Dead Man’s Carnival

Combining the best of live music, classic vaudeville, and circus sideshows, Milwaukee-based DEAD MAN’S CARNIVAL is a unique theater experience for the Midwest They are a regular fixture at the city’s Miramar Theatre, but have been traveling around the country for the past several years. We talked to frontman and musician, Pinkerton Xyloma, about their upcoming appearance at the Majestic in Madison.

Grey Matter Mechanics

With several hundred songs in their repertoire ranging from jazz to hard rock, Janesville’s GREY MATTER MECHANICS, has a legitimate stake in claiming to be the most diverse musical trio in Wisconsin. Began in 2010 from the ashes of popular alt-rock/trip-hop outfit, SALVA ME, guitarist/vocalist Jestin Korleski and bassist Josh Dissmore begun their jazz trio to just play out and get some paying gigs, over time they started working to bring their original rock songs into the mix as well. They just released their first CD full of that original material called “Black and White”.

Randy Travis

Randy Travis has long been a respected name in country music as well as gospel. With 20 studio albums selling a combined total of 25 million copies and 22 number one hits he has proven it is respect well earned. Travis has an impressive amount of awards with 10 AMA’s, 9 ACM’s, 7 Dove awards, 6 Grammy’s,and 6 CMA awards. Randy has also worked as an actor, appearing on/in Frank & Jesse, Matlock, Hey Arnold, King of the Hill, Lost, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well as many others. To mark 25 years in the industry in he most recently released the album Anniversary Celebration featuring appearances by Carrie Underwood, John Anderson, Josh Turner, Gene Watson, Connie Smith and Joe Stampley.

Maximum Ink: Can you tell us a little about your early days? What where you like as a child?
Randy Travis: As a kid, I grew up on a horse. The first pony I had was at 3 years old. There’s one album cover that we did, I don’t remember which one it was, but I’m thinking I was 3 months old and my dad had a palomino kneeling with me sitting in the saddle. My mom may have taken that picture. I grew up as a cowboy. As a really young boy, I was helping my dad move cows, but I was also a brat and I probably had to be punished quite often by him. I’ve been up front and honest about this. We fought a lot and then into the teenage years, I got into a lot of drugs and alcohol.  So, I was not a good kid, not at all.

MI: Do you think you would be where you are now without the encouragement of your father? What would you say is the most important thing he taught you?
RT: No.The most important thing I got from him was that love of music and pursuing that as a career. He and my mom would take all six kids to what was called fiddlers conventions and we’d be playing in the VFW or Moose Lodges after being hired to play at square dances and all kinds of things like that. He would push us kids to continue learning to play instruments and learning music. I’d love to know how many songs I knew, at this point in life, because it would sure be a lot.That was the most important thing from him, and of course, he taught me a lot about horses.

Jane’s Addiction

In 1985, the Los Angeles music scene was mostly hair metal bands trying to make it to super stardom. But a little known underground scene was being born with original bands playing new alternative music. One of those bands was Jane’s Addiction. Today, over 25 years later, Jane’s is still pumping out great music with an L.A. vibe. With their new album The Great Escape Artist finally out, and tons of 2012 tour dates booked, I spoke with Jane’s Addiction’s drummer, Stephen Perkins, about the new CD and tour and other good stuff.

Maximum Ink: Hi Stephen, my name is EJ, I’m with Maximum Ink Music Magazine and Maxinkradio, how are you doing today?
Stephen Perkins: I feel great man, it’s been a really good day,  I’ve got a 2 year old son, so I’ve spent the whole day with him, and now I’m on my way to rehearsal with the boys.

MI: What is the meaning behind the title The Great Escape Artist?
SP: It’s a personal thing like everybody, it really, with all the bullshit, no matter what year you look at, 2012 or 1812 there is always bullshit in the way of enjoying yourself. And what are we here for, I think we are here for art and sex. Let Jane’s Addiction be your art and sex, escape with us. Get away from everything else you’re fucking dealing with, put on this record, just like when we used to put on Sgt Peppers record, or I used to put on Physical Graffiti, which I still do and just get away from it all, let the music take you. Don’t let it do it 30 seconds at a time, go away for a half hour.

Soulfly

Max Cavalera is a name that is synonymous with metal music. Name basically any type of metal and Cavalera has not only done work in that type of metal, but perfected it. His music has transcended decades of an ever changing music industry, where it seems like what is deemed as metal changes each and every day. And here we are, in his third decade of being in the metal business, and Cavalera and Soulfly are about to release their heaviest metal ever. “Enslaved” is about all the crazy shit that has happened in our world in the past century. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue sat down with Max Cavalera to talk about Soulfly’s new record “Enslaved”, having his son tour South America with him, and what it was like having Dez Ferrara of Devildriver do some guest vocals on the record.

Maximum Ink: Tell me about your first single and the song you just released “World Scum.” When I first heard it, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s so dark and just musically raw but it’s weaved together so perfectly it works great.
Max Cavalera: It all started with a death metal riff that I wrote that and it’s really cool. It’s kind of a Possessed and Dark Angel kind of style which really grew into a great song with the lyrics that talk about the last hundred years. All the fucked up shit that’s happened in the world like Auschwitz and the gas chambers, J.F.K. getting shot and that conspiracy, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, assassination of Czar Alexander II, all of that. Then the last scene is the final battle between Jesus and the anti-Christ in Israel. It’s kind of a concept song about the history of the last hundred years, the Bloody Century as I call it in the song.

Human Aftertaste

Quad Cities’ HUMAN AFTERTASTE mixes punk rock, electro, costumes, skits, delightful vulgarity, and a canned meat one level below spam into a ridiculous rock n’ roll performance art party that is equal parts GWAR, Trailer Park Boys, and buttsex jokes. Marketed as a canned meat company with headquarters in Iowa and a motto of “eat our meat!”, they’ve been shock-rocking their way through the nation and happily offending all comers (they even have a webpage purely dedicated to hate mail.) We took some time to speak with their singer, proud NASCAR enthusiast, Count Jabula, to discuss their upcoming Madison CD Release Party at Inferno with Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies Burlesque Show on Friday, March 16th.

Maximum Ink: What inspired you to play in the first place?
Count Jabula: Myself. I just kept checkin’ my self out in the mirror like singing all them hit songs like “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, “Up All Night”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”. Ya know, the fuckin’ king daddy hits and I just looked good doing it. I’d just listen to my own voice for hours saying all sorts of shit and I just ended up crying one night because I figured I sound like an angel should sound. And that made me tear up and take the mic and never look back at the haters trying get into my draft.