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big-low-t · 6 years

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Favorite Albums

So, the always cool @igotmemories-igotshit tagged me to post 9 favorite albums. I am not sure I can stop at 9, but I will try to keep the list under 100.

1. Wire - Pink Flag - this amazing album will always be on my list of favorites. I am still amazed that it came out way back in 1977. Words like “groundbreaking” and “influential” get over-used sometimes, but not in this case.

2. Hum - Downward is Heavenward - The perfect blend of heavy sounds, melodies and vague spacey lyrics. This might be the best album from the 90′s, and yes that means I think it is better than anything Nirvana ever released. (and I like Nirvana)

3. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak - this album includes the Cowboy Song, The Boys Are Back In Town, Jailbreak, Emerald and more... Wow. Classic Rock masterpiece. Phil Lynott was a great story teller and a poet.

4. Deep Purple - Machine Head - I was listening to the song “Lazy” off of this album a while back and thinking to myself “what year did this come out, 1972, this has to be the best song from that year...” and then I remembered that the album also includes Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin’ and Highway Star. Damn.

5. Motorhead - Another Perfect Day - so yeah you might be thinking “he didn’t say Ace of Spades” and believe me it’s close... but this was Motorhead in a different light. Brian Robertson brought musicianship to the band that they would never have again. His bluesy guitar solos took Lemmy and Co. to another level. Sure Brian didn’t fit the band and they absolutely imploded soon after this was released, but this is Motorhead at their most musically focused point.

6. Castor - self-titled EP - Who? This little-known band from the 90s released two excellent albums. This first one is perfect. It’s the equivalent of driving through an empty shut down industrial area of a town. It’s a drive through farmland in August with the windows down, you can smell the corn.... it’s like the dusty toys on your shelf as you mature. You don’t want to throw them away, but you know you’ll never play with them again. This is growing up to that point where you suddenly realize the world isn’t so great and you gotta figure out how to be OK with it.

7. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights - This is a post-punk masterpiece. An album that helped me believe that good music could still be made past the year 2000.There is a darkness in this album that I somehow find uplifting.

8. Voivod - Killing Technology - This album starts out with beeping sounds and then a computer-type voice says “We Are Connected.” Yes we are, it is like we connected to someone from the future and they uploaded this album from the year 2530. This is future-metal. Sci-fi metal. There is a sound here that could only be Voivod.

9. Rush - Moving Pictures - musical perfection. I’m not one of those Rush fans that can talk for days about Neil Peart’s drum kit and his style and I can’t talk about the bass lines in such and such song. All I can tell you is this is one of the most amazing albums from start to finish that I’ve ever heard.

10. Leatherface - Mush - emotional lyrics, hard driving punk. A lot of people would be turned off by the singer. His gravel voice is kind of like Lemmy trying to be melodic. The song “Springtime” is so nostalgic about lost youth, but it’s also positive talking about that little bit of youth still hiding in our minds, just enough to keep us hopeful for the future. I get chills sometimes when I listen to this.

11. Iron Maiden - Killers - Hey I love the Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind and Powerslave, I know that was Maiden at the top of their game... but if I could only take one Iron Maiden album with me I would pick Killers every time. There is a rawness still in this album. There is still some classic rock bleeding through the cracks and a hint of punk rock here and there popping out of the heavy metal goodness. Another Life, Prodigal Son and Purgatory are some of their best songs. Great album.

Bonus Round:

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality, Husker Du - Zen Arcade, Paw - Dragline, AC/DC - Highway to Hell, Metallica - Kill ‘Em All, Dinosaur Jr - Green Mind, Boston - Self Titled, Aerosmith - Rocks, Jawbox - Novelty, Bad Brains - I Against I

OK, enough. Thanks @igotmemories-igotshit for the tag. Maybe @musicallymaniacal, @louder-than-love, @got-to-rise-above, @xchaotic-good-milk-hotelx or @dangerkeith3000x want to list some of their favorites. It’s ok if you don’t. Have a good one folks!

#music #top ten list #heavy metal #classic rock #punk rock #alternative #post punk #big-low-t

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johnpornjones · 6 years

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all questions you havnt answered yet

Alright ! Let’s go, then ! :D Thank you for asking :)

1. Favourite Riff? I have 3 : Achilles Last Stand by Led Zeppelin, Burn by Deep Purple, and Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream

2. Favourite Guitar Model? I replied already, and it’s here

3. Favourite Musical Decade? 1960-1970 & 1970-1980

4. Favourite 60s Band? The Beatles

5. Favourite 70s Band? Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who

6. Favourite 80s Band? The Cure, The Police

7. Favourite 90s Band? Nirvana, Scorpions

8. Favourite 2000s Band? Them Crooked Vultures

9. Favourite Album? Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin

10. What was the greatest year for music? Mid 60′s, all the 70s

11. Fenders or Gibsons? Fender

10. Favourite Guitarist? David Gilmour

11. Which side of the Atlantic (Britain or America)? Both

12. Rosewood or Maple Fretboards? Maple

13. Greatest “1 album” bands? Derek And The Dominos

14. Crosby, Stills or Nash? Crosby

15. Favourite Rolling Stone? Brian Jones

16. Favourite Guitar Solo? Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd) : I mean, this is insane. David Gilmour FTW

17. Who have you seen live? Robert Plant

18. Greatest modern blues/rock guitarist? Joe Bonamassa

19. Favourite drummer? John Bonham, Keith Moon, Nick Mason & Carmine Appice

20. Favourite Bass Player? John Paul Jones, John Entwistle & Paul McCartney

21. Favourite Keys Player? Keith Emerson & Rick Wright

22. Favourite Male Singer? Robert Plant

23. Favourite Female Singer? Stevie Nicks

24. If you could own one famous guitar? David Gilmour’s Fender Strat ♪♫

25. Favourite Beatle? George Harrison

26. Favourite Singer Songwriter? Neil Young

27. Electric or Acoustic? Both, but I’d say Electric

28. Dylan, Electric or Acoustic? Acoustic

29. Band you wish would/could reform? Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd

30. Top 3 dead musicians you wish you’d seen? John Lennon, Brian Jones, David Bowie

31. Most underrated guitarist? Reply here

32. What would your first piece of advise be to new guitarists? Never ever try to learn Stairway To Heaven before knowing how to play properly. I can tell you it’s a very hard song.

33. Big venues or small venues? Small

34. What posters are on your walls? One poster with all famous guitars, the other is my Led Zeppelin poster, from Earls Court

35. Vinyl or Digital? Vinyl

36. Most Overrated Guitarist? Sorry Jeff Beck. People will not love me after this.

37. Which song do you wish you’d written? Money by Pink Floyd

38. Which concerts do you wish you’d seen? Jonesy’s concerts (Of damn course),Neil Young concerts, Robert Plant’s SSS concerts (even tho I’ve seen one, in 2015), Eric Clapton’s concerts, Joe Bonamassa’s concerts

39. If you met your hero what would you say to them? I will blater a lot about how much I love this person I consider like a hero

40. Flatpicking or Fingerstyle? Fingerstyle

41. Open tunings, yay or nay? YAY, defintely YAY.

42. Favourite classic blues song? Boogie Chillen by John Lee Hooker

43. Pick a King, Freddie, BB or Albert? BB King !

44. Who’s the most influential guitarist? Rory Gallagher

45. If you could play any song? Hotel California by The Eagles

46. Who’s music has taught you the most? Led Zeppelin

47. Best cover of a song? Stairway To Heaven by Heart

48. If Clapton is God then who’s Jesus? David Gilmour

49. Why did you start playing your instrument? Because I wanted to learn Beatles songs, inspired by George Harrison (my debuts are totally forgottable and crappy)

50. Favourite Eagle? Joe Walsh

51. Favourite Les Paul Player? Jimmy Page

52. Favourite Stratocaster Player? Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour

53. Hollow bodied guitars, yay or nay? YAY

54. What youtube comment really bugs you? The one’s which says that John Paul Jones is gonna die on stage soon because he’s too old (really happened)

55. Best person you’ve seen live? My frend Geordie, who love Rory Gallagher and David Gilmour… Also, Robert Plant

56. Best musician’s autobiography you’ve read? I’ve read any… lol

57. Band you’d most like to see? Iron Maiden

58. Favourite Stones’ Album? Their Satanic Majesties Request

59. Favourite Beatles’ Album? Rubber Soul, Revolver, The White Album, Abbey Road

60. Favourite Eagles’ Album? Hotel California

61. Favourite Led Zeppelin Album? II, III & Houses Of The Holy,

62. Favourite Led Zeppelin Member? John Paul Jones ♥♥♥

63. What band do you not listen to enough of? Queen.

64. What band is your guilty pleasure? Them Crooked Vultures

65. What is your opinion of (insert bandartist)? Jimmy Page : I don’t like some things on him, I really adore his guitar playing, his riffs, but not his personality. Sorry Jimmy.

66. What is your opinion of (insert guitarist)? Brian May : I LOVE THIS GUY

67. Beatles or Stones? Beatles

68. Clapton or Hendrix? Oh shit… I’d say Hendrix

69. Favourite ex-yardbird? Eric Clapton

70. Favourite driving song? Band on The Run by Paul McCartney & Wings, Drive My Car by The Beatles, Highway 1 by Them Crooked Vultures, Turn It Up by Robert Plant, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin, Life In A Fast Lane by The Eagle

71. Favourite Cream Song? Crossroads

72. Jack White or Dan Auerbach? Jack White

73. White Stripes or Black Keys? White Stripes

74. What bugs you the most about your favourite artists? Roger Waters personality. Sorry Rog, but…

75. Is Blues dead? NO

76. Who would be in your ultimate band? I have two : Bass: John Paul Jones

Keyboard : Keith Emerson

Drums : John Bonham

Guitar : David Gilmour

Singer : Freddy Mercury

Or Bass : John Entwistle

Keyboards : Richard Wright

Drums : Ginger Baker

Guitar : Eric Clapton

Singer : Robert Plant

77. Who do you wish had collaborated on a whole album? John Paul Jones (him again, lmao)

78. Favourite cheesy but brilliant song? Royal Orleans by Led Zeppelin (lmao)

79. Favourite love song? My Love by Paul McCartney (go listening to this true wonder)

80. Greatest solo career? I think of Paul McCartney here.

81. Which musician have you learnt the most from? Jimmy Page

82. Worst musician’s autobiography you’ve ever read? I didn’t read any of them, sorry.

83. Best greatest hits album? Queen, Mothership (L.Z), Neil Young…

84. What song is stuck in your head? Spinning In Daffodils by Them Crooked Vultures (Them, again lol)

85. What song makes you cry every time? Wish You Were Here

86. Telecaster or Stratocaster? Stratocaster

87. SG or Les Paul? Les Paul.

88. Favourite Telecaster Guitarist? Jay… Whoops, no, no Just kidding ! Keith Richards.

89. Favourite SG Guitarist? Angus Young

90. Favourite Firebird Player? Joe Perry

91. What’s the most unusual guitar you’d buy? A gibson Flying V probably

92. What’s your earliest classic rock or blues memory? I started listening to The Beatles first, I was literally in love with George Harrison, and I started playing guitar at 14 (oh well, that was really shit) then Pink Floyd & Led Zeppelin just break through my life. At first I was in love ith Jimmy, but for some reasons, I just love how he sounds and his guitar playing, but that’s all. I don’t hate Jimmy, but I don’t love him either.

Jonesy and Robert are my baes from L.Z, just as David & Rick are my baes from Pink Floyd

93. Best music documentary you’ve seen? I’ve seen a lot, but it’s mainly Pink Floyd related.

94. Best live concert video you’ve watched? Pulse by Pink Floyd, also Them Crooked Vultures at Fuji Rock 2010

95. What band t-shirts do you own? I have a Pink Floyd shirt, a Jimmy Page shirt, a Beatles shirt and a Led Zeppelin shirt

96. Own anything signed? Uh, no…

97. Do your parents like this music? My mom, not really his thing, but she does respect and appreciate when I play. My Dad got the same music taste as me.

98. Where would you most love to play a gig? I’d prefer to play a gig in small venues first so, I don’t really know, but my favorite place is located in Germany, during Summer’s Sundays only, it’s called Sonntags ans Schloß.

99. If you could attend one festival? Woodstock

100. What’s the thing you last learnt on guitar? Un Autre Monde by Téléphone (French rock band)

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circlesandsoundwaves · 7 years

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Inner & Outer Portraits: Cory Castro (Free Throw)

Photos and interview by Molly Louise Hudelson.

This piece is a part of an interview series called Inner & Outer Portraits. Inner & Outer Portraits features in-depth conversations exploring personal experiences and the connections that we all feel with music, in combination with photographs of the subject. The goal? To showcase who they are from all angles, both inside and out.

When you write or create something personal, there's often a bit of hesitancy in putting it out into the world. Suddenly, you're revealing some of your deepest truths to the world. Once it's out there, it can feel freeing, but the biggest relief of all comes when you find someone who connects with what you wrote or created. Cory Castro of Free Throw (lead vocals and guitar) says he tries to write songs in a way that listeners can "take their own meaning from it" because "if they relate to it that means I'm not alone."

On May 26, Free Throw released their second full-length album, Bear Your Mind, on Triple Crown Records. From the opening track "Open Window" to the closer "Victory Road", Castro bears his mind for the world to hear, exploring topics like anxiety, family issues, body image, and loss. While Bear Your Mind dives deep, it remains completely self-aware; it’s introspective and personal while also being relatable.

Free Throw's recent headlining tour stopped at the Foundry in Philadelphia on June 24, where I met up with Castro for this piece. In our conversation, he talked about some of the bands he connected with immediately, and how powerful that immediate connection can be. If a flurry of social media posts are any clue, plenty of people have felt this immediate connection with Bear Your Mind. Our conversation got deep, but Castro seemed at ease as we talked, and when it came time to take portraits, there was a lot of laughter as we both joked around.

From why music is important to him to the meaning behind the album title Bear Your Mind, read on for the Inner & Outer Portrait of Cory Castro.

CIRCLES & SOUNDWAVES: What music have you personally connected with?

Cory Castro: There's a lot of it. Music's always been my thing since I was younger; even before I started playing music, I just loved music. I skateboarded a lot and skateboarding and music go hand in hand. When I skateboard, I've always got something in the headphones.

C&S: Which came first- a love of music, or skateboarding?

CC: Love of music, for sure. I've loved music since I was probably 4 or 5 years old- [that] was when I first realized, "oh my god, music is the coolest thing in the world"- but I didn't start skateboarding till I was about 10 or 11.

But as for bands that I've really, really connected with emotionally over the last few years, there's a band that used to be around called Grown Ups- they're from Indiana and the singer of that band is now the singer of Cloakroom- and they have an album called More Songs that is basically one of the hugest influences on what Free Throw does now.

Lately I've been really connecting with Hall & Oates for some reason. I think I'm just getting older, really- getting in to the things that my mom and dad would listen to. The first time I ever heard The Get Up Kids, that was a big one for me.

C&S: What was it like the first time you heard Grown Ups or The Get Up Kids?

CC: It's that moment of epiphany- like you just finally found something that captures inside what you were thinking of, I guess. It was a glorious thing. And some bands that doesn't happen immediately, it takes a little bit to listen to and then it happens- but Grown Ups was definitely a band that it immediately happened for me. Brand New, obviously, was a band that it immediately happened with. When I was in high school in the mid-2000s, Taking Back Sunday and Brand New and bands like that were really popular and so I immediately was like, "Oh man, everybody likes this kind of music that I like"- and a little bit off the topic, but Iron Maiden is a band that I absolutely love for some reason.

C&S: It's interesting- when I was in middle school and high school, it was Taking Back Sunday, Good Charlotte, blink-182 was a big one for me- and for a while I thought, "Well, I don't want to listen to anything else, because I listen to this and there's a stigma of liking anything else"- I don't know if stigma's the right word...

CC: Sometimes you get trapped into a certain scene of music and you find yourself only listening to that kind of music. I definitely went through phases where that was the only kind of music I listened to. Even when I was listening to Grown Ups, the only bands that I was listening to were, like, Algernon Cadwallader, or Snowing, and Grown Ups- all these bands that, outside of Philly, no one really listened to that much. Or they did but not, you know, normal everyday people.

C&S: Philly is the place right now for music.

CC: I love Philly. I love it. Every time we come here I have so much fun and I get to see so many friends- the music scene here is just wonderful.

C&S: What is your favorite song?

CC: My favorite song- like of all time?

C&S: Yeah.

CC: Oh man, I don't know- that's a hard one. I have a favorite song of right now which is probably "If This Tour Doesn't Kill You" by PUP. I love PUP, that band is an amazing band. But of all time? That's a really hard one. We'll go with something funny- the Space Jam theme song. I love that song.

C&S: As a follow-up to that, can you tell a story about a moment or a time when the PUP song really connected with you?

CC: Oh, yeah- every day of my life! [Laughs.] You know, when you're in a van with a bunch of people for a month, month and a half, two months at a time, of course little things start to get to you and you have these moments where you're just like, "Ugh"- but in a real sense, I don't have too many of those true moments where I'm like, wishing death upon someone. Our band is really a group of best friends. We hang out at home; we all- with the inclusion of Kevin over the past year and a half to two years- are just a group of best friends. You know, we get in to our spats, and then we listen to that song and everybody feels better.

C&S: Why is music important to you?

CC: It's my outlet. It's my saving grace, I guess- without it, I don't know what I would do. I don't know what I would be doing, I don't know what my career would be. I have no idea what life would be like, and it's honestly the most therapeutic thing I've ever had in my entire life.

I've struggled my entire life with mental health issues and anxiety disorder- I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder when I was I think 4 years old.

C&S: I honestly did not realize that they would diagnose someone so young.

CC: I was starting school and every time my parents wouldn't show up on time, I immediately started freaking out and I was convinced that they were dead and those kind of things. I ended up going to therapy and my therapist was pretty sure from a young age that I was suffering from anxiety disorder. And not being able to cope and handle situations the way I should- I freak out way too easily. So I've been dealing with that my entire life and have found a way to express it through music; even if it's not about that subject, playing music in general is something that takes my mind off of it.

C&S: For someone who hears Free Throw for the first time, what do you want them to get out of your band?

CC: Most people immediately establish that we're a drinking band, which is funny but I try really hard to write the songs in a way that is relatable and that people can insert themselves into the lyrics and into the situation and take their own meaning from it…. I want the band to be relatable- I want people to relate to it because if they relate to it that means I'm not alone.

C&S: So it's a circular thing, in a way.

CC: It is, it helps me just as much as it helps other people to realize that they're relating to something- to realize that they're relating to it helps me. It's very much my therapy process and my way of making it through life.

C&S: You put out a new album, Bear Your Mind, about a month ago- tell me about the album title.

CC: Oh, wow- it actually was the last thing to come about. When Kevin tried out for the band, "Weak Tables" was the first song that we wrote for the album. He flew from Boston to try out for the band and we wrote two songs and we were like, "Well, we guess we wrote these songs, so you're in the band now." Immediately after we wrote that song, I knew what I wanted to write the album about- cuz I had been struggling about what I wanted to write the next album about, because the first one was about a very bad relationship that I had.

C&S: And this record is very- what I said when I wrote about the record was that it's very introspective but without being in a way that you're stuck in your own head.

CC: Without being too specific, you know- I wanted it to be introspective and broad. When we wrote [Those Days Are Gone] it had this distinct thing behind it, this distinct event that made me want to write the whole album, and this time around I was like, "I don't want to write another break-up album"- recently I was in a serious relationship for two years but up until that point I hadn't had any kind of break up to want to write about. I'm not just gonna make up things.

I wrote "Weak Tables" about my struggles with social anxiety and sometimes not wanting to leave my house, but I wrote it in a very broad spectrum. As soon as we wrote that song I knew exactly what I wanted the record to be about. I knew that I wanted it to be about my personal struggles since that relationship, and how at first I blamed it on the relationship but then I realized that maybe it was me all along.

It's kind of a journey through my thought process, my brain- the album is basically picking my brain, and that's how the title came about. We were looking for album covers and Cody from the band Alaska had taken some photos while they were in the UK that he sent to us. That picture came up, the one with the mannequin with the TV sitting on its shoulder. Kevin and I were going back and forth trying to come up with album titles and we weren't getting anything great, and I was like, "Dude, I really like the idea of that mannequin holding the TV on its shoulder and not having a head- it's almost like it's carrying its head…. I say 'Bear in mind' a lot on 'Andy And I, Uh...'- what about the idea of if you had to carry your brain around, you had to carry your thought process around? I feel like it fits the record"- and so that's where Bear Your Mind came from.

C&S: You were talking about how "Weak Tables" dives into your struggles with social anxiety- is it hard to talk about that?

CC: It gets a lot easier. Especially after putting the record out and opening myself up to everybody- it's a little bit easier to talk about. There are a lot of songs on the record that I was worried about putting out cuz you start getting hesitant about actually putting yourself out there like that. Especially "Better Have Burn Heal"- I got really, really hesitant about putting that song out because it was such a struggle for me to admit that I was having these problems and that I was struggling with myself- I didn't even talk to my parents about this! And I knew that everybody was gonna hear it and I was gonna have to talk about it, but I think putting it out there and being able to talk about it was part of the healing process.

Now with the social anxiety thing- yeah, it's kinda hard sometimes; sometimes you wanna clam up and go inside your shell.

C&S: "How do I talk about the fact that I think everyone hates me and I'm just gonna mess up this social situation?"

CC: Mhmm! I have that same thing happening all the time. I always think that people think I'm annoying, for some reason, which is a very strange thing to think about because I don't really think that I'm that annoying of a person, but I get it in my head that everyone thinks that I'm annoying.

C&S: Right!

So you said that you were hesitant about putting "Better Have Burn Heal" on the record, but you did.

CC: Well, it also came with help from those guys. They liked the song and said, "We should put it on the record"; I was like, "I don't know if I wanna talk about really personal things on this song."

Growing up my whole life, I was a bean pole- this small, skinny, somewhat athletic person- I played basketball and I rock climbed and stuff- and then I decided to try a new medication for anxiety. I had been going on and off medication my entire life and I was going through a really bad time for my anxiety, so I tried to go on a new medication- and one of the side effects was rapid weight gain. And I didn't know that at all- the doctor hadn't told me at all.

C&S: All the side effects are like, "Well, it might be this...".

CC: Yeah. And I was also hitting my mid-twenties around this time, so as a growing adult my metabolism was starting to slow down, and then with the side effects from that medication, I gained so much weight so fast. I had also quit smoking cigarettes around the same time- a side effect of weaning yourself off tobacco is gaining weight as well.

I went from about 175 to approaching 250- so I gained well over 50 pounds in a small amount of time, and I freaked out. You get used to yourself as one way and then you have to…. I started doing all this other stuff- dieting and trying to work out and none of it was working the way I wanted it to. Then going on tour, it started to be harder because I couldn't work out or diet on tour. So I started finding little ways to try and make myself feel better about it- and I've lost weight since then but I fluctuate, it's kinda hard- and in a way I learned to accept myself for who I am, which is really nice.

I tried to write the song in a way that people who struggle with not only that but things like gender identity, or anyone who struggles with their identity in general, could insert themselves into that song and realize that it's okay to be who you are. It's cool to be who you are. And sometimes, yeah, it's hard to look at yourself in the mirror or whatever, but then you realize you're here for a reason.

C&S: Every couple of days, I see someone post "Better Have Burn Heal" on Facebook or Twitter saying, "Oh my god, this song hits me." I'm sure you have people coming up to you and telling you what either that song or any song on the record means to them; what's it like when people say, "Wow, this means a lot to me" or "I relate to this"?

CC: It means the world to me when people tell me that. Because- like I said earlier- I wrote the record because I was putting myself out there and I like when people relate to it, because it makes me feel better to… Whenever I used to hear songs that I related to, it made me feel so much better because even if it was a song about something that I hated going on in my life, I heard someone else having the same problem and it was like, "Okay, well at least I'm not alone."

C&S: Were you someone that would ever go up to your favorite band and be like, "Hey..."?

CC: Absolutely. Well, I don't know- I get shy and nervous sometimes. Actually when I first started meeting a lot of the bands that I'm friends with now, I would catch them at a time when we were just all kinda hanging out and be like, "Hey, so, uh- I hate to be a fan right now- but this song did a lot for me, thank you." You know- I still do it from time to time.

But I love it when people come up and tell me that. I know that some people don't like when people like approach them randomly, but it doesn't bother me at all. Even though I have social anxiety, I feel like doing music is kind of my purpose in life, so it kind of forgoes it sometimes, if that makes sense.

C&S: I get that- this is where you feel like you're meant to be.

CC: It's still there, but it helps to know that people are relating and it makes them feel better, too. That definitely helps.

C&S: You have a song on the record called "Dead Reckoning", which you wrote about losing your grandfather when you were 13; when you wrote the song, were you thinking of where you were in your mind then, or how you feel about it now?

CC: When I wrote the song, the music had been written for a while and I knew what I wanted to write the [lyrics] about, I just really couldn't get the words out. It was one of the last songs I finished the lyrics for. One night while we were at the studio, I was sitting there drinking whiskey and just looking at the bottom of the glass, thinking about how I wanted to write this song. I wrote it about my entire thought process from that moment; it's written in a very real-time aspect- that's why it says, "Reflections from the bottom of the glass." I spent the whole night thinking about the idea of losing someone close to you and how it affects you, and I knew that I wanted to include the loss of my grandfather in it, because it was the first loss in my entire life that I experienced that truly destroyed me.

The song is about me sitting there thinking, looking at the bottom of that glass and remembering what it was like. The memory of when my mom told me about my grandfather's passing is so vivid; I have a photographic memory. When I listen to that song, it brings me back; it's kind of hard to listen to. I was downstairs at my other grandparents' house, on my mom's side- this was my dad's father that had passed away. [He passed away] in a car accident actually, which is one of the reasons why I have vehicular anxiety so bad now. My mom had gotten off the phone and I was standing there, wondering why she was so upset, and she told me to sit down. I sat down on the stairs and that's why- even that part is in the song, "I sat there on the steps and did my best to take it in"- and I remember when that had happened I was trying to think of the last thing I said to him, the last moment that I had with him, the last time he gave me a hug, and I couldn't think of any of it and it just overwhelmed me.

I knew when I started writing music that one day I'd write a song about it, I just didn't know when and then it finally happened for this record.

C&S: This is your first official headlining tour; being on a headlining tour vs. supporting another tour, do you feel like you have a different connection with the people there?

CC: Yeah, sometimes- absolutely. When you're headlining and you're the last band there every night and you see all those people still there, you know that they're there for a reason- even if they like the bands before you that have played, the fact that they stuck around means that they're at least interested.

So yeah, I definitely feel a little bit more of a connection with the people, and especially since we're playing longer sets- doing a headlining tour, you go from playing 25 to 35 minutes to playing 45 to 55 minutes. You go to this longer experience of being in front of these people and honestly- starting this headliner the day that the record came out, it's been really, really cool to watch the progress of the crowds learn the lyrics to the newer songs. The first day, they knew the singles, and now people are singing along with songs that I never expected them to sing along with, which is really cool!

I kinda miss being a support band because it's a little bit easier- being a headlining band, you're the first band to arrive and the last band to leave, and there's a lot more to do all the time- but I definitely think the connection with the people is a lot stronger. You're no longer playing for someone else's crowd, I guess, if that makes sense.

C&S: That totally makes sense.

CC: You're playing for- hopefully- people who are there to see your band, which is really cool.

C&S: What does music mean to you?

CC: Absolutely everything. It's- like I said, it's my life. It's my therapy. It's my entire existence, really, I've 100% always been a musical person [and] I don't see that ever changing.

It means everything to me because all the connections I've made in life have mostly been through music- all the times I've had to deal with my own problems and get over them, I've done it through music. I've seen the world through music now. I've seen Europe and the UK and all of the United States and Canada- I've gotten to do everything I've ever done because of music. So- it is most definitely my everything. It comes first for me.

C&S: Is there anything else you want to say?

CC: Thank you to everybody that got us to this point, whoever has ever supported our band or listened to any of our records, our EPs- even the joke ones, even the "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" song that we did for Christmas once- thank you. From the bottom of my heart and I know from the rest of the guys' hearts, too- it means the world to us. And I hope that people can relate to the new record and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it and making it.

Bear Your Mind is available now here and streaming on Spotify here. Read Molly’s thoughts on the record here and see photos from Free Throw’s show at The Foundry in Philadelphia on June 24 here. Keep up with Free Throw on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their official website.

Stream More Songs by Grown Ups on Spotify here. Stream “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You” by PUP on Spotify here.

#free throw #molly #interview #inner and outer portraits #inner & outer portraits #bear your mind #triple crown #triple crown records #grown ups #more songs #cloakroom #pup #music #band #band interviews #music blog #anxiety #anxiety disorder #body image

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riffrelevant · 5 years

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Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Senior Writer/Journalist ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor

It is March 25th, 1988 and Night Flight, a late night visual arts and variety show on television’s USA Network each weekend, is about to show viewers something entirely different… and they shall never be the same.

It is, of course, the age of the music video and this program is on the verge of airing one titled “Prime Mover” from the British sleaze rock act, ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION. The number is musically inspired by the U.K. space rock collective Hawkwind’s 1977 track “Quark, Strangeness And Charm“, its video directed by Adrian “Ade” Edmondson of “The Young Ones” fame. Ultimately, neither one of these facts will mean much of anything when people get an eyeful of this leather-clad band, and then hear their music. Yes, it is the latter that they’re going to find most impressive, hopefully… or altogether hate.

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Mark Manning is a graphic artist at the time, and former art editor at the then-defunct Flexipop! Magazine that had folded in 1982. It was while working there that Manning was introduced to a frequently visiting flow of rock stars and their hedonistically decadent lifestyles… and he wants in. It would be a few years still, but soon enough, Manning is working as a graphic designer at another publication, Metal Fury, when he begins to undergo a transformation.

The change is taking place during his hours off from work, Manning experiencing an evolutionary-like leap (or in some’s eyes, perhaps a devolution) on the scale of characters from Robert Louis Stevenson’s literary work, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Much like that strange case, Mark assumes an alter ego role, that of Zodiac Mindwarp – an anti-social looking sort, like a greasy biker from the cast of some forgotten 70’s exploitative B-movie. What he is, and what he has become, is something that really surprises no one that has known Manning for any length of time, and soon, he aligns himself with similar like-minded outcasts.

ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION is officially given life in 1985, joining Zed (as he is known to his friends) in the band are guitarist Rockman Rock (aka Jimmy Cauty), bassist Kid Chaos (aka Stephen Harris), and drummer Boom Boom Kaboomski (real name unavailable). Of course the latter part of the band’s name was culled from the most unlikeliest of sources, but there it was, in the lyrics of the third verse of The Boss’ “Dancing In The Dark“.

Soon, the band is signed to the Phonogram Records subsidiary, the Food label, and 1986 would be the year that ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION begin their campaign to dominate Rock ‘N Roll. It begins in May that year with the “Wild Child” single, recorded with Zodiac on vocals and guitar, Kid Chaos on bass, and Jake Le Mesurier on drums. The band’s name has already become a thing of high praise and acclaim among the denizens of the “Grebo” movement (or “Grebo rock”), a British musical sub-genre incorporating influences from punk rock, electronic dance music, hip hop, and psychedelia.

Though ZM&TLR look the part of the term’s earliest intended targets – the word “grebo” was originally used as a slang term for bikers and rock music fans with long hair – the word is being re-fashioned by the group Pop Will Eat Itself in 1986. They use it in song titles and soon, it becomes a thing unto itself, a music genre sublet that in time will include such acts as Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, The Wonder Stuff, Scum Pups, Jesus Jones, and Gaye Bykers On Acid. Before ’86 is over, ZM&TLR release the “High Priest Of Love” EP which soon lands in the #1 slot of the U.K. Indie Chart.

Truth is, ZM&TLR are pretty much the antithesis of the Grebo look, a polar opposite to its colorful shorts and clean shaves. Zed & Co. opt for a rather more psychedelic, drug addled, Mad Max-ian appearance melded with the German SS ala iron crosses, skulls, black leather, and sometimes, storm trooper helmets.

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HIGH PRIEST OF LOVE EP

TATTOOED BEAT MESSIAH

By the end of 1986, ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION play the U.K.’s packed Reading Festival before thousands of fans. Not bad for a band that had their first gig at the 500 capacity Dingwalls in London less than a year before. Yes, it is evident that the band’s misanthropic imagery is not having an anti-social effect whatsoever, and even more intriguing, their music and its lyrical contents are finding an audience. Chock full of flamboyant, chest-thumping proclamations derived from a raging libido, Mindwarp’s tongue-in-cheek ravings are pure camp despite their often lascivious and misogynist tone.

By the next year, the band has new blood in the form of lead guitarist Cobalt Stargazer (real name Geoff Bird), rhythm guitarist Flash Bastard (real name Jan Cyrka), and drummer Slam Thunderhide (real name Stephen Landrum). Also, bassist Kid Chaos has left to join another popular rising band, The Cult, so enter Trash D. Garbage (real name Paul Bailey). The band continues their ascension to sonic glory with more U.K. single releases in 1987, including “Prime Mover” and “Backseat Education“.

However, for any British band, there is only one thing that seems to equate as having “made it” or being successful, and that is acceptance across the pond, in the United States. In February of 1988, ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION release their first full-length album, “Tattooed Beat Messiah“, through the Vertigo label, another subsidiary of Phonogram. The album contains remixed versions of the singles released the previous year, alongside several new songs too, including a cover of the Steppenwolf classic, “Born To Be Wild“, in some markets.

The album explodes in a music scene being dominated by acts like Poison and Bon Jovi but true anti-authoritarian types know the deal. “Tattooed Beat Messiah” is the dividing line, where such horrid pop fluff shall not pass, and it spawns several subsequent video tie-ins to tracks like “Backseat Education“, “Planet Girl“, and of course, “Prime Mover“.

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Ultimately, it has the desired outcome as ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION are placed on a 1988 U.S. tour bill, alongside Guns & Roses, supporting Alice Cooper. After just a few dates, ZM&TLR are bumped up on the roster, now playing after G ‘N R , before Alice Cooper. Several of the band members appear with Slash, Axl Rose and Alice Cooper in a performance of Cooper’s “Under My Wheels” for the feature film music documentary, “The Decline Of Western Civilization: Part II“.

Tours with Motörhead and Iron Maiden only serve to increase the frenzied hysteria about the band, it’s growing like a raging wildfire and soon, they’re designated the new rock royalty, placing them in the ranks of bands like Circus Of Power, Warrior Soul, and Monster Magnet.

Yet, for every high there is a low, for every climb, a descent, and somehow, some way, ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION were about to experience theirs. At some point in all of this, the band is informed that “Tattooed Beat Messiah” failed to sell well in the United States, resulting in them being dropped by their record label while burdened with large, outstanding debts. It doesn’t add up, literally, as the album had ignited like a fuse, spawning five official videos that received regular rotation airplay on MTV, and the channel’s “Headbangers Ball“. That show’s host, Ricki Rachtman, claims the band as one of his all time favorites, and one of the most underrated bands of the era.

Not ready to give up the ghost yet, ZM&TLR release a sophomore album, “Hoodlum Thunder“, through the only label that would seemingly sign them at this point, Musidisc. Despite critical acclaim for the album, there is no hysterical fanfare this time, no arenas to rock, yet it’s probably a safe bet that some grope-ready groupies still thronged the band. The album spawns a handful of singles including “Elvis Died For You” and “Meanstreak“, and one of its cuts, “Feed My Frankenstein“, ends up being re-recorded by Alice Cooper, and released on his 1991 Hey Stoopid album (and featured in the 1992 movie Wayne’s World).

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Truth is, things will never quite be the same for ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION as they increasingly cycle through a revolving door of musicians. This includes bassists Suzi X, Tex Diablo and Kev Reverb, along with such drummers as Robbie Vom and The Apocalypse. They continue to release consistent output like “Live At Reading“, “My Life Story“, and “One More Knife”, but the band eventually goes on a hiatus, remaining inactive for a decade before resurfacing again around 2002.

“I Am Rock” arrives that year, another live album, “Weapons Of Mass Destruction” in 2004, “Rock Savage” in 2005, and the following year, 2006 brings “Pandora’s Grisly Handbag”, a 1986 live album and DVD pairing. Through all of this, the persona and over-the-top character that is Zodiac Mindwarp never dilutes nor seeks a PG rating. The dangerously deranged, gargantuan genius of Mark Manning continues to expand, authoring multiple books containing memoirs about his sordid sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll experiences simultaneously as the band issues albums.

In 1996, he pens Bad Wisdom (with Bill Drummond), while Crucify Me Again (2000), Get Your Cock Out (2000), Fucked By Rock: The Unspeakable Confessions Of Zodiac Mindwarp (2001), Collateral Damage, and The Wild Highway (2005, again with Drummond) all follow.

2010’s “We Are Volsung” album, featuring the cast of Zodiac Mindwarp with guitarist Cobalt Stargazer, bassist Jack Shitt, and drummer Bruno ‘The Cat’ Agua, is released via SPV/Steamhammer. Recently, the current edition of ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION featuring Z and Cobalt, Beast Of Ante (bass) and the returned Robbie Vom (drums), have toured in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the “Tattooed Beat Messiah” release.

When all is said and done, the larger than life cosmic rock deity that is Zodiac Mindwarp, as well as his more human alter ego, Mark Manning, will be a subject regaled across the infinite celestial. Tales, legends and mythologies, if not entire theologies, will be devoted to the praise and edification of the Tattooed Beat Messiah. You know, the “Christ in shades“, the “napalm god“, the “Sex führer, baby”, the “love dictator…living detonator“- Mister Prime Mover himself.

Oldschool Sunday: ZODIAC MINDWARP AND THE LOVE REACTION Article By: Pat 'Riot' Whitaker, Senior Writer/Journalist ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor It is March 25th, 1988 and…

#Album Art #Cobalt Stargazer #Mark Manning #Metal #MTV #Musidisc #Night Flight #Official Video #Oldschool Sunday #Phonogram Records #Psychedelia #Rock #SPV/Steamhammer #Vertigo #YouTube #Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction

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maryseward666 · 6 years

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KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Signs With METAL BLADE RECORDS And COLUMBIA/SONY MUSIC

RARE BLACK METAL COLLECTIBLES

Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE have signed with Metal Blade Records. The band's upcoming album will be made available through Sony Music Entertainment outside of North America. Metal Blade's CEO/founder Brian Slagel commented: "I have been a huge fan and friend of KILLSWITCH for a long time, so it is truly an honor to be able to work with them. So happy to welcome them to the Metal Blade family." Added KILLSWITCH singer Jesse Leach: "I'm beyond stoked to sign with the legendary Metal Blade Records and Columbia/Sony Music. It's clear they truly understand and believe in what we do as a band, and we're psyched to have them on our side. It's an exciting new chapter for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and we can't wait to see what the future holds." Said guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz: "I'm very excited to say that KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will be joining forces with Metal Blade Records and Columbia/Sony Music! Super stoked to join the ranks with a long list of many epic metal acts, as well as a team of excellent human beings who truly have a genuine love for metal music. Here's to an awesome future with awesome labels!" Benjamin Voss, senior A&R manager Columbia/Sony Music Germany, stated: "I am very happy and proud to work with such an amazing band like KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in the future. We are absolutely excited about releasing their new album on Sony Music outside North America." Other than the band's 2000 debut self-titled LP, which came out through Ferret, all of KILLSWITCH's recorded output so far has been issued through Roadrunner Records. The group's first release under the new deal — and eighth album overall — will arrive in 2019. In a recent interview with Finland's Kaaos TV, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio stated about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new disc: "Unfortunately, [singer Jesse Leach's recent] throat surgery put a little cramp in the production of the record. As of now, we have 22 songs, so we're gonna pick the best ones. But it's good to have more than less and then have to play make-up later. But drums are done, bass is done, most of the guitars are done, vocals not so much. So as soon as we get those done, this record will be out." According to D'Antonio, KILLSWITCH, which is currently supporting IRON MAIDEN on a European tour, recorded the basic instrumental tracks for all 22 songs. "Whether we do that with vocals, I'm not positive," he said. "We're gonna try. We're gonna do our best." Mike also confirmed that former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones will make an appearance on the band's upcoming effort. "It was news to me; I didn't know he was gonna come [into the studio and lay down his vocals]," the bassist admitted. "But much like how Jesse was in the past when he wasn't in the band, we remain friends with these guys. We care about these people. They were in our family for a long time, and it's not like you just forget about somebody, especially Howard. He's a great dude, and it was cool to know that he could come back and sing on the new record and help sing some backup stuff. And we hung out with him recently. He's doing really well, his new band [LIGHT THE TORCH] is awesome, so we couldn't be happier for him." The follow-up to 2016's "Incarnate" will mark KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's third full-length effort since the return of Leach, who rejoined the group in 2012. Leach appeared on KILLSWITCH's self-titled debut and sophomore album, "Alive Or Just Breathing", before exiting the band. Jones took over on vocals for "The End of Heartache", "As Daylight Dies" and the 2009 self-titled set before being dismissed from the group six years ago. Photo credit: John McMurtrie [Read More ...]

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maryseward666 · 6 years

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WITCHERY Guitarist PATRIK JENSEN Says Newer Album Production Jobs Give Him 'Metal Fatigue'

RARE BLACK METAL COLLECTIBLES

Metal Wani's Chuck Marshall recently conducted an interview with guitarist Patrik Jensen of Swedish thrashers WITCHERY. You can listen to the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On why WITCHERY established the goal of releasing their new "I Am Legion" studio album a year after their previous "In His Infernal Majesty's Service": Patrik: "Historically, the band is over 20 years old. When we started out in '96, we were young and I guess naïve or so, but we said that we were going to put out two albums every year because that's what our old favorite bands did, like KISS and MOTÖRHEAD in the '70s. We said we're going to carry on that tradition. Then, around 2000, [Jensen's other band] THE HAUNTED took off and ARCH ENEMY [featuring WITCHERY bassist Sharlee D'Angelo] took off and our drummer [Martin Axenrot] joined OPETH and they're huge. There was just no time for us to get together and write and do albums anymore. Everything started to this four years, [2006], the next album ['Don't Fear The Reaper'], then it was 2010, 'Witchkrieg', then 2016, that was the twentieth anniversary [of the band]. I was thinking, 'Okay, we need to put out an album for that. I don't know if anyone is going to remember us.' So, we recorded an album for that. At least to us, people loved it. We were overwhelmed, but we were still not getting any offers to play festivals or tour or anything. I realized that people, they think there's going to be another six years until the next album comes and this is just a project band. That's why we want to make a point out of releasing it within one year. As soon as we announced we had another coming out, the offers started coming in. So that's the reason why we released them so close in time to each other." On whether the "raw" production job found on "I Am Legion" was intentional: Patrik: "It's very much a conscious decision because I've grown somewhat 'metal fatigue.' The newer productions that bands come out [with]. Everything sounds the same. Everyone is running the same plug-ins. All of this, 'I'm using this sample drum library. It sounds fantastic. [Famed METALLICA producer] Bob Rock did it, blah, blah.' Yeah, it sounds fantastic, but then everyone uses it. It gets boring, predictable. Also, if you play to a click, that means everyone, usually there's some driving force in a band like maybe, Malcolm Young would be the driving force in AC/DC and everyone plays around him or a drummer, so you get this unique band signature timing, but if everyone plays along to a click, that means that everyone has the same fifth or sixth member. There's always this guy that he or she is keeping the pace, which is the click track. And it just makes everything sound the same. WITCHERY has always made a point out of recording live. With this album, we went into the studio saying that 'We want the album to sound like old, natural drums.' I actually told [producer] Daniel Bergstrand that I wanted it to sound like VAN HALEN's drums on '1984', just something that people don't hear anymore these days. We are very happy with the outcome. It might be a silly word, but I want my metal to sound dangerous, like MOTÖRHEAD or something, old MOTÖRHEAD albums, you never knew what was going to happen. Maybe we're not as dirty and smelly as MOTÖRHEAD, but we still want to have that… you put on a WITCHERY album, we want to give the feeling that this band means business, that we love to play music. We try to create something, that's what we're trying to do." On his reaction when fans refer to WITCHERY as "black metal": Patrik: "I don't think it's entirely true, though, that said, black metal is a bit more forgiving than maybe thrash metal and [pure] heavy metal is. There's so much more you can do within the boundaries of black metal: atmospheric, or very lo-fi, orchestral, like DIMMU BORGIR. If you play thrash, it's mainly just thrash. If you play heavy metal, it's kind of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST. Black metal is pretty generous in that perspective that there's so many different ways of playing it. But, I wouldn't call us a black metal band because we do play a lot of heavy metal riffs, even, a lot of thrash riffs, of course, even death metal riffs. Actually, there's a song off 'In His Infernal Majesty's Service' that's called 'Zoroast' that almost has a rock opening, the chorus there. I don't know what to call what we play, which is a good thing, I guess." "I Am Legion" was released on November 10 via Century Media Records. The album's initial CD pressing comes as a digipak with two bonus tracks: "Ragnarök" and "Apex Ghoul". "I Am Legion" is also available as 180-gram vinyl version on either black vinyl or limited colored runs on clear vinyl (100 copies via CM webshop) and transparent red vinyl (200 copies via CM Distro).

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[Read More ...]

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