Slash

Slash, a household name because of Guns N’ Roses, is without a doubt one of the most legendary guitarists of our time. His work with Snakepit, Velvet Revolver, and as a solo artist has shown time and time again that he is one of the best in his field. As a session artist, he has worked to enhance the music of some of the biggest names in the business and has influenced guitarists of all ages with his solid and timeless playing style. He recently embarked on a five week North American tour, opening for Ozzy Osbourne, in support of his latest self-titled solo album. It was truly an honor to have the chance to bring his fans this small glimpse of one of rock’s finest.

Maximum Ink: How do you think the music industry has changed since your early days? How would you like to see it change next?
Slash: It’s been going through some massive changes. The most important being the advent of the Internet and file sharing and also digital. We are still adapting to that, but that’s a major change.  It’s hard to say where it is headed in the not too distant future.

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Subatomic

We listen to music to feel something, to relate to something or to just plain have fun. And it’s becoming harder and harder to find a local band that you can listen to and just plain enjoy yourself. No corporate puppetry or influence laced through what could be and should be killer music. That’s why when we came across Subatomic it was something extremely refreshing. Their jam-oriented sound with catchy riffs and groovy basslines is just plain good music. Maximum Ink caught up with the hard rock groove trio to talk about their music and how they got their start.

Maximum Ink: Tell me about the history of the band. Where did you get started? When did you all start playing and writing music?
Bryan Moll (Guitarist/Vocals): Jim and I have been playing together since grade school and about 15 years ago, we got to know Sparko (Mark Dvorak-Drums).  So over the years the three of us have worked together on different projects, with different folks in a variety of bands, but the true version of subatomic came into being in 2006, when we began writing music together.

MI: Describe your music to someone who has never seen/hear it before.
Jim Roof (Bass): It’s our motto: Hard rock groove jams!

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Sweet Cyanide

With songs titled “Suicide Love Machine,” “Certain Shadows on the Wall,” “Crash Theory,” and “Heartbreaker” these four New York rockers put a new spin on sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Sweet Cyanide is an electric collision of two respected New York bands, Crashbox and Moment Theory. The band consists of Sal Scoca and Angelo Fariello from Crashbox and Mike Bambrace and Joe Salvatore from Moment Theory. When the two bands were active Crashbox sold over 5,000 copies, and Moment Theory was recognized by Billboard’s independent songwriter’s contest.

Sweet Cyanide’s self-titled album drops July 7. Immediately following the release of their album they will be doing some regional touring through August. The first song on the album, “Crash Theory,” will also be the first single. Be listening for “Crash Theory” on the radio in early Sept. Currently, Sweet Cyanide is working out the kinks for opening slots in the fall with some big named bands.

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Tiger Clutch

Tiger Clutch might be the greatest glam rock band you’ve never heard. With influences based on Judas Priest, Nirvana, and Kick Axe, Tiger Clutch are five local musicians who play the part of grizzled hair metal veterans, having rocked, partied, and screwed their way through decades of music history. When it’s time to rock, they take the stage names of Thor (singer and local comedian David Leon), The Blast (guitarist Derek Reinfried), Brick Johnson (guitarist Joe Cushman), Shredderella (bassist Jennifer Reinfried), and Beatz “Off” McKenzie (drummer Riley Heninger). With a rock fist in the air and their tongue firmly in their cheek, they release their latest (in reality, first) album on Thursday December 1st. We took a few minutes to discuss the new record with them.

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Top Dead Centre

TDC is Top Dead Centre from Ontario. Far From Nowhere is the name of their CD. BUT - - all the way to somewhere, and somewhere big, is more like it. These guys have major potential if they can get heard by the right people.

Listen, I can tell right outta the gate that from time to time I’m going to bring up the names of other bands in this review. And I really don’t want to. BUT - - just know going in to this, that if I bring up the name of other bands it’s meant as a pretty big compliment - because I’d compare TDC with bands that I like A-L-O-T.

The interesting thing is, I didn’t immediately gravitate to their record. Rather, it was more like it creeped up on me. Probably at first the musical similarities got in the way. I guess that familiarity with ageless hard rock that I’ve liked from the 70s to the present was a little too safe for me. BUT - - like I say, that was just on the first listen.

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Two Dollar Grey

I’ve always been a fan of harder, darker rock and metal. You know, the Slipknots, Deftones and Colds of the world. The trick is with that type of music is that it’s so overdone and extremely easy for bands to overdo it and have their music over-produced to obtain that soul scraping sound that the super successful bands do. Very rarely do I find a new band out there that rips this kind of music and does it without over-producing and over-pushing the shit so hard it sounds terrible. Thanks to my good friend Steph Irvine, I was lucky enough to come across a band that definitely carries that sound and they do it so well they make it their bitch.

The band is Two Dollar Grey out of Phoenix, AZ and their music has that groove rock feel that has a taste for the darker side and finds a way to blend it all together into music that you’ll have caught in your head for weeks to come. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue had the chance to talk to the guys in Two Dollar Grey about their music and the rock scene today! Two Dollar Grey is Cory on drums, Craig on vox, Jake on bass and Nate and Mikey on Guitar.

Maximum Ink: Describe your music to me as if I’m someone who has never seen or heard your perform before:
Two Dollar Grey: It’s in your face, but also has the melodic touch. It’s hard driving vocally orientated music that we like to call groove rock.

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The Von Ehrics

Seemingly effortlessly mixing the speed and aggression of punk rock music with the structure and twang of country music, Dallas trio, THE VON EHRICS, (named after the infamous Texas professional wrestling clan) write and play memorable cowpunk that veers between the heavy and the heartfelt in equal measure without ever sounding an untrue note (as one of their songs mentions, when you see a VON EHRICS show, you have an equal chance of hearing Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Rancid, or Bauhaus.) The two founding members, lead vocalist and guitarist Robert Jason Vandergryff (is there a more regal rock name in existence?) and bassist Jeffery Wayne Mosley (name checked in a song for being known to cause trouble south of the border), have been playing together since 2000. After a string of drummers, finally solidified the lineup in 2005 with San Antonian Gabe Aguilar on the drums.

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