Broken Records Magazine May 2013

BROKEN RECORDS MAGAZINE

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May 2013 Volume 5/ Issue 1 CONTENTS & FEATURESDEPARTMENTSWARM UPS A THOUSAND WORDS MAIN SUPPORTLIVING LEGENDS HEADLINER IN MEMORY OF

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ON THE COVER

TAYLOR SWIFT

NEWSTED

EDITORIAL TEAMEDITOR-in-CHIEF/WRITER

Justin SarachikPUBLISHER/MANAGING EDITOR/LAYOUT DESIGN

Scott Vollweiler


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CONTENTS & FEATURES

AARON LEWIS

FEATURESmeet Fauthy & Beautiful BodiesA Look Back at GOD BLESS AMERICA with Lee GreenWoodSevendustDoug Gray of Marshall Tucker Band

Stryper IN MEMORY OF

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MEGAN HILTY

GEORGE JONES

CONNECT WITH USBrokenRecordsOnline.comFacebook.com/BrokenRecordsMagazineTwitter.com/BrokenRecordMag

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Warm Ups

ant to know what Country is? It’s driving an American muscle car. It’s singing about real life. It’s drinking moonshine. Phoenix Stone is definitely Country.

After grabbing some lunch and bs-ing for an hour about life, guitars and concerts, this Florida born musician, yes he’s a real musician, just released his single, “100 Proof Moonshine” which he wrote and produced himself. This catchy single is the perfect hybrid of Country and Rock. It even pays homage to two of his favorites: Mutt Lange and Def Lepard. Stone mentions that he names “Pour Some Sugar On Me” in the lyrics and even decided to play with the arpeggiated guitar line and arrange it on the banjo.

“Moonshine” is a song about being young and having a good time. Its real life lyrics are reminiscent of the Brantley Gilbert/Colt Ford penned, “Dirt Road Anthem” and rocks like the Jason Aldean cut.

In addition to “Moonshine,” Stone was telling me about another one of his songs, “Honky Tonk Superstar,” and how much I’d enjoy that song if I enjoyed the riffing between guitar and banjo. He told me that he was hanging with his friend and was like, “if you could write me something like AC/DC, I’d work with it”. Within minutes of hearing the new born riff, “Honky Tonk” was written.

In addition to his soon-to-be hit songs, Phoenix Stone is filming the inaugural season of a new music competition- looking for the next best family band- where he is one of the celebrity judges. I asked if he was looking for the next Partridge Family or The Band Perry. He responded with the next Heart, Van Halen, or the Bee Gees.

But Stone isn’t just some newbie on the music scene. He’s been a part of just about everything in the industry. He even formed and co-managed the Backstreet Boys with now detained, Lou Pearlman. He helped build an empire that was Transcontinental Records, home of N’SYNC and Britney Spears.

by Scott Vollweiler

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Who are the Beautiful Bodies and what do you guys do best? We are a dance punk band from Kansas City. We are professional face melters.

Why do you guys feel you’re the next big thing? I don’t know about us becoming the next big thing, but I think the music world is ready for something new. Everything has become so sterile, safe, and über pop. The big “rock” bands that have broken over the past year or so are groups like The Lumineers and Fun. They do their thing well, but I think that people are ready for the grittiness and f**k you attitude of bands like Black Sabbath, Blondie, or Nirvana. We miss the subversive side of rock, and we are stoked to help bring it back. (Thomas)

W h a t distinguishes BB from other female fronted groups like Versa Emerge, Paramore, and We Are the In Crowd? I think what distinguishes us from the bands you mentioned is that we are less polished and refined. Those bands came out of the emo scene of the last decade, whereas we are more influenced by early-80s punk and artsier bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs. To me, Alicia is

BEAUTIFUL BODIES

closer to a girl Iggy Pop or Debbie Harry than a Haley from Paramore or Sierra from Versa Emerge. (Thomas)

You guys have a crazy coming together story. How did all of your path’s cross and when did you know that the band was meant to be? Luis and I have played music together for many years. A few years back, Thomas convinced me that we need to write some songs together. I hesitantly said yes. At the time, Thomas was living and working as a human rights lawyer in Bolivia, where he was suing the ex-President for his

role in the massacre of Bolivian peasants, and Luis and I were in the US, so we never really thought that the three of us could merge this into a band. As we began writing songs, though, we became totally pumped, and the music came alive very organically. We instantly knew that this was something we had to do. Thomas had a small Protools setup in Bolivia, and we began recording songs via the internet. Before we knew it, one of the songs we wrote was picked up by alternative and college stations in the Midwest, and our transnational project

developed into a full time band. (Alicia)

by Justin Sarachik

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Warm Ups

You started getting into music at a very young age. What sparked the interest for you? I was three years old, and both my parents were in a band, that’s how they met, so I was just kind of around music all the time growing up. It was a natural thing.

What kept your attention through the years to pursue music? Its something that I have always been really passionate about. I started off when I was 15, and I was too afraid to sing in front of people, so I started playing the drums. Then eventually, I kind of got the courage to sing in front of people. Nothing else has ever made me feel like singing does.

Do you still play drums, or did you trade the drumsticks entirely for the microphone? I kind of gave them up for the microphone, I do still enjoy playing, and do I play a little on an acoustic drum box for some shows, but I definitely haven’t played in awhile but I would love to eventually incorporate that into my live shows.

You were a backup singer for Coheed and Cambria. How did you land that gig? I was at the LA Music Academy in 2006 and their manager called the school looking for vocalists. It was funny cause my roommate at the time both auditioned and ended up getting the gig together. We headed out the day after we graduated from school. We hit the road with them. It was an awesome experience. I had never been anywhere before, and I got to see the whole world.

How long did you tour with them? It was a year, on and off. We would do a month of touring, then stop.

Do you find it hard to balance a personal life when you are touring, whether it be for yourself or with

another band? It can be tough when you are in another country, but there is the internet and the phone, for the most part its not that bad. The technology is so crazy that it makes it a little easier. You are kind of like a gypsy going town to town. Its a crazy lifestyle, but I enjoy doing it.

Who are your musical influences? Probably is No Doubt. My number one. Kind of tied with them is Hanson. I grew up with them, when I was thirteen. I started writing songs because I was totally in love with them. They inspired me to write. Other influences, Pat Benatar, Kelly Clarkson.

What projects are you currently working on? Right now I’m working on the Fauthy project. I am working on getting the live show together, and hopefully going to hit the road and do a tour sometime this year. Just working out plans for that. The EP is done, so most of the material is written so its just getting it out there.

Where can the fans pick up your EP? You can get the EP on itunes, CDbaby and you can listen to it on Spotify. When I do shows I will have physical copies.

Any music videos planned for the future? I finished an EPK video, its up on Youtube, its called Introducing Fauthy. And then I am filming a couple live performance videos that will be on Youtube. My channel is “thefauthy.”

Do you do your own songwriting? I do. I usually team up with a guitar player, I can play guitar, but I like to work with someone who is more fluent in it, that can come up with cooler parts. Then


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I usually write the lyrics and melodies.

Do you write from an autobiographical point of view or mostly about things going on around you that influence a song? Most of the songs,

all the songs on my EP are all autobiographical, they are all about guys that broke my heart, blah blah blah. I definitely mostly write from my own perspective for sure.

Out of all the songs on the EP, which is the closest to your heart? The song Red Flags. Its the most recent and the most fresh in my mind.

From backup singer for Coheed and Cambria, to lead singer of her own

band, Fauthy has been making waves in music for over six years. With vocals

reminiscent of a Pat Benatar-Gwen Stefani-Kelly Clarkson mix, her edgy rock-

pop sound is catching on as her new EP recently released on itunes, CDbaby and Spotify. Broken Records Magazine talked with Fauthy via phone about her passion

and current projects.

by Lori Haire

“It doesn’t feel like it’s been thirty years but it has drifted into the past,” says Lee Greenwood during a recent phone interview with Broken Records Magazine in regards

to the release of “God Bless America.”

Taking a trip back in time with Mr. Greenwood, we discussed the inception and the process of writing “God Bless”. I had asked if he knew exactly what he wanted to write about, “Pretty

much,” he replied then added, “but I had spent a long time thinking about it.” He then

began to tell me the story that he “grew up on a farm

in Sacramento, California. And the first line of the song, ‘If tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life’, that represents my grandparent’s farm and as they had to give up farming because of green subsidizing in the 1950’s. I graduated High School in 1960 and went on to Nevada and went on to work with the military with my USO shows and I recognized their sacrifice, hence the line ‘And I won’t forget the men who died’.”

“God Bless” was written “on bus between cities,” Greenwood adds but he doesn’t remember what cities he was in transit to but it may have been during a thirty day run in Texas.

“I can remember playing in Gainesville at the Gator Stadium and that was in the first 3 or 4 weeks after I had written and recorded the song. But I released it in ’84, it was written in ’83, and it was song of the year in ’85.”

A Look Back At

“GOD BLESS AMERICA” 30 Years Later

withLEE GREENWOOD

by Scott Vollweiler


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Charetta has taken over the New York rock scene by storm and are not looking to stop anytime soon! Charetta’s journey began with guitarist Pablo LaFrossia and drummer Adonis Sanchez looking to form a band. Step number two was to find a vocalist that would fit the band. So, they contacted Angelina DelCarmen about becoming their lead singer and at first she didn’t even know if she wanted to or not. “I didn’t want to be in a rock band, I wanted to do the singer songwriter thing,” Angelina smirked. But after listening to their demos she was hooked. She feverously wrote lyrics to all the demos she was given and went to audition for the band. “It was the right fit; you know when it’s the right fit. So when they invited me in the band, I was like duh, of course I’m invited in the band,” Angelina laughed, “Not once did I think that I was in the audition process.” After the three were formed they add Richard Mollo on bass and later on after other members came and went before they finally found their second guitarist in Chris Fullam. The best way to describe this band is a phrase they use themselves, “Sounds like Alanis Morissette, punching Chevelle in the face.” The worst comparison I can come up with is Evanescence. As Adonis says, “That’s the first thing people think of when everyone sees a women fronted band,” which is true, but that doesn’t fit here at all, not even close. Charetta has the talent to succeed, but with financial issues from doing everything themselves, it’s hard. But, “getting signed is not a focus right now,” says Richard. Their focus is getting more exposure, by using resources they already have like the internet. Chris explained, “We want to put a little more focus on that, than the old fashion way of hitting the road.” They have two records out already, A Nation Distracted and one full length, Defying the Inevitable. Most recently they have completed a Kickstater to have their friends, fans and family to help fund their new album. Not only was it funded for an EP, but even more money was raised to record even more songs.

By Mike Camp

How did the name Sirens and Sailors come about? Our band name is derived from mythology for those of you who aren’t familiar with it. The story of the sirens luring in the sailors to their death, is the ultimate story of deception. Our name is something anyone can relate to because at some point in our lives, we have all been lead to believe that something is what it isn’t in life. What motivated you to pursue a career in the music industry? We started playing music because there is nothing like it. There is such a fulfilling, exciting rush you get when you get to play live for people. This is first and foremost our passion, whatever follows with it is just a bonus. We play music because we love to. Our “careers” as musicians are just getting started. Us, like many bands, have to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into our passion before we can even begin to think about making enough money to support ourselves, and families. It’s just how it is, you have to earn your place. If you guys could set up your dream tour, who would be on it? Well, I’m sure each member would have their own “dream tour” but we will do our best to combine our choices. Our dream tour would consist of AC/DC, Blink-182, The Black Dahlia Murder, Every Time I Die, August Burns Red, Parkway Drive, Stray From The Path, and Adam Lambert. Haha, there are so many bands we would love to include, but we aren’t going to pop a blood vessel thinking about it. How do you want to make an impact on the music industry? Is it a goal of yours to bring rock music back onto the scene as opposed to the music out today? Our goal as a band is to stay true to the roots we were brought up on. Like the bands we grew up admiring, we want to be remembered for our hard work ethic, our ability to put on an amazing live show, and for our relationship with the people who support us. We want nothing more than to make a positive impact in the music world, and hope we get to see the world while doing it.

by James Kingsley


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Antonella Barba is speaking to me via phone from the mechanic. Her car died this evening and she is debating whether to keep it or purchase a different model. It seemed to be a metaphor for her life. The former American Idol finalist who weathered controversy and responded by returning to school and getting her degree still has opted for the road less traveled. And she has found it liberating. “It was a difficult time in my life but I learned from it and moved forward.”

She has redefined herself by just being herself. After a chance meeting with producers Epic and SQRL, the group LA-Ex suddenly emerged. Antonella not only sings to impress, she has found that she can hold her own rapping and talking over catchy beats and clever cuts. “When I was asked to rap on a song I was just like, “No way. I’m a singer. I don’t rap.” But it helped me develop as an artist. I thought at first, rap isn’t singing and doesn’t take the same type of talent, but it really does. It’s not just speaking words. We worked for ten days just producing magic. It was just a studio and talent.”

LA-eX is something new. An electronica Hip-Hop band who are all versatile performers as

ANTONELLA BARBA ofBy: Luis Vazquez

well as producers. The geniuses behind Crazy town’s “Butterfly” in 2001 are creating a new form with Antonella Barba, the muse that draws all ships to the shore with her voice. LA-Ex is hard to place. “My new band LA-EX, is electronic, but it feels like every song is a different genre. We have an emo-rock song, but it’s electronic, another one is hip-hop, but it’s electronic. One is just me rapping. On another song there’s a sung hook so it’s more like a pop “They have brought the best out of each other and creatively it’s something else.”

They have made quite a name on the west coast and even hit gold getting a mention on Ryan Seacrest website for their cover of Kanye West’ “Mercy” this past year. It was their most watched video thus far. The band is looking to reach out and draw new fans with their debut EP “So High” coming this March. They want to travel around the country and make their mark while redefining a genre. “I feel if more people

hear our music, it can change the world. Most artists talk about love and relationships. We sing about feeling good, being true to yourself and being real.”

Antonella Barba has never been adverse to change. She has experimented and whether successful or not, she has grown from the experience. Original ideas like a celebrity singing telegram trio did well. Appearing on shows like Fear Factor and even spending time as Kanye West’s personal assistant has shown that Antonella will meet opportunity whenever or wherever it may appear. “Through a mutual friend I was introduced to Kanye. I worked as his personal assistant. It was awesome and I got to watch him close up in concerts.”

Looking to separate herself from a past that she has long buried, Antonella gives no f**ks and is moving ahead with LA-Ex to take the electronica Hip-Hop creation and expand it as far as

it can go. Like the lyrics say in “We give no f**ks.” “The LA-Hex beats bang in the vortex.” And with the new images of Antonella Barba rolling in many a brain in 2013, she has a new point of reference.


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Don’t Rain on TAYLOR SWIFT’s ParadePhoto by Christina Seblano


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PHILLIP PHILLIPS is with the BandPhoto by Scott Vollweiler


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Their stage is their BattlefieldPhoto by Laura Desantis-Olsson


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Don’t give PINK a reason to have FUN Photo by Christina Seblano


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THE BAND PERRY’s Sibling Rivalry Photo by Scott Vollweiler


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“This was the plan from the start after a year off. We planned to come back together and finish what we started,” Lajon Witherspoon tells Broken Records Magazine, referring to Black Out the Sun, the highly praised, new album from Sevendust. For the first time in their careers, the new album debuted at #1 on Billboards, stealing the spot as the“Top Hard Music Album”. The album’s first single, “Decay,” has been comfortably spending its time as the #1 spot on SiriusXM’s “Big Uns” (Octane active rock channel) as well. “That song was from Cold Day Memory [their last album]. During the writing cycle, we remembered that we had this really cool bit of music, so we brought it back up and just thought about what was going on in the world and going on in our lives without being together.” says Witherspoon. Black Out the sun is not exactly aimed at being a negative title, either. “Things have happened that we never expected. My grandmother passing away, this big move to Kansas, and the birth of my new baby. So, it’s not only the dark side, there’s a positive side to the album, too.” Sevendust is on the road with new opening bands by their side. Coal Chamber, Lacuna Coil, and Candlelight Red. Lajon had previously known Coal Chamber since the beginning of his career in 1997. Lacuna Coil and the band bumped into eachother every so often at music festivals and ended up becoming a huge part of the family. “My four year old daughter was with Cristina [singer, Lacuna Coil] last night

hanging out. My daughter had a My Little Pony and gave it to Cristina, who asked what we should call it. My daughter goes, call her “Music”. It just melted our hearts,” reminses Witherspoon as he emphasizes how much these touring bands have become a part of his own biological family’s life, as well as Sevendust’s. The dark cloud of the album process, also known as your CD completely leaking on the internet, didn’t become much of a problem this time around. “All those who even had it didn’t let it leak, which lets us know that people are still wanting to help and wanting to buy our music,” Witherspoon says. Lajon is currently on Instagram, Twitter, and just recently joined Facebook. Most social networking sites make it so easy to share new music, especially free, unpaid music. “I have people saying, “You know man, I could download this right now, but I can’t wait to get to the store and buy it”. That’s exciting and such a blessing that I can’t take for granted.” The physical aspect of an album still exists. Along with the jetlag and overbookings of shows, there’s still that peace of mind that must be reached before every show. “We pray together as a band. Every night, since we’ve been together. We pray for everyone that’s out there to be safe, pray to have a good show, for our families, and to stay healthy. We thank the Lord for everything,” comments Lajon on his band rituals. MAIN SUPPORT

Lajon Witherspoon of

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by Yasmin Noor

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“If you happen to be in the room and you’re not in the band, you’re gonna have to get in that prayer.” Sevendust is currently in the throws of touring. “Oh, it’s great. It’s even better than it was before because we missed each other,” Lajon says, confirming the chemistry has grown even since the beginning. Eventhough the band is at its peak, there are multiple rumors spreading through the Svendust fandom everywhere that Witherspoon is planning to start his own, solo musical career. “When everything starts slowing down. I would definitely like to dabble in some other things and spread my wings a little bit,” confirms Lajon. “It’s hard when you’re being busy and not having time to do anything

other than getting up, doing things all day long in stores, going to the show, doing meet and greets, and trying to get your rest.” He hasn’t been jotting down any ideas yet, but the roots of the record will most likely take hold when this album’s tour dies down. Whether it’s the solo album or another Sevendust album, Lajon still gets sparked to write by his hobbies and the love he has for his family. He’s a huge fan of motorcycles and has a couple of Harleys in the shed, plus one of his all-time favorite bikes for all the music lovers out there, “the bike is called Mad Max. It’s jet black and the tank was signed by Steve Vai. That was a gift to me years ago. It has

a monster truck tire on the back and looks like the motorcycle from Batman.” Witherspoon also rides horses, but finds that his biggest inspiration comes from his family. “My daughter going to kindergarten, that inspires me! My other daughter is turning 13 years old! She’s becoming a young lady. So, that inspires me to make sure I’m charting it all well, at the least.” The fans are receiving Black Out the Sun very well and Sevendust continues to tour with a setlist full of variety, including the new released singles and biggest hits from their past albums.

MAIN SUPPORT *20% off discount will appear upon checkout. Minimum purchase of $29.00. Does not apply to gift cards or certifi cates, same-day or interna-tional delivery, shipping and handling, taxes, or third-party hosted products (e.g. wine) and cannot be combined with other offers or discounts. Discounts not valid on bulk or corporate purchases of 10 units or more. Offer expires: 11/15/13.

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The year 2013 is looking pretty good for alternative - hard rock band, The Almost, with the release of their third album, Fear Inside Our Bones, tours on each coast, a music video and more. The group, fronted by former Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie, has high expectations for the new music, set to release in June and offered insight via phone interview into the bones of this record.

Fear Inside Our Bones: This album has a different feel than other The Almost albums. What was the idea behind the music and the lyrics to this one?We have been touring awhile, and writing and storing up songs. We had plenty to choose from. We wanted to make a good rock album, one that was honest lyrically. Aaron writes from a completely honest point.

Did you collaborate with anyone on this project?We brought our producer into the studio with us. We usually don’t have a producer get so involved. But we had them come in and give feedback, which really helped us out a lot.

What is something you learned making this album that you wished you knew recording the others? We all live in other states, between Florida

and South Carolina. Using the internet to send tracks back and forth to each other has been something we have been doing a lot of. It has made it easier, especially when the singer is in one state the band is in another.

With digital downloads, fans are capable of taking a peek at

song clips and only purchasing the ones they want. What do you think is a good formula for a great album as a whole would be? Do you think you succeeded with Fear Inside Our Bones? Our manager said, Don’t expect people to run out and buy your album because you are The Almost. You have to make it worth while for them to spend their time going out to the store and their money buying the album. We are looking for creative ways to package the cds so they get more for their money. We partnered with Hot Topic and Best Buy in the past, sold t-shirts with the albums. Played some acoustic sets in store. We would to do something like that again.

Any big tour plans or major shows we should watch for? Yes. Aaron and I (Jay) are doing some shows with TWLOHA. We will be doing a tour on the east coast, and then doing some shows out west.

The album is due out April 9th... where can fans purchase it? Website, online, on the shelves. We are hoping to make the physical albums more affordable. We are also looking into the possibility of vinyl for this record.

Interview by Lori Haire

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What are the challenges, if any, of a bluegrass band against “mainstream” media? I feel like some bluegrass bands and/or their publicists have a hard time convincing mainstream media that the band’s whereabouts and latest ‘happenings’ are print-worthy because, I guess, bluegrass music is still not considered a ‘mainstream’ art form. At the same time, I also feel like there’s a better relationship now between bluegrass artists and mainstream media more than any other time I’ve been involved in bluegrass music.

Where did you guys get your musical influences? Our influences are many and varied. We’ve all been intrigued and moved by ‘music’ as far back as we can remember and we’ve drawn from genres such as country, pop, rock, gospel, swing and even barbershop quartets just to name a few……oh, and of course, bluegrass!

For the Past Bluegrassed album, how were the songs chosen? Choosing the songs for Timeless Hits From the Past…Bluegrassed was a collective

effort by the band members, our management team and representatives of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. The theme of the recording is songs that influenced us (the band) and helped shape us and/or define us as individual musicians and as a band. The songs we selected are varied in genre to represent some of those influences and we all felt like, collectively, they worked and flowed together well.

Was the IIIrd Tyme Out chosen to be the band for Cracker Barrel or was it done some other way? There were several bluegrass bands that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store was looking at to record a project with.

After several meetings between representatives of Cracker Barrel and our management team (Moonstruck Management), and after becoming familiar with our music, background and track record, Cracker Barrel decided that we would be a good ‘fit’ for representing their brand and appealing to their patrons.

Now that the album is out, and currently #1 on the US Bluegrass Charts, what are the bands plans for the future? We’re thrilled that the CD is being received so well and is topping several music charts, but our plans for the future, aside from promoting Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Timeless Hits From the Past…Bluegrassed, are no different now than they were before our collaboration with Cracker Barrel. Our ‘mission’ is to play the best music we’re capable of while trying to be true to ourselves, and exposing that music to as many people we can possibly reach. As far as future recording projects, we hope to be able to schedule a return to the studios soon and release another project late this year or early in the new year.

Interview by Paul Marino

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Do you plan on working with Cracker Barrel in the future? Cracker Barrel has the exclusive ‘rights’ to the recording for a period of three years so, of course, we’ll be ‘working’ with them for at least that long. As far as any future recording collaborations with Cracker Barrel, we never know which way the winds of the future will blow. If they were to approach us about another project, we would be glad to sit down and talk to them about the possibilities.

How does it feel to be on top of the charts? It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you see the results of working hard at your craft and then having others reinforce those results with great chart action! I don’t think we’ve ever had a recording that ‘hit the ground running’ as fast as Timeless Hits From the Past…Bluegrassed and we’re totally stoked and excited about the chart action it’s receiving and the great reviews it’s garnering in print and by word of mouth!

Russell, did/do you need any training for your vocals or does it come naturally? My singing voice is a natural and God-given gift. I’ve always been able to hear ‘pitch’ even though I’ve never had any kind of formal training. Over the years, I have worked on the tone and control of my voice, but no training from outside sources.

To my research, The IIIrd Tyme Out has been around for just over 20 years, how has the band

evolved since the 90¢s? We’ve all evolved, or matured, as musicians and vocalists over the years and those strengths are what has probably changed our music the most. Some might not hear much of a change over the past 20 years, but I know that we and other musicians can. There hasn’t been a lot of turnover in the members, but whenever there has been a change, that person has brought their own uniqueness to the group. Some other things that we’re doing now that we weren’t doing in the 90’s are working with a publicist (East Public Relations) and a management team (Moonstruck Management).

Of the 14 albums the band has released how has Past Bluegrassed differed? Timeless Hits From the Past…Bluegrassed is the first recording we worked on with a producer. We’ve always self-produced our recordings but thought that a fresh set of ears might be beneficial to this project. It was also a chance to record some songs with different instrumentation (electric mandolin and banjo-guitar) and to use a little heavier percussion than we have in the past. Also, because of the theme of the CD, we had the opportunity to record some songs that we might not have considered recording previously.

Steve Dilling, if you could have a dueling banjos battle with any player, past or present, who would it be? Either one of my heroes, J.D. Crowe or Earl Scruggs.


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Doug Gray is the lead vocalist of the iconic southern rock group, The Marshall Tucker Band.

According to Gray, The Marshall Tucker Band is planning to record a live album in March of 2013. “That’s going to be pretty neat in itself,” he said. “Hopefully, it’ll turn out good. Everybody in the group now has the same amount of passion since the band first started. We represent all of the guys who were in the original band’s lineup.”

He also paid tribute to the victims of the Connecticut shootings this past weekend. “As close as we are to the people in Connecticut, one of my friends was one of the first responders and this event affected anybody who has a heart. This was such a devastating scene and it is going to be for a long time for all of us,” he said.

A lyric from the chart-topping single “Cruise” by country duo Florida Georgia Line pays tribute to the Marshall Tucker Band and Gray noted that he is quite flattered by it. “It always feels good when you hear something new from all of these different musicians. I felt really great about something like that since it was used in a positive way. I’ve heard the song several times and it sounds like the kind of music that needs to come out to represent a southern band. I really like the song and I think those two guys are going to have a long, long career,” he said.

Living Legends League:

Doug Gray

Doug Gray sitting at Sadam Hussein’s throne (courtesy of MarshalTucker.com

Most recently, this year’s inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Class of 2013) were announced (which featured Heart and Rush) and with 42 years in the rock music scene, The Marshall Tucker Band is long overdue for an honor of this caliber. “If we make it to the Hall of Fame someday, it would be great and wonderful. It would certainly be a tribute to Toy Caldwell who deserves to be in there. I’m just a guy who started the band with Toy. Even though he has been gone for a long time, Toy wrote some huge songs and his guitar playing was great,” he said.

by Markos Papadatos


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After huge success in the 80s, Stryper took a sabbatical in the 90s. What led you to that break?I had just been wanting to leave the band. I was really burnt out, and felt that the two years prior to my leaving were definitely a wash. I felt like we were being hypocrites and not being true to who we started out being back in 1983 when we first formed.

We were going through the motions, it became stale and I was like, ‘You know something, I gotta get out of here.’ And I did. I left in 1992. I just took some time off to clear my head. Not too long after I started pursuing music again and signed a solo deal, released a solo record and started touring and did very well with it, had a lot of success.

From that time on to 1994 to the time Stryper reformed in 03, I did a lot of solo stuff and a lot of soul searching and writing. Just had some really cool

y e a r s t h e r e and I

felt when we got back together it was time. It

felt fresh again, and it felt like it was the right thing again.

What do you guys mean when you say, you’re going against the grain?We made a decision...we did the whole hollywood club scene for

years, we drank and drugged and all that crap that goes along with the whole scene. We just decided this was gonna get old really fast and take us down a path we don’t really want to go down, and thank God we found God. Actually, we came back to God through some friends who had also found God and came and shared that with us. It just really blew our minds and we just decided we are going to give this band over to God and we’re gonna change the lyrics and we’re gonna take a bold stand and go against the grain and be different. We’re going to get persecuted and beat up and so what. It’s going to be worth it.

When I was 14 years old I started taking drum lessons and learning Stryper songs while

interview with Michael Sweet

by Fred Scragg

MAIN SUPPORT


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attending church. The church I was attending at the time actually told me to leave the church because Stryper was “the devils music.”Every now and then you still hear those statements and I mean no disrespect to the people who make them but it’s just so ludicrous. God created all music, He gave us the abilities and the powers to create music. There is no music that is the devil’s or Satan’s, it’s just not so. It’s so false. It’s crazy that there are people out there that are blinded by that or disillusioned by that to actually believe it.

Were there any kinds of obstacles or set backs when you guys were coming up because of your Christian lyrics?Yeah, I mean we have found from that day forward until now, that it’s just been difficult, although God has opened many doors that might have been easier to go through or opened, were much more difficult to go through or to get opened. For example to get on a major tour. For whatever reason I think people fear who we are or what we do. They think we are going to be this church band going out and leading worship or something. I don’t know what they think. Stryper is a rock band who is about God. At the same time, God’s done a lot for us, things that haven’t h a p p e n e d for any other bands. Really cool things, and ground breaking things so we’re very blessed.

What are some of the e n c o u r a g i n g things that have happened over the last 30 years as you have remained faithful in your message through the music?Just things like going way back in the early days,

seeing a band like Stryper on MTV. In a time when you didn’t see any other Christian bands on MTV, they didn’t play Christian videos and all of a sudden there’s Stryper. It gave our fans an opportunity to call in and make a request and we wound up getting more requests than any other band at that time. We were beating out bands like Motley Crue and Bon Jovi. Those guys were on top of the world packing out arenas three, four, five times in one city. Things like that happened for us left and right, and that was God’s grace.

You guys actually had two top 10 videos at the same time.They had a limit for how long they could be number one...I think it was 12 weeks. Two of those videos once they went to number one stayed until they had to be pulled off by MTV.

Stryper is releasing two albums in one year, why?Well because we started to deal with Frontiers Records and that’s what they requested. We gave them the deer in the headlights look and said okay. It’s pretty stressful but we have to put out two albums in one year. It’s quite an undertaking. I like the challenge and I know we can do it and


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rise above that challenge and meet everybody’s expectations. We are excited about the next all original album. We start in April. It’s gonna come out later this year, and it’s gonna be really cool.

Why did the band chose to re-record some of your greatest hits instead of just compiling from other albums?Well you know, they’ve been compiled before, which are typically known as “best of’s” or compilations albums, we’ve done that multiple times. The problem with that is, we didn’t want to do that again because it’s been done. We didn’t make this re-record album for the fans. To be honest we made it for ourselves. We wanted to retain the rights to our own masters, and be able to give our publishing company versions of those songs that they could shop to movies and TV and deal with us on and make it much more simpler and easy. It’s just a way to hear them in a new unique way, similar arrangements, but we’re older now.

How does the writing process for Stryper work?I wrote most of the songs and write most of the songs for the band. What’s going to happen

this time around is I have a bunch of riffs and ideas in my phone and I am gonna go home starting in early February and for that entire month I’m going to write. I’m going to take those riffs and vocal melody ideas and I’m gonna arrange them and complete them, verse chorus, verse chorus, solos, bridge, that type of stuff. Once they are fine tuned the guys are going to come up to my house and I’m going to teach them songs and we are going to do preproduction for about seven or eight days. Then we are going to start recording those songs, either April 2nd or 3rd.

What is Stryper looking forward to most in 2013?We have a busy year planned, we are excited, we are obviously making a brand new record. We are excited that we are still alive and breathing and still able to make music and records. A lot of bands aren’t. A lot of bands from our era don’t have a record deal or have difficulty creating new material, or might not be as healthy as they want to be, and it’s difficult for them to tour. We are really blessed to be good in all those areas. In many ways better than we were back in 1983, 84. We’re getting to do what we love to do for 30 years, most of our lives.

Anything else that you would like to add or leave the fans with?We are appreciative of them for the 30 years of support through the thick and thin, ups and downs, good and bad, and how amazing that it. It’s easy to take it for granted, but we have to think about. They give us the opportunity to make records because they keep buying records, that’s why we are still here.


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It’s hard to say if there is a band that kicks more ass within the Progressive Rock/Metal genre than Between the Buried and Me. Ambition is typically a trait of progressive bands, as is technical ability and creative songwriting but Tommy, Paul, Dusty, Blake, and Dan of Btbam take it to a whole other level. The last three albums of Colors, The Great Misdirect, and both parts of The Parallax have served to prove their constant improvement as both musicians and song writers.

Their newest release, The Parallax II: Future Sequence is, “...their most ambitious album yet” according to guitarist Paul Waggoner. The band pushed themselves for all aspects of this album and to Paul, it was probably “one of the most challenging and exhausting experiences of his musical career.” The Parallax II is the second part of a two part concept album based around a story written by singer, Tommy Rogers long before the actual music was written. As is the case with many bands, BtBaM has no set formula for how they write music. In the case of The Parallax II, Paul explained that much of the material that the band writes is dynamic and expressive in nature as they all feed off of each other’s ideas making it easy for Tommy to paint different parts of the story across the musical canvas laid out for him.

Of course BtBaM is not the first band to tell a complete story with their music or to set their music to a concept. Paul believes that “conceptual music is often a trait of progressive bands,” citing some earlier prog-rock artists like Pink Floyd with their albums Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. A bit more mainstream, Coheed and Cambria is another progressive rock band whose music is entirely geared towards a concept. Interestingly enough, both Coheed and BtBaM released dual

BET

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concept albums within a year of each other and they will be touring together in the United States throughout the first few months of 2013.

Paul expressed his excitement to be sharing the stage with Coheed and Russian Circles as well as for playing some of the most famous concert venues in the U.S. such as New York’s Radio City Music Hall. There’s no doubt that even these larger than life venues will be packed out with fans of the progressive rock genre and fans of music alike. Bands who put their everything into their music tend to draw fans who put their everything into the band. This was proven when Tommy, Dan, and Paul held an “Ask Me Anything” on the popular site, Reddit. When asked whether or not he thought the fans learned anything about the band or if the band learned anything about their fanbase, Paul said, “The fans are so into what we do that the amount of detailed questions was overwhelming. It seemed as though a lot of them already knew so much about our lives and a lot of their questions were about the ins and outs of our music.”

With the type of music they make, it’s easy to see why avid listeners, long-time fans, and people who have just started listening, would want to know exactly what goes into creating the art that Between the Buried and Me has consistently produced album after album. You can see them on their U.S. tour throughout the first quarter of 2013, and pick up The Parallax: Future Sequence available in stores and on iTunes to support these artists so that they can continue to kick ass as much as they have and always will do.

By Patrick Wakie

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Try it Free!


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METAL34


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BRINGS THE

METALby Yasmin Noor


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Bass legend, Jason Newsted is back to the grind, producing the most powerful riffs of today’s metal genre with his self-titled band, Newsted. Inspired by the fans that followed Metallica’s 30th anniversary show, Jason is ready to be apart of the album process again. “There were so many people shouting at me in different languages, and I hadn’t heard those screams for a long, long time. That’s what did it for me. I got pulled back in by the fans.” Now, months later, Newsted has a world tour at his feet with nowhere to go but up.

The machine is starting to churn with the arrival of Mike Mushok, lead guitarist of Staind. The new EP, clearly titled as Metal is now the highly successful sneak peak into a full-length album. “I really didn’t know much about Staind. I knew that they were a successful band and they did well on the radio and things like that…

but he came highly recommended to me by people that I trust a lot,” states Jason regarding the selection of Mushok. Metal, which debuted at #1 iTunes metal chart, was recorded in only one week. The obvious chemistry aids in the bands constant flow. “He’s an incredible, accomplished instrumentalist and he has made our heavy songs heavier and brought great dimension to our band.” Along with guitarist Jesse Farnsworth and drummer, Jesus Mendez Jr., Jason feels as if Mushok was just one of the gang in an instant. “I knew that he was one of us before we played together,” says Jason. “I do believe there’s a lot of destiny involved here. I chose to come back in. I don’t have to do any of this, I can sit around and go fishing or whatever, you know, but that’s not the case here.”

The band has become a personal statement of Newsted’s


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self-expression and dedication to his craft. “I’m choosing to do this. I want to do this. I want to take it to the people again. For anybody that digs the real, pure, old school metal, we’re the band.” After the 30 years of Jason Newsted’s career involved with Metallica, Voivod, Echobrain, Flotsam and Jetsam, and even Ozzy Osbourne, Metal is meant to draw no confusion to what is being distributed on a global basis. This is meant to be the powerhouse album that one would expect from an ex-Metallica member.

With the help of recording engineer, Anthony Focx, the EP sounds incredibly promising. “We’re trying to be as genuine as possible, let some of the mistakes go by, let some of the words go by, and just be honest,” states Newsted regarding the in-studio process. For the LP, Bob Rock will be helping to produce the album along

with long time friends that have been involved with Metallica records for decades. When recording, Jason is familiar with tapping into his creative channels to accumulate song ideas. “’Soldierhead’ came to me very quickly. I had my guitar in my hand and my iPad with the Garage Band application. It’s all very new to me. I used to have to carry cases of stuff around to record one song and now I just carry my guitar and iPad and I make full albums.” The technology has completely changed, but Newsted is now taking full advantage of it. “I had repelled social media for years. I only had a website and had been involved with it for about 6 months. But, now there’s a lot of new avenues,” hints Jason on the newfound creation of band webisodes and

Twitter use. Mushok, who is very familiar with the process of webisodes, is sharing the habit rooted from Staind, to create and post video footage on the Internet in order to keep in touch with people and reconnect with generational fans. Newsted, who is on Twitter as well, is finding social media to be much more positive in the band’s process. “I used to have to go around the world and shake people’s hands and look into their eyes. Now I push a button and the groundwork is already there after doing so much of the legwork. Now we can kind of reap the benefits that come from all the hard work. You can see it right there on the screen, it’s crazy,” says Newsted who is comfortably adjusting to the tech side of the business.

Newsted is currently on tour until the middle of August with offerings extending through February of next year. As far as rumors go for a summer album, the LP will most likely be out in September. “We’ll have 15 songs and work on some cool videos, use social media to let people know when we’re going and where we’re going. For now, we’re going to play some live shoes for a while and let people know what we’re all about and then unleash the record.”


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For

It Happens All the TimeHILTYMEGAN


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f you think her Ivy in Smash was a smash, and her Glinda in Wicked was, well wicked, then

she sure knows how to be herself when singing her own music. Megan Hilty, star of stage and screen released her debut album It Happens All the Time (Portrait/Sony Classical) on March 21st. The ten song collection is a mixture of originals and covers that spans a plethora of genres but funnels into a great pop record. Originally, the album was to be a collection of “all covers and songs from the movies,” Hilty informed me but then added that they were looking and hoping that Damien Rice’s “Blower’s Daughter” –which is one of her favorite songs- was on a soundtrack somewhere so they could use it. Then Columbia started sending demos of these original songs and offering to put them on a soundtrack so they could fit in the context of the record. “So many of the songs were working so we just abandoned the original concept and it kinda turned into a breakup album.”

Future Romeo’s, don’t worry…while Megan has been through “excruciating breakups,” she insists, “she’s fine!”

As a Broadway star (besides being in Wicked, she’s also played Doralee in 9 to 5) and the star of Smash, a television show about the making of a faux Broadway

musical Bombshell, Miss Hilty gets the opportunity to sing the lyrics of songs that were meant to be sung around a storyline. But when making her album, lyrical content was what stood out the most. “It really has to have a purpose for doing something like this…a point, instead of me just doing something I like,” Hilty admitted. The bubbly blonde then added, “even though I know people don’t really listen to albums the way they used to and listen to it through, it was really important to me to have one cohesive piece where everything just flowed and made sense. Ultimately, if we are doing a T.V. show, a Broadway show or singing a song somewhere, all we’re doing is storytelling.”

Even after all her success on stage and television, It Happens All the Time is what feels the most like the “real” Megan Hilty although “the only hesitation I have is that it’s a new side of me but it is the most personal.” Hilty also revealed that her “absolute favorite track is ‘Be a Man’. It’s kind of devastating (laughs)– well the lyrics are and I really like singing it.”

When it comes to performing “Be a Man” and her other favorite tracks on the record live, she will get her opportunity on April 23rd at New York City’s famed Joe’s Pub. Her first performance of the night is already sold out and her 9:30pm show is coming close.

It Happens All the TimeHILTYMEGAN

“If we are doing a T.V. show, a Broadway show or singing a song somewhere, all

we’re doing is storytelling.”

I

by Scott Vollweiler


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Will the REAL

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Please Stand Up?


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Hey! Is this Aaron Lewis? Yes sir. Is this Scott Vollweiler?

You got it my man, how’s everything? That’s kind of like Rottweiler.

Sort of, that’s what they used to call me in high school. Is that right? (Laughs)

Yeah, Volkswagen, Rottweiler There ya go (laughs)

Since our first interview together back in 2008, Illusion of Progress (Staind’s 2008 release) seemed like a far stretch for you musically. Now it’s more than four years later and you released your second country album, The Road. During the writing, recording, and subsequent touring for Illusion, did you know that this is going to be the path you’d end up taking? No. I mean honestly if you’d had told me 15-20 years ago that I was going to put out country records, I probably would have laughed at you. You know it kind of took life to bring everything around full circle. County music is the first music that I ever heard in my life.

Your debut solo album, Town Line, debuted at #1. Did you expect the Country world to greet you with open arms? That’s kind of a trick question. I’m the first rock singer in a rock band that has crossed over to country and on my debut attempt debuted at #1 on the Country Music charts. It’s been a very difficult road. I’m lucky I have fans that come see me and have an appreciation for everything I do. It’s crazy. It’s from the kid dressed in black with tattoos to couples that are 75/80 years old. Then you add in the cowboy hats and the boots. It’s a real mix. I’ve definitely made some new fans. I think I can successfully put out another Country offering-which I have every intention of doing.

There’s the people who question your intentions or how genuine. They don’t know me or what I’m about. They have a hard time swallowing that I’m a rock singer in a rock band.

One thing that bothers me about how they question my authenticity is that I wrote these f***in’ songs. I didn’t have Nashville writers write these songs and then call them my own. I wrote them. How much more authentic can I be? They are real. They are factual.

After all, you are a songwriter. Maybe it’s time to go back to the old school- that Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. That’s my inspiration. What inspired me was my childhood. That’s what my grandfather listened to. I lived with my grandfather for a few summers. That music was the soundtrack to my childhood. I’m more of a country boy that ended up in a rock band than I am a rock guy trying to be country. Here’s an example: this whole tour, I’ve been putting myself out and everybody around me out tremendously to be able to punch everywhere all over the country that we’ve been touring and, and in the summer time, it’s fishing and bow fishing and everything else that you can do in the summer and in the winter time it’s, I mean, I actually try to put my schedule together around where it is that I want to hunt.

That’s hysterical. That’s cool. And you became a big outdoors man. I actually have been my whole life. I’ve been chasing after my grandfather, uncles, and father in the woods for as long as… since I could keep up.

Do you feel more at home now with Country? I mean, I’ve been a fan of yours and Staind since 1998. It’s nice to see you cross the road. I certainly


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find that I meet more people in this genre that are into the same things that I am than I have in the past. And you know, I’m a pretty hardcore constitutionalist and patriot and in most of the entertainment industry, you tend to find, more people on the other side of the fence than you do on my side of the fence.

I’m sure making the record, and if anything, writing these songs, you always put so much of yourself into the songs and everything lyrically. Did it seem just easier and more fluent to write than, let’s say, past Staind records? You’re in a completely different time of your life; you’ve grown as a human being. Well, I mean, to give you an idea as an answer to that question, the last Staind record took about six months and this Country record that I just did took 30 hours. You know, I’m inspired. It feels right. It’s what’s just coming out of me.

That’s amazing. Was STAIND the record that took the longest to make out of all the Staind records? I don’t know if it was the longest one but it would be right up there in contention. It was definitely the hardest record that we’ve had to do. I mean, it broke us up. We lost our drummer in the process.

To kind of sidetrack for a second on that, if I remember, when we were talking at the Best Buy Theater for the 9-11 benefit concert, you had said that this was the record that Jon wanted to make the most, yet he left. So it’s just weird that the band itself would start to fall apart after something like that. Well, life is strange sometimes brother.

You can say that again. But at least you keep making music. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t.

I’m sure you’d be out hunting, spending time with your family, you know? Well, yeah, but that doesn’t pay the bills.

Very true. You know, at the end of the day, this is a job.

Did you ever think that this would be something you would be doing for the rest of your life? It’s crazy. No. No. I could never wrap my head around the fact that we got a record deal and we’ve been doing this all this time and that this is all actually happening. I never would have thought in a million years that 15 years later, I’d still be doing it.

Amen. You’ve come a long way from “Bong hits For

Breakfast” right? (laughs) Yes sir.

So, you charted pretty high on the Billboard charts with The Road, so, congratulations with that. I’m happy with the first week’s showing. Even though I’ve had number ones and everything else, so, I mean, I’m competing in a different genre and did you see what I was up against in the fourth quarter release? I mean, I think I actually did pretty damn good. Now would I have liked a second #1 country release in a row? Yeah, sure I would have. But, I’ll take seven in a fourth quarter showing, against all the Christmas records that are coming out

It’s true. Yet, you put out a non-Christmas record. You put out a regular country record and still chart top 10. That’s brilliant! As a rocker covered in tattoos! As an artist, you go into the studio and you record a batch of songs that you feel strongly enough about and solid enough about that you’re willing to put it out there for other people to hear and you know, you hope that when people hear it, they like it. That’s kind of what it’s all about. It’s writing songs for you, but at the end of the day, if I like my song, that doesn’t mean it’s going to pay my bills.

Now the crazy, part is the fact you’re being so well received, I mean, yeah, you have people like Darius Rucker, you know, he puts out a country record, he goes completely country and he’s done very well, but he was never a hard rocker. You’re on the complete opposite spectrum. I mean, real hard rocker. You’ve toured with all the biggest artists, metal bands, mainstream rockers, yet you have this kind of success over here. They accepted you like you’ve been country from day one. Um, I’ll let you say that, I don’t know if that’s true though. (laughs)

I’ve been hearing rumors being thrown around about a country/rock tour reuniting you with Kid Rock. Any validity to that at all? I haven’t heard such a thing, no. That’s funny (laughs). No, I haven’t heard that. That’s interesting though. It’s an interesting concept.

It would be very interesting, like going back to the real “old school.” You know what would be cool is, if a couple of the originators of that were still around, like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings.

That would be badass. That’s where that whole concept happened back in the day. Waylon Jennings


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was supposed to be on the plane that crashed with The Big Bopper, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. You know, Waylon Jennings was Buddy Holly’s guitar player. And he was supposed to be on that plane and he gave up his seat to The Big Bopper. It’s the only reason why we ever had Waylon Jennings. He should’ve gone down with that plane.

Think about if that one decision would have changed. Everybody’s musical aspect would have been completely different. We wouldn’t have had Waylon Jennings. If he hadn’t graciously given up his seat to The Big Bopper, we would have never had him.

He must’ve had that one crazy gut feeling. Right? I mean can you imagine the guilt he lived with? A long time? If not the rest of his life? There’s a song on my record called “Lesson Learned.” It definitely touches upon that whole general subject of being appreciative of the little things that we take for granted.

I know you and Kid Rock go way back. You both got popular around the same times. At the same token, I know you were super close with Joe C (Kid Rock’s hype man). If Joe C was still alive and seeing his two buddies in Country bands, do you think he’d be happy with the fact that you and Kid Rock both ended up in Country music? I don’t know. I know my grandfather is looking down awfully proud. As for Joe C, I don’t know if he’d have the appreciation for it. I don’t think it would’ve mattered. But you bring up Kid Rock and he was an intricate portion of my introduction into Country. That first tour we (Staind) did, we’d be on the bus with like 14 people and I’d be in the back lounge doing whatever, and that old Country music that my grandfather used to listen to was all that was playing. It was just so familiar and I haven’t been able to get away from it since. If I’m driving in my car, if I’m not listening to Patriotic driven talk radio, then I’m listening to Country music…and it’s willingly. But I’m miss Joe and I think about him at the most random times. I miss that little f**ker. He was a good guy.

Let’s go to the extremes of making a record for a moment. Obviously you’ve made quite a few albums with Staind and this is now your second venture into country records. Tell me about the experience of making a solo country record as a whole rather than working as a band. Well, complete and total creative freedom. I mean, even James Stroud, who was the producer, he just sat back in his chair with a smile on his face, smoking a cigar and let me run. And

complete creative freedom, you know. I was in the driver seat completely. And, I mean, it was so off the cuff and so impromptu. Like I said, we did the entire record in 30 hours. So it was a pretty magical, inspired experience for sure.

I saw you retweeted somebody’s comment to you about going to one of your shows and he was pissed off that all you sang was country music. What was your initial reaction when you saw something as stupid as that? I laugh at that stuff and then I retweet it so everybody can have a laugh with me (laughs).

Stupidity. And like you said right after, where the hell’s this guy been? Obviously, someone didn’t pay attention to what I’ve been up to for the past couple of years and all of the advertising that was done for the show. It’s all good. I mean you can’t make everybody happy all the time, you just can’t.

If the people that actually follow you and hopefully enjoy the music get a smile and a laugh, that’s all you need. Well the cool thing is what’s happening is now that the record is out, the yelling for songs that I have no intention of playing in the evening, is starting to wane a little bit. So that’s kind of a nice thing that’s happening because you know, it was getting a little bit annoying where, you know, obviously I’ve got a whole different band up here, I’m playing country music. I’m not here to play “Mudshovel,” stop yelling it. I’m not here to play Staind. If I was here to play Staind, the band behind me would be Staind.

You know, but, well I appreciate everything, as always Aaron. Keep making fantastic music. I will always be a fan for life and that’s why I loved covering not just your shows, but your albums and getting to speak with you because it’s always something new and something insightful that you end up saying and you, keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you brother, I appreciate it.


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complete creative freedom, you know. I was in the driver seat completely. And, I mean, it was so off the cuff and so impromptu. Like I said, we did the entire record in 30 hours. So it was a pretty magical, inspired experience for sure.

I saw you retweeted somebody’s comment to you about going to one of your shows and he was pissed off that all you sang was country music. What was your initial reaction when you saw something as stupid as that? I laugh at that stuff and then I retweet it so everybody can have a laugh with me (laughs).

Stupidity. And like you said right after, where the hell’s this guy been? Obviously, someone didn’t pay attention to what I’ve been up to for the past couple of years and all of the advertising that was done for the show. It’s all good. I mean you can’t make everybody happy all the time, you just can’t.

If the people that actually follow you and hopefully enjoy the music get a smile and a laugh, that’s all you need. Well the cool thing is what’s happening is now that the record is out, the yelling for songs that I have no intention of playing in the evening, is starting to wane a little bit. So that’s kind of a nice thing that’s happening because you know, it was getting a little bit annoying where, you know, obviously I’ve got a whole different band up here, I’m playing country music. I’m not here to play “Mudshovel,” stop yelling it. I’m not here to play Staind. If I was here to play Staind, the band behind me would be Staind.

You know, but, well I appreciate everything, as always Aaron. Keep making fantastic music. I will always be a fan for life and that’s why I loved covering not just your shows, but your albums and getting to speak with you because it’s always something new and something insightful that you end up saying and you, keep doing what you’re doing. Thank you brother, I appreciate it.

The last Staind record took about

six months and this Country

record that I just did took 30 hours.

“

”


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How did it feel to celebrate your 80th birthday at the legendary Grand Ole Opry? It was just great to have so many of my friends there at the Opry that night. It made it so memorable and special for me.

How has the music industry changed throughout your career in the music business? Well, a lot...more than I can touch on in one question. We have seen ups and downs in the Country Music business and now with the internet the way music is distributed and purchased has totally changed. The music itself has definitely changed. I must admit, a lot of it I don’t care for because it isn’t what I consider “Country Music” but all genres of music change with the times.

What is the key to longevity in the music industry? I think one of the most important things is to remember who got you where you are and that is the fans. Country Music has the most loyal fans on earth and they will stick by you through thick and thin.

What advice would you offer to any aspiring country singers and/or songwriters who wish to make it in the industry? Always be yourself and don’t try to be someone you are not or to emulate someone else.

What do your plans for the future include? Slow down and enjoy my wife and family.

What would you like your legacy to be? That I stayed true to traditional Country Music.

What does the word “success” mean in the eyes of George Jones? That I have lived for eighty years and made a living doing what I love. What more could a man ask for?

Back in October 2011, our Country music aficionado,

Markos Papadatos, had a rare email conversation with

music legend, George Jones. Known as “The Voice” of the genre, Mr. Jones passed away on April 26th. In an effort to preserve his memory, here is

the interview in its entirety.

IN MEMORY OF... GEORGE JONES


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Broken Records Magazine May 2013

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Transcript of Broken Records Magazine May 2013