Items filtered by date: November 2007

Charlie Sheen is infamous for having call girls ring his bell. But, it was a real shocker to have seen Scorpion's rocker, James Kottak, smooching a blonde bombshell that, sadly, turned into a blow up doll (which, he was surprised by as well!)
 
It was a planned and previously videotaped gag the Scorpions ran for fans during their show at Chicagoland's Rosemont Theatre. And, that wasn't the only surprise the 80's rockers had in their bag of tricks.
 
I was taken aback by the thought of the massive amount of money that must have been spent for the endlessly enthralling high-tech stage design and lights with the drummer's set erected at least 20 feet high. There were generously sized screens behind the band playing good-humored skits and footage of their audiences back in the 80s from their first to last song performed.
 
I didn't imagine the Scorpions would execute a clearly well rehearsed production, either. Given the mastered performers each of the members of the Scorpion's were, and with so much staged, even a person with ADHD was likely to stay engaged.
 
The nearly senior citizens actually had pep from start to finish, too, proving they wouldn't be needing any canes, walkers or hip replacements anytime soon. Nor did the 40-ish aged fans display any problems with memory since most of them sang all the lyrics, and correctly, when the lead singer, Klaus Meine, extended the microphone out above the crowd.
 
Plus, the frequent interaction the German rockers had with the audience and the power, control and hold they had over them would have made sicko, Hitler, proud.
 
The sound was loud and clear with vocals and instruments rocked absent of a single glitch. I see now why the Scorpions have been reported as The World's #1 German Rock Band (www.the-scorpions.com 2010.)
 
Furthermore, they played all their biggest hits from the 80s plus some songs from their new album "Sting In The Tail," which were like totally awesome! As a matter of fact, "Sting In The Tail" turned gold a couple of months ago (www.the-scorpions.com 2010.)
 
Also, there were a wide array of lit lighters held by fans that would have probably made me have many thoughts of darting for the fire escape route, if I would have seen anyone in the crowd with highly ratted, hairsprayed and flammable hairstyles.
 
Yet, I was still disappointed to not have gotten a peep of any male fans at least stuffed in spandex with their eyes painted like cats and raccoons. However, I saw a few frauleins suited in head-to-toe-all-black-leather and they had their manes feathered.
 
My 30-year-old, buddy, who went with me to see the band was expecting a show gobbed with "cheesiness." He cut the word out of his vocabulary when describing the Scorpions after they played their first few songs, though. And, while his eye lids were completely rolled back into their sockets he said "This is a really good concert!"

Something I hate to hear is that the Scorpions will be ending their 35-year-old career (www.the-scorpions.com 2010.)
 
However, you can still see the Scorpion's "Sting And Blackout World Tour," if you missed them perform in the U.S. in other continents or if you just have to get more! (www.the-scorpions.com 2010.)
 
Lastly, I want to give the Scorpions a big hand for providing a show that was nothing less than grand.

For those in need of a good dose of metal, the “Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival” held at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, hosted enough heavy, brain-crunching music to please even the most dedicated and hardcore of fans. Held on two stages, it was metal mayhem for nearly an entire day from openers New Medicine to its power-packed finish with Avenged Sevenfold and Chicago’s own, Disturbed.

The second stage, or the Jagermeister Stage, had bands New Medicine, Hail The Villain and Airbourne set the tone for the festival with HELLYEAH rounding out the action with a loud and furious set before sending fans to the Rockstar Main Stage.

Kicking things off on the main stage was Halestorm, followed by Stone Sour, featuring Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor. Packing in as much music as possible in their 45 minute set, Stone Sour opened with “Mission Statement” then went into an inspired performance of “Reborn” before squeezing in seven more songs and ending with their death blow, “30/30 – 150”.

As good as all the bands performed, it was Avenged Sevenfold that stole the show. Sharing the top billing with Disturbed, the tour opted to put the latter in the final slot, though either could be justified in handling the marquis finale spot – and that is not a knock on Disturbed, who also kicked major ass.

Avenged Sevenfold’s set began with a man falling to his death, noose around his neck, where he remained hanging front center stage throughout their opening track “Nightmare” from their newest album, which carries the same name. The band immediately kept the adrenalin pumping in the crowd as they went into a charged presentation of “Critical Acclaim” that had Sevenfold’s energetic singer M. Shadows leading the arena with repeated fists in the air and chants – a show of strong command as the eager fans followed his every direction in unison. Shadows, whose vocals were spot on, then acknowledge the newbies in the crowd with the apropos “Welcome to the Family” while guitarists Sinister Gates continued to blaze away, wowing the most snobby of guitar critics.

At some point in Sevenfold’s set, Shadows also made mention of the band’s former drummer, James Sullivan, otherwise known as “The Rev”, who had passed away last December of 2009. M. Shadows told the crowd how much he misses his best friend of eighteen years while a jumbo image of Sullivan appeared on the backdrop of the stage where it remained for the next few songs. Shadows later acknowledged, and thanked, drummer Mike Portnoy – an inspiration of Sullivan’s - for filling in and helping the band move forward. Avenged Sevenfold’s set also included “Afterlife” and “Unholy Confessions” before ending on a high note with “Almost Easy”. From beginning to end, the band gelled incredibly well with Zachy Vengeance accompanying Gates with intricate guitar harmonies and bassist Johnny Christ and Portnoy providing a thunderous rhythm section, infusing each song with that precise punch that Sevenfold is known for. Once again, Avenged Sevenfold has proven that their live show just keeps getting better and better.

By the time Disturbed took to the stage, the fans were already more than satisfied with what the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival had to offer, just making the finale performance that much more enjoyable. Opening with “Voices”, frontman David Draiman led the charge of heavily-driven songs amidst a startling light show and pyrotechnics. The band went on to play such songs as “Meaning of Life”, Stricken”, “Fire”, their Genesis cover, “Land of Confusion”, along with a few songs from the new release, Asylum, and finally closed out with the hard-hitting “Down with the Sickness”, making it a very memorable homecoming.

*Avenged Sevonfold pictured (top) and Disturbed 

8/20/2010 at the Metro

The last night of what seems to have been a bit of a bonding tour, Kevin Read from the Freelance Whales got up crowd interaction (lyrics and timing for a sing a long participation) with The Arkells, and played along with Tokyo Police Club, and then Greg Alsop of Tokyo Police Club came and played drums with Freelance Whales, you could feel the bond of the bands.

Freelance Whales hit the stage and I’m delighted with how many seem to know them. They seem to have gathered a following during the Lolla visit, just so you know they will actually be back late November/early December. They also recorded some songs with Marty Lennartz, who is the host of The Big Beat on WXRT 93.1 fm, Mondays at 10 p.m., this Monday 8/23 they will be on the program, if you don’t know them you should become familiar before they come back for their headlining tour. They are a group of multitalented, multi-instrumentalists, which keep the variety going on stage as they play a game of music instrument duck goose. They hit all the sweet notes (erratic, eccentric, irrelevant as they seem) but you don’t even realize all the effort that is required to make such a tranquil harmony of noises, cause really they make it look easy. They played most of ‘Weathervanes’, a highlight of the set included them being joined on stage by Greg Aslop , and adding even more to ‘generator ^2nd floor’. Really who am I kidding though, the way they are able to experiment even more with the songs as they wander, but wander together as a band, and keep the sound’s going that take you on a unique experience with them.

Tokyo Police Club enters the dark stage area, to an under current that resounds for the length of their stage time. They seem to ride this electricity for the performance, they even have a light show with them, and I think they have actually figured out mind control through keyboards, that’s just my guess though. They made people that had not moved for the entire show bob their heads, or people that were unfamiliar with the music feel familiar with it. They seem to have crowd interaction down to a science as they keep the crowd singing, clapping, and swaying the whole show and into the 2 song encore that ended this U.S. tour with a Weezer cover and ‘Your English is Good’.

Overall I would have to give this show an outstanding rating. When I arrived pre-doors at 7:45 the reader board said there was still tickets available, but watching the crowd fill in by band I would say that it was a sold out show by the time Tokyo Police Club was setting up for the performance. It was nice to experience such a harmonizing show.

Eyes Set to Kill is a band that follow their name. The fierce and intimidating looks from vocalist Alexia Rodriguez are like she’s ready to take your soul. Alexia and male vocalist Cisko Miranda bring a co-op presence to the stage similar to that of Joe Perry and Steven Tyler. They play off of each other’s presence well. Through the loss of their former vocalist Brandon Anderson, Cisko Miranda does an amazing job at stepping in and grabbing the crowd’s balls and placing them in a vice; and the crowd loves it!



Alexia and bassist Anissa Rodriguez were recently nominated as one of *Revolver* magazine’s Hottest Chicks in Metal. The band has gone through a lot of hardships and they express it beautifully. Their latest album *Broken Frames* emphasizes the hard times of life through a heavy and melodic emotion. Band members Cisko, Anissa, Alexia and drummer Caleb Clifton were able to take some time off of their extremely busy schedule of Warped Tour to discuss life, inspirations and the future of females in the metal music industry.



Buzz: Welcome to Chicago! Ladies, I have to ask you what it felt like to be nominated as one of the hottest chicks in metal.



Alexia: It was really exciting and it was fun for all of us because we got to go to their Golden God awards and hang out.



Cisko: It was actually really cool because anyone in rock royalty was there; like Dave Grohl.



Buzz: That’s the hard part of the job right? [band laughs]



Anissa: Even the first Freddy Krueger was there.



Buzz: Robert Englund?



Anissa: Yeah.



Buzz: That guy is one of my heroes. [band laughs]



Cisko: Marilyn Manson, (and) Zombie was there. It was nuts! A dream come true!



Buzz: That’s cool that you guys were able to be in the same room with musicians that give you inspiration to play. What were the inspirations for your latest record, *Broken Frames*?



Alexia: For *Broken Frames* I just wrote a bunch of memories that were on my mind that I can’t forget; just stuff that I kind of regret. That was the concept. It started out with a relationship that I kind of regret and after I wrote the song “Broken Frames,” every song just started being about different things in my past that I want to forget but can’t. So I figured that I might as well write about it and hope people can relate to it.



Buzz: How did the lyrics push you as musicians, and how were you able to match the lyrics musically?



Alexia: We don’t usually write to match the music with the lyrics. Sometimes we write the lyrics first and then the music. If it’s going to be a sad song, there’s a song called “Ryan” that [Anissa] wrote on the piano. I first heard it and knew it was going to be a sad song, and it reminded me of a friend of mine who died. For certain songs, we can do that. We can match the themes with the music, but for the other songs, they’re mainly heavy and I just write what I am feeling.



Buzz: How did producer Andrew Wade push you guys to really match the music and emotion on this album, while pushing you to become better musicians?



Alexia: For me, he helped me by having sing an octave higher, which I didn’t know I could do. He pushed me to sing all of my melodies an octave higher,which allows the song to sound more emotional sounding and more fun to sing on stage.



Caleb: I went in there knowing that he was just going to be the man. He helped me by knowing that I need to be a smart drummer not just a drummer who is trying to make the fastest fills or crazy double bass the whole time. I pretty much just stuck to the roots. Just did some simple stuff.



Buzz: So he made you focus on making the mastering the simple stuff rather than make the fast stuff sloppy?



Caleb: Exactly.



Buzz: How about you Anissa?



Anissa: Sometimes I would rush making a bass line. He told to take my time and not rush it. I was able to go into the other room and take my time with figuring out a bass line and then it would always work out.



Cisko: I didn’t record the album.



Buzz: So what’s it like being on tour as the screamer and how has being the screamer of lyrics that have already been written, changed your persona as a musician?



Cisko: It’s actually helped me grow. Before this I was in a band and I did mostly singing. There was some screaming. I get to play them live, which is just as important as the lyrics being recorded. Mainly because kids go out to shows to see and hear what is on the album.



Buzz: Who were the musicians that you heard on an album that made you want to do this for a living?



Caleb: Travis Barker.



Anissa: I think for all of us Blink 182 was an influence to start a band. I would also say Thrice.



Alexia: I used to want to start a band of a Blink 182 female band. Me and my friend used to call each other Mark and Tom because we were nerdy like that. Our music is a lot different now, though. [band laughs]



Cisko: Vocal-wise for me, Schuylar from the band He is Legend has always been an inspiration. Brandon Boyd growing up has always been an inspiration.



Buzz: It’s cool to hear that you guys have a common thread of music. What do you think the future will look like for females in metal music?



Caleb: I don’t know. There are a lot of bands out there that have women in them that do metal, like Lacuna Coil. But, we’re kind of from a different realm of metal and hopefully we can bring something new to the table, and possibly bring a new item that the whole world would want to see. So far, all of our fans go up to us and tell us that we are different. I don’t think we are that different. We’re just doing screamo metal stuff. But it’s always cool to hear that, so, maybe we a little different. [band laughs]



Cisko: I was going to say that hopefully we contribute to the many bands that have females in them, and hopefully we have helped opened doors for them. Hopefully we have helped and don’t have people that look at us as a joke and view us as a band that brings more of variety to that genre of music.



Anissa: I was talking to a guy the other day and he was saying that it doesn’t matter if the girl is talented in the band, it only matters if she is hot and then she will make it big.



Buzz: Did you slug him?



Anissa: No, I didn’t. But I should have! [band laughs] I don’t know why he said that to me. I think the future will look at women and know they can play and that it’s not about their looks or how hot they are. I really think they will see that it’s about talent and not about their fashion or looks.



Buzz: I read a recent interview that states how you guys are always trying to become musicians. If you keep trying to improve and become better musicians, then at what point will you be satisfied with your musicianship and your music career?



Cisko: I think that once the music keeps growing then the people in the band will always be growing because that is what it’s all about. You’re growing. So no matter what you are thinking … everything else will grow with it. There is always going to be a growth.



Caleb: I will probably never think that I am good enough.  Even if I am 10 times better in 10 years, I will still think I am not good enough.

*All photos by Carl Burke

Flatfoot 56 is an Irish punk band that hails from Chicago’s Irish south side. Their live show message is simple: Forget your pain and live like you haven’t lived before. They base their music on Gaelic folk songs and encourage the audience to release all of their negative energy at the door. Their fans are loyal and their sense of modesty always instilled. They’re extremely proud Chicagoans and never afraid to show that pride. Flatfoot 56 was able to take some time out of their busy Warped Tour schedule to have a chat about their videos, Irish heritage and Chicago.


Buzz: I first heard of your music from MTV 2. Where was that video shot for the song “Brotherhood”?

Tobin Bawinkel: That video was shot in a pub in Orland Park called Sam McGuire’s. It’s an Irish Pub that was built on the south side, built by Irish craftsman who came over. The place has a whole history. We shot that video the year that the Bears were headed toward the Super Bowl. It would have been the Sunday after they lost. We booked it and tons of kids came in and destroyed the place for the afternoon. It was awesome.

Buzz: What is the one thing that you miss most from Chicago every time you go on tour?

Brandon Good: The food. There’s so much to eat and it’s all good. The cultural differences in this city are extremely diverse. You can go anywhere and get great Italian, Chinese, Mexican or whatever.

Tobin: We are big fan’s of the Nicky’s pizza puff—it’s on Menard and Archer. It’s deep fried, it’s huge; definitely check it out.

Buzz: To go along with your diverse enjoyment of food, what was the main reason to take punk and hardcore music and blend them with the influences of Irish Gaelic music?

Tobin: We originally started out as a three-piece punk band, and, with the intention of wanting to be different, we had a friend who played bag pipes. We then decided to show the pipes in a song. He then came up to us and told us that he played guitar. We then decided that he could play bagpipes whenever he wanted and play the guitar on the other songs. Then throughout time we just got more and more influenced by bands that were playing at the pubs. Bands like the Chieftans, the Dubliners and others that we got into. We then got really into the street punk scene of Chicago. That kind of influenced everything.


Buzz: Gentlemen, let’s talk about your new album. I’ve read interviews that say your album is mainly about going through rough times. Why did you decide to write about hard times?

Kyle Bawinkel: Because we’re in a band. [Band chuckles]


Tobin: We are on tour with the Street Dogs when the recession hit. There was a lot of inspiration on that tour … opened up our eyes. … A lot of the lyrics were written as we started feeling a lot of struggles, and other stress from other things. … We all go through tough times and that is the history of Celtic music in general. All of it was written on a trial and that is the strength of it and where the Irish Celtic music comes from. I think it’s a resounding theme that everybody can appreciate. Right now, seems to be hard times all over the place. It definitely feels good to be putting something out that just being positive and working through what you are going through.

Buzz: That’s the kind of attitude you guys try to promote at your shows right?

Tobin: Exactly.

Buzz: No matter how bad life may be, you want people to come to your show and let it all out and have the time of your life. My last question for you guys is about something I saw on your website that states: “When you have a reason to sing, you sing louder.” What is your reason for singing?

Tobin: I think each of us individually has different things and reasons. I think that as a band, we are big fans of being grateful for the talents God gives us with the intention that we are here to make music that matters. We are the kind of guys that were raised on music that matters. And I think that encouraging people and challenging people to think outside the box, and move away from what TV tells you to do. Live a life that is yours and not something that is a stamp of the outside world. Our faith has a lot to do with where we all stand. But in the same time, there’s people that aren’t of the same faith and believe in the same stuff. We’ve had people say to us, “I don’t understand how you guys can believe what you believe and still be encouraging to me.” We kind of look at them and say, “Maybe you should think about it.” We feel like we’ve been given talents and gifts to play and do what we do, and people appreciate it. If people are willing to like it, then we are willing to do it with our whole heart, and we are good at it, too. There’s a reason it’s there, it was put there for a reason. We’re here to have a good time and show some appreciation to the kids.

*Photos by Carl Burke

This year’s Warped Tour brought variety, fandemonium and all of the teen-age angst that one could shake a stick at.  This year’s festival brought a variety of acts such as Andrew W.K., Reel Big Fish and pop sensation Michael Posner.  All of the acts held meet n’ greets and did whatever it took to get your money, and for good reason: most of the bands don’t get paid much money.  In fact, most of the bands on the Warped Tour literally only make money from selling merchandise and CD’s. The tour started June 25th in California and will end August 15 at the Washington Fairgrounds in Hillsboro Oregon.  With the bands almost practically playing a new show in a new city just about every day, this tour is known for being grueling and rewarding.  Along with playing their shows and holding their meet n’ greets, all of the bands are more than willing to hold interviews with the press to expose who they are and what their music is about.  I was able to get a few minutes with Andrew W.K. and Adam (formerly of Lucky Boy’s Confusion) from AM Taxi to discuss their comfortability and inspirations of creating music.

While I was waiting for my interview with AM Taxi, Andrew W.K. walked into the pressroom read my name off of the sheet of interviews and sat down for a quick interview about the blending of musical styles and his preference of playing the piano over other instruments.



Andrew W.K. walks into the pressroom wearing black Adidas pants, his own tank top that reads “party hard”, a black trucker hat and a pair of black sunglasses.  He is extremely proud of who he is and wants everyone in the
world to feel as good about themselves as he feels about himself.  He talks to everyone with extreme enthusiasm and makes you feel that you are most important person on the Earth.



Buzz:  You’ve been known for blending lots of music styles together.



Andrew W.K.:  Not jazz yet.  I haven’t gone into that realm as much.  There’s a lot of World Music that I haven’t been as familiar with.  There’s certain genres of rock, such as rock-a-billy or psycho-billy that are areas that I haven’t ventured.  But as straightforward rock n’ roll goes, I try to make it as exciting as I can and use whatever I can to get to that place.



Buzz:  What makes you want to use as much music knowledge as possible in each song of yours?



Andrew W.K.:  I never really thought of it that way.  I sit down at a piano and just start playing chords until they sound exciting and then I try to use whatever instrument I can to amplify that excitement on the recording.  I admire people who listen to different songs or different styles and want to make it a combination of those.  I always just thought, “What’s the most exciting guitar sound to me?”  For me, it’s just a very loud and over-distorted guitar.  What’s the most exciting keyboard sound?  Just a very loud piano/organ combination.  What other instrument combinations add the excitement?  For example, if you are watching a movie and you hear that orchestra kick, there’s power in those sounds.  That’s why I want to use them, because they work.  Whatever sound works is what I am interested in.




Buzz:  What is it about the sound of a piano that specifically interests you and why does the piano seem to calm you down the most out of any instrument?



Andrew W.K.:  It’s simply because that was the first instrument I ever learned.  So similar to your mom and being the first woman you ever see and you have that special bond with her.  Your dad is most likely the first man you see and the first man you ever likely got to be friends with, so you have this feeling for him.  Piano was the first instrument I ever learned.  Four and a half years old, I started taking lessons with my parents’ help and support.  It’s similar to that first book you remember hearing, like *Good Night Moon.  * You’ll always have a soft spot for the first thing that turned you onto that new venture.



Buzz: When do you hit that new venture with a song and say to yourself: “I want to place this song on my next album?”



Andre W.K.:  I am not sure I look at it that way, I think the song more or less tells you that it’s ready to heard by other people.  Most of my recording experience has been relatively solitary.  Of course you try to trust their judgment, as well as your own as to whether or not other people around the world should have the chance to listen to it or not.  At some point, I think the song tells you and it’s just a no-brainer.  It’s really not up to you.  It’s really clear that the song is meant to be heard.



The interview with Andrew W.K. closes as we are politely interrupted about time being finished from his touring manager.  Andrew W.K. is in high demand and is more than willing to take the time to talk to anybody and everybody. As Andrew W.K. starts another interview, I am aimed towards a quiet gentleman who is standing in the corner texting on his phone.  One can tell that Adam from AM Taxi is tired and exhausted.  He is a musician who has great passion and allows his music to do the talking for him.  He can easily be missed if you don’t know who he is or what he looks like.  I was able to interview Adam with five minutes left of AM Taxi’s interviewing time.



Buzz:  How has the tour been for you guys?



Adam:  It’s been great man.  We’re about two thirds of the way done with this thing.  About three quarters actually.  It’s been long and well worth it, a lot of fun.



Buzz:  What’s it like coming to your home city?

Adam:  It’s a little overwhelming to do the hometown stop.  It’s a lot of fun and always good to run into familiar faces.



Buzz:  On your band’s website, you say: “if it’s not broken, break it.”  What made you guys want to break your style of songwriting for the album “*We Don’t Stand a Choice”?*



Adam:  The method behind that is there are a lot of different ways of doing something.  Sometimes the first initial way of doing it isn’t always the best. I think it’s good for people to be open-minded and try things from different angles before making a decision. We could do it one way and that would be the obvious choice. We try different methods to find the smartest way of doing things.



Buzz:  So then do you guys always write collaboratively?



Adam:  Well, I write all of the lyrics, melodies and chords.  When it’s time to arrange them, the whole band comes in and puts in their two cents.



Buzz: Who were your influences behind this record and how did the writing process for this record differ than that of writing a song with Lucky Boys of Confusion?



Adam:  Not much has changed from the influence side.  I have always loved The Clash and The Replacements.  I wasn’t collaboratively working with anybody else, so it was 100% of what I was bringing.  We specifically try not to latch to any trends.  The influences are older, everything from Little Richard, to The Ramones or Weezer; bands that we would consider to be classics.



Buzz:  What was your main decision to make classic record rather than a current record or a record that uses trends?



Adam:  We look at it as though we are trying to do this for a while.  Anytime you try to jump on something that happens immediately, seems to go away.   What you are doing seems to be irrelevant.  Doing something like this, seems to be that people can pick it up five years from now and still get into and not sound like a record that came out in 2010.



Buzz:  That’s a smart and interesting way of looking at it.  What makes you decide that a record should be classic?

*photos from top (by Carl Burke)

The crowd at Warped Chicago

Andrew W.K.

Adam of AM Taxi

Chicago Writer John Kramer interviews Chicago Comedian Shelly Gossman about Second City and her

SNL audition.

Shelly has recently become a Saturday Night Live Writer. Congratulations!

A BuzznewsTV Comedy Review Special Feature Presentation!

Special thanks to John Kramer!

See more of John HERE!

Click here for a total list of SNL Writers over 36 Seasons so far!

Enjoy!

August Comedy

Feature!

This August in Comedy on BuzznewsTV!

Featuring the works of Film Maker/Writer

JOHN KRAMER

Chicagoland Producer

John Kramer has a long-standing comedy career in Chicagoland receiving notoriety on CNN, FOX CHICAGO SUNDAY, The New York Times, and has even worked alongside comedy stars Jim Belushi, Chris Farley, and Tina Fey to name a few. 

John Kramer produces a variety of comedic material.

You can also see some comedy animations by John in a Buzz Cartoon & Animation search at the top of the page.

Enjoy. Stay tuned for another great episode next week.

Also Featuring

THE SONG A WEEK PROJECT

with

Matt Griffo & Andy Gailor

Enjoy!

Stay Tuned. More to Come.

Click HERE for more BuzznewsTV!

We all have certain memory triggers that have the power to invoke our past. For me, music has always been my greatest trigger- even allowing me to transcend time and revisit yesteryear.

Authority Zero came to town for a gig at the Cubby Bear to promote their new album, Stories of Survival. The ticket included performances from The Frantic, Lionize and Whole Wheat Bread. Each band brought something unique to the stage and on a whole delivered something spectacular.

I have to confess hearing Authority Zero was coming to town made me feel stoked and sentimental. Despite the passage of time, the band has been able to stay true to their original sound and reminded me why I fell in love with their music in the first place.

Here's my backstory with the band... My love affair with their music began during my first year at the University of Arizona. The boys from Mesa were asked to be an opening act for the annual Welcome/ Welcome Back show for the students.  My roommate and I, neither originally from Arizona, had never heard of Authority Zero before that night but quickly fell in love with their brand of reggae fused skater/pop punk. Their charisma was electric and surged through the audience in a way most bands will never experience. Thanks to the mellow sounds of a dub guitar, infectious choruses and the uniquely haunting vocals of lead singer Jason DeVore, Authority Zero stole the show and walked away with a new legion of fans. The boys were always gracious and indulged their fans with kind words, autographs and pictures. Their music a captivating live performances proved to be a major bonding point for my roommate and I (so much so we went to all of their local shows and in store appearances at Zia Records).

For close to two decades, Authority Zero has been creating Latin and reggae infused skate punk music that has helped solidify a strong following while insuring survival through the rocky tides of the skater/pop punk genre. With heavy influence from bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise, and Sublime, Authority Zero is able to deliver tracks that are both mosh and sway worthy. In the post millennium, many would argue the punk scene has become diluted and, for lack of a better word, stagnant. However, Authority Zero continues to shine thanks to their talent, passion and willingness to incorporate many different genres to create their sound.

Thanks to a spellbinding performance, I was able to revisit my college glory days and be reminded why Authority Zero is one the best live bands around.

Suggested sampling of Authority Zero's music:

1). Over Seasons

2). One More Minute

3). Revolution

4). A Passage in Time

5). Super Bitch

7). The Remedy

8) Brick in the Wave

9). 12:34

10). Mexican Radio

The sky down poured all night long and into the morning leading up to the show. Skittish people afraid they would melt started to proclaim that the out door party would be cancelled. As luck would have it for the second year in a row the sky cleared up and the sun peaked out. The ground started to dry up and mother nature allowed Woods Bash 2010 to go on as planned. Big Randy put together a great show as always. The entertainment consisted of four incredible bands that played throughout the day. This was a true party!!

First band up was the new group out of the O’Hare area of Chicago called Ballistic. This group warmed up the place in style. Performing mostly cover songs from the classic rock genre, the band played their set of songs to wake the crowd up, and that is exactly what they did. The songs “Crossroads” and “Sunshine of Your Love” were definite highlights for the lunchtime crowd. The crunchy guitars, sweet vocals, and in sync rhythm section was a great start to the party. They finished up with an original song called “Red Ducati” that was the best performance of their set and it blended into an extra long jam of Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” They were fun.

Rhino 39 took the second spot with a vengeance. This group was a solid head bangers band every step of the way. Performing a song from Metallica seemed to be an easy task for such a rock solid band. The bass player and drummer paved the road for the rest of the group to follow. The grooves were deep and heavy old school metal. They brought out a Drowning Pool song with a little count off, getting the crowd to be involved with the show. “One, Nothing wrong with me – Two, Nothing wrong with me.” As the opening line “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” started the song, concert goers were carrying a devilish grin. Once Rhino started in with Pantera’s “Walk” most heavy metal enthusiasts couldn’t contain themselves any longer.

Rising Up Angry out of Florida had some issues and showed up late so their set was cut short. This highly professional band came in and performed a short set blowing the woods apart. Louder than the previous two bands, this group was over powering the vocalist and PA on every move. They band was so powerful and was just amazing. What bleed through on the vocals was incredible as well, but could barely be heard. They were just a high energy band; they were super tight and never made a mistake musically. It would be suggested to see this band in a setting with a PA that can keep up with their enormous sound levels. It might be nice to actually hear them with vocals. Oh yeah, they were that loud!

The AC~DC tribute band Problem Child was undoubtedly the best band of Woods Bash 2010 and had the most seasoned musicians of the party. This group came in sounding just like the group from down under with all the power and the show of the heavy rocking band. The boys jammed a bunch of the old classics from this band and a few of the “B Side” songs as well. They played the songs “T.N.T.,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and “Sin City” imitating one of the most popular bands in the world. The guitar player came out dressed like Angus Young playing solos note for note just like the master. The vocalist did a great job of putting on a show when he climbed on the roof of the pavilion. Problem Child was definitely as close as you could possibly get to being AC~DC without actually being the real McCoy. They were just awesome and definitely the main event!!