Interview With Ed Roman 2016

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Ed Roman is an Award-winning singer/songwriter, performer and multi-instrumentalist from Shelburne, Ontario, Canada. Blurring the lines between pop, rock, folk, reggae and country music genres, Ed’s uniquely crafted songs have received regular rotation on more than 100 AM/FM stations across North America and more than 400 stations, worldwide.

Ed is a 2014 Artists Music Guild Award Nominee, a 2014 International Music and Entertainment Association Award Winner, a two-time 2015 IMEA Award nominee, a Josie Show Awards nominee, an Akademia Awards Winner, and a twotime Indie Music Channel Award winner.

Ed has performed at the Red Gorilla Music Fest during SXSW, The Millennium Music Conference, and SS Cape May, and he has toured both New York City and Philly. In 2015, this Top 100 MTV.com and #1 Reverbnation artist traveled to Jamaica to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the island, while shooting the music video for “Jamaica.”

Ed is also a Heart Songs for Veterans artist, donating money to help veterans with his single and Top 10 Yallwire.com video, “Lay One Down.” His last album, Letters From High (an homage to his Ontario home) was a critically-acclaimed vehicle for Ed’s sociopolitical, earthly-conscious and globally-aware messages.

Now, Ed has returned with a brand new album, Red Omen, produced with renowned producer, Michael Jack. The album, featuring the first single and video, “I Am Love,” is out June 7, 2016.

All songs written by: Ed Roman. Copyright 2016
Produced by Michael Jack and Ed Roman for Down Roscoe Productions.
Recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Michael Jack.
Recorded at Area 51 Studios.
Edited, mixed and mastered at The Radio Room.
“I Wanna Be Free” recorded at Phase One Studios.
Featuring:
Ed Roman: lead and backing vocals, electric & acoustic bass, electric & acoustic guitars, Hammond
organ, accordion, drums, percussion.
Antony Cook: drums and percussion.
Chris Taggart: electric guitars, backing vocals.

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Interview With Roy Cathey Of THE FIFTH 2016

 

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The Mid Atlantic region’s best kept secret, The Fifth,has unleashed their first new music in over seven years today with “No Going Home,”
the lead single from their upcoming, as yet untitled Ep.

Regarding the single, singer Roy Cathey says,
“This song is a departure from anything we have released before.
It has a very organic sound like Sabbath or Zeppelin – gritty, raw and a bit bluesy,
” while guitarist, Icky Jim comments on the video itself: “We were very fortunate to
get Justin Reich (Five Finger Death Punch, Ace Frehley & Paul Stanley, Black Label Society)
for the video. He actually took a short break from working with Shinedown to do us.
Justin’s a laid back, cool dude – so easy to work with. And he did an amazing job on the video.
We couldn’t be happier.”

The quintet, who blasted out of the eastern North Carolina area in 2001, releasing three
albums and an Ep along the way and hitting radio hard with their hit single, “The Gift” as well as
storming Japan in 2009 have laid low since coming back from that tour. Cathey explains, “The past
few years we have had some member changes looking for the right combination of players
and personalities. We feel like we have the right group of people in the band to take this to the next
level now. I couldn’t be more excited.”

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Interview With Scott Leach Of CRYSTAL BALL 2016

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Hardly a year after the release of their highly successful album LifeRider, CRYSTAL BALL presents their 9th record: Déjà-Voodoo! (Release 02.09.2016). This fall, CRYSTAL BALL will be on tour with Shakra through Switzerland and Germany.

Prehistory
The band started in 1995 as a cover band ( Cherry Pie ). These years of stage experiences became the foundation of CRYSTAL BALL, under whose banner the band became one of Europe´s major forces in the hard rock genre. With In The Beginning CRYSTAL BALL started their crusade in 1999. The first album was very successful, but topped with ease from the follow-up Hard Impact, hailed as Album Of The Months in several magazines. Immediately tour plans came up, realised by supporting Pretty Maids and Gotthard. Nobody was able to hide from CRYSTAL BALL anymore. The result: a new record contract with Nuclear Blast.

Virtual Empire CRYSTAL BALL showed up more varied but still traditional and melodic in 2002. The band massively toured Europe, together first with Dokken and then with U.D.O., Doro and Krokus. In 2003 the fourth album HELLvetia, produced by former U.D.O./ Accept member Stefan Kaufmann, became a more edgy effort and increased the success of CRYSTAL BALL enormously. Successful tours with Axxis, Pink Cream 69 and Krokus saw CRYSTAL BALL increase their fan base following again.Timewalker delivered great catchy songs, full of freshness and power to the fans. Once again produced by Kaufmann the album displayed the exceptional class of CRYSTAL BALL. The band´s very first headliner tour with then-labelmates Thunderstone followed the release in 2005. In 2007 CRYSTAL BALL inked a new record deal with AFM Records. Secrets was their sixth album, a great piece of Hard Rock, produced by Michael Bormann.

2013 CRYSTAL BALL came back stronger than ever, with the album Dawnbreaker! The original members Scott Leach and Marcel Sardella reformed CRYSTAL BALL with fresh blood and a great new frontman, Steven Mageney from Wuppertal, Germany. Steven is an experienced singer and the perfect match for the new CRYSTAL BALL sound. The band signed a new record deal with Massacre –Records. After the release of Dawnbreaker the band played 40 shows in six countries. Their successful tours with Krokus and The Poodles made it clear for all the show attendants: The Balls are back … for good!

Just one and a half years later CRYSTAL BALL strikes again with LifeRider (2015). The album received very positive reviews all over the world and was titled as the best Crystal Ball album so far from fans and journalists. With LifeRider CRYSTAL BALL manages the balancing act between classical hard rock and modern metal. The guest appearance of Battle Beast singer Noor Louhimo (duet Eye to Eye) tops off the excellent production by Stefan Kaufmann. Tony T.C. Castell (ex-Krokus) joins the band and replaces Markus Flury. Successful shows as support for the Scorpions or Thunder followed. Also a collaboration with musicians of the Sinphony Orchestra Wuppertal who joined Crystal Ball live on stage.

Steven Mageney – Vocals

Scott Leach – Guitars

Tony T.C. Castell – Guitars

Cris Stone – Bass

Marcel Sardella – Drums

 

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Interview With Matthew Whiteman Of Red Tide Rising 2016

Voices coverart

Matthew Whiteman – Lead vocals
Andrew Whiteman – Guitars
Michael LeBois – Bass
Matt Guerin – Drums

 

Colorado quartet Red Tide Rising have a point to prove and with their latest
release, Voices, it comes across loud and clear. Tired of being the bridesmaid, the
band has decided that all attention needs to be directed towards themselves and
delivering a five song piece de resistance as a whole, rather than only trying to
focus on “hits.”

 

While the quartet’s last release, the Billboard charting ’The Rising,’ broke new
ground for the band, it’s the bonecrushing ugliness of the real world that comes to
light on Voices and takes the band to a whole new level. “Voices consists of the
best music we have created as a band,” says frontman Matthew Whiteman, an air of
certainty about him. “We did so many different things in the studio that altered the
RTR sound this time around. One of them was the vocal effects. We were able to
capture a very heavy machine like vocal tone that adds another layer to the sound.”

Voices is fueled by rage, the realities of life and the ugliness of the world we
live in. Opening track, “Writing on the Wall” is about making sure you don’t allow
yourself to be held down by your past. “You’re Nothing” is dedicated to the asshole
who repeatedly tells you how great his life is, all the while living a complete
facade. With “Suffocate” lead vocalist, Matthew Whiteman touches on the different
types of addiction we all carry with us through life, whether they come from the
pursuit of material possessions, giving into to drug culture or whatever one may be
attached to. “Sound of the Voices Screaming” gives an audience the power to rise as
one, while the Ep’s closer, “New Breed” instructs the band’s fans to distance
themselves from people who claim to have their best interests at heart while leading
them down a road that will eventually lead them to a life of peril. A call to arms
for people to stand up for themselves.

 

Red Tide Rising has been a professional working band for eight long years now. Take
into account that lead vocalist and resident protagonist Matthew Whiteman is all of
21 years old and his cohorts aren’t much older – we will let you do the math on
where they all were in life when this band took shape.

Produced & co-written by Drowning Pool drummer Mike Luce (with the exception of
“You’re Nothing” which was co-written with Luce and Ill Nino guitarist Ahrue
Luster), the Denver quartet had formed a kinship with Luce in the winter of 2014
when they slugged it out across the United States on a six week tour that took them
coast to coast. “Aside from our run with In This Moment a little while back, our
first taste at unrelenting touring was with Drowning Pool,” relates guitarist,
Andrew Whiteman. “We shared the bus and formed some of the best friendships out on
the road. To this day I am actually still a tech for them. It’s because of that run
and that friendship, that Luce decided he wanted to produce Voices.”

Working with engineer Jeff Kanan (Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Jeff Lorber) at The Keep
Studio in Denver, Voices is unrelenting in its brutality, and yet, polished and
commercially accessible at the same time. “I was so excited to go into studio with
Jeff again!” exclaims Andrew. “He is a total pro behind the board, but more
importantly he is very easy to work with. The studio can be stressful, but working
with him, especially on this project, made recording one of the easiest and most
creative processes I have experienced. The songs speak for themselves, they came out
perfect.”

 

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Interview With Michael Sweet Of Stryper 2016

Michael Sweet

bandphoto

 

When you’ve fronted one of the most trailblazing groups of the MTV generation, written a stable of
Billboard charting singles, filled arenas all the world over, said goodbye at the peak of it all, took
stock in a thriving solo career, got the band back together for yet another record breaking run and
even took a stint co-leading one of the most legendary classic rock acts ever, then you undoubtedly
have a story to share. But there’s still much more to.

 

Michael Sweet than selling over eight million
albums in Stryper or singing and guitar slinging for Boston, including an equally riveting behind the
scenes story packed to the brim with triumph, heartbreak and redemption that’s finally being told
with unvarnished candor through not only the musical means of the solo CD I’m Not Your Suicide,
but also the immensely anticipated autobiography Honestly (both hitting streets May 6 on Big3
Records).

 

 

 

“The album is the story of the book and the book is the story of the album,” says the Grammy
nominee and Dove Award winner. “It makes a powerful statement to have them both come out at the
same time, especially since both have played such an important role in the full circle journey I’ve
taken as of late.”

 

 

Musically speaking, Sweet is coming off yet another creative high in the Stryper camp thanks to its
2013’s return to form record No More Hell To Pay. Besides making an instantaneous Top 40 debut
on the Billboard 200, it landed at #2 on the Top Christian Albums charts, #3 on Top Hard Rock
Albums and #6 on Top Rock Albums. It’s certainly a testament to the band’s perseverance, whetting
the public’s appetite all the more for Sweet’s I’m Not Your Suicide, which may technically be the
follow-up to 2007’s individual offering Touched, but is actually the singer/songwriter’s first full-
length original album since 2000’s Truth.

 

 

“I think sometimes my different musical influences come out in Stryper, but to a much larger degree,
they come out in my solo career,” observes Sweet. “We’ve established a certain style and sound
people expect to hear and that’s what we want to play and give. Putting a steel guitar or a country
vibe onto a Stryper record probably wouldn’t fit, but my solo albums give me an opportunity to do
just that.

 

My self-titled album was arena rock, Real was acoustic rock, Truth was super electric, then
Touched was a vocal and symphonic piano album. I’m Not Your Suicide is more in line with Truth,
but there’s really something for everyone, from the edgier side you might hear in Stryper, to the
lighter side of a piano ballad.”

 

 

In other words, get ready to rock out to “Anybody Else,” which benefits from the muscular
accompaniment of Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich and Fozzy front man/World Wrestling
Entertainment superstar Chris Jericho as it primes itself to be the latest in Sweet’s canon of classics.
There’s also the Beatles-esque contagiousness of “This Time,” featuring unmistakable harmonies
from Kevin Max (of dc talk and Audio Adrenaline fame), alongside a rock n’ country cover of Neil
Young’s “Heart Of Gold,” which plays out as an endearing duet between Sweet and Electra Mustaine
(daughter of Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and a burgeoning country artist in her own right).

 

 

Lyrically, there’s also plenty of potency across I’m Not Your Suicide, which is anchored in the title
track co-written with Blair Daly (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sixx:A.M., Rascal Flatts). The affirming anthem
chronicles Sweet’s frequent encounters with childhood bullying and even criticism later in life as
Stryper was caught between the seemingly divergent worlds of mainstream heavy metal and the
Christian faith.

 

 

“The title is about multiple subjects tied together, basically going out to anyone who’s been bullied or
abused in any sense and serving as a rallying point for not letting someone or a group of people beat
you down or take away your value,” he relates. “By being strong, looking at the big picture in the
future and moving forward, you’re not their suicide. Musically and lyrically, this project is a
soundtrack to rise above your circumstances.”

 

 

It’s especially fitting to find the intensely personal nature of these musical expressions
supplementing the vastly thorough and revealing subject matter of the book Honestly, titled ever so
poignantly after the chart-topping Stryper song of the same name. Not only does Sweet delve further
into his rarely discussed youth, but offers a full array of rock n’ roll antidotes, plus several surprises
from his family and faith journeys.

 

 

“The book has literally everything in it, starting from the time I was born, loving music, being a brat
kid pranking my brother, my dad talking him into letting me join his band and even getting arrested
multiple times as a kid,” unearths Sweet. “Fast forward to Stryper, and I get into the good and the
bad, the fame and the misuse of finances. I go into why I left, why I didn’t want to come back at first,
eventually reuniting and the struggles faced doing that. There’s also a portion about moving back up
east during a time when I stepped out of music to work at a family business, to my wife Kyle getting
sick with cancer and feeling like God wasn’t there for a two year period of her suffering and passing.
Then there’s of course my time in Boston right up through meeting and marrying my wife Lisa, along
with how that affected my children and our friendships. It’s really an open book and even people
who’ve been following my career the whole time are going to be surprised that I’m talking about it
all.”

 

 

As this double release cycle heats up, Sweet makes a point to mention he’s still most certainly in
Stryper (the group is in fact poised to release a live record later this year), but is simply using these
solo outlets to channel his unquenchably prolific spark. Besides all those irons in the fire, Sweet also
just signed on to a yet-to-be-named supergroup co-starring George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob),
James LoMenzo (White Lion, Megadeth) and Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner), who are also
slated to release a record sometime in 2014.

 

 

“Looking back on my life and career, from the school aged struggles, to music industry success and
its many challenges, to seasons of tremendous loss and newfound love, to a resurgence in Stryper’s
career and the opportunity to say what I want to say individually, I just hope to be a witness to our
faith,” sums up Sweet. “We spent the past 30 years sticking to what we’ve spoken about, and even
though we’ve been far from perfect, God’s really blessed us beyond our dreams. I’m here to say this is
real and there’s power in what God can do. He not only blessed us all back then, but He continues to
bless the band and me personally 30 years later in incredibly new ways, which really blows my mind!
I don’t care how many copies this album or book sells. I’m only thinking about the opportunity to tell
my story, and in doing so, hopefully it will have a positive effect on someone out there going through
at least one of the same things I’ve experienced on the unpredictable and unbelievable ride so far.”

 

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30th Anniversary To Hell With The Devil Tour Dates

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Interview With Derrick Brumley Of CONQUEST

Conquest - UndertheInfluencecoverart

Derrick Brumley – Lead vocals, guitars
Mike Crook – Guitars, backing vocals
Rob Boyer – Bass, backing vocals
Tim Fleetwood – Drums, backing vocals

 
Every musician, every band starts out with influences. For Conquest’s Derrick
Brumley that started out with the likes of The Who, Black Sabbath and seminal albums
from two superstar acts of the 70’s – Foghat’s ‘Live’ and ‘Captain Fantastic .
Brumley found himself drawn to those records largely due to the guitar work on each.
“I leaned towards the heavy side of those records,” he recalls. “Not any one record
at that time in my life but I really like the heavy guitars from these bands.”

 
Conquest was formed in late 1988 by Brumley, along with Tony Restivo, Tim Fleetwood
and Adrian Vesper. The quartet played around the St. Louis area, building a local
following and releasing a series of demos, flirting with several metal subgenres
before realizing that their future was based in traditional thrash music of the Bay
Area variety and independently releasing their debut effort, ‘Wicked Ways’ in 1993
and the Ep ‘The Killing Time’ eighteen months later. In 1995 Vesper exited the band
to be replaced by Mike Crook and shortly thereafter the band released their third
effort, ‘Rage’ via the Greek label, Unisound and then ‘Damnation’ in 2001.

 
2003 saw the independent release of ‘No Boundaries’ and a full scale US tour
undertaking 70 dates in all to support the album. “We put in a bunch of hard work
that year,” reminisces Brumley. “We hit the entire Midwest down to Texas and then up
and down the East Coast a few times. We did several runs, I just wish we could have
gotten further west but there are no complaints.”
Armed with a new label deal with Dark Star Records and a partnership with
Jagermeister Music, Conquest found themselves playing the Rockstar Mayhem festival
as well as support slots alongside Slayer, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall and others. 2011
saw the release of the 9/11 tribute single, “Never Forget,” which was (the band’s
tribute to America and then 2013’s ‘The War We Rage’ breaking even more ground for
the band, as well as introducing current bass player, Rob Boyer.

 
In 2014 Conquest decided to add an additional set (sometimes two) to their shows
paying tribute to their metal heroes, calling it Tribute to the Metal Gods, covering
the likes of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Pantera and Slayer . With this concept the band
decided it would be a great idea to record an entire album paying tribute to a batch
of hard rock and metal legends. “We decided to do this as a fun little sidestep,”
Brumley explains. “Most cover bands play Top 40 stuff but we decided to honour the
bands that set the bar for metal music.

 
Derrick Brumley runs down each song on under the Influence and why Conquest chose to
cover them:

 
JUDAS PRIEST – Metal Gods: I’ve been a fan of Judas Priest since I was 11 or 12 and
“Metal Gods” is one of their staples. Since I’m such a huge fan I wanted to do one
of their most identifying songs without picking an overly obvious one.

 
JUDAS PRIEST – The Ripper: One of my all time favourite songs. When I first heard
this song on ‘Unleashed in the East” I was completely blown away.

 
IRON MAIDEN – Wrathchild: I discovered Iron Maiden early on and while I never cared
much for Paul Dianno’s voice, this track always stood out for me. Plus, it’s a lot
of fun to play live.

 
METALLICA – For Whom the Bell Tolls: Our label, Dark Star, strongly suggested we
cover this and since it’s a part of our ‘Tribute …’ set it made complete sense.

 
MOTORHEAD – Ace of Spades: All four of us came to the conclusion that you can’t put
out a hard rock / metal tribute album and not cover the mighty Motorhead.
ANTHRAX – Antisocial: This is a cover of a cover (the original from French band
Trust) which was kinda cool to me. To take a song that’s been covered very well
already and still add your own spin to it is a cool thing if you can bring it. And
I think we did.

 
UFO – Lights Out in London:The band feels that UFO never got it due so we wanted to
cover what Rob and I thought was such a heavy song as kids.

 
BON JOVI – Wanted, Dead or Alive: We’re lucky to have a few tracks from our previous
albums on soundtracks for the various Jezebeth movies, including the latest one, The
Guns of El Diablo, for which we decided to cover Bon Jovi’s “Wanted, Dead Or Alive.”
It was fun to work on making it heavier than the original but not change it
completely. I have to admit, this one was one hell of a challenge.

 
MOTLEY CRUE – Red Hot: Motley was a big influence on me as a teenager. I got into
them in .83 with the release of ‘Shout at the Devil’ – great hard rock songs with
metal overtones. This was such a cool double bass, guitar driving song.

 
PANTERA – Cowboys from Hell: From my point of view these guys saved metal in the
’90’s. Mike worked his ass off on the guitar parts and he did a great job on it.
Another great song to play live.

 
BLACK SABBATH – Children of the Grave: These guys started it all. When I was 7 or 8
my brother’s girlfriend brought over their first album and I was completely blown
away! She ended up leaving it at our house and it became mine. “Children ..” is the
one song that has stuck with me over the years.

 

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Interview With Jeffrey McCormack Of Q5

Q5

Release date July 8th 2016
Track listing: We Came Here To Rock; One Night In Hellas; The Right Way; New World Order; Tear Up The
Night; Halfway To Hell; A Prisoner Of Mind; Unrequited (A Woman Of Darkness And Steel); Just One Kiss; Fear
Is The Killer; Land Of The Setting Sun; A Warrior’s Song; Mach Opus 206 (Instrumental); Get Next To You
(Bonus Track).
Q5 was formed in 1983, from members of two popular Seattle bands; vocalist Jonathan K and guitarist
(famous guitar tremolo inventor) Floyd Rose from “The C.O.R.E.”, and Rick Pierce (guitar), Evan Sheeley (Bass)
and Gary Thompson (drums) from “TKO”.
The band released its first album, “STEEL THE LIGHT” (MUSIC FOR NATIONS) in 1984, receiving immediate
worldwide critical acclaim, and landing them touring spots with TWISTED SISTER, Y&T and LITA FORD… The
success of “STEEL THE LIGHT” led them to eventually sign with Polygram/Squawk for their 1985
sophomore release “WHEN THE MIRROR CRACKS”.
Due to personal differences, the original lineup dissolved shortly after this release.
In 1991, Jonathan K and Rick Pierce released a new project called “NIGHTSHADE” with its first album titled
“DEAD OF NIGHT” (Music For Nations), with drummer Jeffrey McCormack and bassist Anthony Magnelli. This
album was partially comprised of material that was to be the third Q5 cd, and it too received worldwide
critical acclaim.
Nightshade would release 2 additional cds over the next decade with multiple lineups, and would
perform alongside many national and international acts.
In 2009, when Nightshade was slated to perform at the “Headbanger’s Open Air” Festival (Germany), with
Evan Sheeley now on bass, the promoters asked if they would perform a second set as “Q5”, to which they
agreed. The fan response was overwhelming!
In 2014, Q5 was asked to perform at Sweden Rock, a performance that the band had agreed would be a “one
off” show, but at the completion of the performance, it was obvious that this was not an ending, but merely
a beginning.
Upon returning to Seattle, The band secured drummer Jeffrey McCormack (Former Heir Apparent, Fifth
Angel) again, and guitarist Kendall Bechtel (former Fifth Angel) and began rehearsing formally as “Q5”.
The band’s relaunch debuted at the “Rock You To Hell Festival” in Athens, Greece followed by a headlining
performance in Cyprus. The band then returned to Seattle to begin work on music for a new CD.
Kendall Bechtel, however, was unable to stay with the band due to personal reasons, so the band secured
guitar virtuoso Dennis Turner to complete the lineup.
“STEEL THE LIGHT” continues to grow in popularity all over the world. Critics are still touting the album as a
“classic” and a “must have in any metal head’s collection”. Bands such as Great White, Wolf and October 31
and many others have covered songs from the album on their own releases, and fans are writing from all
corners of the globe, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the Q5 story…
That chapter begins NOW!
With an official lineup in tact, and a new CD slated for release, Q5 is poised to take its rightful place again in
the hard rock / heavy metal hierarchy!
Q5:
Jonathan Scott K.: Vocals, Backgr. Vocals
Rick Pierce: Lead Guitars, Rhythm Guitars
Dennis Turner: Rhythm Guitars, Lead Guitars, Backgr. Vocals
Evan Sheeley: Bass Guitar, Backgr. Vocals
Jeffrey Mccormack: Drums And Percussion, Backgr. Vocals

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Interview With BioGenesis 2016

Bio 2016 _n

The band known as BioGenesis is a hybrid metal band from Dayton Ohio who first appeared on the scene in 2001 with their debut album “The Mark Bleeds Through” after signing with the Australian label “ROWE PRODUCTIONS”. BioGenesis unexpectedly dissolved in 2005 leaving fans disappointed that a greatly anticipated sophomore album would never see the light of day.

Then in 2009 the band returned, leading to the reunion album “The Rise The Fall The Rebirth” in 2012 after signing with SOUNDMASS. In 2013 SOUNDMASS released an earlier recording of the first album along with previously unreleased demo material called “The Mark Bleeds Through” “First Blood”.
BioGenesis remained very active until suddenly disbanding yet again in 2014. This time it had appeared to be permanent.

Then on new years eve 2015, BioGenesis announced another return. This time, with an all new lineup with guitarist James Riggs and Vocalist Chaz Bond as the only original members. It was also announced that a new album entitled “A Decadence Devine” is expected later on in 2016.

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Interview With Giancarlo Floridia Of Faithsedge And Tim Gaines Of Stryper 2016

Gian And Tim

Faithsedge was started in 2011 in Southern California by singer / songwriter Giancarlo Floridia. Giancarlo has worked with multi platinum artist / producers as Juan Croucier (Ratt), Mike Talanca (David Bowie/Foreigner), Fabrizio Grossi (Steve Vai /Alice Cooper) and now has released back to back Faithsedge albums with praise among the melodic rock /metal fanbase. Giancarlo has been featured in multiple online interviews around the world and magazines promoting the past few years for the Faithsedge debut (2011) and follow up to that “The Answer of Insanity” (2014). With the return of the band, Giancarlo has recruited some serious hard rock powerhouses to take his vision of melodic rock / metal music to the next level with Faithsedge – Restoration.

Taking over production and full time keyboards on the new album is Alessandro Del Vecchio who has become one of the hottest producers in the hard rock genre not only in Europe but also worldwide. Alessandro is also the mastermind of producing, writing and playing keyboards for Hardline, Revolution Saints, Rated X (Joe Lynn Turner) and songwriting for other artist. The new album is presented with Alessandro’s production as an up to date feel but still keeping the large booming arena rock sound of the past. The results can be heard on the new album.

Returning on lead guitar is former Dokken guitarist Alex De Rosso who has toured the world with Dokken sharing the stage and touring with The Scorpions, Whitesnake, Ratt, and many others. Alex De Rosso also has multiple studio works recording guitars for artist like Joseph Williams (Toto), Kelly Hansen (Foreigner) and Pamela Moore also known as Sister Mary from Queensryche’s opus concept album Operation: Mindcrime. Alex continues to write and perform in Italy and also does production and songwriting at his studio “The Cube”.

New to the Faithsedge line up is Stryper bass player Tim Gaines. Tim has multiple gold and platinum credits under his belt and the success of Stryper continuing for over 30 years. The Stryper fan base is strong as ever, releasing recent Billboard charting albums as “No More Hell To Pay” and the newly released “Fallen”. Tim’s punch and arena rock style fits in perfectly to the Faithsedge style as can be heard on the record. Tim has played bass live for artists such as Richard Marx, Bryan Duncan’s Nehosoul and his own band with Stryper guitarist Oz Fox called Sin Dizzy.

Also new to the Faithsedge lineup is drummer Matt Starr. Matt has done numerous tours and recordings for KISS guitar legend Ace Frehley and performed on Ace Frehley’s billboard charting at # 9 album “Space Invader” album which Matt also contributed to the vocal work alongside his drumming skills. Matt plays with the melodic rock giants Mr.Big which he has toured the world with over the past few years. He also plays with his band Burning Rain with former Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich. Matt’s thunderous drumming aligned with Tim Gaines bass playing is taking the Faithsedge sound to the next level.

Faithsedge – Restoration keeps an old school melodic approach mixed with a hard edge that can also be competitive with today’s market of metal bands. The band also plans on doing a follow up album within the next few years to keep the name and sound going strong.

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Long before settling into his bass playing (and part time keyboard playing) role in the original Stryper line-up, Timothy Gaines was nothing short of a musical prodigy, starting out on piano at a mere four-years-old, playing clarinet and singing in a church choir during his elementary school years, taking up classical guitar at 12 and electric bass a mere year later. The Portland-born player was raised in the Los Angeles area where his father was a minister, which helped give Timothy a foundation of faith, though as he settled into his teen years, rock n’ roll became the primary focus.

“In high school, I joined a band called Stormer, who were fairly popular throughout the Hollywood club scene,” explains Timothy. “In fact, the first show Motley Crue ever played was when they opened up for Stormer in 1981 and we also played with bands like Ratt and Quiet Riot.”

Even with all the mounting success of the mainstream-seeking Stormer, Gaines recommitted his life to Christ in 1983 and quickly linked up with like-minded drummer Robert Sweet, singer/guitarist Michael Sweet and guitarist Oz Fox in the just as musically potent Roxx Regime. After quickly establishing themselves throughout the same hard rock/metal scene, the guys signed with Enigma Records, changed their name to Stryper and spent the rest of the 1980s on a rocket ride to success. Classic albums such as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil and In God We Trust helped propel the band to selling upwards of 10 million records around the world, while other milestones include a Grammy nomination, scoring multiple Dove Awards and becoming the first band to simultaneously have two songs (“Free” and “Honestly”) in MTV’s Top 10.

“I can’t really explain why or how, it just kind of happened,” suggests Timothy. “Obviously we had a look- the yellow and black stripes- and we were known for something different as far as our Christian beliefs went. A lot of people were looking for something musically similar to the other bands of the time, but with a different message. We went from playing 300-500 seat clubs to selling out 15,000 seat arenas. We took the good news with us wherever we went, and while we took a lot of heat, it also opened a lot of doors. By the late ’80s, we were on top of the world.”

However, Stryper soon found themselves in the midst of a record label transition once the ’90s rolled around, alongside the ever-increasing influence of the grunge sound emerging out of Seattle. Though the group soldiered on through the more experimental (and in hindsight, quite extraordinary) Against The Law album and tour, members went their separate ways shortly thereafter.

“The first thing I had to do was figure out how to make a living, so I got a job at a musical retail store selling instruments, which is what I always did in high school. I eventually got into management and worked there for ten years while doing music on the side. I auditioned for Great White, Quiet Riot and Hardline, but a lot of these bands were in the same position as Stryper in terms of reforming at a time of changing trends. I joined No Stranger with Tom Hardy, the lead singer of Stormer, which was a really good band, but it just wasn’t the right time.”

Timing proved more fortuitous when Timothy reconnected with Robert in the studio to record the debut King James album alongside Rex Carroll (Whitecross) and Jimi Bennett (Sacred Fire) in 1994. Though he never toured with the band, the following year was far from idle as he reunited with Oz to co-write and produce their SinDizzy partnership He’s Not Dead.

“We did a little bit of touring, nothing big time, but I started to get a foot back in the door here and there,” he remembers. “We were doing a show in Puerto Rico, which also had Michael and his solo band on the bill, but the promoter billed it as a Stryper reunion. So Michael did his thing, SinDizzy did our thing, and at the end of the night, we all did some Stryper songs. Everybody was there except for Robert, but it was the very start of getting Stryper back together.”

Before the band was officially reunited, Gaines also recorded on Tourniquet’s Crawl To China album, along with recording, co-writing and producing on his future wife Irene Kelly Gaines’ If You Were Here (followed by a collective move from L.A. to Nashville). Though a few more one-offs popped up on the calendar featuring all four members (including some Stryper expos and the mammoth Cornerstone Festival), the group finally got back together for good to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2003, marked by the Hollywood Records compilation 7: The Best of Stryper, a full-fledged tour, the 7 Weeks: Live in America, 2003 CD and the Greatest Hits: Live in Puerto Rico DVD.

While “The Yellow and Black Attack” was revving right back up where it left off, it would be a few more years before Gaines resumed his role in the band full time. From 2004 to 2009, he wore the hats of a record company executive, songwriter, session player and touring sideman, including countless road miles logged alongside Richard Marx, Ashley Cleveland, Kim Hill, Bryan Duncan, and Tourniquet. He even released the solo bass instrumental album Breakfast At Timothy’s, produced by Chris Eddy (son of guitar great Duane Eddy).

 

Stryper

 

Interview With Lee Billy Aka ( Leeroy Coolbreeze ) Of VICTIM

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          VICTIM is an original hard rock band (Yes, that means we actually write our own music!) that originated in Eastern PA back in 2009. Cris Moser and Eric Budihas recruited Wambz and played as a 3-piece in the the northeast for a few months before disbanding for 5 years. Moser went to Los Angeles, Buda went to work, and Wambz laid down his sticks… but Destiny called and the boys came back with a vengeance bringing in 80’s rocker (previously of ‘Hampton’) Leeroy Coolbreeze on 4 string. In the words of Moser: “If they don’t like this shit, what the fuck do they want?”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VICTIMofficial/

ReverbNation: https://www.reverbnation.com/victim72

Band Members: Cris Moser – Vocals, Eric Budihas – Electric Guitar, Lee Billy – Bass, Wambz – Drums