30 Seconds To Mars

Escape. It’s why we crank the volume up to ungodly decibels when driving alone late at night. It’s why we have iTunes programmed onto every useless gadget that we lug around 24/7. It’s why we reach for the headphones, even when we’re about to pass out, just to listen to that song. Music is the lung of our spirit. It gives us a break from the Earth so we can breathe in the Milky Way. Four guys named Jared, Shannon, Tomo, and Matt are already there.

30 Seconds to Mars is a novelty of modern rock. Their self-titled 2002 album settled rumors that lead singer/guitarist, Jared Leto, was not some bored wash-up from Fight Club, but a multi-talented rock titan on the stage. With the blood-thirsty critics at bay, the group as a whole perfected their musicianship on 30STM’s sophomore album, A Beautiful Lie. The band does an impeccable job of keeping what their fans lovethe swirling, intricate guitar solos and a far-out rock vibewhile not shying away from deeper material. 

Read More...

48 Hours in Iceland with Last Crack

March 30 1800 Central Standard Time: Last Crack and crew await boarding an Icelandair 757 at Minneapolis International Airport. To settle nerves some of the boys have taken to the bar and shot glass. Happy flights, next stop Iceland!

0630 Atlantic Standard Time: That’s midnight for us Wisconsinites. Our day starts waking up at Iceland’s Keflavik airport in need of transportation for our crew of nine plus gear to Reykjavik, Iceland’s capitol forty-nine kilometers to the west. Reykjavik is about the size of Madison and harbors two thirds of the island nation’s population.

An attempt was made to find the difference in cost between the bus and a rental car at the Hertz window when along comes a cab driver with an idea. Olafsson, the world’s only Porsche taxi driver, tells us he’s going to Reykjavik anyway so he’ll give us a good deal. He also suggested we rent a one-way car for the rest of the gear and guys and just drop off the car in the city. Brilliant idea! He saved us some money right off the bat.

0800 AST: After an intense drive past kilometer after kilometer of moss covered lava, mountains and volcanoes, Olafsson drops us off at the club we’re playing that night, The Grand Rokk.

Kalli, the owner, and his associate Jon (pronounced like yan but with a little yone in it) meet us and dole out cups of espresso by the dozens to the weary set of travelers, trapped in their lair. They tell us of Vikings, celtic lore and Icelandic customs, then take us to the guest rooms at the hotel Adam to meet host Ragnar and get some rest.

Read More...

Aerosmith - Joe Perry

An exclusive interview with guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith between tours…

Read More...

Aerosmith - Tom Hamilton

As the bassist for the best-selling hard rock band of all time, Tom Hamilton has been laying down the foundation in AEROSMITH for almost four full decades. In the process of working on their new album and fresh off the release of Guitar Hero: AEROSMITH which brings the songs of the band to gaming consoles everywhere, the band is embarking on a summer tour and Tom took some time to talk about it.

It’s been an extraordinary run for the band since forming in Boston in the early 70’s and Tom brings up his original influences that made him pick up an instrument in the first place.“ I was 12 when the Beatles came out and the British pop explosion,”, he says. “Then the Hippie era started and we were all extremely interested in what was freaky and weird. From England, there was Zeppelin and The Who, and we were little blank slates who just ate it all up.“ And with plenty of money and success behind him, he explains why they’re still going. ”We just want to be part of it and don’t want to let things go by. In the 80’s, the band broke in half. With MTV, I remember thinking we were going to miss that. We don’t want to miss anything! We hear the voices of all the people that still want to hear us play.“

Read More...

All That Remains

Pounding their way through the country, ALL THAT REMAINS find themselves coming to Madison. Bringing their heavy yet melodic sound and raging voice, this quintet of about ten years has helped redefine the new sound of heavy metal and bring a no bullshit attitude to an increasingly theatrical music scene.

Their most recent album, Overcome, takes another step in the progression of music. As Jeanne Sagan (Bass) explains “when we were writing this album we concentrated on writing songs and whatever the part naturally called for,” and with the combination of more clean vocals yet utterly brutal instrumental work, ALL THAT REMAINS has been able to reestablish their sound without losing their heavy roots.  These roots, Sagan says, are “influenced by the live shows… this underground world of music where people seemed to give a shit and energies of the crowd were intense.” The utter epicness that is the sound of their band draws on inspirations from across the board, Sagan lists, “chicken wings, relationships, and castles” in no particular order. As she digresses, “everyday is its own animal” but there is no denying the utter power behind their sound.

Read More...

Alter Bridge

If you have tickets to see Alter Bridge in Chicago, Thursday, September 30th at the House Of Blues, I congratulate you. Some will envy you, though, because it sold out. If it’s any consolation, the guys won’t be packing up and heading out right after that show. They’ve just announced a 2nd show the following night, Friday, Oct. 1st at the same venue! It gets better, though; tickets for the Friday performance at the HOB are $9.47 thanks to 94.7 The Zone and a show at the Rave in Milwaukee is scheduled for Saturday, October 2nd.

In short, here’s the scoop...Creed is finished, Stapp’s doing whatever it is he does, and the rest of the band have moved on. Mark Tremonti (guitars) and Scottie Phillips, (drums) have formed a new band, Alter Bridge, with vocalist Myles Kennedy (formerly of Mayfield Four).  The new album “One Day Remains” is a melting pot of metal, love, memories, sadness, gratitude, happy thoughts and a good dose of guitar solos. That doesn’t sum it up, but I have to start somewhere. 

Read More...

American Headcharge

When the name of your band is American Headcharge , and your album cover for debut release The War Of Art depicts a black-eyed Uncle Sam pointing a gun at the listener, you’ve got to excuse people for assuming you might have a political slant. But according to bassist/guitarist/all-around-American Headcharge -musical force Chad Hanks, that’s just the problem.

“There’s absolutely no tie in at all,” Hanks says of his band and politics. A logical question though, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks on America, and Headcharge’s ironically appropriate Uncle Sam imagery. “That imagery is the funniest part of the whole thing. It’s like Andy Kaufman shit! It has nothing to do with anything, it was just great imagery, especially considering that we’ve got American in our name.

Read More...