Motley Crue

by Thom Hazaert
February 2009

In 1981 when an underdog LA Rock band released an independent LP called Too Fast For Love, no one could have predicted that they would follow up with a string of hit albums (Shout At The Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls, Girls, Girls, and Dr. Feelgood), that would go on to sell over 80 million copies, and, almost singlehandedly, usher in a new era of American Hard Rock.

Nearly 3 decades (of decadence) later, Mötley Crüe is still going strong with their original line-up Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, and Mick Mars- with their latest album The Saints of Los Angeles, debuting at #4 on the Billboard charts and a series of hugely successful “reunion” tours.

2541 Views • Permalink • Motley Crue Website • Motley Crue MySpace • Motley Crue Wiki

Mr. Big

An interview with guitarist Paul Gilbert
by Tina Hall
February 2011

Mr. Big was formed in 1988 by Eric Martin on vocals, Paul Gilbert on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass, and Pat Torpey on drums. Likely best known for their hit “To Be With You,” they have continued to provide solid rock sounds with a bluesy feel to the delight of their fans for well over 20 years. After a split in 2002, and reuniting in 2009, they released their newest album What if… in 2011. Immensely popular in Japan, Thailand, and South Korea, I recently sat down with Paul Gilbert to find out about the latest happenings with the band. Paul himself has been praised for his playing style being voted number four on the “Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time” on a list found in Guitar One magazine and has a spot on “Guitar World’s 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time” list as well.

Maximum Ink: Can you tell us a little about your background? What were you like as kid growing up in Illinois?
Paul Gilbert: I was born in Illinois, but my family moved to Pennsylvania when I was around two, so most of memories are from there. Basically, I grew up in a rural area, and my parents were both pretty busy, so I was often bored until I found the guitar. Then there was always something to do. My uncle would visit sometimes, and he was (and still is) a great guitar player. He showed me a few basic things that really helped me out such as muting the strings with the palm of my hand, controlling feedback, how vibrato should sound, and the idea that I should practice all the time. I always loved music and listening to my parents records as much as I could. They had a lot of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as records by The Who and The Animals, and a lot of classical music too. My dad also had several blues records, such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters.

955 Views • Permalink • Mr. Big Website • Mr. Big Wiki

Mudvayne

by Chris Fox
August 2009

Madison welcomes MUDVAYNE for the second time this year, headlining the main stage at WJJO’s Bandcamp. After fourteen years of playing together this quartet find themselves enjoying every minute of music. With all the music they have produced “there is no pinnacle song that is MUDVAYNE, we are everything from Death Blooms to Scarlet Letters to Not Falling,” explains vocalist Chad Gray.

The consistent mentality of MUDVAYNE is to challenge everything with their music, push the envelope and develop themselves. Their philosophy is “living to challenge people… break up the norm of what metal is supposed to be,” says Gray. Taking their music as an artist approaches a canvas they “don’t want to use the same colors every time,” and allowing fans to delve into the music so they “become a part of what we are.”

2377 Views • Permalink • Mudvayne Website • Mudvayne MySpace • Mudvayne Wiki

The Murderdolls

An interview with frontman Wednesday 13
by Aaron Manogue
November 2010

After an eight-year hiatus, Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison have resurrected their brilliantly twisted concoction, the Murderdolls. They have pumped life back into the undead with their latest album Women and Children Last and are currently wreaking havoc around the country on the Halloween Hootenanny tour, along side the Godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. Maximum Ink Magazine sat down with Wednesday 13 to talk about the new record and his new direction he took for writing it.

Maximum Ink: Were you guys pretty excited to get back out on tour?
Wednesday 13: Yeah man, it’s great. That’s the craziest thing about recording a record is it just takes so long for it to finally come out, so when it finally comes out, you’re like “Oh my God!” and you only want to play those songs; you’re sick of playing the old songs. It’s been tough making a set list out for the (Rob) Zombie- (Alice) Cooper tour because we’re not headlining so we had to make a short set, only a 30 minute set, so it’s tough trying to decide what we’re going to play.

475 Views • Permalink • Murderdolls Website • Murderdolls MySpace • Murderdolls Wiki

Muzzy Luctin

by Sarah Klosterbuer
March 2002

The release of Symptoms of a Simple Life has been a long time coming for Muzzy Luctin. Initial writing and recording for the album began in 1999, but scarce studio time and busy personal and professional lives for Muzzy Luctin’s members caused the final release to actually materialize almost three years later.

The time stretch proved to be a positive aspect in a number of ways for the band. Guitarist Paul Schluter took on mixing responsibilities for the disc, and quickly admits to being a perfectionist, refusing to be satisfied with anything less than excellence. Perhaps even more significant than studio perfections, or even a more accepting rock scene than that of two years ago, is what the time has done for the personal dynamics of the band. “You really find out whether or not you can stay together as a band, because we went through [a lot],” recalls Schluter. “At least as bad or worse than some bands, and we stayed together.” Stressing the variety within the band, he continues, “[We have] different personalities, but we’ve all been able to compromise and work together and make it work, and that’s what’s gonna make us stay together.”

538 Views • Permalink • Muzzy Luctin Website • Muzzy Luctin MySpace

MAXmas

2010 Madison Area Christmas Compilation CD
by Mike Huberty
November 2010

Christmas albums can often be a fairly staid affair, usually a little too willing to play it safe and mostly too reverent to have much fun. The new “Madison Area Christmas Compilation” (nicknamed “M.A.XMas”), however, isn’t afraid to grab Santa by his jollies and roast his chestnuts on an open fire. With bands running the gamut from rap to punk to metal, they’re fully embracing a hard rock holiday where nothing is sacred.

Madison rockers Jeremy Gehler and Jon Kussow of Kuhler Music (whose title is a mashup of their names) were hanging out talking about the Ringo Starr Christmas Album Gehler had just obtained (a kitsch purchase that he’s brave to admit in the first place!) when they realized that the Madison needs one too and definitely in 2010.

1175 Views • Permalink • MAXmas Website

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