Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer

Legendary guitarist and founder of L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns, recently took some time out of his touring schedule to chat with Hardrock Haven about a little bit of everything: from the band’s first-ever EP release back in 1985, to the recent reissue of 1999’s Shrinking Violet. He also talks about the current state of rock, his innate guitar playing ability, and even tempts us with tales of long-lost Axl Rose-crooned early recordings.

The 50-plus minute audio interview is available in two parts:

Click here to listen to Part 1

Click here to listen to Part 2

(Thanks to Tracii for indulging one long-time fan’s desire to discuss obscure L.A. Guns trivia, and to Rhonda Saenz for setting everything up.)

Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Singer Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about the deluxe reissue of Shrinking Violet; how they hooked up with Steve Vai’s Favored Nations label; a recent tour of South America; when we can expect some new music from L.A. Guns; quitting FaceBook; his solo work and writing; downloading; a few words about Dio; and a whole lot more.

With Jizzy Pearl in tow, L.A. Guns are picking up where they left off when he originally recorded Shrinking Violet with the band over 10 years ago. Tune in now to get to know their enigmatic and talented singer, and pick up the deluxe reissue of Shrinking Violet today!

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

John LeCompt of We Are the Fallen

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Guitarist John LeCompt of We Are the Fallen checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about the new band and their debut Tear the World Down; why they chose “Bury Me” as the debut single; the success of the new album; how the songwriting works in the band; upcoming tour dates including the Download Festival; a few words about Dio and Paul Gray; and a whole lot more.

We Are the Fallen features former Evanescence bandmates and is fronted by former American Idol contestant Carly Smithson. Tune in now to get to know their talented guitarist, and pick up Tear the World Down immediately thereafter …

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

Steve Handel of Seventh Calling

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Lead singer/guitarist Steve Handel of Seventh calling checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about the brand new debut release Epidemic; why they went with the song “Epidemic” as the title track; how they define their sounds, and if it’s somewhere between Slayer and Metal Church; the upcoming tour; specific songs like “Paid in Blood” and the 9-minute opus “Beyond (The Wicked Lies);” and a whole lot more.

Handel is a talented guitarist and METAL singer, and Seventh Calling is another one of those bands who are rebranding what the term “American Heavy Metal” really means. Tune in now to get to know Seventh Calling’s frontman, and pick up Epidemic immediately thereafter.

Online: www.myspace.com/seventhcalling

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

Marc Storace of Krokus

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Krokus lead singer Marc Storace checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about their brand new studio release Hoodoo; upcoming tour plans; how after 30-plus year he is still a vocal powerhouse; how specific songs like “Too Hot” were written; the cover of “Born to be Wild;” the passing of Ronnie James Dio; and a whole lot more.

Krokus is one of the legendary ’80s bands, and their brand new studio release sets the bar once again. Tune in now to catch up with one of Hard Rock’s legendary singers, and pick up Hoodoo as quickly as you can.

Online: www.myspace.com/krokusonline

 (If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

Clint Lowery

by Deb Rao
Staff Writer

SEVENDUST has just released one of their most anticipated, passionate, and personal albums of the year, Cold Day Memory. The Atlanta, Georgia rock band is currently on tour in support of their latest release and looking forward to performing at one of the biggest U.S. Festivals this Summer, Rock On The Range on May 22. To add to all of the excitement of this whirlwind year, Sevendust will be joining The Carnival Of Madness Tour this summer. Sevendust’s features original lineup – Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Morgan Rose (drums/vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar/vocals), Vince Hornsby (bass/vocals) and John Connolly (guitar/vocals).

One of the reasons of the success of Sevendust’s latest release Cold Day Memory is due to the return of guitarist Clint Lowery. Clint, who re-joined the band two years ago makes his mark with vocals and with guitar arrangements that are passionate, and spellbinding textured around the melodically aggressive vocals of Lajon Witherspoon, Every song stands on its own personal and up-close inflicting lyrics that everyone can identify with at some point of our lives. From the hauntingly love gone wrong song “Forever Dead” to their new hit single “Unraveling.” Cold Day Memory touches upon every aspect of life. The good, the bad, the trials and tribulations that we endure are all exposed in an album this is well crafted from start to finish. Sevendust return to the scene energized with a sound that is larger than life.

Guitarist Clint Lowery gives us an up close and personal look of his track-by-track account of Cold Day Memory. Clint also discusses the current Sevendust tour, Rock On The Range, and upcoming Carnival of Madness Tour at Hardrock Haven. Clint Lowery of Sevendust on Rock On The Range,”Yes, it is going to be awesome. It is always nice to be part of that thing. That festival has taken on some legs. It is a huge deal. It is probably of the biggest ones in the U.S. right now. It feels good to be part of it, playing there with our piers. To play in that competitive atmosphere is great.”

HRH: Sevendust is currently on tour. I know the band is playing your hometown of Atlanta on Friday. How is the tour going so far?

CLINT: The tour is going good so far. We have been out for a long time so this is just like another day in the office. We are excited on the new record being out and playing new material. So that is good.

HRH: I have heard the new album. It is fantastic. Tell us about the writing process.

CLINT: It usually starts with John and I. We have the seeds of the music. Then we get together and play through it. On this record the guys let me do a lot of the writing. I have been gone for three records. I got involved a lot on the vocals and lyrics and everything. It is always a group effort in the end. It takes all of us to do it. I have a lot of drive on this record. I really wanted to put my two cents in. I had a good time doing it.

HRH: Do you think the band has come full circle now that you returned to the mix?

CLINT: Yes, in a way it made me appreciate the band a lot more. The guys are my brothers. It is our lively hood and we take it real serious.

HRH: What prompted you to return to the band? I know you said you were gone five years and recently returned two years ago to the band.

CLINT: Just the fact that it is family. It was all down to being happy the way you want to live. Those guys I am comfortable with them. They are my family. It was a creative decision that I thought would be the best thing. It was an emotional, personal decision as well.

HRH: The new single is called “Unraveling.” Is there a new video out for the single too?

CLINT: There is a collage of the making of the record. It is just us in the studio. But the video is on MTV 2 or you can watch it on our official website.

HRH: Sevendust is going to be performing at Rock On The Range on May 22. Are you looking forward to performing the new material to the masses at one of the most anticipated festivals of the year?

CLINT: Yes, it is going to be awesome. It is always nice to be part of that thing. That festival has taken on some legs. It is a huge deal. It is probably of the biggest ones in the U.S. right now. It feels good to be part of it, playing there with our piers. To play in that competitive atmosphere is great.

HRH: Also, it was just announced that Sevendust is going out on the road with Shinedown on the Carnival of Madness Tour. Are you looking forward to this tour?

CLINT: Yes, that is going to be awesome.

HRH: How do you think Sevendust has evolved since back in the day?

CLINT: It is just natural things. We get older, we get more experience. We find a shortcut to do things. You kind of have to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone. You just grow. Things change. The things that you like change. I think the music kind of reflects that.

HRH: I noticed on this album too that Cold Day Memory is full of melody. How difficult was it to go through all the guitar structure and tones? Did you have anything specifically in mind when writing the album?

CLINT: No, we just kind of wanted to do what was natural to us. That always seemed to work. Sometimes it ends up a little melodic and sometimes it ends up really aggresive. We just wanted to have all of those flavors. Because we can do it. We have a lot of different singers. A lot of different textures that we can add to our music that some bands don’t. We utilized it all.

HRH: Clint, is there anything else that you want to say about the new album?

CLINT: I want to thank everyone for the great response for it. We appreciate every bit of it.

Sevendust Clint Lowery Track By Track of Cold Day Memory

l. “Splinter”- “That is the one we wanted to re-capture our childhood with an Iron Maiden metal type of thing. There was a lot of high energy when we did that. We knew that was going to be the first one on the record.”

2. “Forever Dead”- “Is kind of a dysfunctional kind of love song. Are you going to be stuck with me forever? That is what the topic of it. It is a great love song.”

3. “Unraveling”- I wrote with Dave Bassette. Basically, we wanted to talk about the exposing of either a parent or a authority figure of some kind that is fake and let you down when you rally needed them.

4. “Last Breath” -”Is kind of a last I will to go my grave kind of saying. I will keep trying to get through hard times until I am gone.”

5. “Karma” – “Karma is basically self explanatory. It is about calling yourself out on the things that you do. When you make mistakes you are going to pay for them. When you do good you are going to be rewarded.”

6. “Ride Insane” – “Trying to get lost riding motorcycles.”

7. “Confessions (Without Faith)” – “Confessions is our band’s story. Our situation as brothers and what we go through as a band together.”

8. “Nowhere” – “This is one of the funniest songs we had doing. It is just a song about the way the world is. How we all kind of follow the media and all that stuff like a cattle kind of things.”

9. “Here And Now” – “That is about I am in desperate need of support or help. It is kind of like having run ins waking up the next day after you exerted yourself a lot. You’re just in.”

10. “The End Is Coming” – “It is just the basic truth that the end comes for everyone. No matter what.”

11. “Better Place” -”Is about my personal fight with drugs and alcohol. My years of struggle with that. I thought I would write a song about it.”

12. “Strong Arm Broken” – “That is about an ex or someone you just want to beat the hell of.” (Laughter)

Visit Sevendust on the web: www.myspace.com/sevendust

Paul Phillips of Puddle of Mudd

by Deb Rao
Staff Writer

One of the top acts in music today Puddle Of Mudd is gearing up for an exciting appearance at Rock On The Range at 2:55P.M on Saturday May 22. Puddle Of Mudd is currently burning up the airwaves with their second hit single “Stoned” off their fourth studio album, Volume 4: Songs In The Key Of Love And Hate.

The band just stormed through New England with near capacity crowds at the Webster Theatre in Connecticut, Hampton Beach Casino, and Higher Ground in Burlington, Vt. Part of the success of the new album and tour is due to the return of guitarist Paul Phillips. I recently had the opportunity to discuss the new Puddle Of Mudd album in-depth with Paul Phillips with a special Track By Track. Plus we discussed the band’s upcoming appearance at Rock On The Range, Carnival Of Madness Tour, guitars, and the passing of the legendary Ronnie James Dio.

HRH: Paul, Thank you so much for checking in with Hardrock Haven. Puddle Of Mudd is currently on the road in support of your latest release Volume 4: Songs In the Key Of Love And Hate. What have some of the highlights of the tour been so far? I know the band performed to great shows this past weekend in New England.

PAUL: I don’t know if there is any one particular one. I just love to play live. Any show has the potential to be the highlight of the tour when you have a good crowd and energy going back and forth. We just had a few in a row that were really good. I just enjoy playing live and having people out there singing the words and having a good time. .

HRH: I was at the show in Hampton Beach and the crowd was very enthusiastic about the new material. I noticed a whole new generation of younger fans at the show. How inspiring is this for you as an artist to see the fan base of the band grow since the Come Clean era?

PAUL: Yes, it is crazy. This year is the tenth Anniversary of Come Clean. So we have people that have kind of grown up with us throughout the years. Luckily, we came to having success with radio with our songs. This brings in a new audience. You will see these younger kids as well. And there are these families. We see people now bringing their kids. Older people bringing their kids. It is kind of cool that we can reach across that whole generation gap. It is pretty neat to have that happen.

HRH: The new single “Stoned” is burning up the airwaves in Boston on radio station WAAF. It also marks the return of you to the band. Do you think the album returns back to your early roots?

PAUL: I think a little more so than the last record. When I left, I left during the writing of the Famous record. We weren’t getting along. We weren’t working together well. Not a whole lot of things were happening. After I left, they kind of went the route of going with different songwriters to kind of help out with the record. It is a good record. But I think it went a little poppy and a little polished than what we have done before. I don’t know if we made a conscious effort to try to strip it down a little bit and be more of ourselves. That is just what happens when we get into a room together. I don’t know if it is anything that we ever discuss. We are not a band that writes in the same room together. We always write separate. We bring our ideas in. This time I was staying up in Wes’s house during the writing and recording. By proximity we had a lot of writing sessions together. We would bring them in to the band the next day and hash them out. Doug wrote some stuff on his own. It was definitely the most collaborative and friendly good vibe that we have had making a record. Which was great compared to what it was before.

HRH: I can see what you mean. Because on the Famous album too, I got that. Maybe it was just a bit too over-polished for then band. But this record has the right amount of elements from the Come Clean era including acoustic and electric. As a guitarist what kind of sounds were you looking to achieve on the new album.

PAUL: Thank you very much I appreciate that. I always wanted to rock. When this nu-metal was going on I tried to lean somewhere between that and a little classic rock. I tried to give it as much punch and clarity out of this as you can. Like you said, the acoustics we have always kind of use a lot of live acoustics a lot on some of the slower melody things. It is a constant battle. I am always trying to find that perfect tone. I think it is something that you can never reach. You always say I can do better if I do this.

HRH: I have seen both tours your headlining one and the recent one with Shinedown. I noticed the band is doing an acoustic portion of at the show. Are you enjoying this part of the show?

PAUL: I enjoy part of it. Because it is just Wes. I get to jump off the stage for a bit and cool down. I get like a little intermission in the middle. I jump around like a monkey so I get to catch my breath, and have a drink and come back up. It is cool to do that. I have always seen bands to that. I have enjoyed it. I have seen bands that actually have a whole change in scenery with a backdrop and all that and do a whole acoustic set. Zeppelin did that back in the day. They’re a lot of bands that have done it. It is just like taking a journey. We come out and rock and then you chill off a bit and bring a different vibe and bring it back up and finish off the show. It is something different to add to the show.

HRH: Tell us about the upcoming Carnival Of Madness Tour with Shinedown. What can the fans expect to see on this tour?

PAUL: Well, it is a little shorter set for us. Because there are so many bands on the bill. Basically, we are going to go out there and rock the hits. Throw in a few songs off of the new record and go out there and do our thing. The whole tour is all great friends of great bands and ours. It is a win win for us, as well for the fans who are buying the ticket. It is a cheap ticket price. It is going to be a great tour.

HRH: I know a lot of fans are really happy that you have returned to the band. There is a really definite impact on this album. What prompted your return to Puddle Of Mudd?

PAUL: I hadn’t talked to the guys since I had quit. I have seen Doug a couple of times. I hadn’t talked to Wes since the day I quit. I live in Jacksonville, Florida and they were part of a big radio show there. It is something like me and my friends go to every year. It is an all day hangout. They were telling me go. I was like I don’t want to go. I don’t want to see Puddle and have to be around all that. But I went to it and ran into everybody. We just hung out and started talking. Wes and me went to a bar later. Oddly, enough we were getting along and not fighting. We just started talking on the phone. It wasn’t even about me coming back to the band. It was like,”Hey how are you doing man?” One day I got a phone call and they said we are playing a show down and we want you to play. Come on back. I was like under those circumstances it would be under a much better vibe. So that is the only way I would have come back. I didn’t want to come back and be miserable again. So it was a much cooler vibe and I came right back in.

HRH: How do you think the band has evolved since the Come Clean release?

PAUL: Everybody is trying to become a better player and songwriter. I think as far as the song writing I don’t think we try to re-invent the wheel. There is a sound that we make and a sound that people like. We are not trying to go in and make some crazy concert record with like 13-minute songs. We keep our lyrics to everyday stuff. Keep it real and stuff like that. I mean hopefully we are evolving as players and in writing great songs. I don’t know if we are really trying to take our song writing somewhere else.

HRH: Tell us about the making of the new video “Stoned.” It is a really fun video to watch.

PAUL: It was fun to make. Sometimes you get those videos that just last all day long. We did this one really quick. We were on a tight schedule. We had a show the day before and after, so we had to cram it in all in one day. They said you got to smash some stuff in our office. I was like cool. I got there and they had a sledgehammer and I was like I definitely have to have that. That has to be mine. I have to use that. They had all the actors do their stuff first. We got in and smashed some stuff and played the song a few times and we were out. It was quick and easy.

HRH: Are you endorsed by PRS guitars?

PAUL: Yes, I am. They have been with me from the very beginning. They came basically the time the first single “Control” came out. I have been with them ever since. They have been good to me.

HRH: Puddle Of Mudd is getting ready for a very important show on Saturday May 22. The band goes on at 2:55 P.M. How important is it for the band to play to the masses your new material at ROTR?

PAUL: It is great when you get to play when you have that many good bands. When you get to play in front of more people than you normally do. You definitely want to have your A game on and put the best show on possible. There may be a lot of fans that haven’t bought the record. It is always an opportunity to get new fans. Our good buddy is the promoter of the show. He started Rock On The Range, so we always want to impress him. He is a hard critic.

HRH: Any bands that you are looking forward to seeing perform at ROTR?

PAUL: It is kind of bittersweet. I am really excited to see The Deftones. You may or may not know their bass player who is a friend of ours that was the first tour that we did with The Deftones got in a car accident. He has been in a coma for over a year now. They went ahead and got another bass player. They are back together. They have been gone for a while. I am super excited because I am a huge fan. They are good friends of mine. It is going to be weird without the original bass player knowing his circumstances. They had to continue on but it is a little weird with him being in a coma. He is on life support and the whole deal. It is terrible.

HRH: What are your thoughts on the passing of Ronnie James Dio? The Metal world was so saddened by this news.

PAUL: It is crazy when you lose anybody like that. Like an icon. It is like when you lost Michael Jackson. Regardless of what your opinions are or what not. I mean he was an icon. He is regarded as one of the best metal singers of all time. He had success with Dio and Rainbow and Black Sabbath. It is just weird when you know he is not doing the Heaven And Hell tour one day and one day he is dying of cancer. When he was doing the Heaven And Hell tour he was out there rocking. It is a sad day anytime when you lose anybody who put great music and art out to the world. He put some great music out in the world and it will live forever.

HRH: What are the future touring plans of the band? I know you have the Carnival Of Madness Tour this summer. Will the band remain on the road throughout the year?

PAUL: I think so. I think we will probably go the end of the year. Depending on the demand at that point, maybe start thinking about another record. I am pretty sure we will definitely be going at least to the end of the year.

HRH: Paul, do you have any advice for aspiring guitarists?

PAUL: Practice, practice, practice! It goes without saying. Practice with a metronome. Get your timing together. If you got friends or whatever that play guitar or drums you got to get out there and jam with them too. It is one thing to sit around and practice scales every day. If you don’t have your feel and your groove locked in that is the most important thing when you get into a band. There are a lot of people that aren’t that technically advanced. When they deal with people and start jamming they just get it. They do it. Most of the best guitar players are just all feel and they don’t know a note. They just know a note and know it sounds good and what feels good.

Hardrock Haven is proud to present a Track By Track Of Volume 4: Songs In The Key Of Love And Hate by Puddle Of Mudd Guitarist Paul Phillips:

l. Stoned -”That is basically a F*U* song. It has a lot to do with major labels. And other bands dealing with major labels. Anybody who is stuck in that corporate world and having to do something that they don’t always want to do. Unfortunately you get pressured into doing some things that you don’t want to do in the music industry as well. So basically it is like hey instead of looking up to you I like to be doing what I like to do. You can probably kind of figure that one out.”

2. Spaceship -”That was one that was at least 3 quarters of the way done when I came back to the band. We added a few extra parts in there to just spice it up a bit. We pretty much knew all of the time it was going to be the first single. It just had kind of that novelty feel that we do a lot. We went up to Vancouver and recorded that with Brian Howes. I am happy with it too. I think the guitars are slammin’ on it.”

3. Keep It Together – “This song is probably the one I am most proud of. That was one that I actually wrote when I was away from the band. It is something that I had sitting around. It was actually a lot slower when I originally wrote it. Then there was a way more difficult more guitar part in just the result of the way Wes was trying to sing and play the guitar. He started playing the way it is now. He played it faster instead of picking out all the crazy notes I had in there. He stripped it down. So that is the way it ended up. It got stripped down a lot and sped up a lot. To me that is our credit achievement on the record. I am really proud of that song.”

4. Out Of My Way -”Me and Wes have a habit of staying up late and drinking and writing songs. We have these little hand held recorders. That is one we wrote on the recorder in Vancouver in a hotel room and listened back to it three months later. Wes is like,” Do you remember writing that?” I am like I don’t remember writing that one either. That was funny. If I didn’t have that little hand held recorder that song would have been lost and it wouldn’t have made it.”

5. Blood On The Table -”This song is fun. I like to turn that into a driving song. When you speed you put on an up tempo song like that. That was a riff and vocals that Wes had sitting around for a while. He started playing. I am like,” What is that?” Wes said I wrote that a long time ago. I like that it is cool. I wrote a chorus to it. It is basically about fighting with people in close proximities. It has a lot to do with band frustrations. Sometimes you give everything you got to each other and you bleed for each other on a daily basis. Sometimes it can get frustrating if it is not returned in the same matter. If you feel like you are doing it more than somebody else. It can apply to any kind of relationship that you have. There has to be that equal thing. ”

6. The Only Reason – That was actually a song that I had nothing to do with. That one was written for Famous. It was recorded for Famous. It ended up not making Famous. But we always thought it was a good song. So we insisted on this record that it get put on the record. I always thought it should have been on the Famous record even though I wasn’t around. I always thought it was a really good song. It has got a cool time change in it. It goes from 3/4 to 4/4 which is pretty cool. So we just re-mixed it, so it is kind of cohesive with this record. So we put it on there.”

7. Pitchin’ A Fit – “That was fun. That is pretty much about me and Wes being up late and doing our thing.”

8. Uno Mas -”That is a Doug track that Doug brought in. It is a little punk rock jammer. When I first came back to play and listened to the demo at his house, I was like that is cool I like that. It has a good up-tempo beat. It never really backs down. It took Wes a while to write lyrics to it. We knocked that one out too.”

9. Better Place -”That about Wes’s cousin who overdosed on drugs. That was basically a letter to him. You are in a better place now. I miss ya. It was a heartfelt goodbye to him.”

10. Hooky -”That was a lot of fun to write. That riff was actually written by Wes’s son who was in the “Blurry” video. He is twelve now. He has started to rock the guitar pretty well. He was staying with Wes for the summer. We were hanging out. He started playing that riff. We were like we should write a song to it. So we started asking him,” What would you rather do today than go to school?” He is like,” I rather do this. I rather so that.” We ended up writing this whole song around him with his guitar riff and vocals. Then Wes changed some of the vocals. Some of the more risqué’ vocals came from Wes and not the twelve year old kid. A lot of them are the exact same thing that he came up with. It was kind of a joke. But then we thought it would totally make his life, if we went in and recorded this song. So we waited till he left and went into the studio and recorded it. Once we got the disc and played it for him, I have never seen anybody smile that way. He couldn’t believe something that he did was on record and we recorded it.”

Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth

by Deb Rao
Staff Writer

Don’t miss Overkill on the Killfest Tour this Spring. Overkill front man Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth has checked in with Hardrock Haven for a detailed Track By Track of Ironbound.

HRH: I remember during our earlier interviews that Overkill has a distinctive sound that you really don’t stray to far way from the secret formula that launched your career and made you successful. In making Ironbound did you go back into your mindset of the early thrash days? What was running through your mind when making the album and what did you want to accomplish in the studio when recording your 15th album Ironbound?

Bobby: Yes, it is unbelievable. I don’t think anything ran through our minds specifically as the songs took shape and were assembled we were coming right off the road. That was really the X-factor with this. What made this record what it is the fact that in March we were touring and in April we started assembling. This is that little bit kick in the pants that can put it over the top. We did a lot of touring for Immortalis with a lot of fresh type touring for Immortalis with regard to our set list and with regards to bands that we toured with some of the younger thrash bands like Warbinger. But also some of the old school guys like ourselves in Exodus. So I think that when you come off like a Overkill/Exodus tour and go into the studio in April to start recording drum tracks you are really bringing the stage into the studio. That becomes that unseen element, unplanned element. Then all the plans go away, as you start achieving something that has more energy that you initially thought it would have. I really think that was the over the top element. The fact that we came off from the road and into the studio.

HRH: The core of Overkill still remains intact. You and bassist DD Verni are the only original members. You have drummer Ron Lipnicki, and guitarist Derek, and Dave. What was it like working with drummer Ron Lipnicki on this album and the rest of the band? How did everything fall into place with the newer members when recording this album?

Bobby: Ron has the best hands ever in Overkill. He really understands what to do with his hands. He is absolutely creative. He is a raw vital talent. When you have that raw creatively, it has the stallion vibe to it. Where it runs free. I think you run with the stallion instead of trying to put him into a pen. I think that really is something that he brought to the table here. That lifted everyone else’s energy up. He understands what he does in-depth and does it with a wide unbridle approach to it. So if you have that I think everyone rises to his level of energy. So it becomes kind of natural after awhile. You are just thinking of it is. Ron sets the tempo that we have to follow or it is not a good record and obviously the rest of us did.

HRH: Tell us about the Killfest Tour and what the fans can expect to see at this Thrash metal extravaganza?

Bobby: It is obviously a blend of everything the old and the new. It has been 25 years since the record Feel The Fire. We are going to lean on that record just a little bit. There is going to be just a few cuts from that and a few obscure ones. To rest on laurels would be wrong for this. Ironbound’s strength speaks for itself too. I think what we are going to do is do a blend of everything and out in a few of our hits or misses in there and some obscurity also with 3, 4, or 5 cuts from Ironbound. I think it is necessary to show the history of the band from start to present but really rely on the present with regard to performance. The package is going to contain us, Vader, Warbinger, God Dethroned, and Evile. It is going to be a good Thrash tour. It has been bumped up to a lot of big venues. Tickets are selling already. It is really kind of exciting to be involved in this resurrection of thrash at a higher level.

HRH: How do The European fans differ from American audiences?

Bobby: I don’t know that once the guitar note yeah know the first guitar note or drum note happens that they really differ anymore. I think that this has been really kind of a universal language now for a 25 or 30-year period in some cases. If somebody is a Megedeth fan in Germany, the U.K., or Japan as opposed to Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, I think there is really the same kind of reaction that they get out of this. This really becomes a singular culture at that particular moment or for that length of the song. There are differenced with regards to promotion in Germany or the U.K. with regard to the U.S. I really think that now once you are playing it really doesn’t differ that much not as much as it used to. I think it has really been a learned experience. If that experience has been learned to this point it is really not a life style. People once they are in a life style understand it just universally.

Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth Track By Track of Ironbound:

The Green And Black – “This is kind of a testimonial with regard to understanding that this is just not about the five that make this music but about all that make this collectively happen. I think that with the Green and Black being our colors, it is really about those that bleed the Green and Black. How hard it is, hard easy it is, it has been both at certain times. They have always stayed therefore for 25 years we exist. ”

Ironbound – “We were throwing it back and forth, a whole bunch of different things. This was actually DD’s title. I had something that was Iron related; he had something that was Iron related. It is funny you work with a guy for thirty years you start understanding each other. I think that one of the things that was funny. I had something like Ironworks. He has Ironbound. Ironbound is actually a neighborhood in Newark, NJ. The reason it was named that it is right by the Port and all of the railroad tracks come out of there. They say that if you are above the Ironbound it looks like it is tied to the earth by metal ribbons. Because there is so many railroad tracks that go through there. We thought it was kind of the tip in the hat to let’s say local but at the same time it depicted our place in the scene with regard to being tied to the metal or tied to the iron. So I think that it was kind of cool to think locally yet act globally.

Bring Me The Night – “Bring Me The Night” is really simple. I think it is about understanding where you excel. Musically the song is such a throw back with regard to riff. Which makes me feel like I am almost when performing this song whether it is in video or rehearsal it almost seems like years that have gone by. I feel like it is a transition where the band started. But the really cool thing about it is the contemporary stand on the song. It lends itself to the older feel and at the same time gives a contemporary stand.”

The Goal Is Your Soul – “It is really musically out of the box type arrangements. One of the things I really like about this record in general is that sometimes he arranges songs with regard to standard. Sometime he goes so sub-standard or beyond standard that it is always a surprise.”

Give A Little – ” I that this one is really about arrangement with regard to lyrical content. It is a look at religion in general.”

Endless War – “I think we are what we are what we are. We will always be compared to that. All I did was compare the journey to let’s say the politics with social situations. Regardless of how big the situations seems whether it be endless or not in the world that many of those situations are also personal and affect those from singular to the family as opposed to let’s say world populations.”

The Head And Heart – “There was a book written in the 1600’s or about the first religious persecutions in the U.K. and how immigrations had started to the U.S. to stop that persecution. Really the song is about freedom.”

In Vain – “In Vain” is about citing your goals. I have to skip after this for The S.R.C., which is the tenth song, and about getting the goal or obtaining the goal. You cite the goal in “In Vain”. “If these are the rules to obtain what you need, “The S.R.C. is obtaining it. So I think two songs go together in some degree.”

Killing For A Living – “Autobiographical. Most of the spoken lyric through this or effective lyric in this song is really just from my own diary. It is really that simple. I think if somebody knows the band that well. They will be able to identify with every sentence in that. It is really about winning after being set up to lose. I am not saying it is a great accomplish of mine but it goes from everything and understanding you are a smaller part of things as opposed to the center of the wheel. If you understand that you are a smaller part. The successes come easier.”

The S.R.C. – “Refer to “In Vain.”

Keith Sinnott of Riot Kings

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Bassist Keith Sinnott of Riot Kings (ex-Tango Down) checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about his band’s debut self-titled release; why he left Tango Down; how the songwriting process in the band works; upcoming tour plans; specific lyrics in songs like “Holy Christian Bible Rocket;” and a whole lot more.

Riot Kings have a brand new single/video for the track “Weak and Divine,” and if you haven’t heard it, you need to. Tune in now to get t know their talented bassist, and then get ready to check out their debut release.

Online: www.myspace.com/riotkingsrock

(If the embedded player doesn’t populate, click here to stream the interview in a stand alone player.)

Nuno Bettencourt

by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer

You really have to love rock music to support its traditions and its methods the way Extreme have always done. But you also have to have a strong sense of self to stand out from the crowd. How Extreme have managed to balance the classic and the personal throughout their 25-year career remains somewhat of a mystery, but you suspect that it has something to do with Nuno Bettencourt’s open and unconservative approach to music, his ability to mix instinct and reflection, and his willingness to take risks.

When in the early 90s the rock guitar virtuoso genre was on its last legs, instead of kicking it to the curb, Extreme gave it a new lease of life, if only for a few more years. Again, one suspects, out of sheer love for rock. The way Bettencourt embraced the Van Halen legacy betrayed an inner fan in him, but the way he spun it and took it into a new direction proved that we were dealing with a true artist. It all came naturally to Extreme, without calculation or deceptive methods, and this naturalness and refusal to follow a routine is perhaps what turned them into one of the best bands of their generation. After all, it takes more than phenomenal chops and hooky tunes to make a band truly great.

This organic mix of the old and the new, of the familiar and the unexpected, of traditional and personal, of the complex and the austere, comes through on Extreme’s new live album Take Us Alive with surprising vividness. Being back on the gigging circuit after a 13-year break must have felt like a real escapade for the band, and the material – recorded at the last homecoming show of a mammoth 75-city tour – reflects this sense of adventure with plenty of panache.

The band’s chemistry is infections – when the audience is not singing along, it is holding its breath for Bettencourt’s phenomenal leads. Sounding like they are having a blast, the band takes the crowd on a breathtaking romp from powerhouse rockers off their latest studio album Saudades de Rock through earthy acoustic balladry to tightly wound funky vamps and then back to big gold-plated bounce of cock-strutting oldies. Extreme are firing on all cylinders and the crowd is loving every second of it – the best proof to the fact that unity of form and substance is at the root of that special live magic.

Supporting tradition is one thing, but doing so while managing to sound modern and exciting is quite another. Extreme to this day manage to do both, and the result couldn’t have been more convincing. During our telephone chat Bettencourt tells me that the band has a word for balancing punch and polish, the unexpected and the familiar. They call it “simplex” – a combination of the simple and the complex.

I also find out that being on the road with Extreme never becomes a routine for Bettencourt, and that he continues to see these things as small challenges, as “another little mountain to climb.” His current tour with Rihanna, he says, is another one of those small mountains.

This unexpected collaboration between the world of rock and the world of pop, as well as broader things such as the current state of the music industry and the nature of creative aspiration were among other things we’ve touched upon. And in the end it all became very clear – intuition and flexibility are at the centre of Bettencourt’s vision. There isn’t and has never been any dogma, or any concession to a routine, and this is one of the main reasons why Extreme after all those years still remain who they are – to this day staying relevant, fresh, and utterly inimitable.

Hardrock Haven: I’d like to start with talking about the new live album and the accompanying DVD. How did it happen that all the past experience and all the new energy are suddenly coming together at one place and time on one given evening? Is it all just down to experience, musical knowledge and skill, or is there also this factor of spontaneous magic that is also at work there?

NB: I think that with live recordings, or live DVDs, or live albums, you kind of don’t know what you gonna get. Overall, we’ve never gone on stage and punched the clock, no matter how great or how bad the audience is. The passion that we have as performers and wanting to perform is always what kicks it off. I don’t think we’ve ever lost that in the best of times and the worst of times. The thing about Extreme is that when you see a live show, you see a live show, no matter what’s going on. And really the only difference is whether it becomes great, or special, or extra special, or maybe not so great, depends on the audience. It depends on the relationship that you have that night – whether they give you that extra energy to throw you over the edge, or whether sometimes you have to work a little extra to get it. It’s hard to say which show is the best, or which show we should have recorded. They are all very different. Playing in Madrid and playing in Tokyo is two completely different cultures and you can sense the difference when you are on stage.

HRH: But how do you balance such brilliant entertainment with conveying a meaningful musical message? Is this something that has to be thought about and balanced out beforehand, or is this something that happens spontaneously with Extreme?

NB: With rock n’ roll you always want to do a kind of simple thing, but you always want a little bit of complexity of melody, and lyrics, and arrangement, and musicianship. So the word that I always come up with is “simplex” – simple and complex. “Keep it simplex”. We are still a rock band, we are not curing any major diseases. We are here for entertainment, like all the bands that we grew up with – they are all pretty straightforward rock bands. But to make it your own we are all pretty decent players, and the bands that we grew up with did great harmonies and crazy arrangements once in a while. It’s something that is definitely thought about at composition stage. It’s not like something that we think about live. By the time we are on stage, if you haven’t got it all together, you’re in trouble.

HRH: But you say a very revealing thing on this record between the songs: “Rock n’ roll is not dead, but it sure is sick.” It seems to me that this is how you have felt about rock n’ roll throughout your career, and that has been one of your creative goals – to make rock n’ roll music healthier, more diverse, more viable, more resilient.

NB: I think that’s what it is, but I think that now it is even more so because of the state of the music business and the greatness and the danger of the internet. It is a great thing making the world smaller while we communicate, while we discover things, while we find things, but in many ways it has made it very easy to download stuff which everybody does, all of us do. It’s made it more difficult for record companies to continue being a big bank. When they used to be like big banks, they could allow artists like the Beatles to take three or four albums to get to Sgt. Pepper, they could allow any band like Queen to do those records, or David Bowie to develop different things. Nowadays the danger is that it becomes very hard. What will happen to these young bands that don’t get that chance to develop, or who don’t get the funds to tour the world or to take their first record and develop it into something else? The Beatles with Sgt. Pepper had the time, and those young bands don’t get another shot. It’s become like American Idol and like those quick-fix shows that get you discovered these days. That’s the danger. I don’t think rock has always been sick, it’s just that now it’s becoming very hard to find and discover some of the more special acts who should be making music history.

HRH: We are talking more about technology here, things like MySpace and YouTube, and illegal downloading. But from a purely creative point of view, from a point of view of a musician and a composer – do you think that those challenges that you were facing 20 years ago still remain the same or are they now different?

NB: Well, here is another worry about technology and the internet. When you are a kid, like I was in the middle of Massachusetts, in a small town – not in Boston – and you are anywhere that is more further away from the city, you have your surroundings to deal with, and those are minimal. Meaning that your choice is minimal and if you see a band that inspires you, in order to get there you have to do it yourself, you have to do your own work. You have to get better as a musician, you have to get better as a songwriter. Because you don’t have much where you live. You have to have imagination, lyrical and writing imagination, and dream of what it would be like to be on stage, and dream about what it would be like to have a conversation with Eddie Van Halen, or Jimmy Page, or any of those guys.

But nowadays you can have that by hitting the space bar. You can travel to an arena, and you can see the show on YouTube ten seconds after you saw the actual show. The mystery is gone. If you are waiting for a band to come into town, and you are in Texas and they are in Europe, by the time they get to Texas, you will see crappy versions of the concert at least 30 or 40 times if not more by other people who are video-recording with their phones. It’s natural, don’t get me wrong, but it demystifies everything. To the point where people go, “Why do I need to get out of the house to see a music show? I’ll see it on YouTube.” Or, “Why do I need to go and play in a club when I can just learn how to play guitar online?” That’s the danger of it. I think people are getting complacent, I think they are getting lazy, and it’s no surprise because you can sit in front of a computer and get three thousand the amount of stuff to look at and things to listen to than we could in our generation.

HRH: And then with reality shows you can see what’s in their wardrobe – people like Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne.

NB: Yeah, the mystery is all gone! Nobody should be allowed to do that. There is some stuff that should remain sacred and you shouldn’t be able to go into people’s homes and live with Gene Simmons. I was with Gene and Paul two days ago, we talked about a lot of different things, and I understand the idea of Gene’s show and everything else, but the only issue I have is that sometimes it takes away a little bit of me wishing to be like Gene or wanting to know what he is like or wanting to know who he is. And that’s part of the mystery. I think there is too much information now.

HRH: But in terms of your craft, in terms of being a guitar player, do you think there have been any fundamental or important changes since the time when you were growing up? Do you think that now there are more expectations from the industry and from the fans when it comes to guitar technique and when it comes to skill?

NB: I think that that part of it is still somewhat OK. I think that guitar playing peaked anyway in a bad way in the early Nineties. I think it went too far. It went from usually a band that writes some great songs with some great musicians in the band, and the guitar player happens to be special at his craft in addition to being able to express himself that way, to the whole thing almost turning into an Olympics where the guitar player became more important than the band itself. With a lot of bands from mid-Eighties to the early Nineties it became this kind of guitar Olympics that became kind of ugly to me – it had no soul to it, it was about how fast you could play or how technical you were, but it became this thing that had nothing to do with music.

Even when people say to me, “Oh, man, you shred,” I say, “Look, thank you for that, but to be honest with you, if you put on any Extreme song and you hear me shredding on a song that doesn’t need shredding, then I’m doing the wrong thing.” And I think the art of it and the balance of the technical side is to play what’s right for the song. If it’s a crazy fun song and you can rip a great solo – great. If it’s a mellow song and you can play something beautiful – great. I think for me the most important thing that guitar players have to remember is that they have to play what’s right. Not to impress, not to show off, it’s something that has to do with what you’re doing. Because it ruined it for the guitar for a very long time. It became very uncool in the Nineties, you couldn’t even play a solo.

HRH: With you, of course, technique has always served a musical purpose. But have you ever thought that you wanted to be in a situation where there would be nothing left that wouldn’t be absorbed into your technique? A kind of power-trip? And that for some people this became the nature of artistic fulfillment – being able to play anything?

NB: Fulfillment is an interesting thing. You are either a type of person who is looking at a mountain to climb that you’ve been waiting to climb it for a long time, and you can’t wait to get there, and you work, and work, and work to get there. And when you get up there, you have two choices. You either go, “Oh, I did it, that’s it!” and you go back down. Or you can look across and go, “Hey, there is another mountain over there, let me try to climb that one!” (Laughs). And for me that’s what the case has always been. There are plenty of different mountains to climb, plenty of different things to do from touring with Extreme to getting a call and hearing, “Hey, are you interested in doing the Rihanna tour?” And you kind of go, “Well… Probably, but what’s the deal? There isn’t a lot of guitar there,” and they say, “That’s the interesting part of it – you get to rock it and you get to do your thing over somebody else’s song and make it more rocking.” To me those are the little challenges and the little mountains to climb that make it interesting and keep Extreme interesting. Keep what we do with Extreme fun for me.

HRH: How does Rihanna’s artistic vision or musical vision resonate with yours? Do you find you have common reference points?

NB: I see a different world from mine, but I see what the similarities are. She is young, she is only 22, but I see myself at that age when I look at her. I remember those feelings, I remember those thoughts I was having. She’s had an incredible career – she started at 15 or 16 and she’s had more number one singles than anyone in a decade, more than Beyonce or other girls. So she’s achieved a lot already. When I come to some of these arenas, when I walk in – I’m twice her age – I say to myself, “I remember this arena, I remember this arena with Extreme, I remember doing this almost at the same age.” And I go, “I know what you are feeling.” And it’s kind of cool for me, that’s the connection that we have. As far as music is concerned, a lot of the feel and the grooves, the stuff that’s underneath the songs, is very similar to Extreme to me. There is funkiness to it. Because there is a pop element to what we do, there is also a ballad element to it.

HRH: And Rihanna is not afraid to experiment and take on board different influences from different camps.

NB: She is always open to stuff. She is basically a bit of a free spirit. She’s not much of a diva, she doesn’t behave like this R’n’B kind of diva. She’s a bit of a rocker at heart, even though she is a part of a pop R’n’B world, she is as fun as what rock n’ roll is, if you know what I mean. She has the energy – let’s have a ball, let’s have fun. And she’s also very stylish and aware of the way fashion meets music which is kind of cool.

HRH: There is, of course, the DVD coming out as well to accompany your new live record – the first Extreme live DVD in the history of the band. Are you yourself a fan of live music DVDs? Are there performers who you like to watch live on your TV screen at home?

NB: You know what, I hate DVDs. (Laughs). That’s one thing that we’ve never done. I don’t mind watching somebody else’s, but when I watch any past Extreme footage, I say to myself, “This doesn’t feel like Extreme to me.” DVDs never seem to really capture the band. To me it’s that night that you have with the crowd, it’s the volume that’s missing, the sweat that’s missing, the smells, the spontaneity. When you look at the DVD, it gets very tame, it’s very controlled, and the editors are in control of how exciting it is or how exciting it isn’t. While when you are in the crowd, you look where you want to look and there is mayhem going on, there is excitement. When you do a DVD, it’s forcing the viewer to look at Nuno when it wants you to look at Nuno. It’s one of those bizarre things. I’m glad it’s there, I know it has to be there, it’s good to document it, and I’m glad that we’ve released something there. But once again, when I watch them, I bum out a little bit. I’m like, “Yeah, that’s me, but I don’t think it captured the magic of Extreme.” I think you have to be at the show to experience the relationship between the audience and the band.

HRH: And then again, these days live footage undergoes so much touching up in the studio. I’ve recently spoken to Alan Parsons about his live DVD which has recently come out, and he told me how much touching up his live footage and his live material has undergone in the studio.

NB: Yeah, that’s the choice you make really. Do you want to make a live record or do you want to make a record? (Laughs). You gotta make that choice. And there isn’t much going on with Extreme. It’s a four-piece band – guitar, bass, drums, it’s pretty straight-forward, it’s pretty rocked out – we have two background singers and a singer. If we can’t get it together by now, we have problems. (Laughs).

HRH: How do you maintain your technique these days? Does it still require everyday practice?

NB: No… It’s one of those things where I don’t really… I don’t practice a lot. Every time I try to practice, I end up writing a song instead. I’ve kind of become a more rounded person and a musician. I never really decide, “I’m gonna practice right now.” You kind of pick up the guitar and see what happens.

HRH: I have one last question and it’s a bit goofy, I hope you don’t mind.

NB: OK.

HRH: If you were granted an answer to any question in the Universe, what would you ask?

NB: What would I ask? Wow! I would ask, “Why humans are broken? (Laughs). What is it about us that has this malfunction? In this almost great world what is it about… what breaks us to the point… what makes us human, I guess?” Sometimes they talk about animals and they say we are very different from animals and how they just live on instinct, and there is a part of me that wishes that we were a little bit more like that. Humans don’t seem to be able to handle choices. Of course, I’m talking about in the most devastating way in this world and all that, but that would be my question, “What makes us human and how can we fix it? What little part are we missing?”

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