Lucid AfterLife Q&A

Your name:

Nat Jack.

Where are you from?

Vancouver, Canada.

Name of band:

Lucid AfterLife.

Who else is in your band?

Thom Turner on guitar, Miles Morrison on bass and Matt Shearlaw on drums.

How would you describe yourselves?

Describing Lucid AfterLife to someone who has not been to see our live show is like describing a five-tab LSD trip to someone using only a stick. We give everything we have in every note. I am half-athlete, half-musician out there.

Who are your main influences musically?

Each member of the band has his own influences and bring them to the table, the styles are all over the place. Lately I have been listening to a lot of Bowie, Porcupine Tree and the The Mars Volta but I would say I played Monster Magnet on repeat when I was a young buck so you’re going to hear a bit of them in some songs

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I really don’t think there is more that I need to achieve, music is here and I can make it and hear it quite well, so I am grateful for that. The business side of things can be a real bore for me but I know it’s just part of being passionate about delivering my message on a wider platform.

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

Just getting to know my band mates on the road, jamming with them and making tunes. I am really just a mad man with a mic so being surrounded by the guys who bring real talent to the band allows me to explore deeper as a song writer, there is nothing like a spontaneous jam live on stage.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Forgive but don’t forget amigo.

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

On the upcoming EP we have a song called “In All That I see”  I would say if I had to just pick one it would be her. The song paints an atmosphere that is perfect for the story that transpires. Lucid AfterLife is not about one style or genre it’s about enveloping a story with the certain vibe that allows you to become enthralled in the song .

Where can we listen to it? 

The song is not released just yet but there is a pre-sale link to the album at bandcamp.com (see below). The best way to hear it first is to sign up for our mailing list at lucidafterlife.ca

Where can we find out more about your music?

lucidafterlife1.bandcamp.com

Facebook.com/lucidafterlife

Or just email me directly at info@lucidafterlife.ca and we can chat riffs

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

I would like to thank you guys for taking the time to interview us and want to thank all the loyal Lucid fans who have been following and supporting through the years. I hope you guys enjoy our new EP “Occult Mafia Mistress” and we look forward to seeing you in your city.

The Kundalini Genie Q&A

Your name:

Robbie Wilson.

Where are you from?

Glasgow/Cumbernauld, Scotland.

Name of band:

The Kundalini Genie.

Who else is in your band?

Julia McTiernan.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Psychedelic blues and experimental electric Indian classical music.

Who are your main influences musically?

We both have many influences in music and too many to name but for this project our main influences are Ravi Shankar and George Harrison, for our psychedelic blues stuff The Sizlacks are a massive influence and so is The Black Keys' album 'Thickfreakness' and a lot of White Stripes stuff and going back to 50's blues and such.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

A complete revolution in the music scene.

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

A solo sitar gig where there was maybe 30-50 people and everyone was dead silent and I was playing electric sitar and there was a real magic in the air, every bend and flourish was captivating the audience and there was a deep spiritual connection.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Not a lot really, maybe a stolen microphone.

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

It's hard because we have two main styles and both are so different. On one hand you have electric sitar and ambient guitar and the other you have electric fuzz guitar and drums. We have an electric sitar song which is a sarcastic take on Anton Newcombe's 'Pol Pot's Pleasure Penthouse' called 'Raving Ravi's Raging Ravioli' which is a 13-minute sitar piece.

Where can we listen to it?

https://the-kundalini-genie.bandcamp.com/track/raving-ravis-raging-ravioli

Where can we find out more about your music?

On Facebook and Twitter under The Kundalini Genie and bandcamp under the same alias

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

Dig!

Saint Sapphire Q&A

Band name:

Saint Sapphire.

Where are you from?

Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Who is in your band?

Samuel Morgan - Vocals, Guitar

Jack Walsh - Bass, Vocals

Thomas Ferris - Guitar

Andy Bowden - Drums

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Liam Neeson herding sheep to loud guitars, loud bass, loud vocals and louder drums.

Who are your main influences musically?

Our influences generally range anywhere from the classic punk outfits like The Clash and The Buzzcocks to newer rock outfits like Foo Fighters, Green Day, My Chemical Romance etc.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

To make good tunes that people like, and to hopefully make a few quid to buy some new clothes.

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

Definitely when we were compared to Green Day on a radio station in England, that was really cool for us! To be mentioned in the same breath as one of our main influences alone is surreal!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

We once played a gig in Banbridge just outside Belfast where everything was just not going well, we had received a bollocking from the headlining band who honestly weren’t very nice people at all due to misunderstandings with gear etc and everything was just going wrong, but everyone has bad nights! Happens to the best of us!

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

Our newest single ‘Underneath The Sun’ is probably our favourite song (out of the ones we’ve released but more on unreleased songs later).

Where can we listen to it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pJPaDdaiFE

Where can we find out more about your music?

We’re on most social media sites, just find us on Facebook at Saint Sapphire and find us on Twitter and Instagram on @saintsapphireuk

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

Just make sure to keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc about new releases! More information regarding our next release should be dropping very soon! 

Decline The Fall Q&A

Your name:

John Castiel.

Where are you from?

Malta.

Name of band:

Decline The Fall.

Who else is in your band?

Ehren Fenech : Drummer

Fabio Negro : Bassist 

Matthew Mercieca : Lead Guitarist 

Kris Farrugia : Rhythm Guitarist

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

We're four Maltese and an Italian that joined the band all in different times.

I personally describe ourselves as two trouble makers (John & Ehren), a father-like member ( Kris), The Italian that we all pick on (Fabio) and the nice Giant (Matthew).

Our music is a lot of different genres because we all come from different styles of music and we do our best to put all our influences in one song.

Who are your main influences musically?

We all have different influences and all have different favorite bands but if I had to mention some bands that we all agree on are Bullet for My Valentine and Killswitch Engage 

What do you hope to achieve in music?

We're working hard so that maybe, we can actually make this our career 

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

I think so far the highlight was the first gig. We had over 200 people for our debut and my first time singing with a band on stage. It was amazing.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Fabio wearing flip flops on a television interview. 

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

Well if I had to pick one song that we released I would go for Mortal Men. It was the first song we released and it's something special to us. Now there are more songs that we didn't release yet that we would say THIS is us.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptpdC0hfm8

Where can we find out more about your music?

facebook.com/declinethefall

twitter.com/declinethefall

Weesp Q&A

Your name: 

Lex.

Where are you from?

Minsk, Belarus.

Name of band:

Weesp.

Who else is in your band?

Mike (guitar)

Mi (bass)

Gul (drums)

Stak (keys)

How would you describe yourselves?

We make authentic alternative rock, using heavy guitar riffs and fat synth sounds. Although in general it’s rather dark, it’s also very energetic and sincere.

Who are your main influences musically?

Muse, Deftones, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Joy Division, Black Sabbath, Massive Attack, and many more.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

We just want to be heard. We like to travel with concerts, meet new people, share our feelings about everything through music. We like experimenting and I hope that one day we can develop and bring a bit something really new in the world of music.  

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

We have recorded a debut LP album, called ‘The Void’ last year and had three European tours since then. We intend to keep that up and make bigger tours, maybe perform at some big festivals soon enough.  

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Oh I can’t remember any for some reason.

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

If I have to choose only one - let it be ‘The Void’. A title song from our last album. It’s much less heavy that most of our songs, but, you know, it has one of those atmosphere that are very common for our band's music. It’s easy to feel and hard to describe. It is very unusual song and that is why we love it.

Where can we listen to it?

https://youtu.be/IiBolCm9PBM

You can also find it on your favourite streaming service or digital music store.

Where can we find out more about your music?

Website: http://www.weespofficial.com/

Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weesp_(band)

Subscribe to us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/weespwilldestroyus

Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/weespband

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BANDWEESP

Follow us on VK: http://vk.com/weespband

Feel free to contact us: weespband[AT]gmail.com

Buy our releases, CDs and merch: https://weesp.bandcamp.com/

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/weesp/id925286149

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

Thank you for your attention, and please feel free to add on Facebook. It’s always great to have any feedback!

Leaving Eden Q&A

Your name: 

Eric Gynan.

Where are you from? 

Boston MA, USA.

Name of band:

Leaving Eden.

Who else is in your band?

Eve (lead vocals), Ryan Manning (drums) and Johnny V (bass).

How would you describe yourselves?

Well, we def like to have fun! We consider ourselves rock, metal, progressive, alternative  - so that there’s really no box to put us in. We even do acoustic unplugged stuff too!

Who are your main influences musically?

Let's see, we all are influenced by so many great artists but Ryan likes Suicidal Tendencies, Johnny likes Kiss, Eve likes Janis Joplin and I like Sabbath, Disturbed, and way too many to list. Love Ritchie Blackmoore though...

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Great question! I’m not in it for the lure of $$, or even fame for that matter. I just humbly write songs that I hope people will enjoy. We do write provocative lyrics which are reality based so that maybe one could be inspired.

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

So many, that’s a tough question. Leaving Eden has toured the USA, UK and Canada sharing the stage with hundreds of the biggest national bands in the world including; Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell), Ronnie James Dio, Rob Zombie, 5 Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Marylyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Puddle of Mudd, Korn, Killswitch Engage, BuckCherry (Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Country Joe, 10 Years After, 40th Anniversary Woodstock) Shinedown, Dropkick Murphys, Alice in Chains, Papa Roach, Bret Micheals, Halestorm,Theory of a Deadman, Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, Hell Yeah, Trapt, Dope, Soil, Fuel, Queensryche, Saving Abel, Hinder, Damage Plan, 7Dust, Sebastian Bach, SoulFly, Days of the New, NonPoint, Drowning Pool, The Misfits, The Butcher Babies, Collective Soul, MushroomHead, Mudvayne, Chevelle, Godsmack, Powerman 5000, 10Years, Taproot, Gin Blossoms, Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG & The Scorpions), Herman Rarebell (The Scorpions), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Kittie, One Eyed Doll, Uncle Kracker, Tremonti (Creed/Alter Bridge) Lamb of God, Slayer, Stone Sour, Motorhead, Blackstone Cherry, HOOKERS & BLOW Featuring GUNS N' ROSES, QUIET RIOT, W.A.S.P. Members, Steven Tyler, Ted Nugent, Lita Ford, LA Guns, Trixter, Warrant, Apocalyptic Review (featuring members of Godsmack) & many more..

We were winners at the 2014 New England Music Awards (Best Hard Rock/Hard Core/Metal Act of the Year), winners of The 2015 Pulse Magazine Music Awards (Best Hard Rock/Hard Core/Metal Act of the Year) & (Sexiest Musician "Eve") and submitted for consideration to 15 categories for the Grammys this year. 

With all that said, Sharing the stage with Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell) with Ronnie James Dio prior to his untimely death was incredible. I think playing Woodstock Anniversary was full circle in terms of where it all started. Got to hang out with Janis Joplin's band Big Bro and the Holding Co, Jefferson Starship, Country Joe, ya man too cool!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

Well, hmmm, I very, very seldom get drunk, maybe once every two years, and I remember on an off night on tour, we let our hair down (I have a shaved head lol) but anyways, ya probably want to forget doing cartwheels down the street somewhere in the Dakota’s...

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

Another good question. Let's see, we got four Albums released to date:

Pinnacle - Welcome To My World -  Between Heaven and Hell - Tied and Bound

So I guess on our Pinnacle album released by Rock Ave Records USA, “Feel Alive” where I believe the lyrics and music are inspiring; “Walk on through before the door closes, you have one shot so you better make it right. The door is wide open, why are you waiting to feel alive?”

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/leavingeden

Where can we find out more about your music?

www.facebook.com/bandleavingeden/

www.twitter.com/Leavingeden

www.linkedin.com/in/leaving-eden-39320010

www.instagram.com/leavingedenofficial/

www.youtube.com/user/leavingedenband

www.soundcloud.com/leavingeden

www.reverbnation.com/leavingedenmusic

www.myspace.com/leavingedenband

www.bandsintown.com/LeavingEden

www.leavingeden.com

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

Sure man, wanna thank ya for chatting with us here and ya, here’s our video for We Are Not Alone, https://youtu.be/lLMINm6TV3Y 

We are touring the USA, Canada and Europe so hopefully we can catch ya when we come thru! Peace!

Bravely Default Q&A

Your name: 

Mark Martindale.

Where are you from: 

Kingston Upon Hull.

Name of band: 

Bravely Default.

Who else is in your band: 

Will Machine - Guitars  

Colin Metcalfe - Cajon

How would you describe yourselves and your music? 

Americana. Acoustic rock with a country edge.

Who are your main influences musically? 

Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

Change the world...Just kidding, just to enjoy what we do and continue playing for as long as humanly possible. Also a massive selling album wouldn't go amiss.

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

Running my own stage at Cottingham Springboard Festival. Putting on 30 acts over the course of one glorious weekend is just as amazing as playing a massive gig. I've done it for the last two years and hope to it do for many more.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

None, you learn from bad experiences and they make us who we are.

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

Tenfoot City. The house I grew up in was surrounded by tenfoots, it describes the city I love and there's a line in it that says ' I can never hold my tongue '...I tend to say what I think, which can get me in trouble sometimes but I find it's better to be honest and forthcoming than two faced, especially in this industry.

Where can we listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/mark-martindale

Where can we find out more about your music?

facebook.com/MarkMartindaleMusicHull

twitter.com/MarkMartinda1e

www.facebook.com/BravelyDefaultBand 

I also run a number of band days/nights and open mics called Humberground, for info on that go to: facebook.com/Hullunderground.

20 more added to Download 2017 line-up

Photo credit:

 

Kennerdeigh Scott

A WHOPPING deluge of 20 bands has been added to the bill for next summer's Download Festival including Alter Bridge, Airbourne and Mastodon.

They will join headliners System Of A Down, Biffy Clyro and Aerosmith at Donington on the weekend of June 9-11.

Also added in the latest batch are Opeth, Clutch, Ministry, DevilDriver, Coheed and Cambria, The Dead Daisies, Sum 41, Good Charlotte and Pierce The Veil.

You can find out the full list of bands playing at the event next June - and ticketing details - at downloadfestival.co.uk