Lost In A Name Q&A

Your name: 
Danny Schmitz.

Where are you from? 
Milwaukee, WI.

Name of band: 
Lost In A Name.

Who else is in your band? 
Geoff Slater.

How would you describe yourselves and your music? 
We call our music "progressive pop metal". We like touring, beer, cheese, and your mom. Have her call me, its been a while. 

Who are your main influences musically? 
Sevendust, Story Of The Year, Periphery, Animals As Leaders, A Day To Remember, The Foo Fighers, Katy Perry, Steak tacos from Los, Comales in Milwaukee, steak tacos from Mexico City, MKE Brewery beers, WI sharp cheddar cheese, your mother's screaming voice (yeah I have that recorded and draw much inspiration from said recording).

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
To make a sustainable living doing nothing but writing music and touring the world! Having enough money to take your mom out for a nice surf and turf dinner. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
Hmm... tough to say. I would say playing a packed show in Nashville, TN to an amazing crowd is one highlight. Getting a couple songs placed on Network TV has to be another. Also, my mom really likes the band, so there's that, but even more impressive, your mom likes the band. She told me last night... you know... after...

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
Sleeping in the van on tour in below zero temperatures was pretty rough, but I honestly don't want to forget that. That built character, and we pissed in old gatorade bottles and threw them at each other, so that was pretty fun. ahhh memories....

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 
I suppose our song 'Yesterday'. I think it encompasses most of our influences and forms a sort of heavy, technically progressive, yet catchy, anthemic mixture of sticky ear goo. 

Where can we listen to it?
https://soundcloud.com/lostinaname/yesterday

Where can we find out more about your music? 

http://www.lostinaname.com
http://www.facebook.com/lostinaname
http://www.twitter.com/lostinaname
http://www.youtube.com/lostinaname
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/lost-in-a-name/id313634534

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask? 

You can download all of our music for free if you'd like at http://www.lostinaname.com/freemusicEnjoy! (also, tell your mom I said hi).

The Bare Bonez Q&A

Your name: 

Andy Burden.

Where are you from? 

A relatively small city where country music is king, and we desperately are trying to bring rock back into the heart of our hometown we call Owensboro, Kentucky, USA.

Name of band: 

Reigning terror since late 2014, we are known as The Bare Bonez!

Who else is in your band? 

Nick Ilsley - bass/vocals, Cody Yeiser - drums/vocals and Johnathan Howard-Lead - guitar/vocals. I'm on lead vocals/rhythm guitar.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

I think we all agree as a band, we have high energy shows that keeps the crowds attention. We state that we play "bone-chattering rock n roll with a heavy metal temper", which describes us pretty well. We go from fast-paced alternative rock to sludgy grunge and metal with out hesitation. 

Who are your main influences musically? 

We all come from different backgrounds and started in music in different ways. What we draw our inspirations from is pretty common among the group: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, The Ramones, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, just to name a few.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I believe collectively we would like to record and produce more of our own original music, which should be set to happen in 2016. We want to put our attention on opening for some national acts and hopefully get a spot on some of the bigger festivals in the next couple of years.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

I believe the highlight so far has been the release of our self-titled EP in January. Also reaching a big mile stone for all of us was having our originals played on a tri-state radio program in early 2016. That was also coupled with radio interviews for two different stations. That was exciting for all of us and something we hadn't had the pleasure of doing yet.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Really one of the moments I think we'd all like to forget, but looking back on it, it has become quite the story. We were doing a benefit show in September of 2015 and we were rocking hard, the fans were into it and we were putting on a notable show. Our drummer tends to beat the living shit out of his drum set and on the occasion he sends sticks flailing, its not too common, but it happens. So this stick flies up towards our bass player Nick, who has had a lot of friends show up for this show and they are standing up cheering, and sure enough, want the stick tossed to them. Nick assumes his friends can catch a drumstick travelling at 30mph from 20 feet away, but unfortunately they could not. It tips his friends hand and smacks an innocent bystander square in her face. It was horrendous, there was a lot of apologizing and her and her boyfriend swearing. Not funny then, but pretty funny now. So needless to say, we all vowed that we would not be throwing anything except t-shirts out to the crowd from here on out. And just a side note, she wasn't hurt at all (just pissed).

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

It has to be Off My Wave, its the leading track on our EP. It has sort of our evolution as a band, where we really started thinking things through together. Musically and vocally, we all agree it is our strongest track to date. But new ones are coming along all the time that are pining for that spot.

Where can we listen to it? 

The best way to listen to our music is on https://www.reverbnation.com/thebarebonez

and also on YouTube.

Where can we find out more about your music? 

You can find out more about us and support us by Liking us on facebook.com/barebonezrock or following us at Twitter.com/thebarebonezTwitter.com/thebarebonez

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask? 

I think we covered just about everything! We just want to sincerely thank you for having us on your site and we wish you the best of luck.

Vice Versa Q&A

Your name:

Alex McGleave - vocalist.

Where are you from?

Perth, Western Australia.

Name of band:

Vice Versa.

Who else is in your band? 

Callum Whitehead - drums/vocals

Chris Gardiner - bass

Mark Flanders - guitar

Brian Gibson - guitar

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Post-hardcore with an alt-rock edge.

Who are your main influences musically?

I would say we all have very different influences. Ranging from post hardcore to folk music. But our main influential bands would probably be Hands Like Houses, The Getaway Plan, Saosin and UnderØATH.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Our goal is to make the music we love and hope that people can relate to in whatever way they wish to interpret it.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

We've had quite a few amazing and memorable moments in our career. Meeting amazing people from bands we've idolised growing up would have to be the main one. Such as Hands Like Houses, Chiodos, Hawthorne Heights.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

There isn't a major moment in our career that we regret to be honest. We've played a bad show here and there but they're always fun, no matter what.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Probably our latest single, This Is What I Call The Valley.

Where can we listen to it?

https://youtu.be/xc42rV2yux4

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/ViceVersaAU/

www.twitter.com/viceversa_au

www.instagram.com/viceversa_au

www.viceversaau.bandcamp.com

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

We have big plans for 2016, including brand new music! So if you like what you hear, follow us on any of the links to keep up to date!

Marshall Q&A

Your name:

Marshall.

Where are you from?

Originally from North Carolina, USA - but now I live in Nashville, TN.

How would you describe yourself and your music?

I'm a simple guy with a big heart and a lot of life experience. I would describe my music in a similar fashion as it is a direct reflection of my life experiences.

Who are your main influences musically?

I listen to a lot of different styles of music and always have. I grew up on The Doobie Brothers, Chicago, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, Van Halen, Toto, the list is endless!

What do you hope to achieve in music?

It would be nice to be on a big stage with a big show and be on big tours, but I measure success by how well my music connects with people, and so far - by the response I'm getting from fans and the public - I think I'm doing well.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

The release of my current EP Sinners and Saints (available on my website in hardcopy only at this time). It's a heartfelt work that has come from the deepest emotional times in my life, I couldn't ask for a better highlight than that.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

One of the after show parties I attended ... oh boy what a crazy night that was.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

"Tailspin" - it's an uptempo song that makes you want to dance, but if you listen to the lyrics it will make you think.  

Where can we listen to it? 

https://www.reverbnation.com/marshallrockscountry/song/25104953-tailspin

Where can we find out more about your music? 

www.marshallRocksCountry.com

www.facebook.com/marshallRocksCountry

www.reverbnation.com/marshallRocksCountry

www.twitter.com/marshallRocksCountry

www.instagram.com/marshallRocksCountry

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

I'm the principle writer on all of the material on my EP, so you're getting a glimpse of my heart when you're listening to my songs. I think when listeners hear my unique style of country, and distinctive voice, they're going to enjoy it and when they read my lyrics, they will understand something genuine, honest, and profound about me, or maybe even about themselves. 

Secondborn Q&A

Your name:

Tim Benson (Guitarist).

Where are you from?

Lafayette, Louisiana, USA.

Name of band: 

Secondborn.

Who else is in your band?

Daniel Pinner - Vocals

Patrick Trumps - Guitars

Stefan Hawkins - Guitars

Alex Daigle - Bass

Lee Gauthreaux - Drums

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

We love high energy, guitar and synth-fuelled hardcore rock with elements of progressive rock, punk, metalcore and a tinge of emo.

We’ve all been in bands previously, played the music industry game, did the label thing and now we just wanted to create a project that we could approach completely at our own pace. We are completely self-funded and are really excited about constantly reaching out to fans that like the genre of music we play and love.

Who are your main influences musically?

We like a mix of the early/mid 2000’s post-hardcore bands like Thrice, Saosin, Further Seems Forever along with bands like Periphery, Hands like Houses and Bring Me The Horizon.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

You know to be honest, from day one we really just are six guys that enjoy playing. We’ve written songs that we feel very good about and one day would love to be able to gain enough momentum to play nationally (or internationally).

As I mentioned, we’ve all been in the music industry in previous bands and now feel like we have the understanding and energy to go virtually completely on our own and breakthrough on our terms.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

Our current EP, Symbols, getting some positive exposure with sites and media outlets like Alternative Press, Punknews, Noize Blogging, Under The Gun, Rebel Noise, Metal Assault, Brutal Resonance and Music Existence.com. It’s been really cool and an honor to be included on these sites.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Ha! Ok, so at our first official show people brought so many drinks to me that I almost blanked out after our set. Apparently at some point in the night I was climbing into our guitarist Stefan’s truck on top of all of his gear into a fetal position. Apparently, I wanted to take a ride home with all of his awesome gear. Probably not my best moment.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Wow, that’s a tough one. Hmm, I’d say probably ‘Secrets’ (off of our current EP, Symbols) because it seems like combining electronica with upbeat rock / punk is our “vibe” that’s hitting us lately.

Where can we listen to it?

Here is our YouTube studio playthrough of the song... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dikwvrOkiGs

Where can we find out more about your music?

Official Site: www.Secondbornmusic.com

Facebook: facebook.com/SecondbornUS

Twitter: @SecondbornUS

iTunes: Secondborn

Reverbnation: Reverbnation.com/SecondbornUS

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

You know we just want to close by saying that if there is anyone seeking new music and new bands, we ask that you consider us. We strive to write music from an honest place, we do it for the love of it and we would love to be able to have the same type of impact on someone through our music - just like the bands we love have had an impact on us!

From Apes To Angels Q&A

Your name: 

Millie Gaum.

Where are you from? 

I was born in London but raised in Brussels, returning to London with my mother when I was 13. I have lived in Sheffield since 1997. 

Name of band: 

From Apes to Angels.

Who else is in your band? 

Andrew Brassleay, who makes all our additional noises, I believe, from some kind of underground lab in a secret location.

How would you describe yourselves and your music? 

Re-imagined 80s synth pop. Like The Book of Love having raided Chvrches' studio and pinched all their best 21st-century keyboards.

Who are your main influences musically?

In terms of songwriting it has to be Everything but the Girl, The Cocteau Twins, Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Suzanne Vega, The Cure, The Smiths, Billy Bragg, The Velvet Underground and more recently The Album Leaf, M Ward and Sufjan Stevens. I'm a sucker for a sad song. In terms of musical genres I like ambient and dance music. 

Andrew is into artists such as Grimes, Purity Ring, and iamamiwhoami.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I love that question! I still have a childish urge to be recognised and praised and I guess I would really like for my music to be heard more widely. I will always write songs because I need to to process my feelings and I guess any achievement is a by-product of that. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

From Apes To Angels has only just started so we hope our highlights are still to come, although we've had a few blogs say nice things about us. But in 2011 a DJ got in touch with me, having heard me online, and asked me to do some vocals for him. I recorded a song for him which he worked his magic on and the track got picked up by a label and  remixed and is still now used in sets. I love the idea of a nightclub full of people dancing to one of my songs!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I would like to forget that time my old band and I drove, full of excitement, all the way to a recording studio in deepest Cornwall but got the day wrong and ended up standing around for hours hoping the guy might show up. We didn't have mobile phones. We managed a call from the local pub's phone but no one was in. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

We've only launched two into the public domain so far! There are more to come that are currently under wraps. But I like the direction our new single Perfection is taking. It has an 80s vibe, but it also feels like a modern dance record. I love the beat. You can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/fromapestoangels/perfection

Where can we find out more about your music? 

https://soundcloud.com/fromapestoangels

https://www.facebook.com/fromapestoangels/

https://twitter.com/apestoangels

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

Perfection is out now at https://fata.bandcamp.com/

You can also download our first single, Head & Heart, there for free. 

All Time Low added to Download line-up

DOWNLOAD Festival has revealed a second batch of new bands playing this year's festival including All Time Low headlining the Zippo Encore Stage on Friday night.

The Temperance Movement, The Wildhearts, Napalm Death, Pennywise and Glassjaw are also new additions to the event in June.

Scorpion Child, Royal Republic, Buck & Evans, Scattering Ashes, Weirds, Devil You Know, The Raven Age and The Shrine complete the list.

The festival takes place over the weekend of June 10th - 12th at Donington Park. Rammstein, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden will headline the event's Lemmy Stage.

Tickets are available now, check out downloadfestival.co.uk for more details.

Endrah Q&A

Your name: 

Relentless.

Where are you from?

I am from California and the rest of the band is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The band is considered based in Sao Paulo Brazil. I fly in for tours.

Name of band: 

ENDRAH.

Who else is in your band?

Covero (guitar), Bruno Santin (drums) and Adriano Vivela (bass).

How would you describe yourselves?

Deathrashcore. It is a very aggressive sound and we are raw and not overproduced.

We utilize some unique patterns and there is powerful lyrics.

Who are your main influences musically?

Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, Slayer, Morbid Angel, Biohazard, Lamb of God, and more.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

World-wide domination wherever metal and hardcore is welcomed. We want our political and social messages to be heard, and we want continued growth of our fanbase. I personally want to tour some places I have yet to including Argentina, Chile, Japan, Australia, Ireland, and others.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

It's a difficult question to answer about the highlights, as I've been playing in bands for over 20 years and it's been it's been quite a journey.

It's a difficult form of music to be involved in. 

The business behind the scenes is difficult but that what we've done together with the band has been outstanding and the reception from our fans has been really good, especially in the beginning and now again that Endrah is back to business.

The reception has just been really overwhelming and the fans are a big big highlight within themselves.

My experience with the fans of Endrah has been a highlight. I had not experienced the love of the fans to that level before with my other projects.

As far as the Endrah shows go, probably the most memorable show was in Salvador last year during the Carnaval where Endrah headlined in front of around 5,000 people. We headlined the festival of 40 bands over four days that was quite amazing.

We got there early and went to the beach where the festival was and fans were out drinking pinga, which is a liquor made with sugarcane, at about noon and we played at 10 o'clock that night and all the same kids were there going crazy at the show.

The military police had to step into the mosh pit because it got so wild.

That was pretty awesome and it was also our first show with our drummer Bruno and that morning was his first flight he ever taken in his life.

He was going to his first big show and to be drummer in his favorite band; that was pretty awesome to be a part of that.

Other highlights include going to New York to meet Billy Graziadei and record with him when he was in the band. I also got to do some vocals for biohazard and they invited me to sing back ups on the biohazard song Set Me Free.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

There are many moments I want to forget about my career but the good ones outweigh the bad ones and I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today without the journey that I took.

It's difficult being in our generation where Napster came and then all the subsequent streaming services took over and just the change in the industry between where you used to be with record stores where people really saved up and spent money, read lyrics, wanted to be more involved with the bands and the bands were held at a higher esteem.

Along came bigger fame and just clout, and even maybe power as far being able to present a message to many people.

It's been a lot harder in that sense and some of that's difficult to process.

I'm looking back but other than that it's just mainly bad travel times and injuries to myself and my bandmates that stand out. 

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

It is a good question as I think the overall theme of Endrah was kind of a mix between revenge and common sense living.

So therefore I think our song, You're The Hunted Now might be a good example.

That song represents what happened to somebody who thinks they're untouchable and learns to find out that they are very touchable and they can be found.

There's always ways get anybody, so always watch what you do and who you burn. You should always make sure that you don't hurt the wrong people because there's always a way to get you.

If you mess with Endrah, we will find you. Let's join together instead.

Where can we listen to it?

www.facebook.com/endrah

We have a tab to our Spotify page.

It's also on YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, CDbaby, Pandora, and more.

Where can we find out more about your music?

endrah.com 

Facebook.com/endrah

We are on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

Endrah is a real band. Endrah is a band that is not about fantasy and dragons and dungeons.

We are not represented by a bunch of little skinny nerds that couldn't actually back up their words.

This band includes MMA fighters, black belt fighters and jujitsu and muay thai boxers. We have skills in wrestling, submission, and boxing there's a lot of that the guys do behind-the-scenes.

Training is just part of life but this is a band that can back their stuff and it's a little different than many of the heavy bands out there.

Almost all in that sense of the hard-core, death metal, deathcore, metalcore  sub-genres.

What we want most is for you guys to be a part of it and we want to build this up we want you to like us on our Endrah Facebook and follow us on the other social media pages. We are trying to open eyes, and we want you to be a part of it.

Share our page and posts, start to make a change today.

Thank you for the interview.

Novacrow Q&A

Your name:

Kitty Staunton, or Kitty Synthetica- my evil alter-ego.

Where are you from?

I’m originally from Wolverhampton, but have lived in Liverpool for the last four or five years. Still a Black Country lass at heart.

Name of band:

Novacrow.

Who else is in your band?

Jonyx -  Guitarist, backing vocalist and artwork

Federico - Bass, backing vocals and production/engineering

Torben - Drums

How would you describe yourselves?

An attention-seeking bunch of performing monkeys, with a heavy hard rock sound. We put on an erection-inducing live show, fun for the whole family.

Who are your main influences, musically?

A big mix of things including; Type O Negative, Alice in Chains, Joan Jett, Machine Head, Pink Floyd, Skindred and Alice Cooper.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Predictably, the dream would be to make music my full-time career and tour every corner of the world. I guess another personal achievement would be to encourage more girls to take an interest in playing guitar and making music. Apart from a few fantastic exceptions, overall as there is a strange lack of female guitarists in the rock and metal world!

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

We’ve had loads of extremely fun gigs and I couldn’t pick my favourite! Supporting Skarlett Riot in Chester and our show with Green Jellÿ in Wolverhampton were particularly fun, as well as our Halloween set at The Krazyhouse, Liverpool.

I loved filming our music video to Fight The Horde!!!- it’s a zombie movie spoof, with Scooby Doo-esque bad acting and lame special effects. We spent a day in this awesome warehouse, covered in fake blood and racing around like idiots. It was so much fun! We worked really hard on the whole project and I love the results. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iDOKrZ20YE

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We played a charity show where I hadn’t noticed that my skirt had completely ridden up until halfway through the performance… though I’ve decided to write that off as ‘accidental burlesque.’

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Probably Fight The Horde!!! because it is fun, heavy and great to play live. Either that, or Fat Frog, which will be opening track off our upcoming EP- which has a meaty main riff and kazoo solo- what more could you ask for?!

Where can we listen to it?

As well as iTunes, amazon, google play and Spotify, our songs are available at:

www.novacrowofficial.com/music

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Our central website is: www.novacrowofficial.com

But do please stalk us on social media:

www.facebook.com/novacrowofficial

www.instagram.com/novacrowband

www.twitter.com/novacrowband

www.youtube.com/kittysynthetica

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?

On March 12th, we will be releasing our debut EP- BLACK SYRUP.

We will be having a huge launch party gig in Liverpool, with bands, zombie face painting, fantastic Burlesque acts, free stuff and a ridiculous stage show. Grab a ticket for just £3!

Pre-orders, along with brand new merchandise, will be available soon from our website.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE: www.novacrowofficial.com/ep

Thank you! Cuckaw! Cuckaw!