymn.

It´s a really cool song.

PS: It´s one of my favorite songs and hopefully we´ll be playing that live and "Dead again" live. "Profits of doom" is gonna be the first single like I said. "September sun" after that. and probably "Helloween in heaven". We have the videos lined up to do once we get back to New York.

This song "Dead again" is about drug abuse and stuff. How´s your drug situation?

PS: Well, apparently not one hundred percent resolved. I mean, alcohol is simply just a liquid drug. I was pretty lost in the whole cocaine thing for a couple of years. I´m not gonna say that I´m an angel and I´ve fully recovered. Time to time I do find myself indulging and when I wake up the next day or next week I find this great sense of shame and I realize I´ve killed myself once again and so hence "Dead again". There´s an old saying that says "It´s better to learn from the mistakes of others than from your own.", so I hope I can give something to the fans by saying, if you haven´t tried drugs, dont! If you are using drugs, try to get away from it beacause it´s only gonna get worse! I mean, I was 35 years old when I started doing cocaine and how fucking stupid is that! I´m ashamed of myself, but over the course of ten years...it´s hurt me, its hurt my family, it´s hurt my friends and it´s hurt my reputation. Fortunately I feel like I have a second chance. Maybe I can make lemonade out of lemons by saying to fans to don´t even try it.

I was wondering about the choice once again to produce the album yourselves? Has there ever been a thought of bringing someone in from the outside.

JK: Small talk, like what if, but it´s never been seriously considered.

PS: The person that I would´ve chosen would´ve been George Martin who worked with The Beatles. His fee would probably ten times the album budget, so we decided that´s not the way to go.

JK: We´re not expecting the like of George Martin to work with us. (laughs)

PS: No! But I´m 45 years old and I´ve been in bands since I was eleven or twelve. I think that after all this time I can get out whatever´s in my head. So we´re not really snobs. It´s just that you´re also taking a chance when you hire a producer. You never know how it´s gonna turn out, so we´d rather just do it ourselves. It´s just like masturbation, we do it ourselves.

About George Martin, there´s parts of "Hey Jude" in "These three things".

PS: You can blame Josh for that! Josh put that in there so if Michael Jackson wants to sue us, Josh is the one!

JK: Josh can easily be reached. (laughs)

It´s a cool thing and it blends in pretty good.

JK: I´m sure Josh put it in there to see if anyone´s paying attention. Like Van Halen not having green M&M´s...

What about the last song "Hail and farewell to England"? What´s the story about that one?

PS: Let´s see who´s on the cover of this magazine. (Holds up a copy of a magazine with Manowar on the cover.)

JK: It has nothing to do with England. It´s a metaphore.

PS: It has nothing to do with England. What happened was that on most other Type O Negative albums we added like soundscapes between songs and one of the soundscapes that I had come up with was having four British fighter pilots during World War I over Germany, being shot down and going down together and it kind of turned into a song. As they´re being shot down over Germany they say "Hail and farewell to Britain" and I have nothing against England what so ever or Germany or Poland or Iceland or fucking Queens, New York. It also gives the journalists another question to ask. "What do you mean by that?" and the answer is "I don´t fucking know!".

About touring? Now most of you guys are married right?

JK: I´m not. Josh and Kenny are.

Is it still fun to go out on the road for months and months?

JK: For me, I still very much enjoy touring. I got a chance to do a bunch of it with Danzig during the break between records and stuff, so it´s nothing that I am entirely unfamiliar with, but for me it´s always been something I´ve always wanted to do and now that I´ve become older and I have a daughter now...it´s very tough to be a way from my daughter and that´s something that is very much a part of me. While I´m out on the road I´m not gonna be so miserable and depressed because I´m not home. It´s still an experience and it´s still part of my life´s experience and I want to get the most out of it while I´m there. It´s just like when I´m home I want to be with my daughter and do as much as I can with her and be a part of that experience. It´s just about trying to get the most out of it where ever you are. Touring´s always been a fun thing and it´s always interesting. You never know what you´re gonna walk into. Not just the performance, but the rest of the day. Roll the dice! What´s gonna happen today? What´s under this shell. As long as it´s interesting and it doesn´t get repetetive and mundane. I love playing!

PS: Most of the other bands we tour with as well, they´re a lot of fun. We´re on their bus, our bus hanging out. Going out...I´m 45 years old and acting like 15. being in a rockband for me, means that I can be a kid for the rest of my life. I don´t have to grow up.

JK: We did our first shows in California a couple of weeks ago. The first shows we´ve done in three years and we picked up right we´re we left off. We went insane for three days. We had fun. We had a great time. We were laughing and kidding on each other and at the same time the fans got to see the band again and they were really excited and stuff. It´s like a win win situation. Talking about it, we forgot how much fun it was to play in Type O Negative and we kind of reconnected on that level and we can´t wait to go on the road.

I read somewhere that you toured with Mötley Crüe?

JK: Yeah, we opened up for Mötley Crüe.

PS: For three months.

Was that when John Corabi was in the band?

JK: Yes!

What was that like?

JK: For us, even if it was a tough tour for them on the level of success they were accustomed to, but for us it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Even though we were playing outdoor amphitheatres in the States, it was a great experience. We did that all summer and we partied like we were in Mötley Crüe! (laughs). But the tour wasn´t successful for them. Here you are playing in a 20000 seat venue and there´s only like 3000 or 4000 people showing up, so it was tough on them, but for Type O Negative who was unknown, 4000 people is the opportunity of a lifetime for any band. We made the most out of it and I hold Mötley Crüe pretty responsible for putting Type O Negative on the map. They were adviced by everybody that worked with them "Don´t take this band out! They´re not worth anything!". They (advicers) we´re like "We can get a band that can fill up seats!", but they (the Crüe) were like "Fuck that! We want Type O! We like the band and we want them out there! Make it happen!". We got along great and it was some crazy times! It was a lot of fun and things just went up from there for us, so it was a great experience for us. Tommy Lee was one of my idols when I was a kid and drumming and stuff, so I would just pull up a chair, grab a beer and sit behind him and watch the whole show the whole time. And then after the show we would all go crazy. The Mötley Crüe after the show parties are legendary! (laughs)

I read at KNAC that Danzig and Phil Anselmo were supposed to do some guest vocals on the album?

PS: I did that interview quite a while ago and that was my wish list. I wished that tha could´ve happened, but Glenn´s busy and Phil is busy. I wanted Henry Rollins, all the people that we´ve toured with, but due to time limitations and things coming up, even our own schedule was start - stop, start - stop, so I didn´t wanna have to bring some of them into the chaos that is Type O Negative. Hopefully down the line maybe Henry, Glenn and Phil and Rob Zombie would be guest vocalists. I think it would be fucking amazing!

I also read that you were thinking about doing a covers album, "Dis-covered"?

PS: I had many ideas, but it´s up to SPV really. The future of this band really depends on the fans reaction to this album. If this album sucked, which I´m not saying it doesn´t, but it sucks less than the others, I think that that would´ve been the last nail in the coffin for us. After waiting three and a half years and you put a product out that didn´t satisfy the fans it would´ve be like "Thanks and goodbye!".

Where do you see yourselves in ten years? Are you still doing this or...?

JK: It´s 2007 and we´re still here and I´m just leaving it completely open. I´m not making any plans, because I have a feeling that we´re still gonna be a band ten years from now.

PS: If you had asked me that ten years ago I would never have thought that I would probably be sitting here. Not that I did not want to be here, but to have a band last 17 years...

JK: It´s just something that just doesn´t happen. It´s only like a few bands that really manage to tough it out. The way I look at it is it´s just like family. You can pick your friends, but you can´t pick your family and that´s what it seems Type O is. Even if you wanted to leave you couldn´t!

PS: It´s like the mafia!

JK: No, but we´re still cool with it and we still feel like there´s a lot to be acomplished and a lot of goals that we have. As a band there´s still things that we want to do that we haven´t done.

PS: There´s also territories that we haven´t played yet. Australia, South America, Japan and southern Europe, so I´m looking very forward to that.

JK: Yeah, I mean, there´s still a lot of things that we want to do and there´s still gas left in the tank as far as creatively. I think this record came out a lot better than we all expected. Bottom line, we busted our asses on it and if we can work that hard now at this stage of the game, I think it says a lot about us as people and as a band.

PS: I may warn you that our next album may just be a disco album. It´s gonna be called "Saturday night seizure".

JK: Which I happen to like... (laughs). I love Motown so...

PS: I love Motown and some of that old stuff is great stuff.

Ok, Thank you!

PS: Thank you, ladies and Germans!

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Faith No More på Coachella!



Intressant intervju i LA Weekly med "wunderkind" Mike Patton om publikinteraktion och Coachellafestivalen. Kan vi hoppas på ett Sverigebesök?

Story

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Soundgarden



Hannah Levin skriver kul om gammalt gig med bandet samt kortare recension av återföreningsgiget.
Själv fick jag det här mailet i fredagskväll, men det hade man ju inte mycket nytta av då jag bor i Stockholm. Synd!

"Hello Nudedragon faithful,

Your loyalty has not been forgotten, we would like to invite you to the
Showbox tonight for a chance to see us for the first time in a long while.
Click here to buy tickets use the password: dangersound
Please leave your camera and video recorders in the dungeon. There will be a VERY LIMITED number of tickets available. All tickets sold on line. No tickets available at the door. All tickets are will call only.
With record store day tomorrow, don’t forget to pickup your special edition
t-shirt and "Hunted Down/Nothing To Say" single click here
And if all this weren't enough, we will have a special edition Nudedragons
t-shirt and poster available at the show and online soon.

Loudest of Love Soundgarden"

Story

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Bokrecension

"Joan Jett"

Todd Oldham

Ammo Books



Ammo Books har gjort det igen. Deras sagolikt vackra bok om/av Joan Jett är en fröjd för ögat. Todd Oldham har gått igenom flera timmar av intervjuer i text och på tape samt kompletterat med egna intervjuer. Resultatet är en välskriven bok om Joan Jett, från barndomen till Runaways och vidare genom hennes framgångsrika solokarriär.
Todd har lyckats med något som väldigt många författare misslyckas med, nämligen att berätta om en rock and rollers liv utan att intellektualisera rock and rollen. Boken har formatet av coffetable-book, den är utsmyckad med bilder på var eller varannan sida och är en bok jag kommer att återkomma till om och om igen. Den är fylld med information om Joans liv, och källan är hela tiden Joan själv.
Todd visar med denna bok att en bok om en musiker inte behöver vara tjock som en tegelsten för att vara intressant och informativ. När jag satte boken i händerna på min 17-åriga dotter som inte visste vem Joan Jett är, var kommentaren efter en stunds bläddrande: ”Den verkar intressant! Och snygga bilder!” Och när jag visade en nytagen bild på Joan från 2010 och frågade dottern hur gammal hon trodde Joan var, blev svaret 29 år. Tja, det var bara en parantes.
Har du som jag spelat luftgitarr till ”I love rock & roll” så gör dig själv en tjänst och gå in på www.adlibris.se och beställ Joan Jett. Den är värd varenda krona. Snyggare bok får du fan leta efter.

/Mikael Ekström

Skivrecension

The Psychics

"The Psychics" 2009



The Psychics drämmer igång deras debutalbum med rockiga ”Portent” som doftar mycket blues, och den är riktigt skön! Sångaren Steve Owers påminner mycket om Robert Plant i Led Zeppelin och det är verkligen positivt. Bandet själva menar att de vill hedra de forna engelska rockbanden och det instämmer jag i att de åstadkommer. ”The Psychics” låter verkligen 70-tals hårdrock med mycket sväng, melodi och blues.
Jag måste erkänna att det föddes många fördomar inom mig när jag först såg detta album, allt från gubbrock till power metal flög genom mitt huvud och därför hade jag placerat dem långt ner i skivhögen. Tyvärr låter låten ”Ghosts” lite för mycket åt power hållet men jag är säkert för perfektionistisk då jag vill att dessa gubbar (jo, de är faktiskt rätt så gamla) skall spela första låten om och om. Stundtals får jag som jag vill då gubbarna med psykiska förmågor svänger igång rejält liknande husgudarna Deep Purple (lyssna t ex på låten ”21st Century Whipping Boy”).
Denna skiva rockar faktiskt och även om det inte kommer att bli någon klassiker så är den rejält uppmuntrande en regning dag. Fast skönast vore det ändå att köra denna gamla hårdrock på vinyl, då skulle känslan infinna sig ytterligare.

Betyg: 3/5

/Sara Andersson

Skivrecension

The Dreamside

"Lunar nature" 2009



Holländska The Dreamside börjar deras nya släpp ”Lunar Nature” med låten ”Everlasting”, en blandning av goth och electro, ja jag hör rent av lite drum’n’bass i början.
Den följs av den lugna och tyvärr lite för tråkiga ”Silently awake” som dock, om jag skall vara positiv, stundtals låter lite vacker.
Jag försöker direkt skapa en egen bild av The Dreamsides musik då jag aldrig hört dem tidigare, dock märker jag efter lite efterforskning, att de gav ut sin första skiva redan 1994 så de bör alltså vara ganska rutinerade. Den vetskapen påverkar hur jag bedömer denna skiva väldigt mycket. Jag antar att Dreamside kan liknas med Crüxshadows.
Plattan flyter på i samma sound som på andra låten och sångerskan Kemi Vita sjunger på i typisk goth metal-anda men det blir för enformigt. För någon som endast slukar denna blandning av ny goth och försiktigt blippande, kanske detta är rena heliga Graalen men jag tycker snarare att det blir lite småskön bakgrundsmusik.
Låtar som sticker ut lite och som man lyssnar mer på, är duetten ”Higher Ground”, mjuka titelspåret och även bakgrundsljuden i ”Sticks and stones”.
”Lunar Nature” är absolut ingen dålig skiva, men liksom i alla genres finns det för många band och för få som verkligen sticker ut. Och det här är ingenting som jag plockar fram om några månader.

Betyg: 2/5

/Sara Andersson

Konsertrecension


Mejeriet, Lund 26 mars 2010

För egen del var spelningen på Mejeriet lite av en jubileumsspelning. För 25 år sedan bevittnade jag som 14-årig, finnig tonårskille Saxon på smått legendariska sporthallen Olympen just i Lund.
Mycket har givetvis hänt bandmässigt på dessa 25 år. Sångaren Biff Byford blir allt mer lik Carouschka Streijffert från inredningsprogrammet Roomservice (eller om det är tvärtom), Nigel Glockler bakom trummorna har bytt sitt ”läckra” pannband från 80-talet mot heltäckande scarf (för att täcka en begynnande flint?) medans Paul Quinn på gitarr obönhörligen transformerats till mysfarbror som ser mer beskedlig ut än farlig. De två på scen som inte var med på 80-talet är tämligen anonyma. Doug Scarratt på gitarr är dock definitivt kompetent och Köpenhamnsbon Yenz Leonhardt, tillvardags aktiv i halvdussinet andra band, ersatte på kort varsel med bravur då basisten Nibbs Carter tvingats dra sig ur turnéen.

Låtlistan nedan vittnar om att aftonens spelning inriktade sig på alster från guldåren kring 80-talets början. Och visst svängde det rejält stundtals.
Dock kändes det tyvärr som om bandet gick lite på rutin denna afton. Kanske berodde det på att bandet hade bråttom att komma iväg för att hinna ner till turnéavslutningen i Holland? Biff tackar pliktskyldigt och artigt publiken och kör publikfriande standardfraser så som att ”ni har varit en mycket bra publik” och ”ni överröstar ju till och med bandet”.
Noterbart denna afton var den stora uppslutningen av oss gamla rävar som var med på 80-talets början. Många var vi som för en kväll lämnat familjelivet därhemma och vikit fredagskvällen åt öldrickande. Vi skickade våra knutna högernävar i luften och framstötte välljudande gutturala läten mot scen för att blidka våra gamla rockgudar. Redan där var segern i hamn. Låt vara att bandet denna afton som sagt gick lite på rutin.

Stort tack till Totte på KB som fixade ackreditering.


Betyg: 3/5

Längd: 1 h 50 min

Publik: ca 600

Setlist:
Battalions of steel
Heavy metal thunder
Live to rock
Motorcycle man
Requiem
Witchfinder general
Metalhead
The eagle has landed
Warrior/Battle cry/Sixth form girls/Man and machine/Battle cry
To hell and back again
Strong arm of the law
Broken heroes
20 000 feet
747 (Strangers In The Night)
Princess of the night
-----------------------------
Doug solo
Wheels of steel
-----------------------------
Crusader
Denim and leather

/Steve Mårtensson

Bokrecension och Q&A med författaren

"Castle stories - A rock and roll scrapbook" 2009

Duane Roy



En mycket charmant och underhållande liten bok om en plats du antagligen aldrig hört talas om. Förattaren Duane Roy växer upp i Kanada, strax norr om Michigan i USA och beger sig under mitten av 80-talet på ett antal äventyrliga resor till Castle Farms i Chalevoix, Michigan för att uppleva konserter med några av de större hårdrockbanden. Allt från Whitesnake till Bon Jovi.
Roy berättar roliga anekdoter från flertalet konserter och jag skrattar för mig själv vid flera tillfällen. Castle Farms ser ut som ett gammalt medeltida slott och när man anordnade konserter där var det i större skala med en publik runt 15000. Numera är konsertaktiviteten dock nedlagd.
Språket är lätt och ledigt och klart humoristiskt. Det är roliga resor över gränsen och historier om föräldrar som ställer upp och kör flera mil för att tillgodose sin tonårings smak för hårdrock och show. Själv känner jag igen mig i flera scenarion efter att ha blivit skjutsad av snälla föräldrar till konserter i Lund och Malmö under det glada 80-talet. Roy berättar bl a om ett möte med Ozzy Osbourne och en väldigt ung Zakk Wylde. Givetvis ges det även bildbevis från detta tillfälle.
”Castle stories” är en fyndig och rolig bok om en tid som inte längre finns och då man kunde göra saker som säkerligen är otänkbara i dagens samhälle. Jag ser med glädje fram emot nästa bok av Duane Roy, för det kommer fler.

Vi skickade lite frågor till Duane Roy och fick snabbt svar.

First off, who´s Duane Roy?

Some dude who lives in Wawa, Ontario, Canada....check the map it's far from everything (9 hours north of Detroit and 12 hours north of Toronto. I work as a "blaster" in an underground gold mine, which means I blow things up every day and tell me that's not metal! I have three kids, two teenagers and a two year old, my oldest son has been playing guitar for about 10 years and I think that will be his future.

When did you get the idea for the book?

I sat around with my buddies talking about the old days, having beers and the stories were so funny and entertaining that I just wrote them down. I knew from the first time I visited the Castle I would write about it some day, it just took 22 years to do it.

How long did it take to put it together?

I started writing the book Jan. 2, 09 and completed it on September 11/09 and it was released on Nov. 11/09

How did you hook up with Alloway´s Publishing?

Alloway's is a small company that is in the area so dealing with someone close by is a lot easier than someone thousands of miles away. Locale was very important and it just worked out that way.

What is it that made Castle Farms so special?

It was the whole event, leaving Canada to go to the US and seeing the biggest bands in the world only a few hours from our doorsteps was cool. The lawlessness of those times was something that you'll never see again in North America. Doing everything and anything that would get you deported nowadays. Charlevoix is a beautiful little town and to see 15,000 extra people jamming every possible orifice of the town was amazing.

What was the first metal show you ever went to and do you have any fun memories of it?

The first show I attended was Ted Nugent, not sure if he's considered metal or not. It was so loud it hurt and that show still ranks as one of the loudest I've ever attended. At that first show I really wondered if I would be able to handle going to concerts with insanely loud music like that. Since then I've been addicted...I just wear earplugs now.

Coolest rocker you´ve ever met was…?

Ozzy of course....The Prince Of Fuckin' Darkness!

During this time frame, did you go to other metal shows somewhere else?

The Sault Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was the closest place, (small arena less than 5000) lots of Canadian bands like Helix and The Tragically Hip…but of course there were shows like Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent. We also attended some big shows like The Rolling Stones at The Pontiac Silver dome (1989) and Metallica (1989 with Queensryche on the Damaged Justice Tour).

During the writing of the book I still attended some cool shows like...
- Metallica in January 2009 with Machine Head and The Sword (Detroit, MI)
- Metallica in November 2009 with Lamb Of God and Volbeat (Grand Rapids, MI)
- Ace Frehley in November 2009 (Sault Ste. Marie, MI)

And some other non-metal shows with the wife, Bryan Adams and Reo Speedwagon

What was the Canadian metal scene like in the 80´s and how would you compare it to today´s?

The Canadian music scene had so many great metal/hard rock bands that are forgotten about today. We got our weekly dose of metal from Much Music (Canada's MTV) on a show called The Pepsi Power Hour. Bands like Razor, Sacrifice, Sword, all great metal bands that are sadly underrated. We also had the cool hard rock bands like Helix, Kickaxe, and Triumph...still listen to all those bands today. Today's music scene seems a little repetitious, and I don't really listen to many "new" bands from anywhere. I like Fifth Way from Detroit (not Canadian I know) and there are a few cool metal bands in the area like Garden Of Bedlam from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Some Canadian bands keep on going like a rock n roll terminators like Helix....always good stuff from them.

http://www.myspace.com/fifthway
http://www.myspace.com/gardenofbedlam

Could you give us any tips when it comes to writing your first book?

Write lots and read even more. If you're going to write about music, read music books for inspiration. For me the process is pretty standard, I do the internet research about the bands and the era that I'm writing about, listen to the bootlegs, watch the videos, read the interviews, visit the fan sites. Then I have a few beers with my buddies and we discuss the concerts we attended (while I take notes) and I write it all down. So write, read, research and buy Stephen King's book "On Writing" it really, really helps.

Any chance of another book?

I'm working on two books at the same time, one about concerts at the Sault Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I've got some famous Canadian musicians involved in that one. I'm also writing about growing up in a small town and being one of the only rabid metal fans in town....got some cool television personalities doing some blurbs.

Which is the easiest way to get hold of your book?

Exclusively through my website at www.duaneroy.com I ship all over the world email me if you have any questions duane@duaneroy.com

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Bokrecension

"Bomp - Saving the world one record at a time"

Suzy Shaw och Mick Farren



Det finns bra rock & roll böcker, det finns väldigt bra rock & roll böcker och så finns det Bomp! För den oinvigde så är Bomp numera bara ett skivbolag, men det var också ett fanzine med en eldsjäl vid namn Greg Shaw vid rodret, som var lika viktig för rock & roll historien som Rolling Stone Magazine, Cream och NME.
Till skillnad från många av sina rockjournalist-kollegor så var Greg inte främmande för att recensera Elvis 1973 och gilla det, eller att erkänna att Abba var minst lika mycket power pop som Slade och Small Faces.
Den här boken är en kärleksfull coffe table book (fan vad pretentiöst det låter), gjord av Gregs livskamrat Suzy och vännen Mick Farren. Vi får fotostatkopior av valda intervjuer och artiklar från de fanzinen som Greg skapade, Mojo Navigator och Who Put The Bomp, tillsammans med kommentarer från dem som var med då. Och när jag läser dessa artiklar är det alltför tydligt att rockjournalistiken inte blivit bättre, snarare mer ointressant.
Bland de medverkande skribenterna i denna utgåva finns Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus och Iggy Pop. Förutom fantastiska och intressanta artiklar får man mängder av bilder och en genomgående vacker rock & roll layout gör läsningen behaglig.
Ska du bara köpa en bok i år så är det denna.

/Mikael Ekström

Bokrecension och Q&A med författaren.

"Full Metal Jackie certified - The 50 most influential heavy metal songs of the 80´s and the true stories behind their lyrics"

Jackie Kajzer och Robert Lotring



Jackie Kajzer är en relativt stor radioprofil i USA, där hon har sin egen metalshow vid namn ”Full Metal Jackie”. Tillsammans med Roger Lotring har hon nu skrivit boken om de 50 mest inflytelserika metalsångerna under 80-talet.
Det är en mycket intressant bok, även om titeln, som är längre än längst, kan ses som något missvisande. Kanske hade en titel i stil med ”50 betydelsefulla sånger...” passat bättre, då jag tvekar till att alla dessa låtar egentligen varit speciellt omvälvande på något sätt. Kajzer nämner detta i bokens inledning och påpekar att hon istället siktat in sig på låtar som på något sätt kommenterat samhället för tiden. Frågan är ju också hur pass påverkad man blir som lyssnare? Må så vara att Judas Priests ”Electric eye” handlar om det övervakade samhället, storebror ser dig och Orwells ”1984”, det har ändå hela tiden varit riffen och melodin som gjort mig knäsvag, inte texten.
Boken är skriven i kronologisk ordning och börjar med Judas Priests ”Breaking the law” 1980 och avslutas med Megadeths ”Holy wars... the punishment due” 1990. Dave Mustaine har även skrivit förordet till boken.
Låtarna analyseras och för varje låt har även själva låtskrivaren/skrivarna fått berätta om sina texter och ge en förklaring till innehållet. Det gäller dock inte Metallica som är representerade med flera låtar. James Hetfield kontaktades, men avböjde att kommentera då han menade att allt ligger i lyssnarens fantasi och associationer. Lite trist, men ändå förståeligt. Dock ger andra artisters syn på och influenser av bandets låtar, mindre intressanta berättelser.
En mycket kul liten notis är att Ozzys "Suicide solution" inte skrevs med Bon Scott i åtanke, vilket Ozzy själv hävdat genom åren. Bob Daisley berättar att texten mer var en indirekt varning till Ozzy själv eller faran med alkohol överlag.
Något underligt är det att ett band som Mötley Crüe inte finns med. Säg vad man vill om hårspray och glitter, men nog skulle man ha kunnat klämma in ”Knock ém dead kid”, ”Wild side” eller ”Dr. Feelgood”. Minst lika relevanta som Dokkens ”Kiss of death”, men å andra sidan är kanske HIV/Aids mer politiskt korrekt i sammanhanget.
Sammanfattningsvis är det här en väldigt givande och intressant läsning, även om man kan ha sina synpunkter på låtvalen/banden ibland. Utan tvekan är det låtskrivarnas berättelser som väger tyngst, men även bildmaterialet, signerat Mark Weiss, ger extra krydda till denna över 300 sidor tjocka bok.

Jag passade på att ta tillfället i akt och mailade lite frågor till författaren.

First of all, who's Jackie Kajzer?

Jackie Kajzer is me, a metal fan for life! I'm a DJ who programs and hosts a syndicated metal radio show that broadcasts in 27 markets across the United States.

How did you end up doing radio?

I was a DJ on my college radio station, WSOU at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. That's where my love for radio was born. After graduating, I spent several years broadcasting from different commercial rock stations around the country before moving to Los Angeles. It was there that I started my own metal show on Indie 103.1. Other stations began requesting the right to broadcast my show, which led to a full syndication situation.

Did you come up with the name Full Metal Jackie or was it someone else?

Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols also had a show on Indie 103.1, and he came up with it. The name stuck, and I've been using it ever since.

Do you remember the first interview you did with a major act and what was it like?
Oh yeah, absolutely! I've been really fortunate to have had opportunities to interview most of my metal heroes, and none of them have let me down by being anything but extremely cool. One of the first “big” interviews I did was with Dave Mustaine from Megadeth. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it seemed pretty scary—in fact, I was shaking while we talked. But it was amazing, and very surreal. These days, Dave is very much a friend, and it's kind of funny to remember how intimidated I felt back then.

What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

Mostly metal from the New York and New Jersey scene, where I lived. I was about 9-years-old when I started listening to this music, and my love for it hasn't really changed. I actually had a fake ID when I was 13, so I've been going to the clubs and supporting metal for a long time.

As I understand it, you've done a lot of work with the band Five Finger Death Punch. How did you come across that band and what was it that made you want to work with them?

I found out about them when I started getting radio requests from my Los Angeles audience for this new, unknown band. Once I heard their music, I was hooked! I saw them live, and when I found out they were unsigned and had no management, I immediately arranged a meeting and a showcase for some people at my company. We signed Five Finger Death Punch to our management and label, put them on the road with the Family Values Tour, and the rest is history. I'm incredibly proud of them and their success.

When did you first start working on your book?

The idea came to me at the beginning of last year. Preparing my weekly radio show, a lot of the classic metal tracks were never meant for commercial broadcast. In many cases, radio edit versions were just never made. So, because of profanity, I research the lyrics to every song, making edited versions whenever necessary. When you start paying such close attention to a lot of these songs, you really recognize how much these songs, especially the lyrics, were a cultural and social snapshot of the time.

How did you select these 50 songs?

My co-author, Roger Lotring, and I each prepared long lists of potential songs that we felt should be considered. It was a pretty involved process, with conversations almost daily about which songs should be included and why. There was a lot of discussion about each song, and whether or not it met the specifics of our criteria. Ultimately, we came up with what we believe are 50 great metal songs that were not only lyrically influential then, but continue to be just as relevant today.

I guess you never got hold of any of the Metallica guys, since they're not in the book. How come?
We did get ahold of Metallica. I was scheduled to interview James Hetfield, but he ultimately decided it best to leave listeners to their own interpretation of the lyrics, rather than influence them with his own. Unfortunate, yeah, but you've got to respect that level of artistic integrity. Roger agreed with me that Metallica had to be in the book, so what was initially a huge disappointment became a great opportunity to incorporate prominent contemporary metal lyricists who were greatly influenced by Hetfield's lyrics. In terms of the creative process of songwriting, the Metallica chapters ultimately provide a great link between past and present.

How come the song “One” by Metallica didn't make the book? It's about war and it was also a major breakthrough for the band.

We considered it. But metal fans usually take ownership of their favorite bands, and mainstream success sometimes pushes them away, ultimately diminishing the importance of a song or an album to them. Keeping that in mind, we didn't always choose the obvious songs. It wasn't always about the most popular, but rather the ones we felt were extremely influential, in a lyrical sense. We also tried to be conscious of not having multiple songs that addressed similar social concerns. Another criteria was getting different stories that most metal fans hadn't heard before. We had already decided on including “Mandatory Suicide” by Slayer. It also deals with the violent atrocity of war, but unlike “One,” most people are unaware of the inspiration behind it.

What was it like getting Dave Mustaine to pen the foreword?

Like I mentioned before, Dave is a close friend. He's always been recognized as a smart, clever lyricist, so we knew Megadeth would be part of the book. Since Megadeth are such an important part of the development of metal as a genre, I thought he would be the perfect person to write the foreword. Dave and I spoke at great length about what this book would be about, and I'm honored that he agreed to be part of the project!

How did you hook up with Mark Weiss and did he let you use whatever you wanted?

Mark's photos are iconic. A lot of us grew up with posters of his photos on our bedroom walls. Roger had worked with Mark before and was pretty sure he had period shots of every band that would correspond with the timeframe of each song. Mark confirmed that when we first started talking about the possibility of his involvement. Basically, he provided a gallery of photos of each artist that he felt best reflected his work, from which we chose the ones used in the book. Like Dave Mustaine, I'm honored that Mark agreed to be involved.

The cover of the book, was that picture your first choice or did it go through a number of changes?

That photo actually was the first choice, but originally it was cropped to Rob Halford's face. We went through several design changes before deciding on the final layout, but it was always that photo.

Can we expect more books from you, perhaps one with all your favorite interviews in?

Perhaps there might be another book on the horizon, who knows? But right now I'm very excited about this book, and it's very rewarding that it's being received so well.

What would be the easiest way for us over here in Sweden to listen to your show?

My show airs on radio stations all over the United States, most of which also stream online. A full list of stations, and where you can hear them, is listed at FULLMETALJACKIERADIO.com. While you're online, you can also check out Roger's Facebook page at Facebook.com/Roger.Lotring and rogerlotring.blogspot.com.

Any messages for old and new fans of yours?

Yes, a huge thank you! I'm very thankful for my supporters worldwide. I really am just a very passionate fan who is lucky enough to do this as my job. Thanks to everyone who makes it so much fun!

Jackies hemsida för radioshowen

/Niclas Müller-Hansen

Senaste från Soundgarden!



/Niclas Müller-Hansen