Interviews – Almost Anything Music

Band Interview Of The Day – Monkey Intrusion

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?
Hi there, we are Monkey Intrusion from Trieste, Italy. The line up is composed by Enrico J. Goti at voices and guitars as well as Vincenzo Reina, then we have Marco Bertoli on drums and finally Marco Plesnicar on bass.
How did you all meet?
Vincenzo and Marco P. were school mates and actually formed their first garage band back in those days. Then they met again after they went on different paths and started a band that would become the beginning of the actual project. Enrico joined pretty soon after Vincenzo heard him playing live at a gig with a mutual friend while Marco B. recently filled the position for the former drummer who had to quit the project. His presence gave us such a stability to move a step forward and start recording.
How long have you been playing?
This project started back in 2014 with different musicians in the line up and the core always formed by Enrico, Vincenzo and Marco P.
What three words would you use to describe the music you play?
Groove, intense, cinematic.
What are your musical influences?
Well, there are many… partly due to the fact that Enrico and Marco B. are younger than Vincenzo and Marco P. and partly because musical taste are slightly different. But to name just a few we would say Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Guns’N’Roses, Dream Theatre and Metallica.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?
Wow, there are many… but once there was this old bloke with a Sylvester Stallone look like that was dancing around kissing his biceps and asking us for a song from Ozzy Opp?!? Still wandering who’s that!
Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?
Don’t remember exactly what was the venue but it was the very first gig in our home town. A wild night!
What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?
Marco P. says he’s got Another Page from Christopher Cross…
What have you been listening in the last few weeks?
Busy rediscovering Gentle Giants.
Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?
Yeah!! The CD has been printed eventually so we are planning the next moves with our label Ghost Record. Very soon we’ll start a campaign to promote the album.

Listen to Monkey Intrusion’s latest track, ‘Bad Love’ below.

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Band Interview Of The Day – A Permanent Shadow

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

I’m CP, the singer in A Permanent Shadow. My co-workers are Valentí on guitar and Albert on keyboards.

How did you all meet?

We’ve known each other for years from the local circuit in Barcelona. It was only for a Lou Reed tribute show that we actually started working together, and we liked the experience so much we just kept going.

How long have you been playing?

We started out together in 2018 and released our first album in 2019. Since then, we’ve released three albums and an EP.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Quirky electronic rock.

What are your musical influences?

David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, LCD Soundsystem, amongst many others. We love layered intelligent rock with danceable rhythms.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Once our drummer went missing during a show. He had downed a couple of beers before the show and the bladder would not hold…

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

I remember I went to Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona in 2022 after a long gig hiatus. It was a bit overwhelming as they had oversold the site to make up for two festival-less seasons. It got a bit scary at one point. I know of people who went the first day and never came back out of fear of being trampled underfoot.

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Oh, I’m not ashamed of any musical inclination. I love the song “Boys, Boys, Boys” by Sabrina and we have played it live on occasion. It usually provokes a reaction of utter disbelief, which is great!

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

I’m currently listening to a lot of Ride and Sleater Kinney, not just the new albums, which both are fantastic, but also some of their older stuff. There are some magnificent and quite underrated bands out there.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

We’ve just released the album “No Leaf Clover”, which you can check out on all digital platforms. For later this year we are planning to release our second covers EP which, as you may have guessed, will contain a cover of “Boys, Boys, Boys”. You’re gonna love it!

Check out A Permanent Shadows’ latest record, ‘No Leaf Clover’ below.

Band Interview Of The Day – Illusions OF Grandeur

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

Sure, here is a bit about the band Illusions of Grandeur “I.O.G.”, is a Theatrical Hard Rock/Fantasy Metal band based in York, PA. I.O.G. has been touring in both the United States as well as across the UK, Germany, France, and the Ukraine since 2015.

I.O.G. have made appearances at various festivals including Sav Fest, Dewey Beach Music Festival and Witney Music Festival. I.O.G. has shared the stage with artists as varied as DOPE, Motograter, September Mourning, New Year’s Day, Puddle of Mudd, Stryper, República, Stitched up Heart and Otep.

I.O.G. ‘s Live show The Siren Saga is a story of the journeys, perils, and triumphs of the Siren and her warriors. The story mixes facts and fiction combining Greek and Norse Mythology, Sirens, Gods, Archangels.

Illusions of Grandeur’s fierce and energetic live show has gained them a legion of fans dubbed “The Siren Nation” who follow them worldwide, at live shows, and on social media.

How did you all meet?

The band and band name came together when Maggie was seeking out other musicians to form a band. A lot of the ads said, “No Illusions of Grandeur here” meaning they just wanted to play music, Maggie thought “Why no Illusions of Grandeur” Life is short go for what you dream and want!

The idea of Illusions of Grandeur is to create a world and tell the story of “The Siren” and her journeys. IOG’s love of both history and Greek/Norse Mythology felt that this was the best medium way to create a world for “The Siren Saga.” IOG feels that when listening to music or seeing a live show you should be able to immerse yourself in that moment and take a journey of your own with the band.

Maggie ad CM met on his radio show he was doing in Philadelphia around 2012 and slowly the band began to form.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

I think those three would be Theatrical, Metal and Alternative. As Illusions of Grandeur always strives to mix our love of all music within our stage show.

What are your musical influences?

Each member of IOG could answer this differently! But our influences range, Maggie “The Siren” is influenced by a wide range of vocalists and styles of singing; she was trained in the operatic vocal style. The Siren also grew up listening to classic vocalists such as Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Etta James, and Billie Holiday and many great more modern vocalists like Amy Winehouse, Ann Wilson, Maria Brink, Jonathon Davis, Robert Plant, Ami Lee, and Pink.

While CM draws on both classic metal as Judas Priest. Iron Maiden and thin Lizzy as well as Metallica, Korn, Disturbed. CM also pulls melodic writing from Supertramp, ABBA and more.

IOG would love to share the stage with evanescence, Korn, Alter Bridge you name it!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Touring and connecting with our fans and meeting new people worldwide, traveling is the best experience I feel you can have. During Illusions of Grandeur’s “The Songs of The Siren Tour 2019” the band played a few weeks in the Ukraine.

One of those shows was in a small town called Smila in the Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine. What we thought was a festival we were playing on, turned out to be a small festival built around IOG headlining. It was pretty crazy they turned the central park of the town into a festival ground with a large stage and it seemed like the whole town came out for the day. It was an amazing experience.

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Really, no album I wouldn’t admit to owning and listening to.

Any type of genre, music is an experience and while it may not all be for you, it is a creative expression from artists.

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Illusions of Grandeur has been on the road the past few weeks, so the tour playlists vary a bit! We jam out to old school metal i.e., Metallica and slipknot to 90’s Era Hip Hop and a lot of podcasts recently Smartless has been on quite a bit. We like to mix it up to keep it from getting monotonous while doing these long drives between shows.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

Illusions of Grandeur recently released their latest single “Midnight” from the forthcoming Ep “The Siren Rises Part 1“which will be out I November 2023.

Illusions of Grandeur’s The Siren Tour continues through the remainder of 2023 into 2024. IOG are currently while tour producing their 3rd album the next story in The Siren Saga “The Siren Rises” which the band looks to have out in 2024-2025.

Illusions of Grandeurs goals are to continue to make music for the remainder of our lives, While the band is currently performing “The Siren Saga” we hope to continue our story in different sagas for many years to come. Thank you.

Come see The Siren Saga Live and check out our latest single and video “Midnight”: https://youtu.be/vLNdfUGkbQM

Illusions of Grandeur new single is on all streaming platforms and available on CD single at shows https://songwhip.com/illusionsofgrandeur/midnight

Illusions of Grandeur is available on all social media and streaming platforms:

Band Interview Of The Day – The Haptics

If If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?
My name is Jin, and I’m the lead singer for The Haptics!

How did you all meet?
We found each other through posts on Craigslist, actually. We were all looking to play music with other locals and I really vibed with the music that Cam (guitarist) and the other bandmates were making. It reminded me of Joy Division, one of my favourites.
How long have you been playing?
I’ve been playing piano since I was about 4, and now do so just as a hobby. I started singing when I was a kid and sang occasionally in choir or musicals just for fun. I started singing for bands in about 2007! At the time I was part of a four-piece punk band in San Francisco called “The Porno Riots”.
What three words would you use to describe the music you play?
Post-punk, Melodic, Alternative
What are your musical influences?
Joy Division, Bauhaus, Interpol, Nirvana
6. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?
People are drinking beer out of shoes now? There’s not a lot of people whose shoes I’d drink beer out of.
7. Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place
you visited when the restrictions were lifted?
I was living in Berlin at the time and I think it was Berghain honestly! We were all thrilled it was open again.
8. What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?
I am not embarrassed by my record collection :). Probably some cheesy Christmas music. I love the stuff.
What have you been listening in the last few weeks?
I’ve been jamming to italodisco, techno, and industrial post-punk lately! Some of my favorites are Boy Harsher and Light Asylum.
Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?
We’re dropping our 3-song EP entitled “Zero Gravity” on November 10th! We’re also writing some new stuff to introduce next year.

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Band Interview Of The Day – Past The Fall

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We’re Past The Fall, a 3 piece band out of Cambridge UK and we play Epic Groove Metal with Grungy Sleaze.

How did you all meet?

Me (Will) and Thomas go way back- we first met when we were about 12 years old! We finally put Past The Fall together in 2015. Sebastian we met when we we’re on the lookout for a new drummer at the beginning of this year- and the chemistry has grown even better!

How long have you been playing?

The band has been touring since 2015.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Epic, Groovy, Dark

What are your musical influences?

Speaking for myself theres probably a lot of variety in there that somehow all is absorbed into my personality, but a few names that spring to mind that I’m a mega fan of are Black Sabbath, Pantera, Mastodon, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Probably the Police burst in with guns and stop the show in Mexico!

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

That’s a tough one! It was probably a the dive bar scene- somewhere like Fuel in Cardiff where I was living at the time, covid really makes you value the venue on your doorstep!

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Well I’m all into streaming now, so there’s probably a lot of shockers in there haha, records have consistency and I have no shame so nothing I wouldn’t admit to! It’s probably the one off tracks that grab me from time to time that get filed into a cheesy playlist dustbin, don’t mind a bit of Miley Cyrus or Rhianna!

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Been hitting a bit of the Hardcore vibe with Hatebreed and Cromags, and revisiting bits of early slipknot and Lamb of God.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

In a month or so we’ll be releasing the last single from our Debut Album “From Insanity’s Ruin” called ‘Poison Mirror’, we’ve put together some killer video and visuals for it that we’re really stoked to get out there!

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Band Interview Of The Day – Hey Radio

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We are the band Hey Radio, from Wichita, Kansas. Just five neat guys with a love of pop culture and super fun movie soundtracks!

Our members are: Adam (lead vocals), Kota (bass), Ian (lead guitar/backing vocals), Dustin (rhythm guitar/backing vocals), and Donnie (drums).

How did you all meet?

We met about six or so years ago when Adam and founding member Elton reached out to Ian to start jamming with them, because they were looking to resurrect their old metal act. After a while of the three of them making music, Ian started playing a song from his old punk band (we ended up recording and releasing it on the “Bangers” album) and the decision to do a fun punk side project was born! We decided on the name from a statement we came up with “Hey, radio! Play our stuff!” because it was actually gonna be a punk parody band, and we were gonna do a Spinal Tap thing with it…come out as the punk band, do the show, then come back with a different look as the metal band and do another show! After a while, we realized that punk would be easier to write and get shows, so the punk band started to become the main project and the metal band became the side project!

After a while, we were able to find a drummer (Payton) and went through a couple of bassists until we landed on Kota, and we were a pretty solid unit for a while, recording and releasing a few recordings…until COVID hit. During the pandemic, we ended up going through some changes as both Payton and Elton decided to leave the band. We were able to find Dustin, who would become our new drummer, and went on as a four piece for a while, but it hindered our ability to play a lot of our older songs because they were written for two guitars. Eventually, we came across Donnie who offered to come join after we put out an ad for a drummer and Dustin went to his main instrument of guitar and became our new rhythm guitarist, making us a five-piece again!

How long have you been playing?

With the current lineup, about seven months. As a band, we’ve been doing this for five years or so.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Fun, party, nifty!

What are your musical influences?

We’re influenced by bands such as Masked Intruder, Teenage Bottlerocket, NOFX, MXPX, Pennywise, Sum 41, The Vandals, Stroke 9, Smoking Popes, Bowling For Soup, and others. Depending on the song, you’ll hear styles reminiscent of at least one of those bands! One thing that a lot of people tell us is that our music reminds them of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtracks, which is awesome because we totally love those games and soundtracks!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

It might have been that really happy, really drunk crust punk that yelled at us while we were playing a show, then wanted to buy us drinks afterwards haha!

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

We actually hit up an arcade for some classic gaming and a couple of cold ones. We also took a little time to see family members that we hadn’t seen in person for a while, which was needed more than folks realize!

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

If we share that, then we’d admit to the secret! Haha

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Besides the stuff we’re working on? Haha. We’ve really been getting into the new stuff Rancid has been putting out, as well as some of the stuff from a friend’s band in Seattle. Of course, we’ve also been jamming to some classic skate punk for future motivation!

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

We’re working on some new recordings right now. We’re hoping to release the first of our new EPs sometime late fall/early winter of this year, then we’re gonna start working on another that should be out sometime early in 2024, we hope. Trust us when we say it’s gonna be a really fun one that y’all are gonna want to check out! After that, we’re planning on updating our EPK and doing some more regional shows, so stay tuned to our socials because things are about to get super fun!

Listen to Hey Radio’s 2022 record, ‘Bangers’ below.

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Band Interview Of The Day – Misery Lane

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We are Misery Lane. We are a non-genre specific metal band based in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the US.

How did you all meet?

Playing music lol. The drummer, rhythm guitarist and I were in a different band together prior to Misery Lane and the bass player we found on the internet, and we have been gelling ever since.

How long have you been playing?

Everyone but the rhythm guitarist is in their late 40s and early 50s so many, many, years. As a band with this lineup, we have been together since April of this year. Misery Lane as an entity has been around since October of 2020.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Melodic, aggressive, and relevant

What are your musical influences?

Among all the members of the band there are too many to name, but I’d say we like to emulate a sound resembling bands like Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine, Slipknot, etc. Any band that has dual guitars that don’t play the same notes all the time and the vocals can both sing and scream.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

A guy in an inflatable dinosaur costume body surfing in the crowd. I remember thinking “Huh a T-Rex. There’s something you don’t see everyday.”

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

The music factory in Battle Creek, Michigan. I got married there right before the lockdown so it has a special place in my heart and the owner Jeff Harris does a great job of supporting local music and he runs an awesome venue.

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket. Definitely, a guilty pleasure.

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately. I’ve played in a few country bands, and I love their ability to overlap instruments without muddying the sound and I strive to bring that dynamic to Misery Lane.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

We are currently working on our third album and are hoping to have it done by March/April of next year. It just depends on how many more shows we are going to do supporting the current release “Red Balloon.”

Listen to ‘Red Balloon’ below.

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Band Interview Of The Day – Past The Fall

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We are PAST THE FALL an epic groove metal band with grungy sleaze based out of Cambridge UK

How did you all meet?

The band is formed around Me (Will) and Thomas’ longstanding friendship, although we didn’t form the band until much later, we have known each other since we were 11! Sebastian on drums is our new recruit we started working with him this year.

How long have you been playing?

Me personally as a musician, I’ve been playing guitar and bass and singing for over 20 years. Past the Fall was started in anger in about 2014, but me and Thomas have been jamming together in and out the scene since we were 16.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Epic, groovy and dark.

What are your musical influences?

Me personally I love all the classic like Black Sabbath, old school Metallica and Megadeth, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden- stuff like that!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Well, it stopped the show so I don’t know if it counts, but we had the Mexican police bust in and halt proceedings until they’d checked us all out and didn’t find what they’re looking for!

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

It was a strange one because in many ways the momentum from the usual gigging cycle had dissipated a bit, so we just back to the grass root s of the UK as soon as we could, and it was at a great little place called Suburbia in Southampton I think!

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Too many to mention, and happy to mention them so not sure if it counts? Haha. But maybe the least metal? Or unstereotypical for a metal head? Maybe Sister Sledge – We are family

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

I’ve been fliting between oldschool deftones and incubus, stone temple pilots, prodigy and mastodon.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

Yep! We’ll be releasing the final single from our debut album ‘From Insanitys Ruin’. Its called Poison Mirror, and we’ll have a bunch of cool video content and music videos coming out around it near Xmas time!

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Band Interview Of The Day – Dirty Money

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We’re Dirty Money, a rock originals band from Oxfordshire consisting of John Hudson (Spud) on vocals,Mark Walker on guitar, Ross Hutton on bass and Luis Silver on drums.. We’re also the greatest band you’ve never heard of…but you will

How did you all meet?

Mark and Ross had a band together for a lot of years and around that time Ross also was a pub landlord. I (John), lived in LA at the time and had come home for Christmas and was staying with my mum who lived in the same village as Ross’ pub. So being a grown man staying with parents I did the only sensible thing and went to check out the locals and happened to walk into the Cherry Tree, (Ross’ pub) which had various guitars and bass’ adorning the walls and met them both. We all just hit it off and I think I didn’t leave for about 3 days. Anyway I went back to the states but we kept in touch and when I moved back 3 years later my wife and I stayed with Ross and his wife while we were looking for a place to live. Mark lived down the street so we just picked up where we left off. Then when their band broke up just before lockdown Mark called me and said they were looking to put another band together, would I like to be the vocalist and I jumped at the chance. I’d got up with their old band a couple of times and we’d gelled and we’d talked about putting something together before but it took a while. Trying to find a drummer was a different story altogether. I think we had about 5 sit in with us that either we didn’t feel fitted or they just disappeared off the face of the earth so we really struggled and it was like trying to find rocking horse shit if you’ll excuse the expression. Then Ross, being the salesman that he is, struck upon the ingenious idea that he’d look through the classifieds for people looking to sell their drums and that was how we happened to find Silver, (or hiho as we affectionately call him) . Poor guy was trying to sell his drums and instead Ross convinced him to keep them and join the band. Thankfully his mrs is still talking to him.

How long have you been playing?

We’ve been together properly since Feb 2022. We tried putting someting together before that but that little pandemic thing sort of got in the way a bit

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Bold, Brash and Ballsy

What are your musical influences?

There’s so many. Guns n Roses have got to be a big one in there for all of us. Mark especially is a massive Slash fan. For me The Stooges are hugely influential. I honestly believe there is no greater front man than Iggy Pop at his peak and I would love to think I could project at least half of his danger and antagonism on stage. I LOVE Bon Scott as a frontman too. As successful as ACDC were after his death, for me at least, they were never the same band and never had that same energy or sense of fun again.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

There was one gig where the sound engineer looked like he’d partaken in one substance or another and spent the whole gig disconnecting and reconnecting one cable that wasn’t actually going into his desk and when we eventually asked him what he was doing he looked at us bewildered and said, “I have no idea”

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

The rehearsal room. We had a lot of time to make up for,

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Rainbow- the album (1975) and before you ask, no not Ritchie Blackmore’s rainbow, Rainbow featuring Zippy George and Bungle. I was 6 when I bought it and never throw things out. That and The Wombles xmas album. Think I’ve got a Jive Bunny one knocking around too

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

A whole mix of stuff. We always have music on.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

Yep, we’ve just finished recording an EP and it will be out around early to mid October so watch this space

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Band Interview Of The Day – Michael Webster

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

I’m a singer-songwriter based in Manchester, UK – I’ve been performing for a good few years now and I’ve got a bunch of releases out! I also put on gigs, run a label and produce others’ music – all good fun!

How long have you been playing?

I started playing in 2013/14, but properly started playing towards the end of 2014 – I moved to Manchester to study and started performing across the city. I’ve been writing songs since the start, and I’ve got a huge amount under my belt now. I did play guitar when I was younger, but got more serious as of late!

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Northern folk grunge. It’s the most accurate explanation of my music haha.

What are your musical influences?

Artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Martha, Bob Dylan and even rappers like Mac Miller and Kendrick Lamar really influence my style – I often write about my own experiences and that which surrounds me, so often my environment is a main musical influence.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Playing in bars and pubs you often see a lot of crazy stuff, but people fighting is always the weirdest hahah. It always happens during songs that are opposite to the atmosphere of a fight, so it’s pretty funny to just keep playing during it.

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

I actually just went out with a bunch of my friends and had a night out. It was nice to be able to see them properly after all the time!

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

I’m actually pretty open about my musical taste – my favourite artists range from hip-hop, to full on pop music, to hyperpop, techno and that kinda thing, and then singer-songwriter stuff and indie/alternative. I think the most surprising album to most people would be something like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, but it’s also one of my favourite albums as well haha.

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Over the last few weeks easily it has to be Erika De Casier. It’s like rnb/techno/chill – beautiful songs and I’m pretty sure she produces them all herself, and they’re real lovely.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

I released my second EP “a northern perspective” at the end of last year, and I’m hoping to get more stuff sorted within the near future!

Listen to Michael Webster’s latest release, the EP ‘A Northern Perspective’ below.

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Band Interview Of The Day – Lost Dogs Of Ultimo

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

Im Pauli, the main organiser in the Lost Dogs Of Ultimo project

How did you all meet?

The collaborations I have done have been with a few old friends and musicians from my reckless 20s Ric Newell and Neil Johnson and some new ones Madam NIghtingale & Cloutie Will from my time here in Melbourne meeting at Gigs and venues finding our common links in music and art

How long have you been playing?

35 years with a few long breaks to follow other artistic pursuits

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Experimental Electronic Punk

What are your musical influences?

Alan Vega (Suicide ) The MC5 and Flip That Groove

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

An angle grinder being used as both an instrument and visual effect spraying the audience with hot embers fantastic probably could not be done today with safety concerns and duty of care etc

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

Im sure it was one of my local venues the inner city Pub The Corner Hotel the Iconic Australian Band The Celibrate Rifles the lead singer Damien Lovelock died suddenly not long after that show which was their last gig that was a great night

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

The Bee Gees Spicks and Specks 7 inch vinyl

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Crazy and The Brains is right up there with Flip that Grooves latest release Dance With Me

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

We just released a new single double A side this week The Wanderer and Crime/ Homicide a mash up of an original of ours and Homicide which is a celebration of the UK punk band 999 and there song Homicide that was released in 1979

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Band Interview Of The Day – Misery Lane

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

We are Misery Lane. We have been around since October of 2020. We are a non-genre specific metal band out of Ann Arbor, MI. By non-genre specific I mean we don’t fall into one cookie cutter version of music. Each song hits a person differently. When people ask, I say we lie on the border where hard rock meets metal.

How did you all meet?

Myself (Lead guitar/Vocals), the drummer and rhythm guitarist were in a previous band together. Our bass player joined after the first album when we made some lineup changes. The first album had a different vocalist, rhythm guitar and bassist. After the first album it was just me and the drummer and we had some decisions to make. I brought in my son to play rhythm guitar and we found our bassist on the web.

How long have you been playing?

Except for my son, we are all in our late 40s/early 50s, so we have all been playing for 25+ years in various types of bands. My son started playing in 12^th grade and has been rocking out for about 10 years now.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Hmm three words. That’s a tough one. I’d say authentic, aggressive, and emotional.

What are your musical influences?

I believe it is our myriad of influences that make us who we are as a band. I started in hair metal cover bands and transitioned into blues and country to learn more about my instrument. Our drummer is an old school metal and punk guy. My son loves bands like blink 182 and Chunk, No Captain Chunk. Our bassist loves any song that has a solid groove so put all that together and you have what Misery Lane is today.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

I think the weirdest thing I ever saw at a show was when the singer of a local band forgot the words to one of his songs, he just started singing the items you would find on a McDonalds menu in time with the music so if you weren’t paying attention you wouldn’t have even noticed and most didn’t

7. Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were

lifted?

I can’t say there was any one place that we visited after the lift, but I can tell you there was a venue that existed before COVID called “The Loft” in Lansing, MI that I would have loved to play at one last time. When everything shut down it was sold and converted to a rentable wedding hall. We have seen and put on a lot of good shows there. That was a huge blow to the local scene.

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

LOL if I wouldn’t admit to owning it why would I tell you? 😊 If I had a guilty pleasure band, I would say it would be a band from the 90s called “Toad the Wet Sprocket”. Their album “Fear” was on repeat back in the day and I still jam to it today. They have a few other albums I like but that one really stands out to me.

What have you been listening to in the last few weeks?

Whenever I feel like cranking up some tunes and just getting lost in the music, I will listen to bands like Killswitch Engage, Bullet for My Valentine, Trivium, Any Given Day, Slipknot, etc. I love any band that has the dual guitar dynamic and makes it work well.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

Well, we just released our second album, “Red Balloon”, back in March of this year so we are currently putting on shows supporting that album, but I am always writing, and I already have several songs for the next album we are optimistically looking at a March/April 2024 release date. It just depends on the number of shows we do this year and how much time there is in between to sit down and write more. Presently I just squeeze out a new song every chance I get. I don’t believe in turning off the creativity faucet or it might not be there when you go to turn it back on.

Check out the bands record, ‘Red Balloon’ below and follow the band via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.