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highwiredazeken · 3 years

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THE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF AMERICAN TEETH

American Teeth is the sonic alter ego of Elijah Noll, who collaborates alongside producer Colin Brittain (All Time Low, A Day To Remember, ONE OK ROCK, Papa Roach) and this meeting of the minds has resulted in quite a journey into the realm of pop punk and beyond. Hailing from Portland, Maine but currently based in Los Angeles, American Teeth recently signed to Fearless Records and plan to release his debut album later this year. With singles such as Barred Out and One Of These Days already making a lasting impression on all types of music fans, American Teeth is slated to open the Aftershock Music Festival in Sacramento and has other live shows in the works as well. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Elijah Noll find out a whole lot more about the up and coming American Teeth and their absolutely exhilarating, imaginative songs! Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in American Teeth and how long you’ve been doing this project. I am the singer, writer, co-producer of American Teeth. I started the project – we’re coming up on two years in June actually. So, it’s a fairly new project that came out of a session that I had with my now frequent collaborator Colin Brittain – who’s a great producer. We had a session with Munky from KORN actually – that was kind of put together and we really ended up hitting it off the two of us and started writing songs for fun – and that’s kind of how it all started.

How did you wind up signing with Fearless Records? That was after a couple of different meetings – Colin and I together ended up going around meeting a couple of different record labels – Fearless was one of them. Colin actually knew Andy Serrao the President of the label – so we ended up popping in there after one of our meetings in the area out here in LA.

You’re originally from Portland, Maine. What was the music scene like in Portland, Maine and were you involved with any bands up there? The music scene was definitely small. I was more involved as a fan of the emo scene up in the area. I don’t know if you know the band Sparks The Rescue – I went to some of their shows. We had a few venues like The State Theater. The Cumberland County Civic Center was kind of like our arena-type venue. I specifically remember seeing My Chemical Romance and Green Day there, which were pretty pivotal moments for me at the time. I used to play mostly house parties in kid’s basements and stuff like that. I definitely didn’t explode on the Portland, Maine scene. I was more kind of a fan within the scene.

And now you’re all the way across the country in Los Angeles which has a legendary music scene. What did you think of the music scene out here prior to the pandemic? I think that it’s actually growing because of the ability to connect virtually and all of that. I feel like people are just more driven to connect whether it’s through Zoom or Facetime. You could just do a quick meetup to see if it’s worth working together. It’s different than when shows are happening, but I do a lot of stuff on the writing side of the music scene out here, so I’ve been able to really connect with a lot of people – not only in Los Angeles but all over via Zoom. I’ve personally found that my network has expanded pretty quickly throughout this strange time.

What has it been like to write and release new music for American Teeth in the middle of a pandemic and all this social unrest in the world? It’s definitely helped fuel my creativity and the creation process around that. As far as releasing, it’s been interesting because it’s really kind of this thing where you’re putting it out and you don’t get to go play it live like you usually would. Like you’re just putting it out there. I’m focusing more on getting the song out and really making sure that I’m creating visuals that match the story I’m trying to tell or the vibe that I want people to feel. And I’ve been getting into TikTok too which has been an interesting journey.

Let’s talk about your new song One Of These Days and what inspired the lyrics for you. That song is essentially about acceptance honestly. It’s about waking up and just feeling terrible right off the bat. A lot of times when I’m feeling down or I’m going through a bad day, I’ll try to deny that that’s happening, or try to convince myself “It’s fine. I’ll be fine…” and just push through. But I found recently with some trial and error that sometimes often when you just accept that you’re having a shitty day, and allow yourself to feel that, you can move past it quicker. It’s really kind of the meaning behind the whole thing – let go and accept that you’re having a shitty day – and by doing that, most of the time you’ll be able to move forward that way.

You have another song called Barred Out that you did with Twin XL – Cameron Walker who used to be in Weatherstar and The Ready Set. How did that collaboration come about, and tell me a little about that song? Yeah, that was a fun one! That one came out of a co-writing session that we had with Cameron. I brought him in with the intention of doing some stuff for American Teeth. And while we were writing, he was singing the pre-chorus part that he’s featured on. Colin and I heard him singing on it and he just killed that performance of it! I got up on the mic and sang the same thing, and it just didn’t feel the same. There was something about his take that felt really natural and perfect for it. And we told him if you want to be on this track, it would be a great way to cross our worlds. And he was down and that’s how it all kind of came together. It was pretty natural.

You also did something with the band Dreamers called Still Not Dead. Tell me how that came about. That was actually another situation where there was another co-writing situation with Nick from Dreamers and I and Colin. That day the intent was to do a Dreamers song, so I wasn’t intending on being on the song. But it was the day a little over a year ago that Kobe Bryant passed away – and Nick had just gotten back from a trip from his hometown in Seattle – unfortunately one of his childhood friends had committed suicide, so he was coming back from that funeral. It was really a dark day for everybody in general. I’ve had plenty of loss and death in my life, including my dad when I was like 12 – and a lot of family members over the years. So, we just kind of decided that we were going to write a song about how we were feeling in that moment. It was kind of like glaringly obvious that that’s what we needed to get out. So, we kind of each told our story about our experiences with death and loss – and wanted to put a bit of a spin on it that was hopeful in a way – like a celebration of life amongst all of the loss.

Your producer Colin Brittain – he’s worked with bands such as All Time Low, Papa Roach, 5 Seconds Of Summer – the list is crazy! What is it like working with him? It’s really fun – we have a good thing. He’s so incredible. His track record shows how talented he is. I think that when you bring both of our talents together, we have something that I feel is really unique – and we just have so much fun creating together.

Providing live shows actually start to happen, what are you looking forward to the most about your appearance at Aftershock later in the year? It looks like you’re playing the same day as My Chemical Romance… Yeah, it’s crazy man! It’s a dream honestly. I think about Aftershock frequently, and I can’t wait. Performing is my all-time favorite piece of music, and being an artist I just can’t wait to jump around on a festival stage. It’s going to be so amazing!

If you could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why? I would say that number one would be The 1975. I’m a really big fan of that band, and I think the band has really developed this awesome fan base that I would really love to perform for. My Chemical Romance is one of them, but I happen to be technically opening the stage for them, so that’s going to be Step 1. Step 2 would definitely be being a direct opener on a My Chemical Romance tour. That would be just completely insane. I’m a big fan of Gerard Way and his artistry and his creativity – and I just think that would be so cool!

If the music of American Teeth was a donut, what kind would it be and why? Oh, that’s a good question because I love donuts. This isn’t my favorite donut, but I think this represents us the best – a rainbow sprinkle chocolate donut. The sprinkles for me represent the many colors – the many dimensions of the sound that American Teeth has. And maybe it has a soft cream filling because the music a lot of times has a hard outer shell, but there’s a softness and warmth in the middle.

What do you hope the rest of 2021 brings for American Teeth? A lot more live shows – I want to manifest that now. More live opportunities and the ability to connect with real people in person – and to meet new people that way. An album is happening this year, and that’s exciting. And I’m also experimenting with some visual stuff with creating little, short films and things around the music – so definitely more of that as well.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

American Teeth on Facebook

#american teeth #elijahnoll

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highwiredazeken · 3 years

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GYPSY WOMAN BY GRIFFIN TUCKER & THE REAL ROCK REVOLUTION (GKT MUSIC LLC)

Griffin Tucker & The Real Rock Revolution are a guitar-driven, hard-hitting rock & roll band from Dallas, Texas ready to break the rebellion out of the massive confines of the Lone Star State. Griffin is best known for his amazing solo work as well as for an appearance on the iconic American Idol competition – and with the formation of The Real Rock Revolution, Tucker and his brigade of musicians are destined for even greater glories ahead. The band has just released their debut Gypsy Woman single upon the world at large, and it’s a dynamic rock and roller that leaves the listener craving a whole lot more.

Griffin Tucker on vocals and guitar delivers his most stunning performance to date, channeling all the rock and roll legends while bringing his own charismatic personality and flair to the song. And what a thunderous band Griffin has assembled, with the Real Rock Revolution in the making featuring Patrick Smith on rhythm guitar, Cameron Cianelli on bass, and Joshua Sloan on drums. With a song as deliciously rocking as Gypsy Woman, it will be exciting to see what Griffin Tucker and The Real Rock Revolution has in store for us all above and beyond these pandemic days. Stay tuned as this modern-day rock extravaganza is absolutely on fire!

(Review by Ken Morton)

Info: www.griffintuckermusic.rocks

#griffintucker #realrockrevolution gypsywoman

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highwiredazeken · 3 years

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THE REAWAKENING OF SUNSTORM

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Maurizio Del Piccolo

The melodic hard rocking sensation Sunstorm has been reactivated, featuring longtime member Alessandro Del Vecchio as well as new vocalist Ronnie Romero. Taking the place of the legendary Joe Lynn Turner, Ronnie Romero’s amazing vocals have been featured in bands such as Rainbow and Michael Schenker Group – and within the realm of Sunstorm, Romero’s performance is absolutely mesmerizing. Del Vecchio is best known for his membership within the ranks of Hardline and Edge Of Forever, as well as countless other projects and endeavors throughout his glorious tenure with Frontiers Music Srl. Highwire Daze recently interviewed Alessandro Del Vecchio to discuss the mighty reawakening of Sunstorm, their brand new album Afterlife, his longtime association with Frontiers Music, and many other epic topics. Read on…

Hi Alessandro. First of all, congratulations on the amazing new Sunstorm album! Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Afterlife? First of all, thank you very much! I’m excited as you are for the new album. Yes, so Afterlife was the first song that we wrote for the album literally after the day we decided to move on, and we got involved with Ronnie Romero. The title I guess says it all, because it’s just to show a new chapter and new step into our future. Afterlife has this concept of getting one foot in the past and one foot in the future, because obviously we were changing our singer and we were moving forward to rebuilding the band and the brand as more of an actual group of people and not something built around Joe Lynn Turner or around somebody else’s songwriting or things like that. Like an Afterlife, a life after the actual life the band already had – so like an evolution into something brand new.

Ronnie Romero is obviously an amazing vocalist. How did he become involved with Sunstorm and what made you decide to go with Ronnie? Well, I’ve got to give kudos to our Frontiers president Serafino Perugino. I was in Florida back then. I woke up and had this message on What’s App saying “I want to move on with Sunstorm. Do you think that Ronnie Romero would be good?” And I totally jumped on it! First of all, Ronnie and I were friends, and promised ourselves to do something together as soon as we could. And to me honestly, it was the right occasion because we knew that Joe Lynn didn’t want to be part of it – he never responded to our communications about doing a new Sunstorm release. So, it was the perfect combination of our songwriting and our style – some kind of a newer voice – like a new generation sound and voice so we could project our band into the future.

What do you think of Ronnie’s work with Michael Schenker Group this year – and have you ever met or worked with Michael Schenker? I met Michael Schenker. We played I guess 3-4 times with MSG in Spain with Hardline and then we did the 70K Tons of Metal Cruise when we were with Archon Angel with Zachary Stevens. I met very briefly only once Michael, but I’ve never worked with him. But I’m very happy for Ronnie to be one of the new singers for Michael Schenker. I mean it’s kind of ironic and cool that both Joe Lynn and Ronnie are with Michael Schenker (on the new MSG album Immortal). It’s a strange twist of fate, but cool. Ronnie is my friend and my brother, and I couldn’t be happier to see him to succeed and even be more out there. I support the guy – even before he became the singer that we all know him to be.

Tell me about the inspiration behind Swan Song and that video. The video is obviously a pandemic edition of what you would do with a whole band in a field filming all together. We had to film it separately – like four different locations and put it all together. And it’s Ronnie’s wife in the video. The video is obviously related to the lyrics, and the lyrics just tell the story of what we’ve seen in this very trying challenging time. We’ve seen lots of people just fall apart and go separate ways. I don’t know how many friends of yours have broken up, but I’ve seen lots of friends of mine, and they just couldn’t cope with the times – and they had to change everything they had around them. And that song is about your swan song – your last moment into a relationship, into your friendship, into your job, into something that you love – and you have to lose something somehow. But it’s also a hopeful message into everybody’s karma, into everybody’s who is in that moment. Well, you know, the swan song is never the last chance that you’re going to have in your life – it’s always a metaphor for change for something that’s coming next. The album is kind of a personal, spiritual, hopeful message – and just to say that whatever we’re living through right now, it’s not going to be forever, so we’ve got to learn at adapt. Things are probably never what we want them to be, but we’ve got to adapt to the challenges and possibilities that life is throwing at us.

What has it been to like to record this album in the middle of a pandemic and so much social unrest in the world? The only thing that really changed was that I had more time to write. I had more time in the studio just because I wasn’t on tour. I was supposed to go on tour March 15th and stay on tour until the end of the year – and probably I would have written the Sunstorm album on the road like in the past. Like taking advantage of long flights and long travels and tour buses and countless hours around in hotel rooms. Normally I’m a natural writer and I always write. But recording, I guess musicians were the most pandemic ready, working class in the world to be socially distanced thanks to the Internet and have been making records like that for years. We probably would have done most of the process together, but it’s not the first album where musicians like myself or other producers do in the distance. I really like to embrace what is the good side of technology. The pandemic obviously hit us for the video, for pictures, for the fact that we couldn’t do the vocals and the drums all together, so we had to be separated – but you know, we took the good out of it. We had more time – that we weren’t on tours – Ronnie was supposed to go on tour as well. So, we turned a negative happening into something positive with this album.

Frontiers Music Srl is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. How did you initially meet Serafino and become involved with Frontiers? So, the first time I got in touch with Frontiers was around 2002 when we were shopping the first Edge Of Forever album. Then we ended up signing to MTM Music, which back then was Frontiers’ competitor, but Frontiers was also distributing them through their distribution in Italy. In 2004, when we released the first Edge Of Forever album, Frontiers was distributing us in Italy, so I met them back then. And then we stayed in touch for the years because I had record distributed by them. But it was in 2011 – almost 10 years ago – I sent them an email because I was doing successful albums for other labels and I knew they had Dennis Ward and Erik Martensson working a lot with them, so I was like, “Maybe they don’t need another producer – maybe they don’t need another songwriter. But let me challenge my destiny.”

So, I sent Elio an email saying “How are you? It would be so great during this year to work together. I was guessing maybe we could get to a closer relationship. Maybe you need songs or a producer or a mixing engineer?” And he was like “Well, we’re looking for songs for Robbie LeBlanc and Find Me. Do you have songs?” I never have songs – I’ve got to write in the moment. I was like “I don’t have it, but I could write it and get back to you very soon.” And I don’t think they expected to hear from me for a few days, but the same day I sent them the first Find Me song. Then the asked for a second one, a third one, a fourth one, a fifth one, a sixth one – and then I got an email from Serafino himself saying “Well, I like what you’re doing. Tell me more about the way you operate. Do you have a studio or whatever is your way to getting these songs to us?” And I told him what I was doing and during that conversation, he was like, “Well, would you like to write and work with Johnny Gioeli?” And I was like “What!?!” He was in Hardline! Out of one email I sent, I got a job as a songwriter – and now I’m in freakin’ Hardline!?! Everything in the matter of a few days.

Back then, when I sent in the Danger Zone master by Hardline, Serafino asked “Who would you like to work with?” And I was like “That’s kind of a strange question from the person you’re committed just to produce.” And I sent them a list with Joe Lynn Turner, Fergie Frederiksen and so many others. And we still laugh at it, because we did everything that I sent in that email. So, our relationship started like I’m not that kind of musician – I’m not a good feature on myself – but I knew I had talent and qualities – and I knew what I could do in a label like that, because I knew I could do really great for the label if they gave me an opportunity. And thank God Frontiers is always open for opportunities. If you see all the new signings and the younger acts that they sign, it’s crazy. So out of one email, I got this amazing adventure with them – with 100 or more records and I don’t know – maybe 400 songs – it’s crazy! We’re still trying to keep the numbers, but it’s been a very fortunate, great creative 10 years together, and we’re pushing to more!

On the same day as the Sunstorm release, you have the new ISSA CD coming out – two new releases in one day… Well, it’s actually three new releases, because I wrote three songs, and I recorded all backing vocals for Secret Sphere too. So, it’s three in the same day.

How does it feel that you have three albums coming out in one day (March 12th)? It’s challenging on the one side because I would like to give promotional wise the same amount of push to all the albums, but obviously Sunstorm is a band that I’m a part of – so now what do I do? We always talk about it and “obviously your priority is on Sunstorm because ISSA is going to promote the album, herself.” And Secret Sphere – they don’t need my promotion. It’s more about me, because I like to give 100 percent to everything I do. But tomorrow I’ll come out and say “It’s another multiple release day and enjoy the albums. They’re all out there. Just love the music.” That’s the only thing I can do, but it makes me feel very grateful. I feel that it’s a luxury nowadays – with all the struggling musicians, I have found a way and a balance to put out all these great records and to somehow unleash this creative fury and strength and force that I have in me. So, it’s more like a good mirror of my person – a very creative volcano. It’s a little challenging on one side, but I feel very grateful, and I feel energized that I will do even more – and that’s a good push for myself.

What do you hope 2020 brings you for and for Sunstorm and for music in general? For Sunstorm, we’re hopefully working through these challenges to bring the band on the road. So, we will do our best to turn Sunstorm into a touring entity as much as we can. For music in general, I really, really hope that 2021 is going to be a year where we can at least start to see some live activity because records are cool – and we’re all grateful that we can still manage to make records and produce – but the energy that you get onstage playing your songs, and seeing what your songs are doing to the crowd – it’s unbeatable! And it’s a bond that’s created between the audience and the musicians – and there’s nothing that could replace that. I really hope that the future is not online shows, because the interaction with the crowd is what makes concerts magical and unique. And I want to see the tears in somebody else’s eyes, and I want to hear the shouts. I want to hear the lyrics – my songs – our songs – loud through their voices. I don’t want to play for a screen – for a camera – that is fake to me. There’s no difference between that and a playback. Hopefully we will see concerts very soon. I know it will come back – I don’t know if it’s 2021 or 2022, but hopefully it will come back soon.

Sunstorm is: Ronnie Romero – Vocals Simone Mularoni – Guitars Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards, backing vocals Nik Mazzucconi – Bass Michele Sanna – Drums

Sunstorm on Facebook

#sunstorm #alessandro del vecchio #frontiers music srl

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highwiredazeken · 3 years

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A DYSTOPIAN WORLD WITH ANDRÉ ANDERSEN OF ROYAL HUNT

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Allen Ross Thomas

Royal Hunt has returned with their 15th studio masterwork entitled Dystopia, and it’s guaranteed to intrigue progressive power metal fans all over the planet. From the imagination of founding member André Andersen and featuring the mesmerizing lead vocals of long time collaborator D.C. Cooper, Dystopia’s rock opera style presentation also contains guest performances from the likes of Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteem, Ring Of Fire) and Mats Leven (Candlemass, Therion). Highwire Daze recently interviewed André Andersen to discuss the world of Dystopia, working with former Royal Hunt vocalist Mark Boals on the new album, opening for the legendary Uriah Heep right before the beginning of the pandemic, a solo album he did for Frontiers Music Srl with Paul Laine (Danger Danger) and David Readman (Pink Cream 69), and others topics from a vast and epic career. Read on…

Is there any overall story or concept behind the new studio album Dystopia? The album name is inspired by a Ray Bradbury famous novel Fahrenheit 451. So, I was looking for a name for it, and in every article, I would dig up, they would describe it as a Dystopia – the world-famous novel. So, I just settled on Dystopia.

Mats Leven of Candlemass, Therion, and Treat appear on the single The Art Of Dying. How did he become involved with that song and the album? I knew Mats for a bunch of years and when I was thinking about creating this kind of dialog in the song – a duet if you wish – I was looking for a specific kind of voice which was different from D.C.’s our original singer. Mats was just right there, so I just gave him a call and we worked a little bit on the song – and it turned out great!

Mark Boals is also on this new album in a guest appearance. What has it been like to work with Mark again? It was fun! It was fun, because we made like two albums together, so I knew exactly what he likes – what kind of melodies and stuff like that. So, it was very easy working with him again. I just gave him a call and we talked a little bit – I explained to him that every singer will have a specific character in the story – and he got involved right away – he was into it. And it was pretty painless – it was pretty quick – we just exchanged some files here and there because for obvious reasons we couldn’t do it in Copenhagen, Denmark. So yeah, we exchanged files a couple of times and did some little corrections and adjustments – and that was it basically.

When you look back on those albums you did with Mark Boals as the lead vocalist, what do you think of them now in retrospect? Excellent albums – especially the second one – because Mark is very well known for his high-pitched voice – I mean working with Yngwie Malmsteen and Ring Of Fire – so on purpose we shifted every single song down almost like half an octave to put him down a little bit – and realized he has excellent low range – very colorful – and we really exploited it on that particular album. So that’s my favorite of him.

What do you think has made you and D.C. Cooper work so well together on many of these Royal Hunt albums, including the new one Dystopia? That’s hard to tell. I don’t know. We started way back in the 90’s on the first run. Yeah, we just clicked – maybe we think the same with this kind of music – it’s hard to tell. And on a social level as well – we’re getting along really, really well. So that probably some of the main reasons.

You have two members of Narnia in your band. One current – Andreas “Habo” Johansson (drums) and one former – Andreas Passmark (bass). How did they become involved and are you a fan of Narnia? To be completely honest, I have never heard of them back in the day. Andreas the bass player – I think he joined in 2009 – a great player and a great guy. And then I kind of realized that he was playing in Narnia and this and that, so I had heard them for the first time. He’s been in the band for a few years. So, by the time Allan Sorensen our original drummer left, I started talking about drummers and Andreas suggested Habo – they were playing in Narnia together which was a great thing – because both of them living in Stockholm and they know each other – and it’s pretty important for a rhythm section. So, I said, “Let’s try it” and it worked out. Great guy!

Has Royal Hunt ever played here in the States? Way back! We went and played there – I guess it was ’95 or ’96 or something like that. It was way back. We played support for a lot of bands. It was a weird time in the States – very weird. I think we played like 45-50 shows – in small clubs of course. And that was basically it. And since then, the only place we went back to twice is the Prog Power Festival in Atlanta. The last time I think was in 2015-16 or something like that. A great festival – a lot of great bands and nice people. We also played in I think 2010 with Mark Boals and the second time I believe was 2015 with D.C.

What has it been like to write and release new music in the middle of a pandemic and so much social unrest in the world? We were actually a bit lucky in that respect because when we started writing and working on the album, it was actually before the pandemic started. We actually had a new plan, so I feel a little bit sorry for some of the bands I know – they were kind of planning tours and stuff like that, so it was chaos literally. But we started working on the album at the time, so when the pandemic hit, it didn’t change our plans that much. Of course, some things became a little more complicated, because you can’t travel and stuff like that. Generally, it didn’t affect us that much I’ll say.

And with the worldwide Internet you could do just about anything. You don’t even have to ever meet your band members… Yeah, well we prefer to work in the studio all together – and we were actually fortunate enough to do most of the work even before the pandemic hit. But of course, some overdubs and the special guest singers has been done on Internet. Of course, we’re supposed to be on tour now – we were planning to tour in October / November 2020 but of course it never happened. We knew about that in March and April that it was not going to happen, so we didn’t suffer as much as so many other bands.

I haven’t seen a live show since March (2020). Live concerts, what are those? Everything’s dead! It’s unbelievable.

What was the last live show that you saw? Actually, it was the last show that I played. It was last year (2019), we played in October I believe – we played support for Uriah Heep here in Copenhagen.

What was Uriah Heep like? Did you get to hang out with them at all? They’re wonderful live! Of course, yes – very nice guys. Very nice guys! I met them before. But it was fun – it was one of those bands that I listened to when I started out in the 70’s. It was unbelievable. I saw them a few times – such a jolly bunch!

Definitely a jolly bunch. Phil Lanzon their keyboard player has released two amazing solo albums. Let’s talk about your solo work now. When you look back on that Andersen / Laine / Readman album you did entitled III, what do you think of it now in retrospect? Oh, I didn’t listen to it at all – I’d rather do my own albums. It was a fun project. It was very strange in the beginning because the idea was completely different when it started. I’d been in touch with Frontiers Records and they suggested I write a few songs for the at the time unknown and unnamed project. So, I did a few songs and then all of a sudden, they said “Okay, we’ll have different singers on it.” So, I said “Okay, whatever.” For some reason, like a month later they called me back and said, “Can you write the rest of the songs as well?” That was something completely different – not what I expected, so I ended up writing ten songs – and they actually came up with those two singers – Paul Laine and David Readman. So, it was a strange project but somehow it worked, and it came out fine.

It just seemed so unusual to have André Andersen from Royal Hunt working on an album with Paul Laine from Danger Danger – but it works like you said… It was a strange combination, but it was one of those ideas that Frontiers has. They kind of became famous for doing these kind of projects – they have a few musicians – brought them together and see what’s gonna happen – and the album comes out. This particular one was probably one of these.

Do you have any other solo albums or projects on the horizon? Not on the horizon – not at the moment because this Dystopia thing – it’s only the first part. Actually, it’s called Dystopia Part 1 – so I’ll continue working on Part 2 with different guest singers. So, it’s basically what I’m doing right now – because we can’t tour, so I might as well write. And we’re planning to release it – if everything goes well – in winter of next year (2021). And hopefully by that time we’ll be able to tour. So, let’s see what’s going to happen.

Do you have any messages for Royal Hunt fans here in the States? I know we haven’t played in the States that much and not everybody was able to see us in Atlanta at those Prog Power Festivals – and by the way I hope we’ll play that Festival again. But anyway, we have a new album out – and it’s a very interesting one with different singers – it’s kind of like a rock opera in a way. So, give it a listen – give it a chance. I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.

That would be pretty amazing if you performed the entire album live with all of the guest vocalists… Actually, that was the original idea. And that’s why it was very sad when October November didn’t happen, because we had already talked to Mark Boals and Mats Leven about participating – and we couldn’t at all. But now we have another person who is able to do Part 2 by next year (2021) when we start touring. So now we’ll have the entire concert built on those two albums (Dystopia Part 1 & 2) with all the singers. And that will be excellent.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Follow the band on Social Media: https://royalhunt.com/ https://www.instagram.com/royalhuntmusic/ https://www.facebook.com/royalhunt https://www.twitter.com/royalhuntband

#royalhunt #andreandersen #@dystopia

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highwiredazeken · 3 years

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SAGA: EPIC ACOUSTIC SYMMETRY AND BEYOND

Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Alexander Mertsch

Saga has been presenting their sweeping progressive rock tapestries to the world since 1977, unveiling an intriguing auditory adventure on each and every album. Symmetry is the next exhilarating chapter in the Saga legacy, featuring imaginative acoustic renditions of their classic songs. Inspired by the final tour of founding member Jim Crichton in 2017 where they opened their shows with an all acoustic performance, Symmetry presents another side of Saga that longtime fans will want to revisit time and again. Highwire Daze recently interviewed guitarist and Saga co-founder Ian Crichton to find out more about the vibrant world of Symmetry, the Canadian bands connection with Los Angeles with their song Say Goodbye To Hollywood, creating music in a pandemic age, and other topics of interest. Read on…

How did the idea of Symmetry come about and what was it like revisiting these songs in a different way? The idea came – we did a final tour with my brother Jim Crichton in 2017 in Europe – and we wanted to do something special – so we came up with the idea of opening up for ourselves acoustically. It’s something we’ve always talked about doing in the past – about doing these heavier prog rock sort of songs acoustically – let’s do it! So, we put a set together – a 50-minute set – where we opened up for ourselves – and we had a giant backdrop which was actually the front cover of Symmetry – like an old library overgrown and all that which covered the main show. Anyway, people really liked it – it went down really well – so that sparked the idea of doing a record like that – and it took about a year and a half to do it – I was touring in between. But then with the event of Covid last year – I was touring in February – we got shut down March 14th – and I’ve been here ever since. But that made it really possible to get down and finish the record.

What was it like to record this music in the middle of a pandemic and all of this social unrest in the world? Was it more difficult to record? You mean keeping your eye on the ball and that sort of thing with all of this crap going on? Once you get into the music and stuff, it actually helped make everything else go away. So, there was no problem that way. It actually of helped, because I kept touring with Saga – we still tour – and that kind of shut everything down. And it was a challenge of making a record that’s not just a couple of acoustic guitars and cut down of songs. We wanted to keep it exciting and keep the same kind of feel – only on acoustic instruments.

I would like to talk about three of the songs on Symmetry then and now. The first single on Symmetry is Tired World. Give me a little background on the song and what it was like to do this remake of it. Tired World was on our first record – I was 20 years old when we recorded that. We played three years in the clubs before we started breaking out into shows. We used to play that every night and it was a great little thing, because you get a great long guitar solo in it. You really got your chops together playing in the clubs every single night. And do to it acoustically – yeah it was challenging. The solo that I did on that song – it’s pretty long – and I really had to think about it. I’d be playing banjo for a while – so what I ended up doing was implementing part banjo / part guitar and building a solo that way to make the same kind of excitement. It was pretty challenging, but we’re happy with the record.

Wind Them Up is the second single and the second song I’d like to talk about. Give me a little background on that song then and now… Wind Them Up was one of our biggest hits. I arranged Wind Them Up myself and I re-wrote the ending. I thought if we were going to do an acoustic record, it would be nice to tackle one of the bigger hits. So yeah, I sat down and mapped that whole thing out on acoustic as a bed track and we just when from there.

And then the third track I wanted to talk about was Say Goodbye To Hollywood, then and now. Highwire Daze is based in the Los Angeles area and I was wondering if you have any connections to the Los Angeles/Hollywood area? We certainly do Ken. My brother Jim – our relationship with Los Angeles started in 1986/87. We chose a famous producer to do one of our records Wildest Dreams – Keith Olsen whose done mega records – and we went down there and had him produce us. We were living in England at the time – Michael, my brother and myself – and that lead to Jim moving to Los Angeles. We actually made a studio in his ranch house on Burbank there – and then when he moved out, he built a regular studio right beside Sound City in Van Nuys there. Jimmy built a full-on studio there for 25 years – and we recorded every Saga record in Los Angeles from 1987 to 2005. I spent a lot of time in your area Ken.

And tell me about the Say Goodbye To Hollywood song then… Okay, well that song was sparked – once again we were in Jim’s studio in Van Nuys. We were hired by Stephen J. Cannell to do songs in his upcoming show Cobra – which ran 22 episodes and was not a hit. The album we did called Steel Umbrellas was on the back of this TV show. It was kind of a different record for us. Anyway, Goodbye To Hollywood was one of the songs and that was going to go into the show too. That was about all I could say about it. That was the sign of the times, the TV show and all that kind of stuff. It didn’t mean I wanted to Say Goodbye To Hollywood. (Laughs) Because I love it down there. It’s like 10 degrees up here right now in Southern Ontario…

Have you managed to play any live dates at all during the pandemic? No. I had an offer from Quebec City to do a show and then the Covid numbers went crazy – up and down and up and down. At one point we were going to have this beautiful theater and we could have had maybe 300 people in the theater and then do a sort of small pay for view, put it on the net show. I was sort of working on that for a while. It just fell apart – their numbers went crazy up there with Covid and no one was going to be allowed in. Plus, the fact that Mike Sadler – our singer – Michael, he lives in Missouri in the States and he couldn’t get over the border – so that kind of shut that down. We’re all kind of in that mode, until everyone gets vaccinated or whatever is going to happen here.

You announced a few upcoming shows. What are you looking forward to the most about these Out Of The Shadows tour dates and do you think that they’re going to happen? In June? Yeah, we’ll your guess is as good as mine. I got a call from our tour manager a couple of days ago – tickets are selling really well and that makes me nervous – happy at the same time but it’s in this world – right? I’m told that the Norwegians are urging for shows to go back on and all that. After all this time I just don’t know. But I am going with the flow. If we could do it, it would be great – but we’ll see.

What do you think has kept you so passionate about Saga since 1977? It’s been like a family business with Jim and myself – with brothers – we played when we were very young as kids – we went into various bands and all that sort of stuff and ended up starting Saga. And hell or high water, we were hellbent on making this into something. And once you’ve put so much time into it – depending on if everyone is still getting along and all that stuff – I didn’t see any reason in discarding something like that. With Saga, I’m very fortunate – we’ve been playing original music my whole life. For me, it’s better than going off and playing other people’s songs. I haven’t done that. This has more satisfaction.

What do you think has made you and Michael Sadler work so well together after all this time? Well, I’ve known him forever. I met Mike when I was 13 years old or whatever. He was around. Mike and Jim were in a band called Truck – it was a cover band doing Genesis and Gentle Giant and all this. Up here in the clubs you could play Monday thru Saturday night, week after week after week – it was so healthy for bands in the 70’s. You weren’t making a fortune, but you were making enough money. You were playing every night and it was in a world where everyone liked going out to bars and seeing bands. So yeah, it was really healthy. And then comes the 80’s and everything starts shutting down, you know. Different generation don’t like to go out to bars anymore to see bands and all that. But Michael, I’ve known him forever and it works.

Do you still keep in touch Rob Moratti? I understand you’ve actually played on some of his solo albums. Yeah, I speak to Rob still. I’ve played one solo on one song per record. He did one of my favorite Saga records, The Human Condition.

What do you think about The Human Condition in retrospect – the one Saga record without Michael Sadler on lead vocals? I love it! When Michael (briefly) left the band, I spent the entire year, day after day, right up to New Year’s Eve – first of all, I had to find a singer – and I could not find another Mike Sadler. Michael’s got his own voice and stuff. So, I gave up looking for that. Basically, I just wanted to find a great singer – and the band was going to change a bit of course because Michael wasn’t there. And I wanted to make sure it was really good – and boy, I never worked harder in my life I tell you. I’m very happy with that record. I like all the songs on it very much. Rob did a fantastic job!

Are you involved with any other projects outside of Saga? I had been in the past – 15-20 years ago I put out a couple of solo things that were okay. I’m involved with something right now, but I can’t really talk about it – I’ll see where that goes. But mainly Saga. But it’s the biz – it still works – it still draws in (many) people and it works.

Any chance of any brand-new Saga albums coming up? We’re talking about it. No set date or anything like that, but there are discussions going around about doing another record like that. And I’m getting a lot of requests to do another acoustic record too – and tour acoustically too!

What do you hope 2021 brings for Saga overall? I hope the world gets healed and we get back to business and all that. Good will to everyone really. Saga is an endless thing – it’s the Saga story forever!

Do you have any messages for Saga fans out here in the States? I’d like to say from the bottom of my heart that we miss you. It’s been a long time since we’ve played for you. We’ve had a lot of requests on the Internet and stuff like that. We’ve had a lot of challenges too in being able to secure shows there, but I’m still going to keep trying. We’re still looking around for promoters – not at the moment because of Covid. But we hope to see you soon.

Symmetry by Saga is now available worldwide via earMUSIC!

Current line-up Michael Sadler – vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, drums (1977–2007, 2011–present) Ian Crichton – guitar, synthaxe, banjo (1977–present) Jim Gilmour – synthesizer, keyboards, vocals, clarinet, saxophone, harmonica (1980–1986, 1992–present) Mike Thorne – drums, electronic drums, vocals (2012–present) Dusty Chesterfield – bass, keyboards, Moog synthesizer (2019–present)

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Saga on Facebook

#saga #symmetry #ian crichton

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highwiredazeken · 4 years

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MAGIC IS ALIVE BY LIONVILLE (FRONTIERS MUSIC SRL)

Lionville is pure AOR perfection in the grand and glorious tradition of all things Journey and Toto – complete with music as majestic as their band moniker would suggest. Magic Is Alive is the next electrifying chapter of the Lionville legacy, unveiling an absolutely rousing collection of songs that will send music fans into the stratosphere. From the mighty refrains of opening track Nothing Without You and onward, the fourth magnum opus from Lionville is a captivating auditory thrill ride into the heart of an eternal genre.

After the introductory Nothing Without You, Lionville merges into the impassioned You’re Not Alone and the vibrantly heartfelt Runaway. And the hits keep on arriving, from the dramatic Finally You’re Here With Me, the superbly hard rocking Every Little Thing Leads Back To You, the soulful If You Don’t Know Me and a whole lot more! And be sure to listen to the grand finale where you’ll encounter the exquisite title track Magic Is Alive, a joyful song celebrating the finding of a perfect love that presents Lionville at their most dynamic and persuasive.

Lionville was started in 2010 by Stefano Lionetti, an amazingly talented songwriter, singer and guitarist based in Genova, Italy – and Magic Is Alive finds Lionetti and Lionville at the very height of their creative energies. In addition to Lionetti’s imaginative performances, Lionville features the mesmerizing lead vocals of Lars Säfsund from Work Of Art. The other remarkable musicians to be found within the Lionville brigade include Michele Cusato on guitars, Fabrizio Caria on piano and keyboards, Giulio Dagnino on bass, and Martino Malacrida on drums. In the grim and tumultuous year of 2020, Magic Is Alive by Lionville is the sonic life force we all need – the reminder that the timelessness of inspiring melodic rock can sweep the listener away into a state of euphoric bliss above and beyond these pandemic days.

(Review by Ken Morton)

Lionville on Facebook

#lionville #magic is alive #frontiers music srl #highwire daze

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highwiredazeken · 4 years

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B. J. THOMAS: CELEBRATING 50 EPIC YEARS OF RAINDROPS

B.J. Thomas is a legendary singer who has experienced a brilliant career recording hit records and performing live for several generations of fans. And now in this absolutely crazy and unpredicable year of 2020, one of his biggest hits Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head celebrates a 50 year anniversary since going straight up to Number One. Written by the esteemed songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head was the theme song from the movie Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. B.J. Thomas would even find himself performing Raindrops at the Academy Awards that year in a full Broadway style production, right before they all won the Oscar for Best Original Song!

Highwire Daze recently had the honor to interview B.J. Thomas to discuss this very special anniversary of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head. We also spoke about Hooked On A Feeling and what he really thought about the Blue Swede version of the song that was recorded a few years later. Read on…

Before we talk about Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, you had a hit song a year before called Hooked On A Feeling written by Mark James, who also wrote songs for Elvis. How did that song come about and what do you think of the Blue Swede version? Well, I had a few hit records from ‘66 and I had my first million seller then – and I was just not doing too much in ’67. Mark James, the writer, called me from Memphis and said, “Hey, what are you doing?” I said, “Man, I am just hanging.” He said, “Man, you need to come up to Memphis. We have got a bunch of writers up here. They’re making hit records on everybody.”

So, my brother and I, we drove up, and I started hanging out at the studio. And I got in there singing with the American Studio Band, and we just fit together so perfectly. That’s when Mark started writing songs for me. I had a song called The Eyes of a New York Woman, and then the next one I cut was Hooked On A Feeling with the sitar performer by Reggie Young.

Mark was trying to write me a kind of an up-tempo kind of a lively song. That’s where Hooked came from. Just one of those really simple, but really effective songs and probably one of the favorites that I’ve done. It’s like people who are coming to see me, they really respond to Hooked on a Feeling. “Hey, I love the song!”

Now, Blue Swede. I don’t know man. I think that the Blue Swede record is a great production. I think it ‘s a very well done record. And of course, it went Number One when my record only went to Number Five. So I cannot say anything negative about it. Although, I thought they kind of covered my song a little quick, but they did a great record and it is done quite well. So, it is appreciated.

Now, on to Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, which is 50 years old. What was it like working with the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David team? And how did you wind up becoming the singer for that song? I was with Scepter Records in those days. Their mainstay artist was Dionne Warwick. Mr. Burt Bacharach and Hal David produced and wrote most of Dionne’s music. When they had the song they wrote for Butch Cassidy, it needed a male singer. It was not anything they could do with Dionne and they were kind of looking around for somebody to do it.

I had moved up to New York in ’68 and I had been working a little bit with Mr. Bacharach and we have been going over songs and trying to find the right song to record. So when Raindrops came up, it was just a great fit and they gave me the shot. So I flew out to California, I did the song. And by the way, it was awesome to work with them.

I was always in awe of Mr. Bacharach and Hal David. They are some of the best people I have ever known. They would great to me. I flew out and did the bicycle scene in California. And a few weeks later, we recorded it again for the version that became the Number One record. It is just awesome to work with them. They were fantastic.

Is it true you had laryngitis when you first recorded that song? Yeah. I did. I had just finished three weeks of one-nighters through the Midwest. When I got to California, Gloria and I got in and man, I cannot hardly talk. My throat was killing me. I went to a private doctor that would see me on a Saturday. I had rehearsal with Mr. Bacharach on that day, too, and I was really worried. I went and saw the doctor and he said he did not want me to even speak for two weeks and that I had to wait. He said I had the worst throat he had ever seen. I said, “Man, I’ve got a rehearsal and then a session tomorrow.”

It wasn’t like I was not going to show up. But I was really afraid that he would not say, “Hey, man.” That he would think it wasn’t going to work. But I showed up and he liked it. My voice was kind of rough and kind of hoarse sounding, and he liked it. He thought it was really effective for what he was going to put it in the bicycle scene.

As it turns out, I sang it five times for the bicycle scene. I’m glad I didn’t have to do it anymore because I am not sure I could have done more than I did. But he loved it, and obviously, it worked out really well. We re-recorded Raindrops about six weeks later for the version that became Number One. But it worked out.

You know, just about everything connected with Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head – it worked out perfectly. The experience, the movie was a great movie. The song sold over ten million copies. Everything with that song is a great memory.

You performed Raindrops at the Academy Awards with those bicycles riding all around you. Tell me what that experience was like, and were you scared? Oh, yeah. I was absolutely scared to death. But you know what, in rehearsal when the song was such a big production about 12-13 minutes long, and I thought, “Hey, man. We may win this thing because they’re really doing have big number on it.” As it turns out, they did win the Academy Award. I love doing it. I love wearing the Sundancer’s costume to do the song. The whole experience was really wonderful. It was great.

Did you get to meet Bob Hope who introduce you guys? Yeah. Subsequently, I didn’t know him then, but I did get to know Bob. Bob did certain personal appearances and did his comedy, and I did about six or eight of those shows with him over the years. I would go and sing before he came on and everything. He was a wonderful guy. His wife, Dolores, she was a great lady and he was just great guy. You know, a legend.

Your latest recording to date is The Living Room Sessions. What was it like working Lyle Lovett on that version of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head? Lyle Lovett was really good. Lyle was appreciated and respected across the business. We were picking out people that we wanted to join us and add something to the record, and he did his vocal performance in New York. I wasn’t there for that. It’s the one thing I regret. I was not there when he sang, but he did a great job and that particular album was a lot of fun.

Just going back for a minute, did Jim Morrison or The Doors ever hear or comment on your version of Light My Fire? No. Cuz actually, my version was more connected to Jose Feliciano’s version. We were doing an album and it was going to be one of the songs— we picked it would be one of the songs on the album and that version we did was Jose Feliciano’s version. I have never heard from Jose either. (Laughs) But no, I have never heard from Jim Morrison. That would have been very cool!

Do you have any new recordings or projects on the horizon? Well, you know we’re obviously in a kind of a bad period and everything has been shut down for the most part, and especially the music industry. I had a session that was scheduled for the middle of this month of July that we’ve had to set back.

I’m going to record in Muscle Shoals with Dan Penn and Billy Lawson. We’re really excited about doing it, but as to when, we don’t know right now. We don’t know exactly how this thing is going to run out and when we can get the vaccine. If we can get the vaccine and we’re not in any danger of becoming ill, then we will go right in and do it. But we’re really so excited about doing it and kind of stressing through and getting through this period of time. We’ve got some great songs and we’re really looking forward to doing them.

Complete this sentence, if I have to sing Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head again live, I’ll…? I’ll thank God and feel honored that I have the chance to do it. I’m not one of those guys where a lot of my peers say, “I am tired of this song. I am tired of that song.” I have such a good memories and emotions tied to most of my music. I really don’t ever get tired of doing them, especially Raindrops. I love to do Raindrops.

Do you have any messages for your fans who are reading this right now? Well, I want to be sure and say thank you. I appreciate the fans for keeping me around all of these years and still wanting to hear my music, and helping me be successful with my appearances. I never imagined that things would work out so well for me in my career. So I thank the people, and I thank you for thinking about me. It has been wonderful and I hope to see everybody soon.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

B.J. Thomas Official Home Page

#bj thomas #raindrops keep fallin on my head #hooked on a feeling

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highwiredazeken · 4 years

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THE HEARTFELT REVERIES OF WAXFLOWER

Waxflower unveils emotionally driven rock that pulsates into the heart of the matter, and their impassioned songs are destined to garner attention well above and beyond their Brisbane, Australia home base. Now signed to Rude Records, (American Hi-Fi, Blood Youth, Happy., Stand Atlantic, The Maine, Sundressed), Waxflower recently presented their debut single release entitled Sixteen Floors via their newfound label. Expect many more heartfelt reveries from Waxflower as the months progress. Highwire Daze recently caught up with front man Tristan Higginson to find out a whole lot more about the up and coming Waxflower from down under. Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Waxflower, and how long the band has been together. I’m Tristan. I sing and play bass in the band. It’s been just over a year since we released our first song ‘Cut Your Teeth.’

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there? We’re based out of Brisbane, Australia. The local scene is great – there are a lot of passionate members of the scene who are willing to give young bands a shot.

How did you wind up signing with Rude Records? We have a great booking team here in Australia who sent our music through to the Rude team. They understood what we were trying to achieve and share a similar vision for the future of the band. We’re super excited to have them on board.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the lyrics of your just released single Sixteen Floors? The song is about the breakdown of a relationship and the effect that was having on my mental health. I usually write in metaphors but this song is straight down the middle – the writing process was certainly a cathartic experience.

Select two songs from your Together EP and what inspired the lyrics. Together and Back To Back are both based on my experiences with Anxiety + Panic Disorder and the way that impacted my interpersonal relationships.

Who produced the new song Sixteen Floors and what was it like working with them? The song was produced by Stevie Knight who has done great work on bands like Stand Atlantic, Yours Truly and Between You & Me. He was born to make good rock music!

All the proceeds of Sixteen Floors will be donated to Black Lives Matter and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Of course we all know about the important work of Black Lives Matter. For those of us in the States, tell us about the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and how you became involved with the cause. The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service operate to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system. They’re actively involved in community education, research and advocacy around law reform and policy development. We became acutely aware of how marginalised our own POC in Australia are, through the BLM movement and protests overseas. Through discussions with friends and further research, VALS came to our attention for the great work they do to assist and aid those who face discriminatory practices here in Australia.

What could one expect from a live Waxflower show? We have always put a great deal of effort into our live shows. Playing is my favourite part about being in a band and I use it as a way to fully express the songs.

How did you wind opening for Simple Plan and did you get to meet or hang out with them at all? As previously mentioned we have an amazing booking team over here in Aus. We definitely didn’t expect the offer to come through but were obviously over the moon to support such a big name in the scene.

If Waxflower could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why? I would love to open for Jimmy Eat World as they have been the biggest influence on my song writing. I feel like that would be a great learning experience for me.

What has it been like to release new music right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and so much social unrest – basically a revolution? It’s been really interesting. Obviously there are more important things happening in the world right now and we didn’t want to detract from any of that messaging. We had talks about postponing the release, but due to the way distribution works this wasn’t an option – so we refocused our energy into supporting the movement with the release.

What’s up next for Waxflower? More music. Hopefully more shows!

Waxflower are Tristan Higginson, Daniel Seymour, Nick Hargens and Jordan Beard.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

For More Info on Waxflower: Website: www.waxflowermusic.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/waxflowermusic Twitter: www.twitter.com/waxflowermusic Instagram: www.instagram.com/waxflowermusic

#waxflower #ruderecords #sixteenfloors #tristan higginson

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