It was only a few months ago that our very own Jacki Spencer had the privilege of interviewing Jason from Bullet for My Valentine. Since their extensive U.S. tour, which is currently ongoing,  it was my turn to ask the guys from Bullet a few questions.

After a short break from writing for SHOUT! I was contacted  by the editors and asked if I had any interest in doing a phone interview with the guitarist, Micheal Padget. Although I’d never listened to more than one song from the band, I had heard so much from friends about them that I jumped on the opportunity to find out a little more about these Wales rockers. 

SHOUT!: We should start with a little bit of background. The sites I’ve read have a couple different histories for you guys, so what’s the real story?

Padge: We started out when we were 16 or 17 and still in high school. We played local shows for about 7 years, and then our bass player left. After he left we decided to write a bunch of new songs that  had a new vibe, and eventually we got signed.

S!: I read that you’re touring the U.S. Where are you today?

P: We’re in Murtle Beach, which is a really nice place.

S!: Do you find that there is a difference between touring the US and touring at home in Wales?

P: Not really. The only difference is the amount of time we have to spend here, because the place is so big, it’s not like we can do it in a week — it takes a good month or two. As for the shows, they’re pretty much the same. We have great fans everywhere we go, and they just go nuts at our shows. 

S!: You guys have …  Continued »

To be completely honest, before being offered the opportunity to interview Nonpoint, I had no idea who they were. I know that might sound bad, but it put me in an interesting position as an interviewer. Instead of doing extensive research, and pretending like I knew all of their history, I performed the interview the way I was - as a person who was completely clueless. My intent was to ask the questions I personally like to know about a band I first start listening to.

After performing the interview, I had enough interest in the band to start listening to their amazing music - which is my goal for the readers of SHOUT!.

Shout!: Tell us a little about yourselves.

Nonpoint: Well, my name is Robb and I am the drummer for Nonpoint. The other members are Elias on vocals, Goldman on guitar and vocals and Bastard on bass and vocals. 4 low-key guys is all I can say about us.

S!: How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before?

NP: Hmmm, not really sure. I mean there are different genres mixed in our music, like metal, rock and hardcore. Add some melody in there and you have Nonpoint.

S!: What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced as a band? How did you overcome it?

NP: Well, we have changed labels a few times so that was the biggest obstacle.

S!: You guys have been together without a line-up change for a while now. Is it ever hard to keep tensions between you to a minimum? How do you deal with that?

NP: If I told you that there was no tension, I would be lying. All bands have it you know. It makes the band stronger, I think. To avoid …  Continued »

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about doing my first phone interview. Although I didn’t know too much about As I Lay Dying, I have several friends who are huge fans of the band, and added a little pressure to an already nerve-wracking situation.

As nervous as I was, I was completely grateful to have the wonderful opportunity to interview As I Lay Dying guitarist Nick Hipa over the phone. After speed-walking home from school, and nearly missing the call, I was relieved when Nick proved wrong all of the (and I hate to admit this) stereotypical ideas I had about guitarists in metal bands.

After a couple “hellos”, our interview was off to a start. I guess the first time is always a little awkward, but Nick’s cooperation and patience was extremely helpful and welcomed to a person such as myself, who had seen multiple students wearing As I Lay Dying shirts at school that day, further increasing my awareness of exactly who it was I was going to be talking to.

Shout!: Let’s start with the basics - how did you guys meet, and how did you decide a career in the music industry was right for you?

Nick: Tim and Jordan knew each other randomly from being in different bands, and the knowing the same people in the San Diego hardcore scene, and started the band in 2001. After they first made the band, they went through tons of line-up changes because they couldn’t find people who wanted to commit to the music like they did. In 2002 or 2003, the band I was in toured a bit with As I Lay Dying, and that’s when I met the guys. We ended up playing …  Continued »

Free hugs. 18 Million people have watched the video on YouTube, and perhaps you have too. If so, chances are the song stuck with you - I know it stuck with me. The powerful-yet-mellow song behind this video is called “All The Same”, but in my opinion, it’s anything but.

The latest Aussie sensation are known as Sick Puppies, and are gaining popularity and international acclaim daily. Australian music makes up only 1.6% of the music industry, so this is quite the feat. I’m sure having the backing music to the Free Hugs campaign video on YouTube  (a video has that gained over 18 million views, and also won the 2006 YouTube Video of the Year Award) didn’t hurt.

The band, which includes two Australian-born high school friends (Shiman Moore and Emma Anzai) and their Los Angeles-native friend and drummer Mark Goodwin (who they happened to have scouted out on Craig’s List), are trying their best to breathe some fresh air into the rock scene. After the April 2007 release of their first album Dressed Up As Life, Sick Puppies have been on a path that many aspire to travel.

With media appearances on shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, 60 Minutes, and CNN, the band are already gaining quite the impressive repertoire. Having moved to the US to further the band’s career, Sick Puppies have been endlessly touring their new home-country for the promotion of their album, and will soon be playing shows with Finger Eleven, Three Days Grace, Sum 41 and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Lucky for the readers of SHOUT!, I got the opportunity to interview Shimon via e-mail. After having the record out for less than a year and already reaching this level of success, who knows where they will be in …  Continued »

 Being a band from Raleigh, North Carolina, Alesana is quickly gaining fans and becoming more well known in the music industry. I’ve known of the band for quite a few months now through a friend that absolutely loves them. I was thrilled when offered the opportunity to interview them via e-mail, and quickly got to work on the questions to ask this soon-to-be-huge band.

After signing to Fearless Records, Alesana released their first album titled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax. The record was a hit with generally teenaged audiences, and the band started feverishly touring the United States shortly after the release. Beginning at the end of June, the band will set off on their first Warped Tour, with legendary bands such as Bad Religion and Pennywise. They will be playing a total of 22 dates, and will be returning home to start another leg of their own tour.

I was lucky enough to get these guys to sit down at the computer and answer a few questions for me before setting off for the adventure that is the Van’s Warped Tour.

 Continued »

As It Stands
www.myspace.com/asitstandsmusic

Northern Ontario is probably not the first place one would think would produce a good metal band, but As It Stands is proving that a bunch of kids from Sault Ste. Marie can rock just as hard as anyone else.

Justin Pregent (vocals), Garrett Masters (guitar), Albert Bourrier (guitar), Angelo Huckson (bass) and John Mignacca (drums) started As It Stands in 2004. Over the past three years, the band’s style has changed from ‘emo’ to metal, and the bands influences evolved from Senses Fail to Everytime I Die.

The band has just released their first EP titled Kill the Music, Save the Children earlier this year, and have been doing their best to promote it in their area. After asking guitarist Garrett Masters what the title meant, he replied “I just thought of it when we were all stoned and recording, it’s just the kind of state the industry’s in today, everyone’s obsessed about everything being all nice and orderly when life’s not like that, and they tend to pick on the musicians for that. They’d rather have their kids listen to nothing than listen to something with a message”

The guys are going to be touring all over Ontario this summer, playing shows everywhere from department stores, community centers, and small clubs. Ask any successful musician the best way to start your career, and they’ll reply that you need to play whenever and wherever you can - which is exactly what As It Stands are doing.

Hopefully this is just the start of a long successful career for these five guys from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. God knows they’ve got the talent, and seeing as the progress they’ve already made, it’s fairly evident they’ve got the drive as well. Check out the tour dates on their MySpace, and if you’re in the area be sure to check out a show - I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

 Continued »

Gone But Not Forgotten

It’s a part of life, but no one ever expects their favourite rock star, their musical hero, to die. 

I’ll admit, this topic may be a little grim, but death is something that affects us all; famous or not.    

We’ve all heard of the heroin overdoses, the murders, and the suicides. Whether it be Janis Joplin, John Lennon, or Kurt Cobain, these deaths never seem justified, and it never seems to be their time.    

I was young, but I still remember Kurt Cobain’s suicide. I remember hearing everyone talk about how they thought Courtney killed him, how the note was fake, and how maybe it was all a hoax and he was still alive. I guess it’s hard to accept that your hero was a sick man, a human being, who just couldn’t take it anymore.     

Many people look at musicians as more-than-human invincible beings who are put up on a pedestal for all to admire. When they die, that dream disappears and reality hits like a ton of bricks.    

Personally, I  can’t help but wonder what would’ve become of these people if they had not met their untimely demises. Would they continue to make good music, and do their thing, or diminish into the “land of has-beens”? Now, we can only contemplate the futures of those who never got to reach them.    

The following is a list of a few of the very influential rockers that left us wondering what could’ve been: 

 Continued »

Gimmicks: Compensating for Something?

I have noticed recently that there are very few bands that are strictly about the music. It seems like every other band I see has a gimmick - something to catch your attention that doesn’t have to do with the music. Whether it is the Spice Girls’ “Girl Power” or the infamous KISS costumes, it seems as if bands think that it is necessary to have something more than the music in order to hook fans.

While talking to various people and preparing to write this article, I heard the same thing over and over, “bands only have gimmicks if they don’t have any real talent”. I tend to disagree. Look at some of the great bands of our time– ACDC, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Green Day all seem to have some sort of gimmick. Many people would agree that these bands are definitely not lacking in the talent department.

So why bother with a gimmick? For some bands, these things happen by accident and end up becoming like a trademark. For others, they feel the need to try to be different and attempt individuality by wearing a costume or creating a catch phrase.

Here is a small list of some bands that use gimmicks to their advantage. Whether they use these to cover a lack of talent, or just to be individuals, I will let you decide.

 Continued »

Pandamonia
www.myspace.com/pandamonia 

Let’s face it; most people don’t equate Canada with great music. But thanks to bands such as Our Lady Peace and Hedley, Canada’s musical reputation could be changing, and Toronto based band Pandamonia are hoping to be along for that ride.

After switching bassists and drummers a few times, Pandamonia is now made up of Sherrie Lea on vocals, Blakk on guitar, Yvonne on bass and 15 year old Alona on drums.

The members of Pandamonia are very involved in animal rights , and even wrote a song about their love for animals called “Cry”. This song is about how the innocent (the animals) can’t be blamed for what is for what is being done to them, but faults knowledgeable people for looking on and not making an effort to change it.

Pandamonia have played many shows in Canada, including Canadafest - a Canada Day celebration for 90,000 people in Ottawa. They have also travelled down to LA a few times to rock audiences out down there.

They are planning the release of their new album in sometime in April, so be sure to check their MySpace for shows, blogs, updates, and tons of new songs.

 Continued »

Silver

www.myspace.com/silvermusiconline

      The thing about Silver that first caught my attention was that I could really imagine turning on the radio and hearing their songs”The Searching” or “Lay Me Down”. Their music creates vivid pictures, and for me, brought back memories - even though I’d never heard the songs before. The song “The Second Coming” reminded me of a scene from a movie - something involving a sunny suburban morning, and a run around the block.

     Perhaps it’s chemistry. Pat Downing (lead vocals and guitar) and Brent Francese (drums) have known each other since attending high school together in Raleigh, NC. After meeting Brandon Walton (bass) and Ben Davis (guitar and vocals), their music finally started to take shape.

     One thing seems unmistakable about Silver’s music - the strong, meaningful lyrics that anyone can relate to, no matter who you are or where you come from.

 Continued »