When I suddenly started seeing posts on Facebook by Myles Clayborne, the drummer of SAUL, about a new metalcore band project he was working on, I was immediately intrigued. I had a feeling it was going to be something special, and I was right. Lo and behold, Left On Red has arrived on the scene, and recently released a banger called “Fairweather” as well as a lyric video to accompany it. Myles was kind enough to share some awesome information about Left On Red, which, according to the band’s press kit, “is set to take the Midwest Metal scene by the throat in 2024”.
The band, which is from Columbia, Missouri, affectionately known as “Como”, consists of: Myles Clayborne (vocals); Corey Harness (guitar); Anthony Brummer (bass); and Shea Spence (drums). They decided to start the project after Myles expressed an interest in making music that was closer to home and a reflection of his musical roots. All of the members have been in other bands, all based in Columbia. Corey had a project called Red Room, Shea is in a band called The Many Colored Death, and Anthony plays guitar for Conman Economy. As mentioned above, Myles, is the drummer of the well-known band SAUL.
The name of the band, Left On Red, was a mutual idea between Myles and Shay Osborne, who has been instrumental in the forming and management of the project. However, Myles says the name definitely has a deeper meaning. “I think a lot of the time we feel like people may say ‘I hear you’ or ‘reach out if you need anything’, but really, it’s mostly said as a formality. Messages go unanswered, calls go unreturned. It just leaves you feeling a bit angry, alone, and empty. Voicing those emotions and creating a dialog for them is what we aim to do with this project.”
Myles handles most of the writing and recording process for Left On Red, until the point when he is able to get the rest of the band involved with ideas and revisions. He brings Corey in to fine tune and personalize guitar parts as well as Anthony with bass and any backing vocal ideas. Shea finalizes and edits drum parts before the track is completed.
My interpretation of “Fairweather” is that it’s about “fake friends” who claim they’ll be there for you, but when “bad weather” comes they’re nowhere to be found. Despite that, you figure things out on your own (as usual) and realize you don’t need those “fairweather friends” after all. Myles says I hit the nail on the head. He adds, “This song is the culmination of going through that situation multiple times, which, unfortunately, is a reality for many people.”
Myles also shared how the music reflects the theme of the song. The hard vocals in the verses and the guitar riffs have a darker tone. The chorus, meanwhile, is a little lighter and upbeat, incorporating the idea of “screw it, I’ll be fine on my own”. The chorus lyrics sum up these feelings:
“It’s no surprise you left me on my own again Just hang me out to dry I’ll figure it out, in the end It’s nothing new (just what you do) Just what I’m used to Holding out for hope of fair weather But as a friend yea I could do better”
Myles’ hard vocals portray a lot of emotion. His clean vocals, meanwhile, have a delightfully surprising range. The guitar riffs are intricate, and the bass and drums blend together into a perfect beat. The bridge of the song features a sweet guitar solo. One of my favorite things about the song is the buildup from the verses leading to the chorus. This song is very complex, with lots of ebbs and flows that add up to a successful first single by Left On Red.
Left On Red plans to put out a five-song EP in early spring. Each song will be released as a single prior to the EP dropping as a whole. The band is also working on putting together some live shows for spring and summer and beyond. Stay tuned for what’s to come for Left On Red. I have a feeling they’re going to be a fun band to follow!
With a nickname like “The Shreddly”, you have to figure Dakota Amacker must be a pretty excellent guitarist. And you would not be wrong. This man is incredible. Not only is he a tremendous musician, but he is also a very kind human who genuinely cares for other people and loves sharing his talent with everyone while also supporting others in the music industry. I’d like to share the story of Dakota Amacker. Hopefully his passion and energy will light a spark in anyone who has a talent that they can use to bless the world with.
Dakota is a solo artist and a guitarist for two bands — Awoken Infinium, and a project he started with his friend Andrew Ruiz, Nerdroll & Shreddly. He was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana and raised in Poplarville, Mississippi. Dakota shared with me that life since 2016 has been a roller coaster. He lost his mother to cancer. One month later he met his future wife, Virginia, who was a cancer survivor. Virginia relapsed in 2020, but fortunately, after a bone marrow transplant, she has been doing incredibly well. Dakota says his mother and Virginia have been his biggest inspirations. He does what he can, when he can with his music in the middle of everyday life responsibilities. He does hope that one day he can “go for it” in the music industry and make it a fulltime career. That’s a nice dream to keep alive.
How did Dakota get into music in the first place? He was brought up around blues and southern rock, and eventually he got into metal and all the big “shredders”. Dakota made it his goal to combine both emotion and speed into his guitar-playing, and he worked hard to show that “shred” and “feel” can go together hand-in-hand. He has met many great guitarists through his journey thus far, and he is honored to be surrounded by such great company and pioneers in the world of guitar-playing.
Dakota started taking his guitar-playing seriously around 2010. His mom had played here and there growing up, and he started playing on her old acoustic. One of his uncles let him play his guitar until Dakota got his first one, a 90s Peavey Predator, which he had to fix up with his dad’s help. He wired it together using old CB radio and box fan wiring! Very heavily inspired by legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Dakota named his guitar “Franky”. He would always bring his guitar with him to school when he was in high school – amp, axe, and all. He still does that now when he’s at work so he can play during his breaks!
When asked about his biggest musical influences, Dakota says his idol is Gus G, the guitarist for Greek-German power metal band Firewind. He has played for many other bands, and even played on Ozzy Osborne’s Scream album. Dakota says Gus is the reason he plays the star-bodied guitar shape. “I love my pointy axes!”, Dakota says. Eddie Van Halen was also a tremendous influence not only because of his guitar skills, but also his mindset of “make it work for you” when it came to hotrodding and fixing your instruments. Zakk Wylde, Oli Herbert of All That Remains, Jason Becker, Andy James, and Yngwie Malmsteen are other big inspirations for Dakota. He also fell in love with southern rock and blues when he first started out. His roots include lots of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Dakota says he is a person who loves the instrument past the confines of any one style or genre. “I am a ‘shred guy’ and a metalhead,” he says. “But I always love collaborating with new artists in any genre.” He has done guest solos for friends in different genres. Dakota says he’s always open to different experiences. He has even played metal at rap shows! He has made friends and new contacts due to his open mind when it comes to music, and he says it’s a lot of fun for him.
Dakota has four solo albums, multiple standalone singles, and quite a few guest solos and collaborations that he has been a part of. His fifth solo record will feature two guest singers on two different tracks. This will be a first for Dakota, as his releases to date have all been instrumental. He is excited to be able to feature a couple of his friends.
Most of the music Dakota writes comes from experiences, personal situations, and hardships he’s been through. Sometimes he’ll write around an idea or a specific word. His 2021 album Invictus was written during 2020, when his wife was battling cancer. “It was a Hellacious year,” Dakota says. So he wrote about coming out of a “dark place”, standing firm, and finding that inner strength. He actually recorded the whole album while he was confined to one room sick with COVID, right before his wife went upstate to get her bone marrow transplant. To this day he still doesn’t know how he found the strength physically to do it. He’d hobble two feet from his bed to his desk and hit record.
For his solo artist music, Dakota records, mixes and masters everything himself. When he started his music career, he learned a lot early on by trial and error, as well as from people in the business who unknowingly taught him what to watch out for. He writes and records all of his own parts. He tracks the guitar and bass, and all the harmonies. For the drums, he creates those parts through his recording software, Reaper. He makes all of the drum parts and beats using a MT Power drumkit and his laptop keyboard. The same goes for all the string accompaniments, the orchestral bits, and what he calls the “crazy effects”.
Currently, Dakota is wrapping up his fifth studio album, Travesties Of Time. It will be his first solo album to feature not only guest musicians, but two guest singers also. He is excited to finally have vocals on some of his music! He’s already released a single, “Astrum Parabellum”, and a video to accompany it. He’s basically waiting now on finishing up the two songs with the vocals. Dakota is already stockpiling songs for an album that will follow this one, and also brainstorming for another future album! To me, that’s the definition of an overachiever. He eventually would like to have an album that is entirely made up of songs with guest features. Dakota says, “I’ve met many amazing people in my career through the years, and this would be a way to showcase their incredible talents.” The upcoming Travesties Of Time album will pave the way to have more of his friends appear as guests on future releases.
In addition to his solo work, Dakota is also part of the band Awoken Infinium. He and his friend Tony Allen, who is more like a brother to him, started the band around 2012, with the original name The Ascension. They eventually rebranded as Awoken Infinium, and have had multiple band members come and go over the years, but the band is still going. Dakota feels that Awoken Infinium recently solidified its ultimate lineup. They’re shelving songs from the past 10 years, and are now focusing on writing new material, with a goal of creating 10 heavy songs that will become a full-length album.
I wanted to get some thoughts on Dakota from some people who are part of the Gulf Coast music scene.
Anthony Green, THEM GUYS guitarist, says, “I actually got my first impression of Dakota when I discovered him on YouTube before even meeting him. I’ve been a fan and supporter ever since. After meeting him in person, I found that we are very much alike. Besides being a great human being who is very family-oriented and humble, he is a phenomenal musician and composer. We need more people like Dakota in this world!”
Fate Effect guitarist and vocalist Derek Smith says, “All I can say about Dakota Amacker is WOW! He is an amazingly talented individual with his equipment and guitar knowledge. He’s also just a very down-to-earth and humble dude! I’m honored and privileged to have talked to him a few times and to call him a friend.”
Samantha Overby of Samantha Overby Photography says, “Dakota is just insanely talented at what he does. As a person, he is very kind and giving. He supports other artists, and that’s rare to find.”
Artwork by Virginia Amacker
Dakota’s goal is to reach as many people as possible with his guitar-playing, and inspire and motivate people across the globe through music, our universal language we can all relate to. He says, “No matter who you are or where you come from, you CAN become something!”
When you decide you want to do something on your own, sometimes the best thing you can do is take a leap of faith and just put yourself out there and do it. This is what Grant Evans, a songwriter, musician, and singer from Washington, has decided to do. So far, it seems to be working out very nicely for this talented and inspired man. In the last couple of months Grant has already released an EP called Overcome, a single after that called “It’ll Be Alright”, the instrumental version of his EP, and, most recently, a “stripped” version of “It’ll Be Alright”. The name for Grant’s solo project? Simply – “GE”. It doesn’t look like anything will be stopping him anytime soon. Grant was kind enough to share his insights with me about his music and what he is hoping to accomplish with his endeavors.
A lot of people will know Grant from his most recent role as a guitarist and backing vocalist with well-known hard rock band Sleep Signals for the last few years. But his music career began way before Sleep Signals. First, however, I’ll share a little background on Grant. He is a Washington guy. He was born in Vancouver. He grew up in a tiny, 600-square foot log cabin in Amboy, about an hour north of Vancouver. While living in Vancouver for about 10 years, he built his music career as the front man of the band Within Sight from 2013 to 2020. He and his fiancée, Emily, bought a house in Longview in 2022.
Grant has a long history in music. When he was 11, he started a band with his older brother, in which he played guitar and sang and his brother played drums. Grant told me the band was called Lima Bean, admitting that it was definitely a funny sort of name. They thought the name was “edgy” because at the time Red Hot Chili Peppers were huge. The band played some festivals like Harvest Days in Battle Ground, Washington and Downpour Festival in Great Falls, Montana. Lima Bean actually recorded a full-length album before the band broke up in 2007 after Grant started high school. While in high school, Grant was in three or four different bands before starting his own, Within Sight, after he graduated. It was at that time he started taking music seriously as a career plan.
Regarding putting together his solo EP, Overcome, Grant thanks Anthony Corso and Aaron Corso for their help completing it. Anthony played lead guitar in Within Sight and has been a great friend to Grant for many years. While Grant recorded all of his demos for the EP and the ideas for how the songs would sound were all his, Anthony was his engineer and producer. He also played the guitar solos on “In Your Hands”, “Heaven”, and “Overcome”. Grant admits that he wasn’t super confident as a “lead guitarist” until recently, so he felt Anthony’s skills would provide some added “flavor” to the songs. Aaron learned the drum parts for the EP, which were written by Grant, in a week. Grant calls him “a stud”. He let him add some of his own flair to the “fills” and added “ghost notes”.
I was very interested in how one person creates music that sounds like a full band project. Grant gave me some awesome insight about this. He told me that as the music industry has evolved, it’s become more accessible to create high quality recordings from your own home studio with minimal overhead cost. Expensive items have to be purchased, such as a laptop, monitor speakers, mixing headphones, microphones, digital “plug-ins”, and so much more. But if you’re willing to give your time to learn how to record yourself and mix yourself, it’s not that hard. Grant says it’s a huge investment in yourself. You can pay someone to record you, or you can pay yourself by learning how to do it on your own.
Grant shares that it also creates an opportunity to be creative any time you have a spare minute. You just open up the laptop and write some music! “I had a blast writing music with Within Sight and Sleep Signals, but I felt like my ideas were suppressed or changed to the point where the original sound wasn’t ‘me’ anymore,” Grant says.
Grant set several goals with his solo EP: 1. He wanted to learn how to record, engineer, and produce himself. 2. He wanted to push himself to write songs as fast as possible. “This is how I see it: we can’t be afraid to write a ‘bad song’ because then we are restricting the flow of art coming from our brains.” Grant was able to write and record each song within 20 hours. Do the math – that’s one song per week writing and recording at the pace of four hours per day five days per week. And he said he’s getting even faster. 3. Grant wanted to find “his sound”. He didn’t want his ideas to be changed by another band member, or even a producer. Lyrically, Grant has been wanting to share more of his story and talk about God more because he believes God gave him these talents and he wants to glorify Him in everything he does. Other bands he has been in didn’t want him to share these thoughts and feelings through music. Grant’s solo project is his way of not being censored, so others can enjoy his music at its full potential.
I’d like to describe Grant’s process for writing and recording his own music, and I think the best way to do that is actually to include word-for-word his description of it that he was kind enough to share with me.
“For the process of writing and recording my own music it goes like this. I came up with the guitar parts first. I’ll record some ‘scratch’ guitar parts, that is just an idea. I’ll write drums next, then record the bass and add some lead guitar. At this point if I am inspired by this small section I’ve created then I build more of the song, starting the process over again with ‘scratch’ guitar parts. Sometimes I get ideas, record sections and never touch them again because I’m not inspired by when I created them. But that’s fine! It’s just part of the process! Because we have to fail in order to succeed. Every time I write something I end up not liking, I’m that much closer to the NEXT idea that I WILL like! After the song is complete and demoed out, I’ll go back and edit the instruments or re-record them so they are perfect and more studio-quality rather than just an ‘idea’. Basically, I just need to tighten up my playing on the instruments. Then, vocals come next. The music needs to inspire me in order for me to cme up with lyrics for it. I’ll usually write and practice vocal lines while I drive. I like the solitude in my truck where I can sing and come up with hooks without anyone hearing me. Once I get a good lyric, I’ll jot it down in my notes section in my phone. Once I have all my ideas, I’ll record them. At this point I’ve been singing the parts so much while I drive that my first or second take on the mic is usually the one that makes it on the song! It’s all about how much you practice and voicing your emotion how you want it to sound.”
I came up with some of my own thoughts on the individual songs on the Overcome EP and shared them with Grant. He gave me his own insight, also.
“In Your Hands” is a song about overcoming demons and past mistakes. The lyrics “I trust you in the end” and “Hold my life, in your hands” are references to God. Grant adds, “This song was inspired by the Sleep Signals bus crash of 2021. I truly believe God was holding me when the bus rolled over. I was not critically injured and was able to help others who were.”
“Weather The Storm” is about being strong despite adversity and changing your life so you can accomplish what you were put on Earth to do. Grant shares, “The first verse and chorus of the song literally spell it out. If you read the lyrics without any context of the song, you can tell the song is about a person who doesn’t have it figured out and they make mistakes but they will ‘weather the storm’ to accomplish their goals. I love the lyric ‘board the windows and doors’, too, because sometimes we need to protect ourselves from the storm outside. Protecting your home from a storm is a reference to protecting your heart from others who may hurt you emotionally.”
“Heaven” is a sad kind of song about losing someone you love, but knowing you’ll see them again when you get to Heaven. Grant admits that he almost didn’t release this beautiful and moving song because he didn’t like how his voice sounded on it. He says he was very sick when he recorded it, but he was several hours from home at the studio and didn’t want to cancel. Ultimately, he decided that it was okay because it just added to the story of how the songs for the EP came together. Grant says, “I wrote this song about my grandfather who passed away recently. He was so strong and always supported my dreams. The song is written from a perspective anyone can relate to if they have lost a loved one. There is a lyric in the song that is a direct quote from my grandfather, ‘life is a journey.’ Just before he passed from old age, he said ‘my journey isn’t over, it’s just beginning.’ He was strong in Christ and I know I will see him again in Heaven.”
I interpreted that “Overcome” is based on the events of 2020 as well as the 2021 bus crash with Grant’s former band, Sleep Signals. It’s about overcoming struggles and making changes to live your life to the fullest. Grant says I’m correct in my ideas about the song, but he shares that there are some other details that I wouldn’t know unless I knew him prior to his sobriety in 2020. “The song was inspired by MANY things that I’ve had to overcome. Yes, the bus crash; yes, we all had hard times during the ‘shut down’ of 2020. But this song goes deeper. My time in Within Sight was a stepping stone and a road block at the same time. I had a huge drinking problem for many years, 2010 to 2020. I eventually felt a nudge from the Lord that I needed to clean up my life. In 2020 I lost my job of seven years, I left my wife of seven years, I left my band of eight years, Within Sight, and I got sober. In this moment where I felt like things couldn’t get any worse, I fell in love with my beautiful now-fiancée Emily Cavagna. She was also recently sober and we leaned on each other for support. It was true love from the beginning. We have enjoyed our sobriety ever since and we will never turn back.”
Since the EP dropped, Grant has released another single, “It’ll Be Alright”, November 1st. This man is not messing around or wasting any time bringing new music to his fans! This song was written, engineered, and produced by Grant. He even took it a step further and did the artwork for the single, also. Along with honing his craft recording his own music, he also wants to work on photography and artwork, too, so he can be totally self-sufficient. He plans on doing photography for bands in the future. Grant is very excited about “It’ll Be Alright”. He says he “turned it up a notch”, and the quality and vibe of the track just “hit different”. “It’ll Be Alright” is a spectacular mix of Grant’s passionate vocals combined with heavy and powerful music. It’s a story of believing that no matter how bad things get, you can overcome them with God’s help.
Grant recently got done touring with Late Night Savior and he had a blast. He says it made him remember what he loved about touring. He definitely plans on performing with this band again in the future. Grant actually wrote some of the riffs for the band’s next single. He hopes to contribute more to the writing of their future songs.
It is clear that Grant is intent on continuing to share his music and creativity with his fans in various forms. In November he released the instrumental tracks from the Overcome EP. He says, “I feel it’s very important for people to understand the emotions that went into those songs, so I tried something different and added some monolog voice over edits before each track, explaining why I wrote each song and the inspiration behind them. I think you’ll be surprised by the story behind each song ‘instrumentally’. There is a story to be told musically that brings a deeper meaning to each song, completely separate and unrelated to the lyrical content.” I absolutely love the instrumental EP! You can really hear the work that went into the songs musically. It’s so intricate and detailed – absolutely phenomenal!
Most recently, Grant released a “It’ll Be Alright (Stripped)”. It’s a beautiful acoustic version of his harder metalcore song, and it showcases Grant’s varied music and vocal talents that he is continuing to develop. I was absolutely mesmerized by this new track when I heard it and listened to it on repeat for quite a while.
I’m so excited for what’s to come for Grant Evans. He’s doing music his own way and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. His journey is just beginning and I can’t wait to see where it takes him!
The Failsafe, a hard rock band based in Minneapolis, recently released the Toxic Hearts EP. This six-song collection features some awesome tunes that showcase a progression in the band’s style over the past few years.
The members of The Failsafe include: Jesse Weber (vocals); Caio Thomas (guitar); Chad Helmonds (drums); and Deven Jason (bass/guitar). Though based in Minneapolis, the band members live in different states – Caio and Chad in Minnesota, and Deven and Jesse in South Carolina.
The Failsafe began in 2019, Three of the members — Caio, Chad and Jesse – had previously been in a band called The Phoenix Philosophy that broke up in late 2018. They still wanted to play music together, so they formed The Failsafe. The band released an album called Erasing Color in 2019 and the new EP Toxic Hearts in 2023.
All songs on the Toxic Hearts EP except “Ghost Of You” were self-produced, with mixing done by Chad Helmonds and mastering by Augustine Ortiz, Jr. “Ghost Of You” was co-written, produced, mixed and mastered by Sahaj Ticotin.
When it comes to song-writing, all of the band members contribute. Someone will usually come up with some element of the song – a guitar riff, a vocal hook – and then they work together to build a song around that. Jesse wrote most of the lyrics on their older songs, but recent songs have been a more collaborative effort by the whole band.
What impresses me most about The Failsafe musically is the variety. Each song is unique. The tempos range from fast to slower, even within the same song. Their songs combine both heavy and melodic elements. There are some elements of metalcore in some of the tracks, with hard vocals and breakdowns. Jesse’s tremendous vocals are versatile, as they can be soft and thoughtful or heavy and powerful depending on the message he’s trying to share in a particular song.
Now I’ll share some of my interpretations of the songs on the Toxic Hearts EP. I think most of them are about trying to deal with and overcome relationship issues. The one exception to this would be “Us Against The World”. I saw this song is actually from 2021. That’s right after the COVID-19 year. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with that specifically, but it’s definitely an anthem of being strong and standing up against adversity – at least those are my thoughts. Jesse commented on a Facebook post about the EP that the band wrote these songs over the past three years, so they represent the evolution of the band’s musical style.
The band shares that the first song on the EP, “Remind Me I’m Alive”, which was released in 2020, was inspired by being isolated and alone during the COVID-19 lockdown. “Us Against The World” was actually originally written for a friend of the band who is a professional wrestler to use as his entrance theme.
The video for the title track, “Toxic Hearts”, is a fan appreciation video of sorts. It definitely shows how much the band members enjoy what they do and love interacting with people. Caio put the video together. It was made using a lot of behind-the-scenes footage filmed on band members’ phones combined with some professionally-shot live footage. It was all turned into a Polaroid-style collage, and it came out great!
The Failsafe is gearing up for their biggest year yet in 2024. They have some amazing new songs coming out which they think are some of the best they’ve made. As of now, the band has one upcoming show, which is the Antimatter Music Festival in Sioux Falls, SD on December 2nd. They are planning on a tour next spring, so stay tuned!
Iowa hard rock band Widow7 recently released an awesome new single, “Wake The Dead”, and a great music video to go along with it. This band seems to be quickly making a name for itself, consistently releasing killer new tunes and also being invited to some very prestigious national festivals. I feel like Widow7 is ready to take off, and you don’t want to miss the ride!
Widow7 is from Des Moines, affectionately known as “Slipknotville” after the legendary heavy metal band Slipknot. Members of Widow7 include: Mark Leon (vocals); Seth Peters (bass); Shane Mills (drums); and Jayson Kempf (guitar). Seth was kind enough to answer some questions I had about the band and their music.
The band was started in late 2020 and did their first show in April 2021. The members had all been in separate bands and were looking to start fresh. Jayson, Shane, and Seth were working on original music and some covers and were seeking a singer. Mark had just moved back to Des Moines from Texas and had a few really good demos – one of which was “Shadow Me”, the band’s first single. He was seeking bandmates to help bring his ideas to fruition. The other three quickly learned how to play the demos, so when they finally had a meeting with Mark they were able to convince him without a doubt that they were the guys to take his ideas to the next level. Their first show in their hometown sold out, and their second show was a label showcase in Los Angeles. Since then it’s all been an incredible trajectory to touring nationally and playing America’s largest festivals.
Widow7’s songwriting is a team effort. The band decides what message or lyrical content they want to portray, and then pick a musical vibe to reflect that message, whether it’s sad, upbeat, angry, angsty, hurt, happy, or sometimes ironic. A lot of the lyrical weight is carried by Mark, along with their producer Evan McKeever, and Seth will add ideas when there’s a gap or something in particular that’s needed. Once the lyrics and vibe of a song are established, the band heads into the studio and tosses around musical ideas until they strike a nerve, and then they build on a musical or lyrical hook. The band definitely aims to get their message across in their music, but they also want to leave it open to interpretation so the listeners can decide what it means to them.
“Wake The Dead” was produced, mixed, and mastered by Evan McKeever. Seth told me that Evan has pretty much been an unofficial fifth member of their band since they started. He acts as a mentor, idea generator, producer, and engineer. Seth said much of the band’s success is due to having Evan on their team. He shared that it’s been a really amazing experience working with Evan because a lot of their ideas align and they all have similar writing styles. “It works very well when we’re all in a room building off each other’s ideas. That kind of cohesion and efficiency is hard to find,” Seth said.
As soon as I heard the opening chords of “Wake The Dead” I knew that I was going to love it. It’s one of those songs that you know right away is going to be a banger because of its high energy. It’s heavy, but also upbeat. Mark Leon has a unique voice that is strong and powerful. This song is written perfectly. The catchy guitar riff throughout the song mixes well with the bass and drums in perfect unity. The bridge features a breakdown with hard vocals by Mark. This is a song that keeps you moving and banging your head!
Seth told me that the band writes a lot of songs about mental health, society, and the world around us – a lot of observations they make in their every day lives. “The state of the world provides a lot of inspiration, whether it be good or bad.” When I listen to “Wake The Dead”, I hear a song about mental health and the inner demons we all have inside ourselves. Seth shared that for him, the song encapsulates how society has driven everyone to have anxiety, worry, and panic. He doesn’t think our minds are fully ready for the technology we all use or to cope with the rat race we’re all in on a daily basis. That’s Seth’s personal interpretation of the song, but he admits that his bandmates might have their own slightly different ideas.
The music video for “Wake The Dead” was directed by Eric DiCarlo. Seth told me Eric was fantastic to work with. They flew him to their hometown back in March and shot the videos for both “Choke” and “Wake The Dead” in one day. Seth said it was a very grueling process, but well worth it. “Wake The Dead” was filmed in an abandoned area that appears to be frozen in time and very creepy. Seth said they wanted the video to have an eerie vibe. Also, the space being locked in time symbolizes how we get locked inside our own minds with all of our misconceptions, demons, regrets, and thoughts of the past. When I saw the mannequin body parts in the video, they seemed to me to be symbolic of how we’re all broken in some way. Seth told me that interpretation was spot on!
Recently, Widow7 performed at two major festivals, Louder Than Life in Kentucky and Aftershock in California, and earlier this year, Welcome to Rockville in Florida. Upcoming shows for the band include: 10/20 – Maloney’s – Council Bluffs, IA 11/18 – Basecamp – Lisle, IL 12/16 – Skyway Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
Widow7 plans on traveling back and forth to Nashville in upcoming months to create a lot of new music for the rest of this year and 2024. They do have two songs being mixed and mastered that may see light this year yet. We can expect new material from Widow7 all next year.
“We’ve been kind of building our base these last couple years playing shows all over the country, but we’re very excited to take that up a notch with more and more material to give to the fans,” Seth told me. “We have a lot of great things coming down the pipeline and appreciate everyone so much for being here with us for the ride!”
“I’m not that interesting.” This is what Shawn Morgan says about himself. But I respectfully disagree. I think he is very interesting. This man has an amazing gift and talent and he shares it with the world. It makes people’s lives better. I’d say that’s pretty darn awesome.
I recently had the honor of having a video conversation with Shawn and my good friend from the rock music world, Jimmie McDonald. Jimmie was a big reason this happened, and I can’t think him enough. I have a feeling there will be future chats between the three of us. That’s how much fun it was to just talk about music and how it impacts our lives.
One thing that struck a chord with me was that Shawn kept saying how lucky he feels “to still be here and to still be doing this” – meaning creating and performing music. I totally understand where he’s coming from. He has been through a lot, including losing two dear friends and bandmates. Despite it all, he is indeed still here due to his strength and perseverance, and now he’s ready to do things his own way, on his own terms. He just wants to create and perform music with his friends and have fun and share it with as many people as possible.
Shawn is a multi-talented guitarist who knows how to play every instrument. He says he can play piano, synths, bass, drums, and various percussion instruments – as he says, “anything I can make pretty noises with.” Shawn studied music and business at University of Memphis. He has knowledge not only of the art, but how to create and promote a brand. Shawn has created Shawn Morgan Publishing, which is ultimately his own record label through which he share his songs, videos, and any music content he creates.
I want to tell some of Shawn’s music story, starting with Joan Red. Formed in 2006 in Memphis, Tennessee, this band toured nationally and gained a big following online. Joan Red’s album Side Effects Of You was released in 2009. Sadly, the potential of Joan Red was cut short when singer and co-writer Anthony Basurto passed away in 2011.
During the recording of Joan Red’s album at 747 Studios in Nashville, Shawn met Joey Culver, who had been the lead singer of well-known Mississippi alternative metal band Atomship. They talked about their visions and conceptual ideas regarding releasing music. This was the spark that ignited not only the band Papercut Massacre, but also a 20-year friendship.
Tragically, Joey passed away December 31st, 2020. As painful as this was for Shawn, he has never stopped creating and performing music. He is honoring the legacy of his dear friends and bandmates Joey and Anthony in everything he does. Shawn admits that he could never put Joan Red or Papercut Massacre back together without them. However, going forward he plans on performing the music of those two bands, as well as his own original music.
Another interesting part of Shawn’s music history is Dead, In The Headlights! (DITH for short). This was a project he created with an electronic style of music that didn’t quite fit Papercut Massacre’s style. After Joey’s passing, all the new music became DITH so Shawn could continue to play rock shows in Hollywood. DITH is his, but he had a live band called Proteus for those shows.
Most recently, Shawn was a member of the band Sons On Fire for about 18 months. The band released two great songs while Shawn was a member, “Rise” and “Collapse”. Even though his time with the band was not long, he is grateful for the experience and opportunities it led him to. One of those opportunities was putting together the Joan Red Memphis Family Reunion show back in March. It was an unforgettable night with a packed house at Historic Lafayette’s Music Room.
Shawn’s passion is song writing. He said he probably has at least 500 songs he’s written since 2020. “Active rock music production is my specialty,” Shawn says. He shares that writing songs becomes “a part of who we are”, and he tried to write a song every day. Shawn says he wants to connect with people and build relationships. I’d say he’s definitely doing that through not only his music, but also his passion, determination, and kindness. He says he is grateful for the listeners. Well, we’re grateful that he shares his music with us.
When I asked Shawn about his music-writing style, he says there are many ways to write and he’s probably done it just about every way there is. But he shared some of the most important keys to writing music: Be inspired. (Shawn says this is the hardest part.) Have fun. Hit record. Seems easy, right? But I suspect talent also has a little something to do with it.
Creating music with his friends makes Shawn happy, and he’s been getting help from quite a few of them lately. Josh Marin, lead singer of Sons On Fire, writes lyrics and sings on some upcoming tracks that will be released. Art Loomer is another friend who has been lending his vocals to some songs Shawn is working on. Shawn is also collaborating with his good friend Eric Holley (Planet Gears) and his friend Rod Gongora from Baton Rouge. Tex Coakley is the producer, and he’ll no doubt make something already amazing even better.
Shawn shares that he and Josh Marin have developed a writing rhythm that has been quite fruitful and inspiring. They are calling this project MARIN MORGAN. The new single, “Betrayal”, was just released on all streaming platforms. They’re gearing up for the music video and they’re excited for everyone to see it.
What’s next for Shawn Morgan other than continuing to create great music that resonates with people? Well, he’s getting the band together. Literally. Just him and his friends playing music. It will include Josh on vocals, his friend Cody Adams on drums, and “the new kid”, Jordan Havens, on bass. There is no band name (yet). There are no performances lined up (yet). But in all honesty, that’s what makes this so exciting. Shawn is just getting started on something that will surely be great. I know I can’t wait to hear and see what’s next. Stay tuned for the awesomeness to come!
Have you heard of a band called Penny Fountain? No? Well, it’s time to take notice. This young band is about to take off. Just wait and see.
Hailing from Tampa, Florida, Penny Fountain consists of: Xavier Wilkinson (lead vocals/bass); Tony Massaro (backing vocals/guitar); and Joel Lopez (drums). These young men started the band in 2018 when they were still in high school.
If I had to describe Penny Fountain’s style, I would call it “good vibes music”. Simply put, listening to it makes me happy! Penny Fountain cannot be labeled as one genre of music – they combine elements of punk, EMO, modern rock, hard rock, and alternative. Because of this, their music would definitely appeal to a lot of music lovers. They write from the heart about topics that we can all relate to. The whole band contributes to writing and creating the music – therefore, all of the band’s songs are credited as being written by Penny Fountain instead of individual members.
The last two Penny Fountain singles, “White Whale” and “PONCHO”, were recorded at the Del Couch Music Education Foundation studio. The foundation is located inside the Manatee School For The Arts in Palmetto, Florida, where the program founder and director Del Couch conducts four levels of classroom training in music recording and production and provides performance opportunities through events and mentorships. Through the foundation, young musicians gain experience and knowledge about the music industry. It offers free access to music education and recording equipment.
“White Whale” was released in April 2023. It was mixed and mastered by Kyle Jeffcoat of Chasing Airplanes. The lyric video was done by Matthew Jacques of AnuvaMedia. The song “evokes longing for something that can never be obtained. The vocals and guitar riffs create a desperate plea to gain back what was lost, while the synths generate a haunting, ethereal melody and a dreamlike ambience”. This song starts out slower with a mellow vibe, but it picks up in intensity as the song progresses. It’s a song you can get lost in, which is something I personally love about music – it takes you to a different place and time and makes you forget about life for a while. The lyric video for “White Whale” incorporates the haunting feel of the song, and includes spooky graveyard scenes, which is what the band envisioned as they were deciding on the concept for the video.
The latest release, “PONCHO”, dropped in early September 2023. It was produced by Jeff Rolandson, and the music video was made by Bobby Keegan of Afflux Studios. This song “embraces the consuming waves of nostalgia for a love that was lost as you continue to live as if nothing ever happened”. “PONCHO” is a more upbeat track than the previous single. It definitely has those alternative vibes that I mentioned before. The guitar riff in the verses is catchy. Xavier’s vocals are unique and charismatic. The music video for “PONCHO” features the band in a small room covered with colorful graffiti. The video is a perfect reflection of Penny Fountain’s energetic on-stage presence, and it portrays that punk/EMO style of their music.
Penny Fountain is not slowing down anytime soon. The band recently filmed two new music videos at Afflux Studios in Palm Springs, Florida with Bobby Keegan. The videos were for a reimagined mix of their song “Brainz” and a new upcoming single called “Goth Girl”. They will simultaneously be released, fittingly, on October 13th as a “creature double feature”.
The next upcoming live performance for Penny Fountain is the EMO vs. Y2K Mansion Party in Homestead, Florida October 14th. This event sounds like an amazing time! Here’s the description:
“The Emo vs. Y2K Mansion Party is at a stunning mansion venue in Homestead, Florida. Enjoy music from DJs playing late ’90s and 2000s hits along with EMO anthems from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. An alternative market of 10 vendors, including a Mexican food truck and 420 vendor, will also be hosted on the property. Participate in the outfit contest for a chance to win $100 in both categories Y2K and Emo, respectively. Experience the talents of nine local artists and headliners, Audio Crisis, EX-LUDO, and Ascendance. There will also be a pool with other festivities available so make sure to bring a change of clothes.”
Alive In Stone, a high-energy hard rock band from Orlando, Florida, recently released their last single of 2023, “Drowning”. Not only is it an awesome, hard-rocking track, but it has an important message about self-preservationand survival.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Alive In Stone lead vocalist Bryan Phillips and guitarist and backing vocalist Matt Willey. Bryan started Alive In Stone as a solo project. He brought in Matt, who was an acquaintance from the local music scene, to start forming the band. Matt knew drummer Herman Ogletree and got him in touch with Bryan, and Herman joined the band after the first song. Bassist Doug Kirschner came down to the band’s practice space and heard the songs, and soon became the fourth member. Bryan says the band is a “family”. They all have the same vision for where they are heading with their music in the future. Bryan says they just love making music that causes listeners to feel real emotions.
Alive In Stone has been consistently releasing awesome songs and videos over the last two years. The first song I remember hearing form them was “Down And Out”. I’m not sure how I found them – probably through Facebook, which is how I find a lot of bands. But they suddenly popped up almost from out of nowhere, and I was hooked right away. Their music is interesting and unique. The songs are all different and I’m never sure what to expect next from them. I’ll talk more about what’s coming up for Alive In Stone later in this piece.
The following for Alive In Stone is quickly growing. Most of that has to do with their awesome music and videos, of course. But a lot of it is because of their social media presence as well. They are great at promoting themselves and are very interactive with fans, which in this day and age is important.
The topics of Alive In Stone songs vary. The band is not afraid to explore subjects that are serious, playful, or sometimes even a bit “uncomfortable”. They have released songs about body dysmorphia, religion, and the girl next door. In a nutshell, their music is about all of us. It’s relevant and relatable to anyone. Bryan shares that he has worked on his lyric-writing with Mike Protich, singer of The Violent and formerly Red Sun Rising, and it’s helped him become a better writer.
The latest single, “Drowning”, is about getting lost in hopelessness. It’s about trying on your own to find a reason to keep going because nobody is going to help you. You’re sinking and you need to keep swimming to save yourself from completely going under. The concept of saving yourself is reflected in the chorus lyrics:
“So pick up the phone Call all that you know Tell them I’m drowning It’s just dial tone ‘Cause nobody’s home So you’ll never find me I am drowning”
The track was produced by Andy Karpovck of Andy K Productions. “Drowning” starts out with a chunky yet melodic guitar riff that is heard throughout the song, with some twists incorporated. The bass and drums combine in perfect rhythm. Bryan’s singing is flawless, with a wide vocal range. The track has an upbeat tempo, and the bridge features a nifty guitar solo.
Generally, Alive In Stone will release a song first, and the music video a few weeks later. The “Drowning” video will drop in mid-October. The next round of new music and videos will be in January 2024. It will be the first full band effort, and will take Alive In Stone in a new direction musically, which they are excited about. Talking with Bryan and Matt, their enthusiasm about the band’s future is contagious. I’m really looking forward to hearing what’s to come! They said the new music might surprise some people. It’s definitely going to be powerful and heavier, and Bryan says it will have multiple influences, which will make it unique. The band can’t wait for people to hear the new music! Get ready for bangers from Alive In Stone.
Alive In Stone has an upcoming show Saturday, October 21st, organized by Maniacal Mojo Records, with Krendon, Common Vision, and Jupiter Storm, at West End Trading Co. in Sanford, Florida. Check out the Facebook event page for more information.
Maryland hard rock band Silvertung recently released a single called “Crutch”, as well as a music video and a lyric video to go along with it. It’s a fantastic song that has a relevant message that is very important in the times we’re all living in.
The Silvertung lineup includes: Speed Vincent (lead vocals/guitar); Marc Marchetti (guitar); Jimy Grime (bass/backing vocals); and Andy Romeo (drums). This current group has been together for a couple years now and they just seem to mesh so well together when it comes to making music as well as onstage. Their style would appeal to fans of modern rock and metal, as well as classic rock. It’s the type of music that is so unique it doesn’t fit into just one category of rock.
In my review of Silvertung’s last single, “Integrity”, I don’t think I told the story of how I came to find this band. My friend, Abe, has been a fan of them for a while. I would see his posts about them, and one day I decided to check them out. I was hooked! I find so many bands because of friends who share a love of hard rock and metal. A big reason why I write this blog is so I can share bands and music I love with other people. It’s one of the best things about music!
I had the pleasure of talking to Speed Vincent about “Crutch” and the process of putting new music out. We actually discussed an interesting topic about whether or not fans at shows would want to hear a new song that maybe isn’t exactly finished yet, or wait until the final version is complete? I was actually stumped on that question. I said to Speed that I think it’s whatever works best for the band. Sometimes it might be helpful to play a song live for an audience so the band can see what works and what doesn’t and also get feedback from the people listening.
“Crutch” started out with a guitar riff that Speed had come up with and stuck with him. It became the main chorus riff of the track. He tweaked it, and Marc Marchetti added some of his own touches to it to make it that much better.
Speed wrote the lyrics, then re-wrote them, to come up with the final version of the song. Interestingly, he shared with me that he was still re-writing even when they were in the studio. Speed says he’s always working on his song-writing techniques and is willing to try different things to make a song great.
Speed and I talked about the meaning behind “Crutch”. It is about the overwhelming influence the media and politics can have on our lives and refusing to be controlled by them. We are stronger and more powerful. We don’t have to “feed the crutch” of the false narrative that they’re trying to put out there. As the chorus lyrics say, “We won’t go down without a fight” and “We are sick of it all and we won’t take any more”.
The band worked again with producer Steven Wright of Wright Way Studios. They’ve been collaborating with him for about ten years now. Personally, this is my favorite Silvertung song yet. It has so many great elements. That guitar riff in the chorus is so catchy and gives the song a certain groove that makes you want to dance – if you’re the dancing type. Speed’s voice is powerful and portrays the strong emotions behind this song. Jimy Grime’s hard vocals are a perfect reflection of our inner selves reminding us what we have to do to stay strong and not be controlled.
As with Silvertung’s previous release, “Integrity”, Wade Spencer of Spencer Images did the official music video for “Crutch”. They’ve been working with him for about seven years now. In the video, Speed is sitting, staring at multiple TV news screens with a look on his face as if his brain is numb from the overload of information and the false narrative. Throughout the video, Jimy is screaming in Speed’s face like an inner voice urging him not to give in to the control of the media and politics – “Don’t feed this Crutch!”. The video has a bold color scheme of red and black, and there is a mysterious, shadowy element that Speed says they were going for.
While the band is always working on ideas for new music, currently “Crutch” is the primary focus and they really want as many people to hear it as possible. The song already had almost 92,000 streams on Spotify at the time I published this review. Along with the official music video, the band also just dropped a lyric video.
Silvertung has been on the road a lot this year, performing in the Midwest as well as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The band, in conjunction with Fuel The Funeral Entertainment, just announced The Fallout Tour with their friends Awaken The Giant, from Houston, Texas and Biloxi, Mississippi. These two energetic bands did a tour of the Midwest together back in March, and they got along so well they decided to go out again. This tour will start in Richmond, Virginia October 20th and will take them to South Carolina, all the way to Biloxi, Louisiana, and Alabama, then back to Tennessee and Kentucky. There are still some dates and locations to be determined on the tour, which, if the previous one is any indication, should be a blast for all who are able to attend.
Dead Set Red, a hard rock band from Houston, Texas, recently released a new song called “Into The Fire”. It’s an awesome track with lots of interesting musical elements and great vocals. It’s also a song with a theme that a lot of people can identify with.
I have an interesting story about how I found Dead Set Red. Their singer, Adrian Arce, filmed and edited a music video for one of my favorite bands, Awaken The Giant, back in 2022. When I interviewed Adrian to get his thoughts on the video, he told me about his band and I listened to their music. I thought it was awesome. I love how various connections in the music world lead me to discovering so many bands. It’s one of my favorite things about being involved in the industry.
Dead Set Red includes Adrian Arce (lead vocals; video content and graphic art); Chubbs Malone (drums; engineer; video content and graphic art); Stan West, Jr. (lead/rhythm guitar); Robb Mars (bass and vocals); and Josh Pierce (lead/rhythm guitar and vocals).
Adrian Arce was kind enough to share some stories with me about Dead Set Red (DSR) and their music. Former members of Five Eyes Wide Chubbs and Stan started DSR in 2017. Adrian had submitted an audition for the previous band, and got invited to be part of the new project, Dead Set Red. The band has been through multiple lineup changes, but Adrian feels like they have a solid lineup now.
In 2020 DSR played a show at Pub 529 with a band called This Side Of Fate. As they were performing, Stan, Chubbs, and Adrian migrated to the stage because of their, as Adrian puts it, “bad-ass guitarist”, Josh Pierce. They didn’t know at the time that later he would become an obvious choice to join DSR. When the band Josh was with dissolved, Adrian was scrolling and saw a video of him wearing a Dead Set Red t-shirt, just, as Adrian says, “noodling around on his guitar”. Later, he filmed a cover of one of the DSR songs and posted it as a tribute to the band. Soon after that, Adrian got a message from Chubbs and the rest, as they say, is history. Josh has been a member of Dead Set Red for about three years now.
Adrian shares that Robb Mars has also been a friend and great guy to have on the bill. They met around 2010, give or take. Robb had filled in on bass in Adrian’s previous band. He had a lengthy run with To Whom It May, and as well as GoodJobUnderground and Glass Intrepid. Earlier this year, Adrian asked Robb if he could fill in on bass for an important show. Adrian says, “He did his homework and knocked that first practice out of the park. We have never sounded better on stage.”
Adrian wrote the lyrics and melodies for “Into The Fire”. Josh wrote the basic arrangement with Chubbs and Stan provided the other half of the song atmosphere, bringing the track to a whole new level.
Regarding the general song-writing process for Dead Set Red music, Adrian shares with me that the band really has nothing set in stone. Some of the band members will write and record at home and send in riffs. They’ll meet up at Chubbs’ studio and the first person to jump in will lay out an arrangement or a riff. Then they all get into it and start contributing. No one individual has one set role. Adrian feels that being flexible and keeping all doors open with the song-writing process allows for different ideas to come into play, which makes Dead Set Red music awesome.
Chubbs Malone has been an engineer for years, so the band always pre-produces their own music with him. Adrian says Chubbs has gotten better and better over time, and each production sounds bigger than the last. Chubbs produced and engineered “Into The Fire”, and it was mastered by James Hoover.
Dead Set Red is influenced by Sevendust and Shinedown, which I can definitely hear, along with vibes of Breaking Benjamin. DSR music is high energy with complex guitar riffs along with bass and drums that combine in perfect rhythm. Adrian’s voice is unique and has an incredible range which brings out whatever emotions he’s trying to portray in the songs. “Into The Fire” is no exception. It’s got great melodies and a catchy beat and Adrian’s vocals bring it to life. In an interesting twist, there is an intricate guitar solo near the end of the song which closes it out on an electric note.
There is a great live performance video of “Into The Fire” that was shot at BFE Rock Club in Houston for the 94.5 The Buzz Bring On The Buzzfest competition.
Adrian gave me some insight regarding the meaning behind Dead Set Red’s songs. The band’s five-song EP released in 2020, A Reason To Burn, was themed around handling your deepest depressions and coping with losses. The band’s 2022 single “Crash And Burn” is about perseverance. “Into The Fire” is about moving on from a toxic and potentially dangerous situation.
The next song on the horizon is “Will Of The Gods”. Adrian says it is probably the most relevant subject they have ever covered. The “Gods” are a reference to the people in power who care only about money and controlling everything.
I want to include here a video of a live performance Dead Set Red did August 31st at R&R Studio. The facility is Houston’s first online live performance venue. The band put on a great performance during the live stream, and I became an even bigger fan. I highly recommened you follow R&R Studio on Facebook and YouTube.
** THIS RELEASE HAS BEEN UPDATED FROM THE ORIGINAL — there has been a lineup change on Day Two and ticket prices have been updated. **
Raid Invade is planning the second annual Raidfest 2023 Friday, October 20th and Saturday, October 21st at The Hideaway Den at 800 N. Causeway Boulevard in Mandeville, Louisiana. Costumes are encouraged at this metal and Halloween festival. Doors will open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm both nights. It is a 18-and-over event, and tickets, which are $12 for one day and $20 for both days, can be purchased in advance. Click HERE for information about ordering tickets.
Based in Louisiana, Raid Invade, along with booking and promoting bands and shows, also now has a new radio station, Raidfm.com. Make sure to check out Raid Invade for more excitement to come!
New Jersey hard rock band Incognito Theory recently released a badass single, “American Rebel”, with a music video to accompany it. It’s another song that reflects this unique band’s style, incorporating themes of being wild and free and not caring what other people think. The song has reached over 10,000 streams on Spotify.
The Incognito Theory lineup includes: David Incognito (lead vocalist, lyricist, founder); Michael Butchar (lead guitarist, backing vocalist, writer, business partner); Kenny Peer (bassist, backing vocalist); and Gonzo Martinez (drummer, backing vocalist). Gonzo, a new addition to the band, is the former drummer of Marcy Playground. Something very big happened for the band in April 2022. Incognito Theory signed with Curtain Call Records/Sony The Orchard Distribution. The band is very proud and honored to be in this partnership.
The music for “American Rebel” was written by John Mosco, Michael Butchar, and David Incognito. David wrote the lyrics. The arrangement was by David and Michael. The track was produced, mixed and mastered by the award-winning, multi-platinum producer and engineer Malcolm Springer. He has worked with Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Anita Baker, Fear Factory, Eric Clapton, Full Devil Jacket, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Scotty Austin, among others. The band got hooked up with Malcolm by their friend Scotty Austin, former singer of Saving Abel, who is now a solo artist. Malcolm is also the special guest bassist on “American Rebel”.
I must say that I think “American Rebel” is the best song I’ve heard yet by Incognito Theory. First off, the production and sound quality is excellent – very professional, crisp, and clean. It is an energetic, fast-paced tune with a great guitar solo in the middle. David Incognito’s gritty vocals blend perfectly with his band’s musical style.
“American Rebel” is about, in a nutshell, living free. As David Incognito says, “It’s about putting an unconventional finger up to the world. Nobody tells us what to do – we do what we want the way we want to and when we want to. That is what makes us unique, always going against the grain. Strength, perseverance, relentless, forever.” This seems to be a common theme throughout a lot of Incognito Theory’s music. Not caring about what people think you should be doing and just going with the flow and living life to the fullest.
The videographer for the “American Rebel” music video was Marc Petrick. The vision and direction for the concept of the video came from the band, especially Michael Butchar. It’s a performance video, shot in black and white, and it highlights Incognito Theory’s fun, energetic stage presence.
I want to say that Incognito Theory is one of the most hard-working, motivated bands I know. They’re always striving to improve their music and videos and they are very active self-promoting on social media, which nowadays is so important. Their music is inspiring, as many of their songs are about being true to yourself and living life the way you see fit without worrying about what other people think. As David Incognito says, “We want to bring a unique approach to everything we do.
Incognito Theory has two big upcoming shows. Saturday, September 16th they’ll be at BulletProof Music Studios in Hazlet, New Jersey with Revel At Dusk, Rahway, Menace And The Hellfire, and Blud Red Roses. Saturday, October 7th Anaka is the headliner at Dingbatz in Clifton, New Jersey, and will be joined by Incognito Theory, Reaper, and exZAKKed.
The next single by Incognito Theory, “Anthem”, will drop September 30th, 2023. That track is being produced by Michael Orlando of Adrenaline Mob. The band is planning to release an album in 2024 called Ignite The Fire. It will be produced by Steve Zing, the bassist of Danzig.
I was recently asked to review the 22 album by Afraid Of Human, which is the second full-length album by this hard rock band based in Warren, Pennsylvania. I really enjoyed the variety of the 11 tracks on this album, which holds a special meaning for the band, especially guitarist Brandon Kulp. More on that to come.
Members of Afraid Of Human include Jimmie Botto (vocals); Brandon Kulp (guitars); Chris Lee (guitars); Ryan Wylde (bass); and Nate Kloss (drums). The band was formed by Brandon Kulp, Dusty Huff, and John Grimm August 1st, 2014. Jimmie Botto was added in February 2015. The lineup has changed quite a bit since it formed. Brandon is the only original member remaining, and Jimmie is the longest-tenured non-original member.
Afraid Of Human has had the opportunity to perform with well-known bands such as Stone Sour at the Zippo factory and headquarters in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Slipknot, Megadeath, and Five Finger Death Punch at Darien Lake Amphitheater. As Brandon says, “We’ve gotten to do some pretty cool stuff,”, including hang out with Saliva. Most recently, the band performed at Darien Lake with Pantera. It looks like Afraid Of Human is making waves in the hard rock and metal music scene and is about to take off!
I asked Brandon how Afraid Of Human music comes to life. He shared that he usually writes music on the guitar, then he or Jimmie will write lyrics over top. They discuss topics and the mood of the music as they write the songs. Jimmie wrote the lyrics for the 22 album. So far, the band has recorded all of their music at Graphite Sound Studio in Sugar Grove, PA. They work with engineer and producer Anthony Brown. Brandon says “it’s a great place, kind of in the middle of nowhere, with no distractions”.
Something I really enjoyed about the 22 album is the variety of the songs. Some are heavier than others. There are some fast-paced tracks and some that have a slower tempo and are more melodic. Even the ballads incorporate hard elements including intricate guitar riffs combined with the thunderous drums and the rhythm of the bass. I was particularly impressed by the dual guitars and the guitar solos that are featured in many of the tracks. Jimmie’s voice has a unique range that can go from hard to gentle to reflect the emotion behind a song.
Brandon shared with me that he is a Navy veteran, and that the 22 album is dedicated to veterans and the 22 veteran suicides a day on average. The first song they wrote for the album, “Not This Time”, is about a conversation with a vet on the edge of suicide and trying to talk him or her down from the edge.
I want to highlight some of the songs on the album that I really liked.
“Not This Time” Expanding on what Brandon shared with me, I also got out of this song that it’s about battling through depression, anxiety, and inner demons and remembering you have people who love you who can help.
The lyrics of the chorus remind us that we’re not alone:
“Don’t forget all the ones that love you Tear down the walls that close you in Don’t give in to your nightmares Don’t lay the trap for your demise”
“The One” — with Kelly Botto, the wife of Afraid Of Human lead singer Jimmie This song is about someone who is lamenting a relationship that has been lost. The vocals of Jimmie and Kelly combine perfectly on this beautiful and emotional track.
“This Is Goodbye” This is a song about letting go of the grief over losing a loved one who means the world to you and continuing to move on with your own life.
“When All Seems Lost” This song is about trying to not give in to the self-doubt and anxiety that can cause you to fall into a dark place.
“Pick Up The Pieces” According to the band’s YouTube page, this song is “A story of lost love and moving forward with life while dealing with past feelings and regrets”. One of the lines in the chorus, “Pick up the pieces. Come to terms” reflects the theme of moving on.
“Fear Inc.” Brandon tells me this song is based on the media and politicians pushing a fear-based agenda during the COVID-19 pandemic. He says, “It’s about how the media and certain politicians ran with a narrative – how easy it was to paralyze the population using fear tactics and the lack of critical thinking in our current society.”
“Always With Me” This song is written like a thank you letter to someone who has stayed by your side and helped you in dark times.
The chorus lyrics really struck a chord with me:
“You should know that you are The brightest light in the darkness around me You make the hurt disappear Took the pain in the darkest hours If it wasn’t for you I’d be lost in this world without you So, this song is for you Just remember you’re always with me”
“God’s Country” – Cover of a Blake Shelton song I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening track on the 22 album, the cover of Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country”. I think Afraid Of Human did an excellent job with this song. They paid tribute to the original while adding their own hard rock spin to it.
When asked about the next round of new music for Afraid Of Human, Brandon says the band is always tossing around ideas and discussing how to improve their sound and grow their band in the future.
Afraid Of Human is currently playing about three shows a month at various local venues in northwest and north central Pennsylvania. You can follow Afraid Of Human on Facebook, Instagram, and Linktree.
22 Album Track Listing God’s Country (cover) Not This Time The One (with Kelly Botto) This Is Goodbye Number Of A Man King Of Fools The Road Ahead When All Seems Lost Pick Up The Pieces Fear Inc. Always With Me
Midnight Fracture, a metal band from Mobile, Alabama, recently released a debut EP called The Silence. The four songs on the EP incorporate personal themes that frontman Leon Craft is willing to share that can possibly – hopefully – help listeners with their own daily challenges they face.
Originally Midnight Fracture began in 2022 as a one-man project by Leon, who had previously been playing bass in a local Mobile rock band. He released his first two singles, “I’m Fine” and “Find Myself Again”, as a solo act. But he was soon about to build his “Dream Team” – a band of talented musicians who share his same vision for the direction of Midnight Fracture. Leon says he went to a show where Brandon Rodgers, Joseph Carter, and Kevin Joslin were playing with a previous band they were in. They all got to talking about Leon’s music project, and he shared “I’m Fine” with them as well as a demo of what would, eventually, become “Find Myself Again”. After that night, Brandon and Joseph each approached Leon individually and said to him if he ever wanted to play his songs live and do the “band thing” again, they wanted in. Leon admits that took him by surprise. He wasn’t sure anyone would actually like what he was doing, much less want to be a part of it. After some convincing from his wife, Kristi, Leon decided to give it a try and turn Midnight Fracture into a full band, starting with Brandon and Joseph. Brandon works with drummer Dallas Todd’s cousin, and that’s how Dallas found out about the band. He sent them a message asking if he could audition. They found his YouTube channel and saw him doing drum covers of bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Silent Planet, and Architects, and Leon says he was “just killing it”, so they knew he was the man for the job. Kevin Joslin was the final piece of the puzzle. Most of the band members already had known him for years. Brandon and Joseph played with him in other bands in the past. They knew he was highly skilled, and Leon says Kevin’s audition was “flawless” – as if he’d been playing with them the whole time. That is the story of how Midnight Fracture became a band.
Now that Leon had a great group of bandmates, the songwriting process changed a bit. The first three songs of the EP were done just by Leon and their producer, Charlie Hadley. Brandon did contribute with some screams on “Break Me”. The title track of the EP, “The Silence (Should I Be Saved)”, was the first truly collaborative effort by the whole band. Everyone had a hand in writing the music and the lyrics. Leon says he’s still the primary lyric writer, but everyone contributes and everyone’s ideas are heard and considered. This is no longer a solo project. It is truly a team effort now, from the music to the lyrics to the song structure – it all reflects contributions of the whole band as a unit. Leon gives a lot of credit to producer Charlie Hadley. When I interviewed Leon for my review of “I’m Fine”, he could not say enough good things about Charlie. He says Charlie never tells a band WHAT to sing or play. Instead, he gives ideas on things to try out to make something great even better.
Leon Craft — Lead Vocals
Musically, the four songs on The Silence are each different. “Break Me” is up tempo, and incorporates fast-paced guitar riffs and hard vocals by Brandon Rodgers. “I’m Fine” is a little more melodic, and includes an interesting piano element in certain parts. The music at the beginning of “Find Myself Again” reminds me of a horror movie, and the same electronic melody is heard throughout the song. To me, the title track, “The Silence (Should I Be Saved)”, is the most intriguing song on the EP. This track again includes the hard vocals by Brandon. The music in the verses is heavy, while the chorus slows down and has a softer element. There’s a funky little guitar riff in the bridge. Leon is a very good singer, and you can tell he’s really been working on getting stronger as a lead vocalist. If I had to describe Midnight Fracture’s music, I’d call it “metalcore with a twist”. It combines heavy guitars, bass and drums with interesting melodies that incorporate keyboards and electronic elements into a unique sound. I can’t wait to hear more music from this band!
Joseph Carter — Bass
I’d like to share some of my own thoughts on the meaning behind the four songs on The Silence, as well as Leon’s insight that he shared with me.
“Break Me” When I listen to this song, it makes me think about someone who is trying to be strong, not letting the world around them or inner demons bring them down. Leon said I’m right on the money. He explains that he wrote this song back when he was 17 years old, and it has taken many forms over the years. He is very proud to have it finally, as he says, “out in the wild” 16 years later.
“I’m Fine” I previously wrote a review of this song when it was first released. I knew right away that Leon was going to do great things with his project because the music was amazing and the meaning behind the song was so relevant and relatable. Leon shared with me that “I’m Fine” is about depression and anxiety, and came to life after he had a midnight panic attack. At that point, the music was something he NEEDED to do for himself. He said the song is “Leon unfiltered” because the lyrics are so deeply personal. It’s so relatable because the song is literally about one of the greatest lies ever told. Someone asks another person how they are doing, and the answer is “I’m fine”, even if it’s not completely true. Sometimes, it’s easier to lie than face the truth of how you’re really feeling.
“Find Myself Again” The interpretation I took from this song was about someone trying to break free from inner darkness and torment and realizing nobody else is going to help – you have to do it all on your own. Leon said this was pretty close, also. He shares that the inner darkness is still present in himself and he battles it every day. The “Me” he wants to find again is the person who used to be happy and look at the world in wonder and who loved life. He said he misses that version of himself. It’s a struggle, but he’s working to get back to that person he once was.
Brandon Rodgers — Guitars/Backing Vocals
“The Silence (Should I Be Saved)” This is definitely the deepest, most emotional song on the EP. Leon told me the whole story behind this track. He says it was the hardest song to write because of the place deep inside himself he had to go to get the words out. He openly admits he has tried to end his own life more than once. Depression is a daily battle for him, and it affects his daily life more than he would like it to. Lyrically, “The Silence” is an inner monologue of someone who is about to commit suicide. This person does what you’re supposed to do when you have these thoughts – reach out for help. Sadly, the person is not taken seriously, and gets responses such as “It’s just in your head” or “Can’t you just get over it”, or – even worse – silence. Yes, Leon, survived his experiences, but he still struggles with it. “Every time I look in the mirror, I’m looking at the person who tried to kill me. When I’m alone in a room, I am alone with the person who tried to kill me. This is what I have to live with, but I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. If you have attempted and lived you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Leon says there are still many people who say you shouldn’t talk about suicide, but he believes it needs to be talked about more, and mental health needs to be taken far more seriously. He asks that if you see someone who is struggling, listen to them, lend a hand – at the very least, let them know you care. NEVER BE SILENT.
Dallas Todd — Drums
The first official music video with the full band was created for “Break Me”. They worked with Chaz Singleton of Astro Clown Productions. Leon calls him “amazing”. The video was actually shot in a small corner of Leon’s house. It’s a high-energy video which basically features the band performing the song in a dark room, with quick scenes of each band member in a straitjacket. At the end, the whole band is walking together outside in bright sunlight, and Leon is carrying the straitjacket. It’s almost symbolic of breaking out of our mental and emotional darkness and finding the light that is hope and possibly even happiness.
Kevin Joslin — Guitars/Backing Vocals
Midnight Fracture had its first live show July 8th at Alabama Bar in Mobile, along with Love The Hate, Rise The Phoenix, and F.I.L.T.H., and the band got a very good response from the crowd. Everyone really seemed to enjoy their set. What’s coming up for Midnight Fracture? The band is working on a full-length album, but there are not many details about that – yet. Stay tuned! They are also in talks about setting up future live shows. You can find Midnight Fracture on Facebook and Instagram.
I want to thank Leon Craft for being so helpful and forthcoming with the two reviews I have written about his music. He’s easy to work with, and he is also very honest and open about what his songs are about. I truly believe that Midnight Fracture music can help people who are battling in their lives. I’d like to include a link to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Please, save it and share it with anyone you think might need it. You can help save a life. Click HERE for the website.
End Code, a rock band from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, recently released a new single called “Out Of My Head”. It’s an interesting and unique track that tells a personal, meaningful story.
The band includes Lee Cooley (lead vocals/guitar); Rob Gronkoski (drums/vocals); Dave Melton (bass guitar/vocals); and Joe Franklin (lead guitar). The current lineup of End Code has been together since 2020. The connection between Lee, Rob, and Dave goes back a few years when they called Lee to play bass guitar for a set at Rocklahoma. They got together and rehearsed, then drove 14 hours to play at Rocklahoma in front of thousands of people! It was originally supposed to be a one-time-only thing, but they all clicked and started writing songs together. Lee switched to guitar and lead vocals, while Dave, who was playing guitar, began playing bass. In 2019, when they started writing their first full-length album, Dataless, Joe Franklin came on board to play lead guitar, and the band lineup of End Code was complete!
I always like to explore how bands create their music. I find it fascinating and I think the song creation process tells a story about a band. Lee Cooley gave me insight about how End Code’s music comes to life. He says “Out Of My Head” started with an idea for a song that Joe Franklin had that he played on acoustic guitar. The song stuck with Lee when he first heard Joe play it, and he started to arrange a song around it. And, as the band always does, they threw it around and put it together. Lee then wrote the lyrics and the melodies.
Lee tells me that End Code truly is a collaborative unit. Lee and Rob both write lyrics. All of the members contribute to the musical elements. Sometimes a song will come from a riff that Joes comes up with, and it starts from there. Lee shares with me that, to him, one of the coolest things about writing music is there really are no rules. However it comes together, is how it’s meant to be. He also believes that a band’s music is stronger if all members are involved, and that is definitely the case with End Code. The band’s drummer, Rob Gronkoski, is a sound engineer who owns a studio, which is very beneficial to End Code. Lee jokes that Rob gets all the credit for making them sound better than they really are.
“Out Of My Head” is an interesting song with a unique vibe. It starts out with an acoustic guitar intro played by Joe Franklin. Soon the electric guitar, bass, and drums kick in and the song gets heavier, yet still has a mellow kind of feel to it which reflects the deep meaning behind the song. The bridge features a spectacular guitar solo by Joe, which leads into the acoustic riff from the beginning of the song. The track closes with the final chorus, and the outro, of course, incorporates that original acoustic melody. Lee Cooley’s voice is soulful, and you can sense that he is telling us a story with the lyrics. I hear some elements of Nu Metal in End Code’s music. I get vibes of bands like Staind and Seether.
When I listen to “Out Of My Head”, I hear a theme of self-doubt, insecurity, and wondering if you’re good enough. Lee says I’m basically \correct. He explained the story behind the song to me. It’s about doubting yourself when things are tough. Lee shares that he was inspired by a friend of his who suffers from bipolar depression. After she would have an episode, she would apologize and tell him she was “out of her head” again. That kind of stuck with him. He always felt sorry for her. Sadly, they are no longer friends, but when he wrote the lyrics he was thinking of their friendship.
Lee put together a cool lyric video for “Out Of My Head”. He admits it was his first time doing something like this and he wasn’t completely sure what he was doing. He used a computer program, and just basically figured it out as he went along. He’s looking forward to doing it again and things the next one will be even better. I think the video for “Out Of My Head” is really good. The graphics and gold color scheme are cool. The lyrics are easy to follow, which is definitely important if you’re doing a lyric video and you want the viewer to be able to follow along.
What does the future hold for End Code? The band has five more tracks they’ll be releasing in the coming months, and they are excited to keep putting new music out there. They’re also looking to get merch together and start playing some live shows in the future!
I want to encourage you to listen to the whole End Code catalog. It’s great. Their music has a unique sound that you don’t hear everywhere these days. I’m so glad I discovered this band!
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