Away Team

Former GUNS N’ ROSES bandmates STEVEN ADLER and DUFF MCKAGAN will be presenting the “Riff Lord” award at the REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS SHOW.

The fourth annual REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARD SHOW presented by Epiphone® will take place Wednesday, April 11, at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. For the first time ever, the event will be broadcast live in its entirety on Xbox LIVE, as well as on the Xbox and Revolver Facebook pages.

The 2012 REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS SHOW will feature one-of-a-kind special performances and collaborations that honor both the past, present and future of heavy music. The night’s hard-rocking musical performances will include sets by MARILYN MANSON (in his first U.S. performance in nearly three years); iconic GRAMMY-winning guitarist SLASH featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators; EVANESCENCE; SIXX:A.M. featuring Nikki Sixx of MÖTLEY CRÜE, James Michael, acclaimed rock producer and songwriter, and DJ Ashba of GUNS N’ ROSES (in their first performance in almost four years); and 2011 Best New Band Golden God Award winner BLACK VEIL BRIDES, who will perform their only U.S. show of 2012 so far.

Adler, McKagan, Slash, singer Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin will all be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next month in Cleveland, along with later GUNS N’ ROSES members, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and drummer Matt Sorum.

Steven Adler’s new band, simply called ADLER, will be releasing their debut single “The One That You Hated” April 10th on iTunes.

In addition to Steven, ADLER features Lonny Paul (ADLER’S APPETITE) on guitar and Jacob Bunton (LYNAM, MARS ELECTRIC) on vocals/guitar. The group has been recording its debut album in Los Angeles with producers Jeff Pilson (former DOKKEN and current FOREIGNER/TOOTH AND NAIL bassist) and Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER, ADRENALINE MOB).

ADLER’s CD will feature guest appearances by ROB ZOMBIE/ex-MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5 and Steven’s former GUNS N’ ROSES bandmate Slash (guitar).

For More Info click here.

This month’s JAMMIT featured tracks come from guitar virtuoso, Steve Vai and legendary progressive masterminds, RUSH with their epic 2112 masterpiece in its entirety.

Jammit is the first music software solution that eliminates the annoying “stop, play, rewind” method of learning your favorite songs. Jammit® is more than just a cool app that separates the instruments that you want to hear from within the mix of your favorite songs, it’s also the source of the most accurate transcriptions in the world. Jammit® unlocks the secrets that are hidden in the mix so you can learn to play exactly what was recorded with unique offerings for guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals.

Jammit’s patented variable timing technology provides easy, snap-to-grid looping for repeating and perfecting difficult sections. Meticulous note-for-note transcriptions in standard notation and tablature are derived from the isolated tracks providing a level of accuracy previously unavailable anywhere. The amazing variable speed feature allows users to slow down any part of a song without affecting the pitch, making the most complex musical performances easier to master.

Jammit® offers a diverse selection of the greatest artists including Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Three Days Grace, Slayer, Rob Zombie, Nickelback, AFI, Yes, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, and many more. Visit http://jammit.com/ for a complete listing of current and upcoming artists. JAMMIT® is a must-have for every level of musician and singer from beginner to the accomplished professional.

Jammit® releases new tracks daily on Twitter and Facebook , follow us and find out what’s coming out tomorrow!

Jammit® is currently available for the iphone, ipod touch and ipad with Android and desktop versions coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pazzo Records

 

Fans get ready! POP EVIL will finally be able to release their second album, War Of Angels, on Tuesday, July 5 with new label Eone Music. The delay had nothing to do with the band, it was their former label, Universal, that was holding up the deal. I talked last month with Matt DiRito and Tony Greve and they were as frustrated as the rest of us that their 2nd release has been pushed back for months. “But I’m pissed that it ended up affecting the fans with the release date of the new album and everything. That’s what makes me mad. It’s everywhere we go, it’s every night, everyone’s asking us when the album is going to be released.  And I have to say I’m sorry. They sometimes get mad at us.” said Matt DiRito. But the wait is now almost over! YES!!!

War Of Angels is the follow up to their 2008 freshman release, Lipstick On The Mirror. It’s been a frustrating ride the last few months but finally the band will be coming to your town rockin’ with the new release. War Of Angels was produced by Grammy Award nominated producer/engineer Johnny K, who has worked with the Disturbed, 3 Doors Down and Staind.

Since the fall 2010 release of the single, Last Man Standing, the band has enjoyed success early on and the song peaked at #5 on the active rock charts. POP EVIL is more than ready to start this new chapter in their career and reward those loyal fans who have so patiently rode the storm out. The band even went so far as to tear up the band’s Universal recording contract while on stage at Rock on the Range festival a weeks ago to the cheers of thousands. It gave me tingles to watch it. And fierce pride to know these very talented musicians are finally going to get the recognition they deserve as contenders for the coveted belt of their genre.

Check out all that is going on with POP EVIL at their site: http://www.popevil.com

Also check these sites:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/popevil

Myspace: www.myspace.com/popevil

And for really cool stuff: www.evil-nation.com

POP EVIL is: Leigh Kakaty (lead vocals), Dylan Allison (drums), Dave Grahs (guitar), Tony Greve (guitar) and Matt DiRito (bass).

Continue reading on Examiner.com Pop Evil signs with eOne Music and prepares for release of War of Angels – Detroit Live Music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/live-music-in-detroit/pop-evil-signs-with-eone-music-and-prepares-for-release-of-war-of-angels#ixzz1Oby6OJuN

 

If you want to catch the teaser video for the tracks on the album, see below.

 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Photos by Marcy Royce

May 19, 2011
Away-Team writer: Marcy Royce
Pop Evil members: Tony Greve and Matt DiRito

I became a  POP EVIL  fan in August 2009 after catching their live show at Merriweather Post Pavilion when they were the support act for KIX and JUDAS PRIEST on the British Steel Tour. And I have been following them ever since.  Their music is that good to me. I was excited to know that I would have the opportunity this night to interview two of the members of POP EVIL , Tony Greve, guitarist, and Matt DiRito, bassist. Both joined the band in 2007, just months apart.

Now, let me prefaced the following with this: I have NEVER, and mean NEVER, had so much fun doing an interview as I did with Tony and Matt. I’ve never laughed so much in between questions and I’ve never been sidetracked with so much fun.  Read on to see what these guy had to tell me about POP EVIL , their new upcoming release; War Of Angels, their management team and being on the road.

And just for the record, 7.5 ounces will live on, forever.  You would have had to been there to understand this. Too funny! Thanks guys.

This is Marcy Royce with away-team.com speaking today with Tony Greve and Matt DiRito from POP EVIL .

AWAY-TEAM: I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do this interview with you guys. I’m with away-team. com and I’ve been with them for over a year now.

TONY GREVE: It’s cool that this worked out and you could come in and chat and do this interview. It works out both ways, it’s good for us too.

AWAY-TEAM: How was the trip last night from Indiana?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, it was easy. I slept the entire way. Not a big deal for me.

TONY GREVE: It was a pretty easy ride. It’s crazy though. We will pass out in one city and wake up another city.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs) Good to have a dedicated bus driver.

TONY GREVE: Definitely!

MATT DIRITO: That’s why we have to take care of him and make sure he gets good sleep. I think he’s in his hotel room now sleeping.  

TONY GREVE: That definitely helps out. He’s gotta be well rested, that’s for sure. He’s got everybody’s lives in his hands.

 

AWAY-TEAM: You guys just did Carolina Rebellion almost 2 weeks ago, and this weekend you are doing Rock On The Range. And next weekend you are going to Rocklahoma.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Lotsa rockin’! 

TONY GREVE: Holy shit yeah! 

AWAY-TEAM: How do you feel about all these being packed into one month? 

TONY GREVE: It’s kinda cool, ya know. We’ve already had how many festivals we did. We did U Fest in Arizona, Carolina Rebellion, there’s been so many festivals going on. That’s the cool thing about summer, all the big outdoor festivals that they put on and we get to be a part of.  

AWAY-TEAM: Do you like the outdoor festivals better than the other places you do in the winter when you are inside confined in a building?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. I do. I look forward to it all year and we know that these things are booked so far out because so many bands are going to be there. It’s crazy. We’re looking forward to it all year and all of a sudden it’s here. We’re like, oh, that’s next weekend already. Shit man! And they are all right in a row, too. It goes by like a flash. But just last weekend we did 3 outdoor festivals in a row. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Every single one of them were cold and rainy.

TONY GREVE: I’m talking pouring rain. It was raining sideways.

AWAY-TEAM: I saw that on POP EVIL’s Facebook Page. Day 2 of rain, cold.

TONY GREVE: It’s still raining. We can’t get away from it, dude!

MATT DIRITO: I know dude! It sucks.

AWAY-TEAM: You just can’t get away from it.

TONY GREVE: It’s following us.

AWAY-TEAM: We’ve been dealing with it since Sunday in this area. I don’t know how long you’ve been dealing with it? It’s been awful here.

MATT DIRITO: It started in Denver for us last Tuesday and hasn’t stopped.

TONY GREVE: Everywhere we go, all the outdoor shows are rain and cold.

AWAY-TEAM: How have the fans been with it all? Are they still packed in?

TONY GREVE: Yeah!

MATT DIRITO: What’s cool about it is, and I think it’s kinda fun is, that you get the really hardcore fans that come out.

TONY GREVE: They’ll be out there in the rain, soaking wet, and just rockin’. It’s awesome!

MATT DIRITO: Covered in mud, and shit. They’re just like…

TONY GREVE: Remember that one guy that stopped us and asked to get a picture with us. He was covered in mud. Dude, was he rolling around in it or what? (laughs).  From head to toe he just looked like a mud monster.

MATT DIRITO: It looked like Woodstock.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, it did! (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: Wonder if he just fell into it and he just said, eh, screw it I’m caked in mud. Who cares? I’ll just shower later. (laughs).

TONY GREVE: That’s cool to see the fans that are that hardcore and dedicated to just stick it out. You’re talking festivals that go from noon until ten o’clock at night or even midnight. And they’re out there the entire time.

AWAY-TEAM: For hours!

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. It’s kinda insane.

TONY GREVE: I like to call them rock and roll soldiers. Man, they’re definitely sticking it out.

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely. For hours upon hours they muster through hot sun or cold rain. The fans are going to get the gamut with those festivals when it comes to the weather. You never know what you’re gonna have. You guys are protected on the stage, somewhat. Do you guys have side protection at all?

MATT DIRITO: Sometimes. It always seems if it’s raining it’s going to get everywhere.

TONY GREVE: Dude, the stage was soaked in Rockford, Illinois. I remember that. I walked offstage and my feet were soaked, soaked, soaked.

MATT DIRITO: Slipping and sliding.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.

MATT DIRITO: This was kinda cool. I was playing and my bass amp was vibrating on the stage around me. Puddles were vibrating. (demonstrates to my laughter). Like Jurassic Park. You could see the ripples in the water, you could see the ripples on the stage. It was sweet! YEAH! (shows rock horns).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: The first time

I ever saw POP EVIL was at Merriweather Pavilion in August of 2009 when you guys were with Kix and Judas Priest.

TONY GREVE: In Baltimore?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah, Baltimore kinda. It was Columbia, MD.

TONY GREVE: Is that when Kix played, that show?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah.

TONY GREVE: Dude, that was one show wasn’t it?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, that was the one.

TONY GREVE: (goes into singing the chorus from Don’t Close Your Eyes).  Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM: Exactly! That’s when I saw you guys for the first time. I had never heard of POP EVIL before that.

TONY GREVE: Before that show?

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah. And I’ve been following you since.

TONY GREVE: Really?

AWAY-TEAM: I was really, really impressed with you guys that day.

TONY GREVE: That is SO awesome! Thank you. (gives me the high five).

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, that’s cool. That was almost 2 years ago.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, that’s crazy.

AWAY-TEAM: And honestly, I have seen you guys grow so much in that time. You’ve solidified things, you’ve really moved forward and I am SO EXCITED for War Of Angels.

MATT DIRITO: Can’t wait for you to hear it.

AWAY-TEAM: I’ve read somewhere online that the release date is in June, not sure how true that is. However, I’m more than ready. POP EVIL is having this big announcement on Sunday at Rock On The Range, just under 70 hours or so and I’m interviewing you a few days too early. Damn! I know you can’t tell me anything.

MATT DIRITO: I don’t even know anything for sure. There’s still a bunch of stuff that is going on pertaining to the release of War Of Angels.

TONY GREVE: We’re always trying to grow and push forward, ya know.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah.  I think if we weren’t we’d be going down.

AWAY-TEAM: I can tell as a fan, you guys have definitely risen by leaps and bounds since the first time I saw you. I mean, you were good then in 2009, enough for me to take notice and for me to start following you. Getting Lipstick On The Mirror and really play it, dissect it in my iPod. I use it for my workout at the gym, too. Hero is one of my go-to tunes for my ab workout.

TONY GREVE: Nice!

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

TONY GREVE: I’m the kind of person that thinks like I’m never happy no matter what situation I’m in. Ever. It doesn’t matter. So unless something is constantly changing or growing or moving in one direction or another, either way, I just can’t be stagnate and still. Ya know? Some bands are just like okay with where they are at. We’ll never just be okay with where we’re at.

MATT DIRITO: It’s good to have that drive, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM: If you lose it, that drive, then things are going to change. And they are not going to change for the best either. You’ve gotta have that drive for the position you guys are in. I mean, you are really working your way up the ladder, you’ve got to keep putting your hook into things. Already I can see that.

AWAY-TEAM: I was on YouTube in the last week or so and I saw the teaser video for 10 tracks from the War Of Angels cd. I have watched that so many times. I’m trying to pick up the lyrics, pick up the riffs, pick up the hooks, pick up whatever is in there. I keep trying to really dig into it. I really want to get my hands on the cd so I can review it for www.away-team.com.  I know the beginning of May you interviewed with a guy from another publication  and I keep reviewing his interview. He already must have had War Of Angels and reviewed it. He was specifically talking about things in each track.

MATT DIRITO: We’d love to have you do a review of it.

TONY GREVE: Listen to the entire thing ahead of the release date and give us your feedback.

AWAY-TEAM: I can’t wait to hear more than what is on that video.  I know that guy asked each one of you which song you like to play live the most from War Of Angels.

TONY GREVE: Yes, yes he did.

AWAY-TEAM: Both of you said Boss’s Daughter.

TONY GREVE: It’s like a rock and roll song, ya know. It’s all about rockin’. It’s all about the party. It’s all about the Boss’s Daughter. Who doesn’t want to bang the Boss’s Daughter, right?

MATT DIRITO: Like the chick yesterday. Right? (laughs).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: You just don’t want to trip over your own feet.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.  And it’s just a heavy hitter. It’s a good rock and roll anthem.  Cool thing about it, I got to cowrite it with Mick Mars. Mick and I wrote the music to it. Guitar parts, the riffs and stuff. I went and spent the day at his house, we sat down and played guitar all day. What we came up with was the music for the riffs. The meat and potatoes for Boss’s Daughter.

MATT DIRITO: We put the lyrics to it.

AWAY-TEAM: How did that opportunity come up with Mick Mars? 

TONY GREVE: Well, at the time we both had the same publishing company. 

MATT DIRITO: He owed me money so I was like, Mick you owe me money. So let’s just hash this out… 

TONY GREVE: Let’s just do this and call it even. (laughs).  

MATT DIRITO: That’s a joke. That’s really just a joke.

TONY GREVE: That publishing company is always looking to get people together to write and see who comes up with what.  Our manager called me and said, guess what, guess who you get to work with? I said, I don’t know. Slash? He said no. But then he said Mick Mars. I said, that’s even way f’in cooler. He’s one of the most underrated guitar players, EVER!  

MATT DIRITO: He really is. He’s a great player.  

TONY GREVE: Being as f’in awesome as he is. He’s so good, it’s unreal.

AWAY-TEAM: So how long did you spend with him?

TONY GREVE: An entire day almost. Noon to midnight pretty much. He looks like he would be quiet and shy, and he’s none of that. He talks a lot and likes to tell stories. It was great, he was very talkative. You can tell he’s had his share of health stuff going on, but he was much better than I expected.  

AWAY-TEAM: That’s really cool that he worked with you on Boss’s Daugther. And I really do like that track off War Of Angels. And it’s one of my favorites off the teaser video. 

TONY GREVE: We had none of those riffs for Boss’s Daughter before we went in. We just sat down and we came up with all of it. It was way cool!

AWAY-TEAM: What other songs did he work with you on?

TONY GREVE: Just that one, that’s it.

AWAY-TEAM: Did you work with anyone else on any of the other songs?

TONY GREVE: I did not personally.

MATT DIRITO: Well, there is that song with Jack Blades.

TONY GREVE: Jack Blades, yeah.  From Night Ranger. That was more Leigh and Jack working on that. There’s a song on the album, well, maybe it will come out on this version of it or it may be a special bonus track in the future. I’m not sure. But we did a song called The Good With The Bad with Jack Blades. And that was pretty cool and he’s very awesome, too.

AWAY-TEAM: I know the big thing right now is the upcoming release of War Of Angels. I’ve read  another interview you had at the beginning of May and also listened to the radio studio stuff with Carson earlier today from 105.7, The X. And with War Of Angels, there are 10 songs on that teaser video. Is there going to actually be 12 songs total?

MATT DIRITO: We don’t know yet. That’s something we’ve got to work out.

AWAY-TEAM: I downloaded the song from POP EVIL‘S Facebook page, Save The World.  And I like that too.

MATT DIRITO: There’s another one that you can download, too. It’s an acoustic version of Monster You Made.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, yeah. Have you heard that one yet?

AWAY-TEAM: Yes!

AWAY-TEAM: POP EVIL played with Rev Theory at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore in March of this year. And I was there covering them and I also photographed you guys as well.

TONY GREVE: Oh, awesome!

AWAY-TEAM: Your photos are on my Facebook page, my Flickr page as well as on the Away-Team page under the photos section. There is also a brief review of you guys in the show review for that night.

MATT DIRITO: Sweet!

AWAY-TEAM: And Tony, you have a lot of flying V’s.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, the Dean Guitars. I’m a Dean Guitar player. And I’m branded for life now. (shows me his Dean Guitar tattoo on his wrist).  I love the way those guitars are shaped, they’re so awesome. 

AWAY-TEAM: And Matt, you are on the Spector Bass website.  A photo of you is there.

MATT DIRITO: I am on the Spector website.

AWAY-TEAM: Matt McCloskey of Rev Theory saw my photos from that show in Baltimore in March and contacted me about 2 particular photos that he liked. He wanted permission to send them to Spector. So one of those photos is just below yours on the left hand column.

MATT DIRITO: Oh. You shot that one? That’s awesome.

AWAY-TEAM: Yeah, thanks! Do you play Dean as well as Spector?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I do play Dean.

AWAY-TEAM: I noticed the head stock on the white one. Is there more than one?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Right now I use all Deans. I think I probably used a Spector about a year ago. It was just kind of a fill in bass here and there. But right now I only used Dean.  But Spector still has me up on the website. I still talk to the guys over there. They are really cool at Spector.

AWAY-TEAM: Well, with you guys moving farther up the ladder as a band and becoming bigger and bigger, Spector wants you on that site. They want you to help promote Spector. So as long as you are okay with it, they are okay with it.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. Anything that gets us out there, you know.

AWAY-TEAM: And Matt, you are a joy to photograph. Let me tell you.

MATT DIRITO: Oh, well, thank you!

AWAY-TEAM: It’s the hair, it’s the moves, it’s your stage presence, it’s…

TONY GREVE: He’s a joy to party with too. (winks).

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs). I wouldn’t mind doing that! (laughs).

TONY GREVE: Well, ALRIGHT!

MATT DIRITO: YEAH!

TONY GREVE: You just opened a whole new bag of worms! (gives me another high five).

Sidenote: Much laughter and off subject material happened here. Sorry. Just had to be there. I laughed so hard! Now back to the interview… (ha ha).

AWAY-TEAM: Who’s idea was it to market Last Man Standing to the NHL, the NFL, auto racing, the boxer, Mir? How did that all happen?

TONY GREVE: It was just kind of a no brainer, really, for us to pitch it to all of those guys.

MATT DIRITO: Good management.

TONY GREVE: Great management! You listen to that song and that song is a battle anthem. Going head to head, can ya handle it?

MATT DIRITO: We wanted to get it out as many ways as possible. It’s even on a video game now too. It’s on NX vs ATV, or something like that.  It’s an off road racing game. Last Man Standing, YOW!

TONY GREVE: It’s a battle anthem song that gets you pumped up. Whether you’re playing sports or MMA fighting, it’s gonna get ya!

AWAY-TEAM: I heard that song on Nascar one day and thought, I know this song.

MATT DIRITO: That’s awesome! So cool!

TONY GREVE: It’s great management too. Those guys really push us and work hard at what they do and they really care about this band. And it shows.

MATT DIRITO: They’re really good looking too!

TONY GREVE: Best looking managers out there.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs)

MATT DIRITO: George and George, man. G and G. Get between 2 slices of George bread, ahhhh.

TONY GREVE: Make a little George bread pie.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah!

AWAY-TEAM: How often do you guys see them?

TONY GREVE: They come out quite a bit. George Jr. was just out with us a couple days ago.  Yeah, they’ll come fly out and stay a few days or a week or for however long.

MATT DIRITO: They’ll be at Rock On The Range for sure.

AWAY-TEAM: So they’re very supportive, they’re very interested in you and pushing you and taking you to new levels.

MATT DIRITO: Anytime, day or night, we can talk to them.

AWAY-TEAM: So you can call them at 2 in the morning and they’ll answer?

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I can call them right now. We can drunk dial them later, ha ha!

TONY GREVE: Oh my gosh, YEAH!

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs hysterically).  How often do you do that?

MATT DIRITO: Every once in a while. Maybe you don’t want to put that in the interview. Sorry George! (waving). He’ll just tell us to go focus on the next hit. And ask me when I’m gonna give him the next hit.

TONY GREVE: Please don’t show him this. (laughs).

Sidenote: I’ll stop at the boys request. However, they did share interesting tidbits.

AWAY-TEAM: Talking about how great G & G is, I know that you can’t say a lot about Universal but what can you tell me? How bad did they “f” you over? Because you’re going with a new label now for reasons.

TONY GREVE: I almost want to wait to answer that comment. Wait until everything is complete.

MATT DIRITO: Until we make the announcement. The new label is not going to “f” us over. We’re going to keep doing what we do not matter what.

TONY GREVE: That’s true.

MATT DIRITO: But I’m pissed that it ended up affecting the fans with the release date of the new album and everything. That’s what makes me mad. It’s everywhere we go, it’s every night, everyone’s asking us when the album is going to be released.  And I have to say I’m sorry. They sometimes get mad at us.

TONY GREVE: They just don’t realize.

MATT DIRITO: I’m on their side, too. I’m angry that it’s not out.

TONY GREVE: We want it out, too.

AWAY-TEAM: From a marketing standpoint I think it’s helping you in a way for the fact that they know it’s not you, but yet you’re playing stuff from it live, it’s bringing the fans out more to your live shows than maybe they had been. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell with different fans and different reasons those fans may or may not have. I think it’s helping you. It’s building momentum, it’s really creating…

TONY GREVE: You think so?

AWAY-TEAM: Me, I’m salivating for it. I CAN NOT WAIT!

TONY GREVE: I think it is, as long as you don’t wait too long. There comes a point where you build the hype and momentum but if you don’t put something behind it, the momentum will die.

MATT DIRITO: You can’t have too much space in between.

TONY GREVE: It’s gotta come out.

AWAY-TEAM: It was supposed to be released in February, correct? And Last Man Standing was released as a single last fall.

TONY GREVE: Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM: So we are 3 months, almost 4 months past that original date. Sometime in June?

MATT DIRITO: Before the end of summer it will be out. Yeah.

AWAY-TEAM:  I cannot wait.

TONY GREVE: Us either. We’re ready to get this thing out and be able to tour on it, and play on it. And have everyone know the songs and sing them back to us.

 

AWAY-TEAM: Since you are playing the songs now, what is the percentage of songs from Lipstick On The Mirror to War Of Angels is there?

MATT DIRITO: It’s 50-50 pretty much. As far as the set goes.

AWAY-TEAM: So it looks like you are doing 12 songs tonight for the set. That’s awesome.

TONY GREVE: It will be a good show.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, I’m going to be exhausted. (laughs).  It’s been awhile since we’ve done a set that long.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, we’ve been doing these tours with Drowning Pool, Papa Roach and we’re only used to doing 6 songs in the set during those tours.

MATT DIRITO: It’s no longer than 30 minutes for the set.

AWAY-TEAM: You just get warmed up… and you’re done.

TONY GREVE: Yeah pretty much.

AWAY-TEAM: You’re really into it, you’re hitting your groove. And you’re done!

TONY GREVE: This one is going to wipe us out tonight! (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: It’s kinda like when I have sex. You just get into it and, bam, it’s done.  It’s over before you know it.

AWAY-TEAM: So the new label you guys are with, they are more inline with where you want to go as a band? With your goals?

TONY GREVE: There going to stand behind us.

MATT DIRITO: We think so. Their already doing good stuff for us. Just showing interest in how we present ourselves and stuff like that. It’s cool. The entire time we were with Universal I had no contact information for anybody even at the label. If I wanted to go talk to someone, like an AR rep or anyone who represents us from publishing to marketing, I didn’t know who to talk to.

AWAY-TEAM: Totally disconnected. Unreachable.

MATT DIRITO: I didn’t have any emails. Nothing from nobody. The only people’s names I know are the presidents of the label. They were the only ones we met really. Well, we kinda met everybody once but I wouldn’t have known who to talk to. These guys from the new label are already showing interest in being hands on with us. We’ll be able to tell you more in year or so.

AWAY-TEAM: After you’ve been through the honeymoon period with them.  Everything gets worked out. You get used to them, they get used to you.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. We never got a honeymoon period with Universal. They kinda f’d us in the ass and left us on the curb.

TONY GREVE: (laughs). That’s a great analogy! Awesome dude! That’s true though.

MATT DIRITO: There was no wining and dining, bro.

TONY GREVE: No phone call, no nothing.

MATT DIRITO: Not even a damn reach around.

TONY GREVE: They didn’t even have the common courtesy to give that guy a f’in reach around. (laughs).

MATT DIRITO: What the f*^#!

AWAY-TEAM: So how long have you been working with G & G then?

TONY GREVE: We met them before Universal.

AWAY-TEAM: So they’ve been with you through thick and thin.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah. All the success that we’ve had up to this point it due to George.

TONY GREVE: All credited to them. Universal never got us one radio ad. Never one radio play. Nothing. It’s been George, he’s done everything.

MATT DIRITO: After all this time, people at Universal didn’t even know we were signed to their label. So the people that were supposed to be working us to the radio didn’t even know we were signed to the label.

AWAY-TEAM: That’s messed up. So it’s very good that the band has moved on to a different, and better, label. It sounds like they are going to take you where you need to go just from what they’ve already started to show to you guys. Along with G & G. And are the new label and G & G married together to making POP EVIL what it needs to be in the future?

TONY GREVE: G & G are in the thick of it.

MATT DIRITO: They’re in the trenches taking grenades right now.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, they are.

AWAY-TEAM: As a fan, I really want to see you guys rise to the level of Motley Crue, Poison, Guns & Roses.  I really want to see POP EVIL do arenas. On your own, headling. Not opening for anyone.

TONY GREVE: We’re trying.

MATT DIRITO: That would be bad ass!

TONY GREVE: Maybe some day. Right? We’ll just keep pushing this f’in train forward.

AWAY-TEAM: So, the order of the tracks from War Of Angels, do they have a progression of a story or are you trying to say something with the way they flow?

MATT DIRITO: We tried to set it up that way. I think the goal was to really do sort of a theme album. And I think we are close to it. That’s just my opinion.  So when I think of theme albums I think of Pink Floyd, The Wall.

TONY GREVE: Or Dark Side Of The Moon.

MATT DIRITO: It literally tells a story, from start to finish. It’s like you can see a movie happening in your head. I don’t think ours is that crystal clear but it really does show a lot of what we’ve been through in the past few years as far as the transition from doing this part time, having day jobs, to where we are at now. Getting used to touring and being on the road. And how people respond to you and react to you.  Dealing with management and other bands, just everything that comes along with it. So I really do think it tells the story of all that and we did try to put it in order that way. It is interrupted in a few spots with a song that might be about getting a broken heart, somewhere in the middle of that. Sorta like you wouldn’t really know how it relates to us unless you sat down with us and went through it song by song, I guess.

AWAY-TEAM: Which one is the broken heart song? I don’t want to guess and be wrong.

MATT DIRITO: You can guess. That’s actually what’s cool about it. A lot of these songs can be taken in so many different ways. Like our next single, Monster You Made, to us, and to me personally, is a song about how our skin has become thick by being on the road, working with the record labels, and how the industry is. And about how it’s a horrible time to try and be breaking into this industry. It’s kinda changed us. I think people always change. If you’re not changing you’re not growing and becoming better. If you’re just staying the same, it’s just not good.

AWAY-TEAM: Did POP EVIL pull for these songs on War Of Angels, any influences

you may have from bands of the 80’s? It seems to me like a lot of flavor there from 80’s bands.

TONY GREVE: One of the coolest things is that, for me, music that has influenced me from the 80’s have been Slash, and many of those guitar players. I’m really not influenced by anything modern so the way I play would naturally come off that way. Slash and Dimebag…

MATT DIRITO: YEAH! Tony and I kinda grew up on that music. We grew up on Queen.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, Queen, Zak Wilde, Randy Rhoads and others. That stuff just has rock and roll heart and soul.

MATT DIRITO: Tony and I are the youngest guys in the band but we’re probably the most 80’s influenced.

TONY GREVE: Kinda funny how that works out.  We are pretty much the same age.

MATT DIRITO: We’re twins, separated by 3 minutes or so.

TONY GREVE: Yeah. Three minutes apart.

AWAY-TEAM: (laughs). So, ha ha, if you are ‘twins’, how much do you find yourselves being alike and thinking alike?

TONY GREVE: I just look at him and I already know what he’s thinking.

AWAY-TEAM: You’ve been together that long that you can do it?

TONY GREVE: I can just tell by his face and be like… Yeah, me too!

MATT DIRITO: Oh yeah!

TONY GREVE: We don’t even have to discuss what it is. I just say, yeah, I feel the same way.

MATT DIRITO: It’s true, that actually does happen. It really is true.

 

AWAY-TEAM: Is there anything else you guys want to tell the fans, tell me. Anything else you want to be know about this tour and War Of Angels?

TONY GREVE: Yeah. We want to thank the fans for everything, ya know. We really appreciate everything they’ve done and been through with us and for supporting us. We always, always want to thank the fans.  Without them there is no band, no show. None of this even matters without them. We wouldn’t even be having this interview right now.

AWAY-TEAM: You are so right.

TONY GREVE: So thank them, God bless them for everything. For this opportunity to do this. To be able to write and perform this music that we love so much. And sharing it with all of them means everything to us.

AWAY-TEAM: With War Of Angels, I really think POP EVIL is going to hit gold with this. It is so awesome from what I’ve heard so far.

TONY GREVE: I just want to move the fans. From in here (clutching chest). Ya know.

AWAY-TEAM: Like you said, it talks to everyone differently. Everyone has a different situation. But yet everyone can relate to the songs in their own special way. One song, different meanings to everyone.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, exactly. That’s what is so cool about it.

MATT DIRITO: It’s like my favorite albums that I listen to. If they get too specific on something it’s like you can’t always relate to it. But the songs that really hit home are the ones that are open to where you can apply it to your own life. They may have not be written like that but it’s how they are used. It’s how the meanings are taken from it.

AWAY-TEAM: Tony, you started Purple, right?

TONY GREVE: Yeah. It started with a friend of mine. We both got matching flower tattoos on our shoulders that are purple so I started writing it about that. Then Leigh took it to a whole new level with a new mindset, new mindframe.

AWAY-TEAM: And all of you contribute to every song?

MATT DIRITO: Not all the time. Sometimes it might be more Tony, sometimes more me.

TONY GREVE: It’s always different.

AWAY-TEAM: But everyone is comfortable where everyone else is with sharing of things.

MATT DIRITO: Yeah, we work on it.

TONY GREVE: It has to come to an agreement at the end of it.

MATT DIRITO: We all just want to have the best songs for our band and to move it forward with that.  So it’s not really an issue.

AWAY-TEAM: Well guys. I think that is about it. I want to thank you for your time tonight. Away-Team is grateful for this opportunity to speak with you both. And I look forward to see you again soon in the near future.

TONY GREVE: Yeah, Marcy, it’s been fun. A blast!

MATT DIRITO: Sure. We’re glad you were here.

 

 

Check out all that is going on with POP EVIL at their site: http://www.popevil.com

Also check these sites:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/popevil

Myspace: www.myspace.com/popevil

And for really cool stuff: www.evil-nation.com

YouTube videos you should check out:

                For War Of Angels  Last Man Standing: http://youtu.be/4YB6H5q_gyU

                Teaser Video for War Of Angels: http://youtu.be/2Ptq4jMH5OM

                For Lipstick On The Mirror  100 in a 55: http://youtu.be/DcfmwfY2GOE

Take it from me, you MUST go see these guys if you haven’t already. If you have seen them, you MUST see them again. They just keep getting better and better. And on June 28 be sure to get your own copy of War Of Angels through your favorite retailer or on Amazon or iTunes. This new album will kick your ass!

Special thanks to Tony Greve and Matt DiRito for taking the time to speak with me, and to George Cappellini at G & G Entertainment and Chris Iteen, Tour Manager, for helping to make it happen. It was a great pleasure and a thrill to do this interview.

“One More Time,” the new video (which features legions of bloodthirsty zombies) for the track off the new HAMMERFALL album, Infected, is available for worldwide viewing on YouTube. The video was shot by Patrick Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, ENSLAVED, ARCH ENEMY) of Revolver Film.

HAMMERFALL’s eighth studio album will be released in Europe on May 20th and in North America on June 7th. The album was produced & mixed by James Michael (MÖTLEY CRÜE, SCORPIONS, MEAT LOAF).

The track listing for Infected is as follows:
Patient Zero
Bang Your Head
One More Time
The Outlaw
Send Me A Sign
Dia De Los Muertos
I Refuse
666 – The Enemy Within
Immortalized
Let’s Get It On
Redemption

The bonus version of Infected is now available for pre-order on iTunes. The track listing for this bonus version is as follows:
Patient Zero
Bang Your Head
One More Time
The Outlaw
Send Me A Sign
Dia De Los Muertos
I Refuse
666 – The Enemy Within
Immortalized
Let’s Get It On
Redemption

BONUS MATERIAL:
B.Y.H. (Instrumental)
One More Time (Instrumental)
One More Time – Official Music Video
Infected Digital Booklet – Bonus Version

The “One More Time” single is currently available for purchase on iTunes, which includes an instrumental version of the song and a live version of Iron Maiden’s “Hallowed Be Thy Name” recorded in Gothenburg in 2009.









For more HAMMERFALL click here.

Columbia, SC rockers Crossfade have signed with Eleven Seven Music. Home to some of today’s most influential rock groups such as Motley Crue, Papa Roach, Drowning Pool, Buckcherry and more, Crossfade are scheduled to release their latest effort, We All Bleed in June 2011.

We All Bleed, the band’s third album, delves into familiar lyrical themes of betrayal and isolation, but there’s also more than a hint of renewal and resolution. “A lot has changed over the past three years,” says lead vocalist and co-songwriter Ed Sloan. “Being down and out is something I’ve had to confront like never before. There’s been pain, but I’ve also learned to dwell less on the negative, so there’s a feeling of rebirth, too.”

The album’s 10 tracks, produced by the band, maintain the sonic thunderclap of Crossfade‘s previous efforts, while propelling its guitar-grinding signature with a tapestry of orchestration and programming, and a flourish of keyboards, thanks to the addition of Les Hall and drummer Mark Castillo to the permanent line-up, alongside Sloan, bassist Mitch James.

Highlights on We All Bleed include “Dear Cocaine,” a slow burner that addresses letting go of addiction; “I Think You Should Know,” offering a deceptively temperate arrangement behind a lyric about escaping reality by retreating in sleep; and “Killing Me Inside,” a straightforward assailing classic Crossfade rock ‘n’ roll anthem, albeit with a touch of crafty orchestration.

“Killing Me Inside,” the first single off We All Bleed is available to purchase on iTunes. Get it here.

CROSSFADE TOUR DATES:
4/12 – Clarksville, TN @ The Warehouse
4/13 – Memphis, TN @ Newby’s
4/15 – Mobile, AL @ Soul Kitchen
4/16 – Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
4/17 – Charleston, SC Music Farm
5/21 – Columbus, Oh @ Rock On The Range
5/24 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop
5/26 – Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
5/28 – Lancaster, PA Chameleon Club









For more CROSSFADE click here.

The 2011 daily performance lineup has been announced for ROCKLAHOMA, the three-day camp and rock festival that will feature a mix of the best classic bands and today’s top active rock artists. America’s biggest Memorial Day Weekend party kicks off summer May 27-29 at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK.

The daily performance lineup for ROCKLAHOMA is as follows:
Friday, May 27
Whitesnake, Hinder, Skillet, Sick Puppies, All That Remains, My Darkest Days, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Texas Hippie Coalition, New Medicine, Bad Things, Wildstreet, Loveblast, D’Molls, Alias, Blue Tiger, Firststryke, Chuck Cooley and the Demon Hammers, Signum A.D., Silverstone, Return to Custody

Saturday, May 28
Staind, Sebastian Bach, Drowning Pool, Rev Theory, Cavo, Pop Evil, The Gracious Few, Hail the Villain, Taddy Porter, Electric Touch, Gypsy Pistoleros, Cutlass, Mock Star, Aura Surreal, Aska, Strikeforce, Siva Addiction, A Good Fight, Bait, Rocker Lips, Sweatin Bullets

Sunday, May 29
Mötley Crüe, Poison, Papa Roach, Seether, Black Label Society, Saving Abel, Escape The Fate, Crooked X, Art Of Dying, One Less Reason, Bad Things, The Glitter Boys, Black Tora, New Cool World, Pretty Little Suicide, Diemonds, Brandon Clark Band, David Castro Band, Desi and Cody

The official ROCKLAHOMA pre-party on Thursday, May 26 will feature performances from Fist of Rage, Tiranico, Aformatic, Floodlyne, Blackwood, and Stun.

New to ROCKLAHOMA 2011 is the AXiS Campground Stage. Since the camping experience is one of the most memorable parts of ROCKLAHOMA for many fans, event producers have added this special performance area to enhance the campground. Anyone holding festival and camping tickets will be able to experience the sounds of the country’s finest new rock bands performing on this stage, located next to the General Store in the main campgrounds. Camping tickets may be purchased by calling the ROCKLAHOMA Camping Office at (866) 310-2288, where fans can choose their exact campsite.

Single day tickets for ROCKLAHOMA go on-sale Friday, April 15 at 10am CST at all Ticketmaster outlets and at www.rocklahoma.com.

Fans are encouraged to buy tickets early as prices will increase as of Friday, April 15 at 10am CST and again the week of the event. General Admission 3-day ticket prices are now available for only $119 plus service fees and VIP Reserved 3-day tickets, which include unlimited beverages and catered meals as well as access to the air conditioned VIP tent, are just $320 plus service fees. As of 10am CST April 15, prices will be $139 plus service fees for General Admission and $350 plus service fees for VIP Reserved.

Doors to the main ROCKLAHOMA festival area and stages will open at 3pm each day. Campgrounds will open on Sunday, May 22 and remain open until Tuesday, May 31.

For more ROCKLAHOMA click here.

On May 20th in Europe and on June 7th in North America, HAMMERFALL will release their eighth studio album, entitled Infected.

After laying down the foundation themselves in their own studio in Sweden, the band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to put on the finishing touches on the album with acclaimed producer James Michael (MÖTLEY CRÜE, SCORPIONS, MEAT LOAF), who also mixed the album.

Founding member & guitarist Oscar Dronjak explains: “James helped us create something that was new and exciting while still in the line of our heritage. You will experience us like you never have before! We’ve got a lot of fresh influences shining through in the music, but everything you love about HAMMERFALL will still be there. This is HAMMERFALL in 2011; the legend has been reborn!”

HAMMERFALL frontman Joacim Cans adds: “Never before have we sounded this fresh and up-to-date without losing the essence of what HAMMERFALL is all about: Pure ‘Infected’ Heavy Metal!”

The track listing for Infected is as follows:
Patient Zero
Bang Your Head
One More Time
The Outlaw
Send Me A Sign
Dia De Los Muertos
I Refuse
666 – The Enemy Within
Immortalized
Let’s Get It On
Redemption



A video will be shot with Patrick Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, ENSLAVED, ARCH ENEMY) of Revolver Film, who also created the album artwork for Infected.









For more HAMMERFALL click here.

POISON and MÖTLEY CRÜE are teaming up for the first time in their history, co-headlining the Glam – A – Gedon 25 North American tour with special guests the NEW YORK DOLLS. Although several controversial statements have been made in the press by certain members of Mötley Crüe vowing this tour would never happen, that is simply not the case. Fans of both bands have spoken and want the tour to happen and both Mötley Crüe and Poison have agreed. Concert promoters in these select cities state that the buzz is unbelievable for both the Poison dates as well as the Mötley Crüe / Poison tour. No doubt this will be the rock tour of the summer. Both Poison and Mötley Crüe have a long history of hit songs, bigger than life stage shows, no holds barred live energy not to mention the two bands combined have sold over 100 million records and have over 24 top 40 hits between them.

Glam – A – Gedon 25 North American tour dates:
May
29 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma
June
7 – Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
9 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
10 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
12 – Albuquerque, NM – Hard Rock Pavilion
14 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
15 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
17 – Phoenix, AZ – Desert Sky Pavilion
18 – Las Vegas, NV – Venue TBD
19 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
21 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
22 – Maryland Heights, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
24 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
25 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
26 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
28 – Toronto, ON – Molson Amphitheatre
29 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
July
1 – Tinley Park, IL – FMB Amphitheatre
2 – Noblesville, IN – Verizon Wireless Music Center
3 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
5 – Hollywood, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena
6 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
8 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
9 – Pelham, AL – Verizon Wireless Music Center *
10 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
12 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
13 – Hershey, PA – Star Pavilion at Hersheypark
15 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
16 – Camden, NJ – Susquehannna Bank Center
19 – Mansfield, MA – Comcast Center
20 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
22 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
23 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
27 – Cheyenne, WY – Frontier Days **
29 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
30 – Frederick, MD – Outlaw Jam 2011
31 – Scranton, PA – Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
August
5 – Tomah, WI – Fort McCoy

* Mötley Crüe and New York Dolls only
** Mötley Crüe only









Tickets for the Mötley Crüe/Poison tour will go on sale March 18th.
For more MOTLEY CRUE click here.
For more POISON click here.

Rocklahoma returns May 27-29 to kick off summer with the nation’s biggest Memorial Day Weekend party at Catch The Fever Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK! 2011 marks the 5th Anniversary of the three-day camp & rock festival that will feature a mix of the best classic bands and today’s top active rock artists. Rocklahoma is proud to be presented by Bud Light.

The initial Rocklahoma lineup includes: MÖTLEY CRÜE, STAIND, WHITESNAKE, SEETHER, PAPA ROACH, SAVING ABEL, SKILLET, SICK PUPPIES, SEBASTIAN BACH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DROWNING POOL, MY DARKEST DAYS, REV THEORY, ALL THAT REMAINS, ESCAPE THE FATE, CAVO, THE GRACIOUS FEW (FEATURING MEMBERS OF LIVE AND CANDLEBOX), HAIL THE VILLAIN, JONATHAN TYLER & THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, TADDY PORTER, POP EVIL, CROOKED X, TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION, NEW MEDICINE, ART OF DYING, ELECTRIC TOUCH, ONE LESS REASON, GYPSY PISTOLEROS, ALIAS, WILDSTREET, THE GLITTER BOYS, GUNNER SIXX, BLACK TORA, MAD MAX, AURA SURREAL, FIRSTRYKE, ASKA, PRETTY LITTLE SUICIDE, ARENA, BLUE TIGER, BAD THINGS, CUTLASS, MOCK STAR and more special guests to be announced.

“2011 promises to deliver the biggest Rocklahoma punch to date!” says Joe Litvag, Senior Vice President of AEG Live and Co-Executive Producer of Rocklahoma. “Not only have we stepped up our game with the top active rock artists on the charts this year like Seether, Papa Roach and Sick Puppies, but we’ve also taken the classic artists to a new level of insanity with the likes of Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake, and a few surprises yet to come! The Rocklahoma loyalists asked for it, and we heard them loud and clear…This is the perfect balance of talent that will give something to every rock fan in the region!”

General Admission and VIP packages for Rocklahoma go on sale Friday, February 18 at 10am CST at all Ticketmaster outlets and www.Rocklahoma.com. General Admission 3-day ticket prices start as low as $99.50. Fans can save by buying early as ticket prices will increase in the coming weeks. Camping tickets may be purchased by calling the Rocklahoma Camping Office at (866) 310-2288, where fans can choose their exact campsite.

The VIP tickets and packages for the 2011 festival are sure to please the most rabid rock fans. This year’s VIP packages include:

Groupie Package (1 Person)
- VIP Reserved Ticket
- Access to air-conditioned VIP Catering Tent
- Private Backstage Lounge Access
- Weekend Pit Access

Roadie Package (1 Person)
- VIP Reserved Ticket
- Access to air-conditioned VIP Catering Tent
- Private Backstage Lounge Access
- Private Restroom Access
- Weekend Pit Access
- VIP Deck Access
- Event Poster, T-Shirt and Festival Mug
- Commemorative Laminate

Rockstar Package (2 Person)
- All amenities from Roadie Package
- Three Night Stay at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa
- Shuttle Service to and from festival
- Best Seats in the House

For a detailed list of amenities included in the 2011 Rocklahoma VIP ticket packages, visit Rocklahoma.com.

“We’ve always tried to offer the greatest experience to our Rocklahoma VIPs,” comments Mark Nuessle, President of Catch the Fever Festival Grounds and Co-Executive Producer of the festival. “This year we’ve brought back the air-conditioning to our VIP catering tent and backstage lounge, by popular demand, and we’ve expanded our packages to include Pit access, Best Seats in the House, and even hotel accommodations and transportation this year! For those who want to be pampered, Rocklahoma will take good care of you!”

Rocklahoma is located just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, OK. The Catch the Fever Festival Grounds is a premier destination for a multi-day festival and includes on-site camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas and much more.

Established in 2007 as a classic rock destination festival with the motto “life, liberty and the pursuit of rock,” Rocklahoma was revamped for 2010 as organizers teamed with AEG Live to create an event encompassing a much broader mix of classic, current and up-and-coming rock artists.

For more ROCKLAHOMA click here.

In two weeks, Sweden’s most successful heavy metal band HAMMERFALL will enter the studio with producer James Michael to record the follow up to 2009’s No Sacrifice, No Victory, which debuted at #38 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart for top new artists.

HAMMERFALL guitarist / founding member Oscar Dronjak shares a little insight on the songwriting, which is almost complete: “The new material contains a lot of fresh ways to look at [our] musical ideas. We’re trying to preserve the essence of what HAMMERFALL is while at the same time updating the execution and approach. Definitely heavier and less straight-forward than the previous albums, yet remaining true to what we believe heavy metal is all about.”

This follow-up album marks a significant change for the Swedish quintet, as the band has worked exclusively with producer Charlie Bauerfeind since 2002. HAMMERFALL’s search for a new producer ended with James Michael (Mötley Crüe, Scorpions, SIXX:AM, Meat Loaf).

Oscar explains: “Working with James Michael is going to be very, very exciting. The two Mötley Crüe album [he] has been involved in (as a songwriter on New Tattoo and as songwriter/producer on Saints Of Los Angeles) are great, and easily stack up against the classic albums of the ‘80s. [I am] very psyched about this collaboration; it will automatically bring a freshness to the proceedings! A lot of what HF was got refined when we started working with Charlie, and I’m sure we’ll get a similar kind of reaction here. Sort of like a kick in the ass to get going in the right direction.”

Vocalist Joacim Cans comments on another important aspect to HAMMERFALL’s upcoming studio time: “I see James Michael as one of my favorite singers of today and his work with SIXX:AM is simply fantastic. Not only is the album one of the best-ever made production-wise, but James also delivers a vocal performance that most singers today are not capable of. James will be the perfect co-producer for us and I really think he will be able to get me up a notch in the vocal department.”

The as-yet-untitled new album will be released in Europe on May 20th. A summer release in North America is expected.

For more HAMMERFALL click here.

Of the many bands I’ve followed over the last two decades, only a handful have had a strong staying power in my musical library…one such band is Atlanta based powerhouse Sevendust.  When I first saw Sevendust, back on a cold winter night twelve years ago at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT, I knew they were going somewhere.  Never did I dream that I would be seeing them grace the stage at Woodstock ’99, let alone have the chance to interview the backbone of the band, iconic drumming idol Morgan Rose.  While Woodstock was 1999′s biggest concert event… flash forward to 2010, the year in which I finally got to chat with rock’s biggest drummer on a stop of rock’s biggest tour… the Carnival of Madness.  Eight albums, one rockstar wife, and one Playmate of the Month wife later, there were many questions to be answered.  How does one get the answers to twelve years worth of questions into twelve minutes worth of conversation?  Sit back, crack open a cold one, and find out.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well Morgan, congratulations on the tour, and the album Cold Day Memory, which I think is destined to become a classic in the Sevendust catalog.

MORGAN ROSE:  I appreciate it man.

AWAY-TEAM:  I’m really impressed with it.  Now, with Cold Day Memory you kinda seem to have gotten back to the core Sevendust sound.  Do you attribute that to the chemistry of having a guy like Clint Lowery back in the fold?

MORGAN ROSE:  Oh yeah, 100 percent.  Ya know, we did three records without him, and we missed him.  You know that’s like bringing in that fifth element, ya know.  I mean, the sound of our band was always the heavy riffs, the melodic choruses, and the three different voices.  Really, to be honest, the last time we really had a decent amount of power on a record was Animosity, because we were dictated to during Seasons alot, so it still sounded like us, but we were told what to do.  So we had to kinda groove our direction that way, and we like that record, but Animosity was really the last time that all five of us had the power to be able to do exactly what we wanted, so this was the first time since then, and I think that it showed for sure.

MORGAN ROSE:  For sure.  Ya know, being a fan first and foremost, you can really see that you guys are clicking on all cylinders again.

MORGAN ROSE:  Yeah, definitely.  We’re excited.  We’re really happy to get him back, and get our little family back together, and get in the studio.  Because, you know, we did a lot of touring before we were able to get in there with him, so…it was nice to get back in the studio.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now, that album was actually released on your own label 7 Bros.  How did 7 Bros. come about?  Was it kinda the product of “We’ve been fucked over by TVT, we’ve been fucked over by Winedark, we KNOW we’re not gonna fuck ourselves over”? I mean, how did that come around?

MORGAN ROSE:  Uh… Yeah, it was kind of a partnership thing we did through Warner Music, ya know for the first time we were gonna get the real distribution through WEA.  We were gonna have the machine through Warner to borrow people to work for us, and help us out.  So, even though it’s our own label, and considered an indie, we’ve got the resources all around us, and you add our management In De Goot into the fold, all of a sudden… you’ve got a massive machine at radio with In De Goot; you know Bill McGathy has the been the godfather of radio for a very long time.  The combination put us in a position where we felt we had enough behind us to be able to pull this off on our own.

AWAY-TEAM:  You’re widely considered to be one of the best drummers of all-time…

MORGAN ROSE:  (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  truthfully, you see it everywhere, it is what it is, right?

MORGAN ROSE:  That’s crazy.  I’m totally flattered that people think that.

AWAY-TEAM:  The most amazing thing to me, is that it’s hard enough to play at the level that you do, but to sing at the same time?  That just blows my mind.  I mean guys like you, and Phil Collins always amazed me because he had such a great voice, but could play the shit out of the drums at the same time.  I’ve always wondered, how do you manage to keep your voice holding one note, and your hands and feet holding another?

MORGAN ROSE:  I don’t know.  I mean it all really started years ago… I’d be writing parts for other people to do and practice, I’d come up with these parts for other people to sing, and they’d be like “Well why don’t you just sing it?”  And I’m like “I don’t wanna be hindered with a microphone back here”, of course the stupid headset came into play, and that was like, that’ll be so you don’t have to move a mic around.  As embarassing as that thing might be, I was glad when Tommy Lee wore it, because it opened the door so I would feel a little less embarassed.  Ya know, it is what it is.  It was one of those things where I developed some ideas, doing something in a certain voice, and everyone just told me they wanted me to do it.  In one way, I wish I never would’ve brought it up, in another way it helped define our sound a bit having that extra voice.

AWAY-TEAM:  You say, in one way you wish you never did it.  Is it because it’s just kind of a burden as your trying to play?

MORGAN ROSE:  Uh… it’s not hard to do, I think it’s probably more that I’m just completely combustive back there.  Ya know I’d like to just lose my mind, and I do the best that I can, but ya know that things in my way and…I mean I’ve gotta do all kinds of prep work to make sure that thing doesn’t fly off.  So I use a mic that’s not really a state of the art microphone, just because it’s the only one that’ll stay on my head the way that I play.  So I’ve got a mic that’s not really the highest quality, just because I wanna make sure I can play the way that I want to play.  But at the same time, that voice lends itself to distortion, so if the mic breaks up a little bit it kinda adds to the sound live.

AWAY-TEAM:  Does having Clint back in the fold lift some of that vocal burden from you?

MORGAN ROSE:  Uh, yeah, ya know the harmony stuff was always left up to him.  When he was gone Vinny and John took over that area.  So it’s not so much of a change as far as how much I’m doing, but on this record, ya know Clint has quite a heavy voice of his own, so he took a little bit of the grunt, or some of that work from me, so I don’t have to worry about doing as much.  So yeah, it’s helped out in lightening the workload on me a little bit.

AWAY-TEAM:  You guys have been out touring and playing for a long time.  I remember the first time I saw you guys, back in ’98, at a little club called the Webster Theater in Hartford, you were there with Godsmack, Kid Rock, and I think One Minute Silence, and Second Coming.  You’ve come a long way from that thus far, in fact I even saw you guys play at Woodstock ’99.  So what’s been the absolute highlight of your career so far?

MORGAN ROSE:  I mean, ya know when we went over and played for the troops, that was a big highlight for us.  We played for some big crowds, and we played for some small ones, but overall to think that we’re just “five little rednecks from Georgia” that twelve years later, actually twelve years signed, but fifteen years later these kids that grew up playing a little bar in Atlanta called The Rec Room in front of fifty to a hundred people are now being invited to go and play for the men and women who protect our country, and to be personally invited to do that was just an honor.  Not a lot of people get to do things like that, so we felt very blessed, and it made us feel amazing inside.  We’ve had so many opportunities to do, ya know, Woodstock and some of the tours that we’ve done, they’ve been great, they’ve been highlights, but to do something like that.  It just sets itself apart.

AWAY-TEAM:  It’s good to see people giving back to those guys. 

MORGAN ROSE:  Oh Yeah!

AWAY-TEAM:   You mentioned Tommy Lee earlier, Tommy has a tremendous amount of respect for you.  You actually got to fill in for him a few times, how was that experience?  I mean it’s fucking Motley Crue, was it intimidating? Was it exciting?  How’d that all pan out?

MORGAN ROSE:  It was terrifying, because I got the call to do that just a few hours before I actually hit the stage.  I mean, I got the call and in two hours I was at the airport getting on a plane that I barely made, to Cincinnati, to get to the venue, and in another two hours I was on stage.  And I didn’t know how to play any of the songs, I mean it was nerve-wracking to say the least.  But he’s one of my best friends, and I love him dearly, and for him to call me and have me fill in for him in a pinch was definitely an honor.  And to be able to, I can put that in my memory bank, and in my book of accomplishments.  I mean Nikki Sixx actually put out a press release, that said “As of now Motley Crue’s a five man band”, and I was like “WOW” that was cool.

AWAY-TEAM:  You’ve had some dark times in the past few years.  You admittedly were not in it mentally, but you’ve pulled through and seem to have a renewed vigor.  You’ve just put out one of your best albums to date, where’s Morgan Rose at now? And what’s the plan after Sevendust?

MORGAN ROSE:  I’m in a great place right now.  I’ve got a great girlfriend that…I think that, short of doing this for a living and some of the damage that it does to you out here, ya know it is sort of a fantasy world, I mean everything that we do out here is so far from reality sometimes, that you get home and you gotta learn how to be a human being again.  And we spend so much time on the road, that sometimes your decision making on the people that you’re with can be a little clouded.  I’ve got two great kids, out of the people that I’ve made the decision to be with prior to my current girlfriend… and there was a lot of quick decisions that were made without really knowing each other well enough.  And then with those situations, I’ve lived and learned and we’re taking it at the right pace I think.  I’ve got a great girl, and I’ve got great kids, and I get along with both the exes just fine, so… I’m in a much better place now than I’ve been in, god ya know, maybe ever.

AWAY-TEAM:  That’s about all that you can ask for, to get along with the exes. (laughs)

MORGAN ROSE:  Yeah.  And as far as after Sevendust, I don’t know.  It occupies so much of your time, ya know Clint works endlessly on trying to create music for this band, or for somebody else or, that’s his outlet to be able to stay consistently working on music.  You know he’s gonna have a baby soon, and that’ll probably slow him down, and he knows it.  It’s something that I think about, but I’m still thinking that we got this thing on the track right now for a while to come, ya know, our bodies are not breaking down as quick as I thought they would.  Ya know, fifteen years of playing together, and thirteen years on the road, you’d figure that the bodies would break down quicker than they have, and “knock on wood” we’re doing pretty good.

AWAY-TEAM:  So, no plans on being a pro craps player? Because I hear you guys are getting a bit of practice.

MORGAN ROSE:  (laughs) Oh we’re doing… we play cee-lo back there.

AWAY-TEAM:  Lewis (Cosby of the band 10 years) was telling me that. (laughs)

MORGAN ROSE:  Oh yeah man.  That’s our little getaway.  I mean, after doing this for so long, it’s like you’ll find anything to spice up the situation, and that’s fun and you might walk away with a few bucks as well.

AWAY-TEAM:  You have a clothing company called Alien Freak Wear.  How did that get started?  And I understand a portion of the proceeds go to charity?

MORGAN ROSE:  Yeah.  And that thing totally got started, actually the brains behind the whole thing was my first wife (former Coal Chamber bassist Rayna Foss).  I was doing a signing one day, and I signed that little alien face, and I started signing that on all my autographs because people wanted me to do it, and it sort of became my logo.  She said you should put it on a t-shirt and sell it, and I was like “I don’t know who would buy it”.  She told me “You’d be surprised, you’ve got a pretty loyal group of people that follow your band and it wouldn’t be that tough, and we could do something for the kids, and for charity…”  I though it couldn’t hurt, and we’ll do it just to see what happens, and it did really well.  And then I went through a divorce, and we shut it down.  Then I got re-married (to former Playmate Teri Harrison), she said “You should do that again”, and I did it again, and I got a divorce, and I shut it down…and then ya know, it started up again, and it’s doing real well now.

AWAY-TEAM:  Is there any particular charity that goes to?  Or is it just kinda spread out?

MORGAN ROSE:  Uh, well we’ve changed it a few times.  Give a little bit out here, a little bit out there.  The Children’s Shelter of Atlanta, is one of the ones that we like dealing with alot.

AWAY-TEAM:  In a movie about your life, who plays you?

MORGAN ROSE:  Probably uh, Screech.  (laughs) No…

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)

MORGAN ROSE:  God, I don’t know.  Probably Screech!  (laughs)  That’s probably closer to how things have been going, I think I made out better, hopefully, than Screech, but early on I think I was probably Screech.

AWAY-TEAM:  Being the second band out on this tour, and coming out so early, as opposed to what you’re used to in being a headliner, how does that change your daily routine?  And is it a welcome change?

MORGAN ROSE:  Yeah, I mean it’s cool, it’s a short set.  We’re in and out, so we usually don’t stay up until four or five anymore, because when you finish a show at midnight it takes a while to wind down.  Here, we’re off by seven, and ready to go to bed by midnight.  So a little more rest, and we love all the guys out on the tour, so we have a good time with ‘em, so it’s really easy actually.

 AWAY-TEAM:  So with a short set like that, how do you choose a set list?  And aside from the new stuff, is there an old Sevendust staple that must be played every night?

MORGAN ROSE:  Uh, yeah, “Face to Face” gets played every night no matter what.  That’s the one song that never leaves.  But like “Black” is in and out, “Denial” is in and out, “Praise” is in there every night too.

AWAY-TEAM:  I think my all time favorite is “Wired”

MORGAN ROSE:  Yeah, we haven’t played that one in a while!

AWAY-TEAM:  I know!  So aside from the travel, and missing your family and girlfriend, what’s the hardest part of being on the road?

MORGAN ROSE:  Eating.  Eating the right stuff!

AWAY-TEAM:  I hear that. (laughs)   Ten words or less, describe the Carnival of Madness.

MORGAN ROSE:  A lot of dice, a lot of drinking, a lot of sleep!

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs) Well hey Morgan, thanks for your time, it’s been an honor.

MORGAN ROSE:  Thank you, I really appreciate it.

AWAY-TEAM:  Hopefully we’ll talk again soon in the near future.

MORGAN ROSE:  Sounds good, man.  Talk to you soon.

You can catch Sevendust on this fall’s Hard Drive Live Tour with special guests 10 Years and Since October

For more info, including tour dates and to purchase music, visit http://www.sevendust.com/  For more info on Morgan Rose and Alien Freak Wear visit http://www.alienfreakwear.com/

Special thanks go to Morgan Rose for so graciously giving me his time, and Julie Lichtenstein at SKH Music and Amanda Cagan at ABC PR for making it all happen.

Band photos courtesy of Jeremy Adamo.  Individual photo courtesy of Marcy Royce.

In January Pearl Aday released her first album Little Immaculate White Fox to critical praise. No stranger to the stage Pearl started out at a young age running handkerchiefs out to her well known father Meatloaf during his performances. After spending nine years in his band as a backup singer, she then toured with Motley Crue as a ‘Crue Slut’ in 2000 where she met her now husband Scott Ian of Anthrax. Her band is none other than Mother Superior and her guitarist husband performs with her. We recently spoke about growing up the daughter of a Rockstar, why women who rock today are not necessarily Janis Joplin or Pat Benetar clones, how Rock & Roll still exists and is not simply 70’s riffs rehashed, as well as leopard print outfits and g strings. Pearl took the time to explain why she felt now is the time to release her first album, how Slipknot is not a guilty pleasure but just good music, and how difficult it can be stepping out of the shadow of the legendary Meatloaf.

AWAY TEAM: This is Slim Jim with Away-Team.com, and I am speaking with Pearl Aday. Congratulations on the release of your first album Little Immaculate White Fox. It came out in January, and how have the sales and reception for it been so far?

PEARL ADAY: Both really good considering that we’re just a tiny little baby band. But reception all around has been really great. The response we’ve been getting it’s just really been positive. People either know about me and they really love it because they’re so set already, or they’re a lot of the time pleasantly surprised because a lot of people don’t know who I am. They hear the references for Meatloaf and they hear the reference for Anthrax and they’re like ‘well it’s a girl’, and it’s ‘what is this?’ And then they hear it and they go ‘oh ok this is rock and roll and it’s good, I really dig this’ you know? And this is like usually, I’ve heard a lot too ‘this is like something that I miss and didn’t even know I missed it because it’s not around anymore’ you know what I mean? This is pretty simple; this is rock ‘n’ roll! It’s a girl kicking ass singing rock ‘n’ roll so I mean if it’s good you can’t really go wrong with that.

AWAY TEAM: Well I’d heard about you several years ago basically through following Anthrax and your husband Scott Ian (guitarist for Anthrax), and when the album came out I was looking forward to checking it out and I was very impressed. Not that I didn’t expect anything from it but it exceeded my expectations it was very good! And you’re absolutely right it’s a straightforward rock ‘n’ roll album. A lot of people I’ve heard kinda compare what they call today straightforward rock ‘n’ roll they’re kind of saying it’s a like a ‘70s rock revival and I’m like no, this is what rock ‘n’ roll is! I think people just forgot.

PEARL ADAY: Exactly! You know I’ve been getting that story of like throwback, those comments about being a throwback to the ‘70s. It’s like well, has it not been around that long? Like is that the last time you heard really like good true simple rock ‘n’ roll done like this? I guess maybe it is, but it’s kinda funny that people consider it a throwback. This is rock ‘n’ roll! This is classic you know what I mean? Classic in the sense that it never goes out of style. People seem to think that it’s like a retro thing. Not everybody, but a lot of people. I guess I get that but I don’t necessarily agree with it

AWAY TEAM: I’ve always found it amusing that straightforward male rock ‘n’ roll bands like say Jet or whatnot, they get compared to AC/DC. If you’re a straightforward male rock ‘n’ roll band oh well you’re like AC/DC. And if you’re a female fronted or female rock ‘n’ roll band, oh, well you’re Janis Joplin, or you’re Heart or you’re like Pat Benetar. But you’re not necessarily like anybody else. It doesn’t have to be that throwback. It’s new, it’s modern, its straightforward rock ‘n’ roll. Period.

PEARL ADAY: Right. Thank you!

AWAY TEAM: Absolutely! And I promise that will be the only Janis Joplin reference in the interview.

PEARL ADAY: Cool! Well I love Janis! I mean people bring up her name with mine in the same sentence all the time. And I think that she’s amazing, but I don’t think that I sound like Janis. I don’t think anyone sounds like Janis you know what I mean? It’s flattering but at the same time that’s not true. I would say that anybody, nobody, was like her before and or ever will be after her! So it’s good you and I are on the same page.

AWAY TEAM: A little quick history of yours, you are Meatloaf’s daughter. Growing up backstage, at home, and on the road did you realize who your father was? I’ve heard stories or read interviews where when you were very young you would run out in between songs on stage and change out his hankies for him or his handkerchiefs. But did you understand how big he was? Who Meatloaf was and what he had done with Bat Out of Hell?

PEARL ADAY: Well no I don’t think when I was 4 years old I was understanding the whole scope of what Bat Out of Hell had done. The sort of the walls that he had broken down, especially being a big guy, and fronting a band which is what initially gave him a lot of trouble trying to get into the business. Because they’re like you’re a big guy that sings rock opera what the hell is this? And he just kept going and going and going until it worked and it was massive. So no, when I was 4 years old of course I didn’t understand the scope of that. I don’t quite remember how I thought of it. I did understand that that was his job and that he would go to work and go up on stage and sing, and there would be packed arenas of thousands of people singing his songs and screaming for him and adoring him. So how a child gets that or how to processes that concept I don’t really remember, But I remember understanding that that was what he did, that was his job. There’s a story that my mom loves to tell when, we always had an apartment in Manhattan, we I grew up in and I went to school in Connecticut. We had a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Manhattan, we don’t anymore but growing up I did. We had a place that was right across the street from Central Park and my dad had a day off and it wasn’t a day when he was playing softball in the park cuz he used to do that a lot too. And it was like daddy-daughter day and he took me to the park right by the softball fields where there’s swings and stuff like that. We just got swarmed by fans! I’m on the swing and he’s pushing me and I remember this, I was like 5 years old I think, and he’s pushing me on the swing and then I go forward and I come back and I turn and he’s not there to push me again! But he’s signing autographs. And after that we went back the apartment and my mom asked ‘so how was the day Pearl?’ and I just went ‘Meatloaf, Meatloaf, Meatloaf that’s all I ever hear is Meatloaf’! That was around that time of Bat Out Of Hell. And then it happened again in the 90’s, we couldn’t go anywhere without him just being swarmed. So as a little girl I don’t think I totally got that. I think that it was just like people are annoying and taking my dad away from daddy-daughter day, I didn’t totally get the autograph thing. Growing up, when I was 19 that’s when I started singing in his band. I sang in his band for 9 years so at that point I understood what was going on. But when I was real little I think it was more, ‘ok this is what dad does and people like to talk to him when we’re out.’

AWAY TEAM: So at what point did the music bug bite you? At what point did you say hey either I’m good at this or this is what I really want to do?

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know, I always remember singing around the house and making little girl groups with my girlfriends and performing in the living room for everybody. We had a girl group called the Bottle Caps I remember. We would put on tutus and lip sync to Leader of the Pack, I don’t know why Leader of the Pack but that we liked that song when we were 10. In elementary middle school I was always in plays and musicals and high school I was the lead in all the musicals and in a band, and in college I was in a band. So I think it was just always just something that I was gravitating towards, always singing in the house, and writing in high school. I started writing poems and putting them to music; stuff like that. I think always I always wanted to be a singer. Always!

AWAY TEAM: You were, as you already stated, Meatloaf’s backup singer for many years and you were a backup singer for Motley Crue for awhile, so what took you so long to step out front and do your own album?

PEARL ADAY: It’s funny when people say “what took you so long?” But I think that if I tried to do this 10 years ago this wouldn’t have come out. I think that it needed to happen naturally and organically and I had to live the life that I’ve lived up to this point in order to make this music and write these lyrics. You know I had to I had to experience it first, Well I experienced a shitload my entire life, but I also had to get the experience of performing and I think build up my gut. It’s quite an intimidating thing to have a parent who is such a megastar and that is what you want to do too and sort of…

AWAY TEAM: Oh I can’t imagine! I can’t imagine trying to step out of that shadow.

PEARL ADAY: Forget about it! It’s really scary and unless…you know a different personality might have gone ‘blaahhhh here I am! I’m ready!’ but I’m sort of more like I’ll hang out until I’m ready because I don’t want to come out and do it half assed or go out and look like I don’t know what I’m doing. I want it to be the best that it’s gonna be and I think that’s what this is for right now. You know the next album that we write might be better. I don’t know. It will be different in the sense that it’ll be different songs and I’ll have lived that much longer and learned that much more through the cycle of this album, performing and finding my feet onstage as a front-person in a band which is something that I’ve become really comfortable with right now. But I still don’t know everything that there is to know. Every time I go onstage I learn something new about myself and as a performer. In terms of what you said ‘why did it take you so long’ and I don’t think… I don’t see it that way. I see it as this is happening now. This is what’s happening now it wasn’t going to happen before. I used to do some interviews with my dad through those 9 years when I was performing in his band with him and he would introduce me sometimes as ‘yeah this is my daughter the amazing singer who’s afraid to sing’ because it was true. I was comfortable in my niche being a backup singer which, don’t get me wrong, that’s an important job especially with Jim Steinman and Meatloaf songs! Those parts are not easy. Those are complicated songs. I wasn’t fronting it though, I was back there and my voice was blending in with lots of other voices with the other people who were singing on stage too. I don’t think I was ready then to step out, I needed to observe a little longer and I needed to find it in myself.

AWAY TEAM: You’ve done a few dates for the release of the album. I actually saw your performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live which is so far the only chance I’ve had to see you perform. I know your band is opening for Meatloaf on his tour starting next month. When will we see you out doing a full fledged tour on your own?

PEARL ADAY: Hopefully we’ll be able to get back out and do that again. We actually did that in the spring for a month. We went all around the U.S. doing headlining club dates. First time we ever did that in the States and that was great. So hopefully we’ll be getting to do that again soon. I’m always ready to perform whenever, wherever, because I love it so much. But I always say the money fairies have to visit us because we don’t have a machine or a record label or stuff like that. So every tour everything that we do comes from our pockets and it’s not cheap! Contrary to what most people think my dad doesn’t give me a penny. My dad is a very wealthy man but it doesn’t mean that I am you know what I mean? Definitely letting me forge my own path find my own way with this. He’s not buying me tour buses and shit like that. Actually these opening dates for him we were told no! no! no! no! no no no no no no… forever and ever and ever. Then at the last minute I got an email from him saying, ‘what are you doing from Aug 12th on?’ I’m going ‘I thought you told us no, what are you doing?’ so though we’re thrilled I mean are you kidding me? We start here in LA at the Gibson Amphitheater so you know it’s much better than the Cheyenne Saloon, it’ll be a really, really good run for us. We’re just stoked.

AWAY TEAM: How do you go from being a backup singer for Meatloaf to becoming a Nasty Habit for Motley Crue?

PEARL ADAY: You audition! (Laughs) Yeah, I auditioned. In 2000 I heard they were auditioning girls but we weren’t the Nasty Habits we were the Crue Sluts. The Nasty Habits were from the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. They were before us that was Donna and Amy. We were called the Crue Sluts from the Frank Zappa song. You know there’s a song called the Crew Sluts. Actually that’s how they would open the show before the band would come on, there would be sirens and a light show and they would play Zappa’s Crew Sluts so it was cool.

AWAY TEAM: I actually saw the Maximum Rock Tour in 2000.

PEARL ADAY: Yeah in 2000 that’s the one I was on.

AWAY TEAM: It had you and who was the other singer?

PEARL ADAY: Well where did you see it? Cuz we had one girl who started and then she quit two weeks in and we got another girl. The first girl had short dark hair and the second girl had long red hair.

AWAY TEAM: Ok, this was in Sacramento and I think it was almost halfway through the run if I’m not mistaken.

PEARL ADAY: I think Sacramento was towards the beginning.

AWAY TEAM: Was it towards the beginning? Ok.

PEARL ADAY: Yeah we started like June 25th or something up in Sacramento actually.

AWAY TEAM: Ok yeah cuz I know that Anthrax was still on the bill and unfortunately they didn’t last throughout the whole tour.

PEARL ADAY: Right, right yeah so you saw me and Marty her name was.

AWAY TEAM: Ok, and then Samantha Maloney (HOLE drummer) was doing drums at that point too for Motley Crue, so you had as much estrogen onstage as testosterone from the Motley Crue boys…

PEARL ADAY: (Laughs) I guess so! Well they always had girls. They’d never had a female drummer before, so that was super cool. Yeah I think even with those guys the testosterone definitely outweighed the estrogen!

AWAY TEAM: How did your dad handle your touring with Motley Crue? The infamous Motley Crue…

PEARL ADAY: Fine! It was fine. I mean he’s a performer he understands performance and costume… and I mean we had 5 costume changes. I don’t know if you remember, there was the rubber dress and the nurse outfit, the nasty nurse, and then there was the Wild Side with the leopard and the g-string. I mean it was great, with a cat ‘o’ nine tails yeah! I think we actually came and played Gibson Amphi- it was Universal Amphitheater back then but my dad came to the show. And he was backstage beforehand and the first costume of the show was a like a blue rubber mini cop dress with a zipper down the front. And I had a long, long wig like a long blonde wig with blonde bangs and blue eye shadow from my lashes to my eyebrows. A push up bras like 3 of them and platform boots, thigh high platform boots. I walked out and I walked right up to him and he looked at me like I was a stranger. He didn’t recognize me! I went, ‘dad it’s me’ and he was like ‘WHOA’! He never expected to see me like that. And Girls, Girls, Girls when we come out up we would like walk down the catwalks and come up to the front and dance on a little platform I think I saw him peeking through his own fingers out in the audience like that yeah. He wasn’t I mean you can’t really freak out a Rockstar you know? He gets that its performance, so it’s all costume and lights and loud music.

AWAY TEAM: So you did a lot of writing for Little Immaculate White Fox with the boys from Mother Superior, which used to be Henry Rollins‘ Band or for the Rollins Band they performed with him. How’d you get connected up with them?

PEARL ADAY: Actually Scott knew them. When Scott and I first started dating I was a fan of Mother Superior and Scott happened to know them and introduced me to them. I think it was one of my birthdays and he invited them to my birthday party. I was really like just a dorky fangirl and I had a couple of drinks and I walked up to them and I said ‘hey I’m Pearl’ and they were like ‘yeah happy birthday’. After awhile of talking I said ‘hey what do you guys think about having a chick sing with you maybe a little bit?’ I don’t know what am I saying! (Laughs) They kind of like stopped and looked at each other and I was like ‘oh god what did I just say’! Then they turned around and went ‘ok’. So from that point on they’d say well we got we have a riff or melody we have song idea, so I’d go over to their… this was when they still shared an apartment Jim and Marcus. And I’d go over to their place and they’d play it for me and I’d record it and then I’d take it home and start plugging in lyrics. We’d get together after that and flesh it out but that’s pretty much how we worked with all the songs. Later Scott started getting more involved with helping with the arrangements and melody ideas and lyrics and stuff. So there are a few songs where Scott’s in on the writing credits as well. It’s a really, really great process actually because I just clicked with those guys immediately in terms of style and vibe. We were just totally on the same page when it came to all that stuff. It’s like ‘Ah that’s exactly what was in my brain!’ So it was just an organic and natural thing. I met these guys and then fell into writing with them and because it’s not easy to find a writing partner, not everybody can write together. And this just happened to be a perfect match, so it’s really good!

AWAY TEAM: How long was that writing period from the time you approached them at your birthday party until the release of the album or at least the starting of the recording of the album?

PEARL ADAY: Well it was a few years because we initially got together and got a bunch of songs and went in and recorded a demo album at Cherokee Studios here in LA. It’s actually flattened now, which is sad because it was a really cool old studio full of lots of history. But we did that and played… I got a band together I didn’t initially play with the guys from Mother Superior they just played on the demo. I played around town with those songs that we recorded. I had like a 9 piece… I had like a horn section and a B3 organ and guitars and drums and like a huge band which is kinda tough when you’re playing the Viper Room you know cuz its tiny. We sorta lived with those songs and noticed that some of them weren’t quite as good as others and some of them were pretty weak so we got rid of the shitty ones and wrote new ones. Then started rehearsing the new ones and freshening up on the older ones and called Scott (Ian) and Joe Baresi, the producer, and gave him a call and he came down to one of our rehearsals and agreed to produce the album. Which is now Little Immaculate White Fox with the exception of Broken White, and the cover of Ike & Tina’s Nutbush City Limits. Those two we tacked on at the end. Broken White was the last song that was written, that’s like the newest one and that one includes writing credit for my guitar player Anale Cult who actually wrote the last song on the album called Anything. Those were recorded at Matt Sorum’s studio and produced by our friend Jay Rustin who does The Donnas and Steel Panther. Joe Baresi did the bulk of it and then Jay did the last two. But it’s a good collaboration.

AWAY TEAM: Is your current touring band is that different from the recording band?

PEARL ADAY: Well it’s funny you say that because my recording band was Mother Superior, the drummer, the bass player and the guitar player and Scott Ian and I have been touring with a different band. Right now my bass player is Marcus Blake from Mother Superior who’s just done the last tour with us and now it’ll be Jim Wilson from Mother Superior on guitar Scott Ian on guitar and our drummer will be filling in for us because my drummer just quit on me at the last minute right before the big tour but the drummer filling in for us on these dates will be my friend Andy Hurley who actually plays with Fall Out Boy.

AWAY TEAM: What was Mother Superior doing? Henry really hasn’t done anything musically for quite awhile, have they been playing around with other people, doing their own thing because I hadn’t really heard their name until you…

PEARL ADAY: You gotta check them out! Mother Superior is a kick ass rock trio! They’re amazing! I was a huge fan of theirs. When I said I was a fan of theirs I’m a fan of Mother Superior I wasn’t talking about Rollins, even though I do like Rollins. They were only the Rollins Band for like 6 years but they’ve been going on their own. They have 12 out, 10 albums, or something like that. They’re not super well known… they’ve got a lot of fans out in Spain and France too. Look ‘em up they’re pretty kick ass! I mean they’re really kick ass! When they’re not doing their own thing they also are uh Daniel Lanois’ touring band.

AWAY TEAM: So how do you go about writing a song? Do you journal everyday, write poems, and then when your collaborators kinda get a song structure down you modify the words or the timing to fit the music? Or do they write the music around your words?

PEARL ADAY: No the music comes first. They’ll send me ideas for melodies or song ideas, the music, and then I’ll sit down and put the words in. so whatever the music is, depending on if it’s upbeat or if it’s mid tempo or slower, and I’ll just sit down with it and let the words come, ideas just come into my mind and the words just come out that way.

AWAY TEAM: And who are your influences musically?

PEARL ADAY: Aw how much time you got? For writing or for lyrics? I’m a huge; god I gotta make a list! This is when you’re a kid and someone asks you what you want for Christmas and you know everything you want and then when you get asked your mind goes blank! As far as lyrics go there are certain songs cuz not every song from a particular artist is my favorite. Of course there’s the regular… there’s Bob Dylan, there’s Joni Mitchell, who are great poets and I love their lyric style. I’ll actually sometimes sit down and if I get stuck writing lyrics I’ll sit down and listen to them because they’re so colorful and visual and they’re such storytellers, that it kind of opens up the room for you. Having writers block for me, it’s like the room’s sort of narrowing down to a pinpoint and you can’t see beyond anything. So listening to those writers or somebody else who I admire the writing style of, it opens it back up again. A friend of mine Leona Ness she’s a singer/songwriter I really admire her songwriting style. You know something like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd! I think that is an amazing song lyrically. It’s just an amazing song but the lyrics in that are like “oh my god I wish I wrote that”!

AWAY TEAM: Which leads into my next question: What’s one song that you listen to and you’re like god if I could have written that, or I should have written that song?

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know if I have just one because they’re all special for different reasons. They’re all amazing you can’t really put one on top because there’s so much amazing stuff. But that one that would definitely be on the list maybe A Song For You Donny Hathaway, you know that one?

AWAY TEAM: It sounds familiar yes, I’d have to go back and listen to it but the name sounds familiar.

PEARL ADAY: I don’t know I’d have to get back to you on that one, that’s a tough one.

AWAY TEAM: And guilty pleasure-wise you know you being the rocker chick with the Meatloaf bloodline and the heavy metal guitarist husband… What’s your guilty pleasure that you’re listening to these days that you’re almost embarrassed to admit or people would be surprised to know?

PEARL ADAY: It’s funny, I talk with Scott and my friends every once in a while about guilty pleasures because it’s fun to ask people what their guilty pleasures are. But it’s funny what other people consider guilty pleasures to be. As far as what people would be surprised to hear me listening to? I guess because my musical tastes are all over the place so I’ll listen to Slipknot. I love Slipknot! And then I’ll put on you know Joni Mitchell Blue or something. I love them both.

AWAY TEAM: It’s quite a dichotomy, quite diverse.

PEARL ADAY: I mean somebody else asked me a question similar to that and I said that I love Slipknot, and they’re like ‘Really? You listen to Slipknot?’ Why is that weird? I don’t get it. Because I’m a girl or? Anyway so people are usually surprised to hear that I like Slipknot I don’t know why.

AWAY TEAM: Seems to me to make perfect sense having the husband you have but you know…

PEARL ADAY: Yeah well it doesn’t mean that I like everything he likes! Even though we kind of do like the same stuff, but it’s funny because when I got with Scott he introduced me to the metal world and then I introduced him to stuff that he loves now. Like Otis Redding and Donny Hathaway and stuff like that which he was aware of but I don’t think he ever really listened to it before. Now he’s really into it so it’s cool!

AWAY TEAM: Well I thank you very much for your time ah good luck on the upcoming tour and hopefully we will see you guys out on your own headlining! And help get the word out there as much as possible for a very good album Little Immaculate White Fox. I wish you all the luck and much success to you!

PEARL ADAY: Thank you, thank you and I thank you for your time because it’s really important to us to have people like you to help us spread the word so thank you back to you

AWAY TEAM: I appreciate it Pearl thank you very much!

PEARL ADAY: Cool alright have a good day!

For more PEARL click here.
To get your own copy of LITTLE IMMACULATE WHITE FOX click here.

Pearl starts her tour tomorrow August 12th. Here are her current dates:
Aug 12 2010 Gibson Amphitheatre Los Angeles, CA
Aug 15 2010 Snoqualmie Casino Snoqualmie, WA
Aug 18 2010 Humphrey’s San Diego, CA
Aug 20 2010 Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
Aug 22 2010 Celebrity Theatre Phoenix, AZ
Aug 24 2010 River Spirit Casino Tulsa, OK
Aug 26 2010 House of Blues dallas, tx
Aug 28 2010 House of Blues Houston, TX
Aug 30 2010 Hard Rock Orlando, FL
Sep 1 2010 Hard Rock Hollywood, FL
Sep 4 2010 Fantasy Springs Indio, CA
Sep 5 2010 Silver Legacy Casino Reno, NV

My thanks to Pearl for taking time out of her busy schedule to do the interview, Kymm at 60 Cycle for setting it up, and Melissa Dolak for her wonderful transcription services.

BUSH fans and die-hard loyalists across North America and around the world are rejoicing over the news, as announced by Gavin Rossdale during Stryker‘s show on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, that BUSH is returning to the front line in 2010.

BUSH will perform is first live show in eight years as part of the Epicenter weekend in Fontana, September 25-26, joining EMINEM and KISS at the Golden State’s inland empire venue. Also in the fall, the first new studio album in nine years from BUSH will be released on Interscope, titled “Everything Always Now“. The CD was produced by Bob Rock, who also helmed Gavin‘s 2008 solo debut, “Wanderlust“, which spawned the crossover hit single “Love Remains the Same” (and whose credits include seminal work with METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, BON JOVI, AEROSMITH, and more).

It all came full circle for BUSH when Gavin previewed “Afterlife“, the first single pick from “Everything Always Now“, during the KROQ interview.

KROQ launched BUSH‘s career on the rock charts in late 1994, with the band’s debut hit single, “Everything Zen“, from BUSH‘s six-times-platinum-certified debut album “Sixteen Stone“. It was the maiden voyage of the British band that emerged two years earlier from Shepherd’s Bush and went on to sell more than 16 million albums in the U.S. and Canada alone: “Razorblade Suitcase” (1996), “Deconstructed” (1997), “The Science of Things” (1999), and “Golden State” (2001). Over the same period, BUSH compiled an amazing string of 14 consecutive Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, including ten that hit the Top 5. Four of these became #1 hits that forever define the decade of the ’90s: “Comedown” (1995), “Glycerine” (1995), “Swallowed” (1996) and “The Chemicals Between Us” (1999).