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Some Spooky Season Picks < Back Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for October Nick Cline Oct 4, 2024 Share Some Spooky Season Picks It’s that time again! This is a bit late because I have been slammed by life lately. I am back and ready to bring your newest slew of music for your listening pleasures. We will dive into various picks that hit you from every angle. All your sonic pleasures will be handled by this month's picks, ranging from local bands across the country to more recognized bands from across rock history. Let's get into October's picks of the month! 1 Honey Bucket by The Melvins Click to listen Deets about the track : First up on the chopping block are Grunge precursors and legends, The Melvins . The track we will be talking about today is ' Honey Bucket .' This dropped-tuning grunge masterpiece has the tone Buzz Osborne (frontman of The Melvins) described as a “car wreck.” Honey Bucket offers high-octane energy in a condensed 3-minute package. All around, this track will wake you up, prepare you for your day, and, let's be honest, that intro will be stuck in your head for the remainder of the week. 2 Semblance of Me by Seether Click to listen Deets about the track : Next up is a track that was recently released on Seether 's latest album, The Surface Seems So Far . The track, ‘ Semblance of Me ,’ makes a new but familiar sound for Seether. It hits you right in the ear as soon as the music starts. The heavily distorted and haunting slowness of the riffs and the angst-driven lyrics and melodies make you dig straight into the sound. As the track progresses, the song's energy pushes increasingly into darkness until it cracks, and the screaming of pain hits with the bridge/breakdown. This track would make an excellent addition for anyone looking for new music filled with relatable energy, new music in general, and just about anything else. 3 Angels Turn Away by Sinz of Eden Click to listen Deets about the track : This next track is from a band that I found while on tour for my band, Phantum Sun . We traveled to Charleston, WV, and played with a band called Sinz of Eden . They are a new take on hard rock and metal but sound deeply familiar. Their track, ‘ Angels Turn Away ,’ is a hard-hitting reminder of a fuse of metalcore and 80s rock. It's an off-the-wall fusion of music, but it has the sensibilities of Avenged Sevenfold style riffs, metalcore drums, melodies of 80s vocalists, and the rounding off powerful bass lines that compliment everything. They are a deep-cut band from WV and surely deserve some spotlight. They have a killer presence live, and their tracks bring that same energy to your playlists at home. 4 This Guilt by Inner Anguish Click to listen Deets about the track : We have two more picks for this entry, and for this one, I would like to recommend a killer local band from Louisiana. Inner Anguish is a complete masterclass on high energy, classic metal production, riffs, melodies, screams, and a rhythm section that beats you to a pulp live and at home. Across the board, their track, ‘ This Guilt ,’ offers a hybrid mix of metalcore and a sense of nu-metal undertones. There is tension between nu-metal mixed with vibes and music from Avenged Sevenfold 's album, Walking the Fallen . Overall, Inner Anguish and their track should be checked out live and through your listening pleasures. 5 Comfortably Numb (cover) by The Main Squeeze Click to listen Deets about the track : This next one is a massive curveball to the line-up of picks I have for you, but this track is from a criminally underrated national band called The Main Squeeze . They have a cover project called the Squeeze House . They cover many tunes they convert into their style and jam over in ballad formats. The cover I am recommending today is their cover of Pink Floyd 's classic, ' Comfortably Numb .' This cover takes hold of itself as an impressive showing of love for the original and their talent as a group. The song is straightforward throughout the whole song, but the music and the band shine when the iconic solo from David Gilmour starts. It raises in energy until the breaking moment of the solo starts, then that starts a five or six-minute jam of the original solo, as well as added parts that heavily compliment the original. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd, then you will love this take on their classic track. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Alternative music will have a huge impact on 2025. < Back Nick's Corner: January 2025 Recs Nick Cline Jan 7, 2025 Share Alternative music will have a huge impact on 2025. Hello everyone! First, I would like to apologize for the lateness of this one. December and January are some of the craziest times of the year, as most of you can attest. But, besides that, welcome! Welcome to the first playlist picks for 2025. I want to thank all of y'all for the support you've been giving since I started at this magazine in June of last year. I am very grateful for all the opportunities and people I have met through this magazine, and I hope to continue meeting all of you beautiful people in the future. Okay, enough with the yapping. Let's get into it! 1 Black Gives Way to Blue by Alice In Chains Click to listen Deets about the track : First up on the chopping block is this beautiful song from 90s legends Alice in Chains . This song is from their 2009 album, Black Gives Way to Blue . It is the title track of the album that we will be discussing today. The song, ' Black Gives Way to Blue ', is a song that gets me through the harsh months of December and January. It is a tonal masterpiece that will leave chilling reminders of your triumphs, darkness, and lives ahead of you and the lives before now. It is perfect for that somber feeling of winter, and it can give you hope to push past the harshness of the past year into the greatness you will become in this new year. 2 Bleed by Kris Russ Click to listen Deets about the track : Next up is a local Louisiana act, Kris Russ . His song ' Bleed ' is an absolute banger. It is a grand testament to the possibilities of the music scenes in Louisiana. His mixing of early 2000s alternative and pop rock is a masterful determination of sonic mixing with modern sounds. The lyricism hits every note of the broken-hearted minds that will find his music inspiring and soothing. I can't wait to see what awaits Kris Russ in 2025, so I hope y'all feel the same after checking out his music. Follow Kris Russ closely because he has crafted a sound all his own. 3 Drywall by Goodbye Academy Click to listen Deets about the track : The following two picks will be more local acts that light the stage on fire with every note and beat they lay across. First up, Goodbye Academy . Goodbye Academy is a band located in the Baton Rouge area, and let me tell you, everyone needs to treat themselves to their live set. They are a powerful trio of musicians with so much energy and personality, and their sound reflects this in perfect unity. Their song, ' Drywall ', is the ideal introduction to their music that fuses the sounds of midwest emo , punk , and high-octane rock . Please do yourself a favor and check out this song and their catalog. You will not be disappointed! 4 Daydream by Jean Claude Seagal and The Gosh Darn Dangs Click to listen Deets about the track : Next up, we have the last local pick for this installment. Welcome, Jean Claude Seagal . Their sound is reminiscent of alternative legends of the 80s and 90s, but they fit in the modern twist of hard rock and punk . The song I want to show off today is ' Daydream .' This song is a special treat to listeners because it shows off another great band, The Gosh Darn Dangs . They are an amazing group to check out as well. This song offers sonic pleasures that will show off both sides of the two bands involved in the project. ' Daydream ' reminds me of Dinosaur Jr. in every significant way, but it has its sonic uniqueness that I genuinely feel deserves more love. Mixing fuzzy, spacey melodies, progressive drum styles, and pounding bass lines offer a sonic palette that will satisfy just about anybody. Do yourself a favor and check out this band of wickedly talented people. 5 Dragonaut by Sleep Click to listen Deets about the track : The last of this first playlist picks is Sleep 's wicked song, ' Dragonaut .' The stoner rock legends Sleep offer a different light to the playlist picks. They are a heavy, droning, and ready to beat your eardrums into the ground type of band. If you are a fan of old-school Black Sabbath and a fan of walls of fuzz, then you are in luck because these guys offer that in strides. Please do yourself a favor and check out Sleep and their discography. They have cemented themselves as legends in the stoner rock genre. This song is an excellent introduction to them because of its familiar feel of blues-influenced rock with that twist of walls of fuzz, droning melodies, and a rhythm section that could floor just about anybody. Check these tracks out and let me know what you think. -Nick- www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Playlist picks to awaken the senses. < Back Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for July 22nd Nick Cline Jul 22, 2024 Share Playlist picks to awaken the senses. Hey, everyone! Sorry for the delay, but here we are again with another entry of ‘ Nick's Corner ’. This time around, we are going to recommend more local picks than national picks. So, buckle up! Let's get into this month's recommendation, which is filled with classics and your new favorite tracks. 1 Losing Control by Sick at Heart Deets about the track : First up on the chopping block, we have Losing Control by Sick at Heart . Losing Control is an absolute banger of a track. The raw emotion that is showcased in the track is something that everyone could use in their playlist. Reminiscent of Flyleaf with hints of Evanescence , Losing Control has hard-driven riffs, a body-rattling rhythm section, and soaring vocals. I highly recommend Losing Control for your playlist if you are looking for local talent that could easily compete with some national acts. 2 Lucidity by We Are the Virus Deets about the track : Next, we have a killer jam from We Are the Virus . We Are the Virus offers a significant amount of instrumental metal to get your blood pumping. My favorite track from them is Lucidity . This track offers an intense onslaught of riffs, drums, and everything else you can ask for in an exceptionally mixed song. If you are looking for something to raise your heart rate, pump you up, or make you feel like you are about to power through your moments of life, then We Are the Virus has a multitude of tracks to offer you. 3 Alone by Stella Vir Deets about the track : If you are looking for modern sounds that flow with the nostalgia of the early 2000s emo , alternative , and hard rock sound, Stella Vir 's Alone is the right pick. This hard rock ballad has something for everyone with one sonically satisfying project that is just the tip of the iceberg when looking at the rest of their top-notch discography. I highly recommend this pick if you are looking for the next boost of adrenaline, but, at the same time, it brings you into a story of melancholy, hopes, and sentiments washed over in realization and reality. 4 The Thing That Should Not Be by Metallica Deets about the track : For the next two picks, we are going to look at some nationally known acts, both classical and new. The Thing That Should Not Be by Metallica is the first classic pick to throw your way. This track is my favorite from Metallica's 1986 album, ‘ Master of Puppets ’. It's a sinister track wrapped in lyricism about Lovecraftian lore, haunting and melancholy music, and vocals that wrap the whole project together. If you want a classic thrash pick with epic standards of otherworldly stories, haunting riffs, and much more, this track would be the perfect pick for your playlist. 5 Cosmic by Avenged Sevenfold Deets about the track : Next, we have Cosmic by Avenged Sevenfold . From start to finish, Cosmic offers a wide range of sounds over its eight-minute runtime. It starts off somber, but, overtime, it builds more and more into a thematically excited set of tones, musical quality, and so much more. The riffs, chord progressions, solos, operatic sections, and storytelling are all above the tier of most modern rock. This is a quality choice for just about any playlist that I highly recommend. Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

‘Shocks to Sleeping Beauties’ is a daring mix of electric energy and lyrical depth. < Back Glitter Litter Awakens Listeners with a Bold New Sonic Journey Nick Cline Jun 24, 2024 Share ‘Shocks to Sleeping Beauties’ is a daring mix of electric energy and lyrical depth. Glitter Litter , a band that stands out with its distinctive fusion of glam rock and punk, immediately seized my attention with its new album, 'Shocks to Sleeping Beauties ' released on June 14, 2024. The album is a daring mix of electric energy and lyrical depth. The first listen was a nostalgic journey, evoking memorable tunes from the ‘90s and early 2000s TV and movie soundtracks. With its unique melodies and lyrics, each song left an indelible mark. Upon listening to the album, I discerned clear influences from iconic bands such as the New York Dolls , Blondie , and The Ramones and subtle nods to a diverse range of bubblegum pop-rock bands from the 90s and early 2000s. These influences are skillfully woven, presenting a delightful blend of nostalgia and contemporary pop-rock. My favorite track from the latest album is ‘ I don't want to write songs about things I don't want to do. ’ This track has a perfect sense of melody that caught my ear when paying attention to the mix, the melody, and everything else intertwined. Like I said before, the songs were heavily influenced by '90s and early 2000s sitcoms, comedies, etc. This is, by far, the strongest suit when looking into the tracks. The way they are written is like a media time machine of nostalgia and killer tunes. It's straightforward punk rock with a bubblegum melody and glam rock vibe. These tracks would make a welcome addition to just about anybody's playlist, especially people who love glam rock and bubblegum pop-rock/punk. The album's mix is, for the most part, a well-crafted piece of work. The tones displayed exhibit a clear quality in the recording process. However, I couldn't help but notice the occasional underutilization of promising riffs, which, in my view, detracts from the overall creative process that is evident in all the tracks. Credit: Artist website I was pleased with everything I heard when I listened to the tracks, but I noticed the use of riffs, melodies, and other parts of the song that were only taken advantage of in pieces. I feel this took away some of the superb musicianship and production of the music. In my opinion, Glitter Litter should explore their more underrepresented talents that shine in only pieces of songs. They could push into a different territory of tonal quality when exploring more sounds. Nonetheless, “ Shocks to Sleeping Beauties ” was a pleasure to listen to. This album made me want to look more into their music to see what else I could find because of the melody and production. I am more than eager to see what Glitter Litter does with the future of its music and brand going forward. Put this band on your list of bands to check out NOW! To experience all things Glitter Litter, just hit one of the links below: Website : Glitter Litter - bubblegum glam/punk Linktree : Shocks to sleeping beauties by Glitter Litter ( songwhip.com ) Spotify: Shocks to sleeping beauties - EP by Glitter Litter | Spotify Apple Music : ‎Shocks To Sleeping Beauties - EP - Album by Glitter Litter - Apple Music Do you have a tune you think Nick would like? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Acid Bath are Louisiana cult icons of sludge and southern metal. < Back Nick’s Corner: From the Swamps to Concert Halls, the Legacy of Acid Bath Nick Cline Nov 26, 2024 Share Acid Bath are Louisiana cult icons of sludge and southern metal. Acid Bath was born from the depths of Louisiana . Its sludgy riffs, dark poetry, powerful but vulnerable melodies, and pounding rhythm section launched the Houma-grown band into the cult classic stratosphere. Here we are in 2024, and their music resonates just as much as it did back in the day. I may not have been around for their heyday, but I am seeing the influence of this iconic band more than ever in the present day. You cannot mention Louisiana metal without mentioning Acid Bath . For those not familiar, Acid Bath began in Houma , Louisiana, in 1991. The initial creation of the band was the brainchild of multiple people from two separate bands. The first influential band was Dark Karnival , which consisted of Audie Pitre , Sammy Pierre Duet , and Tommy Viator . The second band was Golgotha , which featured Dax Riggs , Mike Sanchez , Jimmy Kyle , and Jerry "Boon" Businelli . The camaraderie within both bands led to a constant rotation of musicians, eventually leading to the bands leaning into each other when needed. The culmination of these two bands created a lightning-in-a-bottle moment that the world was waiting to see. The "finalized" line-up was Dax Riggs (lead vocals/guitar), Mike Sanchez (guitar), Sammy Pierre Duet (backing vocals/guitar), Audie Pitre (backing vocals/bass), and Jimmy Kyle (drums/percussion). Credit: Wikipedia Over the years, Acid Bath has cultivated a devoted following by pioneering a unique sound that cannot be categorized. Their blend of riffs reminiscent of Black Sabbath , the relentless rhythm of punk , grunge , and metal , and the soulful poetry infused with blues and alternative energy created a musical force that emerging bands cannot touch. Even today, their music stands the test of time and sounds as fresh as the day it was released. In 1993, Acid Bath recorded their first demo, Hymns of the Needle Freak , which gained quick and fierce traction in the Gulf scenes. In 1994, the legendary album When the Kite String Pops was released to the world. Most of the general audience knows this album by its iconic album art, which features the painting of the infamous serial killer, John Wayne Gacy , in his haunting Pogo the Clown costume, but it is so much more than that. The vibe that this album has is so unique and different from anything else out there, and it truly stands the test of time. Click to listen Songs such as ‘ Cheap Vodka , ' Scream of the Butterfly ,’ and ‘ Dr. Seuss Is Dead ’ are among the most popular in the track listing, but one of my favorites is ‘ Tranquilized .’ When the Kite String Pops’ powerful sound in the '90s put Acid Bath in a league of musical legends from across the country that included Pantera , Down , Corrosion of Conformity and many others, still, they never truly reached that career peak they deserved. Acid Bath’s success, alongside their sophomore album, Paegan Terrorism Tactics , cemented them into history books for metal bands nationwide, too. With potent tracks such as ' Paegan Love Song ' and ' Venus Blue ', this album solidified who Acid Bath was. However, still, the problem with this is that their legacy was not hammered into the souls of the listeners besides a very dominant cult following their creation . Could that happen now? I think so. Click to listen In 1997, the band ended abruptly when Audie Pitre , the bassist, died in a fatal car accident. This unexpected tragedy cemented the end of Acid Bath , as the music world knew it, or so we thought. Enter the present day. Even after almost 30 years , Acid Bath 's legacy continues to thrive in the swamps, streets, and hearts of the metal world in Louisiana and beyond. Their unwavering commitment to originality is what most people remember from their music. This sentiment was echoed by many in my interviews. One anonymous source shared that Acid Bath was among the first music and shows they discovered, sparking a sense of wonder and scale in the Louisiana scene. Ryan Henry , better known as We Are the Virus , shared his take on encountering Acid Bath member Sammy Pierre Duet at shows. "Sammy makes the audience feel seen. The one time I got to meet him, he made an effort to shake my hand, hold a conversation, and give time to me in the midst of so many trying to get his attention." This year marked a new milestone for Acid Bath . In October, the band posted a statement that confirmed something was brewing, but what exactly? They announced their involvement in a couple of music festivals in the northern United States, but is this a true return? After the announcement, the internet exploded with support and shock, which only fueled the fire that Acid Bath started in the 90s. The true power in their legacy is not only their music—it is their originality, home-grown talent, involvement in the scene, and overwhelming mission to make a mark on the music world, even though life has pushed them down repeatedly. Acid Bath will live on from the depths of Louisiana, and I am here for it. Even though I was not old enough to know their music back in the 90s, I look forward to this new era with the band and await more news from these iconic musicians. After you finish reading this article, go listen to Acid Bath’s music if you are unfamiliar. I guarantee you will be hooked after that first listen. To learn more about Acid Bath: en.wikipedia.org Acid Bath - Wikipedia www.acidbathofficial.com The Official Acid Bath Website The Official Acid Bath Website www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

New music sure to get your pulse going! < Back Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for June 7th Nick Cline Jun 7, 2024 Share New music sure to get your pulse going! The world of music is vast and extravagant; you never know what is out there locally and nationally. This will be the first in a weekly run of articles that tackle bringing local and national acts, both in the indie and major label scenes, into the same conversation. This conversation is vital to building the scenes from around the country. Five weekly songs will act as a list of recommendations to listen to and give exposure. Every song will be followed by mini-reviews, which will guide and support the tracks. 1 Pieces by We All Perish Click to listen Deets about the track : Pieces by We All Perish is a superb mix of metalcore and modern-day influences from across multiple rock bands and sub-genres. Right from the start, this track hits you right in the face with a solid, hard-hitting rhythm section that tackles great with the down-tuned riffs. As soon as the vocals kick in, the music creates this sonic bond that creates an epic and larger-than-life sound. The pre-chorus releases a building tension when the vocals come out on the chorus. The more the song progresses, the more the musicianship shines because the intense bond between lyrics, music, and vocals is felt with every passing second of the track. This is one of the most solid picks for your daily playlist in the local scene. It would be welcomed amongst some of the best major label bands, and they are located right in your backyard of Louisiana. 2 Toe by The Posts Click to listen Deets about the track : Groove and psychedelics are at the forefront of The Posts' track. Toe is a mix of funky rhythms, 90s-era vocals, and an overall sense of modernity with a flair of the psychedelic era from the 1960s to the present. All across the board, Toe brings the listener into a world of sonic synchronicity, mellowed-out vocals, and rhythm that could get into a new dimension. This track's production is top-notch. For lovers of Jefferson Airplane , The Who , and Pink Floyd , it will prove a dynamic and loved addition to your everyday playlist. No matter what period of music you prefer, The Posts will offer something for you, and Toe is only one of many examples to dig into. 3 F*ck My Life Up Again by Marcus King Click to listen Deets about the track : The beauty of this track is matched by the upset of the whole project. The melodies and lyricism collide to create this melancholy overarching tone. Heartache is felt in every line sung and every note played. The tension between anger and sadness is felt in the production, vocal tones, and music itself. The production and mixing are a testament to the lightning in a bottle caught between Rick Rubin and Marcus King's creative minds. This track will be a welcome addition to just about anybody looking for a song filled with heartache, soul, and feeling understood in a dark time. 4 Take a Bow by Mammoth WVH Click to listen Deets about the track : Take A Bow is a track executed with just the right amount of musical talent, emotionally charged lyricism, and powerful vocals. It is set to an emotional standard because it is one of Wolfgang Van Halen 's many testaments to his late father, Eddie Van Halen . It becomes a tornado of pounding riffs and steady driving rhythm while, at the same time, becoming a true standard of Wolfgang's love of his family's legacy. This track would be a great addition to a playlist for anybody who enjoys early Van Halen and modern hard rock. There is something for all levels of rock enthusiasts, and the love and passion for music and its legacy shared by all band members are unmatched. 5 Sun Goes Down by The Main Squeeze Click to listen Deets about the track : Sun Goes Down is an almost ten-minute powerhouse of a song off The Main Squeezes album, "To Be Determined…." It starts with a soulful synth that sets the tone for the guitar and another instrument to follow suit. The masterful tone and style of the guitar player make the song cry before the vocals even start on the track. The Instrumental progresses to the almost three-minute mark, which marks the time the vocals come into play. The bond between melodies and rhythm builds a soulful psychedelic epic that builds intensity as the song progresses. The chorus is a conjoined wall of vocals and powerful music. Once the vocals are over, the song returns to its instrumental basis and goes into a screaming guitar solo. The guitar is reminiscent of how Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb strikes you as the outro solo soars into the mix. This would be a soulful slot into your daily playlist. It hits all the spots of soul, rock n roll, psychedelic, gospel, and so much more, all wrapped into one package. Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Alternative music has a unique blend of passion and rage. < Back The Revival of Alternative Rock in Louisiana: A New Wave of Sound in the Bayou State Nick Cline Apr 2, 2025 Share Alternative music has a unique blend of passion and rage. Alternative music , with its unique blend of passion and rage, is gaining momentum in Lafayette . The local scene, led by Gen Z , is a distinct expression of voices filled with angst, nihilism, and empowerment . This unique blend of fresh influences merging with the raw emotion of rock music— the towering amplifiers, deafening riffs, and screams of pain —is driving the culture and uniting the community in a way that is distinct to Lafayette . As culture evolves from one generation to the next, scenes and aligned communities emerge and fade away. Since the early 90s, alternative music has toggled between the background and the forefront , marked by the rise of grunge , shoegaze , and indie rock . It has been an ever-expanding community that has shaped pop culture landmarks not only in Louisiana but around the world. Despite its historical presence, alternative music was put on the back burner in the mid-to-late 2000s and almost completely faded away in the 2010s . During that decade, various scenes emerged in hip-hop , country , R&B , hardcore , and more, showcasing diverse musical avenues. As time progressed, alternative music evolved into something that felt more like a gimmick than a genuine movement. The raw passion and rage rooted in nihilism, angst, sadness, and self-discovery were overshadowed by homogenized sounds . The genre became a label, which diluted the cultural identity initially established by early alternative communities. Now, as the scene begins its next evolution, newer generations are rallying to rediscover alternative music . Inspired by the sounds of the past and the traumas stemming from our contemporary world, they navigate the complexities of identity as they grow. This is evident in the rise of alternative bands such as Phantum Sun , JAYD3D! , Goodbye Academy , Dairy Free , Kris Russ , Silvercapbaby , and many others. These bands are forging a path for the scene in Lafayette , offering a collective voice through their expressions and influences . I have a firsthand account of the culmination and rise of alternative music in Lafayette . I founded Eclipse Fest , a festival that aims to bring alternative music to the forefront of the local scene. Last year marked the inaugural edition of the festival, attracting 150 attendees who came to see a lineup of bands representing various musical styles. The festival marked a significant milestone in the resurgence of alternative music in Lafayette , serving as a platform for local bands to showcase their talent and for the community to come together in celebration of their shared love for the genre. This year’s Eclipse Fest built upon that milestone, fueled by the hard work that initially drew me into the scene, and it is cultivating a new space for alternative music. It has also demonstrated that alternative music has a rightful place in Lafayette , and this presence is growing daily with each effort put toward it. The resurgence of alternative communities began in mid-2024 and has intensified rapidly in recent months, primarily due to the support and enthusiasm of the local community. It is the passion and dedication of the audience that is driving the resurgence of alternative music in Lafayette. Musical shifts have emerged from a range of genres, including emo , indie , pop , and soul , as well as everything in between. The rise of the internet has empowered Gen Z and future generations to find their music. Unlike in the pre-streaming era, when music lovers relied on word of mouth, radio, and television , the internet now offers nearly unlimited access to a diverse range of musical styles. This access has opened new avenues for the alternative community to share and grow its purpose. Alternative music is a place for everyone, and that sense of community is a necessity that will carry Lafayette and Louisiana into an exciting future filled with talent, expression, and new musical avenues. Thank you for listening, Nick www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Tunes to expand your sonic palette. < Back Nick’s Corner: Playlist Picks for November 2024 Nick Cline Nov 22, 2024 Share Tunes to expand your sonic palette. It’s that time again! It’s time for another entry on Nick's Corner. This time around I’ll be supplying you with some new recommendations that will expand your sonic palette just in time for the Thanksgiving season. We’ll be digging into the standard routine of local picks that deserve way more attention, and some legacy/national picks that deserve way more attention as well. 1 Amigo by The Glorious Sons Click to listen Deets about the track : First up on the chopping block is ' Amigo ' by The Glorious Sons . This track, with its almost seven-minute length, is a masterpiece of harmonies and storytelling. It's a tale of finding yourself, loneliness, death, and accepting that sometimes the world in front of us is not for us. The song opens with a beautiful piano melody, leading into the reminiscent lyrics of friendship/younger years. The story carries on into the territory of remembering someone that was not made for the time they were forced into, but in the end, fell victim to the society that gave up on so many before him. The mixing of this song is something to adore alone, but the lyrical prowess packaged with the beautiful harmonies is what truly makes it a masterpiece. This is a great introduction to the beautiful harmonies and storytelling of The Glorious Sons' music. They have easily become my favorite band from Canada, and this song is the perfect addition to anyone's playlist if they are looking for a powerful ballad that tackles themes of self-realization, isolation, and everything in between. 2 I'll See You All in Hell or New Orleans by Dax Riggs Click to listen Deets about the track : This next one is a little bit of an in-between pick. The reason for this is that Dax Riggs , a local legend and national talent, is an artist who deserves more attention. He's known for his unique blend of blues, rock, and folk, and his solo catalog is a treasure trove of musical gems. One such gem is ' I’ll See You All in Hell or New Orleans '. This track offers a lyrical and musical sensation that is beautiful just as much as it is haunting. The slow blues oriented music offers a sense of solace and familiarity to the music found in the swamps of Louisiana. The “droning” of the lyrics is like a ghost whispering in your ear. The music tackles this theme very well because the mixing of the two has offered a back and forth sort of wailing and theme of abandonment, retribution, and haunting sorrow. This is just one of the many Dax Riggs songs that I feel deserve way more attention. Do yourself a favor and deep dive this local legend because you will not be disappointed. 3 Down to Me by Double Knockout Click to listen Deets about the track : ' Down to Me ' by Double Knockout . This track brings back a tone that's been missing for a while. It has a sense of scope, yet it also offers a nostalgic feel that's reminiscent of the late 2000’s/early 2010’s. The melodies, lyrics, and rhythms are a burst of adrenaline. From the first note, you're ready to get up and dance. This energy is sustained throughout the entire song, a feat that few bands can achieve. At the end of the day, this song leaves me eager for more. It's a must-have for your favorite local band playlists because Double Knockout never disappoints, and trust me, they have more in store that might just surpass this one. I can't wait to hear what they'll bring next. 4 Second Guess by Genuine Mustard Click to listen Deets about the track : The fourth entry for this addition to Nick’s Corner is, ' Second Guess ' by Genuine Mustard . The song is featured on their self-titled EP from 2020. It offers your daily dose of folk rock with the sensibilities of indie rock and pop. It offers a “calm” introduction to Genuine Mustard as the lyrics, melodies, and music give you a rough guess on what can be offered by the band. Check out more of this band both live and in-studio because, trust me, you will not be disappointed. If you are a fan of The Backseat Lovers , Tell Me I’m Pretty era Cage The Elephant , and other indie classics, then you will find a new favorite in Genuine Mustard. Keep a close eye on this band, and hurry yourself to add Second Guess to your daily playlist. 5 Evil Eye by Fu Manchu Click to listen Deets about the track : This final track is for the lovers of fuzzed out high octane rock/grunge. This classic from Fu Manchu is ' Evil Eye .' It's a song that's not just music, but a surge of energy that sounds like a car wreck in your eardrums. From the lyrics to the music, it's a track that's bound to get you up and moving. Personally, this track and this band in general are not just influences, but the very foundation of my writing and style in my own band, Phantum Sun. This is a great addition for anyone looking to wake up with the energy to knock a wall down headfirst. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Old favorites mixed with the new. < Back Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for August 23rd Nick Cline Aug 23, 2024 Share Old favorites mixed with the new. Oh, it's that time again! It's time for another entry into ‘ Nick's Corner ’. This time, I will be throwing some sounds around in your playlist suggestions that wouldn't normally go together. Each song will be drastically different from the last, but they will all bring some great noise to your eardrums. 1 End Zone by Brewster Durbin Deets about the track : First up on the chopping block is Brewster Durbin's ‘ End Zone .’ End Zone creates an extensive indie rock atmosphere washed in synths, pop-driven drums, slightly distorted guitars, and bass riffs that keep you tight into a groove and provides any indie music fan with an atmospheric and enjoyable addition to your playlist. This song is also a nice “middle-ground” introduction to Brewster Durbin's discography, which is based heavily on pop ideology with modern twists ranging from funk, rock, alternative, and indie. 2 Fume Disease LIVE by The Black Smokes Deets about the track : Next, we have The Black Smokes and their killer track, ‘ Fume Disease - Live .’ This track will hit every nerve in your ears, especially if you enjoy crunchy tones and high-energy rock-n-roll. It has reminiscent energy of Led Zeppelin , Aerosmith , AC/DC , but it imbues the classic energy and sounds with the soul of deep south blues. 3 4th of July by Soundgarden Deets about the track : The next entry in your monthly recommendations is full of chugging, dark, and haunting melodic tones. ‘ 4th of July ’ by Soundgarden can be a welcoming addition to anybody's playlist. It is full of screaming vocals, dark and sludge-filled riffs, and lyrics grounding you in the demons of one's mind. This track is one of the deeper cuts on the monumentally classic album Superunknown , but it is one of its biggest heavy hitters. If this track excites your ears and soul, then check out the full album and the entire Soundgarden discography. 4 316 by Van Halen Deets about the track : Van Halen's ' 316 ' is a beautiful and melodic instrumental track from the band's 1991 album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge . It is dedicated to Eddie Van Halen 's son, Wolfgang . The track was made to celebrate his birth, eventually leading to a great album addition. It also makes a welcoming addition to your chill playlists. 5 Wanting You by Gypsy La Blue Deets about the track : The last entry in this month's edition of Nick's Corner is the slow blues jam track, ‘ Wanting You ’ by Gypsy La Blue . This band is a local powerhouse in the blues, soul, and rock scenes, and this track is a standing example of their combined showcase of talent. The vocals are soulful and passionate, reminiscent of exceptional vocalists like Ann Wilson of Heart and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac . The music tackles the same vibe, which adds to the acquired depth of the track. ‘ Wanting You ’ is an excellent addition to your playlist if you are looking for that hit of soul with some rock and blues from the local scenes. This is Nick's Corner's August entry. I'm out! I hope you have enjoyed my recommendations. Until next time! Nick Cline is the powerhouse behind the Louisiana-based band, Phantum Sun , and loves checking out new music. Got something you think he'd like? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Playlist picks curated for you by our own, Nick Cline. Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks Apr 2, 2025 The Revival of Alternative Rock in Louisiana: A New Wave of Sound in the Bayou State Alternative music has a unique blend of passion and rage. Read More Jan 7, 2025 Nick's Corner: January 2025 Recs Alternative music will have a huge impact on 2025. Read More Nov 26, 2024 Nick’s Corner: From the Swamps to Concert Halls, the Legacy of Acid Bath Acid Bath are Louisiana cult icons of sludge and southern metal. Read More Nov 22, 2024 Nick’s Corner: Playlist Picks for November 2024 Tunes to expand your sonic palette. Read More Oct 4, 2024 Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for October Some Spooky Season Picks Read More Aug 23, 2024 Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for August 23rd Old favorites mixed with the new. Read More Jul 22, 2024 Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for July 22nd Playlist picks to awaken the senses. Read More Jun 24, 2024 Glitter Litter Awakens Listeners with a Bold New Sonic Journey ‘Shocks to Sleeping Beauties’ is a daring mix of electric energy and lyrical depth. Read More Jun 7, 2024 Nick's Corner: Playlist Picks for June 7th New music sure to get your pulse going! Read More

Your only source for what's new in Rap, Hip-hop, and R&B as well as a look back at those who pioneered the Game. The beat Dec 11, 2023 Jonathan Machen aka Profit: Finding Refuge in Music Jonathan Machen aka Profit is a lyrical prophet of rock and hip-hop subgenres fueled by the deepest levels of pain and enlightenment. Read More Nov 13, 2023 Miles Nxbxdy: Revolutionizing Hip-Hop Miles Nxbxdy pushes the boundaries of hip-hop by challenging expectations and broadening horizons. Read More Oct 20, 2023 Gino V.: Redefining the Music Scene with Rhythm and Soul Gino V’s unique ability to infuse his compositions with emotion, technical proficiency, and soul will shape and inspire generations of musicians to come. Read More Oct 2, 2023 Shawn Franklin: Music Producer Extraordinaire Shawn Franklin redefines the music production landscape with his top-notch restorations and collaborations. Read More May 22, 2023 Alfred Banks: A Blessing from the Crescent City Insightful, brilliant, and talented Read More Apr 7, 2023 DJ Skillspinz: A Classically Trained Master of Combining Textures and Beats Tony Biggs Read More Jan 11, 2023 The OG’s of Rap and Rock Fusion are Back Stone Deep Read More

Tony Biggs < Back DJ Skillspinz: A Classically Trained Master of Combining Textures and Beats Nicole Brice Apr 7, 2023 Share Tony Biggs With so many aspects of music production being prefabricated these days, I’ve managed to find a man who is still mixing it up the old skool way. (Yes, we spelled it like that on purpose.) As a lover of hip-hop and rap my entire life, what initially drew me to DJ Skillspinz was his insane scratching techniques. Using nothing but his talent, turntables, and an ear for combining beats , he showcases his mad skills with each new mix he releases. His choices for his combinations are diverse and fascinating, and they showcase his knack for individuality in a world oversaturated with conformity. Based in Georgia with over 210k followers on Instagram alone, people are definitely loving what he's doing. Antonio “Tony” Biggs, aka DJ Skillspinz , is an Army veteran , a disc jockey, a producer, and a composer, who is widely known for music on the Peacock series One of Us is Lying , on S1E1 of the Netflix series Gentefied , and on the Starz program Step Up . He was an extra in the BET movie Redeemed as well and has produced/deejayed for GhostFace Killah’s Theodore Unit , Play (of Kid ‘n Play ), and Def Jef , Grits , the Ambassador , and Grammy artist Lecrae . Other credits include Xbox 360 ’s Project Gotham Racing 4 , and he is an Akai MPC Beat Battle Round 10 champ. What has this man not done, seriously? With an impressive history of production and music, further samples of his work can be heard on the Ghostface Killah Theodore Unit album 718 , where he produced track number 14 , and on the Rapland Records House Party Conversions album with Play of the famous rap duo, Kid ‘n Play . Additionally, Antonio was also nominated for a Dove Award for his debut album Reintroduction of the DJ and is the first Christian DJ to release a turntablist record on Rescue Records . His current album, Table Manners: The Mixtape , is available via all streaming platforms, and there’s even more new music on the way. He shared with me some mixes he plans on doing, but I was sworn to secrecy, so you’ll have to follow him and see what he releases in the future. We recently had the opportunity to chat more in depth with this turntable master to learn about his fascinating career and life, so, after you finish reading this, you’ll want to go check out his Instagram page. It is full of things sure to make your head spin, kind of like a record. Photo provided by artist MaM : Man, I am so impressed with all of your song combinations, because I am a huge, HUGE fan of old-school hip-hop. Some of the stuff you’ve done with A Tribe Called Quest, I’ve been like, “Damn … this is awesome!” So, how did you get into making music for TV shows and movies? TB : That’s something I always wanted to do [ever since] I was a kid. I am a big horror movie fan, and when I was 13—maybe 15—I used to record on cassettes different sound bites from my favorite horror movies and use that to make music myself. I guess you could say it came from my love of horror movies. I always wanted to do something in film and television, and so it just fits. Eventually, I started making beats , which got me into hip-hop . Being involved in the industry has led to great opportunities to submit my music to people for consideration. The rest is history. MaM : You’ve had your music licensed to Netflix and Peacock. I mean, dude, that’s awesome. Were you surprised to see your song on TV? TB: Well, the [Netflix] supervisor didn’t let me know it had been placed in the show, and sometimes that’ll happen, but it was crazy! I kept watching Gentefied and they played another one of my songs. I ended up with two songs in that one show. MaM : Wow, that is incredible! I read you were nominated for a Dove Award. Tell us a little more about that. TB: That was really cool. I think back then I wasn’t really focused and aware of what was really in front of me. I was younger and wasn’t really paying attention. I wish I could go back, honestly, to do it all over again and be more aware of what was going on around me at that time. I was just so focused on making more music and doing other things. Photo provided by the artist MaM : How old were you when you got that nomination? What year was that? TB: My record came out in 2000 , so it had to be later that year. I think I was 23 or 24. MaM : I also see that you were the first Christian DJ to release a turntablist record on Rescue Records. Are you still signed to a label, or are you just doing things independently? TB : I’m independent right now, but I was the first Christian DJ to do that. Of course, there were other DJs before me, you know, doing Christian hip-hop and other stuff, but no one had put out an actual turntablist record. It was a blessing to be able to do something like that, and there hasn’t been anyone else since me to put out another record like that. MaM : You were a trailblazer then and you still are because no one else has been able to do the same. I find these days that creativity is lacking because of all the prefab apps out there that do everything for you. TB : I think it takes away from the culture and from the skill used to create when you can press a button and have the computer scratching for you. You don’t really need a DJ . That’s what I hate, but it’s kind of a blessing and a curse with technology. Everyone thinks they can be a DJ now, but, for example, my sister recently bought herself a DJ controller, and now she talks like she’s a DJ . I’m over here thinking, ‘Why do you have this?’ MaM : See, all the technology scratching for you is just not the same to me. TB : I guess you gotta get in where you fit in, right? It is what it is. MaM : So, what first got you into DJing and music? TB : That’s a great question. I was in a group with my brother and a good friend of ours. He lived right across the street from us. We were probably 9 or 10 years old. We had a little rap group and my uncle, who is from up north and used to come down and visit all the time, heard us rapping. He kind of took us under his wing and took us to a friend’s house where we did a little demo. The guy recording us went around the room asking each of us what we did, and my brother was like, ‘I’m the rapper,’ and my friend was like, ‘I’m the rapper, too.’ They get to me, and I go, ‘I’m the DJ ’—mind you, I did not have any DJ equipment, but once I said that, it just stuck and we went from there. I always just wanted to be a DJ . It's crazy to think about. I can’t recall one specific DJ who made me think, ‘That’s what I wanna do.” Now, I used to use my mom’s turntable sometimes. I used to take her stuff apart to see how it worked. She would bring records home, so I guess I can credit her as being the one to introduce me to hip-hop. I remember her bringing a record home by the Fat Boys and telling me to listen to [it]. It was ‘ Jailhouse Rap’ and it stuck with me. She had also brought home a record by Roxanne Shanté . After that, though, I remember I was hooked. A 12-year-old DJ Skillspinz / Photo provided by artist MaM : So, she didn’t care you were taking apart her turntable? Wait, did she know? TB : I don’t think she knew. I used to take her speakers apart, too, just to see how they worked. MaM : Then you put it back together the same way so she never noticed? TB : Yeah. Still to this day she doesn’t know. MaM : Well, she does now! (laughter) MaM : So, let me ask you: Who are you inspired by from that period of growing up? TB : I would say Jam Master Jay was a huge influence, ya know? I mean, Jazzy Jeff was a huge influence, too. DJ Magic Mike from Vicious Base and DJ Scratch from EPMD , too. I love all those DJs . I love a lot of DJs . MaM : I miss the music from that time period. I would love to bring it back and teach this generation what good rap and good hip-hop is. TB : That’s one reason I’m doing what I’m doing … [to] keep it alive. I used to think there wasn’t a place for it anymore, and I tried to create new stuff for the newer generation and stuff. I was just sitting down one day, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna put this mix out, this Wu-Tang one,’ and it just took off! I was like, ‘Oh shoot! People are still out there still loving this.’ MaM : Yep, like me. I was creeping around on your Instagram page and was like, “Man, this dude is awesome!” TB : Thank you. MaM : Just being honest. I love everything I’ve seen so far. My next question for you would have to be, at what age did you officially start DJing with your own equipment and everything? TB : Here’s a funny story. My aunt, God bless her soul, she bought [me] my first turntable. I used to watch Yo! MTV Raps and I saw the turntables the DJs were using, and I thought to myself, ‘Man, what kind of turntables are they using?’ A guy from my neighborhood had this magazine called J&R Music World . It was in New York , and that is where my aunt is from. I was looking through the book one day and came across the turntable all the DJs were using [and] I knew I needed that turntable. We had a family gathering and my aunt knew I loved music, [so] I told her about the turntable I had seen. She told me that if I made As and Bs on my report card that she would buy me my first turntable. A young DJ Skillspinz / photo provided by artist MaM : How old were you at that point? TB : I was in high school … 9th grade. … I ended up not making [all] As and Bs on my report card; I actually made a C. I went back to my teacher, though, and I was able to convince her to change my grade to a B. (laughs) I went right [then] and called my aunt to tell her the news, and about a week later, I came home from school one day and there was a turntable sitting in the chair in my living room. From then on, it was uphill. MaM : That is really cool you had your family’s support. What did you say to the teacher to get your grade changed? (laughter) TB : See, I was supposed to be reading this story. The whole class was reading this book, and we had to fill out a form showing where we were in the book. My teacher told me I was supposed to be further ahead than I was. I explained to her that I had made a mistake and filled out the form wrong and that I really was further along than I had written, and so she changed my grade. MaM : Dude, nice. I wish I would have had those powers of persuasion back in the day when I made a C. (laughs) DJ Skillspinz in Waco, TX / photo provided by artist TB : I want to throw this in there, too, about the turntable. My aunt only bought me the one turntable and I needed a second one, so, [I worked at a program for teenagers during the summers] and used the money to purchase the second one. MaM : Nice. So, you live in Georgia now, but is that where you grew up? TB : I am from Columbus, Ga ., born and raised. MaM : Never lived anywhere else? TB : I lived in Nashville, Tenn ., … then [when I was 18] in California for a while in South Central . MaM : What made you decide to move out there? Did you always want to? TB : Nah, I was trying to pursue music and had family [who lived out there]. Then, this guy who claimed to be a manager took me down a little path for a bit. You know, [you’re] learning [and] just trying to trust people because they say they’re gonna do certain things and, well, you live, and you learn. MaM : Yep, that you do. When did the music stuff start to take off for you? Where were you living when that happened? TB : I was back in Columbus . [I’d made] a mixtape, and [this guy out in California had a copy and he] ended up leaving the tape at someone’s house, and that someone gave it to somebody else, and that somebody gave it to this A&R with Rescue Records . [This] A&R guy was a former dancer of Vanilla Ice ’s. (laughs) MaM : Oh my gosh, wow. (laughter) TB : Yeah, well, let me tell you a funny story about that. He heard my mixtape and was like, ‘We need to find this kid,’ [so] they [contacted] me and wanted to sign me. The crazy thing about that is, I remember Vanilla Ice coming to Columbus [on tour] and my brother and I used to sneak into concerts, but [at that time], I didn’t want to see Vanilla Ice . We had gone in and seen who we wanted to see, but I remember being outside the Civic Center and I could hear Vanilla Ice telling the crowd to say stuff to his DJ . I didn’t want to hear that. The crazy thing is, this guy ( A&R rep) was inside dancing with Vanilla Ice , and we didn’t even know each other. Come years later, and this same guy signs me to the label. MaM : Whoah. That’s insane. That’s something I like to call a universal happening. It all comes back full circle. TB : For the record, though, I respect Vanilla Ice , and I love what he did for hip-hop , pushing the culture forward. MaM : Definitely, I agree. If people like Vanilla Ice hadn’t come around, I don’t feel there would be an Eminem. He paved the way, even with as much hate as he got. As far as current projects are concerned, are you working on releasing any additional albums? TB : I’m about to do another album. ‘ Table Manners ’ is new, but I have a few mixtapes I want to put out but just haven’t yet. I’m gonna do an actual project because people have been hitting me up about it. … I have some things coming up that are so freakin’ dope, so [there’s more coming soon]. Photo provided by artist MaM : Last question: Do you feel the platforms musicians have to release their music on these days is sufficient, or do you miss the way things used to be? TB : Honestly, I miss how things used to be. As I was saying before, it took you having to have talent to get signed and technology is a blessing and a curse, but I think either you have it or you don’t, and you shouldn’t rely on technology to get you a record deal or to get you hundreds of thousands of followers. That’s crazy when you think about it. Things have been watered down so much. I wish more people would take the time with their craft to refine it. To check out the work of this genius of the turntables, be sure to hit one of the links below! The Meet-ups | Dj Skillspinz Make The Bass | DJ Skillspinz (bandcamp.com) ‎DJ Skillspinz on Apple Music DJ Skillspinz (@djskillspinz) • Instagram photos and videos DJ Skillspinz | Spotify Dj Skillspinz | Facebook Episode 23.1 DJ Skillspinz - YouTube www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nicole Brice is a lifelong lover of hip-hop from the late 80s and early 90s, and will often have A Tribe Called Quest blaring in her car. It annoys her kids. Want to be featured? E-mail her at the_nicolebrice@mixedaltmag.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Shawn Franklin redefines the music production landscape with his top-notch restorations and collaborations. < Back Shawn Franklin: Music Producer Extraordinaire Nicole Brice Oct 2, 2023 Share Shawn Franklin redefines the music production landscape with his top-notch restorations and collaborations. Often in music entertainment, we heavily focus on those in the foreground—the artists and musicians—but we don’t focus on the talent behind the scenes delicately tweaking and fine-tuning songs and albums, making sure everything is perfect. In the dynamic world of music production, some individuals stand out because of their sheer talent, versatility, and ability to add a distinct touch to all they lay their eyes, ears, and hands on. Shawn Franklin is one of those people who stand out in the music production crowd. With artistry that spans many mediums, Shawn Franklin has solidified his place among the production elite with various projects spanning well over a decade. With over 23 years of experience in sound engineering and performing with his band, The Scallions, Shawn’s true specialty is audio restoration and re-mastering new and classic material. Photo provided by artist Franklin has worked on music for Anthrax, Stone Deep, Public Enemy, Chuck D, Chuck Mosley, Daddy O, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Prophets of Rage, Renaldo & the Loaf, The Residents, The Mentors, and many others. What started as pure love and enthusiasm for the music that inspired him as a kid became an innate understanding of the intricacies of music, allowing him to turn a lifelong dream into a reality, and he currently shows no signs of slowing down. Shawn Franklin has an uncanny ability to focus on sounds to determine how and where they need to be tweaked for a crisp, clean restoration. Early Beginnings Born and raised in a musically inclined family, Shawn developed an affinity for music at a young age, eventually learning to play the drums. “My brother is four years older than me … and he played guitar. I wanted to play the drums, and before I got a drum kit, I would play on coffee cans. I’d play with pencils as my sticks and then for cymbals, I’d have the coffee cans upside down for the tin part. I would fill the center part with pennies for the snare,” he recalls. A young Shawn Franklin - photo provided by artist His upbringing laid the foundation for his future success, as he immersed himself in a vast range of musical styles from metal to hip hop and everywhere in between. After discovering Kiss’ album “Hotter than Hell”, Franklin’s passion for music grew exponentially, and during his teenage years, he was led to explore the makings of what goes into a spectacular recording. “My brother heard ‘Calling Dr. Love’ from Kiss on the radio in ’76 … I think I was four years old … and then I heard it and we both loved the song. We got the 45 and had no clue what they looked like or anything like that. Just hearing that song and loving that song and then discovering everything they did image-wise, … I mean, that was just like icing on the cake.” As Shawn’s music tastes began to expand, so did his record collection, and once he discovered the band The Residents, he was hooked. The Residents would play a huge part in Shawn’s life later, so this discovery was fortuitous. With many other bands and musicians influencing him, such as The Beach Boys, Jefferson Starship, and The Beatles, Franklin was eventually led into the world of hip hop when he discovered breakdancing. Shawn Franklin getting an autograph from Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys - circa 1998 - photo provided by artist “It was the summer of 1984,” says Shawn, “my friend started [dancing] doing the worm one day, and I had no clue what it was. I rented Breakin’ and I thought the movie was horrible but cool because it got me into the music. It had this street element … this energy.” Franklin’s love for hip hop would continue to grow, and over the years, he would go on to discover many influential artists from the time, such as Kurtis Blow, Boogie Down Productions, The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and KRS-One. “I heard ‘South Bronx’ by Boogie Down Productions in 1986 and I had never heard anything like it. The little horn stabs and everything just blew my mind.” The Breakthrough Franklin’s career with music would soon take a dramatic turn—one that would start to shape his destiny. In 1990, Shawn and his brother Mike began making music as The Scallions. Described as “ Avant-Garde Power Pop ” and influenced by San Francisco cult giants The Residents, Mike and Shawn started shaping their sound. Mike and Shawn Franklin aka The Scallions - photo provided by artist In 1999, the band began shopping material around when they hooked up with Tom Timony, a former owner of The Residents label, Ralph Records. In the year 2000, they put out their first commercially released album, “Mud Pie”, and following its release the album was promoted with interviews, reviews, and radio play. In 2001, Tom’s label closed and left Shawn and Mike looking for a new home for their music. It was around this time Franklin reached out to Chuck D from Public Enemy via e-mail after obtaining his e-mail address on an online message board. After e-mailing him, Shawn met him in person at a lecture held on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. where Chuck acknowledged he had received the copy of "Gladys" that Shawn had sent over. "He listened to the song and really liked it and that was it.” In 2002, the band signed with Chuck D’s label, SLAMjamz, and was asked to open for a few shows with Public Enemy in Massachusetts. “He told me, ‘You guys are different’, and that was that.” The year 2006 saw The Scallions release their album “Agony through Ceremony” as part of a CD/DVD combo on Chuck D’s label. From there, Shawn Franklin and Chuck D would spark a professional friendship that led to various other projects outside of his band that continues to this day, with Franklin currently producing daily segments for Chuck D’s RAPstation radio network called “This Day in Hip Hop History”. Chuck D and Shawn Franklin - photo provided by artist Musical Versatility One of the significant factors that sets Shawn Franklin apart is his remarkable versatility and after discovering he had a knack for restoring audio in a complex way , he began to experiment and push creative boundaries resulting in captivating and refreshing sounds. Of his early remastering days, Franklin says, “In the early 2000’s, I had been collecting bootlegs forever, and I was always zoning in on certain aspects of the recordings: ‘This one has got a lot of noise,’ and ‘This one could use a tweak here,’ and I remember thinking, ‘I wish I could clean this stuff up and restore these.’ The technology was not there yet, but I had a friend turn me on to some software that was incredible for the time. It was like a nuclear bomb went off over my head.” After discovering his secret weapon software, which he did not disclose the name of because it is his secret weapon, Shawn was able to start playing with audio. “I really started cutting my teeth, fixing these bootlegs,” Franklin said. “I really got into it … but I didn’t have any ambitions to be doing audio professionally.” Those first moments of tweaking audio for bootlegs began to set the stage for what was to come. “So, I became friends with Renaldo from Renaldo and the Loaf, and so, as the story progresses … around 2014, Brian, who is Renaldo, was taking a trip out to the United States where he had plans to stay at my house. There was this album, ‘Title in Limbo’ by The Residents, in collaboration with Renaldo and the Loaf. When the album was released on CD, some of the songs faded in, and it was horrible. Prior to Brian coming here, I was telling him about it, and he was like, ‘I have a mix down.’ He’s like, ‘Maybe you can fix it up and restore this album.’ So, I did and matched everything up EQ-wise and he flipped out over it.” That project then led to Shawn doing restoration professionally because the restored album was released worldwide. “Public Enemy is one of my favorite rap bands worldwide. Two friends and I, who coincidentally worked for Chuck, had this idea of making a comprehensive cohesive product of every single A side and B side from all their seven-inch, 12-inch, and CD singles. So, we did this whole thing and we presented it to the Public Enemy squad in 2014. Chuck, at this point, was like, ‘You know, you guys really should start a production team,’ and we were all like, ‘Hmmm … let’s do it. Let’s do this professionally.’” They decided to call their production team TDX, which stands for The Definitive Xperience. “We had all these plans of doing all kinds of reissues from bands,” says Franklin. From there, Shawn and his team embarked on a whirlwind career of numerous opportunities. Artistic Collaboration Shawn Franklin’s reputation for excellence and his exceptional skills have attracted some of the most prominent names in the music industry and his collaborative works have earned him the trust and respect of many established artists such as thrash metal pioneers Anthrax. “I had the idea to reach out to Charlie from Anthrax since Public Enemy had collaborated with them,” Franklin explains. “I ended up sending Charlie [Benante] a tweet because I wasn’t friends with him. I told him, ‘Hey, listen. I’ve been a huge fan of Anthrax since ’86 and I did a really fat remaster of ‘Spreading the Disease’. I really want you to hear it and I work for Chuck D.’ He got back to me and said he would love to hear it, so I sent him what I did, and he loved it.” From there, Franklin spoke on the phone with Charlie, developing a professional friendship that led to numerous collaborations. Shawn Franklin with Charlie Benante from Anthrax - photo provided by artist “He said, ‘I’m going to send you some songs that I love and I’m not going to tell you what I don’t like about them audio-wise, and I want to see what you would do.’ I’m thinking, ‘Well, I’m just gonna trust my ears and see what I come up with.’ So, I did that and sent him samples of before and after. I didn’t hear anything for a while until one day, I was playing drums and my phone started blowing up. I look down at my phone to see Charlie messaging me and telling me that I ‘killed it.’” After successfully re-mastering those first few tracks, Shawn Franklin was sent more material that eventually led to him editing, assembling, and sequencing the ‘Spreading the Disease’ 30th Anniversary album and the ‘State of Euphoria’ deluxe album for Universal/Megaforce Records. Those projects then led to numerous other projects and collaborations with Anthrax and the professional relationship continues to this day. Impact on the Industry Beyond his individual accomplishments, Shawn Franklin has had a transformative impact on the music production landscape by recognizing the importance of embracing technological advancements and utilizing innovative techniques to shape and enhance the soundscape of his creative projects. When asked about some of his other projects outside of Public Enemy and Anthrax, he said, “Working with Chuck Mosley from Faith No More, God rest his soul, was just incredible. I think that me being a fan of the music helps in my situation because knowing the catalog and the work makes it more personal.” He goes on to say, “It’s like saying, ‘Hey, this guy loves our stuff but can also deliver the goods audio-wise,’ you know?” In 2016, Franklin was asked to master three songs for DJ Lord for the 2016 Make America Rage Again tour and says of the experience, “Chuck had an assistant named Kate. She came to me one day and said, ‘DJ Lord needs three songs mastered … instrumental versions.’ So, I didn’t even think anything of it and told them, ‘Let’s go!’” Credit: Green Left From there, Shawn went on to do the tracks with no problems and recalled the moment he got to experience his work firsthand live. “I’m at Mohegan Sun Arena watching the Prophets of Rage show and it’s going along, and ‘Bring the Noise’ starts when it dawns on me that this was what I had mastered for them. I look around the arena and it’s sold out. It’s packed. I’m watching people lose their minds to the music and I’m thinking, ‘I worked on this.’” Future Endeavors As the music industry continues to evolve, Shawn Franklin remains relentless in his pursuit of excellence. While continuing to collaborate with renowned artists, Franklin strives to inspire others to follow their dreams and explore their creative potential. His journey from humble beginnings to working for Chuck D is a testament to his unwavering passion, exceptional talent, and commitment to musical quality. Through his versatility and groundbreaking production style, Franklin has redefined the music production landscape and left an indelible mark on the industry. As the music world eagerly awaits his next move, there is no doubt that Shawn Franklin’s influence will continue to shape the future of music production for years to come. To learn more about Shawn and his work, visit one of the sites below: TDX: The Definitive Xperience (defexperience.com) The Scallions | blocGLOBAL Independent Record Label | Buy, download and listen to music online (blocsonic.com) The Scallions (facebook.com) Rapstation - Home www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Jonathan Machen aka Profit is a lyrical prophet of rock and hip-hop subgenres fueled by the deepest levels of pain and enlightenment. < Back Jonathan Machen aka Profit: Finding Refuge in Music Nicole Brice Dec 11, 2023 Share Jonathan Machen aka Profit is a lyrical prophet of rock and hip-hop subgenres fueled by the deepest levels of pain and enlightenment. In the ever-evolving world of music, talented artists constantly emerge, each with their unique style and sound. But every once in a while, a truly gifted artist emerges—one who not only speaks to your own experiences but also captivates you with his memorable sound. Jonathan Machen aka Profit is one of those musicians with an inherent musical gift and with it he has carved his path, drawing in listeners with his smooth, soulful voice and heartfelt insightful lyrics, as well as his hybrid-fusion sound merging hip hop and R&B with hints of rock and country. Jonathan Machen aka Profit is one voice you hear and don’t easily forget simply for one reason: You can’t. His effect lingers long after the music fades. Credit: Gary Governale Born in Crowley, Louisiana, Machen grew up a burn survivor, meaning he is no stranger to the depths of physical pain—pain that quickly compounded when he found himself the target of insensitive bullying. As an adult and single father of three, Machen suffered extreme personal loss, and his only refuge was the peace and motivation music provided him. The awareness he gained through experiences like these have molded him into the empathetically enlightened vessel of talent he is, reminding us that words—and how we treat other people—really do matter. He's a smart musician. Jonathan Machen aka Profit is as eclectic as, say, someone like Beck or Louis Cole ; he’s definitely traveling along the same interstate. With a passion for storytelling—as is evidenced on songs “ Refuge ” and “ Long Night ”—he shows he doesn’t stick to one style or genre but rather a menagerie of subgenres living amongst rock and hip hop. Mixed Alternative had the opportunity to sit down with Jonathan Machen aka Profit to learn a little more about his life, find out the scoop on that “Daydreaming” video featuring No Limit Gangsta, and see what’s next for him. MaM : Jonathan, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. I’ve been going through your YouTube and music catalog, and you have such a diverse body of work. Tell us a little more about how you fell into making music. JM : I was born in Crowley, Louisiana, near Lafayette. … A lot of people don’t know it, but I am a burn survivor. At 2 ½ years old, I was burned by a crawfish pot that someone had taken off a propane burner and set down. I was running backward playing, tripped, and caught myself, so I ended up with second- and third-degree burns from my bellybutton up to my neck and from right above my knees down to my ankles. During the healing process, I had to wear a pressure suit and go through extensive physical therapy, where I also underwent several blood transfusions and skin grafts, too. I’m a miracle baby. After the accident, they had to airlift me to Baton Rouge from Lafayette, and I actually died and came back. From there, growing up consisted of being teased and hazed because when kids don’t understand something, they attack it. I’ve always loved music, and I can recall dancing around to old records in my mom’s living room. She had four bookshelves full of CDs and we had boxes all over full of records, so I grew up hearing and listening to everything. I immersed myself in it all as an emotional release. It was where I could find acceptance and be heard. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Who or what inspired you musically when you were growing up? Did you have any favorite bands or artists? JM: Otis Redding, King Richard, Frank Thomas, Phil Collins—believe it or not. Anything Motown, too. It just ha[s] this soul and vibe. A good bit of R&B, too. MaM : What initially got you into writing lyrics? JM : As far as lyrics go, I started out writing poetry, and it was more a cry out than anything because I felt like I didn’t have anyone else who understood me besides my mother. I had no other outlet for these emotions I was dealing with. See, I was angry at the world because of what I had been through, and I had to go through some serious mental warfare with controlling my anger so I wouldn’t just snap on people. After I had been writing poetry for a while, I won a contest in school, and they published a poem of mine. That taught me that my words do matter. The first time I heard Eminem, as corny as it sounds, I realized I could put my words to a beat, and that’s how it all began. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Let’s talk about the video for “Daydreaming”. The song is a bit mesmerizing to listen to … and it features No Limit Gangsta . How did you get him to guest on the track? JM : He’s a friend of mine who was signed to No Limit Records. The video for “Daydreaming” came about because the whole concept of that video is one big dream where we fall asleep and the dream plays out, and then we wake up and we’re like, ‘What is going on? Where did all the riches go?’. It’s as simple as that. MaM : What was the first song you ever wrote or recorded? JM : It was a track called “Angels Talking” when I was about 14 or 15 years old. The song never got released, but we did put it on Reverb Nation, and it was recorded on a stick mic with a laptop. MaM : When did you realize you could be on to something with your music? JM : When I was about 18 or 19, I would do a bunch of open-mic nights at Club Rags, and I was always the only white guy there. I would go on stage nervous as hell, but when people started moving and jumping to my music, I started going more, and it got to a point where I was there every week, and I would have a line of people almost at the door wanting to shake my hand. That experience helped me get my foot in the door with the local scene. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : With a background in rap and hip hop, how would you describe your sound these days and what’s next? JM : I would say I am my own genre. My music has country, bluegrass, and some R&B in it, and I try to put my heart into every song because each one is a story. I have a song called ‘Survival’ that I’m going to release in the second quarter of 2024 and it’s about my mother, who passed away from cancer. The main hook talks about God pulling flowers from the garden, and so it’s a very deep and meaningful song for me. ‘Hollow Rain’ is another song that I’m releasing in the first quarter of next year and that one is more about me as a whole because of my scars from my burns. The beginning verse says, ‘He walks around with no tattoos because he ain’t got [sic] the point yet, but he’s still bruised, and pain hangs around like open wounds. He was hazed by cowards and fools …’ See, it’s a story, and I have about 13 or 14 more that I need to record that are just as powerful. MaM : Do only life experiences inspire your lyrics, or do you draw from fantasy, too? JM : Everything that I write and choose to release comes straight from the heart. …[W]ith ‘Daydreaming’, the idea was to get people interested with a cool concept, but ‘Refuge’ was about God being my refuge through everything. ‘ No Colors ’ is another song that talks about the political division being forced on Americans as well as the racism, and so I wanted to express with the lyrics that I won’t hate my brother because we come from different mothers … this is about love for me. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Where do you see yourself in the next five years? JM : Well, I’ve got new music coming out and when I have about seven of the songs recorded, I plan on having a listening party with family and friends and I want to get them to pick the best five, which will be put on an EP. I hope to do that in the first quarter of next year. I want to be able to write songs for other artists, too. I don’t need all the credit either, but I just want to get more of myself out there. I also have a plan for helping impoverished communities with hydroponic gardens that I want to teach the youth about. Maybe make a non-profit to help with that endeavor, and have it include even more than that. You could have the garden, but maybe a basketball court or other things to keep them interested. I feel that the youth of today is losing essential survival skills like we had back in the day, and I want to teach them these things … fishing, too—show them that a fish can feed their family. I have a lot of plans, and more is coming soon. For more on Jonathan Machen aka Profit, visit any of his links below. Be sure to follow him on social media to stay up to date on that forthcoming EP! Jonathan Machen | YouTube Jonathan Machen aka Profit | Spotify Jonathan Machen aka Profit | Apple Music Jonathan Machen aka Profit | Facebook Jonathan Machen aka Profit | TikTok *Cover Photo by Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Miles Nxbxdy pushes the boundaries of hip-hop by challenging expectations and broadening horizons. < Back Miles Nxbxdy: Revolutionizing Hip-Hop Nicole Brice Nov 13, 2023 Share Miles Nxbxdy pushes the boundaries of hip-hop by challenging expectations and broadening horizons. In the bustling world of hip-hop where trends come and go, there are a few artists who stand out with their unique style and unwavering authenticity. One such artist with introspective lyrics set to unconventional beats is delivering the goods by experimenting with the textures most often found in post-punk and industrial music. His name is Miles Nxbxdy. Hailing from New Jersey, born and raised in the heart of the urban landscape, Miles Nxbxdy’s career began in 2017 but did not start to take off until 2018. After meeting producer Jason Freeze in Asbury Park in 2018 at a show, the two began to embark on a working partnership that is still going strong to this day. Credit: YouTube From an early age, Miles was exposed to a rich musical tapestry, incorporating everything from gritty sounds to modern and experimental vibes. Miles weaves narratives with detail and emotional depth and is proving he is unafraid to tackle controversial topics and explore society’s underbelly. Plain and simple, Nxbxdy is an artist unafraid to speak the truth. He’s raw, he’s edgy, he’s honest … and he explores the darkness with carefully orchestrated songs that explore the full depth of human emotions. If I had to describe his music, I would have to categorize it as Art Rap. It does not sound like anything I have ever heard, and it is truly challenging expectations and broadening the horizons of hip-hop by bringing such a fresh perspective to the game. Credit: Jeff Crespi I reached out to Miles recently so I could learn more about his songwriting, his background, and future projects. I was able to chat not only with Miles but also with his producer and partner-in-crime, Jason Freeze, where we discussed the music we love, the music we hate, and the state of the industry in general, as well as what makes up the music of Miles Nxbxdy. With numerous collabs under his belt since 2018, including the likes of Desperry, Gnarly Nonsense of OFFTOPKILLS, and Drew the Recluse & h e a l (Craig Xen & Rico Nasty), Nxbxdy has shown he is unafraid to explore new horizons and the dark and intrapersonal side of rap, and it is refreshing. Take a moment to learn a little more about this artist who is pushing boundaries, then be sure to check out his discography. MaM : I’ve been diving into all your music, and you have released quite a bit since 2017. Tell us a little more about your various projects and what initially led you to making music? MN : It was about 2018 when I started taking music seriously. I have always had a background in it since I play four instruments, but in 2017 I released ‘Don’t 4get to Smile … Bitch’ and then in 2018 I released my album, ‘Free Bird for the Free World’ and that led into ‘Beautiful Scumbags’. When COVID-19 happened, I had to take a pause, but 2018 was when I truly started. I’m sort of a late bloomer. Released September 13, 2019 MaM : Writing lyrics just to have them—did you ever think you would do anything with them? MN : No, not really. … I didn’t take it seriously. When I released ‘Free Bird for the Free World’ was when I started taking it seriously because I was approached after the release by a couple of noteworthy people who liked my music, and their response was positive. I didn’t think it was that good, but when that happened, I thought, ‘Oh! I have talent!’ (laughter) JF : Miles and I have this conversation a lot and I think music is more of a necessity for both of us. It would be harder to stop making music than it is to just make it. Even on days off, when I tell myself I’m going to chill, I end up making a beat. MaM : I think all creative types are like that. We must be constantly creating. Do you have any other hobbies or interests outside of music? MN : I have too many interests and hobbies. (laughter) MN : I’m into anime, manga, comics, and fashion. The cost of fashion is a little much, but I’m big into movies, too. I’ll watch a French film, a Japanese one, a Kai film … it all just depends. Released October 19, 2018 MaM : My husband likes anime, too. Musically, what are your favorite genres and who would you say has been your biggest influence musically? MN : Man, oh, that is a hard question. Right now, I’m really into 2000’s alt-rock. I like post-punk. I like jazz and classical, too. The only thing I’m not really into is opera and modern country. I’d say everything is worth a listen, though. MaM : So, how would you describe the type of music you make? You have such a unique sound. What is your creative process like? Do you write to the beat or do the lyrics come first? MN : We’ve been working a lot the last few years. We have two full albums being mixed right now. Since ‘Beautiful Scumbags’ and ‘Free Bird [for the Free World]’, the music has become more electronic. JF : It has developed more since ‘Beautiful Scumbags’ for sure, and we both have become better at the craft. MN : I generally tell people I make post-rap, though, because it has so many layers. You know when The Clash made ‘London Calling’? That album is considered punk, but some consider it post-punk because of all the elements to it. My music now has so many elements from other forms and styles that I don’t want to call it rap or punk rap or experimental rap because it’s more specific than experimental rap but not as noisy as industrial rap. Credit: Jeff Crespi MaM : I’ll agree with post-rap. I think that’s an accurate way to describe it. With most rap, you can always find a tinge of influence to categorize it, but with you, I just can’t. MN : That was the goal. In 2017, I went into a deep music hole where I got big into Joy Division, Maggot Brain, Janis Joplin, Jane Doe … an amalgamation of all these eclectic artists, but I didn’t want to make their music. I wanted to take elements from all of that. Because my music is so unique, it makes it difficult to push it. JF : Miles will come in with an idea and it always ends up somewhere else. The beat usually comes first, but sometimes he’ll come in with lyric ideas as a starting point. MN : The rule we follow is, ‘Don’t overthink it.’ If we overthink it, it becomes not good every time. Credit: Jeff Crespi MaM : I can agree with that. Do you have plans to collaborate with any specific artists in the future, and if so, who? MN : It’s funny that you ask that. Right now, I’m working on two albums with these artists I am friends with. One is named Braciola and the other is named Gnarly Nonsense. They are both going to be on the upcoming albums. As far as famous artists are concerned, I would love to work with Big K.R.I.T. and Trent Reznor. Trent and Death Grips are the dream. They are both active still, so we’ll see what happens. MaM : Never say never! It could happen! I could see you guys opening for Nine Inch Nails. Let’s manifest that. (laughter) MN : That would be sick. I would also like to work with Tyler, the Creator. Most of the mainstream artists I have no interest in working with. MaM : What is one message you would like to convey with your music? MN : It’s okay to feel. A lot of my music is very emotional and dark. I scream for those who can’t. The whole idea behind Miles Nxbxdy is a play on a John Doe as anybody. I’m Miles Nxbxdy, so in that way, I’m a nobody, but I’ll be that somebody for you. My newer music that isn’t out yet is a long letter to my adolescent self and my childhood self. This is the music we could have used to work through emotions that we didn’t understand [growing up]. Credit: Jeff Crespi MaM : So, when can we expect the new music to drop? MN : That’s a good question. Everything you’ve heard so far is good, but it’s more of a 4 [on a scale of 1-10] and this new stuff is more like a 9. We found someone in Brooklyn to mix it all and Jason found someone to master it. The final vocal mixing was recently, and honestly, we’ve been sitting on this material for some time. JF : We’re aiming to have the music done by the end of the year, but then we must start the process of how it is going to be released. MN : Maybe mid to late January? I’m not sure. 2024 definitely. JF : We don’t want to just put it out there and have nothing happen. We want to find the best way to distribute it. Credit: Jeff Crespi MaM : What does the future hold, you think? Where do you see yourself in the next five years? MN : I’m gonna be big in Japan collecting all the Manga. (laughter) MN : I legitimately believe we’re going to be big in Europe. The landscape of music is very different. I feel they have a different appreciation for music than Americans. It’s more celebrated there and here it’s more monetized. I truly feel Europe will embrace what we are doing first. With a discography spanning from 2017-2021, including numerous releases and with two more currently on the way, Miles Nxbxdy is undoubtedly an artist worth watching in the contemporary hip-hop scene. With his unparalleled authenticity, he continues to push the boundaries of the genre and undoubtedly will inspire other artists to embrace their true selves and use music as a catalyst for change. To experience Miles Nxbxdy, hit one of the links below and be sure to give him a follow on social media. Soundcloud : Stream M I L E S NxBxDY music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud Apple Music : ‎Miles Nxbxdy - Apple Music Instagram : Miles Nxbxdy (@miles_nxbxdy) • Instagram photos and videos Spotify : Miles Nxbxdy | Spotify Amazon Music : Miles Nxbxdy on Amazon Music YouTube : Miles Nxbxdy - YouTube *cover photo courtesy of Jeff Crespi www.jeffcrespirocks.com JEFFCRESPIROCKS See through a different lens! www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Stone Deep < Back The OG’s of Rap and Rock Fusion are Back Nicole Brice Jan 11, 2023 Share Stone Deep The late 80s/early 90s was a time when many types of music fused to form new genres. During this time frame, rap music started joining forces with rock to create a new sound—a unique sound, one which had never been heard before. Many consider the merging of RUN-DMC with Aerosmith as the kick-off to it all, but little do people know, there was another band paving the way for this new sound in the early 90s and although they are lesser known, they truly are the OGs of Rap/Rock . Stone Deep was formed in 1992 as a reincarnation of The Hard Corps in Music City USA (Nashville, Tennessee) , the mecca of country music . The Hard Corps rose to national prominence in 1990/1991 with their debut release produced by RUN DMC ’s very own, Jam Master Jay , and they even had the honor of sharing the stage with Ice-T and Body Count as part of their national tour in support of the album, Body Count . The group’s momentum died, though, after their booking agency, label, and management folded overnight and so, in late 1992 , the group’s core members formed what was to become Nashville and later Stone Deep . Photo provided by artist In 1993 , the band began assembling their five-song demo , which was distributed to press outlets, venues, and labels. They also sold it at live performances to fans. With songs such as ' Faces of Death ,' ' Finger to the 40 ,' ' Running Man ,' ' Stop Squawkin ’, and my favorite, ' Whoville ' , they solidified their sound and proved they truly were innovators in the genre of Rap/Rock . After many years of being on hiatus, Stone Deep has re-emerged as of 2022 and are looking to take back their crown as the OGs of the Rap/Rock game , and their sound proves to be unmistakable and full of flavor for your ears. Photo provided by artist I recently reached out to them after discovering their music on Instagram , which if I haven’t said it before, is an excellent space to search for and discover new bands and artists . I had luck and made the acquaintance of guitarist Glen Cummings and vocalist Ronzo “The beast” Cartwright , which turned into an incredibly enjoyable chat and interview. If you haven’t checked out Stone Deep ’s music, it’s a must-do, right after you read this interview. I insist. MaM : Let me just start this by saying that you guys have an incredible story—one that needs to be told, and thank God for Instagram because when I discovered your music, I was like, “Where has this band been all my life?”. You guys truly are the OGs of Rap/Rock. RC : Right! We truly are, but that’s the thing: All the beginners in these genres sort of get pushed under, then the pop versions come out and usually get the recognition and all the attention. MaM : Yes, I can agree with that. I am so impressed with everything you all have accomplished, and the fact that The Hard Corps were signed to Interscope just blew me away, not to mention you had Jam Master Jay producing your debut album, and that is iconic. I wanted to get a little bit of background on that. I want to know your story. RC : Well, it’s a combination of stories, because the first band I was in, The Hard Corps , grew into Stone Deep after merging with Glen Cummings , who was in another band called Scatterbrain , which was a punk/thrash metal band [with] releases out in the U.S. and in Europe. In fact, they had a video out for the song, ' Don’t Call Me Dude ,' which was pretty big. It was combination of all those bands that begat Stone Deep . MaM : Your debut album in 1993 was Nashville , correct? Tell me a little more about that and any subsequent releases, as well as what all was going on around that time. RC : Well, first with the Hard Corps on Interscope in 1991 , we were really building momentum, and [the] big story about that [is] we went out and had Jam Master Jay as our producer, and we actually co-headlined Ice-T’s Body Count tour . … We went out with some other bands such as Primus , Fishbone , and 24-7 Spyz , and we were one of the first hybrid bands wh[o] could play with 3rd Bass and the Geto Boys . [W]e actually opened up for the Geto Boys . I’d been honing my craft for quite some time and so we had that going, and the industry spent a good bit on us. There is … a difference between a record budget and a record fund , which people don’t realize. You can get a record fund, and they’ll spend all the money from the first record , and if they feel like they want to keep going, they’ll absorb the money from the second record, and if it don’t [sic] hit, they’ll just move on, but you end up spending the money for both of your records already. That’s what happened with Hard Corps . See, with The Hard Corps , Glen was coming down off Scatterbrain and they had been doing pretty good, but he heard about us in New York and came down after hearing a cassette of our music, which we sent him; he learned it in his car driving down from New York to Nashville . He played the first gig with us without practice. Glen is, literally, a genius. [F]rom that time on, we gathered a couple of other people. Dave Howard is our drummer. He’s a progressive rock drummer, but it fits with us because he’s half Puerto Rican and can connect to the grooves and get heavy when we need to get heavy. Our bass player, Tim Brooks , [is] from a reggae band called Freedom of Expression . He has a lot of reggae chops, but what we all have in common is the rock part. I’ve grown up on rock, basically, since I was a kid and all other types of music. We all blend[ed] together and have been making music ever since. In 1996 , as Stone Deep , we [won] an award for one of the best unsigned bands in America by the NARAS foundation (i.e., the Grammys ), and we were one of the only bands to beat a New York band for that in New York in anything. That was pretty massive there, then we [won] a Nashville music award here, too, for best unsigned band that year. Photo provided by artist MaM : And why are you guys NOT famous? RC : Exactly. And this is a ridiculous story, but there was a millionaire that lived here in Nashville [who] wanted some bands to play for some underprivileged kids. [H]e started asking all over and since he had money, people were telling him, ‘I’ll do it for $5,000,’ [just] to get money off him. [W]e were like, ‘It’s kids?’ and he was like, ‘Yeah,’ so I told him, ‘Bring the kids up to our studio, and we’ll play for them.” So, we played for them and modified our songs up to incorporate the kids, and I did a little freestyle and stuff. The guy was really appreciative, and he started asking questions about us, about our demo and stuff, and he felt like he needed to help us, so he gave us some money. At first, he was like, ‘I’ll give you $20,000 or something,’ and his best friend was there and [said], ‘No one builds anything off of $20,000. You’ve got a shit-ton of money. You’ve gotta do something.’ [S]o, long story short, he comes up with $100,000, no [real] strings [attached other than playing] for his kids once a year. No payback. Nothing. No publishing. Nothing … but guess what happened then? MaM : What happened? RC : The manager stole our money. MaM : Wow, story of my life. You hear that stuff happening all the time. RC : It’s the same music story of all time that happens all the time. You remember when people were doing the smaller versions of Bonnaroo ? Well, he was trying to do one of those and stuck our money into that [to] flip it, and it tanked … and our money tanked with it. [H]e never asked permission to do it and then he just disappeared. Photo credit: Facebook MaM : Wow, man. That sucks. RC : That deflated everything for a while, so everyone just went about their business after that. [W]e’re brothers, so we always stayed, you know, connected. [A]nd then, just a little while back, I was talking to Glen and he said, ‘You know, I was listening to our music and what we were saying then needs to be said now, because kids these days don’t say anything.’ Like, the labels have got[sic] everyone to where they just encourage you to be only gangsta or weird, and you can’t really say anything. MaM : Yeah, everything is prefabricated, and that’s what I hate about the music industry these days. That’s why I started this magazine with Keeley. We want to focus on the real talent out there. RC : Nice. We started getting [our groove] back and putting some of [our music] back online, and we started finding people, like you, who are saying, ‘[H]ey! Where has this been? This is what we need right now.” MaM : It’s true. RC : It’s been great. Like, everything has its own time, and the universe works in a certain way , ya know? [E]ven though it might not have been your time then, it might be your time now. Lately, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night to write down songs, because the energy being produced by me and us doing our songs has been inspirational. People think you can learn to be an artist, but it is a gift. You either have it or you don’t. You can prefabricate it in a studio, like you can have someone throw something together just to make you something, but artist “artists” are just energy driven from the universe. Photo provided by artist MaM : I completely agree with that. As I’ve been listening to your music—and I’m sure you’ve gotten this comparison before--it reminds me of when Anthrax teamed up with Public Enemy , only better because that was only temporary; your music is not. You guys are the real deal … the true OGs of Rap/Rock. RC : Yeah, if you put the time into everything, it really comes together. [S]ee, when we came out, there were no Limp Bizkits and there was no Kid Rock , but Kid Rock was around; he just wasn’t really doing what we were doing, and it’s not fused the way ours is. Ours is natural, organic. Like with me, I’m a rocker who raps; see what I’m saying? MaM : I miss that type of rap and that type of flow, and I miss the lyrics that have meaning. Like, I listen to all types of music, but I’m big on lyrics and if you look in my music collection, you’ll see all the hip-hop and rap I have is from late 1980s to mid-90s, and then I stopped listening to it. I couldn’t listen to it anymore. I don’t want to listen to you talking about putting jewels in your watch; like, where’s the meaning in that? And to this day, and I listen to them daily, my fave hip-hop group is A Tribe Called Quest . I miss groups like that … and Instagram, to be honest, is the best way to discover new artists like that. RC : Yeah, it really is. Instagram has been great and to be honest, our following has definitely grown because of it. People just checking out tidbits and that type of thing. We actually got [contacted by] a guy [who] does these weird videos. [H]e does [them] for Rob Zombie and he’s making these little shorts of some of our songs. Then we have this one Japanese guy who is making Japanese versions of our t-shirts, and it’s just a lot of stuff that people vibe with and are getting into it. MaM : I saw that you guys have some re-mastered recordings of the albums you dropped in the 90s. You did that through a record store day release recently, right? RC : We actually are connected to a lot of big mixing and studio guys, just by virtue. Shawn Franklin is one of them and he does stuff with Public Enemy . They just started mixing and started getting it up to date to put it out bigger and bolder, and we’ve been pretty blessed on that end. MaM : If someone wants to purchase your music, is Bandcamp the only way, or is there another way? RC : Right now, only on Bandcamp . We’re going to go through all the iterations of music, and we are going to put out CD’s and then more digital releases and then finally vinyl albums. It’s going to come out on all platforms. Right now, we’re trying to generate interest and we want to get a following of like-minded people, ‘cause [sic] there are millions of us and that’s the thing with Instagram and places like that: It connects a lot of countries together as opposed to your local neighborhood or a couple of states in America . You can get everybody involved. Everybody who likes what you do. We’re still looking for some good solid platforms to release on. MaM : Well, I look forward to seeing everything you guys have coming out and I want to say that the animated videos on Instagram are awesome. Can you tell me a little more about how you hooked up with the guy behind those? RC : Glen found him; he’s located in Hungary . His name is Balázs Gróf . He listened to our music and offered to do a couple of snippets. He’s an award-winning music videographer, cartoonist, and animator . He’s done stuff for Rob Zombie , Amon Amarth , Obituary , Testament , William Shatner , and Red Fang , and now us. We told him to do it your way, and we want people to express us as they hear us. MaM : Ok, so I think I have one last question for you guys. Where do you see yourself headed in the future with the current trajectory? RC : I see us doing independent releases, some strong indie releases, and doing some touring. I’m really interested in doing some European festivals and stuff, and we’re at a good position in our lives where we can pick and choose what we want to do, which is good, but I’m personally interested to see how many of “us” there are out there. Does that make sense? I want to reach the maximum amount of people that enjoy what we do and understand the messages that we put out. To experience Stone Deep’s music and to show them some love, visit them online at: Facebook : Stone Deep, Nashville | Nashville TN | Facebook Instagram : Stone Deep (@stone_deep_nashville) • Instagram photos and videos Bandcamp : Nashville (EP) | Stone Deep (bandcamp.com) YouTube : Stone Deep - YouTube www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

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Insightful, brilliant, and talented < Back Alfred Banks: A Blessing from the Crescent City Nicole Brice May 22, 2023 Share Insightful, brilliant, and talented Growing up, I loved the hip-hop I saw showcased on programs like “ Yo! MTV Raps .” The music had a heart and a message. Over the years, though, hip-hop has evolved away from the rhymes and verses with meaning to ones more focused on excess. This was when I stopped paying attention and started focusing my musical tastes elsewhere … until one man appeared and started taking hip-hop back by rhyming about anything and everything. His catalog of work is so diverse, it’ll make your head spin. Alfred Banks can look at a blank piece of paper and develop a rhyme on the spot about it. Banks is a hip-hop musician based out of New Orleans, La., and his latest release, ' Blessing ,' is a nod to the city that raised him. In the song, he says, “It’s a blessing coming from the Crescent” and for Alfred Banks, indeed it is. The man reps New Orleans wherever he goes, and we are lucky to be able to enjoy his talent. Banks got his start in the industry under the moniker Lyriqs Da Lyraciss at age 17 and has shared the stage with Rakim , Lupe Fiasco , Wu-Tang Clan , Tyga , Desiigner , and Kendrick Lamar , among others. He has performed at New Orleans-based events Voodoo Fest and Jazz Fest , and he even visited Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany. Did I mention one of his songs was used for a Volkswagen commercial and that numerous songs of his are licensed to shows and movies? His knack for rhyming, his charisma, and his insightful lyrics are what got him noticed in the biz and, as we like to say, the rest is history. He has been steadily churning out music ever since, with many new ones this year, but he does not limit himself to solo material—no. This man is involved in so many projects, we lost count after a while. We did ask him about all those wonderful endeavors, though, and you can read more about them in this interview. Currently, Alfred is focused on promoting his newest album Nectarine Peels , which is part of his collaboration with Albert Allenback of Tank and the Bangas in a group called Saxkixave . These two are like the odd couple of hip-hop and their infectious videos are beyond hilarious and showcase Bank’s personality in a whole new light. In fact, the duo goes together like peanut butter and jelly and truly do complement one another. Albert makes these killer beats and Alfred comes up with the wittiest rhymes to go with them. Released May 18, 2023 In addition to Saxkixave, Alfred is continuing to perform shows like crazy, showcasing his solo material. Check out this convo we had with him recently, then go check out his catalog of material. You will fall in love with him as much as we have. MaM : When I first discovered your music, the thing that drew me in was your use of words. You can pretty much make a rhyme about anything. When did you realize you had this gift with words to take it to the next level professionally? AB : I remember when I was in sixth or seventh grade, I used to freestyle a lot. I lived in Tallulah, Louisiana for, like, three years and I would freestyle a lot with some of the kids around there. I would gravitate towards anybody who rapped—actually, I’ll go back a little further. Fifth or sixth grade was when I started noticing that I liked remixing songs in my own way. Me and my man Nigel would make comedic remixes for them. We would take any song that was hot at the time, which was 2000/2001, and remix them about food. I started noticing I could do that off the top of my head. … Junior high was when I started to write raps, which were kinda cool. I was more into that battle type of energy. My sophomore year of high school was when I truly started writing, though. … I really started freestyle battle rapping and I noticed I could think of things on the spot. My whole thing was coming from New Orleans, you have to know how to rib and I got ribbed a lot … picked on a lot and my way to fight back was to just rap. I would just head to toe and people would die laughing. That’s kind of how I got my name. I started uploading music to MySpace and stuff. It started getting a little bit of traction and I did some shows around town. I started battling first. … I just started noticing that if I looked at someone, I could make a rap about it to whatever degree. I fell off it for some years, though, and focused on my songwriting and touring. Around 2019, I did a tour with my man Mega Ran and he did this thing where he would ask people to hold stuff up in the air and he would freestyle about it on the spot and I [thought that was amazing and wondered if I could do that]. I started doing it with Saxkixave and it goes over well and keeps my freestyle sharp. People kind of know me as a freestyle guy now, so it’s kind of cool, then you meet someone like Ray Wimley, who is a freestyle savant, and he went viral because he freestyled with Common a few years back for Essence Fest. We actually did a freestyle battle at a Pelican’s game and that was me in front of thousands of folks having to put my freestyle skills to the test and, respectfully, I was the victor in that situation. … I don’t really write a lot, not as much as I’d like, but freestyling just kind of works. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Well, as far as your lyrics for your songs, what inspires your lyrics? 'Blessing,' of course, is based upon your love for New Orleans, but I was listening to your music and you’re all over the place with content and what you talk about. None of your songs are the same. AB : I know sometimes it makes it hard to be marketable when you do a lot of different things, but I just have a lot of different interests and I’m not always in the same space. To some degree, I guess I need to find a vein, but for the most part, I’m all over the place and I love that. MaM : Where did Underdog Central come from? AB : That’s my life mantra I live by. Underdog Central is the place where the overlooked go to hone their skills to come back and become admired. It’s my label name, too, and my social media handle. I made it my social media handle ‘cause Alfred Banks was taken, but because it’s my label, I wanted that name to be first before anything. I want people to know what my brand is. When I first came out, I was a little rough around the edges, a little unrefined, so I had to go back into my proverbial batcave and fix things. I came back out, though, and now am who I am. I feel like the people who are extremely talented tend to get overlooked and are always having to fight from behind from a deficit and always must prove who they are no matter if they are the most talented one in the room or not. You can’t take anything for granted and you must treat every moment as if it’s your last, so that’s what Underdog Central is about. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Are you born and raised in New Orleans? AB : Uptown, yeah, uptown New Orleans. Uptown kid for sure. MaM : Your brand of hip-hop is the type that is missing these days. It has those classic undertones and that hint of nostalgia. Your lyrics with “Blessing” are so insightful and that song truly resonates with me. AB : Yeah, that’s a style of record I have never done before. One thing I have been noticing lately is I am the most off-brand New Orleans person you will ever meet. [I’m] born and raised in this bad boy, but when you look at my everything … I don’t even look like I’m from New Orleans. I don’t act like I’m from New Orleans…like some things I don’t even relate to, but I am definitely from here, but I never made a song I felt could resonate here. All the music I make is more for everyone. I also made it from the angle of where if someone from Detroit heard it, they could be like, ‘I feel this way about my city.’ MaM : What struggles or roadblocks did you encounter when you first tried to break into the industry? AB : Just making hip-hop in New Orleans. There was a big scene from 2007-2015 where it was a community and there were shows happening and people would come out to the shows and we all tried to support each other and spread the word about each other’s stuff, then after that, there was a shift in the music. I can say to a degree that I’ve stayed contemporary with my style. It doesn’t sound like it’s from 1989 or anything, but the more lyric heavy and conceptual idea-driven music doesn’t have as big of a platform here as other stuff. The people in the scene here, though, started to get older and started [coming out less]. That and the fact that New Orleans is not a hip-hop city, and so it doesn’t matter how talented you are. It’s been like, ‘Where’s your bounce song?’ or ‘You got a dude playing trombone on it?’. It’s funny now, though, the response I’ve gotten for the song “Blessing” … thirteen years into my career, you would have thought it was the first song I ever made because everyone is like ‘Finally, you got a record we like.’ I’ve got albums that have charted across the U.S., but that record is doing pretty good in New Orleans, specifically. Pick your battles. My biggest thing was just trying to do my brand and my style of hip-hop and bust open these doors that are solely reserved for people who do Zydeco or brass band music—stuff people consider New Orleans but, to a fault, it’s so New Orleans that no one wants to hear anything else. But I always thought it was weird that these big platforms—these big festivals here—only portray a certain style of New Orleans; where’s the hip-hop? That’s always been the main issue with me. I want to be the guy that can go into a room filled with musicians who do not do hip-hop to any degree but do my thing and it resonate or translates with them. I’ve kind of become that guy, though. I’m the guy in a room full of brass bands and zydeco bands who is the hip-hop representation, which is a gift and a curse because I never get to perform for my people. I always get to perform for people who are being exposed to what I do for the first time, so it kind of creates this very uncomfortable energy, which can be a bit weird at times. I’m a part of this group called Global Warming and we’re doing this Wednesday at the Square thing, which I don’t know the last time they had a hip-hop group perform there, but … I have this never say die, blind optimistic view of life, though, so I just keep going for some strange reason. credit: Gary Governale MaM : No, but that’s a good thing! You’re not admitting defeat at all. You’re just like, “I don’t care what you’re gonna throw at me. I’m just gonna keep doing my thing until it resonates,” ya know? AB : …and the funny thing is it hasn’t stopped me. I’ve been able to tour all over the world. I guess it’s not that big of a deal, but for me it is. I’m doing it less about me and more about the next. I’m a young guy, but I’ve been out for a while, and so I just want to look out for the next guys coming up that feel like me because everybody is a street rapper, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I come from the hood, but I don’t see it from that angle. I was in a house and my mom kept me in the crib, and not everyone is from that cloth. There are people, though, that take those experiences and turn them into something else. Not what you would expect. I just try my best to be that alternative for people who love hip-hop, care about bars, care about lyricism and concepts, good beats, melodies, etc. MaM : … and you bring it all. You’ve got the whole package with it. AB : I appreciate that. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Global Warming—tell me more about this. AB : Word, so Global Warming is a collective about 35 people in the city from engineers to producers to singers to rappers, graphic artists, etc., and we just all [come together] … so Global Warming is like, ‘Nope! We can!’ So that’s what we’ve done and as a collective. We’ve performed at Buku Fest, we’ve opened for Tyler the Creator, and we’ve played Jazz Fest. We’re going to be playing Wednesday at the Square, and so we’re using this as a platform to get some of the guys in the group exposure with their first big stages to give them that experience and to be around people like Pell or Train or me to help usher in those guys to just make great music. I love being a part of Global Warming. It’s very interactive. It’s teaching me how to support people from a very active standpoint and I truly mean it when I do it and vice versa. It’s allowing me to also get involved with other people’s careers to some degree, which is fire. MaM : Well, it’s a collective grouping of like-minded individuals all supporting each together, which is awesome. AB : Yeah. Global Warming put out an album during the pandemic and I’m on it. Saxkixave is on it. It’s called ‘Global Warming Vol. 1’ and it’s a dope record. We’re working on Vol. 2 right now, but at the end of the day the one thing I have learned is that collaboration is very important, especially for me the past three years. Working with Soul Rebels, working with Brassaholics, working with Flow Tribe, working with Global Warming, working with Tank and the Bangas, and all these different people has been helping me elevate my platform and get in spaces where I probably wouldn’t be normally. I’m very grateful for that. Just working to get that buzz to where it needs to be and it’s been a trial at times, but I want to just keep rapping and keep working and the inevitable will happen at some point. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, 2023 you’re gonna just do a lot of touring or are you working on any other new solo music? AB : … Instead of putting out new stuff to the same folks, I already have music that resonates, so from there I think I’m going to use videos and promos as a ploy to get people to check out the catalog I have and then go from there. I have a lot of music that hasn’t been unearthed just yet. I have a project called Mere-Exposure Effect, which I feel is one of my best projects writing-wise. It shows I could do radio records if I really wanted to. Mirror Exposure Effect is an idea that if you recognize it, you’ll like it, so the whole project sounds like radio records. If it sounds like something you already know, then you’ll like it by default. I have a project called ‘Road to a Rolex’—some of my hardest hitting beats. I’m rapping about getting money the entire project but from a couple different aspects. I have a project titled ‘One Guy Standing by Himself.’ That project debuted at number three on iTunes. It was one of my most successful projects to date. That’s a project I wrote to get myself out of the mind state of COVID. I wrote that project in like a week and it’s more introspective and a little lighter-hearted. I [also] have a project called The Beautiful and that’s my magnum opus and is my biggest project to date. That project is about my brother and his struggle with schizophrenia and his ultimate suicide. The day of his funeral, I had to leave in the middle of his service because I had a show to play that night, and so I wrote an album about the car ride from the funeral to the show, so in that album, I develop schizophrenia too; so, I sort of battle it throughout the album. That’s my biggest project to date and a lot of people don’t even know it exists. I’ve also got The Range 1 and 2. I do a song with Wheatus and a bunch of people. It’s like five different genres in one project. credit: Gary Governale MaM : I am just blown away with all the projects you have. How do you even sleep? AB : Well, for me, I did go through a time where I was putting out a lot of music and it does seem like a lot, but it really isn’t. I’ve got songs that if someone goes back in like 15 years to discover them, they’ll be like, ‘That shit was fire!’. A catalog full of those records. Some may consider me a conscious rapper and I’m not conscious in the vein of social or political issues, but I rap about things from my point of view. MaM : Well, just life. I’ve listened to all your music, and you are all over the place. No song is alike. You have so many different styles and facets to your personality and what you do. You can go from a silly track to something super serious. AB : For sure. MaM : … which I feel is so endearing and is going to continue to resonate with people—even those who are just now discovering you for the first time. AB : Honestly man, that’s just how my brain works, cause we’re human. We all go all over place. There are some days where you are very happy and so you want to listen to a happy song and then there are days where you are not happy and you don’t want to even hear music, but if you do, you want to hear some sad stuff that is introspective. Some days you want to hear something lyrical. Some days you will want to hear something conceptually driven, but that’s just how I feel. Sometimes I don’t want to write a rap record, I want to write a dance record. I want to do some EDM. I want to do like a hyper-pop record. There are some days I want to do some industrial shit. credit: Gary Governale MaM : That’s what I’m talking about. That’s my kind of music. AB : Some days I wake up, I want to go work with Albert and do some jazz or acid hip-hop or some days I just want to rap my ass off to show people how good I am. That’s just where I’m at and the path I’m on and people seem to like it. MaM : I think it’s a great path and, in fact, I don’t think you should change a thing with what you are doing. I think it shows diversity and it does not keep you in a certain type of music or anything. You are unique and different and have your own brand that is going to resonate because it is so unique and different. AB : Thank you. I’ll tell you this with all the things that have gone against me, all I’ve ever had [were] my skills and [they have] gotten me further than anything else I’ve ever done. I think that is what is going to keep me busy and keep my lights on. I just care about music, and I care about being good. I do come from the competitive aspect where if you put me on stage with other rappers, I’m going to try and outperform. I want to be the best in every room I’m in and I don’t know too many who still care about that. credit: Gary Governale MaM : You are nothing but heart. AB : Thank you. I want people to go, ‘I want to be invested in his brand of great because that boy is good.’ At the end of the day, though, I’m an entertainer, so it’s not about me. It’s about you, the audience, and I like to keep those things in mind. MaM : What are your plans for the rest of 2023? I know we’re halfway in, but where do you see the rest of the year headed for you? AB : It’s weird, I’m at this weird transitional part of my career where the business infrastructure that has been supporting me is not there because we decided to do our own thing and go our separate ways, but I’m back solo. I’ve been adjusting to that. We do have some other things down the line, though. Pre-COVID, I was doing close to 100 shows a year and in June, I’m going to Ohio. I’ll do three shows out there, then I’m going to Colorado in July. Just trying to get back to the West Coast. To experience all that is Alfred Banks, hit one of the links below. You won’t regret it. Alfred Banks (@underdogcentral) • Instagram photos and videos Alfred Banks | Facebook Alfred Banks | Spotify ‎Alfred Banks on Apple Music Saxkixave | Facebook SaxKixAve (@saxkixave) • Instagram photos and videos @SaxKixAve | Linktree *Cover photo by Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Nicole Brice loves good music and loves discovering new music she has not heard yet. Do you have something you’d like her to hear? Hit her up at the_nicolebrice@mixedaltmag.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Grey Areas: A Louisiana Metal Band Looking to Inspire Hope in a World Filled with Chaos Click to read more Boiler Room’s Revival: A Resurgent Force in Metal Click to read more Reviews on the Real: ‘Despair’ by Hawthorne Oachs Click to read more ART WITH HEART OFF THE CHARTS WAY BACK WHEN Check this out! All Categories Play Video Play Video 03:43 BOILER ROOM - No Patience (Official Video) "No Patience" is a high-energy track that explores frustration and the human desire to break free from stagnation. Its raw, unapologetic lyrics explore impatience, rage, and self-empowerment themes. The driving beat, and anthemic chorus makes it perfect for listeners seeking a cathartic release. Video by: Shottie of Shotwell Productions Members of the band Boiler Room: Chris Lino- Vocals Pete Rizzi - Bass Nick Seditious - Guitar Tommy Spano - Drums Music: Written by Chris Lino & Rob Caggiano Lyrics: Chris Lino Artwork: Mike Rizzi (IG: mikerizzidesign) Studio Musicians on 'No Patience': Drums: Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Category 7, Overkill) Rhythm guitar: Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob) Song produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob) at Sonic Stomp Studios, NY, NY Listen: https://found.ee/BoilerRoomNoPatience Contact the band: boilerroombandnyc@gmail.com Public Relations: Freeman Promotions https://www.freemanpromotions.com/ Lyrics: Open my eyes to reality, it ain't hard to see now I look around and tell you what I saw Tried to take my mind away. question my insanity Can it wait, can you make it wait I don't wanna wait, I don't wanna wait I don't wanna no more They will deceive you They will deceive you every time Patience, waiting I can't handle it No more saving This rage that's within You can't fake your own insanity, listen what I say now You can defy all the powers that be Faith in yourself now, is the only way how Can it wait, can you make it wait I don't wanna wait, I don't wanna wait I don't wanna no more They will deceive you They will deceive you every time Patience, waiting I can't handle it No more saving This rage that's within I can feel it deep within Now it won't be long now Then where do we go Who even cares 'Cause now you're there They will deceive you They will deceive you every time Patience, waiting I can't handle it No more saving This rage that's within Patience is complacency Now it means nothing to me Patience is complacency Now it means nothing to me Play Video Play Video 03:25 BOILER ROOM - CHANGES (Official Video) Lyrics Burn my eyes out cause I can't see I can't another day Life has thrown me so many curves now It's so hard to just stay sane Chorus Redefine me and burn the pages 'Cause I can't take all the changes Patience left with my saneness Cause I take all these changes I can't believe they try to make me Aspirations can't die in life Every time that I get somewhere they just take it away from me I can't take it take it no more What have I become what will I become what have I become Chorus Redefine me and burn the pages 'Cause I can't take all the changes Patience left with my saneness Cause I take all these changes Video by: Shottie of Shotwell Productions Filmed live at Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ Members of the band Boiler Room: Chris Lino- Vocals Pete Rizzi - Bass Nick Seditious - Guitar Tommy Spano - Drums Music: Written by Chris Lino & Mike Orlando Lyrics: Chris Lino Cover Art: Mike Rizzi (IG: mikerizzidesign) Studio Musicians on 'Changes': Drums: Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Category 7, Overkill) Rhythm guitar: Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob) Song produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Mike Orlando (Category 7, Adrenaline Mob) at Sonic Stomp Studios, NY, NY Listen: https://found.ee/BoilerRoomChanges Contact the band: boilerroombandnyc@gmail.com Public Relations: Freeman Promotions https://www.freemanpromotions.com/ Play Video Play Video 03:51 NITE - Price For Heaven Darkwave - Dark Synth - Post-Punk - Industrial - Synthpop - Alternative For fans of Mareux, Boy Harsher, Twin Tribes, Cold Cave, and Drab Majesty Price For Heaven is lyrically inspired by, Ozymandias, a poem that explores the worldly fate of history and the ravages of time: even the greatest men and the empires they forge are impermanent, their legacies fated to decay into oblivion. For the making of this video, we were initially invited to "perform" a song by, It's Weekend Video to help them put together a reel to showcase their incredible talents at filming adverts; however, we ended up with a full music video. NITE are twin brother producers, Kyle and Myles Mendes and drummer Phil Helms from Dallas Texas. If you've seen us live or on the web, tell us how you found us! We'd love to hear from you. Play Video Play Video 03:51 Daemon Grimm - DLYH (Don't Lose Your Head) {Official Music Video} Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Jonathan Dolese at Konkrete Studios Directed & Edited by Jake Walker of Glass Eye Visuals Lyrics: Just a corpse Without a head Lost it to Lucy But still fuck with Sid Here we go down the same rabbit hole again To weird to live To rare to die There is no grand narrative to life Kill your pride before you lose your head Ego is the enemy This is the end of me Ego is the enemy This is the end of me Lost sense of self entirely Surrender control Don't lose your head The final leap of faith The guardian of the gate It keeps yelling D L Y H At the edge holding hands with oblivion Fear won't let me in D L Y H Just a corpse Without a head Lost it to Lucy But still fuck with Sid Here we go down the same rabbit hole again To weird to live To rare to die There is no grand narrative to life Kill your pride before you lose your head Ego is the enemy This is the end of me Ego is the enemy This is the end Lost sense of self entirely Don't lose your head Surrender control Don't lose your head The final leap of faith The guardian of the gate It keeps telling D L Y H At the edge holding hands with oblivion Fear won't let me in Don't lose your fucking Head There is no grand narrative to life It's just a struggle to get out of the bed What's my worth What's it weigh in the end Murphy Law in full effect Separate and manifest Toying with the consciousness I except and welcome Death Don't lose your head over this shit Ouu The final leap of faith The guardian of the gate It keeps telling D L Y H At the edge holding hands with oblivion Fear won't let me in D L Y H Kill your pride D L Y H Kill your pride I accept and welcome Death Play Video Play Video 17:19 Alfred Banks: Standing By Himself (Documentary) Connect w/ Alfred Banks: https://linktr.ee/underdogcentral Amongst the larger-than-life talent in the New Orleans rap scene is the understated, driven, and self-reliant Alfred Banks. Together, we explore the highs and lows of independent hip-hop, friendship, and family. Play Video Play Video 03:36 Mighty Oaks, ONE Mighty Oaks from Stone Deep's ONE Animated music video by Khylil Headen / Lilfromdahill_999, 2025 Play Video Play Video 03:23 SaxKixAve - Cheeks OUR FIRST MUSIC VIDEO EVER!!!! "Cheeks" from our debut project "I Don't Wear Suits", listen here: http://hyperurl.co/IDWS Directed by Albert Allenback Shot wonderfully by Cally Skye Nielsen "Old Phone" played by Alfred Banks "New Phone" played by Albert Allenback "Girlfriend" played by Michelle Newsham "Stan" played by Dave Shirley Our places online: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saxkixave/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saxkixave/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/saxkixave Bandcamp: https://saxkixave.bandcamp.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2MPLNf6a6M5wARlnZyVwTn?si=7qzn7PQISeyVnpJDQxIlYg #SaxKixAve #Cheeks #Music Play Video Play Video 03:16 Saxkixave - Tryna Get Down (Lyric Video) https://ffm.to/terrell-charbonneau-saxkixave-1

Clay Pigeons is a cult-classic dark comedy about small-town appearances, serial killers, and sexual betrayal that is just as funny as it is grim. < Back Clay Pigeons: Feast Upon This Keeley Brooks Sep 28, 2023 Share Clay Pigeons is a cult-classic dark comedy about small-town appearances, serial killers, and sexual betrayal that is just as funny as it is grim. Rating: 4 out of 5 dead could-be rockstars Welcome to Feast Upon This , a new column by yours truly where I’ll be sharing with you new and old titles worth feasting upon and telling you all about why you should watch them. First up is the 1998 independent gem Clay Pigeons , a relentlessly dark but funny small-town crime drama about a simple guy who keeps finding himself in the worst possible situations—usually involving dead bodies—and perhaps the nicest serial killer on the planet. Starring Joaquin Phoenix ( Joker ), Vince Vaughn ( Old School ), and Janeane Garofalo ( Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later ), Clay Pigeons has a strange, meandering plot that starts off funny but turns dark pretty fast as it twists and turns, leaving you wondering where the hell it’s gonna lead. It definitely treads the fine line between comedy and laid-back seriousness. Clay Pigeons was developed under filmmakers Ridley and Tony Scott’s company, Scott Free Productions , and is directed by David Dobkin ( Shanghai Knights and Wedding Crashers ). It’s also the second successful on-screen collaboration between Vaughn and Phoenix, who appeared together in Return to Paradise , which is also a great movie upon which you should feast. It released the same year and centers on two friends (Vaughn and Phoenix) who must choose whether to help a third friend who was arrested in Malaysia for drug possession. Back to Clay Pigeons , though. Set in the small town of Mercer, Montana, where everybody knows your name and is all up in your business, Clay Pigeons is one of those macabre comedies where the characters are quirky, not much is taken too seriously, the deputy sheriff is named—in homage to The Andy Griffith Show —Barney, and dead bodies continually surface around one particularly innocent man, making him look completely guilty. Clay Bidwell (Phoenix) is an affable, weak-willed, easy-going gas station attendant who, in the opening scene, finds himself up Shit Creek without a paddle while out target shooting with his best friend, Earl (Gregory Sporleder, of Black Hawk Down ). With gun in hand, Earl announces he knows Clay has been sleeping with his wife, Amanda (Georgina Cates, of Sinner ). Then, in an entertaining scene epitomizing how effectively Clay Pigeons juggles dark thriller and comedic elements, Clay begs Earl not to do anything he’ll regret right as a disheartened but methodical Earl carries out his plot to off himself and make it look like Clay killed him. In a panic, Clay goes to Amanda for help, but she tells him he’s on his own and leaves him to his own devices to dispose of the body. See, Clay is the kind of character who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Hell, he wouldn’t even swat at one, so when he stages a drunken car wreck to make Earl’s death look like a suicide, he’s batshit squirmy and completely out of his element. But ultimately Clay makes it work and even gets away with it, thanks to the gullible (and borderline narcoleptic) Deputy Sheriff Barney, who has known Clay long enough to know he would never, ever do anything wicked; he swallows every drop of bullshit Clay feeds him with ease. After Earl’s funeral, Clay finds an unapologetic, half-naked Amanda at his house in his bed, where she pressures him to continue with their affair. Overwhelmed with guilt, Clay resists her advances and heads to the bar, where she follows and invasively pressures Clay, getting all up in his personal space, ignoring his requests to leave him alone. When she amps up her attempts by getting physical, he slaps her and catches the attention of a peculiar cowboy hat-wearing bar patron, who moves in closer to befriend Clay while he’s at his lowest. Lester Long (Vaughn) is an obnoxiously dressed, super suave, but unnervingly creepy drifter who rolls into town the day of Earl’s funeral and forces his way into Clay’s life after seeing (and enjoying) his act of violence against a woman. An always smiling, over-confident fast talker, Long dresses in tacky, WAY-TOO-LOUD western wear and accentuates it with a high-pitched, machine-gun laugh—the kind that creeps you out and compels you to get as far away from him as you can. But he’s more than just a drifter: He’s an under-the-radar serial killer making his way through the state of Montana. This silver-tongued cowboy has a way with the ladies, a way with cigarettes, and he’s top notch at manipulating anyone he cozies up to. Lester—excuse me, “Lester the, uh, Mo-lester” as he likes to introduce himself, is the archetypal stranger with a mysterious past, handsome good looks, and such a charming manner that you can’t really be entirely sure if he’s an angel or the devil. All you know is that something about him is just … off. Next to Long, Clay is the local loser par excellence who finds himself embroiled in a life of panic, anxiety, and suspicion as fate continues to throw him the raw end of the deal at every turn. Stuck between a rock and a hard place (i.e., Lester’s maneuvering and Amanda’s slutty libido), Clay finds himself implicated in the fact that a bunch of corpses—obviously the work of a serial killer—keep turning up around him, right in the public’s view. After Earl’s death, a distraught Clay bones a waitress named Gloria, which pisses off a vengeful Amanda, who winds up killing Gloria. Always the sucker, Clay agrees the dispose of the body once again and dumps it in a local lake. Only, he forgets to weigh it down, so you know this one’s coming back to surface, and you can bet it will be at the most inopportune time. The next day, Lester baits Clay into going fishing at the same lake, and in a most hysterical scene, Gloria’s dead body floats to the surface and horrifies Clay. In a panic, he tries pushing the body away from the boat with an oar before Lester notices but doesn’t succeed. That moment right there is one of the reasons you should watch Clay Pigeons . As Lester spots and points at the body, he stands and, with charming innocence, yells, “Well f**k me! Man overboard! Man overboard!" "Oh my God, what is that?" Clay asks. "Alarm! That’s a person, Clay! That’s a dead person!” Lester answers. "Well, I can see that .... wh--what do we do?" Clay wonders. "I don't know, man. It's a new situation for me," Lester says as he reaches for the leg of the body. "It's okay, I've got her," he continues as Clay leans over the side of the boat to vomit. "Aw man, it just gets uglier and uglier! I love the open water, man!" Lester exclaims. “Well, I don’t think anybody would want us touching her, you know?” a freaked-out Clay says. “Her? Hell, I’m not even sure that damn thing’s a woman!” Lester quips. “Well of course it’s a woman. It’s got long hair,” Clay responds. “Well, it could be a rockstar, Clay. We don’t know what the f**k it is,” Lester asserts. Having no choice, Clay confesses his secret to his new pal Lester, which solidifies for Lester that the two are now “fishin’ buddies” for life. Just for your viewing pleasure, here’s a little snippet of that scene, but you should really watch it in its entirety for the full effect. Clay further paints himself into a corner when he goes to Sheriff Mooney (Scott Wilson, of Black Mirror ) to report the body and keeps Lester’s name out of the deets. But time always tells the truth, and when Amanda turns up dead after boning Lester, Clay begins to put two and two together and realizes Lester is the killer. When the FBI show up, Sheriff Mooney is not happy they’re all up in his jurisdiction, but he allows the help and knows he needs it after continually catching Deputy Barney (Vince Vieluf, of Love, Inc. ) napping on the job and being super careless with evidence due to his lack of common sense. Now Clay really looks like the prime suspect, especially once Agent Shelby (Garofalo) questions him in jail. “You’re dating one victim, you’re having an affair with another, and you actually found the third. Kind of a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?” Shelby taunts Clay. Garofalo and her mannerisms, which border on excessive familiarity with Fargo ’s police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), make Agent Shelby one of the best parts of Clay Pigeons and yet another reason why you should see this movie. She’s highly intelligent, extremely direct, and plays the sarcastic “wise guy”—the kind of wise guy who sniffs out other wise guys a mile away. It’s no surprise, then, that after meeting Lester Long, she suspects he's probably the killer. Director David Dobkin does a fantastic job of creating clever, intricate scenes for Garofalo to have fun with—in particular, that bar room encounter with Lester. As Clay sits in a cell under FBI suspicion of being a serial killer, Lester goes to visit him and tell him he has a plan to help prove Clay’s innocence: He’ll just kill another person to prove Clay isn’t the one committing these crimes. Lester’s malevolence really bleeds out here in the way he toys with Clay, who does not like this plan at all. In an effort to face Lester and stop the murder, Clay breaks out of jail by duping the one Agent Shelby refers to as “a boob,” Deputy Barney. What plays out after that is left completely up to your viewing pleasure. What I love about Clay Pigeons are the characters. Screenwriter Matthew Healy really dove deep into creating Clay, Lester, Barney, and Agent Shelby, and it shows in how well written they are. Both Clay and Lester pretend to be dumber than they really are, with Phoenix taking on the more subdued role of innocent man in trouble while Vaughn, in a far more distinctive turn than his take on Norman Bates, is a diabolical serial killer and charming misogynist who might sound and appear creepy but who is genuinely wrapped up in his friendship with Clay, whom he pins to be his fall guy. Their relationship serves as an intriguing take on male camaraderie and mutual dependency that turns into an exploding landmine once Clay discovers the truth. Clay Pigeons features some enjoyable early stellar performances from Phoenix, Vaughn, and Garofalo, who each delightfully relish their individual roles, which further allows us to relish every little thing about their characters and acting methods. Clay Pigeons’ quirky little narrative makes plenty of room for its somewhat-clunky plot to unravel and unwind on you in its own time, and it’s stocked full of some high-quality verbal zingers—yet another reason to watch this film. Sheriff Mooney also lays down some solid work, understanding that his character is, unlike the others, not at all there to be funny but instead is there to ground everyone in reality. Overall, Clay Pigeons is a pleasant amalgamation of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958) with classic, eccentric, screwball comedy topped off with a fun soundtrack to enhance the laid-back but sinister mood. Riding the tail end of the neo-noir boom of the 90s, Clay Pigeons was generally regarded as derivative of Quentin Tarantino and Coen Bros. films with their idiosyncratic characters enmeshed in a neo-noirish story bookended by jarring violence and clever levity. If you’re at all a Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, or Janeane Garofalo fan, this is one flick you’re gonna want to indulge in and add to your queue or collection. Clay Pigeons is available to buy or rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, Redbox, and Roku. Keeley Brooks is big ole movies, television, and streaming nerd with a voracious appetite for entertainment consumption and an uncontrollable urge to write about everything she watches, even if it sucks. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Empowered Rockin 4 Jesus: The Next Great Band You Haven't Heard Yet < Back Rockin 4 Jesus: The Next Great Band You Haven't Heard Yet Nicole Brice Oct 22, 2022 Share Empowered Many bands label themselves and label themselves wrong. Case in point, Baton Rouge 's own, Empowered . A Christian Rock band fronted by Benny DiChiara with Shane Madere Jr. (lead guitarist, backing vocalist), Jeff Maddox (bass and background vocals), Mic Capdeville (percussion and background vocals), and Justin Burdette (guitarist and background vocals), this band has a serious unique sound that needs to be heard and is much more than just Christian Rock. With lyrical content that pulls at your heart strings, Empowered proves they are a band you should take notice of and listen to. credit: Gary Governale Empowered got its start in 1998 and was the brainchild of DiChiara who had previous success on the local music circuit singing with various secular bands. In 2011, they released the album Soulcry to modest success, but it wasn't until 2019's Three Days that the band really began to pick up steam. Three Days was produced by Mikey Howard of 7eventh Time Down / Love Journey Music and showcases the Empowered sound in all its glory. To follow up the success of Three Days , Empowered have recently released their third EP, Yahweh-Nissi via Slingshot Records , an Indie label based in Baton Rouge , LA. The title track is straight up in your face rock-‘n’-roll with a hardcore message and the rest of the EP is a finely produced melodic journey of love and Jesus that will leave you singing at the top of your lungs. Empowered performing at Yes Fest in Baton Rouge, LA on October 15, 2022 credit: Gary Governale Shane Madere Jr. , lead guitarist for Empowered , said of the sound he achieved for recording the title track, "I used a combination of my Ugly Amps Big Ugly 100 on the Ugly Channel plus an emulation of an Xotic BB Preamp from my Fractual Audio AX8 unit to get the sound I was looking for." Shane definitely got it right and the guitar has a nice crunch with the sound emulating the stomps of an army on the march. When I asked Shane of his guitar influences, he cites Eric Johnson . “My solo sound and even the notes I used on the studio recording of Yahweh-Nissi was very much influenced by him. He writes very melodic solos that fit the song." Shane Madere Jr. (guitar) credit: Gary Governale Recently, Empowered took the stage at Yes Fest 2022 to play their new EP in its entirety at the state fairgrounds in Baton Rouge sharing the bill with 7eventh Time Down and Kari Jobe amongst others. Their set was a powerhouse performance of finely tuned music that left you wanting more. Justin Burdette (guitar) credit: Gary Governale Of the experience playing Yes Fest , DiChiara has said, “Playing Yes Fest in Baton Rouge was such an exhilarating experience, not only being on that stage, but the ministry aspect of it as well. It’s an amazing and humbling thing to see God work things out for our good – but only if we are looking to see it." Mikey Howard of 7eventh Time Down with Benny DiChiara credit: Gary Governale He went on to say, "A special thanks to all of the artists who we got to share the stage with. It wasn't just about meeting other artists and hearing about their ministries, but we also got to share the stage with our mentor/producer/friend/brother in Christ, Mikey Howard . We sang our new radio single ' Jesus Can Heal The World ' and it was an incredible moment." Mikey Howard took the stage to perform "Jesus Can Heal the World" with Empowered credit: Gary Governale Empowered 's sound is definitely unique and DiChiara has said of their sound, "Well, it’s not necessarily that we're trying to write to a sound. Over the past two records, we do seem to have come into our own. Someone said if U2 married Daughtry , we’d be their band baby." Jeffrey Maddox (bass) credit: Gary Governale When asked what inspires the band, he went on to say, "The inspiration simply comes from God . Yahweh-Nissi was a direct discussion between He and I, and I was told of the direction for the title track. It’s simply a war cry for believers to rally with Jesus and take it to the evil that seems to be everywhere in the world right now. I think that the rest of the record points everyone in that direction as well. Who’s gonna rise tonight?". These guys in Empowered are definitely on the rise and people should take notice. Mic Capdeville (drums) credit: Gary Governale Empowered 's new EP, Yahweh-Nissi , is available NOW on all streaming platforms and you can learn more about the band via their social media and YouTube . Empowered | Facebook EmpoweredOfficial (@empowered_rockin4jesus) • Instagram photos and videos EMPOWERED - YouTube ‎Empowered on Apple Music Empowered | Spotify *All photos by Gary Governale * www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Reach out to us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Not a Rock and Roll Loser Born to Perform: Dr. Joe Burns < Back Born to Perform: Dr. Joe Burns Nicole Brice Mar 9, 2023 Share Not a Rock and Roll Loser Influence … what is it, really? We all have people, places, things, or ideas that influence us in life via various forms, and this next musician I’m going to tell you about is no exception in the realm of inspiration and influence. I first met Dr. Joe Burns when I was a student of his at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La., back in the early 2000s. I graduated from SLU in 2005, so it was a long time ago, but when I was reacquainted with Joe , it felt like no time had passed at all. One of my favorite memories of Dr. Burns is when he would stand in the front of the class and tell a rowdy bunch of kids to pay attention to him by stating, “Pay attention to me, because I have a tie,” as he pointed to the necktie he was wearing with his collared shirt. He taught me so much, and as a Mass Communications major, I took so many of his classes, that most of my college memories include thoughts of happenings from within his classes. In fact, I credit Dr. Burns as being the one who truly taught me audio and video production because without his instruction, I would not know all I know today—of course, the hands-on experience I had working at 90.9 KSLU FM, now known as 90.9 the Lion , might have helped a tad bit, too. Back in the day when I called SLU home, the Mass Comm department was small, and we were like a family of sorts. I miss that time, and most of all, I miss that era. It truly was much simpler then. Going into this interview, I knew three things about Dr. Burns: he loved Eddie Van Halen , he had previously worked in radio full-time, and he had a great sense of humor. After speaking with Dr. Burns for over an hour and a half (because neither of us could shut up), I learned there is so much depth to his identity and the things he has accomplished and continues to accomplish is just plain remarkable. As one who has led an amazing life, he remains deeply humble. First and foremost, Dr. Burns is a communications professor at SLU , but he also is a f ather, a husband, a producer, a musician, an author, a podcaster, and a master woodworker. He even built his own recording studio, which he aptly titled Loser Studios as a nod to one of his albums, Rock and Roll Loser . Joe’s quirky take on rock music is entertaining, comedic, and sincerely authentic. Take a moment to read this interview, then go check out his latest music release Tools of the Trade via all streaming platforms. It’s very nostalgic for me to hear, because many of my old college buddies make guest appearances on the album in various forms, and it’s just a damn enjoyable album, as all of his releases are. Joe Burns is the epitome of the modern-day Renaissance man. credit: Gary Governale JB : You called a little early! MaM : Well, according to my phone, it says 14:00 on the dot … 2 o’clock! JB : Nicole, my gosh, Nicole! I haven’t seen you since you actually were in my classes. How have you been? MaM : Man, life has been crazy. I want to tell your story, though. You have one of the most distinct voices I have ever heard, and I can always tell it’s you, no matter what. Give me a little background info about where you were born and raised, because I remember you saying you were from Ohio back when I took your classes, and I know you went to Bowling Green University , correct? JB : That was for the Ph.D. I was born in Flint, Mich., actually … back when you could drink the water. It seems that I was always in a new place growing up. In 5th grade was when I made my way to Ohio—specifically Solon, Ohio , which is a suburb of Cleveland , and I grew up in Cleveland through the formative years: 5th grade all the way until the end of high school. That’s my Ohio connection, and I consider Cleveland, Ohio, home. MaM : That’s cool how you have that Ohio connection. My mom is from Ohio, too. She is from a little town called Ashtabula, Ohio , which is right there on Lake Erie . I had the pleasure of visiting up there in 2009 and just fell in love with the area. When did you first pick up guitar and start playing? If I remember correctly, you are a music junkie just like me, and I know you like Steely Dan and Van Halen . Give us a little more info about your music background. JB : Well, my mother put a gun to my head and made me play saxophone (laughs), because that's what a young boy should play … something to be in the high-school band. And, well, she decided one day to play guitar. So, she took lessons at the local cooperative, and we had this really piece of crap Stella guitar that my dad bought, probably from Sears . And she kept coming home with her lessons, and I would have the lesson in 10 or 15 minutes, and my dad finally said after a couple of months, ‘Why don't you just give the guitar to the kid because you're not getting it, and he's got it in about 10 minutes now?’ He probably paid for that for a year afterwards, but I just started getting better and better and better. And I remember I was invited, because all I had were acoustics, these cheap little things that we got at garage sales. And we—one guy asked me, ‘Hey, do you want to be in this band?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I'd love to,’ and my dad talked to the local music guy because I would always go into the same little music store, and the guy said, ‘Oh, yeah, Joe could play rhythm guitar in a band right now.’ Easy to do. And I had gone in there and apparently picked this one guitar off the wall 10 times. It was a Morris electric in Cherry Sunburst . As a matter of fact, it's hanging on the wall right behind me. It maybe is the most balanced instrument I've ever had. You can't even buy them like that anymore; they don't make them. So, I took it and bought a cheap little amp from a friend, and that's when I started playing it: on my 15th birthday. That's really when it came to fruition. And I remember writing my first song on that guitar. I can remember most of the lyrics. It's really sad. (laughs) credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, 15 years old was when you decided, “This is it—I really love guitar, and this is what I want to do,” and you’ve just kind of done it as a hobby over the years, or did you want to do something serious with it? JB : I wanted to do something serious with it all the time. Here's the problem: I'm 6’4” and about 250 pounds, and in Cleveland , when you're that big, you don't become a musician. I was a football player. I was a wrestler. I threw shot put, and music always had to go on the back burner. It's just the way it was. And I mean that; I'm not trying to be clever about it. It's, you know, when you're within the top 10 biggest guys in the high school, you don't get to go play guitar. I played in bands with people now and again, but nothing ever came of it. It wasn't until I got out of college that I started to perform with bands. I was recording with the radio stations, but it wasn’t until I got out of college that I had the opportunity to perform. And, I remember the first real band I was in was a band called Theory. Our first album was going to be called ‘Hypothesis.’ How horrible is that? And then I picked up with a local band that was actually very good, and [I] did a lot of gigging. It was called Rick and the Rockets, and I was one of their rotating guitarists. I was a rocket, and that's pretty much how it went. MaM : So, you mentioned above that you were working in radio, which I know you had a huge career in, so tell us a little more about that. JB : I was not going to go to college and my parents said, ‘Oh yes you will,’ and I said, ‘Oh no I'm not! I'm gonna get on a bus. I'm gonna go out to California , and I'm gonna join up with a band.’ So, what they did was bribe me with a car. Now, don't get me wrong—it was a nice car. It was a ‘79 Camaro with a 354 barrel, you know, powder blue interior. Oh, yeah. If I wasn't ugly and fat, it would have brought the chicks a runnin’. (laughs) MaM : (laughs) Oh yeah, that does sound nice. JB : And I started playing in little bands in college here and there. But what was wonderful is, I got into radio and then you see radio took over, and I would go out now and again with a band. I would sit in with people. I would do a track here and there. But, you know, for 12 years, I ran radio stations and kept everything up and running. MaM : Which radio stations did you work for? JB : I started in Pennsylvania at Titan Radio . That was my college station. I was at two different stations during college—full-time gigs. That was WKST and WFEM . Left there, went to Oklahoma City for KCGK ? I can't remember exactly. I don't think it exists anymore. Left there for WQLT in Florence , Alabama . Left there for KG107 in Utica, New York . Left there for 92 Gold in Southern Pennsylvania . It was actually the Hagerstown, Maryland market. And after that, I quit and went back for a Ph.D. I got the masters while I was running the stations in Pennsylvania. MaM : Wow. How did you end up in Louisiana, of all places, after an incredible career like that? JB : Simple. I got the masters while I was in … and, and by the way, I got the masters on a bet. I used to use the questions in the morning. One of the bits that I did was … ask trivia questions, but they came from the MENSA book, the genius thing. And somebody joked to me, you know, ‘Hey, why don't you go test MENSA? You think you're so smart and all that.’ So, I went, and I tested for MENSA, and you go through about four IQ tests, and I scored above 140 on each of them. So, they invited me to go to York, Pa., and try out to get into the MENSA Society. I took tests and failed. You had to be in the top two percent. I still have the piece of paper because no one believes me. I scored in the top three percent, and I said to them, ‘Don't you people round up?’ And they said, ‘No.’ It’s just with my master's degree, I couldn't find work as a professor, so I kept calling all the rejection letters, and what I kept getting was, ‘You don't have a Ph.D.’ So, [I] went to Bowling Green . I applied to two places: Bowling Green and Kent State . Went to Bowling Green because Kent State said no. Did three years, because they say the average time to get your Ph.D. is five years, and I said, ‘Well, my wife doesn't want to be here very long.’ Bowling Green is nice, but it's just south of Toledo, so you can tell it's a little grungy-greeny. So, finished that up in three years, as quick [sic] as possible. I won the dissertation scholarship. What I didn't win, though, and this still makes me angry to this day, was ... I was up for graduate student of the year, and the woman who was doing the interview told me that she wouldn't vote for me because I, ‘stalked the students.’ MaM : What?!? JB : I didn't stand in one place and lecture to them. I walked around and I engaged them, and I made them speak. This woman is just sitting there filled with liberal arts confidence, right, and I said, ‘Radio communication. This is radio. This is television. We don't play well with introverts. You must understand what we do here.’ She didn’t like that very much, and so, I lost. credit: Gary Governale MaM : I’m assuming getting the job at SLU is what brought you to Louisiana, or was it something else? JB : Yes. Yeah. Well, no—here’s the thing. I got a job immediately. In fact, I was the first in my graduating class to get a job, and it was at a university I absolutely loved. It was one of these little richie, rich schools, and you would think the kids would all be complete jerks and all of it. No, they were great. And it was a school that had money and gorgeous radio stations. It was everything I wanted. It was two hours outside of New York City . So, this whole time we're trying like crazy to have a kid, and we couldn't seem to do it, and my wife finally said [she couldn’t] go through another northern winter. She's from Alabama. I met her when I was at WQLT . So, I kept giving her the chronicle, “Higher Education.” That's the magazine that tells you where the jobs are, and I applied to everything that she wanted me to. I was given two job offers. One in, I think it was Marietta, Ga., at Southern Polytechnic University. I would have been a computer professor. The other one was at Southeastern Louisiana University , and I took it. MaM : So that’s how you ended up here. You were all over the northern part of the U.S., and you get transplanted back down here. (laughs) JB : I don't know what's a better life, and I mean this … I don't know what's a better life because none of my cousins, and both sides of the family—mom and dad—none of my cousins have anything more than a B.A., and I'm not putting that down. Look, a bachelor's degree is, is an impressive thing, but none of them have over that. I am the only one that holds a master's degree. I think one of my cousins does, too, but I'm the only one to hold a Ph.D. … and you ask yourself, ‘Is it better to do what I did and move all over the United States, or is it better to stay put in one place?’ See, all my friends who stayed put in Cleveland all still get together and they all have a good time together. Me, on the other hand, it's a weird existence, and anybody who has had a job where you move all the time [knows] it's hard to make lifelong friends. My wife and I have lived in nine different states. MaM : I admire the fact that you have lived in so many places and have experienced so much. I can completely relate to what you said, though. I went on Apple music recently, to check out your music, and did you know there are two other musicians with the name, Joe Burns? JB : Sure … and there is a soccer player and an ex-football player. It is a very common name. I always tell people, ‘You gotta put that Ph.D. after it to find me!’ But the thing is, every time you put that in, it's not my music that pops up; it's my books, because I had a real success for a good, long while there with creating web pages, and [it was] right at the beginning of the internet and teaching people how to make web pages, and it ended up in a series of five books. That comes up long before the music does, but you know … time marches on. MaM : Refresh my memory on the titles of those books, so I can let our readers know about them. I think it was “HTML for Dummies” or “HTML Goodies?” JB: It was Goodies. ‘HTML for Dummies’ was some corporate thing, and I always hated it because the idea was you have to admit you were stupid to read the books. (laughs) JB : It was ‘HTML’ mainly because, you know, the books were about how to make a website. It was ‘HTML Goodies,’ because the first thing I ever did was put a series of cute little images up online, and my father made the statement that, ‘Oh, look! You got all these little goodies for people to give away.’ So, there you go: ‘HTML Goodies.’ There it was, and now it’s five books. It's been reprinted in at least three languages that I know of. MaM : Wow, that’s impressive. JB : One of them is Polish. (laughs) MaM : I noticed you released an album in 2017 prior to this most recent release. “ One Hell of a Story ” was the title, and I was wondering if that was the first time you had released music on your own? JB : No, as a matter of fact, that was the second album. Here’s the thing … I have always been an extremely pragmatic human being, meaning there are people that if they're not perfect when they come out of the gate, they get very upset and they quit. I put out an album called ‘ Rock and Roll Loser ,’ and you'd have to go to my YouTube channel to hear some of the songs, and there's about three songs on the album, which I think are very, very good, and I'd like to re-record them, but the rest of them are pure crud. MaM : (laughs) JB : I've had people say to me, ‘I listened to ‘ Rock and Roll Loser ,’ and it's terrible,’ and I said, ‘You're absolutely right!’ But you see, I recorded that entire album on a laptop, and the drums were all fake and I didn't understand to put in drum fills. It's horrible, and I urge people to go listen to it. If you want to hear a couple of the very good ones, listen to ‘ Believe ,’ which I really want to re-record, and [then] listen to ‘ Misinformed .’ Those are the two that are actually really good songs. They're just not recorded well because I didn't have the equipment. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, when you released that, you just released it strictly on YouTube? JB : No, there's a website: www.RockandRollLoser.com . I refused to put out any music and expect someone to give me money for it. I don't want 50 cents or what have you getting between you and you listening to my song. So, I put it out. I just thought it was the greatest album in the world. This happens constantly. You know, you write something, and you go to bed thinking they're gonna hand me the Pulitzer this week, [then y]ou get up in the morning, you listen to it or you read it and you go, ‘What was I … was I drunk?!?’ MaM : (laughs) JB : I go back and listen. The song ‘ Rock and Roll Loser ’ is cute, but it's not much … it's not much more than me figuring out what the heck I'm doing. I'm playing in a couple of bands. The big one at the time was called Impaired Faculties. It was all professors from Southeastern. MaM : I remember hearing about them. Dr. Robison—wasn’t he a part of that? JB : He was the other guitarist. He's the one that came to me, and we played a little bit together and he said, ‘Okay, you and I have got to play dual guitars. We must.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ So, the whole thing was supposed to be just a fundraiser, and then we discovered we weren’t that bad, and so we kept going. We recorded a couple of songs that nothing's ever happened with them, and then, I wrote a song called ‘ Water Line ’ after the floods, and we made a bunch of money by selling at a dollar a pop, but it was a fundraiser. The whole time, I was doing my radio show or, rather, my podcast ‘ Rock School ,’ and I kept building my home studio and I kept getting better equipment and better equipment. So, when you listen to the second album, which is called One Hell of a Story , you go, ‘Oh my gosh, the songs are getting better.’ And then a year later, my wife and I put out a Christmas album called ‘ Let's Get the Jingle Bell Out of Here ,’ and again, better. We had real success with that. We got on a CD that was sent out, and we were the nobodies next to Sia and Kelly Clarkson and Barry Manilow , and it got sent out to all these radio stations. We had phenomenal success with that album. It got 400 different radio stations to play it. I then started messing around musically with a buddy of mine. You probably remember him: Rusty Gregoire. Do you remember him? MaM : Sure do! I stayed good friends with him for a long time. Now, we’re just Facebook friends. JB : He and I started recording together and I think we have five or six songs, and they're really good. We need to record a few more and put it out, but again, with him … better. I hadn't recorded for, it had to be two years, and I finally just had all these songs that I had written for all these other people. By the way, I put out an entire album called ‘ My Key ’ with a singer named Naomi. If you go to any of the streaming services and you search ‘ My Key ,’ Naomi - N A O M I, Naomi, you'll find that one, and you'll listen to the other albums … and then you’re like, ‘When did you learn to play piano … and saxophone?’. I brought pros in to do all these things, and I think it’s sonically beautiful. credit: Gary Governale MaM : We’ll have to check that one out. JB : I don’t know how to explain it. I guess I don’t sit in a room and play chord after chord after chord, praying that somehow, I’m gonna come up with something. What I do is—in my car—I have found that to be at your most creative peak. Sit still, and let your mind go somewhere. If you sit and force yourself, and you go, ‘It’s time to write a song,’ you’re not gonna do it. Just keep your mouth shut and let your brain turn into clouds, and that’s where the riffs start coming. MaM : So, you mentioned previously that you build your own guitars. Do you play your custom guitars that you’ve built? JB : I built all my guitars. Literally, built all my guitars … and I set the whole system up, and that’s what I did. MaM : What type of blueprint do you use to build your guitars? JB : See, I buy a kit, and all I use from the kit are the neck and the body. I don’t use the crappy stuff. I do all my own electronics. I buy all different pick-ups. I always make a point of finishing them in different colors, and then I call for them by color when recording. MaM : Tell us a little bit about this latest album that you have released. JB : Well, it’s called ‘ Tools of the Trade .’ Why? I don’t know. My wife suggested it, and I thought it was okay. When you listen to ‘ Whadaya Say ,’ it goes to a jazz place in the middle, and the entire solo is played note, harmonic note, harmonic note, harmonic. The second song is called ‘ Not My Circus, Not My Monkey. ’ It has what’s known as a waterfall of harmonics because I want people to go, ‘Wait a minute? What the heck was that?’ It’s a heavy song, but right out of nowhere comes a harmonica. I don’t want to keep playing 145. I want every single song to make people go, ‘What?!? What was that?!’ credit: Gary Governale MaM : I did notice that each track is different and each one reels you in in a different way because of how unique they are. If you were to hear them consecutively, you would not know they are by the same artist. JB : Yeah, I’ve had people say to me, ‘Hey, look, ‘ Not My Circus ’ sounds like Nuno Bettencourt.’ If you write a song that sounds like somebody else, you’re not doing it right. I’ve gotta be honest, there is a little bit of Eddie Van Halen in everything I play, but it doesn’t sound like him. I write these songs and put them together and pray they don’t sound like anyone but me. I’ve probably got seven or eight more riffs just sitting in a file somewhere because I’m probably going to do it again. Somebody said, ‘Why would you release 18 songs in a row?’, and I said, ‘Because I’ve got another 18 … just give me a year.’ MaM : Do you have any plans to play any live shows? Have you thought about maybe doing some local gigs in Hammond? I’d come see it! JB : I’d love to do it, and I’ll contact you when it happens. I want to get out there and do it by myself. I’m not in a band right now, and I think it’s simply because of time. I’d like to get out there like a troubadour. Me and a guitar and do it about once every other week. My wife has even said to me, ‘Why are you not out there playing?’, and I think it’s just because I’m 58 and I’m lazy, but I don’t even need to get paid. I mean, give me some beer and maybe some food. The last time I played a gig, I went three hours straight and didn’t even take a break. I would just like to get up there and strum chords. I can tell you that I’m not a big requests person. I will show up and do a show, and if someone comes up and says, "Play ‘ Margaritaville ',’’ I guess I could, but that’s not my thing. MaM : I know quite a few local musicians who get zany requests when playing live. Like, people like to yell, “Play ‘Free Bird’” at live shows. Not sure why, but they just kind of laugh it off. JB : Wouldn’t it be wonderful to actually learn ‘ Free Bird ?’ The entire 10 or so minutes of it. Some drunk guy in the audience could go, ‘Free Bird!!’, and I could go, ‘Okay!’, and literally play the entire song. MaM : And I would love to see that, and I’d be cheering you on! So, Rock School Records is the imprint you are releasing your music under. Have you used that for all of your releases? JB : Yes, so DistroKid , they wanted a name of a record company, so I had to make something up. I call my studio, though, Loser Studio because the first record was ‘ Rock and Roll Loser .’ It was called that on purpose, because I had it in my head that if what I’m about to create is pure crap, then if I call myself a loser first, then you really can’t make fun of it. credit: Gary Governale MaM : As far as releasing the music, I know you have it on Apple Music, but are you releasing it on other platforms? Where is your music available? JB : I send it out to every venue that will accept it. It’s on Pandora, Spotify, and Apple, and I use YouTube as kind of a fun thing. The first single off the album, and I’m going to really start pushing it soon—it’s called ‘ Tickets Please ,’ and it’s got a video. By the way, there is also a video for ‘ Bad Idea ,’ which is also on the album. There are actually quite a few videos, but you have to go to my YouTube channel to find that. Just know that if you type in “Joe Burns,” you gotta put that Ph.D. behind it. I did have the entire album up there, but once I put it up, I immediately got a copyright strike from a company that makes ukelele music. MaM : (laughs) JB : I laughed at them and took the whole thing down, and I’m sure once I put it up again, I’ll get hit again. I’ll show them, though, that I have the original audio files and everything. MaM : So, your “Rock School” podcast / radio show. I know it used to run on KSLU. Is it still going? JB : Oh no, I’m still doing it. We have won several radio Emmy ’s, probably seven, and we’re now on 32 radio stations, two networks, and the NPR network. We’re trying to get on with the Armed Forces Radio Network . Haven’t heard anything about it, and I think our weekly downloads are somewhere between 25 and 27,000. My wife is actually my co-host now. The thing is, we kept running out of studio time, and I brought the whole thing to my studio. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Ok, last question, are you only using your home studio for recording your personal stuff, or do you plan to open it up to other musicians? JB : I’ve thought about it. I’ve got some ideas. I’ve thought about running wires to my gazebo and then have them record a show for 45 minutes, and then the band will walk away with maybe a five-song demo and a live recording … put it all on a jump drive for them. MaM : Any parting thoughts or words? JB : I really just want, like, 20 minutes of your time. Give my music a listen, and then pass it on to your people. This is a hobby for me. I’m trying really to create some quality music, and I hope you see it that way, too. To check out Joe Burns and his music, hit one of the links below! Joe Burns PhD - YouTube ‎Joe Burns on Apple Music Spotify – Joe Burns Rock School on Apple Podcasts Joe Burns Rock.com - Home Page (joeburnsrocks.com) Joe Burns, Rock and Roll Loser - Homepage Joe Burns - One Hell of a Story - Home Burns Christmas - Home *All photos by Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . 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The Adventures of Pecos Hank Dark, Moody, Mysterious, and Daring < Back Dark, Moody, Mysterious, and Daring Keeley Brooks Feb 22, 2023 Share The Adventures of Pecos Hank Twenty years ago, when I was in my early stages as an entertainment writer in Baton Rouge, La., I was out covering some local bands when I discovered and fell right in love with a Texas-based opening act called Southern Backtones. I loved their vibe, their presence, their tone, and their music. Not only did the Backtones resonate with me, but they also resonated with everyone else in the room that night. So, I did what any self-respecting writer would do and walked right up to them the second they came off the stage. And I’m glad I did, because it landed me a friend for life in their lead singer, Hank Schyma. We bonded over our love for bands like Pulp, Radiohead, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Portishead, and over our love for film—specifically the movie Clay Pigeons . (Shout out to my fishin’ buddy!) Schyma, now widely and most popularly known as Pecos Hank, is really one of the most unique individuals you’ll ever meet. He’s quite the popular singer, songwriter, musician, photographer, videographer, filmmaker, and snake charmer/wrangler on several scenes, but that’s not what makes him unique. It’s who he is at his core and his authentic perspectives, as well as his genuine kindness, that leave the lasting impression. His music deeply expresses a lot of who he is, which is a southern badass with a big ole heart. credit: Jay Dryden Oh, did I mention he’s also a professional tornado chaser? Because, for real, he is. He’s the kind of tornado chaser you might’ve seen in the 90s cult classic disaster hit Twister : in love and obsessed with tornadoes, daring to get up close and personal with them, and passionately unafraid yet deeply respecting of one of Mother Nature’s most powerful storms. When he isn’t Hank the musician or videographer or photographer, he’s Hank the tornado chaser and storm expert. Pecos Hank with a giant twister on his tail. Not only is Schyma talented at what he does, but he’s also very passionate about it. Dude spends half the year tracking storms and chasing one of Earth’s most stunningly terrifying energies, and he’s highly sought-after for his footage and live reports during tornado season by many news and weather outlets, including The Weather Channel. He also reports to the National Weather Service when other chasers don’t beat him to the punch. He has also served and continues to serve as a storm consultant on major motion pictures—most recently on Supercell , which is an upcoming disaster movie releasing March 17, 2023, starring Alec Baldwin, Skeet Ulrich, and the late Anne Heche. Not only was “a boatload” of Schyma’s tornado and lightning footage used in the movie, but also two of his tornado pictures were spliced together to create the image seen on the movie poster. The poster image originated from these two photos of Schyma's: credit: Hank Schyma Videos of his are littered throughout the trailer and movie. Hank witnessed his first tornado in 2002 and captured the fastest tornado ever documented back in 2014, and on May 31, 2013, he was there in El Reno, Okla., to witness and capture the widest tornado ever recorded at 2.6 miles wide. photo credit: Hank Schyma On May 25, 2019, while chasing and documenting storms in Oklahoma, Hank discovered a specific type of transient luminous event (upper atmospheric lightning) called a GhOST, or Green emissions from excited Oxygen from Sprite Tops—in short, green upper atmospheric electrical discharges or green mini-auras. In the photo below, if you look just above the brightest part of the picture, you'll see a faint green hue that casts an afterflow across the sky; that's a GhOST. photo credit: Thomas Ashcraft “I video recorded some sprites over a storm … Later, when I reviewed the footage, I noticed a mysterious green afterglow above some of the larger sprites,” says Schyma. SPRITE stands for Stratospheric/mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification. They are large-scale electrical discharges occurring high above a thunderstorm cloud and are often reddish orange in color. Based on their shape, there are three types: jellyfish, column, and carrot SPRITEs. Hank tells me he then teamed up with photographer and SPRITE chaser, Paul M. Smith . “Yeah, this one I’m pretty proud of. [A] buddy and collaborator of mine, Paul Smith, and I discovered a faint green glow that occurs high above thunderstorms after powerful lightning strikes. Think of a random, brief aurora that lasts about one second,” explains Schyma. “We shared the footage with scientists and others on social media. Nobody had heard of it before. Many argued it might be a camera sensor artifact. Over the following weeks and months, Paul captured multiple other GhOSTs at high resolution, silencing the skepticism. This opened doors for us to directly chat with all the real scientist rock stars of meteorology.” The pair worked together to create this educational video explaining transient luminous events. Give it a watch and check out these atmospheric wonders for yourself. So, yeah—see? He’s a general badass full of no fear and multi-leveled awesomeness. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, in the Pecos River Valley, Hank formed Southern Backtones in the late 90s with drummer Todd Sommer and guitarist John Griffin. As far as their sound goes, think American Southwestern dark, ethereal, gothic-y rock mixed with lonely echoes and moody twangs so delicious, they’ll leave your mouth watering … but not before they cast a spell on hidden parts of your soul and lull you in by the heart strings. They've often been described by media critics as, “Brit-influenced rock with roots firmly planted in Texas” and “moody voodoo rock that intertwines with Spaghetti Western and devil-may-care rock ‘n roll” ... windswept and gritty. In 1999, the Backtones headlined the Levi’s/Stage Stores promotional campaign with their hit song “ Fallen Angel ” from their first album, Los Tormentos De Amor , a self-described psychobilly surf punk album with cult Spaghetti Western twang. That resulted in the band touring through 80 towns across Texas in the first ever stretch Hummer, playing on top of it in retailer parking lots. Footage from those shows wound up as the basis for the Levi’s campaign and was even featured on MTV. Their second album, Unreleased Studio Tracks (2002), holds three surfy Tex-Mex cuts with vintage tones, and their third is self-titled Southern Backtones and released in 2006. It is pure dark indie rock with a heavy art movie soundtrack orchestration and was widely popular, hailed by Airplay Direct as "a beautifully dark cinematic embracement of Brit-pop and psychedelia in a philosophical search for more bohemian influences." IT IS SPECTACULAR. All of its songs longingly ache for a movie to come along and do dark justice in playing out their premise. They’re dark, bold, sexy, and mysterious. Tunes “Forever” and “Everything” were featured in the 2005 indie feature film Drop Dead Sexy with Jason Lee and Crispin Glover, and the music video for “Forever” saw regular rotation on MTV. Personally, my favorite song from their self-titled album is “Glamorous.” Because I love it (and you) so much, click the image below to hear the siren song, but be careful: You will be compelled to listen to it twice, then you'll be compelled to listen to the entire album on repeat. I promise it's just as sexy and menacing and alluring as “Glamorous” is. (wink) Over the years, Southern Backtones evolved and now consists of Schyma, Sommers, and a pretty bitchin’ viola player named Jo Bird the Fiddle Witch , one of the founders of Two Star Symphony , Houston's best-known creators of contemporary classical music for more than a decade. Schyma says of her, “She is such a wicked force of nature, that our whole new sound has grown around her.” She is, indeed, ferocious with a fiddle. Hank recently took some very precious time of his to catch up with me and rap about old times, music, tornadoes, and snakes, as well as what the future holds next for Pecos Hank. MaM: Shit, man. It’s so good to be talking with you after all these years! Thanks for catching up with me. Let’s see, you’re a very unique artist full of many, many, many talents. You sing, you write, you play music, you make videos, you take pictures, you chase tornadoes—I don’t even know where to start with you, so I’ll start at the beginning! PH: Well golly gee, Keeley. Bless your heart. That’s might dern sweet of you. MaM: Ha! You were born and raised in Houston, but do you claim any other areas? PH: Mostly Houston, with a side of Dallas and Huntington Beach, California. MaM: When did you know you wanted to pursue music, and where did the inspiration come from? PH: At age 13, I knew rock and roll was my calling. The electric guitar was the Siren. MaM: Musically, your influences then and now … hit me. PH: The Doors, The Cult, and Danzig hogged my cassette player, until I discovered Elvis. From there, it was Robert Johnson, Chris Isaak, Dick Dale, Muddy Waters, Ennio Morricone, and The Reverend Horton Heat. After a decade of burning out rootsy 1-4-5s, I did a 180 [after] becomingly heavily inspired by Brit-pop. [That was] shortly after I met you [when] we connected admiring Pulp, BRMC, Radiohead, and Portishead over many, many cocktails. Great times! MaM: We did! Those indeed were some great times! So, what kind of success did you guys see over the years, and how has that success contributed to where you are today? PH: Success? Ha ha ha! Nobody down here wants to listen to all that shit fused together. So, we thrived in the small dives, making enough money to pay for gas and bar tabs. [Twenty years ago], thirty people packed in the [former] Red Star Bar in downtown Baton Rouge and it was a good night for us. We worked hard, though, and scored some decent CMJ radio airplay on the East and West Coasts. That helped us put cheese on our Whataburgers. MaM: What was the Backtones most popular album? PH: It was always the most recent one, 'La Vie En Noir.' (Click image to listen.) We were inspired to change themes and make something new rather than sound like a broken record. You get sick of your stuff when you play 75-100 shows a year. This disappointed a lot of old fans, but for everyone one we lost, we gained two—including you and (friend) Sam. MaM: I know for a fact (smile) that one of your favorite and most influential groups is the English rock band Pulp. This is Hardcore is one of my all-time favorite albums, and I have you to thank for that. Have you ever had a chance to meet or speak with Jarvis Cocker, and are you stoked about their comeback tour next year? (Click image to listen.) PH: That album was a game changer. I’ve never heard of Pulp ever playing in the [American] South. Nobody down here wants to hear that shit. (laughter) But I bet they could pack 40 people in the [former] Red Star Bar! MaM: Oh, no doubt! So, after Griffin left Southern Backtones, you spent some time in the acoustic performance area, often as one half of a duet with viola virtuoso Jo Bird of Two Star Symphony. Talk to us about the dynamic between you two and how you got together. PH: Jo was always the darkest, most beautiful artist in the Houston music scene. She sat in with all the best bands, while I gawked on the sidelines. For some reason, she still hangs out with me. MaM: Let’s talk about El Reno Blues , which was your first solo album with a new approach. Talk to us about what that approach was, how it was new for you, and how it was received. PH: In a three-piece band, when you lose a member to crack or a better gig, a big chunk of your sound is lost and replaced with another. When we lost Griffin (to a better gig) and replaced him with Jo, we weren’t the same. Package that up with a different brand, and voilà. … Todd (our drummer), being the badass he’s always been, is now also our bass player. We had our first gig as a trio with him on the upright bass last fall 2021. The show must go on. He does have a 9-5 gig and can’t always make the weekday gigs, but Jo can. So, she and I do a lot of duo gigs on the side. Over the years, some magic has emerged from that. MaM: Tell us what you’re up to today in a musical sense. Writing? Playing? Recording? Touring? Being a general badass, who’ll never forget his super-bitchin writer friend he met 20 years ago? (laughter) PH: We’re currently halfway through a new record. I suppose when that’s done, we’ll have the impulse to tour where we can. Is the Red Star still open? What about the Bayou? Or the Thirsty Tiger? MaM: (laughs) Well, I don’t think they’re open under those names anymore, but the amount of venues that’ve opened up in Baton Rouge is insane. You’d have no trouble booking there. Where are you currently playing, and what can you tell us about BowiElvis Fest? PH: Just the usual places in Galveston and Houston. Fifteen years ago, I started a festival here called BowiElvis Fest . David Bowie and Elvis have the same birthday, January 8, and every year we have a big party with lots of bands playing Elvis tunes, Bowie tunes, and our own tunes. Splice Records has taken control of it, and man, does it swing. MaM: Dude, that’s awesome. And it sounds like so much fun. So, when I met you, you were known as Hank Schyma, but your identity has evolved into Pecos Hank. How did you earn that nickname? PH: I adore and snuggle (and charm and wrangle) rattlesnakes and tornados. credit: Hank Schyma My bestie, Emilie, pasted my face over a cartoon of Pecos Bill (a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into SW Texas) . He had a rattlesnake for a lasso and was riding a tornado. It was meant to be. MaM: Let’s jump over to your filmmaker status. When did you notice an interest in filmmaking, and how did you cultivate that? PH: I’ve always loved tinkering with video and made a few low-budget thingies, but I don’t think I deserve that title until I’ve completed something more substantial. Texas Honky Tonk legend Johnny Falstaff and I have completed three scripts. The only thing we need now is 10 million dollars. MaM: Yeah, that’s all we need, too. (laughs) I understand that when you were fronting the Backtones, you also directed, produced, and starred in a full-length blood-thirsty indie film. Tell me more. PH: Johnny Falstaff and I spent five or six years making Honky Tonk Blood . It’s a murder thriller that slithered through the Houston music scene at the time. For many of the bands, clubs, dancers, and artists of that era, it's a deliciously crude little time capsule. MaM: You also did the same with several music videos. I’m all ears. PH: Yeah, [music videos] are only four or five minutes long and don’t take five or six years to make. The time and money spent on an MV that lives forever on the inter-thingie is much more bang for the buck compared to touring. MaM: Now, rap with me about this tornado-chasing business. What drew you to tornadoes, then to chasing them, then to chasing them professionally for multiple different outlets? PH: I was drawing and sketching tornadoes before I could spell it. It began as a dream, became reality, and then a career. Weird, huh? MaM: When did you first get into chasing, and what was your first chasing experience like? PH: I feel like I’ve always been chasing storms. Whether it was just running into the front yard to see the lightning or driving my first car out to the fields for a better view of the coming storms, it’s always been an obsession. In 1995, Hank joined KHOU-TV’s news team working as a camera operator, which gave him the opportunity to work under their head meteorologist, Dr Neil Frank. Schyma gained professional storm-chaser status in 2007, when he was appointed as KRIV’s exclusive in-house storm chaser. MaM: You started photographing and filming your chases and the emergence of these beasts in a most gorgeous light. How up close have you gotten? Any close calls? PH: As close as you can get without your eyes getting wet! (laughs) Sorry, that’s a line from Old Gregg . Please tell me you’ve seen the Mighty Boosh's Old Gregg . Technically, I’ve been inside several weaker tornadoes and had too many close calls with powerful ones. I’m trying to cut that out. MaM: Unfortunately, I have not seen that one, but it’s now on the list! Do you ever get scared while chasing? Has a ‘nado ever shifted suddenly and seemingly come straight at you? PH: The weekly commutes from Houston to [Oklahoma City] are way more terrifying than tornadoes. I’d guesstimate [that] every 25 times I piss my pants almost getting killed by a distracted driver on I-45, I piss my pants from one tornado not doing what it’s supposed to be doing. MaM: What’s the most frightening tornado-chasing experience you’ve had? PH: It’s hard to compare that time you almost died with that time you almost died. The most recent was in 2019, when I accidentally positioned in front of a rain wrapped around [a] ¾-mile-wide beast. You think to yourself [that] any second now you could be rolling or flying. MaM: Talk to me about these weather, science, and nature documentaries you’re creating, and what kind of twist should we expect? PH: I can’t tell you the twist, that would ruin it. (laughs) For those interested, you can visit his Pecos Hank Patreon page and subscribe to watch his weather, science, and nature videos. MaM: You also create zoology and geography videos as well. Do tell. PH: Whatever neat-o thing I stumble across, I hope to document well. Whether it’s auroras over Russia or whales in Tahiti, I love it all. MaM: How is a typical year split up for you between music and chasing? PH: I’m always torn between music, critters, and storms, but lately music and critters are only getting the leftovers. Half my year is dedicated to capturing severe weather. To all my loving fans around the world, keep your Covid away from me! (laughs) MaM: You print and sell your photos of your tornado-chasing experiences. Have you seen a big demand to snatch up your shots? PH: It can always be bigger. photo credit: Hank Schyma photo credit: Hank Schyma MaM: Tell us where all you chase, how you decide where and what to chase, and what happens after destruction settles? What do you and your team do? PH: Most of the time, I chase alone anywhere from North Dakota to South Texas, Thailand to Australia. For two weeks a year, I join Dr. Anton Seimon’s scientific field operations team hoping to gather data that helps us understand [more about] tornadoes. Anytime we see destruction where human life may be impacted, we try to assist any way we can. Sometimes it’s just letting victims use our phones, and other times we are driving them to hospitals. MaM: Will you ever stop playing music or chasing tornadoes? PH: Only if I’m physically incapable. MaM: What’s the harmony you’ve found between making music and chasing tornadoes? PH: I score all my nature videos with my own music. Who’da thunk you’d sell way more records chasing tornadoes than touring? MaM: What’s next on the Pecos Hank agenda? PH: It’s 6 a.m. Time to go to bed. MaM: Okay, okay, haha. Tell people how they can find and keep up with you? PH: Just google 'tornado.' And he’s not kidding. Pecos Hank is everywhere accompanying the word tornado . For more on this music, snake, and tornado-wrangling cowboy, and for more on Southern Backtones, you can find all your heart desires by stopping by any of the below-listed sites. www.PecosHank.com Youtube @PecosHank Instagram @PecosHank Facebook @PecosHankOfficial Twitter @PecosHank Youtube @SouthernBacktones Instagram @SouthernBacktones Facebook @SouthernBacktones www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

There is always time to catch a classic movie. < Back Top 5 Movies That Rock Jeff Holmes Jul 22, 2024 Share There is always time to catch a classic movie. A catchy score in a film can elevate it from good to great. The movies in this list take that idea a step further. These picks are all about the music. Whether it's blues , classical , heavy metal , jazz , or just plain old rock n' roll , they show us why music is so valuable in our lives. 1. Amadeus Amadeus is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and what shaped his music. Mentorship is challenging, especially when your protege` has more talent. For Salieri, Mozart proves to be a challenge and much, much more. This Best Picture winner (1984) shows us talent alone does not a musician make. Two sides of the same coin, Salieri and Mozart both demonstrate what a tormented creative genius looks like. Bravo Amadeus ! 1984 2. The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers follows Jake and Elwood as they hurry to raise money. Their childhood orphanage is being shut down and they're the last hope. The only way to accomplish their goal is by getting the band back together. Reconnecting with each member of the band proves challenging. Along the way, the band proves to be true musical outlaws, as they stay one step ahead of the law. Don't worry, there are plenty of jams along the way. Ride along with the one, the only, the Blues Brothers. 1980 3. Pirate Radio Pirate Radio is the story of how rock n' roll fought to survive in 70s era Britain. Rock music was officially banned by the British government during this time. A workaround to this was moored offshore boats that played nothing but rock. The government opposed these so called 'pirate' radio stations by doing everything they could to shut them down. This hilarious movie, complete with a perfectly executed soundtrack, illustrates that deep down we're all rockers in one way or another. Rock n' roll will never die! 2009 4. Soul An animated film from the masters at Pixar, Soul doesn't include any immediately recognizable characters, however, the film is certainly a one of kind experience. Joe Gardner, a middle school band teacher, is taken on both a musical and spiritual journey to find his place in life. He is consumed with waiting for his chance to perform professionally. Will his dream come true or does the universe have other plans? 2020 5. This is Spinal Tap This is Spinal Tap stands out as both a comedy film and rock and roll masterpiece. An originator of the mockumentary style, the film took its time growing an audience. Today it is undoubtedly a classic, equally known for its rocking soundtrack as well as its myriad of jokes. If you're a fan of more modern musical comedy acts such as Tenacious D , Weird Al , Flight of the Concords , etc, and somehow haven't yet seen it - get on it! You won't want to miss This is Spinal Tap! 1984 Be sure to check these films out if you haven't yet because they are some of my favorite films that rock! -Jeff- www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Reach out to us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Them Guys have a sound embodying Louisiana music's rich, genre-bending spirit. Them Guys: A Deep Dive into Louisiana’s Musical Treasures < Back Them Guys: A Deep Dive into Louisiana’s Musical Treasures Nicole Brice Oct 3, 2024 Share Them Guys have a sound embodying Louisiana music's rich, genre-bending spirit. Louisiana, synonymous with the vibrant sounds of jazz, blues, and zydeco, has long been a fertile ground for emerging musicians. One such gem in its musical tapestry currently is Them Guys , a band from Vacherie, Louisiana, that has carved out its niche in the Bayou State’s eclectic scene by consistently getting its brand out there with a busy schedule of non-stop shows all along the Gulf coast. Formed five years ago, Them Guys started when various members were growing tired of the cover band music scene. The desire to create an original and definitive sound led the lifelong friends to join forces, and that union has given birth to a band with a consistent vision of where they want to go and what they want to accomplish. Credit: Gary Governale With too many musical influences to count, the Them Guys sound combines each member’s distinct style for a well-rounded listening experience that defies categorization. They’re not nu-metal , but they sound like metal at times. They’re not just straight rock ; there’s some melodic thrash there, too. How do you categorize the sound of Them Guy’s music? You can’t. It’s just a combination of all things that makes their music enjoyable, and their sound embodies the rich, genre-bending spirit of Louisiana music. Them Guys is Chet Tabor on drums, John Waguespack on bass, Benjamin Kliebert on lead guitar, and Nick Oubre on lead vocals/rhythm guitar. In just five short years, these multi-talented and multi-faceted individuals have released three albums that showcase the band’s collaborative evolution from inception to now, culminating in the definitive Them Guys sound with the aid of friend and producer Ross Johnson. Ross is just as important to Them Guys as the members themselves because, without Ross, Them Guys' live show experiences would not be as phenomenal as they are currently. With Ross behind them, Them Guys not only have consistency with each performance in terms of sound, lights, mixing, etc., but they have a secret weapon for putting on the best performance imaginable no matter what venue they step into. Humble, focused, and determined, Mixed Alternative Magazine recently sat down and chatted at length with the men of Them Guys about their beginnings, visions for the future, and more. No topic was off-limits. Them Guys are a beacon of hope for the Louisiana music scene because of their dedication, enthusiasm, and readiness to help all succeed. They bring a product. Not just the music. Read on below. MaM : Thanks for meeting with us today. Let’s start with a bit of band history for those not familiar. Tell us about how Them Guys came together initially. Chet : In July 2019, we came together as Them Guys but weren’t named yet. We actually started as a Chevelle tribute band. John : Nick and I were in another band together but didn’t have a name yet. We were working with another guy, and things fell apart, so Nick was the one who suggested we start a Chevelle cover band. We only wanted to do it if Chet played drums, though. Chet was in, so we got together and jammed, and that was it. We became a Chevelle cover band. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Interesting. Why Chevelle? Nick : I don’t know. (laughs) Chet : He’s a big fan of Chevelle (points to Nick). They’re not my favorite, but I respect their music. The idea is that it’s not complicated to play, and you can quickly come up with ten or twelve hits to put on a setlist. Everyone knows the songs, too. It was also easy to intertwine some non-Chevelle covers because they fit the bill. We were 100% covers starting out. MaM : People always make fun of me because I’m not a fan of Chevelle, but their music doesn’t do anything for me. It just sounds basic. I respect them as musicians, but that’s about it. Chet : That was part of that mainstream sound at that time. One of the things we’re looking to do going forward is not necessarily to capitalize on any mainstream sound. Still, the music can be generic enough for the vast majority to enjoy. Take, for example, a band like Korn ; you must like Korn to listen to Korn. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Yeah, they have always had a distinct sound. Chet : I think Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin , and bands like that have cornered the market to attract the most listeners. They make great music with a significant following. We intertwine with so many bands and do it intentionally … She Might Be a Beast , Silverdose , Drab , This Beating Heart , Branded for Exile , and we play with these bands purposely. It’s all part of the elevation process. The better we do, the better those bands do. We feel like this Louisiana music scene is astronomically better than most, and that even includes the Gulf Coast. Many of these bands don’t get the acknowledgment they deserve either, but we will keep putting the work in and try to lift others in the process. John : There wasn't that camaraderie when I first started playing music. Some thought they were better than others. It was cutthroat. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Tell me a little about each of you. How did you get into music initially? Nick : I started as a drummer and was playing in three bands. One day, I decided I didn’t want to be a drummer anymore. We all grew up with each other, so that’s how we know each other. Chet : Yeah, Nick has the most unique story because he’s the best drummer in the band, by far. MaM : But he doesn’t want to play drums. John : My story intertwines with all of this. Chet : It’s been this exciting path because I came in with over 25 years of experience. Not necessarily playing live, but the experience. I’ve always been a drummer, though, and I can remember being on stage with John, and his voice went out, so I moved him out of the way to take over on vocals. I sang ‘ Simple Man’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd the first time I did it. Nick, though, by far is the most talented drummer in this band, but it doesn’t stop there … he plays guitar and bass and even sings. Nick Oubre by Gary Governale MaM : He’s a one-man band. Chet : Most of Them Guys' music is Nick’s guitar riffs. He writes 90% of the guitar riffs. Ben : … and I know I have a microphone in front of me all the time, but I can’t do public speaking. (laughter) John : I started playing in 2013 when I was taking guitar lessons. The guy I was taking lessons from needed a bass player and asked me if I wanted to. I was thinking, ‘Ain’t nobody wants to play bass.’ (laughter) John : He tells me that Chet has a bass at his house, and we’ll ride over to get it. He gave me four songs to learn, so I called him the next day and told him I had learned them. He didn’t believe me, so I went to his house to show him I had learned the songs. Once he realized I did know them, he gave me four more to learn. The next night, I learned those four songs, too. He then called Chet to tell him he had found a bass player. We went to Chet’s house, and he was on drums, but we ended up playing all eight songs, and then that was that. We ended up learning 40 songs in total. Ben : What band was that? John : Super Nutria was the name of the band. Chet : Funny story: I wasn’t even supposed to be in the band, but here I was, deciding on the bass player. (laughter) Nick : I was too young to play live yet. John : We did that for about three years, and then I quit the band. They played for a few more years, but then it died out. Chet : That was my decision. We were active and always playing shows, but it was time to move on. John : So, the guitar player from Super Nutria and I decided to continue playing music together under the name Soldiers of Ana – which is short for Louisiana, so technically, Soldiers of Louisiana. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : I love that name. That’s very clever. John : Nick has a tattoo of the band name on his leg actually. (Nick points to the tattoo on his leg) John : We ended up calling up Nick, who was going to play the drums, but we needed a singer. Nick said he would sing, but I only thought he played drums. So, we have this little, tiny amp, and I just plugged in the microphone straight into the amp with a background song playing on my phone. I had him sing to that to see if he could, and he did, and it was incredible. It was a Judas Priest song he sang. MaM : Which song? Nick : ‘ Painkiller ’ – it was when I still had my falsetto singing voice. John : He sings this song, and I’m just blown away. We started as a three-piece band and learned a 40-song set to only play one show together for his dad’s birthday. It just fell apart. After that band fell apart, we decided to start another band, and once again, it was covering songs. Slayer , Metallica , Black Sabbath , Chevelle , Pink Floyd … Ben : Yeah, it was a diverse list. John : It was a crazy list. Before we got active in the scene playing, I had some personal stuff come up, so that band ended. I ended up selling all my equipment after that. Nick was the one who bought a good bit of it, and then a co-worker of mine bought all my bass stuff. Ben : We grew up together and have been friends forever, with the music being secondary. Initially, I took on the role of lighting tech for the band. Eventually, the band had some issues arise, and we needed a guitar player. I’ve been playing guitar my whole life. I knew the music. I knew the guys. It was a perfect fit. We didn’t skip a beat, either. Benjamin Kliebert by Gary Governale MaM : Where did the name for the band come from? Ben : Well, it was either that or free beer. (laughter) Chet : We used a few names, but before transitioning to the original material, Brittany drew a picture of Louisiana with a voodoo doll … John : … and at the top it said Them Guys. Ben : Once we saw the image on the shirt, that was it. John : … and you can’t forget it. Like, we saw Them Guys the other night. MaM : It’s the perfect name. The logo, too, is impressive. Chet : That’s about to change, but we plan to rebrand or slightly revamp. That original logo with the state of Louisiana picture and then the voodoo doll is, by far, our most popular design to date. We haven’t sold that shirt in three years, either. John : Everyone still asks for it because they like having the Louisiana logo there. Chet Tabor by Gary Governale MaM : Let’s talk performances. Tell me about your best and worst shows so far. Ben : We haven’t played our best show yet. Chet : I can’t say that. We’ve had some good ones, though. In my opinion, the best show so far was Jeff’s benefit at the fairgrounds. There were 500-600 people there. There was even a rainstorm that came through. It looked like a Creed music video. (laughter) Chet : It was a rough show – a sea of heads. They loved it, though. John : This brutal thunderstorm started blowing all the lights down. It pushed Nick’s guitar off the stand, breaking the head. Everyone was getting soaking wet, but no one left. Everyone stayed and rocked out. Chet : That’s one of two. The second-best performance, though, was the Hometown Throwdown. Experience-wise, it was the show at Zina’s Place in Thibodaux . We rolled up four hours before showtime and thought it would be a challenging show. It turned out to be a packed house, and we were asked to play songs we had never played before, which we were cool with. There were 130-140 people, and it was just a great time all around . Now, the Hometown Throwdown was on a different level. It was one of the most professional productions, and we did everything ourselves, from the production to the lights. We had 590 tickets sold, but in a venue that houses 3,000 people. It could have been better, but the performance was insane. It was an experience. Ben : Everyone had a great time. John : We even catered food and drinks for the bands. Everyone was taken care of. Ben : Worst show? Chet : The worst show was at Southport Hall with 4 Mag Nitrous . It had a great line-up, but no one showed up. Ben : Like eight people showed up. Chet : Yeah, that was two years ago, and then coincidentally, the next night, we had a great show in Texas and ended up in a magazine and on the news because of the show. Friday night was a bad show. Saturday night, holy shit. John Waguespack by Gary Governale MaM : You all have different music influences. Who would you say helped to influence the Them Guys sound? Chet : We have three or four consistent across the board – Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains are a couple. I love Nonpoint . I also like Limp Bizkit and Godsmack , too. Sevendust , too. Nick and John’s G.O.A.T. is Black Sabbath. Ben’s is Megadeth . Ben : Yeah, definitely Megadeth. Chet : When you step back and truly listen to our music, you can hear the influences of Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, and even some Godsmack in the beginning. There’s even a little Breaking Benjamin style there. We have established the Them Guys sound now and don’t focus on who we sound like. We had to find it, and now we have it. Our philosophy is to one-up ourselves and be better each time. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Man, ya’ll have the right formula. If you guys could share the stage with any band or musician in the future, who would it be? Ben: Megadeth (lots of discussion) John : They’re all dead. (laughter) Chet : Realistic level— Nonpoint . We’ve met the band and worked with them before. They are great to work with, and we would love to share the stage with them. They wore one of our shirts on stage at a show, too. It was one of the last shows on their tour. John : We threw a shirt at them. The drummer caught our shirt in his chest. He walked backstage after that, switched to our shirt, and played the rest of the show wearing it. Photo courtesy of Chet Tabor MaM : That’s so awesome. You can’t get better exposure than a t-shirt. It's the best branding ever. Where do you see the band headed in the next five years? Any new music? Chet: We believe the production quality is as important as the music, so we’re doing a big push on ‘ Delusions .’ Moving forward, we will continue to record with Ross so it can be the best product ever. We have about six or seven songs that are written. A couple are recorded. We have a Jelly Roll cover, too. I can’t wait to record it either because it’s perfect. John : It’s got our style. Our elements. Chet : The bigger picture is that we want to jam. It's as simple as that. We are also in this to elevate. We see the path forward and want to continue it. With a solid discography and an ever-growing fanbase, the future looks bright for Them Guys. They continue to play shows extensively, bringing their unique blend of rock music to new audiences. As they look forward to the next chapter, it’s clear that Them Guys are more than just a band – they’re torchbearers of Louisiana’s rich musical heritage, keeping its traditions alive while pushing the boundaries of what it means to make original rock music in the 21st century. To experience Them Guys' music for yourself, just hit one of the links below. themguysofficial.com THEM GUYS Official Band Page Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEMGUYSOFFICIAL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/them_guysofficial/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThemGuysOfficial2019 Photos by: Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Jrago What Do a Musician, an Indie Label, and a Video Game Have in Common? < Back What Do a Musician, an Indie Label, and a Video Game Have in Common? Nicole Brice Oct 18, 2022 Share Jrago Jeremy Pourcy is what you might call a veteran of the local music scene in South Louisiana. He originally started out with Knever in 2001 and continues making music with his very own metal band Jrago , in addition to playing bass with the First Baptist Church Worship Team in Denham Springs , LA. And did I mention he is developing his very first video game, Jrago – The Demon Hunter ? Because he sure is! Jeremy was previously involved with bands Eden , The Mysterious Stranger , Ambassador , and Branded for Exile . Multi-talented and multi-faceted doesn’t even begin to cover what all this man is about. We recently sat down with Jeremy to pick his brain on many topics, and he was incredible! Set to release a new album on December 16, 2022 , Jrago and Jeremy Pourcy are a MUST on your worth-checking-out list. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Give us a short bio of everything you have been involved in. I’ve been reading up on you and you’ve been on the scene for many years. JP : Well, in 2001, I joined my first real band called KNEVER playing bass. The lineup was Jason Ourso on vocals, Rusty Laughlin on guitar, and Jon Maher on Drums. I attended high school with Jason and Rusty , so that’s how we knew each other. After a few years, we added Cody DeRouen on guitar. During this time, we almost got a record deal, which failed, but it led to me starting an Indie label called Jrago Records . By 2004, we ended up replacing Rusty on guitar with a dear friend of ours named Luke Fauver . We had played shows with his other band, Caustic 6 , but unfortunately in the summer of 2006, Luke passed away and the band broke up. MaM : …and then from there, you created Eden with your wife, correct? JP : Yes, later that year in 2006, I married my wife, Kelly Smith , and we began to write and record music together. We called our project Eden , and it was mainly just writing and recording at home. MaM : After Eden, you had quite a long list of projects. credit: Gary Governale JP : Yes, I did. So, in 2007, I got a call from Jason Ourso , and he was starting up a new rock band and needed a bass player. It was called Murder on Sunday , which would eventually be renamed to The Mysterious Stranger . My time in the band was short lived, however, and I was replaced with another bassist. A couple of years later, I was invited to play for an A Perfect Circle cover band called Sea of Names (Mer de Noms) . The line-up was Rusty Laughlin on vocals, Adam Shelton on guitar, and Jeremy Rasti on drums. I was playing bass and keyboards. We never played any shows, but we had a good 10 songs we practiced for several months. MaM : It was about this time that you guys decided to bring Knever back, right? JP : Rusty and I joined Jon and Cody again, but this time Rusty was singing. We called it Never Again as a bit of a joke. By 2011, it was finally show ready, but I ended up leaving the project after the birth of my daughter. MaM : And when did Ambassador come about—after the reunion of Knever? JP : 2015 – I get a call from Jason Ourso once again, and he’s starting a new rock band. This time, with Gabriel Vicknair on vocals and Ean Savoy on drums. That was the beginning of Ambassador … but, then in 2016, Knever was back in action and needed a new bassist, so I joined them once again. In 2018, Kelly and I released our third Eden album, Window , and Ambassador released its first album, Belly of the Whale . Coincidentally, Knever also released an album, which was to become the final album, The Collection . credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, what happened in 2019? I know a good bit went down but tell me a little more. JP : Well, in 2019, Ambassador gave me the boot, developing problems in Knever led to a breakup again, and I started to play with Branded for Exile for a few months but then ended up leaving that, too. So, by 2020, I was pretty much all alone musically and was trying to record a song unsuccessfully. After a few months, I got a call from Jon Maher , who also left Branded for Exile , and eventually we got our song “ Into the Precipice ” recorded. And that was the start of Jrago . MaM : Obviously, Jrago’s name is a play on your own name and you guys have been releasing songs like crazy. I can’t even keep up. Give us a little more info. JP : With Jrago , we decided to treat each song like an album and release them all as singles. This method of writing and recording allowed us to focus on each song individually. By the summer of 2021, we had six songs finished and decided to put out some CD’s (yes, I realize it’s an outdated medium these days, but we’re kind of old skool). So, our first album was called Destruction Breeds Creation . Our second album will feature eight songs and it’s called Disconnect . We have the release planned for December 16, 2022. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, you obviously do everything yourself, which I admire tremendously. I, myself, am the same way. What recording software do you prefer to use? JP : I use Apple’s Logic software for recording. As far as why? I had previously used Apple’s “ Garageband ” software, and the interface and button configurations are similar. In Jrago , my main goal was to be able to write, record, mix, master, and produce music without having to get anyone else involved. MaM : What has been the biggest obstacle musically since starting Jrago? JP : Guitar. Without a doubt, guitar. Being a bass player, it took quite a bit of practice to get my first guitar chops up to par to be taken seriously. Even now, I still consider myself amateur at best. In addition, vocals and lyrics were tough, too. Jon had been doing back-up vocals in our previous projects, and now he was able to shine as Lead Vocalist. So, both Jon and I are stepping out of our comfort zones and filling multiple roles in this project. While it’s difficult sometimes, it has allowed us to both grow musically. credit: Gary Governale MaM : As far as inspiration, from whom or where do you draw inspiration? JP : I believe music comes from God . As far as my influences, it would have to be my friends and fellow musicians. Growing up in South Louisiana , there has always been a ton of fresh, original bands all around me. I, honestly, listen to more local music and band room/live recordings than I do mainstream releases. If I had to list some big bands that inspired me, it would have to be Metallica , Tool , A Perfect Circle , Avenged Sevenfold , Nirvana , Pearl Jam , Soundgarden , Killswitch Engage , Dredg , Evanescence , Fear Factory , Times of Grace , The Empire Shall Fall , Eighteen Visions , 36 Crazyfists , Blindside , and Pink Floyd just to name a few. Be sure to check out and follow Jrago on YouTube , Facebook , and Instagram for the latest on upcoming releases and shows! Jrago | Facebook Jrago Studios | Facebook Jrago Records | Facebook Jrago (@jrago_) • Instagram photos and videos Music | Jrago (bandcamp.com) Jrago Records - YouTube credit: Gary Governale *All photos by Gary Governale* www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Reach out to us mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

28 Days Later is one of the best zombie movies ever made, having popularized the fast zombie craze of modern-day cinema and terrified moviegoers around the world with its horrific scenario. < Back 28 Days Later: Feast Upon This Keeley Brooks Oct 18, 2023 Share 28 Days Later is one of the best zombie movies ever made, having popularized the fast zombie craze of modern-day cinema and terrified moviegoers around the world with its horrific scenario. Rating: 5 out of 5 raging zombies Growing up as a Gen Xer, I was, of course, aware of George Romero’s infamous zombie canon and was intrigued by the whole concept, but it wasn’t until the mid-2000s when a friend made me watch 28 Days Later (2002) that my intrigue completely changed. Not only was 28 Days Later my first introduction to the brilliantly talented Cillian Murphy ( Oppenheimer ), but it was also my first intro to a new kind of zombie beyond the slow, dread-inducing shufflers of the 20th century. Prior to watching 28 Days Later , I’d never seen (or even considered) fast, vicious, blood-thirsty zombies, and the idea was so horrifying to me that after watching it, my zombie interest turned into obsession. Although Nightmare City (1980) is often credited as the first movie featuring fast zombies, it was 28 Days Later that popularized the fast zombie craze of modern-day cinema and terrified zombie lovers and moviegoers around the world with its horrific scenario. And don’t get me wrong: While I love the concept, if fast zombies ever appear and start chasing us and we’re running together, I will trip you in my effort to reach safety. I’m kidding. Following the aftermath of a deadly viral outbreak in Great Britain, 28 Days Later focuses on Jim (Cillian Murphy, of Oppenheimer ), a bicycle courier who wakes up from a coma 28 days after an accident to discover bustling London life completely obliterated and in total destruction, not another human soul in sight. After wandering the streets alone and easing into a church, Jim realizes the horror of the situation he finds himself in when he is chased by raging, bloodthirsty, once-human creatures. credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures It’s only after he’s rescued by a couple of survivors that he learns what has happened. Nearly a month prior to Jim’s awakening, a group of eco-terrorists in Cambridge freed a lab chimp from its cage, not realizing the chimp was infected with a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus called the “Rage virus.” Unlike what we’ve seen in other zombie movies, one does not have to be bitten to be infected. All it takes is one drop of blood from an infected to drip into your eye or mouth or an open wound, etc., and that’s it: You’re done. Within seconds, the virus overtakes its host, completely morphing him/her/them into a violent, vicious creature that aggressively salivates for one thing: bloody carnage. Case in point: Check out what happens to Brendan Gleeson ( In Bruges ) after a drop of infected blood gets in his eye (warning: the scene below is intense): While this scenario is indeed horrifying, heart-pounding, and hair-raising, it’s not what makes 28 Days Later such a terrifying film. The fact that what was once the military has set up a blockade and is broadcasting protection as a cover to lure female survivors into sexual slavery so they can repopulate the world does. And this is where the movie really gets delicious, as Jim jumps into action to save the only two females he’s come to know—one being a minor. 28 Days Later shows what happens to society in a frantic, post-apocalyptic crisis. In such a scenario, you’d like to think that when there’s a common enemy to fight, humanity would band together, but it doesn’t happen like that: The law breaks down, forcing humans to self-regulate, and self-regulation always leads to a form of anarchy, which is what we see here. 28 Days Later is arguably the first zombie film to successfully show the true breakdown of humanity and those effects in a post-apocalyptic crisis. Furthermore, while these fast zombies serve as a symbol of loss and meaning amongst a plethora of society vacancies, they also serve as metaphors for society's need for immediate, mindless consumption of, well, everything. So where there are multiple interpretations of a zombie crisis between all zombie movies, one thing that remains standard throughout all of them: Human beings can’t be trusted to take care of each other in the middle of a crisis where there is no collective hope because consumption has taken over. There’s a lot about 28 Days Later that is hands-down masterful, including its horror within the horror story, but what I love the most is the way Director Danny Boyle juxtaposes the terror of what is happening with the beauty of nature (i.e., colorful geometric tulip fields and sprawling English country sides)—ironic since nature is where viruses originate. That alone is what easily makes 28 Days Later one of the best zombie movies ever made . In addition to its stellar narrative, the actors each give outstanding performances riddled with inherent fear, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and the creative editing techniques as well as the soundtrack nicely drive the tension and pace of the movie, allowing the viewer to oscillate between safety and fear as 28 Days Later moves through its cycle of death, destruction, and rebirth. In 2007, a sequel released called 28 Weeks Later , but it was not written by 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland ( Ex-Machina, Sunshine ), was not directed by Danny Boyle, nor did it feature Cillian Murphy and his character Jim. Some liked it; some didn’t. However, there is hope. Word on the circuit is that it looks like Garland, Boyle, and Murphy are teaming back up to bring us another sequel, which will likely be called 28 Years Later . I don’t know about you guys, but I’m already waiting with my giant bucket o’ popcorn and my safety blanket. Oddly enough, while 28 Weeks Later seems to be streaming multiple places, 28 Days Later is not currently streaming anywhere but is available to purchase and is well worth the fee. Keeley Brooks is a big ole movies, television, and streaming nerd with a voracious appetite for entertainment consumption and an uncontrollable urge to write about everything she watches, even if it sucks. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

If you're on the fence about it, check out these top 5 reasons to see "Napoleon". < Back Reasons to See Napoleon: Feast Upon This Keeley Brooks Nov 13, 2023 Share If you're on the fence about it, check out these top 5 reasons to see "Napoleon". It’s no secret I’m a big fan of historical adaptations. What I love most is the opportunity to experience a certain time period through different perspectives. Some of those perspectives are as historically accurate as possible while others are merely loosely based on a certain era. With Ridley Scott’s heavily anticipated Napoleon adaptation releasing soon, it’s safe to say we can gear up for a picture that’s as historically accurate as possible and just as rich in atmosphere. The film—guaranteed to be an epic masterpiece —stars Joaquin Phoenix ( Joker ) as Napoleon Bonaparte and Vanessa Kirby ( The Crown ) as the Empress Joséphine and is based on Napoleon’s astonishing life, offering an intimate portrait of one of history’s greatest military leaders. If you’re unsure about it, here are my top five reasons why you should see Napoleon . #5 : Deep Dive into Napoleonic History Given that Ridley Scott has expressed clear interest in Napoleon as a historical figure and this is his second go-around with the Napoleonic era, we can expect as accurate a depiction as possible. With 2023's Napoleon , not only are we getting a deep dive into the events surrounding one of the most mythological military commanders ever, but we’re also diving into the effects of his tumultuous private life , giving us as close to a personal look at the emperor’s private life as possible. During the French Revolution, Napoleon rose rapidly through the military ranks and, as a general, seized power in a coup d’état in 1799. He then crowned himself leader. Next, he set out waging war against European nations and expanding his powerful empire, all while embroiled in an intense romantic battle with Joséphine, which ultimately served as the force driving him to conquer the world. Over the course of a single decade, Napoleon led a revolutionary French army against the other great powers of Europe and succeeded, even bringing down the Holy Roman Empire. After tearing across Europe for a time, his career finally came to an end in 1821 on the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died at the age of 51. Scott reportedly will make Napoleon’s romance with Joséphine the center of his movie—an aspect often overlooked in previous Napoleonic adaptations. Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix as Joséphine & Napoleon. (credit: Apple TV + Columbia Pictures) When the two met, he was a 26-year-old French military officer, and she was a 32-year-old single mother of two. They fell deeply in love and soon married, but both were known to have affairs. They spent five years in marital unbliss before divorcing in 1810 after Napoleon accepted Joséphine would never be able to give him the heir needed to maintain his line. Napoleon’s story is that of a war criminal , really— a psyche overrun with obsession and madness . What makes it so intriguing is that he was a man who came out of nowhere to seize and rule everything, all in the name of love. What’s makes it so tragic is that he did all he did in an effort to win Joséphine’s love, and when he couldn’t, he conquered the world to destroy her; unfortunately, in the process, he wound up destroying himself. To see this tragedy play out in the era of 21st Century film will be utterly exciting and captivating. Other iconic moments of French history teased in the trailer include the 1793 public beheading of Marie Antoinette; the 1795 defeat of French royalists, where Napoleon ruthlessly fired on protestors in the streets of Paris; and Napoleon’s infamous self-coronation as Emperor of France in direct antagonism of the Catholic Church and Pope Pius VII. #4 : Cinematic Reunion of Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix on set (Columbia Pictures). Napoleon reunites Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott for the first time since Gladiator (2000), in which Phoenix plays the power-hungry ruler and last emperor of the Pax Romana, Commodus. His performance there is masterful and chilling, slicing you right in half as a viewer. S tunning and gorgeous in its own right, Gladiator was Phoenix’s first big production, so it’s quite fitting now that the two artistic forces are teaming back up for one of cinema’s biggest historical portrayals . If you saw Gladiator , you know how well the two support and feed off of one another’s creative energy. You also know what these powerhouses are capable of producing together. Both Phoenix and Scott have had over two decades to refine their respective craft and explore themselves as they relate to that craft, so we have every reason to be excited about this reunion, which will no doubt be anything short of brilliant and thrilling. #3 : Costumes & Sets Vanessa Kirby as Empress Joséphine and Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon (Columbia Pictures). Costumes and sets are integral aspects to creative and enhancing a story’s atmosphere. Lucky for us, Ridley Scott is known for going all in where both are concerned. His films are rich in detail with stunning visual style and are known for dropping us right into a certain time period so we can experience it for ourselves. And that’s what a good historical adaptation should do: represent history as accurately as possible in a way that allows viewers to lose sense of their own place in time. For Napoleon , Academy Award-Winning Costume Designer Janty Yates, known for her work on Gladiator , is teaming back up with Scott, so get ready to be awe-struck. The two have collaborated on several films, including Kingdom of Heaven and The Last Duel , and from those alone we know to expect opulent sets dripping in vibrant fabrics—in this case, of chiffon, silk, satin, and lace adorning the neoclassical styles that were widely popular during the Napoleonic era. Coronation outfits are always popular standouts, so pay close attention to Napoleon and Joséphine’s lavish outfits in particular: He wore a gold-embroidered white satin tunic and red velvet cloak embellished with golden bees, while she wore a white satin gown with puffed sleeves and gold detailing. # 2: Battle Sequences credit: Apple TV + Columbia Pictures Ridley Scott is no stranger to action epics featuring epic battle sequences and historical bloodshed incited by political turmoil. It’s his bread and butter. In fact, he’s already made the hefty proposition that Napoleon will feature not one, not two, but SIX large-scale battles spanning Napoleon’s prolific military career. Here’s why this is exciting. Where early Napoleon-centric films of the past also tackled the leader’s infamous battles, they often focused more on a specific military moment—The Battle of Waterloo, for example—and made a grandiose spectacle out of it. Technology has come a very long way since then, and with Scott’s vision at the helm, I’d say buckle up for quite the spectacle. Scott planned Napoleon ’s massive battle sequences, like the tactical masterpiece that was the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz, in regular meetings with the heads of various production departments and with military advisors in order to ensure scale, choreography, accuracy, and cohesion in presentation. As previously mentioned, Napoleon is Scott’s second attempt at capturing the lived experience of the Napoleonic Wars, so you know his heart is wholly in this presentation. His first attempt was with his 1977 debut film, The Duellists . Given how much he planned and consulted where these cause-and-effect sequences are concerned, one thing’s for sure: Napoleon will not skimp on spectacle. Not even a little. And isn’t that what we often love most about historical adaptations? I know I do. #1 : Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte. (credit: Apple TV + Columbia Pictures) The Oscar winner is one of the most talented, versatile, impactful actors of modern-day cinema. He’s well known for his emotional, soulful, thunderous performances—especially those featuring a heavy psychological aspect, like Joker . Ridley Scott himself has said Phoenix is perfect to play Napoleon , that he is “the best player of damaged goods.” Excluding their reunion, the idea alone of seeing Joaquin Phoenix play one of the most powerful and emotionally complex military generals-turned-leaders is excitedly appealing. He has an authentic ability to dissolve himself into the psychology of his characters, which is part of what makes him so alluring. He understands darkness and uses that to create unforgettable dimension in his characters, layering them with varying levels of innocence and sadness mixed with power, love, and danger. To see Phoenix play any emotionally complex character is an experience that exposes us to deep empathy and awareness of something we haven’t yet considered. He often winds up carrying the entire film, as opposed to the film’s own story. Judging from early promotional materials, this will be the case with Napoleon . Reportedly, Scott realized his film centered around Phoenix’s performance and even rewrote the movie during filming to ensure Phoenix’s comfort level with his character portrayal. This allowed the actor to focus solely on bringing the depths of Bonaparte to life in an unforgettable way. Because of that, I imagine Napoleon will be the most immersive, authentic Napoleon Bonaparte film experience to date, one that sees us all hold Joaquin Phoenix in the highest esteem. Ridley Scott recently told Deadline , “No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin. He created one of movie history’s most complex emperors in Gladiator , and we’ll create another with his in Napoleon .” Mmm, I bet they will, and I can’t wait. Napoleon releases in theaters on November 22, 2023, before streaming on Apple TV+. Keeley Brooks is a big ole movies, television, and streaming nerd with a voracious appetite for entertainment consumption and an uncontrollable urge to write about everything she watches, even if it sucks. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

An interview with Travis Marc No Sleep for Deep Sleep Atlantic < Back No Sleep for Deep Sleep Atlantic C.G. Smith Jul 12, 2023 Share An interview with Travis Marc New Orleans-based alt-rock/alt-post-grunge duo Deep Sleep Atlantic is making some pretty big waves with the recent release of their debut album, “ Prelude .” Earlier this year on March 31st, the duo released their debut single “ Bipolar Tendencies ,” a darkly energetic tune less about the mental illness and more about the fragmented way in which society operates. The song was a powerful first step for them, and they’ve successfully backed that power up with the release of their first album, “Prelude.” Comprised of singer/guitarist Travis Marc and drummer Daniel Perez , the album is full of creatively catchy lyrics that focus on remaining aware and mindful while facing and connecting to life and its challenges, and on doing so with courage. All the parts on the album were recorded by Travis, and after meeting Daniel, the two joined forces. Daniel Perez and Travis Marc, photo courtesy of Deep Sleep Atlantic Travis is a SAMA-nominated multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, who spent time in London with different bands before landing here in the States. He has been playing and writing music professionally for about 25 years. He’s a hell of a guy, a consummate professional, and keeps himself insanely busy. credit: Gary Governale I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about his musical history, his work ethic, and his most recent project, Deep Sleep Atlantic. Here’s what he had to say: MaM : So, you’re on your third continent. You spent your first 19 years or so in South Africa, then moved to London to play in a band, and now you’re here in New Orleans. How did you end up here, and how does New Orleans rank? TM : So, I was going through some stuff, and it was a real tough period in my life, and I just needed to get away, so I booked myself a trip across America. While I’ve been in bands my entire life and toured pretty much everywhere, there were parts in America I’d never been to. New Orleans was one of those places. I came here and was here for a few days, then I met a girl. We hit it off and we did the distance thing for, give or take, three years; it was tough. We … eventually were like, ‘What are we doing here? Let’s start looking into one of us moving.’ We weighed out the pros and cons and it made more sense for me to move than her. MaM : You had a project in England at the time? TM : I did, I did—Dead Days. In fact, we’ve got a record that we are still trying to finish. We’re doing it remotely, so that record will come out, I’m hoping, this year. At a push, maybe next year. We’re jokingly calling it ‘English Democracy’ because it’s taken us a better part of four years already, but it’s outstanding. We’ve put out three records, and it’s by far the best one. It’s totally different from Deep Sleep Atlantic. MaM : Now you moved down here, happily ever after. How long did it take you to get into the scene here in New Orleans? TM : I auditioned for my first band about six days after I arrived, on the 11th of February. I got married the 22nd. The week before I got married, I went and did an audition. ... It was the strangest audition I’ve done in my life, and I’ve done some weird ones. But I got the gig, and I then went to two jam sessions, both at DMACS, and I think by the 27th or 28th everything started shutting down [because of Covid]. So, it was really bizarre because the day we got the call that people needed to start going home and stuff, I was supposed to play that night. So, at that point I guess I was here for twelve days or so? Thirteen days? I got very lucky because I was working as an assistant at Esplanade Studio at the time, and everything shut down except for the studio. So, while the gigs stopped, the studio was busy as hell, so I was in the studio every single day. credit: Gary Governale MaM : What changes do you think you’ve gone through from the very first project you’ve been in until now? Are there any major changes that you can point out, or were you just out of the womb a natural? TM : Hmmm. That’s a tough one. I’d love to claim that, but no. I still feel like I really have to work, but I don’t mind it. I enjoy the process, you know? I guess there’s no massive changes. I can listen to stuff that I was involved with as a teenager and go, ‘I think I’m a better singer now,’ or, ‘My lyrics definitely make more sense now as a writer,’ but that’s not necessarily fair, because how can you relate to something you wrote as a 15- or 16-year-old and now listen to it and say, ‘Those lyrics are crap.’? Because they weren’t crap at the time. They meant something to me, even though I can’t relate to them now. If I’m really pushed, I’d say I think I’ve become a better writer. I’m less worried about whether I can put all the cool things in and make people think, ‘Oh, wow; what a cool little guitar part.’ I don’t care. It’s all about the song. I do not care about the genre. I do not care about anything else—just the song. Now that being said, I do care about the sonics of the song while we’re living in this it’s-all-cool kind of world, and I do think of little details: ‘Were the snare drum hits consistent or did the one guitar part go out of tune on the last chorus? Or, man, I can hear that sibilance kind of mouth noise. Stuff like that drives me crazy. MaM : We both had music in our lives growing up, thanks to family. Do you think you’d be the same without that experience? TM : It really plays a part. Whether it helps shape you, I’m sure it does. I recently read this very interesting article. This DNA scientist was saying he’s on the cusp of proving that humans are who they are, and it’s set in your DNA from day one, and while your surroundings and upbringing will play a part in who that shapes, the bottom line is you are who you are. Now I don’t know if I believe this, but I’m also not a scientist. It got me thinking. credit: Gary Governale I definitely had other ambitions and aspirations, other things that interested me that I was gung-ho on achieving, but once I discovered music, none of that mattered. Music was a big part of my upbringing—not to the point where I was playing or anything, although my parents always told me I was doing certain musical things that made [them] go, ‘Huh.’ I don’t know if I’ve spoken of this before, but something that always makes me wonder, especially as I get older, so I was, I guess, luckily, expelled from kindergarten. For a year, I was at home … with my coloring books and my mum. She had a side hustle where she would knit jerseys, beanies, and gloves. She had this room with a big knitting machine and a radio. The radio would stay on, she would do her knitting, and I would sit there coloring in my coloring books while listening to the radio. I fell in love with Fleetwood Mac and Bonnie Tyler, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and Madonna, Phil Collins—whatever the big hits of the day were—Tom Petty, all that kinda stuff. Keep in mind, I don’t know how knitting machines work now, but I do know that then, it was this long, rectangular thing, and this bracket would go from left to right and then back. It had a timing kind of thing to it. (Imitates the sounds of the machine going back and forth) Now subconsciously, maybe that did something, I don’t know, but I’ll tell you, my parents are adamant it did something. My dad was a printer. He had proper machinery that weighed hundreds and hundreds of tons. So, I had this year off and these machines—they’re called Heidelbergs. So, this thing comes down, almost like a mechanical karate chop. It goes up and it comes down. (Imitates the rhythmic sound of the machine) MaM : (Begins to sing Pink Floyd’s “Money” in time to the sounds) TM : Exactly! I obviously didn’t know who Pink Floyd was, but my parents swore to God that I would, between sitting there in the room with my mum falling in love with these 80’s melodies and standing inside my dad’s factory with this machine, they claim that I would stand there and make up these raps to the machinery timing, or I would play paint buckets, trying to stay in time with this machinery. So, that particular year was everything. I can’t give it all the credit because I don’t know, but I’ve never struggled to work with a metronome, ever. I do put that down to the knitting machine and the Heidelberg printing press. MaM : What inspires or influences you nowadays? TM : I take inspiration from anything: conversations, words, podcasts, songs—anything I can listen to and go, ‘That’s cool.’ credit: Gary Governale If it’s cool and I want to explore it, I’ll make a note of it, and when I’m at my wit’s end and I can’t think of something, I’ll pull up my notes. For the most part, I’ve never needed to wait for inspiration to hit. It’s like, I work at it. I’ve always treated it like a job. So, 8 to 5 I need to create, or work in studio, or get better at editing, or producing, or creating content. I’ve never been that stereotypical sleep-‘til-4-o’clock musician. The long and short of it is, if I don’t do something that makes me feel like I worked on trying to get better at my craft every single day, I can turn into a moody bastard. So, keeping my own shit together means I’ve either got to get up early and practice, or when those around me that I love go to bed, I’m going to stay up for a few hours and practice. Whatever I need to do to allow myself to feel like I’m alive. MaM : Plus, I think you need to stay connected to whatever that is that we’re trying to tap into, right? I think the longer you’re away from it, the harder it is to get back to it. TM : One hundred percent. I write a song every day. Might not always be a whole song, but I’ll at least do a verse and a chorus, and I’ll put it on the back burner. I could pick up your guitar now and write us a song. It would not be difficult for me. I consider that a true, true blessing, okay? I know people who will spend six, seven years on one song, you know? It’s different for everybody, but for me, it just comes. I do think, to your point, if I took it for granted and I had this attitude of, ‘I can write songs whenever,’ take a ten-year sabbatical and come back, I’m pretty convinced that that gift [would] be gone. I’ve definitely had a couple people get frustrated over the years. ‘What’s that song about?’ I’ll be like, ‘Well, what do you think it’s about?’ They’ll go, ‘Well, you wrote it.’ I’ll reply, ‘Well, did I? I mean, my name’s on the credits, but somebody else wrote that song. It just came out in the form of my hands on a guitar.’ I’m not trying to sound arty; I genuinely believe this. I remember reading interviews with certain people that were like, ‘It just comes out of me,’ and I’d always be like, ‘This motherf*cker. It just comes out of me. Bullshit.’ Whatever that is, is a hundred percent true. It just takes a little bit of refinement from my side. MaM : Do you have a favorite song of yours that just came out and has been untouched since it first came out? TM : There’s a couple, yeah. In my last band, we had this song called ‘Liar Liar,’ and I’ve got early demos of that from when I was 16, 17. It’s identical. On this new record, ironically that first single we put out, ‘Bipolar Tendencies,’ I got home from the studio that one day, picked up my guitar, sat on the bed, [and] fifteen minutes later I had ‘Bipolar Tendencies,’ and I was like, ‘I should put this on the record.’ I went and demoed it, did the drums a couple days later. That’s identical to how it was. Nothing changed, except I put a sample of a heartbeat in it. MaM : You recorded and engineered this new album yourself, right? TM : I was never the guy who was like, ‘I’m gonna produce my own record, I’ll engineer it.’ Listen, I do think there are strengths in letting other people do stuff, like the Deep Sleep Atlantic record--my buddy Taylor Tatsch, he mixed that record. He did a superb job as far as I’m concerned. You can get too close to the stuff. Where my thought process behind it all changed was, I was in a very well-known studio, and I was just there playing on this person’s record. It wasn’t my record, but I’d known the producer. This particular artist, they couldn’t get their thing right. They were in the live room and I’m in the control room with this producer, and I don’t know if he knew that I was in the control room, or if he just didn’t care, but a comment was made, something along the lines of, ‘Ah, fer f*ck’s sake, just get it right already! It’s a shit song as it is.’ The artist never heard that, but I heard [it]. It suddenly got me thinking, ‘Wait, I’ve been in hundreds of studios by now. I wonder if this is how they feel when I’m paying to have my music recorded?’ That was the changing moment. After that I was like, ‘Nope, I’ll do it myself.’ … If you put some true care into it, people can tell, man. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, the new band, Deep Sleep Atlantic, tell us how that came about and where do you see it going from here? TM : I’d been in bands forever. I decided I was moving to America—I was done with bands. A friend of mine introduced me to a mutual friend, who is fairly visible in the music industry, who says to me, ‘We’d love to have you on our books.’ I’m thinking, ‘Me, on his books? Why now? I leave in less than a week.’ So, I said, ‘No, thanks, man. If you take me as a writer, but as far as bands go, I think I’m a little burnt out.’ I’d been gigging more than 20 years at that point, closer to 25. Bands are hard, you know? You’re dealing with all these different personalities and not always in a nice, positive way, you know? So, I come over here and I’m working at Esplanade [Studio], and every day I’m seeing really great artists coming in to do their thing. I’m sitting at home after a few of these sessions and I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, that was great, but I’ve got songs that I think are better than that, or different.’ Not in an egotistical way, just in a comparable way. So, I start writing songs. Next thing you know, I’m creating logos, writing down band names, and I’ve got about 43, 44 songs. I’m still talking to this guy who wants to manage me, and eventually he says to me, ‘You will come out as an artist, and I’ll focus on pushing you as a writer. That’s the only way we’re doing it.’ So, I said, ‘Okay.’ So that’s what led to Deep Sleep Atlantic being created, but by this point, I’m almost finishing the record and I don’t have a band. I’m still not sure if I want to have a band. Then I meet Daniel at Esplanade Studio. He and I hit it off. So, I tell him that I’ve got all these songs and I don’t know what I’m gonna do with them. I sent him, like, three songs. He comes back and says, ‘Dude, I loved the songs. We should jam sometime.’ And that was it: He and I started the band. It was as easy as that. Where we see it going, who knows? I mean, you never know where these things could go. As an actual band, we’ve only been officially out there now since the 31st of March, and it’s exceeded all my expectations thus far. I’ve been in some very good bands; I’m extremely blessed to say that. We seem to be getting a lot of feedback and a lot of love and a lot of positive response. So, where do we see it going? We’ve got some plans. I’m not going to be juvenile enough to talk about them because if they don’t transpire, then you get egg on your face. MaM : How did you come up with the name? TM : It wasn’t taken. (laughter) I hate to use the word ‘woke’ in a wrong manner, but the play on it would be just being insightful and awakened to your surroundings. Chad from the Musical Lab podcast … told me that he thought it was that we had traveled across the Atlantic. Now listen, I can’t take credit for that. I hadn’t even thought of that, but it’s a fairly cool concept. Daniel and I have both lived in several places at this point and we travelled from those places across the Atlantic to get here. Now that didn’t inform or influence the band name but, you know, America is one of the biggest countries to exist, and there’s so much going on here at the moment. Some people are very sensitive to it, and some people aren’t. So, for me, I think the name is kind of just a play on … we’re at this point where there doesn’t seem to be middle ground. You’re either one of these really insightful and have-to-preach-about-it kind of people, or you’re one of those other, ‘Naw, it’s not even a real thing’ when it is. So, I don’t know. I just think it’s much like a song. You take from it what you will. For me, it’s an important name because of certain situations around it, but that would be how I describe it. We went through hundreds of names. Originally, we wanted to go with something else. We even did a couple tester gigs under a different name, only to be at a gig and this bass player I know came to me and said, ‘I tried to check you out before the gig. You know, there’s a rapper out there using that name. So, I went and checked. We are big do-stuff-behind-the-scenes kind of guys, and we had done all this work. We were about to launch, we registered all the socials, we registered the website, we did all the things that you do, right? We put up one little post and about three weeks afterwards, this rapper puts out a song and emerges under the same name. Three weeks after our post. Now, I’m not saying he took the name, but that name was so unique, that I think it would be very hard for someone else to think of that exact thing. Humans are more similar than we admit, so I’m not saying it’s not possible, but when that was brought to my attention, I was like, ‘Okay, pull everything back. We’re not launching. Shut all of that stuff down and let’s regroup. That’s what eventually led to us taking the name Deep Sleep Atlantic. MaM : Talking about live shows, you have a few under your belt now with Deep Sleep Atlantic. How have those gone? TM : Fantastic. MaM : So, Daniel is on drums and vocals, you’re on guitar and vocals, now, to fill in the other spaces … TM : I split my signal between a guitar and a bass cab, so that fills a lot, and we play with tracks. We’ve got a Pro Tools rig, and that fills the little keyboard-y parts that we’ve got on the record and a couple little nuances. We play with in-ears, we play to click. We do all our own sound, so basically when we get to a venue, they give us what they want to mic, we then feed them our tracks so it’s in the mixing desk, then they feed the signal back to us and we have control over all the levels. It definitely takes a bit of that spontaneity away because we are locked into playing to our tracks. Every now and then, some inspiration hits and you want to go jam it over here, [but] you can’t do that. It takes some serious discipline to do what we’re doing, but it’s also not so bad because I have always been a fan of bands that sound like [they do on] the record. MaM : So, let’s talk about the album “Prelude.” Where did you record that album? How long did it take, and are there any stories from the recording sessions? TM : [We] recorded that album in my house, except for the guitar solo in ‘Bones’—that’s my buddy Zack [Loy] from the band Live. There’s a saxophone solo in ‘Blue’—that’s Dave; he plays in the Dave Mouton Project. And then there is a cello part in ‘Mess We’re In’ that I didn’t play. Everything else, I did in my house. I was doing it in between gigs, and sessions, so I did it sporadically. A story regarding it would be, it was shotgun house. I’ve since moved—the neighbor who basically convinced me to move was extremely, uh, [long pause] I think if she could have, she would have done everything she could to prevent that record from being made. It started getting to a point where I couldn’t even cough without banging coming from the other side of the wall. It started to become a bit of a joke, but not in a good way. It was in a—and I don’t mean for this to sound condescending—but it was in a ‘I think this person needs some help’ kind of way. MaM : Well, after months of hearing drums through the wall! TM : Well, ironically, I had the drums done before they even moved in! Okay, guitars—I’m a bit of a stickler for the guitar. You may have to do a part 500 times before you find the tone that you like. So, I do understand that from a neighborly point of view, especially if you are at home and you hear the same riff all day. I understand that can be frustrating. It got to the point where my wife and I would turn the television on and [within] two or three minutes, the pounding on the wall would start. Then we started to hear violin. Not properly played violin, more like the screeching sound from Psycho . After that, these notes started. You’d come to the house and there’d be a note on the door about something, or there’d be a note in the backyard about something, or there would be a note under your door, or in your post box. I tried to meet in the middle. I made a schedule, and I said, ‘Look, I’m not going to make noise every day. I definitely won’t make noise after 7 p.m. I get that you want to relax and stuff, but you’re at home all day.’ At this point, I’m only home maybe two days a week because I’m working at the studio. It was really reasonable; it wasn’t, like, every day. She said, ‘Oh, no, I need those times for my clients.’ I said to her, ‘There’s nothing more I can do. I’ve stopped the noise, we don’t turn the television on, and we don’t even have guests at the house because we don’t want to upset you.’ MaM : You have cough drops ready. TM : Exactly! So, it got to a point where we were like, ‘Let’s just move.’ That did hinder the album process. It was an album that could have taken me, let’s say, a month. Let’s say a week for drums, a week for bass, maybe a week for guitar, and a week for vocals. I could have been done. The drums and the bass were done before she got there. She just wasn’t willing to meet me in the middle. So that was both a funny and frustrating aspect of the album. MaM : Do you think any of that influenced any of the vibe on the music you were recording? TM : No, no. I mean, definitely some of the frustration while playing guitar came through. There were definitely moments where I was like, ‘Okay, you’re gonna make this hard for me? I’ll turn it up.’ credit: Gary Governale MaM : How do you balance the art versus the business? You’re obviously talented creatively, but you also have a lot of knowledge and experience in the business side. How do you work in both without going crazy? TM : I think it’s much harder than anyone gives it credit for. I think if you start thinking about the business stuff too much, it will affect the art. You don’t want that to happen. So, I, personally, try not to think about that when I’m making music. I try and look at them completely separate. It really doesn’t make me sound rock n’ roll at all, but I will have lists … of stuff that I need to do to take care of business and I will dictate certain hours of the day to do that, whereas when I’m creating, or recording, or making art or anything, I worry about none of that. I think you NEED to think about the business though, unless you have someone who can take care of that for you. People are listening to music with their eyes now, so you could have the greatest record out there and it might be discovered (the good ones always are discovered eventually), but if you’re not taking care of something that [allows] people [to] somehow find you, I think you’re doing yourself an injustice. Plus, it’s in your best interest to learn that side of it now because no one’s going to care about your music, or your art, or you as much as you. I’m happy to do the work, I’m not lazy. I’m many things, but I’m not lazy. Follow Travis and Deep Sleep Atlantic on all social media and streaming platforms, available at www.DeepSleepAtlantic.com . To see their tour schedule, click here. *cover photo credit: Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Pacifico The Importance of Self Care < Back The Importance of Self Care Keeley Brooks Nov 4, 2022 Share Pacifico Sometimes there are bands, and sometimes there’s a band with an artist who just makes you smile simply because he’s so authentic. Ladies, gents, and non-binary peoples, meet Matthew Schwartz—a man of many, many talents. I really don’t know where to begin with this guy. On top of being super humble and very kind, Schwartz is a man of many talents. He’s a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, podcast host, and, if I do say so myself, quite the poet. He is the band Pacifico, out of Atlanta, Georgia. If the name sounds somewhat familiar to you, it kind of should. Pacifico formed in 1999 and made some pretty big career marks through the mid-2000s by being lucky enough to have their songs featured in movies ( Wish for Christmas ), on TV shows ( Now What? , Sausage Factory ), in video games (“Rock Band Download”), and on the radio. After seeing some success full of label showcases, touring, and, as Matthew puts it, “a failed attempt to move to California,” the band needed a break and amicably parted ways. That’s when Pacifico the group became Pacifico the one-man band. Mostly. Matthew enjoys collaborating with other musicians on his albums. “I LOVE to collaborate with people. I think it only helps to make the music better,” says Schwartz. “For the new album, I collaborated with Shane Tutmarc of Dolour, Peter Randall—bass player for Adele, Matt Bowers of House Of Fools, Ben Herrington of Minos The Saint, Matt Tuttle of Codeseven, and the famous producer Aaron Sprinkle.” I was lucky enough to get to rap with Matthew about Pacifico and his upcoming album, "Self Care". KB : So, Matthew, was this your dream as a kid, or did it just sort of develop? MS : Like most kids my dreams changed often. First, I wanted to be in the army, or a police officer, then it was a baseball player. It wasn’t until I was about 14 that I realized I had musical talent and wanted to be a musician. There have been many times in my adult life, though, that I have also considered being a teacher, a comedian, or a writer. (In a round-about way, Matthew, you are, Dude. You are.) KB : You’re a multi-instrumentalist. Tell us what instruments you play and what the first one was you learned to play, then what followed. MS : My first instrument was piano. I used to make up songs and then my parents got me lessons. Trumpet was my second instrument. I played in symphonic and marching band. Then I learned the guitar and never looked back. From there it just grew. I can play a little bit of almost every instrument, but I’m not really great at any of them. KB : I’ve heard your music. With all due respect, that’s a lie. (laughs) So how’d the name Pacifico originate, anyway? MS : Joel (friend and former drummer) and I were driving around in his truck trying to think of a cool band name that would represent the music we were creating. We thought about how Radiohead took their name from a Talking Heads’ song and so thought about one of our favorite bands, Starflyer 59. Couldn’t think of a name that related to them that we liked but their drummer had just put out an album by his side project, The Lassie Foundation, called Pacifico. We liked that it meant peaceful and we liked that it made us think of the West Coast and the Pacific, so we took it. We later found out they were inspired by the beer, which we incidentally have been sponsored by before too. KB : That’s amazing. I understand you have three albums out (“Thin Skin and an Open Heart”, “Without Heroes”, “Everest”) with a fourth on the way. Tell us about these and where you drew your inspiration. MS : [My fourth album] "Self Care" is due out February 10th, 2023. Each album has been a snapshot of where I was and [is] focused around a central theme. “Thin Skin and an Open Heart” was recorded in CA with one of my heroes, Jason Martin of Starflyer 59. The songs were mostly written around different issues my friends were going through at the time, with some of my life and experiences thrown in. “Without Heroes” is the first Pacifico album I produced and its songs were all centered around the heroes I had in my life, as well as the lack of heroes I was seeing in our world. “Everest” was my attempt to challenge myself and our listeners by creating more complex lyrics and music that was wrapped in confectious melodies in hopes people wouldn’t notice. The new album "Self Care" deals with different ways to look at mental health and self-care from self-motivation, to encouraging others, drawing healthy boundaries, and more. KB : As an author who openly writes about my own mental health struggles, you don’t know how happy that makes me to hear. Speaking of the upcoming album, aptly titled "Self Care," you went through some shit with this one. I know your soul is in it. Tell us how this album came to be, "and why it's called "Self Care." MS : It started from an apparent failed attempt to quit music. I was looking through old demos and realizing I had several really great songs and ideas that needed to be finished and released. I came into the beginning of this process thinking this might be my last album. Right before I started this project I had moved back to Georgia and in the process realized I had some trauma I needed to work through, then my eldest brother passed, and we had a pandemic. I decided I needed help, I got a therapist and I guess a lot of my work ended up in this album. When looking through the themes on the album, I thought no other name would aptly sum up what [it’s] about, self-care. KB : There’s currently a new single out now called “Don’t Play Dead.” Tell me about that. MS : When compiling the songs for "Self Care," I was going through all my demos and ideas. I came across this chord structure that I liked but previously couldn't create anything with. For some reason, after several tries with no luck, I was finally inspired. At that time, my wife was overcome with anxiety and depression, so much so that she felt defeated and had become immobile. I wanted nothing more than to give her comfort and take away her pain. Writing this song was the least I could do. Just like that, the words and melody came to me and the song basically wrote itself. KB : What's your intention with "Self Care?" What do you want people to know? MS : I don’t know if there is an intention per se, but I do want people to know that they matter, and that they are not alone. We all have something going on. Give yourself love and grace, and then extend that same love and grace to others. KB : It’s heavily apparent your music is not just music. This is you, your thoughts, your feelings, your energy, your emotions. And as listeners, I think people can’t help but feel your emotion and intention behind each song. Even in the way you play your instruments. How has that carried you along the way through any difficult or trying times? I’m sure it has been very cathartic and healing. MS : You are correct. My music is very much a part of me and the relationship I have had with music and the music business has been nothing less than challenging. It's always very cathartic and healing to finish a song and/or recording but releasing the music is much more complex. When I finally release a song or an album it's like putting your child in a beauty contest. I know I think it's beautiful and without flaws, but it's no longer up to me. It's hard to just let them go and see if people connect and what they think. At that point they are no longer my songs, they are everyone's. The way they come to me, I wonder if they ever were mine to begin with. No matter what, I almost always get some sort of postpartum depression. KB : I can relate to that for sure. Have you had any major epiphanies that’ve come to you while writing or recording? MS : Trust your gut, follow your heart, run ideas by people you trust, be open to criticism, never settle for less than you want, and always be open to experimentation and improvising. KB : I understand you also host a podcast called Moontraveling. What’s that about? MS : I was lucky enough to become friends with one of my heroes and mentors, [producer] Aaron Sprinkle. It was started as a platform for him to tell stories and talk about all the amazing albums he’s done and although we do talk about those things, it really has become a podcast about music, and life. We talk about anything that affects us both: deconstruction, love, life, our interests, music, friendships, and more. KB : Any current shows right now? If not, when will you be back on stage? MS : I just lost my booking agent (if anyone is a booking agent please let me know!). I would love to be on the road! I also don’t currently have a band [to go out and play shows with], so if you are in the Atlanta area and like my music, hit me up. Otherwise, I am working on some sort of album release party in February, and I will be playing some online shows here and there. [People can] follow me on social [media] or sign my mailing list so [they] don’t miss any announcements. So, my dear readers, now you can go like and follow and sign up for Matthew’s/Pacifico’s mailing list. You can find him at www.PacificoRock.com and https://linktr.ee/pacificorock will take you guys to everything. Pacifico (@pacificorock) • Instagram photos and videos Profile / Twitter Facebook YouTube Pacifico | Spotify Stream Pacificorock music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud ‎4.11.15 - Single by Pacifico on Apple Music *Photo cred: Mike Dunn, provided by Matthew Schwartz * www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Strays is a sweet, hysterical, raunchy comedy featuring potty-mouthed dogs in one of the best animal movies ever made. < Back Strays: Feast Upon This Keeley Brooks Oct 13, 2023 Share Strays is a sweet, hysterical, raunchy comedy featuring potty-mouthed dogs in one of the best animal movies ever made. Rating: 4 out 5 foul-mouthed Boston Terriers Strays is probably one of the best animal movies ever made. Yes, yes, I hear you all screaming at me about Milo & Otis and Black Beauty and all the others, but did any of them feature foul-mouthed dogs with a flair for the obscene and nasty, kind of like that one Jimmy Buffet song that makes most “squares” uncomfortable (i.e., “Why Don’t We Get Drunk”)? Nope? I didn’t think so, and that’s precisely why you’re gonna want to watch Strays ! Directed by Josh Greenbaum ( Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar ), Strays features a whopping all-star cast that includes Will Ferrell ( Anchorman ), Randall Park ( Totally Killer ), Isla Fisher ( Wedding Crashers ), Jamie Foxx ( Ray ), Josh Gad ( Ghostbusters: Afterlife ), Harvey Guillén ( What We Do in the Shadows ), Rob Riggle ( 21 Jump Street ), Brett Gelman ( Stranger Things ), Jimmy Tatro ( American Vandal ), Dennis Quaid ( The Day After Tomorrow ), Phil Morris ( Doom Patrol ), Jamie Demetriou ( Barbie ), Sofía Vergara ( Modern Family ), and Greta Lee ( Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ). Strays is lovingly brought to us by “the humans” who gave us 21 Jump Street (2012) and Cocaine Bear (2023), so right off the bat, you know this flick is gonna be hella funny. And it is. Nevermind those critics who’ve said that Strays , “wants to startle us with its tonal shifts … but its wild careening from sentimental to super scuzzy makes it seem like the moviemakers lost track of what they were trying to do.” To them I say: LIGHTEN UP, FRANCES. You knew it was a raunchy comedy going into it. No one expected Strays to be an Oscar contender, but we all like a good time, and Strays is absolutely that. (Warning: Video below features foul language!) The R-rated comedy follows the life of Reggie (Ferrell), a super sweet but extremely naïve and gullible Border Terrier who’s more of a glass-half-full personality. It’s a great role for Ferrell, allowing him to return to the nature of his character in Elf. credit: Universal Pictures Reggie lives with his owner, Doug (Will Forte, of Macgruber ), who’s a complete and total dick as far as pet owners go and a total loser as far as grownups go. Doug has no job, no money, no life, and no girlfriend, and he spends his days being a slob, smoking pot, guzzling beer, and living off his struggling mother’s social security checks. Will Forte as Doug (credit: Universal Pictures) Reggie loves Doug and thinks he’s a great pet owner who likes to play Reggie’s favorite game: “Fetch & F**k.” This is where Doug drives somewhere and throws a tennis ball then leaves while Reggie searches, hoping Reggie won’t find his way home. When he does show up with the tennis ball in his mouth, Doug’s response is always, “F**k.” So, one day after Reggie accidentally breaks Doug’s favorite bong, Doug drives Reggie four hours away to a big city, backs up to an alley, then throws the tennis ball for Reggie to chase. When Reggie runs after it, Doug leaves. Sad, right? It really is, right up until the moment Reggie meets Bug (Foxx), a once-owned-but-now-stray Boston Terrier with street smarts, a sharp tongue, lots of love, and a giant, tough-talkin’ personality. And as a recent Boston Terrier mama, I can say this personality is quite accurate. When Reggie tells Bug how he wound up in the alley, Bug tells Reggie his owner left him on purpose and he’s now a stray, then befriends him and decides to help him adjust. credit: Universal Pictures As Bug walks Reggie through the city, he tells Reggie there are three rules to being a stray: (1) If you want it, pee on it. (2) You can hump whatever you want. (3) You’re on your own: “You’re a stray now! You can do anything you want!” Bug also takes the time to point out how weird and mean humans can be. Bug notes that while they’re awesome because they drop food all the time, they’re also evil because they collect dog poop and snip the balls off of male dogs. Bug says humans love "this thing called chocolate,” and he’s convinced the reason chocolate is so good to humans is because the secret ingredients are dog poop and dog balls. So, along the way, Bug and Reggie hit the park, where Reggie befriends other animal companions: Maggie (Fisher), a person-owned Australian Shepherd who doubles as a scent queen, and Hunter (Park), a Great Dane (i.e., “the muscle”) who is a former police dog turned therapy dog, who always wears a cone—not for a medical reason but because it makes him feel safe. Hilarious, right? I know. credit: Universal Pictures credit: Universal Pictures When Reggie introduces himself to the pack, he says his name is, “Shitbag, or sometimes Dumbass Shitbag … or F**k Nugget.” When Maggie asks if that’s what his owner calls him and Reggie says yes, she, Hunter, and Bug kindly point out that those aren’t terms of endearment and that Doug sucks. As Reggie’s shiny, innocent reality shatters right before his sweet little eyes, his sadness turns to anger as, with the group's encouragement, he declares he’s going to find his way back home and take away Doug’s favorite toy: “I’m gonna bite his dick off." So, together the four embark on a long journey to get Reggie home, whereupon they encounter vicious predators, animal control officers, the wrath of God, and even some mind-altering mushrooms. There’s a lot about Strays that make it a must-own movie. In addition to its script and cast, Strays features an outstanding soundtrack full of N.W.A., Ludacris, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Tony K, Travis Scott, Reem, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd (with Playboi Carti and Madonna), Post Malone, and more. And guys, these songs are paired with the perfect accompanying scenes, most of which are shot in super creative slow motion with epic comedic undertones. Sometimes overtones. Strays is packed levity throughout the cruelty driving the story, such as the festival scene. Reggie tells the group he remembers passing “a big wheel in the sky and it smelled like hot dogs.” Maggie goes to work and picks up a scent, leading the gang right to the county fair. As the strays make their way through the crowd of humans, Reggie steals a link of hot dogs. When the others find out he stole from a human, they panic, but Reggie tells them to relax, “No one saw.” At that very moment, fireworks erupt and Hunter shouts, “GOD SAW!” as they all freak out and run, thinking God is trying to bomb them for stealing hot dogs from a human. That scene, ladies and gents, is side-splitting hysterical. It’s so good, you’ll back it up and watch it again. Likewise, in another great moment, as the dogs stop to howl, it turns out that all can howl except for Hunter, who literally howls by saying the word “howww-ling.” It’s quite adorable. As a former Great Dane owner, I can attest that what they do sounds more like a “roooo” than a howl. Then there’s the scene where the dogs come upon a sea of mushrooms and think they’re food, so they eat as many as they can … and proceed to trip their balls off. It makes for one psychedelic good time, as the strays hallucinate a gaggle of toys they then proceed to tear up. When they awaken the next morning and realize the toys were actual rabbits, they feel like serial killers and leave the forest in shame. There’s even a story within this story that focuses on a little girl gone missing, whom the strays actually come across and rescue. It’s very, very sweet. And, I’ll go ahead and spoil it for you because it’s no big surprise, but Reggie does make it home to Doug and bite his dick off in an epic scene of vengeance that plays out to Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.” Overall, Strays is absolutely one of the best animal movies ever made, for adults only. It’s a beautiful story of awareness, friendship, family, and brotherhood—er, doghood—as well as courage and strength. The writing is funny and clever, remaining sweet with endearing moments, and all dogs featured in Strays were absolutely amazing. In fact, they all were legit strays adopted and trained or came from the pound and were adopted and trained. For more on that, go down the YouTube rabbit hole and enjoy that ride. Strays is currently streaming exclusively on Peacock and available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, Video On Demand, and Prime Video. Keeley Brooks is a big ole movies, television, and streaming nerd with a voracious appetite for entertainment consumption and an uncontrollable urge to write about everything she watches, even if it sucks. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . 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With Halloween 2023 right around the corner, Mixed Alternative got together to recommend some of our favorite Halloween movies! < Back 20+ Halloween Films to Watch This Season: Feast Upon This Keeley Brooks & Mixed Alternative Staff Oct 22, 2023 Share With Halloween 2023 right around the corner, Mixed Alternative got together to recommend some of our favorite Halloween movies! ‘Tis the season for all things spooky, my friends, and here at Mixed Alternative, we love the weird and spooky because, well, that’s just who we are—well, maybe not spooky but definitely weird in the best possible way. In addition to costumes, candy, and creepy-looking house parties, Halloween is also celebrated in cinema. With the 2023 Halloween season right around the corner, we thought it would be fun to give you guys a little roundup of our favorite Halloween movies recommended by our writers and editors. Happy Viewing, my friends. --------------------------------------------------------------------- C.G. SMITH Evil Dead II (1987) Director: Sam Raimi Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Ted Raimi, Kassie Wesley DePaiva The Evil Dead franchise follows Ashley “Ash” Williams (Campbell) in his battle to survive on onslaught of flesh-possessing demons that he and his friends accidentally unleashed when they found an old book, the Necronomicon, at a cabin in the woods and read it aloud. Oops. Evil Dead II finds Ash holed up in cabin with a group of strangers as the demons continue their attack. “I first watched Evil Dead II in middle school with friends at a sleepover, and what I loved about it then and now is the way it mixes comedy with gore . It’s wonderful. Evil Dead II will always be one of my favorite horror movies because of how absolutely fun it is to experience and how many memorable and quotable scenes there are not just in the franchise but in Evil Dead II in particular.” A Quiet Place (2018) Director: John Krasinski Cast: John Krasinkski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe If they hear you, they hunt you. Imagine having to live in a world where making the softest sound could get you killed. In A Quiet Place , a family must live in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn (Emily Blunt, of Edge of Tomorrow ) and Lee (John Krasinski, of The Office ) are determined to find a way to protect their kids while desperately searching for a way to fight back. “ A Quiet Place is so great on so many levels, as it took something we all tend to take for granted and made the mere act of making sound a death sentence. Imagine giving birth in a world where you can't make a sound and there is no medical care, where you must keep your newborn quiet lest it be snatched by an alien before you can blink. Babies are not quiet, so the combined tension of giving birth silently and keeping a newborn quiet are just horrific. A Quiet Place is excellent writing and acting merging into a masterpiece from one spectacular idea . While A Quiet Place Part II didn't quite live up to the original, I still hold a place in my heart for this movie.” *Honorable Mention: The Omen (1976) Director: Richard Donner Cast: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner The Omen is about a boy named Damien (Harvey Stephens, of The Bat ) who is believed to be the Antichrist. When American diplomat Robert (Gregory Peck, of Cape Fear ) adopts Damien after his wife Katherine (Lee Remich, of Around the World in 80 Days ) delivers a stillborn, Damien’s first nanny hangs herself. When Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton, of Doctor Who ) warns Robert that Damien will harm Katherine’s unborn child, it isn’t long before Brennan turns up dead and Katherine miscarries when Damien pushes her off a balcony. As more people around Damien die, Robert investigates the kid’s background and realizes Damien may just be the devil’s son. “I read ‘The Omen’ book as a young child and later saw the film. The idea that a child had been born as the son of the devil to an influential family and would one day rise through the ranks of society was fascinating to me. The way The Omen built suspense and overall tension is truly something to witness . ‘Damien, it's all for you.’ Plus, I kinda looked like the child actor when I was his age.” --------------------------------------------------------------------- JEFF CRESPI Drag Me to Hell (2009) Director: Sam Raimi Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier, Lorna Rave, David Paymer Alison Lohman ( Gamer ) stars as Christine Brown, a beautiful girl with a loving boyfriend (Justin Long, of Accepted ) and a great job at an L.A. bank. Her heavenly life becomes a living hell when, in an effort to impress her boss, she denies an old woman’s request for an extension on her home loan. In retaliation, the crone places a curse on Christine, threatening her soul with eternal damnation. Christine seeks a psychic’s help to break the curse, but can she afford the price to save her soul? “ Drag Me to Hell is one horror movie that always stood out to me. Actress Alison Lohman does an amazing job as the lead and looks a lot like our editor-in-chief, Nicole Brice! Drag Me to Hell has some very suspenseful and scary moments throughout the film, starting from early on. I think this is a great movie that doesn't fall into a list with the more obvious ones ." The Exorcist (1973) Director: William Friedkin Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, William O’Malley One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair, of The Exorcist: Believer ) starts acting odd—levitating, speaking in tongues—her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn, of Requiem for a Dream ) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. However, a local priest (Jason Miller, of The Exorcist III ) thinks the girl may be seized by the devil, so he makes a request to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow, of Flash Gordon ) to help. “I would have to say the scariest film of all time would be The Exorcist . The story, cinematography, acting, editing, and old school techniques combine perfectly to cast a deep shadow of fear in the hearts of any viewer. ” *Honorable Mentions: Saw Franchise (2004) Director: James Wan Cast: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes Creators: James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Danny Glover A groundbreaking horror franchise, Saw is about a sadistic serial killer named Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) who kidnaps people and sets them up in one of his perverse little puzzle games so that they have the choice: live or die. In the original Saw movie, photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannel, of Upgrade ) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes, of The Princess Bride ) regain consciousness while chained to dirty, grimy pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize they’ve been trapped, flashbacks relate the fates of Jigsaw’s previous victims while the two men are forced into torture as they fight for their survival, as Gordon’s wife and young daughter watch via closed-circuit video. “As far as gore goes, the Saw franchise is fantastic and ultimately features some of the most cringeworthy horror scenarios available today . It’s no wonder the Saw movies make up the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time.” Halloween II (1981) Director: Rick Rosenthal Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasense, Charles Cyphers, Dick Warlock After failing to kill stubborn survivor Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis, of True Lies ) and taking a bullet or six from former psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence, of Halloween ), the masked Michael Myers follows Laurie to the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, where she’s been admitted for Myers’ attempt on her life. The institution proves to be particularly suited to serial killers, however, as Myers cuts, stabs, and slashes his way through hospital staff to reach his favorite victim. “There’s a lot about the Halloween movie franchise that stands out for numerous reasons, but one of my favorites is Halloween II , which focuses on Dr. Loomis’s hunt for Michael as a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. Only thing is, Michael is right behind her and when he gets into the hospital, the action makes for one unforgettable scene that forever stands out for me. It’s a must see .” --------------------------------------------------------------------- CHUCK BROOKS Get Out (2017) Director: Jordan Peele Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, LaKeith Stanfield, Betty Gabriel, Marcus Henderson In a slam dunk of a directorial debut from actor, producer, writer, and comedian Jordan Peele ( Nope ), Get Out follows young couple Chris (Daniel Kaluuya, of Black Panther ) and Rose (Allison Williams, of M3GAN ) as they go to visit her parents in Upstate New York. Chris has never met them before and is a little weary about this milestone in their relationship. When they first arrive, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship (Rose is White, Chris is Black), but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries leads him right to a truth he could’ve never imagined. “What I enjoyed about Get Out is its commentary on how Black people are treated in the 21st Century. Peele managed to write an ingenious horror movie that’s stone-cold realistic commentary on the enslavement of a race of people for their perceived physical attributes and longevity . Get Out is masterfully told and acted out on all parts of the cast—the ensemble of which was a big deal. The scene where Chris is struck in sheer terror emanates with how Black people must feel today: like there’s an area where if they cross some perceived line in reality, there’ll be retaliation by the system. Catherine Keener ( The 40-Year-Old Virgin ) and Bradley Whitford ( The Handmaid’s Tale ) represent this and capitalize on Black lives before Black Lives Matter ever became a thing. This movie is important for a lot of reasons : It’s a good movie with a valuable message as a horror movie , it adds to the shallow repertoire when it comes to black horror films, and it crosses borders like Us (2019) does. The social commentary with Get Out is exploitation on Black people as a whole treated as a commodity, as something to be traded or sold. Peele wrote a horror movie about Black people that is a real-time horror tale set in real life, and he couldn’t bring more valuable views and messages to the masses with his work.” Zombieland (2009) Director: Ruben Fleischer Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray After a virus turns most people into zombies, the world’s surviving humans remain locked in an ongoing battle against the hungry undead. Four survivors—Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, of White Men Can’t Jump ) and his cohorts, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, of The Social Network ), Wichita (Emma Stone, of La La Land ), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, of Little Miss Sunshine )—abide by a list of survival rules and zombie-killing strategies as they make their way toward a rumored safe haven in Los Angeles … at the house of one Bill Murray ( Lost in Translation ). Zombieland is one of the best comedy-horror films today. From its comedic aspects such as Columbus’s rules for surviving in this new zombie-infested world to the tough but sensitive levity Woody Harrelson brings to his character to the zombies’ development and adopted zombie-telling techniques from other areas, everything about this film works together to enhance an already excellent storyline . Zombieland is exciting, full of wild action with well-choreographed stunts, and it features just the right amount of gore without being too much. Zombieland is a movie that you can still watch and get something out of it, even if you’re not a zombie person . --------------------------------------------------------------------- EZEKIEL KINCAID The Exorcist (1973) Director: William Friedkin Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, William O’Malley One of the most profitable horror movies ever made , this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events . When young Regan (Linda Blair, of The Exorcist: Believer ) starts acting odd—levitating, speaking in tongues—her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn, of Requiem for a Dream ) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. However, a local priest (Jason Miller, of The Exorcist III ) thinks the girl may be seized by the devil, so he makes a request to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow, of Flash Gordon ) to help. “ The Exorcist set the standard for possession movies. Friedkin's bold adaptation of Blattey's novel has shocked and scared audiences since its release in 1973 and still does so to this day. Often imitated but never replicated, no possession movie has ever surpassed this one in thrills and chills .” Hereditary (2018) Director: Ari Aster Cast: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they’ve inherited. “I once read somewhere that Hereditary was The Exorcist of this modern-day generation, so it is no surprise I love it. The Exorcist it is not, but that doesn't mean it isn’t unsettling. Ari Aster's dark take on the cult/occult subgenre of horror will keep you awake for days . That’s a guarantee.” Halloween (1978) Director: John Carpenter Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes, Charles Cyphers On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes, returning to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims. “John Carpenter and Debra Hill raised the bar for slasher movies with Halloween . Ominous, atmospheric, and foreboding, Michael Myers has a creep factor that many of his predecessors and contemporaries lack. Halloween also has the best theme music ever !” --------------------------------------------------------------------- KEELEY BROOKS 28 Days Later (2002) Director: Danny Boyle Cast: Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Naomi Harris When a group of eco-terrorists free a chimp from its lab cage in a Cambridge medical research lab, they’re unaware it’s infected with what is called the “Rage virus” and unknowingly unleash the apocalypse. When London bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy, of Peaky Blinders ) wakes up from 28 days in a coma, he finds London in total collapse, the world in destruction, and society completely obliterated. It’s only when he’s chased through the streets by aggressive, wicked fast, bloodthirsty creatures and is saved by a couple of uninfected that he learns what has happened and must figure out a way to survive in a world not only full of raging zombies but also littered with broken down groups of humanity. “ 28 Days Later was the first zombie movie to truly scare me. Before then, I’d never seen fast zombies, let alone violent, aggressive ones. I love everything about this movie, from its concept to its pace in storytelling to its simple use of blood to imply more than what is seen. 28 Days Later features stellar acting (this was Cillian Murphy’s first big movie) and a smart soundtrack that drives the panic and tension throughout the story. And further compounding this hair-raising scenario is the horror story within the horror story , which shows what happens when humanity ceases to exist. I also love how Director Danny Boyle juxtaposes this horrific scenario with the beautiful backdrop of nature—ironic since nature is where viruses originate. ** For more about this movie, read my full review of 28 Days Later . World War Z (2013) Director: Marc Forster Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt, of Ocean's Eleven ) and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses it’s no ordinary traffic jam and he’s right: The city is erupting into chaos at an incredibly fast pace, leaving little to no chance for escape or survival. A lethal virus spread through a simple bite is turning healthy people into something vicious, unthinking, and feral within a matter of 12 seconds. As the pandemic threatens to consume humanity, Gerry leads a worldwide search to find the source of the infection and, with a stroke of luck, a way to halt its spread. “Clearly, zombie movies are my favorite horror movies--next to slasher films, of course. World War Z had the same effect on me that 28 Days Later had: sheer terror . I didn’t think it was possible to amp up the aggression, speed, and bloodlust that zombies of the early 21st Century had come to display, but World War Z came along and nailed it. With the exception of about four minutes at the beginning and end of the film, World War Z is adrenaline-inducing and heart pounding from start to finish . Every single moment of this film is level 10 panic and chaos—no time to think, no time to movie, no time to fear. The cinematography is gorgeous, again using the technique of juxtaposing breathtaking views with a horrific reality. And I have to give mad props to the makeup and special effects department, who, no pun intended, killed it with these zombies. Those moments in the halls of the Center for Disease Control had me holding my breath as I sat there, mouth wide open, in total awe and appreciation of what I was seeing: tension to the max . Also, that massive horde of zombie savagely climbing the walls of Jerusalem is just breathtaking—terrifying, but breathtaking. World War Z is stellar horror all the way around .” Scream (1996) Director: Wes Craven Cast: Drew Barrymore, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Neve Campbell, Tatum O’Neal, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Henry Winkler Set in the small town of Woodsboro, Middle America, Scream ’s plot follows high school student Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell, of The Craft ) and her friends, who, on the anniversary of her mother’s murder, become the targets of a costumed, knife-wielding serial killer known as Ghostface. “I love Scream because it scared me without terrifying me and made me laugh in ways that didn’t make the movie any less effective in its serious nature. Featuring one of the best opening scenes in a slasher movie , which was alone enough to instill the fear and pace of this narrative and hook us in from the get-go, Scream reinvented and revitalized the slasher-horror genre . It’s funny and clever in dialogue and character portrayals—thanks, in part, to momentous performances from David Arquette ( Never Been Kissed ), Matthew Lillard ( Good Girls ) and Henry Winkler ( The Waterboy )—while remaining deep in the vein of seriousness, psychological thrills, and plenty of jump scares. Craven masterfully builds tension and self-parody as the body count in Woodsboro rises and a fright-masked knife-wielding maniac stalks high school students in middle-class suburbia. Another reason Scream is a must see : the irony in Randy Meeks’ (Jamie Kennedy, of Son of the Mask ) scene explaining the rules to surviving any horror movie: (1) never have sex, (2) never drink or do drugs, and (3) never ever ever, under any circumstances, say, ‘I’ll be right back.’” Cujo (1981) Director: Lewis Teague Cast: Danny Pintauro, Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Christopher Stone Adapted from infamous horror author Stephen King’s story of the same name, Cujo is the terrifying tale of a sweet St. Bernard who is bitten by a bat and contracts rabies. Cujo, who roams between his owner’s house and auto garage on the same property, starts behaving oddly and becomes very aggressive, eventually morphing into a dangerous beast thirsting to kill. When stay-at-home mom (Dee Wallace, of Sons and Daughters ) gets caught in Cujo’s crosshairs while out on a fateful errand with her young son Tad (Danny Pintauro, of Who’s the Boss? ), she must fight to protect herself and Tad from Cujo when they become trapped in their tiny Ford Pinto after it breaks down at the auto garage … for days, with no help in sight. “I won’t lie: Cujo scared the absolute shit out of me when I first saw it as a young teen. It’s not the rabies-infested dog that makes Cujo so scary; rather, it’s King’s claustrophobic scenario of being trapped in a tiny, dysfunctional car guarded by crazed, rabid beast that terrifies. From the scenes of Dee’s escalating fear to Cujo viciously attempting to get into the car to Teague’s filming techniques that keep us grounded in awareness, Cujo is definitely one of the scariest real-life scenario movies I’ve ever seen . I never looked at St. Bernards the same way after seeing this film.” Beetlejuice (1988) Director: Tim Burton Cast: Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder After Barbara (Geena Davis, of A League of Their Own ) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin, of Supercell ) die in a car accident, they find themselves stuck in their country residence, unable to leave the house. When the unbearable Deetzes (Catherine O’Hara, of Schitt’s Creek , and Jeffrey Jones, of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ) and their teen goth daughter (Winona Ryder, of Mr. Deeds ) move in, the Maitlands attempt to scare them away without success. That’s when they turn to rambunctious bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton, of Batman ) and all hell breaks loose in the best possible Tim-Burton way. “I adore this movie and everything about Tim Burton’s exaggerated gothic style. Beetlejuice features an all-star cast who, honestly, couldn’t have played their roles any better. Beetlejuice is original, creepy, funny, artistic, and completely entertaining . This movie never gets old and now with a sequel coming in 2024, I suspect Beetlejuice will reach a whole new generation of fans. I can't wait.” --------------------------------------------------------------------- MO THORNTON The Night House (2020) Director: David Bruckner Cast: Rebecca Hall, Sarh Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Evan Jonigkeit Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth (Rebecca Hall, of The Town ) is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. She tires as best she can to keep it together, but then the dreams come and disturbing visions of a presence in the house call to her, beckoning with a ghostly allure. But in the harsh light of day, any proof of a haunting dissolves. Against the advice of her friends, Beth digs into her husband’s belongings in a frantic search for answers. “I love a good scare, and one of my go-to films for a sleepless night that has me double-checking the locks on my door while experiencing mounting, almost unbearable suspense is The Night House . Rebecca Hall stars as a widow whose grief is complicated by anger, confusion, and guilt as her husband died by his own hand. The remote lake house setting makes it all the creepier (and more delicious) to explore, along with the protagonist's thin spaces between reality and nightmare.” Fear of Rain (2021) Director: Castille Landon Cast: Katherine Heigl, Harry Connick Jr., Madison Iseman, Israel Broussard “ Fear of Rain brilliantly takes the audience into the dark, terrifying world of a teen girl who struggles with mental health.” Rain (Madison Iseman, of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ) has early-onset schizophrenia, a condition that not only causes her to see vivid hallucinations but also puts a strain on her parents. When she meets Caleb (Israel Broussard, of Fear the Walking Dead ), a charmingly awkward new kid at school, Rain finally feels a lifeline to normalcy. But as she starts to suspect her neighbor kidnapped a child, she must figure out who and what is real while also battling the overwhelming forces that haunt her daily life . “The danger she encounters during her episodes might not all be ‘in her mind.’” https://youtu.be/jFxOxLLzjG8?feature=shared “Full disclosure: Both The Night House and Fear of Rain deliver heart-stopping jolts of fright that let me skip the gym the next morning—an added appeal.” --------------------------------------------------------------------- NICOLE BRICE Halloween (2007) Director: Rob Zombie Cast: Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, William Forsythe, Udo Kier, Danny Trejo Nearly two decades after being committed to a mental institution for killing his stepfather and older sister, Michael Myers breaks out, intent on returning home to Haddonfield, Illinois. He arrives on Halloween with the indomitable purpose of hunting down his younger sister, Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton, of An American Crime ). The only thing standing between Michael and a Halloween night full of bloody carnage is Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, of A Clockwork Orange ). “Rob Zombie’s Halloween completely changed my view of the Halloween franchise. Growing up, I always felt that beyond the first two original Halloween films, the franchise became cheesy and stale. Then in walks Rob Zombie with this scary as f**k take on the narrative and I was blown away. To this day, Halloween (2007) still freaks me out, but in a good way." Sleepy Hollow (1999) Director: Tim Burton Cast: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Walken Set in 1799, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow is based on Washington Irving’s classic tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Faithful to the dreamy custom-bound world that Irving paints in his story, Sleepy Hollow mixes horror, fantasy, and romance while featuring an extraordinary cast of characters that dabble in the supernatural. And, of course, it features Tim Burton’s unforgettable gothic style to it. “I absolutely love everything about Sleepy Hollow . When Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp, of Pirates of the Caribbean ) is sent to the creepy town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people, he soon discovers the culprit isn’t another person but is the legendary apparition The Headless Horseman . Everything about this movie is perfect : the acting, the tone, Burton’s pace of his film, the cinematic techniques used to create suspense and fear, the scenery, the narrative—absolutely perfecto in my opinion. --------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAUN CORLEY Night of the Living Dead (1968) Director: George Romero Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman The black-and-white George Romero classic Night of the Living Dead follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania as they fight to fend off a hungry horde of reanimated corpses. Pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones, of Vampires ) does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies find their way inside. “ Night of the Living Dead is my first favorite movie from when I was all of 10 years old. When I revisited it in college, I found out it held up really well. What I like about Night of the Living Dead is its subversive nature. It was a commentary on 1968 America, and it is still relevant today .” The People Under the Stairs (1991) Director: Wes Craven Cast: Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen, Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer When young Fool (Brandon Adams, of The Sandlot ) breaks into the home of his family’s greedy and uncaring landlords, he discovers a disturbing scenario where incestuous adult siblings have mutilated a number of boys and kept them imprisoned under the stairs in their large, creepy house. As Fool attempts to flee before the psychopaths can catch him, he meets their daughter, Alice (A.J. Langer, of Private Practice), who has been spared any extreme discipline by her deranged parents. “ The People Under the Stairs is the first R-rated movie I ever saw in theaters. How my dad convinced my mom to let him take me I'll never know. The People Under the Stairs comes across as goofy and campy, but there's actually a great deal of subtext about gentrification and ‘urban renewal’ in it.” --------------------------------------------------------------------- TIM JACKSON The Exorcist (1973) Director: William Friedkin Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, William O’Malley One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair, of The Exorcist III ) starts acting odd—levitating, speaking in tongues—her worried mother (Ellen Burstyn, of Requiem for a Dream ) seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. However, a local priest (Jason Miller, of Paradox Lake ) thinks the girl may be seized by the devil, so he makes a request to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert (Max von Sydow, of Flash Gordon ) to help. “The scariest horror movie for me remains The Exorcist. At maybe 13 years old, I saw the TV version of the original 1973 movie, and even that version with the most graphic scenes and swear words removed was the scariest movie I had ever seen . Several years later, I saw the full, uncut version and was once again terrified. The Exorcist is exquisitely done . Its special effects for that era were superb. The subject matter, especially for someone raised in the church, seemed so much more real than a Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees. The Exorcist avoided a lot of the jump-scares and other horror tropes and instead just told a story that scared the shit out of you. It's the all-time best horror movie , in my opinion. *I also love some of the movies adapted from Stephen King's books: The Shining, Pet Sematery, Carrie, Christine, and Cujo , for instance. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Okay Kenedi’s debut album is more than just okay. It’s a wonderful ride of alt-pop that is superb, loaded with fun and introspection, and a heartfelt reminder that we’re all okay. Okay Kenedi: A Casual Introduction Is Hard to Come By < Back Okay Kenedi: A Casual Introduction Is Hard to Come By Tim W. Jackson Oct 20, 2023 Share Okay Kenedi’s debut album is more than just okay. It’s a wonderful ride of alt-pop that is superb, loaded with fun and introspection, and a heartfelt reminder that we’re all okay. One might consider the fact that Okay Kenedi just released her first album somewhat miraculous. Her father is a fundamentalist pastor, and she wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music growing up in Cumming, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. After she finally played music professionally, she had just given up on the dream when things took a turn. Recorded at Ivy Manor in the legendary music recording area of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Okay’s debut album “A Casual Introduction Is Hard to Come By ” is a wonderful ride of alt-pop music with every song displaying its own vibe. For instance, the song “Dress Better” is a sure-fire party anthem, while “Fathers Want Sons” is a thoughtful, reflective slow number. The rest of the album is pretty much everything in between. But the path to this rousing debut album wasn’t easy. Growing up in Cumming, Georgia, Okay Kenedi’s existence seemed far from big city life. She was only allowed to listen to worship or contemporary Christian music, despite how important music was in her early life. “My grandmother played piano for the church, and they practiced all the time,” Okay says. “I've spent a lot of time with her, and I took an interest in piano at a really young age—probably because I was raised around it. So, my parents put me in lessons around five years old, and I took nine years of lessons.” She knew she had a knack for music, a love strengthened in middle school. Okay started teaching herself guitar with the help of YouTube videos, and her middle school chorus teacher allowed her to bring her guitar to school. “She would let me stick my guitar in her office and … come into her classroom in the mornings and play piano,” Okay says. “I wrote her an original song in eighth grade as a goodbye from me and all my friends who were in choir. I wrote it with five other friends, with our 13-year-old minds. I'm sure it was horrific but beautiful at the same time.” In high school, Okay auditioned to be in theater mainly because she was told that twice a year there was a showcase where she could bring her guitar and play. The audition went well, and she says that she accidentally ended up in the advanced theater travel group. “I knew nothing about theater, and it horrified me,” she says, “but I did, in fact, get to play twice a year with my guitar and sing a song.” Courtesy of Okay Kenedi Okay recalls writing her own version of a song from Wicked and the theater teacher actually liking it. She didn’t know it then but through all of her musical experiences, the building blocks were being put in place for a future in music. As it turned out, she did like the advanced choir program and says that being in choir, musical theater, and music production in high school helps her musically. “ l like the tedious work you hate to do ,” she says with a chuckle. “I think that stuff refined a lot of my music. I could pick out a harmony and know what it meant. And I like breath control. We do a lot of vocal exercises. I can't say that I love doing them but I'm grateful that I did it now.” Though she had written songs since she was a kid, she started looking at music more seriously after high school. Okay attended Lee University, a private Christian school in East Tennessee, and the University of North Georgia. Her love for music continued to grow and in 2019, she met Micayla Wise and Sarah Dickerson, now both members of her band, in a Christian group that had a lot of emphasis on music. “I was always writing,” she says. “I wrote tons of songs. I just kept writing all through high school, all through college, but I didn’t do anything with the songs. Micayla was the first person to say, ‘Hey, do you write music?’ So, I was like, ‘Actually, I do.’” Okay played some original music for Micayla, who encouraged Okay to do something will the songs she’d written. It evolved through several genre changes. “You gotta find yourself before you find your genre,” Okay says. “So, it was like going through a lot of pants that didn't fit until I settled into this.” This is the music on Okay Kenedi’s new album, which came oh so close to never happening. In September 2021, Okay felt her music wasn’t gaining any traction. She had booked her final show, which was at a bar in Atlanta. “We have to be adults at some point and pick a career that makes money,” Okay recalls saying to her band. “We have to put gas in our cars, and I need to move out of my parents' house, so this is my last show on the books.” Some crying from the band ensued but logic dictated that it was time to call it quits. They had a lot of fun together, but it was time to move on. As the night of the show arrived, Okay was headlining for a young guy who had just released his debut record. “He had a bunch of people who had come to hear him play,” she recalls. “When I came up to do my set, everyone just left because the crowd was all his friends and family—and he was done. So, it was basically me, the band that I brought, and, like, four friends.” Knowing it was her last show, rather than just going through the motions, she decided to give it her all. Courtesy of Okay Kenedi “I sold that show harder than I sold any show to my four friends.” She was gonna go out with a bang, and she did. “It just so happened that in the back of that room was music producer Dan Hannon ,” she says. He was impressed with her talent and saw lots of potential. He was part of a team that operated Ivy Manor, a recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, just minutes away from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and FAME Studios . Dan and the team took Okay under their wings. Besides Dan, an award-winning producer with more than three decades in the music industry, there was former SteelDrivers frontman Gary Nichols , along with producers and engineers such as Clint Ingersoll, Jared Przybysz, and Ivy Manor founder Michael Shane Wright. “I was so new to the way this actually works when you're not trying to do it in your attic,” she says about her new team. “Besides the writing and recording, they even helped me get some stylists in L.A. that designed clothes for me and a hairstylist in Atlanta, and we did 16-hour-a-day rehearsals with me and my live band to polish for the live-show thing. They helped me become an artist.” Of Okay, Wright says he admires her creativity and skill, specifically highlighting her song “Fathers Want Sons” by commenting on her display of skill as a songwriter. Her strength in vocals, as well as her natural charisma and leadership skills, is a trait that Wright sees as integral in a performer. “I was immediately struck by the quality of her songwriting,” Wright says. “She has a unique ability to take her personal experiences [and] translate those [into] universal experiences, then communicate that experience in three or four words.” The hard work is paying off. Five singles have been released thus far: “1 Birthday Behind” , “Dress Better” , “Fathers Want Sons” , “Pharmacy” , and “Young, Dumb, & Naive” . In these songs and the other six on the album, Okay shows a penchant to be both introspective and fun. As for the album title, “When we first made a website, I didn't even know what to put in my bio,” Okay says. “So, I literally put ‘a casual introduction is hard to come by’ in place of where my bio should go. Then I thought, ‘What if we just named my record that?’ It's like an introduction, and it's funny because I didn't know what to say about myself. My record will say it all, so it's a spoof off of that.” “A Casual Introduction Is Hard to Come By” is out now and worth your time to give it a listen. When Okay Kenedi becomes a household name, you’ll be glad you were there from the start because, as her merch says, “We’re all Okay!” For more on Okay Kenedi, her singles, and her 11-track debut album (which dropped today, Oct. 20!), visit her online at www.OkayKenedi.com , Spotify , Bandcamp , Facebook , Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also access her album, songs, vlog, music accounts, and her signature roast coffee at https://linktr.ee/OkayKenedi . Tim W. Jackson is a seasoned journalist and author with a penchant for all things dark, macabre, and somewhat sinister. He lives in Tuscumbia, Ala., with his super cool artist wife and their dogs, Maple and Ginkgo. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Bangin' Out the Hits Tank and the Bangas < Back Tank and the Bangas C.G. Smith Jan 5, 2023 Share Bangin' Out the Hits In the fall of 2015, my wife and I had been living in New Orleans for nearly six months. A co-worker had been talking up this band to me for a while, so we made the trek across town to The Maple Leaf bar on Oak St. to catch the show. The band was New Orleans’ own Tank and the Bangas. Their high-energy, infectious performance and wonderfully arranged music changed our idea of what a local band could be. From that point on we were fans and made it out to every Tank and the Bangas performance we could. These days the ticket prices are a little more expensive than in those earlier days, the stages are usually much bigger, and their music has evolved a bit from those early club performances, but the group is still just as grounded as they ever have been. credit: Jacob Walker I had the good fortune to be able to sit down with the group at the Uptown New Orleans restaurant Molly’s Rise and Shine after business hours and talk about their beginnings, their evolution over the years, and what the future holds for the now twice Grammy-nominated band. MaM : First off, I want to thank y’all so much for being here. I also wanted to thank Lauren and Mason of Molly’s Rise and Shine for letting us use this unique space. We are very grateful. Is this the first time you’ve been here? Tank : Yes. Norman : Yeah, I’ve never been here before. MaM : The chicken biscuit is fire. Tank : That’s good to know. (playfully) What? You think we just like chicken or something? Albert : What about the vegan options? Tank : What? You think we’re vegan or somethin’? Norman : The chickens were vegan. They only fed them grain. [laughter] MaM : Your hard work has led to so much success. It really shows – how much you all enjoy performing for an audience. How did y’all deal with the pandemic? Not being able to tour, did it help or hurt the band? I know "Friend Goals" came out of it, but overall, with the pandemic, how did it affect you? Tank : I think both, right? The only hurting I would say is because it’s hard to get back into the specific rhythm of touring. The world still is a bit scared, so the numbers aren’t exactly the same as they were pre-Covid. I would say that is the only hurting, but the helping, I mean, we got "Friend Goals." It’s such a good little EP. We had fun making it. Before that we were on tour so much. It was a nice little break at the perfect time. We needed it. We was [sic] like, ‘Oh my gosh, people cook regular food and sleep up in their regular beds, and go for regular walks?’ Norman : After being off schedule for like weeks, and weeks, and weeks, it was like every day at eleven o’clock, ‘What y’all doin’? Y’all still up?’ Yeah, we wide awake, doin’ nothin’. Tank : I watched Paternity Court a lot. I ate a lot of crawfish. Norman : I really got to sit with myself. I was like, ‘Wow, this is how I am? Okay, gotta change some stuff.’ Some of it’s cool, but I got to know me a little bit during Covid. Albert : Oh yeah. Tank : Yeah, we all had those little moments. You know I was cool while we was [sic] on break, then the next shit came around and I was like, ‘Wait a minute, what’s goin’ on with the schedule? Wait a minute now, wait a minute! What you mean we are cancelling again?' ‘Cause you know, of course, we had to survive. We thought of creative ways to do it. We had a lot of little shows with virtual performances, which is cool and lame all at the same time. (imitates interacting with a virtual crowd) ‘Throw your hands up!’ Albert : Only the ends of songs are lame because you finish with a big finish and there’s just crickets. Tank : And there’s nothin’. Just a bunch of hearts and thumbs up and, ‘Love you guys!’ Norman : But we appreciated such silent love! Albert : You just hear hard breathing like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestants. Tank : (imitates hard breathing at the end of a performance) ‘Thank y’all, thank y’all!!’ Norman : It means y’all were sittin’ there watchin’ this happen, so it was definitely appreciated for real. The band used to have the occasional parties in the backyard of Tank’s Auntie Tee Tee’s house in the Lower 9th Ward back before their breakthrough with NPR’s Tiny D esk concert. MaM : The backyard parties at the Yum Yum were so much fun. My wife and I went to at least two or three of them. Any plans to do anything like that in the future, or is that just off the table now? credit: Shambala Festival 2022 Tank : Oh, no. We definitely want to do that in the future. We miss it. Every time we go in the backyard, we’re like, ‘We gotta get one of these goin’ again.’ We just never know when Auntie’s gonna feel like doing it, honestly! We all have to be in the mood at the same time, so that lets you know how beautiful – how everything had to be lined up so perfectly and feel like doing one. It takes a lot of work. Albert : Big, big picture though, Norm and Ta talk a lot about, ‘What if we did a festival? What if there was [some]thing that was a hub, a Bangaville thing? The idea of community … especially performance community is always going around. Norman : Bangafest. Tank : Bangafest sounds dope. MaM : I’d go! Tank : I know you would! Norman : We don’t even have to travel for that! MaM : From Tank’s run with SNO, to those early open mics, to playing major festivals on the biggest stages in the world, can you tell us about some of your best and not so great moments? Tank : Whoa, mmm. Let me see ... best definitely was um, .... all the time! We have a good time! The best memorable moments: Coachella, Jimmy Fallon, The Apollo, Glastonbury was beautiful. Norman : Yo, I got a bad one. We were in Germany, and we didn’t have our luggage ... Josh : We didn’t have our clothes! Norman : We had to perform in our pajamas. Tank : We was [sic] in a barn. Norman : The gear was all wrong. I had a Motif instead of a Cronos. Oh man, that was a day. Tank : Yeah, that was a crazy one. Norman : We were still in another country playing music, doing something we love. [Tank talking about the mural where we did the photo shoot:] Tank : That [mural] was painted by an artist, not just done online? MaM : Yeah, hand painted for the restaurant by an artist named Ken Cox. Albert : The process of breakfast on acid. Tank : That’s some crazy color right there. Albert : The cost of your eggs. MaM : Your version of “What the World Needs Now,” I was blown away by it when it first came out and I just heard it again on shuffle the other day. How did that track come about? Any stories from that recording? Tank : It was supposed to be bigger, something different than it was. Josh : It was on some heal-the-world, Quincy Jones-type stuff. It was a lot of fun to be able to call friends, people we cared about, and family members as well to help us create that entire New Orleans ordeal. It was such a great thing to be a part of and find all those voices in the right spots. Norman : It came out beautiful. Josh : And we had to do it in like one day or something! Albert : We had people come in on schedules, that had to come in for 45 minutes. Oh, we gotta stop and do this trumpet part! Okay, get outta’ here, come on! Thank you, man! Alright, see ya!” Josh : David Shaw came in so late at night. Tank : I love David on that. I just wish we would have [sic] got him recorded singing on it. I loved him on it. I loved everybody on it. Especially since we were just getting people that we wouldn’t even normally day to day work with, but we knew in the community. I loved what everybody added to it. It was perfect. Josh’s nephew, my niece--we were crying when Sunny was doing her poem and the children was [sic] singing. I think that was the last time we was [sic] all together. It was just so special. It really was what the world needs now. MaM : For the time we were all in, it was perfect. Tank : I know. It really felt awesome. Josh : That was a fire question. No one ever asks that. MaM : You’ve already worked on projects with some amazing artists. Who are some of your dream collaborators, past or present? Tank : Present – we’ve done with Layla, that was a dream for sure. Alex Isley is a dream, and Robert Glasper ... people that we just put out there that we can’t believe that we was [sic] able to make music with later on. Josh : That Blue Note whole thing was fire. Tank : Blue Note was amazing. Josh : That’s a whole list of people that was special. Tank : Juno is a future collaborator for sure. Kendrick Lamar and Stevie Wonder. credit: Jacob Walker Norman : Amahd Jamal, I’m waiting on that. Albert : Can we go to the past? Do they have to be living? Roy Hargrove, you know he passed, but man, that’s music that I grew up with and really stuff that shaped me and made me seek out sounds like this band. Norman : Same, yo. You talkin’ ‘bout ‘Like Water for Chocolate,' that’s Roy. That’s a Common album that D’Angelo, Roy, Questlove, all of them did, RH Factor. All that shit. Albert : The ‘Straight Ahead’ album. His Cuban album? He’s so good. Josh : All right – Kirk Franklin. Take that. I wanna work with him. Norman : Listen, I really want to work with Warryn Campbell. If you [sic] out there, [if] you hear this, somebody send it to him. If you know him, if he’s your cousin, tell him Tank and the Bangas want to work with him. I ain’t jokin’. Tank : For some reason I don’t feel like that’s very far away, even though we don’t know him. I feel like it’s a degree of separation. MaM : I know faith and family are important to you. With all the touring and recording y’all have been doing, how hard is it for you to find time away from the band for family, etc.? Is it easier to get that time now that you’ve had some success? Norman : I try to take some intentional time to focus on the family. MaM : Wasn’t it in your rider that you had Sundays off so you could play at church? Norman : That was back when I was playing at church more, but that isn’t really my focus anymore. Kids though? Got ballet comin’ up, art class comin’ up, we skatin’ … tryin’ to keep them out the Matrix, man. I’m tryin’ to give some real people time, you know what I mean? I didn’t get a lot of people-time growin’ up, so I figured out a lot on my own. I don’t want them to have to do that. Aside from that, God is everything; church ain’t. credit: Jacob Walker MaM : What are some of your favorite things about being a ‘Banga’? Josh : Easy. The best part about it is it’s me. I don’t have to be nothin’ else or put on to be nothin’ because it’s literally … me. Just like she don’t [sic] really gotta do nothin’ [sic] to be Tank, that’s just who she is as a person. I really like watching how other people interpret what a Banga is to them. I really enjoy that part, but I don’t know; I just be myself. Being a Banga is just kinda who we are as us. Albert : I think the best part of being a Banga is getting to make and participate in making, for me, the music you dreamed of making as a child. Josh : Big facts. Norman : I realized over the years [that] we are therapists, we are healers. We bring in vibrations, which water responds to, and 75% of that is standing in the audience. When we was [sic] first starting, people would come to the shows over and over and I was like, ‘What the hell? What is wrong with these people? We just seen you last week! This is the same show, goofy; what you doin’?’ Tank : It is not the same show though, never! Josh : It’s not the same show though. MaM : My wife and I were one of those crazy people at every show we could get to, especially that 2015 - 2018 time period. We were obsessed. “Themeparks” was one of our wedding songs. Tank : That’s sweet! Norman : Didn’t we write that on Golden Drive in Chalmette? Tank : I think so. Norman : We wrote that in my living room! Tank : I had a relationship, and I just wanted to talk about all of the good parts of it, and the fun parts of it, you know? That’s what it was for. Some people really are just muses. MaM : Josh, as musical director, what has changed as far as how you’re presenting those older songs these days? Josh : Boredom. It’s ten years of playing a certain song and you want to try it different. She (Tank) really gets creative at moments, and she can get bored too, so two people who can get very whimsical and creative and want to change things on the fly. credit: Jacob Walker Norman : At the last minute. Josh : I just said on the fly! Tank : Aren’t you in my brain? Aren’t you in my spirit? Josh : Even in those times it’s a lot of fun. I think a lot of times we’re really just trying out different things because we get to. We can. We have the capability. The truth is, the more we push ourselves to do more stuff, the better we get at it. Norman : We’re free. The reality is the melodies fall out the sky sometimes; we just catch ‘em. We sat in rehearsals, and we had to take a little break and wrote like 3 songs in 6 minutes the other day. Stuff just happens. We stay open. Tank : Growth is real. Ain’t [sic] nobody in this band in their fresh beginning 20’s anymore. We don’t even jump up and down as much as we used to. [laughter] MaM : I remember a show y’all did at the Ogden when you broke it all down. I heard your songs presented in a whole different light. Tank : We love to calm it down. People don’t think that we know how to calm it down because we’re such a big sound, but it’s our most favorite thing to do—at least it’s definitely mine. You hear the lyrics, you hear the music, the intention. It’s quiet, it’s soft, it’s beautiful, it’s heard, it’s felt. I love those type of shows. That’s how we started out. That’s why Tiny Desk was really nothing for us. I was nervous, but as far as calming it down, it’s nothing for us. Norman : I didn’t know nothing [sic] about it (Tiny Desk). All I saw was T-Pain do it with a keyboard player. I thought, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be easy.’ I didn’t grow up listening to NPR. I was like, ‘Cool, it’s an open mic; that’s how we started.’ MaM : Josh, as musical director, how do you decide – do you just naturally stretch your legs on a song, or do you say here, we’re gonna arrange it this way? Josh : A little bit of both. Sometimes we stretch out naturally, sometimes I say let’s try this. We’ll try stuff in rehearsal to see if it sticks. If it don’t [sic], we’ll leave it alone, if it do [sic], we’ll push it.” MaM : You ever just throw shit at them live? Josh : Yep, yeah, they good [sic] enough to handle that. They superbad. The fun part is, if we fall on our face, we’re good enough to carry ourselves so nobody even knows it happened. We’re creating a chord progression as we go sometimes. We’re having fun. Tank : Their ears are so crazy. Sometimes they even hear what I don’t hear. Josh : I think that part makes it very easy for us to be able to ‘float.’ Norman : Growing up in church too, you know, anybody [can] get up and sing in any key, talking about praise and testimony ceremony ... Josh : Most of the time, it’s the wrong key! Norman : ... If you doing [sic] it right and they change key and you don’t follow them, then it’s your fault. If they start in the right key, you learn to move with them, you learn to just flow. Yeah, church got me ready for it.” MaM : Do you guys approach performances today any differently than you did in those early days? credit: Ruthie Herman, WOUB Albert : Carefully. From behind. [laughter] Norman : Prayerfully. We always pray; we always rehearse. Tank : It feels more intentional now, to me, if anything. More mature. You want to get it right, you know? It just feels a little more intentional, but I still have my moments of freedom that I do love. You know, Josh tries to reel it in a lot, which is a good and a bad thing to me. You know, like, let me be who I am, [and he’ll be] like, ‘Don’t stay there too long!’ I’m like, ‘Shut up!’ [laughter] The band recently performed its very first residency at the famous Blue Note venue in New York City in November of 2022. MaM : How was Blue Note? Josh : It was amazing. Norman : It was an honor to be in that room. The artists that we had come and join us—Keyon Harrold, Isaiah Sharkey … Norah Jones. Josh : Man, the type of people that came through, not even just the artists. Norman : Yeah, the people that came through just to kick it with us, the stage was so dope. Josh : Yeah, all of that was just wild. Norman : Y’all thought enough about us to come through; thank you. MaM : I have to ask this question, Tank, since my dad is such a huge Norah Jones fan: How did you become friends with Norah? Tank : It’s so crazy. All of it was kind of magical, even things I didn’t even know until a couple of years ago … how things was [sic] working out for us to meet. Jelly (singer Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph) was doing a session with her husband, and she invited him to the show (at One-Eyed Jacks). I don’t know if she knew that Norah was his wife or not. They ended up going to the show, Norah was pregnant, and she was hearing me do all these little crazy voices. Someone told me that she was in the house. Then she text [sic] me one morning when I was at Waffle House and she wanted me to do a video with her, a really silly song. Of course, I said yes. I didn’t know what it was about. It was a silly song. It was really silly about men who don’t think that women take a shit. L to R: C.G. Smith with Albert, Tank, Josh, and Norman MaM : I still remember how cool it was when she came out during your second performance of your Alice in Wonderland at the Music Box here in town. Tank : Mmmmmm, the purple piano. It was really special. Anybody that was a part of those shows just knows it was so special. It takes a lot to do a Music Box. Hats off to the people who do it and run it. It’s hard to explain, too, when people ask what it is. Josh : Shout out to Danny Elfman, because he sure helped with the ideas in that space too, like the orchestra. MaM : It’s just such a cool space. Tank : Yeah, it’s crazy. Hard to explain. You be [sic] like, ‘It’s a musical space where they use pieces, materials of old houses and they make instruments. You can’t explain it. You have to go there; it’s an experience. MaM : So, the hardest question for artists to answer, how do you describe the Tank-and-the-Bangas sound? Tank : (repeats) You have to go there; it’s an experience. Norman : (repeating an answer Albert came up with before) It’s genre-fluid. Josh : It’s a struggle to explain it to ourselves, but according to the Grammys, it’s one of those ‘progressive R&B albums.’ [laughter] Tank : That’s funny! They did the best they could to categorize us. I think just the fact that you’re Black, they already want to put R&B on you. They like [sic], ‘Well, it ain’t [sic] just that, so let’s go ahead and put it in progressive.’ I don’t mind, especially with this album. It’s where it needs to be at [sic] with this album, that’s cool. I love it, I’m happy to be nominated. Josh : I mean, [for] some artists it’s easy and [for other] artists it’s very, very hard to do. Tank : You can describe the song which is at hand, but to put them all in a thing? To literally say that the same band that made ‘Outside’ made ‘Heavy,’ or the same band that made ‘Heavy’ made ‘Brady’s,’ or the same band that made ‘Brady’s’ made ‘Eggs Over Easy,’ or ‘Eggs Over Easy’ - that’s the same band that made ‘Easy Goes It,’ or ‘Anxiety.’ ‘Mr. Lion’? That same girl, she did ‘Dope Girl Magic.’ So, it’s really hard. It’s whatever we was [sic] feeling at the time. Josh : This entire same band has done a lot of these songs with an orchestra, so maybe they’re a classical band. Tank : It’s all over the place. MaM : I always loved “Drummers." That’s a different kind of song. Tank : We love that one. That one never got recorded and it has so much more to it, too. It’s really cool. MaM : Were there any moments where you were working on, writing a song, and just astonished yourselves, like, “This is gonna be good!?” Josh : ‘Ants.’ Tank : ‘Stolen Fruit.’ Norman : ‘Rhythm of Life.’ Albert : ‘Stolen Fruit,’ and ‘Black Folk.’ Tank : Yeah, anybody comin’ in the studio, you need to hear this! This is so special. Albert : So much so, that it slowed down progress. Like any new visitor, after we had gotten like a rough for ‘Stolen Fruit,’ anybody came in, Tank would be like, ‘Turn down the lights.’ Tank : Turn down the lights, light a candle, and play this for them. Norman : (imitating Tank) ‘Shhhh. (dramatic pause) Play that one.’ Albert : It was like a whole afternoon of that, it was great. Then we did ‘Black Folk' and [it] was, like, a live take. A bunch of us were playing in the room, and the take you hear from Tank, that’s just her on a 58 (Shure 58 live microphone). Everybody was playing in the same room. We tried to do the vocals in isolation, tried to do other takes, but it just didn’t have that … it didn’t have that thing. Man, that was a magical moment. I remember when we were playing that and I was like, ‘This is great!’ Norman : We should do an unplanned live album. Just press record and start playing. Albert : Directly to vinyl. You can do that. You can press it directly to vinyl. Tank : I’ve done that. I did that with ‘Eggs Over Easy.’ It was a freestyle. MaM : So, we are an entertainment magazine. What are some shows y’all are watching lately? Tank : I feel like we’re never watching the same thing. We talk about it more when we’re on the road, ‘What are you watchin’ right now?’ Albert knows that I have to eat and watch somethin’ from Netflix. Norman : I know how to make this cool: Say one show you think the other person is watching right now. Tank : (to Norman) Oh lord, a documentary? A Christmas show? Norman : I’m watchin’ the Nature Channel. Josh : (to Tank) Wednesday ? Albert : (to Josh) Anime, or, I don’t know, big, high-budget crime, like action-y? Josh : You know what? You’re kind of in the space, ‘cause I saw something like that. Knives Out on Netflix; the [sequel just] came out. Tank : (to Albert) You watchin’ some type of cartoon in the morning with your girlfriend. Albert : I’ve been watching season 6 of Rick and Morty and it’s stellar. It’s a return to form. It’s some of the best stuff they’ve had going on over the past few seasons. Highly recommended. Josh : (to Tank) Just say Wednesday already and get it over with. Tank : We ain’t done with Wednesday , so no. Norman : 432 playlist on Spotify. 432 hertz. Yo, why when I play it on the speaker, I can actually feel the highs, the lows, and the mids. It’s in your chakras. It’s like we really do resonate at that frequency or somethin’ because you can feel it through the speakers. I don’t get it. Tank : 432 Hertz? That’s the playlist? Norman : Do that, then type playlist. They got a bunch of different genres. Get ya [sic] chakras right. Josh : I be [sic] watchin’ Forged in Fire . I had to think about what I’ve been watching. I be [sic] watchin’ people making beaucoup swords and all that stuff. Norman : Then they try to see which one’s stronger. Josh : Then they be [sic] choppin’ beaucoup stuff with it. Man, these cats are wild. MaM : They make a Hattori Hanzo blade? Josh : They probably have done one at this point, but they be [sic] doin’ all kinds of fantasy weapons as well. Norman : Based on historic, like the way they would build them at this time or that time in history. MaM : What are some creature comforts on tour, anything that connects you with back home? Albert : A nice bowl of ramen. Norman : Coffee and good greenery, I’m good to go. Facetime with the baby. Tank : My phone so I can watch TV. Albert : An eye mask. Tank : Headphones. Gotta have them headphones. Gotta zone inside them headphones. credit: Jacob Walker Norman : Drum machine, that MPC one. Josh : I’ve been without my phone on a whole tour before. I lost my phone, like, the top of the tour, and I didn’t have my phone for, like, six weeks. It was weird as hell. Norman : That’s gotta feel good! You ever leave your phone at home and be way across town and be like, ‘Oh well.’ That shit feels so good. Josh : I was on the other side of the world. It was not the same. Tank : First of all, I would never do it because where the hell ... how am I gonna get home? I need that GPS. Momma gonna call me, you know what I’m sayin’? Now you need to stay in touch, AND I gotta listen to the regular radio? Oh no, I need to plug in, so I got my own radio. Norman : Turn that radio off and listen to the radio in your head. Tank : That’s too much [sic] thoughts! Josh : Being over there, there was no radio, and there was barely television. I wanna play drums. I hope they don’t have a bad drum set with some bad cymbals. That is a real horrible thing. Tank : That was not a good answer though; he’s talkin’ about something that you don’t feel at home with(out). You hit drums every day. Josh : I’m telling you, no, no, no, on TOUR. Tank : Josh needs some wings with barbeque sauce. Josh : No, listen, wait ... Norman : You gotta hear this man out about them [sic] drums. Because if those drums ain’t [sic] Yamaha special just like Josh needs ... [laughter] Tank : We about to get a DIVA! Josh : Look at this, you see this? (shows me the palms of his hands) This happened to my hands years ago, playing the wrong kit with the wrong sticks. My entire hand turned purple, and I couldn’t close it. So, I was playing drums like this, (Josh shows me half-open hands, as if he is delicately holding sticks with his fingers) but my hands were really like ... Norman : I wish y’all could see through this mic. [laughter] Josh : (wrapping up his defense of saying drums are a comfort on tour) A good drum set, an amazing drum set, and amazing cymbals, and amazing sticks. I can make tour with that and good vibes. Tank and the rest of the group continue having fun teasing Josh. Albert begins calling out to Tavia, "Ta! Ta!" to have her stop the insanity. Albert : (to me, as the hilarity wanes, feeling sympathy for me having to try and make sense of all the talking over each other) You just write this out, right? You transcribe this, right? A lot of it will be just asterisks - inaudible, asterisks - inaudible. MaM : Ok, Tavia says ten minutes left. I gotta get to the Grammy nod. Grammy nod number two. I’m sure that first one was an incredible experience. Tank, are you as nervous? Will you have a speech ready this time if you win? Tank : I think we could write a speech. I’m not as nervous this time. Norman : You gonna write it? I’m gonna wing it. Albert : The best things in life are wung [sic]. Tank : Then it goes, (imitates the music cue to get off stage) [to] get us off that stage. Albert : There’s four of us! That’s bullshit! We EACH get the allotted time! Josh : It’s the allotted time times four. Tank : Yeah, you use your privilege, see how far that gets you! Norman : They will never call us back! Tank : Albert said, ‘Excuse me, white man speaking! That’s not fair.’ Albert : Hey, if La La Land can take an Oscar, we can do this. Josh : Boy, you stupid! Tank : It’s exciting, definitely less nervous-y. It’s more exciting for sure, because [the] first time is very cool, but this time, it’s for the work, so that just feels just really dope. Josh : The entire body of work. [The first Grammy nomination] was us being really good coming out to them. That’s awesome, but this one is very awesome because it’s for everything that we’ve put in. Norman : Real talk, real talk. Tank : I would really like to win it. credit: Jamelle Tate, courtesy of the artist Josh : Not just one song, not one video; it’s the entire thing. Norman : The first one, all the other artists had radio hits. We didn’t have any hits on the radio, and they still had to say our name. Y’all had to put songs on the radio to win. Tank : You know how you say, ‘Since you guys made it,’ ‘Since your big success,’ ‘Since your breakout,’ you know how you keep saying that? We don’t feel that way. Y’all don’t feel that way, right (Tank asks the Bangas)? Like we’re some breakout stars, like we’re up there? Norman and Josh : No! Albert : Oh God, no. Josh : I feel like we’re new to somebody every day. I feel like because we’re new to at least one new person every day, that’s eventually gonna happen. MaM : So since she got y’all on the clock, is Tavia the special sauce for this whole thing? Josh : Facts. Albert : Oh yeah. Josh : She’s working right now. If you look right there, you can see her answering emails as we speak. Norman : We wouldn’t have gotten Tiny Desk without Ta, ‘Think Tank’ would have never happened without Ta, ‘RandoMe’ would have never happened without Ta ... Coachella, none of that. Tank : (looks to Tavia) Ta, I’ve been doing this. Norman : Shit, you was [sic] on the sofa. She picked you up off the sofa. Tank : Who was on the sofa? Norman : Tank Ball. That’s why I say you better understand! Tank : Boy, I’ve been doing this … My friend know [sic] she met me while I was on my journey. Norman : Ta said, ‘Come on, get in the studio, girl; you want to do a CD, come on.’ Tavia : I nurtured her journey. I think both Tank and I may have tapped into something that was deeper for both of us that we didn’t know was there. Granted, I met her doing poetry, which is what she wanted to do. She wanted to travel with her poetry book. She did not want to do a poetry show unless she had an album. Gus Bennett was put in my ear and he said, ‘I’m only telling you that I did a spot with Raj Smoove.’ I don’t know why Gus thought that I was the person. Tank : I don’t know why anybody thought you was [sic] the person to tell! Tavia : I know! Tank : No, I mean in my own self. Norman : Because you was [sic]! Tavia : One of Tank’s mentors pulled me to the side, spoke to me, and said I should really pursue this. They saw something in us that we didn’t see ourselves. We both just went full-fledged into it. When I met Tank, she had just quit her job and I was working two jobs and going to school. I thought I was really gonna be in an office job at the USDA or something. Other people were trying to get Tank to do things, but they were trying to get her to do what they wanted her to do, and not what she wanted to do. I was like, 'Let’s do what you doin’. I’m down for the poetry, like, let’s make this poetry album.' Everybody else was tryin’ to get her to do jazz songs and stuff, but she wasn’t feelin’ that.” credit: Erika Goldring/Getty Images [laughter] MaM : Y’all been together what, a decade now? Tank : Over a decade. Tavia : Twelve years with Tank and the Bangas, 13 years of friendship between me and Tank. MaM : So much great music. What’s the future hold? Josh : I don’t know – more stuff. Whole [sic] lot more stuff. Tank : We would love to get our book together. Norman : It’s comin’. Tank : We want to create an affirmation book for adults like us, and kids, and teenagers, because we have a lot of quotes that we live by and that we share with each other. We would love to do that. We would love to get more into big soundtracks for great movies; we’ve been offered those opportunities before. The world actually believes that we put on one of the best shows in America, [so to] have that stage and those things offered to us to make it what it’s supposed to be. Be more disciplined, more consistent. Just falling in love every day with what we doing. It’s not always easy, especially for myself. Definitely this year I’m going to make some resolutions, which I haven’t done in a while, honestly. Norman : Will you make a resolution? Whoop whoop! Tank : I feel made fun of. I thought this was a safe space. Norman : First of all, it’s a safe space. That was Kirk Franklin. I don’t know if you don’t know.” [laughter] Tank : Tavia, I’m not feeling safe. Let’s go. Norman : You need to self-care more. Your pants say self-care. If you want some self-care pants, they on TankAndTheBangas.com . Tank : Oh my lord. Norman : ... and they on Tank right now! Albert : More good music, Tank and the Bangas 2022 and beyond – for the kids! Whoooo!” For more on information on the outstanding talent that is Tank and the Bangas, their albums, their shows, and all, well, all things bangin', visit them online at https://www.TankandtheBangas.com . *Cover photo from taken from artist website. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? E-mail us mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Roger Ricks Nothing But Heart and Soul < Back Nothing But Heart and Soul Nicole Brice Dec 7, 2022 Share Roger Ricks If Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits had a band baby, it would be Roger Ricks. No lie. Roger is a singer / songwriter based out of Zurich, Switzerland, but that’s not all he does. He also produces his own music and builds his own guitars, as well as markets himself AND giving the proceeds of his music sales back to charity. Wow, this man is incredible. I first stumbled upon Roger’s music via Instagram, which by the way, is an excellent way to discover new talent because of the visual aspect the medium allows. I often find myself scrolling through bands and artists and liking them, then following them, where I indulge in all they showcase on their profiles. The profiles then lead me to iTunes where I buy their music for my collection. With smooth, clear vocals and crisp, clean guitar work, Roger’s music inspires me. Truly, it does. Because I admire what Roger is doing so much, I decided to reach out to him to get to know a little more about what he makes him tick and guides his stance. With a new single releasing on December 9, 2022 via all streaming platforms, this is one artist you need to check out if you haven’t already. I threw Roger a few questions so I could learn more and was very delighted with his answers. Check it out and then go check out his music! MaM : Wow. I am very impressed with you. Your website is solid, too. Let me ask you, what led you to start producing your own music in lieu of having someone else do it? RR : I started recording my songs when I was about 12. At that time with two old tape recorders and much later with the computer. For me, music production is not a purely technical task, but part of the creative process of creating a song. Since I don't do music full-time and I also have a family, producing on my own allows me to work on my songs whenever I can and want to. Usually this is late at night when everyone else is already asleep and I can really dive into my creative flow. Roger's home studio setup MaM : So, you mentioned you have new music coming out. Tell us a little about the new single you are releasing. RR : The single is called "Lost,” and the lyrics were written by the wonderful Emme Pierre. Originally it was planned that she would sing the song and I would write the music but unfortunately, she lost her voice permanently before the recording due to health reasons, and we decided to record the song with my voice anyway. The song is about how people are willing to exploit others and take advantage for their own profit. This is a topic that always concerns me and is also a well-known phenomenon in show business. There is something energizing and intoxicating about striving for success, but you can also get lost in it and become too distracted from the essentials of life. MaM : Wow, what an amazing topic to tackle via songwriting. I can’t wait to listen to it. What music or things around you are inspiring you to create these days? RR : Musically, I am influenced by the older guitar gods like Slash, Eric Clapton, and Joe Perry. Of course, there are other virtuoso guitarists who can do technically amazing things with the guitar, too, but I'm more fascinated by catchy licks and melodic solos that you can also sing and that release emotions in me. Emotions of everyday life are also what inspire my music. My music is a diary of my feelings over the years. When something is bothering me, I process my thoughts into music and make them audible. Therefore, every song of mine in a way fits to a special event or a period of my life. MaM : I noticed on your website that you play a custom-built guitar. I want to know more about your custom guitars. Was it a particular sound you were looking for and that’s why you decided to build your own? Also, too, what type of guitar inspired the ones you build? RR : I am a typical Les Paul guitarist. I love the full sound. A few years ago, I was thinking about buying a flamed top Les Paul, but my budget didn't allow it. So, I had the crazy idea to build it myself. I always liked craftsmanship and so I watched YouTube videos of Luthiers for hours until I had the feeling that it could really work. I ordered the woods and parts and just started, and it grew from there. I had a lot of fun; it was like a meditation of sorts to grind the woods and in the end, I had a nice flamed top guitar resembling a Les Paul in my hands. Of course, it sounded a little different than if I had bought it but just different, not worse. This only further awakened my passion and since then the tones of my own guitars are an important part of my music. One of Roger's custom guitars MaM : I know that charity work is very near and dear to your heart. Can you tell us a little more about that and what you do? RR : Music has always been a very important part of my life. It has carried me through some really difficult times, and I don't know where I would be without the power of music. For me, music can build bridges, to connect people who otherwise would not communicate with each other and to make a positive difference in the world. I decided to set the goal of dedicating my music to a meaningful cause because 20 years ago, a school friend started an aid project in Ghana to help street children and to really make a difference through local education instead of just transferring money. Honestly, the money often doesn't get to where it's supposed to go or doesn't have a lasting effect, but through "Chance For Children" ( www.chance-for-children.org ), the children are given the opportunity to work out a long-term perspective for themselves. All my proceeds from my music goes 1:1 into this foundation. The idea is that people can donate money just by listening to music. You don't have to open your wallet, just spend a few minutes of your time listening to music to make a positive difference. This makes my music more meaningful and motivates me to put even more energy into it. I really hope that with time, more listeners will stream my music and I will be able to support more projects. For more information about Roger, visit his website at: Songwriter | Roger Ricks Music | Zürich On Social Media, he can be found at: Roger Ricks | Facebook Roger Ricks | Zürich | Facebook Roger Ricks (@roger_ricks_music) • Instagram photos and videos YouTube Roger Ricks - Topic - YouTube Spotify Roger Ricks | Spotify iTunes ‎Roger Ricks on Apple Music www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Trust Them 'Cuz They're Young, Talented, and Handsome SaxKixAve: Much More Better < Back SaxKixAve: Much More Better C.G. Smith Jan 18, 2023 Share Trust Them 'Cuz They're Young, Talented, and Handsome Most musicians are lucky to have one successful project. In a world where there are anywhere from 50,000-100,000 songs being released every day, the market is oversaturated and the chances of breaking through this noise are harder than ever. Musicians who actually do break through and have any kind of success with one group is a rarity, let alone those who can take on and do well with multiple musical projects. New Orleans duo SaxKixAve is comprised of award-winning rapper Alfred Banks and Albert Allenback , saxophonist and flutist of the twice Grammy-nominated group Tank and the Bangas . These two artists are plenty busy with their main gigs, but thanks to the suggestion of Tavia Osbey, manager of Alfred and of Tank and the Bangas, that the two work together at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these artists started a side project that is truly something special. Their first record, “ I Don’t Wear Suits ”, was released in April 2020 and is a celebration of this collaboration, and the duo has been performing those songs in front of live audiences whenever they can find the time to do so. SaxKixAve is currently finishing up their follow-up record, and I was lucky enough to be able to have them both over to chat about that, about how they make this project work with their busy schedule, and about some of the band’s highlights so far. MaM : I’ve heard a couple different versions of what “kix’ed” this all off. How did this insane, wonderful experiment begin? Albert : Well, Tavia—the manager of Tank and the Bangas and the engine, the logistic and business/life-path mind behind it all—hit me up and said [Alfred] was looking for beats. She said, ‘I know you make beats. Let’s get you in the studio together and see what happens.’ Alfred : It was great … I like Alby. He’s good money. We crack wild jokes. He sent me an email of beats, I picked one, I wrote to it, knock this one out. It was right when COVID hit. So yeah, I got in the studio with this dude, [and] we laughed for about three or four hours before we even started really recording. I thought, ‘This is a good guy.’ We recorded ‘Tawny’ and I guess he liked what I did. I loved it, and we just kinda kept goin’, kept goin’, kept goin’. Then it was like, ‘Hey man, you wanna make this a thing?’ Albert : It was like a 'Step Brothers' moment. Alfred : Yeah! He was like, ‘Yeah!’ I was like, ‘Aight.’ [sic] Albert : Are we in a band? Alfred : Are we a band?! Albert : Yeah, I think so! Alfred : (to Albert) Do you remember how we came up with the name? I know we joke about it. Albert : I remember us opening a Word document and trying out different fonts and stuff. I don’t think we tried it phonetically. I don’t think we ever would have tried this dumpster fire of a phonetic pronunciation—have you ever tried to say it fast? Albert then attempts to say the band name SaxKixAve quickly several times in a row. Albert : No, it’s terrible. Why did we do this? Maybe we should shorten it to SKA and say we’re bringing ska back and hire a trombone player. (laughter) Alfred : Definitely. Nah, I think this is one of the best things I think I’ve ever done. I enjoy this so much. In 2018, Banks was named "Best Hip-Hop Artist" at the Best of the Beat, presented by New Orleans' premier music publication, Offbeat Magazine . He followed that up with the 2019 Big Easy Award for Best Rapper, presented by Gambit Weekly . credit: Gary Governale MaM : It’s opened you up. Not just personally but creatively, too. You’re now singing a little bit. Alfred : Definitely. [Singing] was something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t really have the producer to help bring it out in the right way that would make me sound good, because my voice doesn’t have a lot of range. I can hit some notes but not too crazy. So, someone [who] could make something that could make me sound even better than I am … I think Albert does that. Rapping to shit I wouldn’t normally rap over—he’s down to go there with me. He’s down to do some really wild stuff, and I’m down to at least try and see what happens. In 2020, the two performed live as a duo for the first time at an Onbeat Session for Offbeat Magazine filmed at Loyola University. Alfred : That was the very first time we had ever performed together, ever. How nerve-wracking was that?! Albert : It was terrifying. Alfred : I was scared out of my mind. Albert : (to Alfred) Doing this thing with you, having to do it live and perform the songs, I’ve become a much better piano player the past two years, and you don’t put a lot of pressure on me. We don’t put a lot of pressure on each other. Alfred : I don’t know how to read music. I’m not about to insult or critique someone when I don’t even know what you’re doing. Albert : I’m not a rapper—I’ve tried. It’s more difficult than it looks! (from the album “I Don’t Wear Suits”): MaM : So, have Albert’s rapping skills have gotten better? Alfred : I think Albert has more skills than he thinks. Maybe he couldn’t be a ‘rapper’ rapper, but (to Albert) you’re a good writer. You might not have rapper swag per se, but you could rap. Albert : I could deliver it, but it might not be believable when attached to a body—MY body. (laughter) Alfred : (to Albert) You really understand how songs go. He’s a dope-ass writer outside of being a musician. Albert : I just got [sic] to say this: As my rapping skills have improved, so, too, have Alfred’s declined. (laughter) It’s perfectly even, the way things have gone down. It’s more of a parasitic thing. (to Alfred) I think I’m stealing your rap life force. (laughter) MaM : Your songs have a wonderful mix of silly and serious. What’s y’all’s vision for what SaxKixAve is now and what it can be in the future? Albert : I think we want to have this digestible funny thing, because we’re both naturally funny and when we get up on stage, we’re not sure what it is, but something happens between us that generates what people have been calling entertainment. (Alfred breaks out in laughter.) Some sort of passable thing happens. We want it to be funny, but we want the funny to help communicate. Our natural state is tinged with melancholy. Our natural state is more depressive … more low energy. So, if we have this high-impact thing that’s kind of funny, then we can get in things; there's no other way to say this: We laugh so we don’t cry. It’s something that I’ve … learned watching Tank—how do you interface with the audience? You can be doing the best stuff in the world, but if you have any contempt or if you’re just holding the spoon of baby food out of reach of a toddler, that’s just rude. You should interface with the crowd so you can get it to them. We want this mix of goofy so we can be ultra-serious, and we want to be ultra serious so the funny stuff is even funnier. Alfred : I disagree with everything he just said. I’m here for the money. (More laughter ensues.) Alfred : We’re both very serious. We’re both really good at what we do—like, obnoxiously good at what we do. In the back of my mind, it’s about making how good we are palatable. Sometimes being really good can push people away like it’s not even relatable. I think the comedy takes the edge off. It’s like, ‘Let’s just vibe and have fun. Some of it is just on the cuff, but we give ourselves that room. In our other situations, there’s a lot of structure. For us, the future, people are going to hear … the music is going to be even much more better [sic] than it is now. More jokes. It’s just going to be unapologetically amazing. Albert : SaxKixAve: much more better [sic]. Alfred : That’s grammatically correct. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Was there a moment when you both knew you had something? Alfred : That [first] recording session. I always tell that story [about the song] ‘Tawny’ when I say [the word] crib. [Albert] was like, ‘Dude, can you yell ‘crib'?’ and I was like ‘What?’ Albert : Like 15 times. Alfred : I had to yell it and I was like, ‘Why am I doing this? This is stupid.’ Then he played it back and I was like, ‘Oh … yeah.’ That was the first time I trusted him. (to Albert) When did you feel like we had something?” Albert : When I knew we had something was when it was backed up by a crowd. I think we were doing Tip’s (Tipitina’s) or something. You said a few things in a row that I didn’t find very funny, but people were losing their minds. They were also losing their minds with the songs, and I was like, ‘What’s happening?’ There are things that only happen once per show [like] Alfred [going] off on this freestyle thing; we usually do this at the show. He’ll just freestyle rap for, like, five minutes. You’ve seen it: People hold up stuff out of their pockets [for him to rap about]. As I see the crowds more and more, I’m just like, ‘Wow, well let’s just be honest and a little unsure of ourselves, because apparently somebody likes that.’ MaM : Your dynamic—when you come together, it’s something you wouldn’t expect, I think, from seeing you both in your respective projects. It just works somehow. Alfred : I think that shit’s amazing, too. That Tav (Manager Tavia) ... maybe she didn’t see SaxKixAve, but she just thought we’d do good together. I don’t see Al all the time. We’re both doing our own thing, but every time I see him it’s like we were just hanging out yesterday. I don’t know if it’s because of our same sense of humor—the way that we’ve come to some recent discoveries about ourselves, but we just gel really well. (to Albert) Outside of the music, I can actually hang with you; that comes through, too. [Another] moment I knew we had something was [during a show] when the mic cord came out, I put [it] back in maybe halfway through the verse, and I finished the song. We had another song after that, but I was like, ‘Yo, Al, audible, play a beat.’ I freestyled about me f**kin’ up, and the crowd lost their minds. I was like, ‘Yeah, we got somethin’ here. I don’t think we can lose. This is incredible.’ That shit was dope. (to Albert) What was the first big show we did? I think when we did Performance Inception ... when you opened for yourself? Albert : Yeah! When SaxKixAve opened for Tank and the Bangas at one of The Broadside shows [last year]. Alfred : That was the first time I think Tank and the Bangas had [sic] saw us. When they came back and said, ‘You guys are amazing,’ I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re lit. We are LIT.’ credit: Gary Governale Albert is known for wearing short shorts all the time. MaM : Albert, is it hard for you to be behind the keys when people can’t see the full leg action? Albert : We’ve been workshopping methods to get around that, talking about maybe having a video feed that’s right under the piano, directly pointed at the legs and maybe running some sort of monitor behind Alfred so it’s just my knees constantly while he raps. Alfred : (to Albert) I know you’re joking, dude, but I’ll tell you this: You know what everybody says? They don’t even talk about your bun first; they talk about your legs. I’m not even joking. Everybody [sic] like, ‘Dude, the guy with the legs.’ MaM : I hear you’re working on your next record. Is there a title for it? What can we expect? Will it be similar to the first one? Alfred : There IS a title . (to Albert) Are you cool with that? Albert : Let’s do it! Alfred : (begins to count down) One, two, three … Albert : Wait, on three or right after three? Alfred : Like, ON three. One, two, three: Albert’s legs. (laughter) Albert : Ahhh! Sorry, ok, ok … Go!” Both together : One, two, three … ‘Nectarine Peels.’ Albert : Yes, we know you don’t peel nectarines, [and] we address [that]. MaM : It makes people think, and that’s the point. Alfred : (laughing) It’s provocative, man. Albert : It actually came from a text message. (to Alfred) Didn’t you just send the words nectarine peels or something? I was like, ‘Nectarine Peels?’ Alfred : Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Albert : So, I said it has a kind of a ring to it. It seems to mean something, and then immediately I went and wrote this little melody and song at the piano when I got that text. I sent it to Alfred the next day. We’ve taken it to mean a whole lot of things thematically. A big part of it is ambition and its corrosive effects on how we think people see us, how we see ourselves, how we want people to see us, and how we want to see ourselves. That’s one of the main themes of it. I think we’ve made some of our best songs ever. It’s about the same runtime [as ‘I Don’t Wear Suits’], but there’s six real songs. Alfred : I feel like the first project, as great as it is, it was us figuring it out. I think for this one, it’s like, ‘Okay, this is dope, but how do we refine it?’ Keep it us, keep it funny, keep it light or, in some instances, not even as light. We have a song where we switch the topic seven times within the song … switch the energy. We kind of have an idea of what we are now. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, no sophomore slump, then? Albert : I think this [album] is way better. We’ll see if people like it, but we have this thing: We love dance music, and we love old school hip-hop. So, we kind of find this thing—we have this sliding scale between boom bap and dance sometimes, and it’s really cool. You see little seeds of that on ‘I Don’t Wear Suits.’ We’re putting the very final touches on it. We’re almost completely finished. We’ve got great features: Mega Ran is on this, Pell is on this, LeTrainiump is on this, HaSizzle’s on this … Alfred : Who else is on there? Albert : Is that it, or is there one more? Alfred : I think Albert Allenback is on it. (laughter) Albert : There’s a fledgling rapper named Lyriqs da Lyraciss from New Orleans, and he’s on this record. Alfred's original rap name was Lyriqs da Lyraciss. Alfred : Bless his little heart. That guy, that guy left us around 2015. Bless his little heart. Albert : That was the first rapper I ever sent beats to. He left me unread. credit: Gary Governale Albert explains how he first tried to work with Alfred back in January of 2014. Albert : I’d been making beats for, like, two months but you couldn’t tell me they weren’t the greatest thing in the world. So, I sent him this impassioned paragraph about how I’m studying music at UNO (University of New Orleans): ‘Here, I made these beats, they’re real songs, and they’re great. Here’s nine of them. Check these out. I don’t use any samples.’ I wrote this to a prospective business partner [and] said, ‘I don’t use any samples. I make THESE biscuits from scratch.’ Alfred replied, ‘Word.’ Alfred : Yeah, I’m bad with that. So, here’s a little secret about me: I get overwhelmed really fast. I get about 20 to 30 DMs a day, and I can’t let one go unanswered. (to Albert) I’m just very bad with that, right? I’m the worst with that. Albert : But you’ve gotten better. You set much better boundaries now, and I’m proud of you. Alfred : I’m trying. Let me ask you a question, Albert: How did you hear me? Albert : I think it was this list in Gambit [Weekly]: the five worst rappers you need to avoid. Alfred : I was number three. Albert : You were all five! (Laughter ensues.) Alfred : I’ve just always wanted to know how you found me. Albert : Must have been someone from UNO shared a video or something. I honestly do not remember how I became your friend or followed you. You were constantly updating your status. MaM : His social game is on point. credit: Gary Governale Albert : It still is to this day! Alfred is just a fountain that you just put digital cups in front of and he says, ‘Here, take more, my child.’ I don’t have that. My fountain is not on. Alfred : It’s out of necessity. It won’t get done otherwise. I want to be successful. I don’t have money, so I don’t have a person promoting me all the time. So, I literally have to promote myself all the time. So, I just have to respond to that message. It can’t go unread. Albert : (to Alfred) I learn a lot from you, self-promotion-wise. I feel embarrassed and goofy just to be here sometimes. Just to be on planet Earth. I think there’s a lot of people like me. You’re going to post the thing you love to do and for some reason, you feel like it doesn’t matter. It can be some huge stuff and for some reason, we get in our heads and self-consciously you feel like it doesn’t matter, no one cares, but that’s not true. Alfred : (to Albert) I admire you about how much you detach yourself from it. I think that’s the illest shit ever, because I could never be that way and I admire someone that can. Albert : You inspire me. Like, when we make a video or a skit or something, or make an announcement, the only reason it gets done or posted with any kind of schedule or intensity or intention or commitment is because I feel obligated to live up to what you got [sic] goin’ on. So, I really appreciate your help in sharing more and feeling less embarrassed about self-promoting. I come from that tradition of people of ‘don’t talk about yourself too much.’ Alfred : One of the main things of this group, I really want people to know Albert Allenback as a solo act. I want people to know him because he’s really good. I just want people to know this motherfu**er is amazing. Drop your nuts, Cuz! Albert : Well, thank you. I will take that into consideration when it comes time to lower my testicles. credit: Gary Governale MaM : You both have your successful projects. How do you find time to do SaxKixAve? Is it just those slivers of free time? Albert : Yep, when we can; that’s the only way. We have conversations. We’re like, ‘Hey, you know what? I still really like you, still like doing this, but I’m busy right now.’ We’re really good at being able to keep a good, professional relationship. We’re close, but I think maybe there’s a part of us—some internal kill switch—that doesn’t let us get too close or something? It works really well. Alfred : (to Albert) I respect you and your time. I think one of the things you did early on was lay the boundaries of your time. I think I did that very early, too. I respect that. I know that when you’re running with Tank and the Bangas, you’re busy as shit. When I’m dolo, I’m busy as shit. We both respect each other’s time. So, when we HAVE time, I try to be as malleable as possible, given his schedule. I do a lot of shit, but I do have a little bit more free time than he has. So, I’m like, ‘Yo, when you free?’ ‘I’m free here.’ Done. Albert : That is how it goes. That is true, and you text back FAST. Alfred : That bitch always [sic] in my hand! credit: Gary Governale credit: Gary Governale MaM : There’s a lot of artistic freedom in SaxKixAve. How do you keep from floating away into the creative stratosphere with this, because it seems like opportunities are limitless. What keeps you both grounded and productive? Alfred : We do have some form of an outline of what we expect from each other. We go into the studio with this blank canvas. It’s not huge though. It’s a nice-sized canvas that we can throw a bunch of shit at and scrape off the paint that doesn’t work. We aren’t just throwing darts at the wall and seeing what sticks.” Albert : Fortunately, we know that we can do a lot of things, but I think we’ve also seen enough people try to do too many things. We have made a concerted effort to at least make an attempt to identify what we do the best That keeps us in the same bowling lane. Alfred : Definitely. Otherwise, you start making all kinds of weird shit. Not the good weird but that bad weird. That Chris Cornell and Timbaland-weird stuff. MaM : Things that just shouldn’t exist. What have been some highlights on stage so far? Alfred : So, a guy at Tipitina’s was saying my job (freestyling to things people hold up) was easy because people bring out the same things, and I was like, ‘Dude, I can literally freestyle about anything.’ Albert : (to Alfred) He was giving you shit because, ‘You can prepare for a phone and a lighter, and a comb, and keys.’ Alfred : So, I was like, ‘Go ahead, do whatever.’ I didn’t know that they had got [sic] together because Albert, him, and one other person were just pulling shit onstage, and I just knocked it out every single time they brought something out. That was one of the bigger eruptions we’d had. Albert : We had a Shop Vac, and a dolly, a partition, and a barricade … Alfred : … an ice chest, an orange cone. I just freestyled. The reaction of the crowd … felt good. French Quarter Fest was, by far, top five of my favorite shows I’ve done with you. Albert : Yeah. We had a drummer; it was great. Alfred : The story behind the set is so crazy. Albert : Oh yeah. It was horrible rain, and we weren’t gonna’ get to do the set. Pell stayed, but HaSizzle and LeTrainiump were gonna sit in with us and the rain messed everything up. Everyone else had other stuff to do, but then they let us do like 35 or 40 minutes and that was amazing. One of my favorites was from that Tip’s show as well. It was either a girls’ weekend or a bachelorette party—I couldn’t read the t-shirts—but they did NOT like us. First of all, we came out to this song of Alfred’s called ‘Too Much,’ which is a beat I made, and it is entirely his fault for picking it. (Albert laughs) It’s a wild, ecstatic, frenzied beat—wild music—and we came out to that hard. We came out swinging; we were spinning around and jumping. There were eight to 10 older women in matching sequence and t-shirts, who just wanted to celebrate Karen or whatever. They were not having it with us. I pointed them out and said, ‘Hey, I know we came out swinging, but we’ll get you back.’ By Alfred’s freestyle, they were into it and having a great time. My other favorite: We played a show [at a gallery] and there was a drum set up on stage. Alfred was doing his freestyle, so I grabbed a cymbal and walked it into the crowd, held it up, and Alfred rapped about it. I didn’t put it back, which is what got me in trouble. This drum set belonged to a kid at NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), and this 14-year-old kid came up to me after the set and he was pretty pissed. He wanted to fight me. I felt more like I related to him than anything because when I was 14, if you had touched my saxophone, I’d be like, ‘What the f**k is wrong with you? Where do you get off touching my shit?’ So, I understand, but it was funny because this fourteen-year-old kid really wanted to fight me because I moved his cymbal. Something clicked where I knew I was now an adult, because I didn’t feel like I was another fourteen-year-old being dressed down; I felt like I was able to take my lick. ‘Hey, you know what? I’m actually sorry and I understand why you feel that way, and I shouldn’t have touched your shit without asking.’ credit: Gary Governale MaM : I know y’all have jokes. What’s your favorite joke right now? Albert : What’s the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo bean? (Silence for a few moments as the joke goes over my head.) I’ve never had a garbanzo bean on my face. (Much laughter ensues.) Alfred : There’s no way I could ever top that. MaM : Your social media videos are pretty funny. Do you guys sketch them out before you do them, or do you just hit record and go? Alfred : Definitely sketch them out. Albert : We fancy ourselves, against our better judgement, as some sort of amateur sketch comedy team. We are NOT. That’s why we make music. Listen, we’re musicians first; we’re not Saturday Night Live writers, okay? This is a means to an end. Don’t hold us accountable for this. A lot of our videos are Alfred doing funnier shit in the moment than either of us could’ve come up with just writing it out. Alfred : Yeah, those videos are great. I think we’ve had two go viral. You know its popular when you get those assholes that are like, ‘This shit isn’t even really that funny.’ Those trolls. It’s like, ‘Yes! We did it, baby!’ (laughs) Albert : At least they feel something. We spend much more time than we’d care to admit coming up with these. Alfred : I really enjoy doing it. I don’t enjoy it as much as the music, but I do enjoy creating because we both have funny shit in our head, and we live in a time we can legit act it out. Albert : And it feels like a break from the music. It feels like going into woodworking or something. There’s no pressure on this. I’m just building a cabinet; I’m not making my life’s work, which is what the music can feel like sometimes. You have to step back and be like, ‘Hey, chill out, because this is putting pressure on you.’ Spoiler alert: You don’t make great things when you feel a lot of pressure. Maybe some people feel like the pressure gets it going for [them] but for me, I have to be in a relaxed state and let good things happen; otherwise, I’ll shape myself into all kinds of molds that aren’t me. Alfred : I ain’t [sic] gonna lie, I enjoy pressure. I think back to, like, 2010 when I was freestyle battling guys and that feeling of being scared shitless out of my mind, jumping on stage in front of these people, not knowing what I’m about to say and just reveling in it. Being like, ‘Oh, I just can’t wait … but what if I f**k up? This is great; I love it.’ Albert : (to Alfred) Props to you. That’s amazing. That’s like being a stand-up comedian. I could never imagine. Alfred : I may sound cocky, but I’m very much an amazing rapper and I am looking for a moment to stumble. I want to f**k up because I want to learn where I f**ked up at. I want to perfect that and do it again and be much better at it. Albert : Sometimes you just want to feel human. (laughter) Alfred : Seriously, though; I really do enjoy the pressure. Pressure makes diamonds. credit: Gary Governale MaM : So, Albert, you’ve been making beats for a long time. You have a decent back catalog of tracks to pull from. This new album, is it pulling from that or are you coming up with new stuff on the spot? Albert : Some of it is brand new, some of it is ideas that I’ve been working on for years. You make these things and see what comes out. It’s new to everyone else, but it’s something you may have been working on for so long. I got some advice really early on. I forgot this fella’s name, but it was the first time Tank and the Bangas were playing a super lounge at Essence Festival. We were getting to hang out at Essence, and it was awesome. Kelly Price’s music director was there. He said he had started making beats late in life. He said, ‘Just make it and hold on to it because you might like it, but you never know who will.’ I’ve really taken that into account. I have probably over 1,000 songs or song ideas. At this point, I’ve been making beats and writing songs and doing full productions for almost 10 years now. I have a lot built up; it’s just a matter of, ‘Man, you remember that one I made a long time ago? Let’s see if that works.’ That’s how I get to a lot of good stuff, and then seeing what Alfred does. It’s like two comets hitting. Now I’m more likely to try a few more things and be like, ‘You know what? This is working. We’re going to go with what works, what’s good, how he said that this time, and how he was feeling this time, and how I was feeling right here.’ Just going more with using the stuff as it happens, instead of, and this is a nice tie-in—this is what ‘Nectarine Peels’ is about—instead of making yourself a delicious, fragrant, niche, sub-variant of a peach called a nectarine that some people are going to love and that some people aren’t even going to know about or care about … trying to force yourself into being an apple or an orange or any of the other Renaldo and LeBron-level fruits. You can do that, or [you can] stay being your nectarine delicious self and probably make yourself and a lot more people a lot happier than if you’d tried to be a banana. Alfred : I disagree with everything he just said. (laughter) Albert : SaxKixAve: much more better. credit: Gary Governale MaM : Is there anything else you’d like to say about the new record? Alfred : This new album slaps. Albert : It’s good! Alfred : ‘ Nectarine Peels’ ... I'm very proud of it. I like it. MaM : How many tracks are going to be on it? Alfred : About nine in total. Three skits. Albert : It’s like a 23-minute runtime, but it’s, like, nine tracks. We don’t want anybody to have to skip a song because they want to skip one of our stupid skits. I want to give people total control. Honestly, just take the skit off the album if you want, that’s fine, but we want to give people the option. Alfred : This album is amazing. Albert’s production on it is nuts. The songs came out so good. Lyrically, I feel like I’m doing some really cool things on here, jumping out of the box on stuff. We’re just having fun, and I really think people are going to like it. Currently, there is no release date for SaxKixAve’s second album, Nectarine Peels , but you can check out their website for any updates and be sure to follow them on social media. YouTube: @saxkixave1922 Instagram: @saxkixave Facebook: facebook.com/Saxkixave Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/saxkixave *All photos by Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Email us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Cecily’s music is insightful and pleasing to the ear, a breath of fresh air with the motivation to spread her positivity through her art. Cecily: Soulful Music With Ambient Affirmations < Back Cecily: Soulful Music With Ambient Affirmations Erica Machen Nov 9, 2023 Share Cecily’s music is insightful and pleasing to the ear, a breath of fresh air with the motivation to spread her positivity through her art. If you’ve ever needed the perfect soundtrack to accompany the moments your eyes are gently closed and all you see is the warm glow of your eyelids as the sunlit breeze kisses your face, look no further than the melodic musings of vocalist and songwriter Cecily. With a family who infused influences from artists such as John Coltrane, Motown, Smokey Robinson, and R&B from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, her vocal artistry brings prismatic color and warmth to the soul as the purity of her message washes over the listener and leaves an indelible mark. Cecily’s soprano octaves provide a surprising duality with her ethereal yet earthy delivery, and, as we chatted for our interview, her soothing personality left me just as spellbound as her music did. Originating from Washington, D.C., with a background in Political Science and Black Studies, Cecily's journey as an artist began as a powerful call to bring purpose and empowerment to her community . After ten years of nurturing her musical talents as a passionate hobby, she took the leap to turn her passion into a full-fledged career. Supported by an exceptional team of hand-picked musicians, dedicated management, and her husband, Cecily has achieved numerous accolades and awards , solidifying her presence as a force to be reckoned with in music world. Just as her newest release “I Am Love” delivers a simple and positive message coinciding with depth and dimension , the same can be said for Cecily herself. It came as no surprise to discover her passion for healing, meditation, and affirmations, as all of those things are revealed within her music. Cecily is simply a breath of fresh air with the motivation to spread her positivity through her art. Prepare yourself to feel connectivity as you read along with our chat. MaM : Cecily, for those just discovering your music, could you describe your unique sound and the musical influences that have shaped your style? C : I describe my music as soul music with a lot of influences of jazz, 90’s R&B, with a little bit of folk mixed in as well. I like to work with live instrumentation and real musicians in a space creating together, because I think that's how you capture the best energy. In terms of who people liken my music to, I really love 1970’s soul and R&B. Generally, you'll find a lot of sounds from that era in my music. I've had comparisons to Minnie Riperton, for example, in terms of my vocal stylings and some of my arrangement choices. People have also compared me to Amel Larrieux, who is more of a 90’s or early 2000’s R&B singer. Some of my favorite current artists who I think my music kind of likens to are Cleo Sol and Lianne La Haves , who are both from the UK. Photo provided by artist. MaM : Your parents' record collection had a significant impact on your music. Can you share how their love for artists like Miles Davis and Smokey Robinson influenced your artistic journey? C : I actually inherited my parents’ record collection. My dad passed away a couple years ago. My mom said she didn't listen to records anymore, so I could have them. Now I have a pretty large record collection. Thanks to them for that. What's interesting is that my parents are nine years apart in age, and that gave them different tastes in music. When [my mom] was a little girl, Motown was huge, and she loved Motown. Smokey Robinson is her forever crush. I grew up on a lot of Motown. My dad, he really loved jazz. He kind of came of age during the Bebop era. He loved Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and Ahmad Jamal … A lot of jazz artists from the 50s and 60s. So, I have disparate influences. I had Motown with its classic soul sound, but also formulaic. You can kind of hear that in the way they approached things, and it works. Then, if you go to Miles Davis or John Coltrane, they were experimenting. There was thought and intention, but I definitely don't think a formula was the approach to things. It was very different kinds of things to grow up listening to. What my parents had in common is they both loved 70’s soul music. I also grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, and those type of things. All stuck with me. I'm also the youngest of four, and all of my siblings are much older than me. They had their own music tastes. I grew up listening to hip hop and R&B of the 80ss and 90s. My brother listens to house music. I was introduced to a lot of different kinds of black musical forms, and it was a great way to grow up. MaM : Your debut album "Songs of Love and Freedom" received critical acclaim and won a Wammie Award . How does this album reflect your musical vision, and what was it like to receive such recognition for your work? Photo provided by artist. C : That album was a big turning point for me creatively, professionally, and spiritually, because I put out an EP prior. That [EP] was my first project. I still like it, but it was me figuring out what I wanted to do and working with people that were recommended to me by my managers at the time. I didn't always feel seen in that process. I felt like we made the music, but I wasn't necessarily sure if it was me. When I came back around to do the process again, I was doing it all on my own in choosing all of my co writers, letting it happen organically, finding different producers, choosing my band members, and doing a lot of sonic research. It really taught me a lot about myself and was an empowering journey. I still feel really good about that album. So, it's one of my things I am most proud of. MaM : This brings me right to “Awakening Pt. 1”. It, too, was well-received and earned you several nominations and awards. Can you tell us more about the themes and inspiration behind this project? C : That project was inspired by some books that I read leading up to when I got married. We all think we know so much about love, but maybe I should actually study it like people do everything else. So, I just picked up this one book, just off chance in a bookstore, called ‘How To Love’ by a Buddhist master who passed away last year, named Thich Naht Hanh. I just read this book back to front a few times, and it was really impactful for me. The next book I read was called ‘The Mastery of Love’ by Don Miguel Ruiz. It had so many lessons and was a good way to reflect on life and what I've been taught about love. It was good to reflect on places in my thinking that needed to be revised on what love is and what love can be. Later, when reading ‘All About Love’ by Bell Hooks, I decided I want to create a project pulling from these concepts and ideas. That was kind of the inspiration for both ‘The Awakening Pt. 1’ and ‘The Awakening Pt. 2.’ MaM : You're not only a talented artist but also a healer who offers meditations, workshops, and sound healing sessions. Tell us more about how these practices are connected to your mission as an artist and a healer? C : In 2020, when things were locked down, I couldn't connect with people in terms of live performances. I also I felt like I couldn't create music in the way I was used to in being separated from my usual writing partners and bandmates. It started out when I had written some affirmations for myself in a time that was very fear-inducing. I called them ‘Affirmations for a Pandemic’. I decided, these are good, let me share these with people. So, my husband recorded me with video and audio. I put it on YouTube, Instagram, and this meditation app called Insight Timer. I was surprised by the reaction. People were saying, ‘Wow, this is so helpful. Thank you so much for this.’ Insight Timer chose the recording of it for their editorial pick and put it on the main page. I got a lot of engagement there and realized life is telling me this is something I need to dig into a little bit more. So, I started doing guided meditations live on Instagram. I love writing, I love words, I like using my voice. I started doing these guided meditations as another way to use my voice and my words. MaM : Your new single "I am Love" is generating attention. How has this song been received, and what message or emotions do you hope it conveys to your audience? C : I'm really happy with people’s response to the single. I love this song. I sometimes tend to be a little wordy and overly complicated in my writing. With this song, I wanted to write something that was simple. It definitely has depth to it. It started off as a poem, so it still has its poetic aspects. I wanted to write something that made you feel at peace and happy—just something that feels like a nice like warm summer day. You know, like where you're with someone you love or just yourself out in nature, eating good food. That was the energy of the song. … The message was really simple. As I said, affirmations are a big part of my life. I wanted to write a song that was an affirmation. The album ‘The Awakening Pt. 2’ is all about exploring unconditional love. Specifically, the kind written about in Bell Hook's book, ‘All About Love’. I had a poem where I had written, ‘I am love,’ and I thought, ‘This could be a song.’ I thought [it] would be a good way to bring forth my message of the power of love, acceptance, affirmations, and also Bell Hook's idea about simple living. She says living simply makes loving simple. I thought that was really beautiful. I'm kind of combining the two concepts of exploring the simplest pleasures in life with knowing that I am love. It’s about the belief in God, the source, the universe, or just this idea we all are connected to a genuine love, a deep, complete, and divine love. Stating plainly, ‘I am love’ can be very powerful. Even though it's a simple song and I wanted it to have … a singalong part or even something you can even two-step to; I also wanted to have some depth in there that people feel. I think the song has the combination of both. I love it for that reason. MaM : Are there any new announcements, news, or projects on the horizon that you'd like to share with your fans and our readers? C : ‘I Am Love’ is out now! There's a music video for it dropping very soon, and there will be some new merchandise soon to accompany the new release. The second single is coming out in January, and the new album is coming out in March. And there you have it—your breath of fresh air for the day! In a world filled with hyperbole and scattered focuses, Cecily recenters us with the ambient peace she exudes. Take a moment and explore her prismatic vocals by visiting the below-listed links. Cecily | Official Website Cecily | YouTube Erica Machen is a beast when it comes to consuming, writing about, and reviewing music. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Dale Harris Music Laid-Back Louisiana Southern Rock < Back Laid-Back Louisiana Southern Rock Keeley Brooks Oct 19, 2022 Share Dale Harris Music Who doesn’t love some good ole Southern rock music? Creedence, Skynyrd, ZZ Top, The Charlie Daniels Band … The Allman Brothers. Legends. And while all of these groups are surely amongst favorites in the classic rock community, I’m here to tell you about a new favorite Southern rock artist (and band) you just don’t know yet. Meet Dale Harris – singer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, and all-around awesome guy. What makes him unique is his multi-faceted ability to do pretty much anything, but relative to this article, I’ll clarify and add musically . In addition to playing lead in his band, the Dale Harris Band, he’s also a multi-instrumentalist, playing the rhythm guitar and drum set, and a singer/songwriter, who tries not to limit himself to just one style. “When I’m writing songs, I try to write music in as many genres as possible so as not to pigeon hole myself,” said Harris. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dale has been playing music pretty much his whole life. His father was a carpenter who exposed him, “to people from all walks of life.” In fact, it was one of his father’s concrete finishers, who ran the band at his local church, gave Harris his first snare drum. “I fell in love with music and learned musicianship from watching those concrete finishers play gospel music after work and on Sundays,” he said, with the reflections of those days shining in his eyes. Dale began guitar lessons at six years old, then started drum lessons with Lyman Mulkey as a teenager. After high school, Harris found himself playing in various local bands over the years, like The Black Box, Loverseed, The Invisible Men, The Roebucks, The Jazz Souls, and The Florida Street Blowhards. Though he writes mainly Southern rock songs, Harris is inspired by the swamp pop, jazz, soul, and gospel genres. Taught by his father at a young age to read chord charts and play folk, country, and gospel songs on guitar, Dale credits The Charlie Daniels band with inspiring him to become a musician. “My first source of inspiration came from the Charlie Daniels Band. When I heard ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia,’ well, it was the first time I heard someone just straight getting down on an instrument. It was my first example of trading solos. After that, I knew I wanted to become a musician; so, I did.” Harris also credits Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and Dr. John with being major influences on his music, which is ripe with laid-back style that paints a smooth surface over rough terrain and consists of topics like heartbreak, hoodlums, and home repair. Currently he stays busy writing and recording music with his band, the Dale Harris Band. Harris leads the group on vocals, rhythm guitar, and drums, on occasion. Glenn Harris, his brother, plays lead guitar, and long-time co-writer Denvil Snyder plays bass. Personally, one of my favorite tunes is “I Woke Up.” From those laid-back, catchy guitar licks to the buttery smooth vocals that ooze out of Harris when he sings, the songs aspects and focus just pull you in sip by sip. It’s catchy, it’s rockin’, and it’s just a damn good song. And speaking of good songs, you should also check out “Dag Nabbit,” which, according to Dale, was inspired by watching Saturday morning cartoons. For more on that story, you’ll have to go to one of his shows and ask him the deets yourself! “Yeah, that one tends to be “the hit” amongst the kids,” Harris laughed. At the moment, he is in the process of recording demos for an upcoming album, and he currently has an EP available on Spotify and most streaming platforms. As far as upcoming shows, you can see the Dale Harris Band live at any of the below-listed shows, and be sure to catch him Halloween weekend doin’ his thang live at Phil Brady’s. Oct 29 Phil Brady’s, Baton Rouge Nov 12 Oyster Bar, St. Francisville Dec 1 La Davina Café, Baton Rouge New Year’s The Hilton Downtown, Baton Rouge *(with The Florida Street Blowhards) For further information on Dale Harris and the Dale Harris Band, and to stay up to date on live performances and album releases, visit www.jdharrismusic.com . *photos provided by Dale Harris www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Charles Brooks, D.M.A. Big, Easy, Body-Melting Vibes < Back Big, Easy, Body-Melting Vibes Keeley Brooks Oct 3, 2022 Share Charles Brooks, D.M.A. As promised, each article I’ll direct your gaze towards an artist worth checking out, and then I’ll tell you all about why they’re worth it. Maybe they’re hip and chic, just like you. Maybe they’ve got some funky, groovy vibes that resonate so loudly, you simply can’t afford to pass on hearing more about him/her/them. Or, maybe they have a super-cool ability to melt your face off with one bitchin’ musical experience that’ll leave you reeling for days. For this first article, I do not disappoint. (And if I do, then by all means send me an email and let me know so we can rap about it.) I bring you more than just a musician. I bring you a unique body-melting experience that clings to you like static and leaves one hell of a lasting impression. My people, meet Dr. Charles Brooks, a multi-talented, classically trained professional jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, hand drummer, pianist, clinician, composer, and educator. Hold up. A what? A vibraphone? What the hell is that? Here’s the easy answer: think xylophone, only bigger, more octaves, and with pedals, like a piano. Remember NBC’s former tone that played on TV between your favorite primetime shows … ding dang dong … that’s a vibraphone. You with me? Cool. The vibraphone itself is a unique instrument for many reasons, one being because it’s not that widely known outside of the professional music community, and secondly because of its main special feature: a set of small, electrically operated fans that sit above the resonators and below the bars, or keys, of the instrument. This positioning allows for a smooth vibrato, or pulsating change of pitch, effect by rapidly closing and opening the resonators. Still with me? For those of you who are music lovers and not players, resonators are the tubes placed underneath the tone bars (i.e., keys) through which the vibrations travel. What makes Brooks’ sound equally unique, if not more, is his method of running the vibes through effects pedals, and that , my friends, is where this bitchin’ musical experience begins, if I do say so myself. “Running the vibes through these pedals provides added texture to its distinctive sound. [The pedals] roll out those rich vibraphone tones to listeners in waves with multi-dimensional effects that leave quite an impression. And that’s what I try to do when I play music—give listeners an unforgettable experience through a sound that imprints upon them in some way,” said Brooks. And imprint upon you, it will. Cases in point: check out the livestreams of his 2017 Pink Floyd tribute show ( https://www.periscope.tv/theCBDMA/1dRJZAYnrdaGB ) and his 2022 Black History Month Jimi Hendrix tribute show ( https://youtu.be/0R2OK689L2U ). Or, stroll on over to his YouTube channel and check out his smooth jazz vibes from this year’s W.C. Handy Festival ( https://youtu.be/_ibe3G-X8Uk ). But definitely after that, you’ll wanna peruse through any or all of his Friday Night Vibes shows, which feature both originals and covers. Selections of FNV shows are available on YouTube, and all FNV shows in their entirety are available for your pleasure at www.TheCharlesBrooks.com/friday-night-vibes . When COVID locked us all down with nothing to do but, I don’t know, be with ourselves without a social construct and learn to communicate and self-entertain, Brooks started live streaming a one-hour solo vibraphone concert (often with various hand drums and drum set) every Friday night “I knew people were going stir crazy being stuck at home—especially those who enjoy live music. When there is no live music and everything’s locked down, it leaves a gaping hole in people’s lives. So, I started doing FNV to help music lovers and listeners unwind and disconnect from their stress so they could feel somewhat reconnected to music … to themselves, in a sense,” said Brooks. You’ll definitely want to set yourself an atmosphere before settling into any of these concerts. Relax, get comfy, turn the lights down, grab a drink, get mellow, then get lost in the waves that come rolling out at you. Let the energy of sound and the magic of music take you wherever they go. Get lost, babies. That’s what it’s about. We have to have a way to check out of our physical reality from time to time—in healthy ways, of course—and what better way to do that than with music? Let its healing power flow all through your sexy little body and do what it’s meant to: create, inspire, and impress an experience upon your being. After viewing one of his shows, you’ll understand what I mean by “experience.” Brooks is known for his personalized high-energy performances, not to mention his wildly innovative improv talents and the speed at which he is able to play. He uses four mallets and often moves so fast up and down the face of the vibes it’ll make your head spin. Like a record. Right ‘round, baby. Right ‘round. It is truly a spectacular, unforgettable experience. And Brooks doesn’t just stick to jazz tunes, no. He has an ever-expanding repertoire that includes rock, blues, soul, and funk genres, as well as his own original tunes. He currently has four albums out, and they’re all available on his website and most streaming platforms. For each album, he composed, performed, recorded, mixed, and mastered everything himself. His albums range from a meditative hand drum experience inspired by martial arts forms he has studied over the course of his life, to a meditation and relaxation album for stress relief, to albums with a mix of jazz, blues, funk, and soul. Each of his tunes reflect on a special person, time, or experience in his life. Brooks isn’t just a musician though. He’s also a professional audio engineer and educator (with a doctorate from good ‘ole LSU (Geaux Tigers)) with over 30 years’ experience. And in 2021, after nearly 26 years in Baton Rouge as a music and audio educator, mentor, and performing musician within the Baton Rouge and South Louisiana community, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Audio Engineering at the University of North Alabama in their department of entertainment industry. Since settling up in the Shoals area, he has returned to his role of freelancing as a studio musician with numerous musical capabilities at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Brooks can be heard playing the vibraphone on Southern Retro Soul artists Bonneville’s recent self-titled album, currently out now, and playing the steel drum on Nashville’s Outlaw Country recording artist Rickie Joe Wilson’s song “Reggae Redneck,” also recently released. So, what are you still doing reading this article? Go! Go listen! Go watch! Go experience! For further info on Dr. Brooks, his music, upcoming shows, and/or his audio program, visit www.TheCharlesBrooks.com , Facebook @TheCharlesBrooksMusic, Instagram @Cbreezington, and YouTube @MFCharlieB73. *All photos by Rachel Neal Pictures* www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

From America's Got Talent to the Hit Show Reservation Dogs When You Need a Party Thrown, Call Mike Bone < Back When You Need a Party Thrown, Call Mike Bone Keeley Brooks Nov 17, 2022 Share From America's Got Talent to the Hit Show Reservation Dogs If you’ve been watching the hit sitcom Reservation Dogs on FX and Hulu, holla! Sorry. I mean if you’ve been watching the show, you should recognize this musical duo. Or, if you’re a loyal watcher of America’s Got Talent , chances are you recognize them from a stint on the show in 2013. Meet Mike Bone, Native American rapper brothers Lil Mike and Funny Bone, perhaps better known as Mose and Mekko from the show. Reservation Dogs is a breakthrough in indigenous representation on television, both in front of and behind the camera. The show has accomplished something few others have: it has successfully introduced a mainstream audience to a Native American culture without leaning on reductionist stereotypes. It’s is a teen comedy drama series that follows the exploits of four indigenous teenagers on a reservation in rural Oklahoma as they rob, steal, and save in order to get to California. The guys are the show’s version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, rollin’ through on bicycles every now and then, offering the perfect hint of comedic rap gold in perfect timing when needed. But they’re not just rappers; they’re also songwriters, actors, motivational speakers with hearts of gold, and all-around awesomely cool, entertaining guys. Mike Bone made their national appearance in 2013 on America’s Got Talent and were well-received. They’ve had a successful career of winning contests, being on live television in the U.S. and Canada, hosting parties, DJ’ing night clubs, and opening for big names like Jacob Latimore, Wine-O, Lil Troy, Billy Ray Cyrus, Bobby Valentino, and T-Bone, to name a few. They’ve even performed in penitentiaries. The guys were seeing a ton of success … right up until Covid slammed into the world and shut life down. But something positive came out of the halt for these two: a chance to audition for a new television show from hit filmmakers Taika Watiti and Sterlin Harjo. And the rest is history. I had the awesome opportunity to talk face to face (virtually) with Lil Mike and Funny Bone, and we had such a great time, it’s best you read their replies, mostly unedited, for yourselves. KB : So, guys, thank you both so much for doing this interview. You’re widely known as Lil Mike & Funny Bone, Mike Bone, or Mose and Mekko. But tell us what your actual names are. LM : Yeah, so both of our names are Jesus. But I’m oldest. FB : And we have a younger brother named Jesus as well. LM : (laughs) It’s what happens when Native Americans name children. Our father had the choice of naming us and he wasn’t, I guess, thinking straight when he thought it would be a good idea to name [us] all the same name. KB : Thus, the nicknames. LM : Our nicknames reflect who we are. I became little Mike because I love to dance and [always used to dance around] to Michael Jackson. FB : Well, you know, in the 90s, Bone Thugs [-N-Harmony] was big and doin’ their thang. We were trying to build our brand, and I needed a name when I joined [Mike] onstage at the age of 12. They just kind of took my characteristic, because my thing was going out on stage while [Mike] was switching out songs, and I would tell a joke or do something funny and make the crowd laugh, so we took that, added the bone—funny bone—and I created an acronym for it that stands for Fully United New Nourished Young Brotha of Noble Essense. Just means I’m new and nourished as a believer of God and I’m of nobility because [he’s my father]. KB : Let’s talk about your height. You’re 52” tall. On your website, you describe yourselves as, “shorter than everyone else but too tall to be midgets.” Do you guys ever experience size discrimination and if so, can you tell us how you dealt with it? FB : Once we went on tour with Extreme Midget Wrestling. Of course, now it’s known as Extreme Micro Wrestling because of, you know, cancel culture. But yeah, we were the halftime show. Everybody called us “fake midgets.” LM : You know, if you allow certain things to offend you, then you’re allowing those people that are trying to offend you to have power over your emotions. FB : You give away your energy. LM : And that’s something that we do different. It’s like yo, you can call us all kinds of stuff out the book, but you can’t offend me because I’m not easily offended, because I don’t accept what you have to say. FB : I think that’s just natural as indigenous people … you learn to grow up like that and then embrace and laugh at what people say about us. Like when [Howard] Stern was trying to clown around on us about girls and Mike just said to him, “Get me a chair. I’ll be alright.” LM : You shouldn’t let things get to you so easily and so fast because not everybody will have the right approach from their minds in certain areas, whether it be judging someone based off this or that], you shouldn’t be so judgmental because there’s always gonna be somebody … FB : … hate does not change your value, and that’s something we stand on and push really hard. Same with no smoking and no drinking. We sing about it in our songs. We go to schools and talk about it. KB : And do you experience any clap back on that platform? LM : We get laughed at like, “What’s wrong with y’all?” Ain’t nothing wrong with us. We like to have a clear mind in what we do. We don’t need a fake substance to find satisfaction. FB : We also abstain from sex. LM : We would rather know someone more emotionally than physically, and I’ve never wanted to be trapped by an addiction. FB : You gotta be careful with all that stuff, because there [are] consequences. LM : We lived in the city, goin’ to parties, seein’ all these different people doin’ all these kinds of stuff, and we’d be like, “Don’t do that.” It made us see we wanted the dancing and the loud music, not the drinking and the smoking. FB : We learn from others’ mistakes. That’s the main thing and that’s something we push: learn from others’ mistakes; you don’t gotta make them. LM : We’re from the hood, so we’re on alert [at parties and events] already. FB : How we do it without drugs & alcohol, this is just us. We love it. We’re just having a good time. We’re too short to get high. You just got to joke around and have fun with life. LM : We base our performances off the type of crowd and event. If it’s an indigenous event, we sing songs that relate to those issues, but if it’s something churchy, we change it up and do a little more faith-based performance. KB : Mike, I read on ChoctawNation.com that when you were 12, you tried out for a talent show with a performance of your poetry about a friend dying of gang violence … to a jazz beat. How’d the idea to use a jazz beat come to you? LM : I don’t remember if it was HBO or BET, but they’d have these poets go on T.V. and they would do their thing … say a poem or whatever, and it seemed to me like the ones with the music captured me more, so I said to myself okay, I’m gonna do a jazz beat to my poem in front of the school to encourage people not to get into gang violence and whatnot, and it just, I guess it captured people in a good way. Afterwards, a kid came up saying he liked my rap, I was like oh snack! I should try to rap! There’s probably a VHS recording out there somewhere at an Oklahoman Jefferson Middle School. Somebody has to have it. I made that mix off cassette tapes too. I’m dancing like Michael Jackson but in a transforming style on stage, so I’m having to change clothes on stage. So, I start out as Jackson 5 – bell bottoms, afro—then I spin around and rip my bottoms off and I’m doing older Michael Jackson, then I spin around again and rip the afro off and take my loud jacket off … “the hippie one” … and I’m dancing to “Beat It” and “Billie Jean,” and I take off the black jacket (laughs) and I take that off and I have the silver pads on (laughs), and I take another layer of pants off and I have silver pants on and I’m doing “Black or White” and just dancing and everyone’s like, “Yo! He just wardrobe changed four different times on stage!” KB : Nice! Let’s talk about the show for a moment. How’d you guys wind up on Reservation Dogs ? FB : Well, we were riding the America’s Got Talent wave, then Covid hit and we had to shut down touring. We were broke for the next two years creating merch online, trying to sell to our fanbase and make money to pay the bills, and it wasn’t enough. A manager came at us with an opportunity for acting, and it was local and paying so we went to audition. They wanted two eleven-year-old twins in the casting call and so, we kind of look like we’re eleven and … LM : (laughs) … we gave it a shot and they called back and said, “We could work with y’all.” FB : And we were like cool ! LM : Yeah, we did not think they were gonna pick us up because not only were we not eleven-year-old twins, but we also changed the script. There were cuss words and we took those out, and I think we even changed up the jokes. FB : Yeah, we changed the jokes too. LM : And they still loved it and were like, “Yooo! There’s something here.” FB : The cool part is while we were on set, the cast and crew were saying how good of a job we did and how much we stand out, and how much they could see a spinoff of us. KB : Who came up with the idea for y’all to ride around on bikes? FB : It was the writers. LM : The writers … I think because eleven-year-olds don’t own a car. FB : Originally when we read the script, we didn’t think about the characters being 11. We thought it was gonna be us. The script read that Mose and Mekko pull up on the scene on set, and we [were] thinking on we were gonna get to drive a car. LM : Yeah, we thought we was gonna get to roll up in some wheels. (laughs) FB : (laughs) So we got to the scene and they had the bikes, and that kind of threw us off. LM : Yeah, that threw us way off because man, it’s been years since we rode a bike. I fell two times. FB : (laughs) We hadn’t used those muscles in a while. [The bikes] were old school Schwinn [bikes] with no cushion. But it was a fun experience. Major actors were on there and we got to work with them, and that was really cool. KB : There are so many fantastic aspects to the show, from it being the first Native sitcom to its creators, Taika Watiti and Sterlin Harjo, on to the cast of teens and supporting roles—even this love for fried catfish. What’s the best part about the show to you guys? And speaking of catfish, is that true? Do Natives have a thing for catfish? LM : (smiles) I think it’s just Oklahomans in general … different [reservations]. FB : We love some grilled catfish with Cajun spices, not the fried stuff. LM : My favorite part about the show is the accents. Not every Native American has the same accent, and not every Native American looks the same. You have the light-skinned ones and the dark-skinned ones, the ones with facial hair and without, so it’s just cool they’re incorporating that [into the show]. FB : We even had a character in season 2 who was afro-indigenous, and a lot of people, I think, are gonna be surprised at next season because now they’re expanding outside of Oklahoma to California, and hopefully we’ll get to experience some Native Americans out there and they’ll jump between the two states to see what the Indian Mafia has done with Mose and Mekko vs. what the Reservation Dogs are doing in Cali. Cool thing is, we grew up in the city in public schools, homie. That’s why we don’t have a typical native accent. KB : You guys are Pawnee tribe members. The word skoden is used a lot in the show. What does it mean? FB : We are. Loud and proud. [Skoden] i s native slang for let’s go then . It’s something they say on Reservation Dogs and people are picking it up and running with it. We actually wrote a song about it—it’s a single. It’s streaming everywhere. It’s called “SKODEN.” KB : How do you guys get away with holding it together while filming? There’s so much that’s hilarious and enlightening but also heartbreaking. You never know what you’re going to get. LM : I caught myself crying this season and afterwards, there was a joke and I’m laughing through tears. FB : Something I like is that the show touches on deep issues Indigenous communities face and it relates to a lot of other cultures and communities, so it’s humanizing Indigenous communities. (Both guys acknowledged knowing words have power. Bone says, “That’s why we write the way we do. Every word has meaning.”) KB : Let’s talk about your music. You guys have a slew of songs out there on multiple albums, with each album featuring 20 songs or more. Where do you find so much inspiration? FB : I think growing up dealing with what we did has helped us. We’ve seen a lot and been in the middle of a lot, and me and Mike are the only ones sitting there praying over someone dying while everyone else is screaming and running. LM : You know, music can hurt or harm you, depending on the content, which is why we encourage people to listen to [positive music] … FB : … to plug similar artists like us. LM : If you really listen to our songs, you’ll notice the change between songs. We don’t sound the same on every song. FB : You guys support all these other artists that put 10 or so songs on their albums. We put 20 or more. We had to convince people to buy the albums, so we needed a lot of songs influenced by life circumstances. Other stuff just comes to us out the blue and it just piles up and next thing we know we got 20 songs and are like, “Whoa, we should probably release this.” LM : [Our song] “Wifey” is rapped in the style of Pretty Ricky (the reason a lot of 90s kids got pregnant), so we wrote a song in that style that talks about saving yourself for marriage. We made a song about celibacy to the beat of the song about sex. FB : Yeah, and “Pop Pop,” (famously featured in Reservation Dogs ). If you don’t know what you’re singing about, it sounds like we’re talking about shooting stuff, right? But if you listen deeply, that song is about shooting down evil spirits and negative energy, and that’s something we live by. LM : We also have “316,” which is a song about missing someone you love and being up thinking about that person at 3:16 in the morning. But a lot of people think we’re talking about the Bible verse John 3:16. On one end, its about missing your relationship with God and on the other end, it’s about missing someone you love. FB : “Fists in the Air” is our song about raising awareness for the missing and murdered indigenous people. We wanted to use our platform to raise awareness and make an anthem for that. LM : It’s a west-coast feel with a bounce to it … a little west-coast gangsta rap. FB : “After Party” is a song dedicated to people who’ve passed on. We had lost so many people and we were like, “Yo, we should make a song that’s happy instead of something that draws you down.” You gotta remember a person in a good light and the time you had with them, and that they’re no longer in pain or dealing with the troubles of this world. They’re in the after world ... the after party. LM : The closest song I can think of that didn’t drag me down was “Crossroads” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. In my opinion, there will be a big family reunion when it’s your time, and we all get to go and hang out and [reminisce]. It’s just our way of bringing light and joy back to peoples’ lives. FB : We’re believers, not traditional Christians. We believe in a lot of stuff—Christ, aliens, crystals, spirit guides and spiritual gifts, healers. We believe in the powers of the moon and the water and the fire. LM : Don’t let someone else’s actions push you away from Creator because of their evil intent. If you feel torn between the church and traditional ways, Creator gave us our traditional ways before someone gave us a book, you know? Smudging, medicines … the same way creator gave Moses knowledge, Creator came to us in different forms and gave us the knowledge we needed to care for this place. But we haven’t been taking care of it like we should. KB : Any albums in progress or upcoming releases? LM : Girrrrl! Reservation Dogs had us rap some songs we wrote way back in the day. So, like “Pop Pop” was 2005/6, then we have a song called “Problems” we wrote and rapped on the bikes [on the show] … and then I was like, “Yo! We should remake ‘Problems’ and remake ‘Pop Pop’ and put it on an album with better beats and better recording quality!” Because those two songs, when we recorded [them], were not recorded in a legit studio … FB : (laughs) It was, uh, at-home productions. LM : And so, I [said] yeah, we workin’ on that—bringin’ back some oldies—and then the “Problems” song isn’t as churchy and wild as it was, but it matches what we did on the show. We’re taking our time with it because we don’t want to … FB : … we don’t want to just throw something out there. LM : We critique ourselves to the max, and we don’t wanna just write any old thing and put it out there. FB : And plus, putting out music now is way different than it has been in the past because of [the internet]. You can put out singles now, and then put out the whole album, and that’s what we’re starting to do. LM : This high-speed generation has put out music too fast to where some of the songs people are listening to could’ve been done better. KB : Or it all just sounds the same. FB : Yeah, we don’t listen to mainstream music because of that. It’s either terrible, or it all sounds the same. LM : I feel like take time, listen to it. Don’t enjoy it just because you want it. Something we do different is we’ll record a song, let it sit for a day, then come back and listen as if it weren’t our song. That way I can be like I should sing it this way instead of that or we should change these lyrics. It is more expensive doing it that way, but at the end it’ll be so much more worth it. FB : Plus, the producers have ideas that [takes the song] to a whole other level. We want to work on some rock, and we wanna do a remix of “Rain Dance” ... do a rock-n-roll version. (“Rain Dance” was Mike Bone’s hit from America’s Got Talent . You can view it below, and you’re gonna want to, trust me. It’s a great song.) FB : We’ve recorded [the song] three different ways. I wrote it in high school – just me with a mixed-tape beat, and people loved that so much, we had to have our producer make an original beat and we added Mike, and America’s Got Talent picked us up with that. We released a dubstep remix, and that’s on the Rain Dance album, and we wanna work on a rap version … [and] we have a song out now about police brutality. It’s called “That’s Enough,” and it talks about all this mess police get away with, and then when they get caught, [all they get] is just paid leave. It endorses more of that kind of behavior. And we’re like, “That’s enough.” Enough of this, enough of that. We need consequences for these folks. FB : We’re also working on being in some different film projects. A movie. Next year we start filming for a movie called Brave , and I’m hoping it’s gonna be big because there’s a lot of big producers and actors on it. We aren’t the main characters, which is a good thing because we get to focus on our music and touring and stuff. KB : All of this is so fantastic. Do you have a message for readers and listeners out there? FB : (smiles) If you need a party thrown, call Mike Bone! (laughs) That’s our motto. And stay original. LM : (smiles) I would say that with everything that you do, treat each other sacred, because as a human species we only have each other to lean on, and causing other people trauma or pain in any form is only gonna hurt you in the long run, because it makes you look like the evil person and it leaves the legacy that you are the evil person. It all starts with you and your actions, so treat each other sacred. And there you have it, fellow entertainment lovers. A talented duo who are an open book with quite a message. You’ll definitely want to visit their website at www.MikeBoneMedia.com . Be sure to check out their AUDIO page for all their singles, albums, and mix tapes, and their VIDEOS page for all kinds of viewing content. After that, visit their STORE and buy some merch in support of these worthy independent artists just tryin’ to make it doin’ what they love. You can also find links to all of their social media directly on their home page. Listen and watch away, entertainment lovers. *photos provided by Mike Bone Media www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

“Sulking in Love” features powerful ballads as gateways to the darkness that lurks beneath personal distress. Shawn Williams: Sulking in Love < Back Shawn Williams: Sulking in Love Ryne Hancock Sep 27, 2023 Share “Sulking in Love” features powerful ballads as gateways to the darkness that lurks beneath personal distress. New Orleans native and singer/songwriter Shawn Williams loves the nighttime. “The nighttime is when we are mostly alone by ourselves, stuck with whatever’s going on, whether it’s sadness or happiness,” she once wrote on her website when describing the inspiration behind most of her songs. For 13 years, Williams worked as a radio personality and program director at various stations in Atlanta, New York, and New Orleans before she decided to strike out on her own in 2017. As a hauntingly soulful singer/songwriter with a throaty rasp and sardonic lyrics , Shawn brought forth her brand of Americana, which, according to her, is a mixture of alt-rock, country, and serial killer blues , with her first album “Shadow.” Her next album, “Motel Livin,’” which garnered favorable reviews from local music outlets like OffBeat Magazine , released in 2018. Since breaking out on the New Orleans music scene six years ago, Williams has been a mainstay on the popular local WHIV-FM country music show “NOLA Country Radio.” She has also been featured in the aforementioned OffBeat Magazine , Ireland’s Lonesome Highway , and Europe’s Country People Magazine and was nominated for three “Best of the Beat” awards last year. credit: Christopher Bryson Recently, Williams released her third album in four years and fifth album overall with “Sulking in Love,” which was produced with assistance from Mark Howard, who was at the helm on albums such as the Neville Brothers’ “Yellow Moon” and Peter Gabriel’s “Us.” “Sulking in Love” is layered and textured in sound and is like a cross between Lucinda Williams and PJ Harvey but reads more like the tale of a woman ready to move on from a relationship than anything else, hence the title of the album. “Sulking in Love” showcases “cut-throat guitar melodies fused with pure muscle jazz” as Williams’ powerful ballads build on danger, tension, and the Crescent City after dark. Her powerhouse vocals matched with her Cajun folk twang creates a sultry atmosphere for listeners to experience. “Sulking in Love” is full of surprise moments like, for example, the big solo on “Givin’ Up,” which features the guitar framed by what sounds like a vintage Mellotron, which is pretty cool. A few weeks ago, Shawn took time from her busy tour schedule to talk with me about her music, the Americana scene in the Crescent City, and the trials and tribulations of being a working musician in New Orleans. MaM : You worked as a radio programmer before hitting it on the road as a singer/songwriter. With the way radio is set up now, most notably in the country genre, what positives or negatives have you seen in terms of radio play for americana/country? Shawn : I've been writing songs since I was 10 and playing guitar since I was 14. In any genre, it's hard for artists to get mainstream/commercial radio airplay unless you're backed by the big labels and big money. What's great about New Orleans is that people support their local, independent radio stations, like WTUL, WWOZ, and WHIV because they play local artists … artists like Lucinda Williams or Ryan Adams who don't get mainstream support but are still big. MaM : Two years before the pandemic, you had two albums out. After we all went on lockdown, you then released your third album, "The Fear of Living, The Fear of Loving." Would you say the pandemic was the fuel behind your creative input now that you have released three albums in four years? Shawn : That third overall album was fueled by a breakup, drinking (because what else was there to do at that time?), dark times, and by the song "Change . " I first wrote "Change" and I was like, “What the hell? What else am I going to do? Let me record a whole album on my phone," which I never wanted to do because of the quality, but I went for it for fun. I wrote all of the songs within a week , played all of the instruments—some of which I've never played before—and made my album how I wanted it to sound in every aspect. I actually had a Kickstarter going at the end of 2019 to record a third album in a real studio, but when the shutdown happened, that idea got nixed. When things picked back up, I started recording the fourth overall album in 2021 and released it in the summer of 2022, and then a few months later I started recording my fifth overall album and released it a few months later. MaM : In the short time I've followed your career, you've been traveling over to Pensacola, Fla., mostly to do shows. Is it due to the pay for gigs there as opposed to gigs here in New Orleans, or the Americana scene here in the city? credit: Jessica Moody Shawn : It's due to pay and the change of the music scene in New Orleans since the shutdown; although, leading up to it, the [NOLA] scene was already beginning to derail. All the clubs on Frenchmen Street other than Checkpoint Charlie (which rarely has music anymore), unfortunately want the same sound, the same five cover songs, and that's just not me. They rip off musicians. I don't want to have my players put up with working their butts off for no money and no respect. Now I'm just playing select venues and shows, places in the city that I want to play and that respect the music and the musicians, and spending the rest of my time on the road. MaM : On your album you have a song called "Society." From what I've gathered , you've never been big on political songs. What inspired you to write that one? Shawn : Yeah, I don't think I really have any politically driven songs, other than a few lines in some songs. Last summer, I was living in my RV on a farm and staying in Pensacola for the summer while touring and doing some shows on the coast and up north. Prices doubled in places to rent in New Orleans, and I couldn't afford anything. I was pissed that I couldn't go back to the place that I was born because of gentrification and the mayor killing our city and culture. And that's how the song began, as you can tell in the first couple of lines. It also touches on the city’s crime, but how crime begins at the top and with our leaders. I also have some lines in there about the pumps, Sewerage and Water Board, and the 5G towers all around the French Quarter. MaM : One of the members of the famous Neville family, Omari, is featured on "Sulking in Love." What was it like working with New Orleans music royalty? Shawn : It was killer!!! And I've never felt so fortunate to get to work with some badasses. It was my first time meeting Omari Neville , who plays on percussion and drums on this album, Daryl Johnson, who’s worked with The Neville Brothers, Emmylou Harris , and the Meters, who plays bass and percussion plus provides backing vocals, as well as Michael Chaves, who is on the guitar, keyboards, harmonica, and tambourine. L to R: Michael Chavez, Mark Howard, Shawn Williams, Daryl Johnson, Omari Neville (from artist website) It was important to have some New Orleans musicians on the album because the city is important to me and [is] a part of my sound and myself. They were all fun and easy to work with … [we] definitely vibed quickly. I’m thankful to have Omari as part of my band and live shows now! MaM : What do you expect your listeners to get out of this new album? Also , are there any upcoming shows in New Orleans on the horizon? Shawn : Like I hope for with all of my albums, I hope they get rawness, vulnerability, and are able to connect with the album. Plus, appreciation to the guys and how incredible they did on the album! On October 1, we'll be playing at Toulouse Theatre with our friends Gal Holiday & The Honky Tonk Revue opening up! "Sulking in Love" is currently available on most streaming outlets. For more on Shawn Williams, her music, and her tour schedule , visit her online at www.ShawnWilliamsMusic.com or at any of the below-listed links! Facebook: @ShawnWilliamsMusic Bandcamp: shawnwilliamsmusic.bandcamp.com *cover image by Shannon Moon www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

You Never Know The Nine Lives of Paul Sanchez < Back The Nine Lives of Paul Sanchez C.G. Smith Nov 30, 2022 Share You Never Know “Ram Das and Alan Watts would tell the story of the Chinese farmer ,who one day his horse runs away, and his neighbor says, ‘That’s too bad.’ And he goes, ‘Well, you never know.’ The next day the horse comes back leading five wild stallions and his neighbor says, 'That’s wonderful!’ and the guy replies, ‘Well, you never know.’ The next day his son’s trying to break one of the stallions and he falls off and he breaks his leg. His neighbor says, ‘Oh, that’s terrible!’ And he goes, ‘Well, you never know.’ The next day the army comes through conscripting young men for the service, and they take all but his son because he’s got a broken leg. His neighbor says, ‘That’s wonderful!’ And he says, ‘Well, you never know.’ That’s life. What looks like a wrong turn sometimes is the greatest thing that could have happened.” – As told by Paul Sanchez. ________________________________________________________________ It has been said that the best art comes from suffering. Others claim it comes from the joy and happiness that make art what it is. New Orleans songwriter, actor, and producer Paul Sanchez, formerly of the hit band Cowboy Mouth, is well acquainted with both. From his early experiences living as one of 11 siblings in a poor, working class family in the rough Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans in the 60s to playing in front of tens of thousands of people on stage, Paul embodies a life lived. He grew up in New Orleans, then lived in New York in the late 80’s and has since traveled all over the world. But he still loves coming home to the Crescent City. “One of the things that makes New Orleans special to me in my travels is that it's an entrée to anywhere in the world. When you say you are a musician from New Orleans you get a respect before you even play a note that most musicians have to earn,” says Paul. There are many glimpses into this incredible life throughout the extensive catalog of music he has written, produced, or simply been a part of over the years. His lyrics can be beautiful and dark, sometimes silly, and other times dead serious, but they always tell a story. Sanchez has 11 albums out with his former group Cowboy Mouth and another dozen or so on his own and with other musicians. This includes the musical project Nine Lives , based off Dan Baum’s New York Times best-selling novel by the same name that may soon become a television series. To be this prolific you really need to have something important to convey in your music. “I don’t really think about what I’m going to write … before I start writing,” he says when asked about his process. “Often, I am writing so fast that I don’t realize what it is I have written until it is finished. Sometimes not until years later. When my ex-wife left me, I looked back at the songs that I had written while we were married and realized most of them were about being lonely and [feeling] unloved. The songs have always known me better than I have known myself. It feels like they are written by someone else who has whispered them to me as if in a dream, a gift from the universe. I hear a melody and words and I follow them to, what seems to me, their natural conclusion.” Paul’s first gig was filling in for a friend at a French Quarter venue at the tender age of 16, and since then he has performed all over the world from intimate gigs in private homes to multiple Jazz Fests to stadiums with tens of thousands of people. He started singing after his father passed away when he was only five years old. “My father was sort of the heart of the family, and when he died, [for the first six months] my mom [would spend] all day at the graveyard. I had five brothers and five sisters and most of them were still at home when he died. A little boy singing was prettier than a house full of people crying, so everybody encouraged me to sing. [Early] on I knew my singing made other people feel better. I didn’t know if it made me feel better, but it made other people feel better and that’s been sort of the inner quest [for] the rest of my life.” Paul wrote his first song before ever playing the guitar, and at a young age formed an imaginary band with a friend and called themselves The Possibilities. He wrote their theme song at age 6 after hearing The Monkees and Herman’s Hermits. “We’re the Possibilities,” (very 60s, he interjects), “Yes, we’re The Possibilities. We may have no style but we’re gonna try to get up high, ‘cause we’re The Possibilities, and that’s what we have: a possibility.” In his teens, Paul started learning guitar, and at 16 he played his first gig. He was then was in a band called The Backbeats, whom he formed with Ellen DeGeneres’ brother Vance. In 80s he moved to New York’s East Village to join the anti-folk scene there and learned a lot about songwriting and performing from the people he met there. credit: Billy Nova, a.k.a. William Moeller “I’d gone up to New York to be the next Bruce Dylan or Bob Springsteen. I read this tiny ad in the Village Voice that said, ‘If you want the real thing, come to The Fort at Sophie’s.’ So, I walked across the island, not knowing how far of a walk that was going to be, and in 1986 how dangerous it was. I walked into this little bar where they’d moved the pool table and the singers were just standing under this light. There’s a guy with a clipboard, Latch – who’s still a friend, so I walked up to him and said, ‘Hey man, I’m from New Orleans, can I play?’ He pulls his glasses down and he goes, ‘Are you good?’ I went, ‘I’m pretty good.’ He went, ‘I didn’t ask if you if you were pretty good, I asked you if you were good.’ One of my friends was standing with me and he goes, ‘Hey man, this guy’s f*ckin’ great.’ Latch looks over at my buddy, doesn’t say a word, looks back at me and goes, ‘So are you good?’ I went, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’ He went, ‘Okay, you can play.’ I loved that. It was his first lesson: if you can’t own it, you can’t be it.” When asked if he wrote many songs while in New York, Sanchez says he, "worked a movie up there-- A Kiss Before Dying with Matt Dillon and Sean Young (she was crazy as a road lizard)--was staying at a friend’s place on 14th St. My friends were kind of, big people, and they were fuckin’ and I was sleeping on the couch against their bed, and it was obvious, so I was getting divorced and was depressed so I split, and I thought I’m just gonna do a shot at every bar between here and Houston St. and think about where I went wrong. I didn’t know how many bars they had in New York – it rivals New Orleans. So doing shots of Wild Turkey and on the return trip home, sometime around two in the morning I decided to call my ex and explain my side of things one more time. After she hung up on me, I went back and grabbed my guitar, drunk as shit and went on the roof of the building and wrote Light It On Fire.” Many of us remember Paul from the New Orleans rock group Cowboy Mouth, which he co-founded, toured the world with, and released many albums with over 16 years. In 1992, he met a woman who gave him her card. Paul replied to her with some demos for “Jet Black and Jealous” he had made in New York in 1987 on a Tascam four-track cassette recorder. “So, I sent them to her, and she goes, ‘I love this, I want to put it out. What I’m hearing on this record is this guy’s singing songs like he believes nobody’s ever gonna hear them.’” And that’s how Sanchez began doing solo records and in 2006, when the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina washed away everything he owned, he decided to quit Cowboy Mouth and focus on his own material. Since then, he has released nearly 20 records either solo or with other musicians. credit: Joanna DeGeneres Paul suffered years where he couldn’t sing because of dystonia, which is a movement disorder that causes the muscles to contract involuntarily. With singers, it’s a chronic voice disorder characterized by spasms of the muscles in the larynx, which control the voice. “The four years I couldn’t sing were very humbling, but I took it as a grace. I took it that the universe was trying to teach me something I needed to know. I’m only at the beginning of the trail of realizing what that is and then incorporating it into the music. I’m singing different[ly] than I did before. It’s like a stroke victim learning to walk again, you know? [With t]his neurological condition, the neurons in your brain are … misfiring. From the throat surgeries, the breakup, the traveling 400 miles a week, etc., they thought I was in trauma, and they said, ‘Let’s shut this guy down.’ The way his dystonia therapist put it to him was that he had a traumatic event in childhood that began a loop of “I’m not worthy” talk, and then a second trauma in adulthood altered “I’m not worthy” into “I don’t even want to be me.” When his therapist asked why he thought this was happening, Paul said, “I think I have a profound desire not to be Paul Sanchez anymore. My brain doesn’t want to be that guy anymore. I’m now teaching my brain that it wasn’t the music; it was life.” Thankfully, a voice coach helped get Paul singing again and back on stage for our entertainment pleasure, and we are so glad he is feeling better and singing/talking again. As for influences, Sanchez credits The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen early on, connecting to the mythos of their escaping poverty through music. “[They were] all were very open about their own influences and as a fan, I listened to the people they talked about, and my musical education is a result of doing so, from Woody Guthrie to Frank Turner.” “One of the most revealing interviews I ever read was Bruce Springsteen. Back in the ‘90s he took four years away from music to go into therapy ‘cause he had wanted to commit suicide. So, after four years off course he went back to music, he made a record, he’s going on tour, and Rolling Stone sends a respected writer … to interview him. At one point he says, ‘So Bruce, are you still going to do four-hour concerts, because you know everybody loves those?’ He said Bruce grinned said, ‘Well I love ‘em too, but I found out through therapy that I also stay up there that long because it’s the only place I don’t feel worthless.’ What struck me was, he didn’t say, ‘It’s the only place I feel worthwhile.’ He said ‘It’s the only place I don’t feel worthless.’ That to me was more honest. For me, I grew up in poverty, and an abusive situation, and music was my place not to feel worthless. It’s healing. That’s why you go back to it.” Today, while many of his influences circle back to his originals, Paul says he gets inspired by songs he hears. “Alex McMurray, Davis Rogan, Jim McCormick, John Rankin, John Thomas Griffith—great songwriters inspired me to try to write great songs.” And besides the music Sanchez creates, he’s also an actor. “Acting, for me, is completely different than making music. Making music is an expression of who I am, my essence in words and melody. When I am acting, I memorize the lines and then I say them as the director would like them to be said. More often than not, a director will come up to you right before a scene and ask, ‘Can you say it like this?’ Being a musician, I try to mimic the tone and inflection, the rising and falling of his or her voice. More often than not the director is thrilled because what I’m doing is saying it like it has been in his or her head for months. I’m not trying to put my stamp on it; I’m trying to put their stamp on it because it’s their show, not mine.” He even spent some time filming the hit HBO series Tremé , which Sanchez says was a joy. “David Simon and Eric Overmyer are true music fans, and they treated the musicians like gold … [and gave] great advice.” Paul says the show was so real, it felt like the writers were eavesdropping on the lives of him and his friends, adding that the writers love NOLA and it showed in the series’s writing and direction. He says they created a historical document of the culture and music of New Orleans that’ll be invaluable in years to come. And he has many interesting stories from his time filming. “We were filming a [funeral] scene in a church Uptown. [It] was packed with musicians, mostly hired extras, and I sat next to John Boutté. On a break, David Simon sat and talked to me and John. I mentioned that it was amazing to see so many musicians gathered [in one place] and how they were committed to realism no matter the cost. David Simon responded with, “It isn’t the money; it’s the emotional equity.” I was so struck by the phrase that I turned it into a song with Alex McMurray called “Emotional Equity,” which appeared on my release, Paul Sanchez and The Rolling Road Show - Reclamation of The Pie-Eyed Piper.” Paul notes that the NOLA music scene is far more diverse now than it was in his youth. There wasn’t much of a scene for singer/songwriters when he was young, and he credits Tréme with bringing a new perspective to the music scene. He adds that NOLA provides a unique place for artists of all ages, noting that you may not get rich, but you’ll always be playing music. He’s been around the world and performed in some amazing places, with some amazing talent, so I asked him to share some of his most memorable experiences. “When I was in Cowboy Mouth, we played a music festival in Atlanta, Midtown Music Festival, opening for Cheap Trick. The audience in front of us was 50,000 people, [and] the crowd literally disappeared down the street as it sloped down from the stage. Ellen DeGeneres had Cowboy Mouth on her show after [Hurricane] Katrina, and it was pretty special. I knew her when she was starting up: she opened for a band I had with her brother Vance DeGeneres, [which is] pretty funny looking back ‘cuz we were the hot new-wave band in New Orleans at the time, and she was just looking for a gig. It was wonderful to be on her show. It’s always wonderful to see someone you know live a dream. I feel the same way about Darius Rucker. He has always been so generous to me. In 2016, he brought me on tour to write songs. The songs were never used, but he also brought me on stage to perform during the tour and most notably for me, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. There’s no way a Channel Rat like me gets on that stage without somebody like him putting me there." When asked if there an album, performance, or project he is most proud of being involved with, Paul speaks of his project Nine Lives: A Musical Adaptation Live , which is an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Dan Baum. It follows the lives on nine people in New Orleans from 1965, when Hurricane Betsy ravaged the city to 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed it. Speaking of Nine Lives , it may have a new life of its own, possibly becoming a television series soon. After a disappointing experience with trying to get it on Broadway, there’s a new team of people involved with doing it right this time. “ Nine Lives has been a very interesting journey. It started in 2007. My friend Colman deKay goes, ‘Hey man, I read this book called Nine Lives , a bestseller, and I think you and I should turn it into a musical.’ I thought he was insane. I can’t write a musical. He went to bed and I started flipping through the book. I found the scene where John Guidos goes to his first drag party with his clothes in a Schwegmann’s bag and I fell right in, and I wrote “Feels Like a Lady.” I took it downstairs to him and I said, ‘What do you think?’ He goes, ‘Oh boy! Let’s finish it now!’ And we did. Then he wrote to Dan Baum and said, ‘My friend and I have written some songs out of your book, and we’d like to turn it into a musical.’ (After some initial skepticism), he loved it. I wish I could’ve brought it to fruition in his lifetime.” The Nine Lives record was actually made from a grass-roots organization called Threadhead Records, where people could donate money as little as $5 to help New Orleans musicians get back on their feet after Katrina. This was well before Kickstarter or Go Fund Me. Paul and his friend John Boutté did a fundraiser one night and a chance meeting helped get the funding for the record. “This guy from California walks up and says, ‘Hey man, you guys are great together; you should do a record.’ I look at him and go, ‘I just lost everything I own. I can’t afford rent, let alone a record.’ He went, ‘Well, how much do you need?’ I told him and he said, ‘I’ll get back to you.’ Being in the music business I thought, ‘Yeah right.’ Two weeks later he calls up and says, ‘Okay I have a check, where do I send it?’ I didn’t know what to say. He didn’t say, ‘I need you to sign a contract’; he didn’t say, ‘I need to hear the music’; and he didn’t say, ‘I need to own the music.’ He said, ‘Where do I send the check and promise me on your word as a gentleman that when the CD comes out, you’ll pay us back from CD sales.’ They started this thing called Threadhead Records and in four to five years’ time, they put out records by sixty artists who didn’t have the money to do it. In my opinion, it both saved and changed the face of the New Orleans Music scene for generations to come, because they gave so many artists the chance to record.” And the story for how the funding for Lives came about is quite interesting, and it involves the infamous Pepsi Challenge. “Pepsi had this challenge where they were going to give away $50,000. We were the ninth-place contestant and we got $50,000, and then Threadheads raised another $150,000.” Paul’s industry friend, Michael Cerveris, brought the idea and the songs to his people in the theater scene, and they ended up with a playwright named Lisa D'Amour. D’Amour had gone to Dominican High School in New Orleans. She was not a true New Orleanian, although she claimed to be. She worked on Nine Lives for a year and a half and ended up trying to cut twenty of the original 39 songs, writing ten of her own. She wanted to start it all off with a slow, mournful dirge called “I Feel Like I Wanna Die Today” instead of Paul’s original upbeat song. “I’m like, ‘You don’t get New Orleans at all baby. We dance in the face of death,’” Paul laughs. After he parted ways with D’Amour over creative differences, she took all the same characters and turned it into a show called Airline Highway and it ran in Chicago from December 2014 until February 2015, then on Broadway from April 2015 until June 2015 before it closed for good. “So, mid-pandemic the rights have lapsed, they don’t own my music anymore, and I get an e-mail saying ‘Hey, we found this great director who wants to do it and we’d like to pick up our option to the music again.’” After more communications and some further attempts to change Paul’s vision, Nine Lives was shelved once again. “These are my songs, and I don’t want some stranger changing them and writing lyrics for them. I told them the same thing I told my ex-wife: you can’t have my songs. You can have the clothes off my back, you can have my last dollar, but you can’t have my songs.” Once the producers let the rights to the book lapse, and Chris Joseph, who started Threadhead Records, got wind of it, he bought the rights from Dan’s widow and put Paul on as a partner. Bohemia Production Company loved it and wanted to produce it as a dramatic series that leans heavily on music. “I didn’t have a problem with that, because music is used so interestingly in television shows now. So, I said, ‘Great, run with it.’ [T]hree days later, the creative director was having drinks with an old friend who is a writer, and he says, ‘Hey, I think we’ve got our next project. It’s about a book that’s about New Orleans after Katrina.’ He said his friend put down his drink and went, ‘Please tell me it’s Nine Lives , because it’s my dream to write [it].’ Extremely serendipitous.” “For me it’s really great that it has a possible life as a tv show, because so many people are invested in it emotionally. It also captures a period of time in New Orleans that I was born and grew up in which made writing the songs possible. I didn’t have to write a Katrina Record post-flood. I wrote this thing called Nine Lives , where I was speaking through nine different people’s voices – actually like twelve to twenty different people’s voices. I was speaking about my feelings about the flood, but I didn’t have the soul crushing experience of it being [in] first-person. I didn’t realize that until later.” Nine Lives as a television series is still very much in its infancy, but its future looks very, very bright. “The vibe I’m getting is that they see it and hear it the same way we do. The fact that the writer, Frank Everleigh, lived here, the fact that he’d been through that experience of having been ostracized by his community, and the fact that I’m very passionate when I speak about it, well, they were really taken with that. They really want to have my voice in on the script. So, I’m excited to have some input on the script because the Broadway writers weren’t like that.” I smile and tell Paul that that is why the first option isn’t always the best one ... because you never know. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Send an email to mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . 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Big in the 90s For a Good Time, Call < Back For a Good Time, Call Keeley Brooks Oct 25, 2022 Share Big in the 90s The 90s are remembered (and missed!) for so many reasons—one of the main ones being that the decade was important in music history. When grunge, hip-hop, alternative rock, and industrial rock emerged, so too did hordes of fans. These genres gave us so much good music that produced a slew of hits still making crowds go wild. One band having fun with that is New Orleans-based ultimate 90s cover band Big in the 90s. With a repertoire of pop music, grunge, R&B, and alternative, their set list includes everything from Britney to Brit-pop (Hello PULP! Anybody? No?), Gin Blossoms to Ginuwine, and everything else in between. Big in the 90s is Jonathan Pretus on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Stephen Turner on lead guitar and backing vocals, Joe Bourgeois on bass and backing vocals, and Kyle Melancon on drums and backing vocals. Occasionally you’ll hear Melancon and Turner on lead vocals as well. Singer Jonathan Pretus and drummer Kyle Melancon both spent time in New Orleans-based bands that actually WERE big in the 90s. Pretus was guitarist for Cowboy Mouth, and Melancon was drummer for Dash Rip Rock and Imagination Movers. Bassist Joe Bourgeois was in MyNameIsJohnMichael, Stephen Turner was guitarist in EPIC, and for years, Turner, Bourgeois, and Pretus were part of the acclaimed rock band The Breton Sound. During that time, the guys kept hearing the same thing from record labels, management, and radio programmers, “You guys are great. You’d have been big in the 90s.” So, after 8 years in The Breton Sound, around 2019, the guys “put the brakes on” the band but didn’t want to stop playing music. Recognizing that all their musical roads intersected somewhere in the 90s, it seemed like a natural progression to start a band playing the eclectic 90s songs they loved and grew up with. “We could just play music for fun and not worry about the business aspects that being in an aspiring band brought,” said Pretus. “The name came about because with The Breton Sound, we were told multiple times by a variety of labels, radio programmers, and industry-type folks that they loved what we were doing but [that we’d have been big in the 90s]. So, [the band name] came from that, and we all agreed it was going to be the name almost as quickly as we agreed to start the band.” The guys also say that each show is like filling a six-disc changer with all your old mix CDs and hitting shuffle. Every song in their set is a classic that’ll provoke you at some point to squeal, “This is my JAM!” to your girlfriends and boyfriends, I guarantee it. Hell, even the band themselves have songs that make them squeal. They aren’t shy about it. Here’s what the guys had to say when asked about favorites of their own: JP : My favorites are usually “Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger or anything by Oasis. KM : My favorite 90s song is probably “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals. It’s just a perfectly crafted song. I hope to put that in our set one day. As far as songs we currently play, my favorite has to be “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind. [It’s definitely] one of the most fun songs to play on drums, ever. ST : My favorites are “Larger Than Life” by Backstreet Boys, “Sweater Song” by Weezer, and “No Scrubs” by TLC. MAM: So, then, I have to know if there are any songs that take it a step further and make everyone lose their shit? JP : Our set’s pretty banger-heavy, [so] there’s a lot of shit-losing throughout the night! “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind always crushes. KM : I never would’ve thought that it would’ve had this kind of staying power when it came out but “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit sends people into an absolute frenzy. It’s bananas. I don’t quite understand it, but I absolutely love it. ST : For me, “Pony” by Ginuwine. It’s hilarious. Especially when Jonathan uses his prop pony on a stick. MAM: Shut up! Are you serious? You’re right: That is hilarious. Is there a video of this somewhere out there? ST : There absolutely is. Readers, click PLAY below, and enjoy the giggles . Big in the 90s bring these and many other songs to life, faithfully and with the energy of a top-notch live show from seasoned performers who’ve played stages of all sizes, to crowds of all sizes, all over the country. While Big in the 90s is based in New Orleans, they aren’t limited to playing in the city. The guys are branching out beyond the NOLA area and often play in Baton Rouge, but they have spent the past year kind of “cautiously cementing” themselves in their home market. “COVID is so unpredictable, and we never know what’ll happen with cancellation due to it,” said the band. They hope to branch out through the Gulf South region in the New Year. While there are no albums for Big in the 90s, their collective work as The Breton Sound and Kyle’s work with Dash Rip Rock and Imagination Movers are readily available. There are, however, plenty of opportunities to catch them live for the rest of this year. Be sure to check their website frequently for additions and updates, too. Nov. 12 St. Rita Fall Fest, Harahan, LA Nov. 18 English Turn Country Club, New Orleans, LA Nov. 25 The Broadside, New Orleans, LA *featuring strings quarter Electric Yat Quartet Dec. 17 Zony Mash Beer Project, New Orleans, LA To squeal about a song to the guys, or for booking and further information, visit them online at www.Biginthe90sBand.com . Facebook /biginthe90s Instagram @biginthe90sband Twitter @biginthe90sband *photos courtesy of Big in the 90s www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

tmdistant takes us on an expedition through sound with his new track “grow into the blossoms”. tmdistant: Music Beyond Boundaries < Back tmdistant: Music Beyond Boundaries Erica Machen Nov 30, 2023 Share tmdistant takes us on an expedition through sound with his new track “grow into the blossoms”. Combustive —that's the first word that comes to mind when contemplating the musical stylings of tmdistant . As a young twenty-something British black man, what you see isn't what you get … or what you expect. And that's precisely what he aims to deliver to his listeners: the unexpected. With his newest track, “ grow into the blossoms ”, tmdistant soars well past delivering the unexpected. In taking a first listen to "grow into the blossoms", I'd like to declare: Mission accomplished! This shoegaze track exudes not only alt-rock and electronica vibes but also manages to incorporate subtle R&B influences. For those unfamiliar with the genre of shoegaze, it's a fusion of obscured vocals, guitar distortion, effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. The convergence of deeply emotional lyrics and vocals, coupled with genre-bending tones and stylings, beckons the listener to close their eyes and absorb the song's message. With lyrics like "Finally, I'll leave" and "Did I make a big difference", listeners quickly realize "grow into blossoms" isn't as sublime as assumed. This listen undoubtedly evokes curiosity and emotion throughout the journey. An artist recognized for seamlessly blending indie, pop, alternative, hyperpop, electronic, and rock, tmdistant has earned praise from outlets and tastemakers like AFROPUNK, Wonderland, EARMILK, and more. He has also received editorial support on various Spotify playlists, showcasing the expansiveness of his musical influence. Releasing today, November 30, 2023, tmdistant's newest single marks the beginning of a new era for him as he delves into the realms of shoegaze. After exploring the interview of the mind behind the music, you won't want to miss the fantastic aural experience that is "grow into blossoms." MaM : Thanks so much for talking with me today! Give us a brief intro and tell us how you came to be known as tmdistant. t : Hey, my name is tmdistant, I am an artist from Essex UK, but I originally grew up just outside of North West London. Growing up in London, a lot of people had code names. Mine was T for a long time. Then I added the M, because that’s also a part of my first name. It stands for “trust minimal”, which says a lot about me and my music. The distant came over time, because I started to realize that's who and what I am. MaM : Your music has been described as a unique blend of genres, including indie, pop, alternative, hyperpop, electronic, and rock. Can you take us back to the beginning of your journey and share what initially drew you to explore such a diverse range of sounds? t : When I first started releasing music in 2020, my manager created playlists to inspire my music. He would show me so much music that I’ve never heard of and so many different genres that I never listened to or even tried to learn from. So, that, in turn, made me think of music differently and start to try different things. Then, it made me take pieces from different genres and styles and mesh them together, therefore creating my own genre of music. I used melodies from slower folk music and R&B music, putting them on indie, indie-pop, folk, rock, indie-rock, alternative rock, hyperpop, and all sorts of shoegaze beats. MaM : "grow into the blossoms" is the first single from your upcoming EP, "vivid memories of dreams I've never had". It seems like a departure from your previous work, with a shift towards shoegaze and alternative music. What inspired this evolution in your sound, and how has the process been for you? t : ‘grow into the blossoms’ is the start of a new era for me, and it wasn’t even a move that I made purposely. I wanted to try something new and step into a new realm, and then that song came out amazing. So, I decided to make more music geared in that lane, and that’s when the EP was born. I’ve always loved alternative music, and I’ve been on it for a second. So, I thought … why not delve deeper, dig deeper, and go for something darker and more interesting for a black man like me, who also looks the way I do. I like shocking people. Being who I am, I get judged before they even see or know what I am about. So, I wanted to give people something they don’t think I can do. MaM : Your single "I don't need a therapist" spent an impressive nine months on the Apple Music playlist “Glitch”. Can you share some insights into how that track came together and on the significance of it finding a home in such a notable playlist for such an extended period? t : ‘I don’t need a therapist’ was such a different song for me at the time, and I loved it. That song made me go into the rock side of music more, and it is beautiful. The song connected with so many people, and the editors at Apple seemed to connect with it as well, so it stayed in their playlist, Glitch, for such a long period of time. It was a perfect fit. It was such a big moment for me to even be added there, because it was still so early in my career. I still think about it 'til this day. It was written in a difficult time in my life, where I needed to talk to someone about what I had going on, but I didn’t feel like I could talk to anyone. I just wrote all my thoughts into a song talking about how “I don’t need a therapist to save me, I'll put my heart in a song”. That’s how I coped with most of my problems, and people felt that too and related to that. MaM : You've gained support from various Spotify playlists, including “Our Generation”, “New Music Friday UK”, and “Alt. Pop”. How does it feel to receive such recognition, and do you think these placements have played a role in shaping your audience and musical direction? t : The recognition I have garnered over the last year has been so surreal, and I can’t even explain how much it has made me and the team feel appreciated for all the hard work we’ve been putting in, grinding to make things work, and they did very well, and they continue to. I wouldn’t say these placements changed anything for me other than realizing who my audience is. So, I have to keep that in mind, which is super important. It has let me and my team know what we’ve been doing is working. It gives us hope for the future and helps us plan ahead. MaM : It's fascinating that you're actively involved in the London club scene and perform live weekly. How does your interaction with a live audience influence your music, and what kind of energy or experience do you aim to create for your listeners during your performances? t : Performing is my second favorite part about being an artist, other than creating the music. I am trying to perform at every chance I can, whether it's weekly or monthly. This year, it was a couple of times. Sometimes when I’m making a song, I'll be thinking about how it will make people feel when I perform it or how well it will sound when I perform the song. So, I tailor it to fit that on some occasions. I want to make people feel something when they’re in the room with me. In life, we all are so desensitized to everything. When I am singing, I want people to feel more than they usually do in their day-to-day life. That’s the experience I tend to create in my performances. MaM : Planning a small tour in Ireland and London early next year and making it free to reach new potential fans is a bold and interesting move. Can you tell us more about your decision to take this approach and what you hope to achieve by connecting with your audience in this way? t : My manager had the brilliant idea to do this tour as a way of meeting new people and making new fans. So, it is perfect as I step into a new lane, creating a new fan base to add to the one I already have. As well, this being my first tour, we wanted to take advantage of gaining experience and venturing to places we haven't been before. MaM : Your upcoming music video for "grow into the blossoms" has us intrigued. Without giving away too much, can you share any insights into the creative process behind the video and how it complements the overall theme of the song and the EP? t : This video was meant to be DIY and homegrown, just like the song. I shot and edited everything myself, just like the song. I mixed the song myself. So, I wanted to try and do everything else to the best of my ability. I shot it in an abandoned train station. The song needed a video that would match the vibe. The train station got the vibe perfectly because it gave me a sense of loneliness and solitude. MaM : What is next on the horizon for you? What should we look for soon? t : The next thing is to keep working on my craft and getting better in every aspect of the meaning: more shows, better music, improved performances, and a bigger presence on social media. I want to make friends with all of my fans and supporters. I want everyone to feel welcome when they come to my shows and listen to my music. I want my music to be a safe space for everyone that relates to it or finds comfort in the words and instruments. Don’t forget, “ grow into blossoms ” is out today. Go ahead and check it out in its entirety. We promise you won't be disappointed. Stay up to date on all things tmdistant by visiting any of his below-listed links. tmdistant | Spotify tmdistant | Instagram tmdistant | Facebook tmdistant | TikTok tmdistant | YouTube *all photos courtesy of tmdistant Erica Machen is a beast when it comes to consuming, writing about, and reviewing music. www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Want to know who all helps us put this together? These peeps do! contributors c.g. smith Contributing Entertainment Writer www.inthecornerofadream.com C.G. Smith is a guy living in New Orleans, LA, with a lot of opinions and a deep love for music and film. He’s also a musician who's been in love with Rock ‘N Roll since he was very young, often standing on his tip-toes to put Rolling Stones records on his dad’s big JC Penney stereo, or playing tennis racquet guitar in the bay window to John Cougar’s Learn How to Play Guitar, which he eventually did do many years later. Then he wrote all the songs floating around in his head and recorded them. He's our man on the music & entertainment scene, and we have no doubt he'll keep you just as entertained as he does us. Brent taylor aka "Shaggy chan" Contributing Music Writer / Music Reviews Shaggy’s musical journey started when he was just 16, and let’s be honest, who isn’t starting a band at 16? It’s like a rite of passage, right next to getting your driver’s license and attending prom. His band, “If Nothing Else” began touring the southern states shortly after he graduated from high school. His on-stage charisma didn’t go unnoticed, and soon he was spinning tracks instead of guitar riffs as an on-air DJ for Alexandria’s highest rated radio station. This gig turned into a decade-long broadcasting odyssey, where he would climb the ranks and eventually become the Program Director for not one, but several organizations, including the media giant iHeartMedia. Nowadays, Shaggy’s swapped his tour bus for a home studio, where he’s cooking up new tunes and helping local artists find their groove. With his golden touch and silver tongue, Shaggy’s not just enhancing tunes; he’s amplifying dreams and doling out happiness like it’s going out of style. chris pryor Contributing Music Writer www.maineventrocks.com Meet Chris, everybody. He’s quite the rockstar and hails from a small town in Louisiana called Sarepta, which is way up in the northern part of the state. In addition to his mad trumpeting skills as a child, he’s also quite the singer and over the years has had the opportunities to share the stage with country music legends Doug Stone, Earl Thomas Conley, and John Michael Montgomery. He even auditioned for American Idol back in 2009 but it wasn’t meant to be. That didn’t deter him, though. He went on to become lead singer of the Lil Whiskey Band and in May 2022 formed his high-energy classic rock/country band Chris Pryor & the Main Event. His unique blend of rock and country music, coupled with his powerful vocals, has earned him a dedicated fan base. It has also earned him a spot in our sandbox as one of our music writers. david trahan Contributing Music Writer www.neworleansmusicians.com Podcast: https://Neworleansmusicians.Podbean.com YouTube: https://youtube.com/@neworleansmusicians Blog: https://Neworleansmusicians.com/blog chad besse Contributing Photographer cmdbphotography.myportfolio.com Chad is no stranger to creative outlets. After kicking around the local music scene in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the better part of a decade, he decided it was time to switch gears and try something new, so he started making some pretty sweet props for cosplayers, which he also sold at anime and comic conventions and still does today. After joining the 501st Legion and hangin’ around the convention scene for a few years, he decided to pick up photography as a way to help cosplayers document their creations, because he’s a big ole sweetheart. Photography also gave him another outlet to express his creativity, and his specialty morphed into travel and architecture photography. Now, he’s returning to the music scene to document all the action and to take his skill set to the next level with this new medium. He tells us he’s happy to be documenting the journey of so many other creative people as a part of Mixed Alt Mag, and we believe him! rian nickels Contributing Writer / Photographer / Show Coverage rianmusicjpeg.myportfolio.com Everyone say “hi” to Rian! Rian has been capturing moments as a photographer since 2012, but has known since 2008 that photography was her destiny, and we are so freakin excited to have her on the team because she is a multi-talented badass and mom. In 2018, Rian began doing photography for the local Hammond, Louisiana punk scene and realized she loved what she was doing, but soon discovered her true passion was in the editing of her photos. Not only is Rian a skilled photographer of music, skateboarding, and portraits, but she also does graphic design work, too. Rian aspires to design clothes and home décor in the future and own a storefront to go with it. With a love for all things creative, her hobbies include producing digital art, cozy gaming, crafting stickers, skateboarding, and planning live music events with her musician fiancé. Rian loves music and there is no limit to what she will listen to, but her favorites are pop punk, folk punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, indie, rap, house, and EDM. Rian’s favorite movies are Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, SLC Punk, and Girl Interrupted, but even better, her favorite TV show is Stranger Things. Rian’s dream bands that she would like to photograph include Neck Deep, Pierce the Veil, Mayday Parade, Twenty One Pilots, Mom Jeans, Roe Kapara, and Hot Mulligan. In the future, she hopes to shoot photos at alternative festivals, continue doing skateboard photography, and wants to take portraits of musicians for as many magazines as possible. jason beard Contributing Videographer www.six-to-6.com Jason is no stranger to being behind the lens and this beast of a Renaissance Man hails from Lafayette, LA where he is an established cinematographer, producer, photographer, sound designer, videographer and audio engineer. What does this man not do? As the owner of Sixto6 Productions, he is obsessed with ALL music...well...except for country and techno. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and talent to the Mixed Alt Mag team and we are happy to have him. melissa "mo" thornton Contributing Writer Born in Redondo Beach, California, Mo Thornton aka “Melissa Ford Thornton” is Communications Director for the Princess Theatre Performing Arts Center in Decatur, AL. A budding ukulele player and off-key singer who uses a spoon rest as a microphone, Melissa is also a professional storyteller, writer, poet, and music lyricist. She is a Moth Story Slam winner, and her writing has been published by Silver Birch Press, Good Grit Magazine, Alabama the Beautiful Magazine and frequently airs on WLRH Public Radio. In addition to the Moth, Melissa has told true stories on big stages including Southern Fried Film Festival and Rocket City Reading Festival (Orion Amphitheater), Arc Stories (Birmingham, AL), Athens Storytelling Festival, Stories Under the Stars, Tin Can Stories, and Tenx9 Storytelling (Nashville,TN). In 2019, Melissa published her first collection of poetry and prose: “An Elegant Dispute of the Accidental.” She is a member of Alabama Writers Cooperative and Co-founder and Storyteller at Bramble Stories. When not writing, you can find her kayaking, paddleboarding, skydiving, or chilling out with her rescue cats (who enjoy an eclectic playlist almost as much as Melissa does). Nick Cline Contributing Writer / Music Reviews Meet Nick Cline. He is a man from 1200 miles away trying to contribute and make a name for himself. Born in West Virginia and a resident of Louisiana for 12 years, Nick has found his place in a scene that gives birth to a plethora of brilliant talent. He started playing music at a young age, and ever since, he has had dreams of becoming "something." A love of writing and music has led him to become a member of the Lafayette music scene through his band, Phantum Sun . Phantum Sun started in June of 2023 and has quickly evolved to a sound unique to themselves. His involvement has allowed him to contribute to other bands, festival planning, and everything in between in a very short amount of time. On top of this, he is working on his last year at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. He will be graduating with a Mass Communications degree with a Journalism concentration and Criminal Justice minor. Only the future will tell what is next for Nick and his endeavors in music and writing. jeff holmes Contributing Entertainment Writer www.HolmMovies.blog Ever since Jeff can remember, he's had a passion for movies. Growing up with a love for cartoon, family, and superhero films, his tastes changed and matured the older he got where he developed an affinity for films of all genres, years, and countries. Jeff began doing reviews as a way to share his passion with others, and to showcase the films he believes are worth revisiting. Many movies are released every year, and as a result, quite a few hidden gems are quickly missed or forgotten, but Jeff hopes to help many of these movies get rediscovered, gaining them a new life. Get your popcorn ready and enjoy the show with this one! Justin Hammer Contributing Music Writer & Photographer the_justinhammer@mixedaltmag.com www.justinhammerphotography.com Justin has been a part of the NOLA metal music scene for 15 years now as a photographer, and has met some great people and equally talented musicians along the way. Initially, he began shooting live shows through friends of his that were in bands, since he was never able to get the hang of playing music himself. Knowing that he wanted to contribute to the scene he loved so much led to him discovering he had a natural talent for photography. That snowballed into a new love for music and capturing the energy of live shows. Justin's main focus has always been helping to expose exceptional talent in the local scene and giving back to the bands via quality images they can use to promote themselves. After recently relocating to Lafayette, Louisiana, Justin wants to continue to foster the talent in this state and beyond via his stunning images, and we are beyond excited to have him on our team so that he can continue to do so. ryne HANCOCK Contributing Writer Coming SOON! margo leblanc Contributing Writer Margaret Taissa LeBlanc is a woman of many talents, some may say. Born & bred in South Louisiana, Margaret was always taught that she must earn things that she would like to have by working as hard as she can as much as possible. She owes all her accomplishments to her single mother & grandparents, who are responsible for helping her be the best she can be. Her love for music, photography, movies, and writing is palpable, and she aspires to become a passionate photographer and writer. She also has a gifted eye ( & ear ) for loud music. She adores horror movies, especially ones that feature dark comedy. Her favorites are Jennifer’s Body, The Crow, The Craft, & Carrie (1976), which she can watch over and over again. In music, her favorite genres & bands are Soul/Blues ( Otis Redding, Amy Winehouse, & Janis Joplin ), Alternative ( Alice in Chains, L7, The Smiths ), Indie ( The Black Keys, Cage The Elephant, Dexter and The Moonrocks ). Margaret dreams of one day interviewing more prominent bands & artists such as The Struts, Johnny Marr, & Jerry Cantrell. With her love for her craft and hard work, she is on the path to a successful future in the media industry. shaun corley Contributing Entertainment Writer We have some entertainment writing royalty here, ladies, gents, and non-binaries! We call this pop culture enthusiast and comic book nerd Shaun Corley. He comes to us from the East Coast and is a big, important Screen Rant writer with thousands of articles to his credit. He also has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. A first-generation college graduate, Shaun holds so many literary degrees, we’ve lost count, but he is adorned in accolades, and we love him. Some of his favorite writers are Haruki Murakami, Jonathan Lethem, NK Jemisin, and Stephen Graham Jones, and his favorite directors are David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Richard Linklater, and the Coen Bros. He’s also a fan of sweet tea and he loves chocolate. We don’t feed him after midnight, though. Ever. TBD TBD TBD elise hanks Contributing Photographer and Writer Elise Marie Hanks is an Acadia Parish native born and raised in Crowley, Louisiana, but now resides in Lafayette. Her interest in music and photography began at a very young age, inspired mainly by her late father and his collection of vintage cameras, which she often enjoyed tinkering with. Elise also cherished attending concerts with him during her childhood. She continues that tradition today by supporting local artists and connecting through live performances—often accompanied by her daughter, much like her father did with her. Elise's passion for writing took root while working on her high school newspaper, yearbook, and her college's online publication. Whether at work, with her family, or in creative and musical spaces, Elise is dedicated to growth, fostering connections, and making meaningful contributions to Mixed Alternative Magazine . Home

Bringin' back the classic rock vibe Born to Rock: Adam and the Metal Hawks < Back Born to Rock: Adam and the Metal Hawks Keeley Brooks Apr 24, 2023 Share Bringin' back the classic rock vibe By now, just about everyone on the planet has seen their video creatively (and hilariously) reviving the Guns ‘n Roses classic rock tune “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. If you haven’t, don’t sweat it—you know I’ve got you covered. BUT, you must also watch this take, because it features new drummer Griffin McCarthy. This fun-loving group of irresistible talent is known as Adam and the Metal Hawks and right now, you can’t open TikTok without seeing one of their infamously funny and wholly entertaining music videos full of prowess and passion. The band shot to stardom last summer when Jack Black finally publicly acknowledged his musical doppelganger in lead singer Adam Ezegelian after the band recreated Tenacious D’s “Kickapoo”, posted it on TikTok, and called on Black to duet with them. After six attempts to get his attention, and with the help of social media followers embarking on a public pressure campaign calling on the celebrity to respond, Black did just that. “We tried to incorporate either songs that he had covered or his songs,” Ezegelian said in an interview with Sweety High , “and we worked them into different formats for our TikToks.” At the time the Hawks posted these videos, their one main goal was to get the actor and musician, who covered the track in the hit movie School of Rock , to post a video reply. So, fans and band members constantly posted on Black’s TikTok videos, urging him to respond, and on May 27, 2022, he did. This attention, paired with their impeccable three-part harmonies and meme-worthy videos, shot the band into notoriety heaven and the rest, as they say, is history. “That was an amazing experience,” says lead singer Adam Ezegelian. “We’re all huge fans of [Jack Black] and Tenacious D, his band, and their music, so, in the beginning when we first jumped on TikTok, we kept getting comparisons to him because of my voice and facial expressions. So, we sort of leaned into it and started posting videos … a little challenge to get him to duet us, and eventually it just worked. … It was crazy. We were all in shock.” While Black has followed the Hawks on social media and liked some of their posts, he hasn’t necessarily responded verbally, but Ezegelian notes he is keeping an eye on them. “One day, hopefully we’ll do something worthy enough to get his attention and maybe get the invite out or to open for them on tour, which would be amazing. We’d love to play with them. We’re just holding on and keeping his attention and hopefully sending something out he’ll enjoy.” The guys have even gotten the attention of Styx with their mouth-wide-open version of “ Come Sail Away ”. With over three million followers on TikTok and one million on Instagram, it’s safe to say Adam and the Metal Hawks are the most famous band to emerge from social media as quickly as they have, but it’s not just because of their talent. These guys are so down to earth and genuinely hilarious on and off camera, their infectious energies and personalities suck you right in and make you feel like you’re hangin’ out with your best homies, just having a good time and kickin’ it to some bitchin’ rock tunes. All hailing from Long Island in New York, Adam and the Metal Hawks features, from left to right, original founding Metal Hawks members Johnny Barry on guitar and Ryan Daversa on bass, Adam Ezegelian on lead vocals (and I do mean lead vocals), and Griffin McCarthy on drums. Though none of them grew up together, you’d never know it given how they interact with and support one another. They’re truly a band of brothers enjoying life to the best of their ability, then sharing their experience through music and entertainment. Image taken from artist social media Prior to Adam, the band was known as Metal Hawks and consisted of Johnny and Ryan, who met at a local talent show in 2014, and the group’s original drummer, Alex Hertler, who left the band in 2022. (He is featured in the first “Sweet Child O’ Mine” video at the beginning of this article.) The three played every bar and club on Long Island and honed their craft before meeting Adam through mutual friends in 2019 and bringing him in to sing. “I was playing bass and singing at the time, so it was a little bit of a blow to my ego” laughs Daversa, who, in my opinion, bears a bit of a resemblance to 80’s rock band Warrant lead singer Jani Lane but who most commonly gets compared to Eddie Munson of Stranger Things or Michael Beck of the 1979 action-crime thriller The Warriors . “But, you know, the way Adam sings, man, I don’t want to sing anymore. That guy’s just too freakin’ good.” Once Adam took over singing duties, Ryan—heavily influenced by rock greats Rush, Van Halen, and Led Zeppelin—shied away from the role of lead singer and began focusing more on bass. Image taken from artist social media Guitarist Johnny Barry recalls always having had the vision of being in a rock band. He picked up the guitar when he was eight, and at age 10, he started his first band called Metal Hawks with two other kids, who would later be replaced by current bandmate Ryan Daversa on vocals and later, bass, and former drummer Alex Hertler. “My parents were very into music but never played any instruments. My dad loves classic rock, and his favorite band is Van Halen, which is also my favorite band,” Barry says. “Mine, too!” Ryan chimes in with a laugh. Adds Griffin, “Yeah, we’re all in fortunate situations with our families, who understand how difficult it is to do this for a living and to pursue it—my parents especially, because they’re musicians and know firsthand how difficult it is to get started. Our family circle is very supportive, so we lucked out with that. They’re all very great people.” “My dad is our number one fan, for sure,” Johnny continues, and the other guys agree. He credits Guitar Hero with helping him find his passion. “For my communion at eight or nine years old, my parents got me my first guitar, and ever since, I kept trying to start a band. I’m also into AC/DC and Greta Van Fleet.” Image taken from artist social media After Hertler left the band in 2022, drummer Griffin McCarthy was quick to audition and take over the throne. It was his addition that allowed the Hawks to pull out those beautiful three-part harmonies and achieve that awesome sound not many bands can pull off, especially since technology plays such a huge role in today’s music. “We’re trying to bring the classic rock feel back, especially to these kids on TikTok [who] may have never heard any of this music before or just heard it in a random animated movie. … We’re trying to be that voice of rock that just brings it back,” Ezegelian explains. And bringing it back they are, but they’re also putting their own spin on the sound, and that’s what makes them so unique. Each member is his own reincarnation of some great classic rock artist and collectively, they have a really hip vibe of effortlessly singing like birds while playing instruments, and that is pretty impressive. McCarthy said they all took the best of their inspirations of that era and molded it into their own style and brought it together, and it blends well. “It’s great people see it for what it is because there’s a huge gap in the market for that right now. So, it’s very cool to see this generation want to go see a full band live, [especially in this modern technological age]. It’s good for us because that’s what were here for,” laughs Griffin. Image taken from artist social media McCarthy cites his biggest influences as Rush, The Who, and Queen and says he’s been drumming since the age of three. “There was always music in my house. My parents are piano players and always played for me, then I started picking some of it up and playing a little on my own. I always had rhythm from an early age.” He eventually started showing interest in the drum set, which his mother noticed, and when he was seven, she enrolled him in drum lessons. “I got my first drum set at eight, and I haven’t stopped playing since. I always foresaw a future there. I fell in love with the drums immediately. And it’s amazing, because I’ve finally found a band who wants it as bad as I do.” McCarthy has toured with several acts prior to Adam and the Metal Hawks, including Yngwie Malmsteen and Prong, who went on the road with Overkill, and he even toured briefly with a Broadway production of “Rent”. Lead singer Adam Ezegelian says he’s been fueled by rock energy since he arrived on this planet, and his parents had a lot to do with that by raising him right and exposing him to good music. Growing up, Adam was active in plays and musical theater—even jazz band and an acapella jazz ensemble. Image courtesy of artist social media “I just love performing,” he says. “You know, making people laugh and clap along and bob their head … just getting into it.” Ezegelian’s life changed in 2015 when he auditioned for American Idol and got a ticket to Hollywood. He took his influences of Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, and AC/DC, as well as his love for rock, and filled people with happiness with his resonant, multi-dimensional voice and animated facial expressions. Adam sailed right through to the Top 16 before being sent home, then in 2019, he met the Metal Hawks and, as their website says, “they’ve had stellar rock chemistry ever since.” And they’re right: Their chemistry is so stellar, it’s palpable. That might have something to do with the fact that they were all raised so right in being constantly exposed to some of the best, most influential music on the planet. Someone needs to give these guys’ parents a giant high-five for being so cool. Way to go, parents; you guys truly do rock. Recently the guys finished recording their second album as Adam and the Metal Hawks, though their first one, a self-titled album that dropped in 2020 during Covid, features their former drummer. Their hit single from that album released Sept. 2019 and is titled “ Turn Around ”. It’s a love song encased in a hard rock shell, and that’s easily relatable to all of us. That single set the tone for who they were and, shortly thereafter, they released “ Wastin’ Time ”, then “ Backwards ”. Since, with new drummer Griffin McCarthy (who reportedly plays a mean cowbell), the Hawks have released two other singles with videos, “Hey Hey Mama” and “Love is on My Wishlist (When It’s Christmas)”. “We’ve been working for over a year [on this new album]. These songs are songs we’ve taken on road and played at shows and gotten crowd feedback and changed things here and there, and we’re just very excited to show you guys what we’ve been working on. It’s gonna be great when we can release it and see what everybody thinks,” says Ezegelian. “Yeah, all the songs are diverse and unique in their own way,” adds McCarthy. “Not one song sounds like the other. You won’t feel like you’re listening to the same song twice. It’s very original.” Adam continues, “A lot of our material is coming from our personal experiences, of course, and we want to make sure everybody can take something away from each song ... so, there’s strength in having that wide array of songs. There’s something for everybody there: power ballads, acoustic ballads, heavy songs, fast songs … if you’re a rock band fan, there’s gonna be some songs that you’re gonna love. As far as concept, a lot of it has to do with our rise from nothing to [being a] viral sensation, so we’ve got some good stuff on there—inspiration from being cooped up from Covid and the culmination of the past couple years going into this album. It’ll be a large weight off our shoulders once it’s released to just spread it throughout the world ... 10 lovely tracks.” I’d say the fellas are getting used to their newfound fame quite well. They remain graciously humble, without all the ego, but reality did smack ‘em right in the face last year while playing a festival in Switzerland. The guys agreed that seemed to be a pretty huge “Oh SHIT!” moment for them. “That … moment, for me, was about five minutes before we were going on stage in Switzerland last year. There were 15,000 people there … and it was the biggest crowd we’d played for. That was one of the only shows in my whole career where I was shitting a brick. It was that nerve-racking. But, after the first two songs, the crowd was totally into it, and we got a standing ovation.” Griffin agrees: “It was mind-blowing to see that many people in one space. It was such a unique experience. And what a beautiful area Switzerland is, too. The band before us didn’t have much crowd engagement, so we were worried the crowd wouldn’t like us but two songs in, they were engaged and going nuts for every song. They were super loud, super high energy. It was nice to see that because majority of those people had no idea who we were. [It] was really amazing to have that reception and make so many new fans at once.” Ryan chimes back in: “Yeah, that is one of my favorite things about playing these festivals. No one knows who you are but if you’re good enough and blow people away, then everyone knows who you are. That makes fans for life.” Currently Adam and the Metal Hawks are gearing up for their UK tour happening later this year, and they’re already working on their third album. While there are currently no U.S. dates at this time, the band does expect for that to change. “We don’t have anything formal to announce just yet but, like I said, [we have this] new album that should be out by summer or end of the year … maybe singles and videos out by summer,” says Adam. “We’re playing a bunch of festivals this summer to push the album release, and we have the UK tour lined up. I’m sure very soon after there will be something announced for the States.” Rock gods, we hope so. The guys also hope to return to Canada for another tour after playing there last year, and they say they’d also like to get some South America dates. “We’re just looking to jump all over the world and just spread the music.” So, if you can’t tell by now, these guys are a group you’re going to want to follow and keep up with, because they’re on the verge of blowing up worldwide. And, given what they’ve already produced and released, there’s no telling what kind of genius is waiting in the wings. One thing’s for sure, though: Adam and the Metal Hawks are just getting started. Expect great things from these guys, my friends. Image courtesy of artist social media In the meantime, I highly recommend visiting their social media pages and diving into their videos. I spent an entire day going down the AMH video rabbit hole and there’s so much yumminess in there, I sat covered in chills, boosting my serotonin, whilst rocking out with them to Toto, Queen, Twisted Sister, Aerosmith , Scorpions , The Romantics, Meat Loaf, Bon Jovi , Led Zeppelin, Elton John, AC/DC (with water!) , Leonard Cohen , Metallica, Van Halen, Steppenwolf--do I need to keep going? Because I totally can. They’re downright entertaining, engaging, creative, talented, original, and full of that classic rock goodness we’ve all been longing to return. "We're just always trying to have fun in our videos," Ezegelian said. "That's why we have such a large following: They want that little piece of fun, that serotonin boost, in their day, and that's where we come in." One day, guys, people are going to be covering your tunes and paying you tribute in the honorable and exciting ways you are doing now. And so, my friends, I leave you with quite possibly some of the best compilation videos in existence. Enjoy, and don't say I didn't warn you! For more information on Adam and the Metal Hawks, and their badassery, cruise on over to any of the links below and rock your face off. YouTube @AMHBand Instagram @AMHBand www.amhband.com HOME | amhband.com AMH is a hard rock band from Long Island, New York, formed in 2019. The band consists of American Idol finalist Adam Ezegelian, along with Johnny Barry, Ryan Daversa and Alex Hertler. They released their debut album Adam and the Metal Hawks in April of 2020 and have since seen viral popularity on TikTok and other social media platforms. Twitter @AMHBand Facebook @AMHBand TikTok @AMHBand Spotify www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90s flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link

Our mission statement at Mixed Alt Mag and what we do. A BIT ABOUT US THE source for independent music, arts, and entertainment *NO ADS ... JUST PERSONALITY & ENTERTAINMENT* Mixed Alternative Magazine is a proud, veteran-owned business created to provide you, the reader, with a wide range of local and national quality-balanced articles and stories covering many genres of music and different facets of art and entertainment. Our focus is on providing a non-discriminatory platform for independent talent of all kinds to introduce themselves and showcase their mad skills to the world and not get lost in corporate advertising. Our sights are on content, not sales. We pride ourselves on our humor, knowledge, experience in, and love (ok, obsession ) for all things entertainment, while adding our special editorial touch and commitment to keeping it real. And we do just that by ditching the rules and regulations . We simply love what we do and we figured you guys might too. So, here we are. And here at Mixed Alternative , we like to think of ourselves as the signal standing out from the noise of the rest of the media landscape. With such an influx of mass-produced content out there, we want to be the ones standing apart from the crap. By using a different approach and outlook, we will always strive to bring you the most entertaining, highest-quality content we can, and we proudly do so by rejecting the mainstream and forging our own way. No hard news. No religion. No politics. No rules. No red tape. No censorship. Just sheer entertainment, passion, and personality.

Do you want to know who brings you all the content? We do! Staff Nicole Brice Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Digital Content Editor, Head Writer, Marketing Director, Brand Manager, Producer/Host "Reviews on the Reel", Producer/Host "Unscripted Verbiage" the_nicolebrice@mixedaltmag.com www.Amazon.com/author/nicole_dewey_brice Nicole Brice is a Veteran, former college radio DJ, published author, owner of MAM and she’s a total music snob. She has been since age 7, when she became obsessed with music upon first hearing Depeche Mode. Located in Baton Rouge, La., she likes the obscure things that people haven’t heard, as well as the things that rock. She likes to go against the grain and against the norm and challenge mainstream ideals and beliefs. With a background of over 15+ years in Marketing & Advertising, she hopes to bring her vision of a free artistic space to life with MAM. Never being one to follow, she likes to research things on her own. With an extreme love for the aesthetic of music & art merged, she is obsessed with fashion – but not just any fashion; it must reflect her punk rock / grunge style and be different from the norm. Bright colors, bright patterns, and a mixture of many textures is what draws her in. Nicole’s also a hardcore wrestling fan and a former Diva’s Champion. Don’t believe it? She has the belt to prove it and the smacketh is often laid down on those who make her angry with no mercy. She wants to draw attention to and put focus on those who create in hopes of banding together to spread a message of love and unity in a world so divided by hate. bud gambrell Lead Photographer - North Alabama Region / Music Writer "Off the Charts" the_budgambrell@mixedaltmag.com www.bgambrellphotography.com Bud Gambrell is a published author and music photographer located in Hazel Green, Alabama, and we are beyond excited to have him on our team. Bud first discovered his love for live music in 1976 when he was captivated by the atmosphere at a KISS concert. Since then, he has attended many other shows featuring both local and national acts and has been producing content for concert reviews via Sound Check Entertainment, UnRated Magazine, Sonic Perspectives, and AL.com. Bud’s passion for photography began at a young age when he started out as an amateur shutterbug. Known for his stunning crispy images in and around North Alabama, Bud continues to photograph many notable acts and recently published his first book about the much-loved Side Tracks Music Hall, which was located in Huntsville, Alabama. The book is currently available on Amazon.com. tim jackson Entertainment Writer www.clippings.me/timwjackson Tim is a seasoned journalist and author with a penchant for all things dark, macabre, and somewhat sinister. But we promise he doesn't bite. He's a freelance communicator who likes to tell all kinds of stories with words, photos, and video, and he has extensive experience working in traditional media (newspapers, magazines, and book publishing). With an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College and a B.A in Communication from the University of Alabama, he loves storytelling by any method. A native of Russellville, Alabama, Tim currently lives in Tuscumbia with his wife, Taryn, who has an affinity for tarot cards, and their dog, Maple, who has an affinity for chewing remote controls. Don't let his clean looks fool you, though; he fits right in with our cool-kid shenanigans. jeff crespi Lead Photographer - New Jersey Region www.jeffcrespirocks.com Jeff Crespi is … well … he’s a riot; can you not tell? No way we were gonna pass on having him come play in our sandbox. Jeff is an award-winning professional concert photographer out of New Jersey covering hundreds of shows each year. He’s the house photographer for the legendary Stone Pony and Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ, and he is one of the house photographers at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville. He’s also the winner of the Asbury Music Award Top Music Photographer five years running. Expect some badassery from this one. gary governale Lead Photographer, Videographer BR & NOLA Regions / Music Writer www.GovernalePhotoVideo.com Gary has been working as a video professional since grunge kicked the door down on rock radio, then he picked up his Nikon just a few years later. A lifelong music enthusiast, Gary enjoys band photography and album art just as much as the music itself. He’s a big fan of any-and-all rock ‘n roll, including classic rock, punk, alternative, and hard rock, but he certainly enjoys some jazz and classical vibes when it’s time to relax. He has been serving as band photographer for Christian Rock group, Empowered, including directing, shooting, and editing one of their music videos. When not following the band around or toiling away at his regular video job, Gary spends his time lamenting the loss of the local record store-shopping experience. He is located in Baton Rouge, LA. ezekiel "zeke" kincaid Entertainment Writer https://www.amazon.com/Ezekiel-Kincaid/ He looks scary, but we promise he’s not. He does write scary stuff though, and we can vouch for his filthy, incredible talent. Zeke is known by his fans as “The Paranormal Pastor” or “The Pastor of Horror” because, well, he’s a fantastic horror author with over 20 years in ministry. He’s also a paranormal investigator with some pretty incredible experiences, and because of all of that, he brings a unique and original touch to the dark fiction genre. His writings run the gamut of human existence, and he likes to write in various styles and voices to allow his tales the narration and visceral characters needed to make the words jump off the page. And jump, they do. Right in your face. The only other language he’s fluent in is sarcasm, which explains why he’s such a perfect fit with us. With three theological degrees, a romantic side, and an affinity for martial arts, he’ll fight anyone who says they don’t like Bruce Campbell. seth thomas Co-host "Unscripted Verbiage" http://therageonline.com/ https://www.listentotheplanet.com/loud-hour Seth Thomas is the host of the Louisiana LOUD Hour on Planet Radio 106.7, a popular Rock station based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Known for his deep passion for local music and energetic on-air presence, Seth curates a high-octane mix of Rock, Metal, Punk, and Independent, and Alternative music, delivering a raw and authentic listening experience. He has become a prominent voice in the local rock scene, engaging with fans through interactive segments and supporting local bands by giving them airplay and exposure. Seth’s dedication to the genre and his connection with the community have made the Louisiana LOUD Hour a must-listen for rock enthusiasts in the area. In addition to the LOUD Hour, Seth recently launched his own indie station called The Rage. The Rage is available in the Apple App store as well as on Google Play, so go download your new rock animal today! kimberly bryant Music, Comedy, and Entertainment Writer http://www.youtube.com/@popculturegreenroom Kimberly is an experienced entertainment writer and media personality, known for her insightful take on pop culture and the entertainment industry. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Journalism from Southeastern Louisiana University, where she began her career as a sports reporter for The Southeastern Channel. After relocating to San Diego, CA, for 12 years, Kimberly delved deeper into the entertainment world, following in her family's footsteps in film, television, and theater. As the co-host of The Pop Culture Green Room podcast and YouTube channel, she covers the latest in celebrity news, reality TV, and current events. Her sharp commentary and engaging style have also landed her appearances on TMZ , where she shares her expertise with a national audience. When she's not hosting or writing, Kimberly enjoys exploring new facets of the entertainment industry, connecting with her audience through various media platforms, diving into new trends, working out, staying healthy, and spending time with her dog Lucy. corey nichols Creative & Promotions Designer Corey Nichols is a multi-talented artist and business owner based in a small Louisiana town. His journey began with simply a pencil and a love for art and drawing. In 2016, Corey began his career in the tattoo industry, using his experience in drawing and illustration to develop a natural talent for tattooing. Learning from the popular tattoo artist, Micro, Corey honed his skills and acquired the iconic Burning Lotus tattoo shop. Known across Louisiana, Burning Lotus has earned the prestigious Best of 225 award for "Best Tattoo Shop" four years running, solidifying its reputation in the tattoo game. Motivated by a desire to expand his creative horizons, Corey recently embarked on a new journey—Painterly Portraits. What began as a few commissioned pieces for charity auctions quickly evolved into a potential business. Through Painterly Portraits, Corey channels his immense love for art, creating each portrait with deep passion and precision. His goal is to inspire others by sharing his work with the world and bringing his vision to life. View More

Have you forgotten about certain songs over the years? We're here to remind you of them. Share Forgotten Tunage With all the music that has been produced over the years, sometimes tunes get lost and people forget about them. This is your space to rediscover tunes you may have forgotten about, and if you've never heard them before, you can hear them for the first time. Word. marvelous 3 - freak of the week From the "Hey! Album" by the Atlanta rock band Marvelous 3 1999 self - cannon Self's "Cannon" music video from the album Subliminal Plastic Motives - 1995 ministry - same old madness Unreleased single and video from 1982. Originally intended to be a single in the spring of 82. Video was shot before Al Jourgensen signed to Arista. face to face - you lied Face to Face "You Lied" Big Choice Victory Music (1994) / The First Seven Years DVD (1999) the folk implosion - natural one From the Kids movie soundtrack 1995 a tribe called quest - Electric relaxation From the 1993 album Midnight Marauders. beastie boys & nas - too many rappers Music video by Beastie Boys, Nas performing Too Many Rappers. © 2009 Capitol Records, LLC and Beastie Boys hum - green to me Music video by HUM performing Green To Me. (C)1997 BMG Entertainment pennywise - let us hear your voice From the album "All or Nothing" featuring Ignite's Zoltán Téglás tracy bonham - mother mother Music video by Tracy Bonham performing Mother Mother. (C) 1996 UMG Recordings, Inc. catherine wheel - black metallic Music video by Catherine Wheel performing Black Metallic. (C) 1992 The Island Def Jam Music Group the breeders - safari (C) 1992 4AD/Elektra Records

The LA Phantoms have the strength and will to create music that resonates. < Back The LA Phantoms: A Louisiana Punk Band with a Rich History Nicole Brice Nov 4, 2024 Share The LA Phantoms have the strength and will to create music that resonates. The LA Phantoms , a Louisiana punk band, has a rich history of resilience and readiness to face any challenge. Since the early 2000s , the band has seen many line-up changes and iterations, but their strength and determination to create music that resonates with their audience have never wavered. We are thrilled to share their story with you. Credit: Gary Governale Formed in the early 90s under the name Mystic Fix , the LA Phantoms are a homegrown band originally from Ville Platte that moved to Lafayette, Louisiana . There, they underwent numerous line-up changes due to member deaths and other tragic circumstances, but they never stopped. With even more changes since then, The LA Phantoms have emerged today through these trials and tribulations, ready to conquer the musical landscape. Today, the band is fronted by Cutty and Mac , who share vocal duties. Cutty , who also plays bass, Mac on drums, and Jaysun Birdman on guitar round out all the band duties. Sometimes, they'll invite other musicians on stage with them, too, because it is all about the music. This trio is brimming with anticipation for the new era of punk rock they are about to be a part of, with new music set to be released in 2025, and we cannot wait. I had the absolute pleasure of hearing this new music, and I can assure you, it's something to look forward to. A vast range of influences have solidified the LA Phantoms ' tight sound, and they are dedicated and determined to leave their mark on music history. To describe the LA Phantoms ' music, it is good, solid punk rock. There is no fluff, no frills, just straight-up enjoyable punk rock. The LA Phantoms , a trio of humble yet immensely talented musicians, embody a relentless drive and determination to push the boundaries of their craft. Their unwavering commitment to their music is admirable, and we eagerly anticipate what the future holds for them. Mixed Alternative Magazine had the privilege of engaging in a profound conversation with the LA Phantoms , and their love and dedication to their craft was genuinely inspiring. Read on to learn more about their journey. MaM : Let’s dive into your band history. Tell us a bit about how you got started and where. Mac : This band was an incarnation that spawned from another band. A punk band was called Mystic Fix . Mystic Fix was formed in the early 90s , around 1994 , in Ville Platte , Louisiana , by our brother, Chris . It was Chris and James , and another guy named Timmy on drums, who is my brother-in-law now, so then they moved from Ville Platte to Lafayette , and the other guys from Ville Platte fell off, and Chris continued with us with a different line-up. The line-up fluctuated between various people until it ended up being me, Cutty , Chris , and Luke Duke . We played a few shows with that line-up, but Chris wanted to play more rock n roll, and he was discovering bands like Nashville Pussy and Speedealer – a lot of Southern rock stuff. Mac Black by Gary Governale Eventually, he told me he didn’t want to go on with the name Mystic Fix anymore. He then said he wanted to start another band with more of a rock n roll approach because he thought it would give us more gigs across the country. He didn’t want to be pigeonholed into the whole punk rock scene. Fewer dive bars and bigger, more prominent venues. This all happened about 2001 , and that was when we officially started The LA Phantoms . It was me , Chris , and Luke Duke ( Choke ). We wrote and recorded an album and put it out. Luke lived in Lake Charles , and Chris lived in Lafayette . Luke eventually fell out because he couldn’t commute from Lake Charles to Lafayette to rehearse. We ended up getting another guy, Damien Miller . Damien was the bass player for that run of LA Phantoms and passed away in 2007. That run of The Phantoms went from 2001-2005 . Also, Creosote Jones from Cheater Pipe played with us for a few years and helped write many songs with us. Credit: Gary Governale Cutty : We also had a harmonica player. He did lead harmonica solos. MaM : Man, I’d be curious to see how that fits in with your sound. Mac : We have a link to it. We can send it to you. MaM : Yes. Please send me the link. Cutty : It gave it kind of a blues edge. It worked with the formula. It was kind of like the song “ Electric Worry ” by Clutch . They have harmonica on that song. MaM : So how did you get to the band's current incarnation? Mac : Chris died. MaM : Oh wow … Mac : In 2005 , my wife Jessica was terminal, so I had to quit the band because I couldn’t really play shows or go anywhere. We had been gigging everywhere from Austin to New Orleans , and I couldn’t go on the road because my wife needed me. Mac Black by Gary Governale MaM : I’m so sorry, man. I understand. Mac : I quit the band, and Chris started Mystic Fix back up with some other guys in Ville Platte . He started having trouble with his drummer because of his lack of interest. After my wife passed away, he asked me to join the band because he had recently signed up with a local label in Carencro . Chris gave me a cassette of the songs he planned to record, and I learned all the songs. The last show was at a skate park in Lafayette , and I got on stage to sing with them. This was June 10, 2007 . On the next day, June 11th , Chris passed away, and then I found out on my birthday, June 12th , that he passed. We were devastated by this. To help with his funeral expenses, they asked me to put together a band to gig and help make money to pay for his funeral. I told them we would learn all the songs Chris had created. Chris’ girlfriend sang for us, and we raised a few thousand dollars and were able to bury him. Chris’ girlfriend later became my wife. Her name is Julie Jab . Then there was this guy named Shane , who played bass briefly. He was like the Sid Vicious of Lafayette—a lot of stage presence. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Then what? Mac : We got Cutty . Me and Cutty had played in Mystic Fix , and he was with us when we were writing the early songs with LA Phantoms , and he came back once we got rid of Shane . Then we gigged like that till my wife had a heart operation. She had a valve replacement. She couldn’t continue with us. Then I started a band called Black Feratu , with my friend James Feratu . That was metal , and we did it for a few years. Then, the original guitarist for Mystic Fix was on his deathbed and was not doing well. He decided he wanted to play another run of shows, so he and Luke went with Cutty and I , and we started doing Mystic Fix songs. Still, we decided to do some LA Phantoms songs, too, but then James got on the stage one night, and he could only do half a song, and he was on a tank of oxygen and just couldn’t do it anymore. Cutty by Gary Governale MaM : Wow, bless his heart. Cutty : Yeah, his last performance was in Lafayette at The Boom Boom Room . He was convinced he could stand up and play the songs. We tried to persuade him to sit down, but he stood up like a soldier and tried to troop through the song. Unfortunately, he did pass out, which was James ’ last performance on stage. MaM : To me, that is badass because that shows his dedication to music. Cutty : One of the toughest MF’ers to get on stage. MaM : I admire people like that, man. Those are the actual soldiers. Mac : That’s right. Till we die, we don’t stop. Cutty : Unfortunately, he did. MaM : You all have an interesting story. Mac : Tragedy at every step. Cutty : Today, we are coming to you for this interview from the slab that used to be Changes . Mystic Fix was pretty much the house band at Changes . Love it or hate it, but if this slab could tell stories, we could write an incredible book. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Reminds me of the Dischord House and how well-known it is. Cutty : The sacred slab. Mac : Until it burned down. MaM : You’re back to where it all began, and it is fortunate that we are doing this interview today. Brings back all full circle. Let’s get into the music. Your music blows me away, and I can’t wait to market it. When are you planning to release the songs you sent me? Mac : We just finished mastering them and got the final footage for the video we are putting together of ‘ Slow What .’ The plan is to release everything simultaneously on all platforms, though. MaM : I think that sounds great. It's punk rock meets melodic thrash punk. It has a unique sound. I love the heavy bass on ‘ Slow What ,’ when the guitar comes in, it’s strong as hell, man, and that whole song takes off. It reminds me of The Melvins meets Tad . That’s the first vibe I got. With ‘Tight Grip,’ that song is aggressive out the gate, and then ‘Vampire,’ has that whole Van Halen ‘ Hot for Teacher ’ vibe. What inspired you to come up with your sound on these tracks? That is the LA Phantoms sound. Mac : It’s just all our influences. I wouldn’t say I like being put in a box. Cutty : A broad spectrum or prism. Without it, you’ll be limited and boring. We try to expand as much as we can. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Who are your influences then? Cutty : The Misfits , Social Distortion , Slayer , Corrosion of Conformity Mac : James Brown , Taj Mahal , Sly and the Family Stone . Cutty : We also have another element of the music you haven’t heard yet. It’s more funk and blues. It's like Minutemen meets Sly and the Family Stone . We also have a small catalog of that. MaM : I can’t wait to hear that! You guys are talented as hell. Let’s do this. What is your ultimate goal as a band, and what are you looking to accomplish with your music? Mac : Our short-term goal is to release this music and expand our range of gigs. We have only been playing mainly in Lafayette and Lake Charles . We want to play Metairie and New Orleans more, maybe even Texas . In the long term, I’d love to tour Europe . My friends do this already, so I feel it’s achievable. Jaysun Birdman by Gary Governale MaM : Let’s make this happen. What is about music that makes you passionate? Cutty : It’s a release. You can have all these problems – weights and burdens on your back, and when I pick up my instrument, everything starts coming together. Even if it’s just 15 minutes or two hours, it makes everything okay. Jason : The creativity and playing live. There’s nothing else like it. I love the camaraderie we have. We played a show with Choke recently. They are awesome guys. Super cool. I love hanging out with everyone because we have so much in common, and everyone is so supportive of each other. Mac : Music sets me free and connects me to the universe. It connects with all is one, and one is all when I play music. It’s flow. It puts you in this flow state. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : They say music is medicine, and the Chinese symbol for medicine is like music. Tell me about the worst show you’ve put on so far, and then tell me about a good show you played. Cutty : I can’t focus on a bad show because it broadens the human horizon even if we mess up. We’re all people. It’s like a joke. If you trip, are you going to laugh with the crowd, or are you going to get laughed at, pissed off, and make an entire burden about it? You don’t do that. It would be best to roll with the punches because even a horror show is still a show. We’re out. We’re playing music. We’re having a good time, and we try to make the best out of it. That’s about it. As far as the best one? With these two guys, it’s always good. Mac : I’d have to say the last show or the ones going on right now are the best ones. The worst show I’ve ever shown is when there is violence at the show. Someone would be throwing bottles at us, or someone would come into the club with a gun or just incidences like that. Just don’t stop playing unless we have to chase someone out. Cutty : Now, if we got hit with a bottle, we’d have to beat the piss out of them. (laughter) Cutty : It’s just expected. (laughter) Mac : Well, the time with the gun, we didn’t stop playing. They walked in with the gun, pointed it at someone, and that was it. Credit: Gary Governale (laughter) MaM: If you could share the stage with anyone in the future, like your dream show, who would you pick, and why? Cutty : I would say opening for The Misfits and Suicidal Tendencies. That would be the perfect show for me. Mac : I have to concur. MaM : In the next five years, where would you like to be as a band? Mac : Touring Europe and playing big festivals. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : If someone approached you and asked you to describe your music to them, how would you sell it to them? Mac : Gangster Punk Rock n Roll (laughter) Cutty : I like that one. What was the phrase you wanted to put on shirts? Mac : Vampire bank robbers from outer space (laughter) MaM : Last question – how does music inspire you daily? Mac : To get up in the morning and face the world. Motivation to work out and live life. Credit: Gary Governale MaM : Same Cutty : Adrenaline and therapy – when you combine the two, that can also have a positive effect, and for us three, it works. MaM : Oh yeah, 100%. Jaysun : It helps me grow. I like to learn new stuff. I’m a student of the game. As The LA Phantoms prepare to embark on a new year with new music, they will undoubtedly begin to build a following. Stay tuned for much more from this trio. To learn more about LA Phantoms : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559706162429 *All photos by Gary Governale www.governalephotovideo.com Zenfolio | Home I have been working as a video professional since 1993, with a wide range of experience writing, producing, directing, shooting and editing. A strong interest in videography, specifically lighting and composition, led me to photography in 1998. Rapidly changing technology has blurred the line between video and photography, allowing me to work in both mediums.. Baton Rouge, LA, United States www.mixedaltmag.com Music | Mixed Alternative Magazine Southern-based indie music/arts/entertainment magazine with a 90's flair. www.mixedaltmag.com Questions or comments? Hit us up at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com . Previous Next Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link