Sunday, March 31, 2019

DJ Interviews: Marcel Springorum Music

Hey there guys DJ Dizzy here back again with an interview coming at you with a guitarist who answers to the name of Marcel as he had this to say regarding his musical career.



How'd you get started in music?


I remember listen to my parents record collection when I was about 6 or 7. My favourite song was Speedy Gonzales by Pat Boone. It was around that time that I bought my first single. I know that it was a male solo artist but I can't remember who it was.Then when I was about 10 I had a cassette tape by The Beatles which I played over and over. 

When I arrived in Australia I got the Shakin' Steven's album Shaky which I loved. A year or so later I was at a friends house (it always starts at a friends house doesn't it) and I picked up a guitar and thought someday I will get good at this but it was after seeing the movie La Bamba that my parents bought me a guitar and I started learning it.

Learning and playing the guitar has been a great journey!



Who are your inspirations or influences?


Oh, there are too many. When I first started playing I heard the David Lee Roth Skyscraper album with Steve Vai who is so totally unique. That led me to Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani. You can hear little triad movements in songs of mine like Smile which I got from Eddie. I realised that he has a thousand of these triad movements so I made it a priority for myself to make up a thousand for myself.  Leading on from that I got into Randy Rhoads which led my to Zakk Wylde and onto Slash etc.


Then, of course, I got turned onto the blues with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, BB King etc and jazz as well.

Also when I was a teenager I heard Rondo a la Turk by Mozart which I instantly fell in love with so I've always liked classical music especially Mozart's piano concertos. This led me to discover Haydn etc and more recently Irina Kulikova.

So really my influences are from every genre of music which you can tell from the album These Days by Deep Down which has ballads, country and jazz influenced songs and a few rockers. 

I must say that I am very lucky in that I had the same dream as Randy Rhoads in that all I want to do is teach guitar and write out my own pieces. It's something that Randy wanted to after he left Ozzy and it's something that I do today so really I'm very fortunate.



What advice would offer aspiring performers?


There are four main things;

1) In order to play live you must know the music that you'll be playing in your sleep so make sure to practise the material more than you think that you need too.

2) Make sure that you are sorted in the other non-musical aspects of the gig well before the actual gig. This might mean the clothes you'll be wearing, your gear, your merchandise stand etc.

3) Don't worry about making a mistake. It took me a while to figure out that most of the audience can't tell if you play a wrong note of you just keep on playing. 

4) Have a positive mental attitude. Think positive. That actually goes for all aspects of life.



How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?


Ha ha. Well take a listen to Sirius. It uses advanced harmony to create a soundscape. It's not something that I've really heard on fingerstyle guitar. It's not traditional jazz although it used jazz type chords. Satriani uses jazz type chords too and it's called rock. Anyway I'm sure my music can be categorised in some way but let's call it soundscape music for the moment. 


Actually the nearest music that I can think of in concept is Allan Holdsworth. He played incredible guitar but he created soundscapes. He was incredible really.



Any new gigs or albums in the future?


I plan on recording and releasing my original fingerstyle instrumental guitar pieces for my Youtube channel regularly so subscribe to keep up to date with that.

Therese the singer in the band Deep Down has recently had a baby so were on hold for the moment but I'm sure that we'll release more music in the future.


Feel free to check out his latest works courtesy of his links & special thanks to him for the interview so until then I'll catch you on the flipside. Stay awesome & rock on!


DJ interviews: Break Me Down

Hey there everyone DJ Dizzy here & I sat down with a band who call themselves Break me Down as they talk about their success & their music.

How'd you get started in music?

Laerte (Guitar): “I started to play 24 y.a. because music has always been a big deal in my family. My uncle gave me my very first guitar lesson and was love at first sight... during the years I had many bands until I decided to found Break Me Down. Actually, a couple of years ago I decided to take a break from music but, suddenly, I realized that something was missing in my life and that was the right moment to form my dream team. I contacted back my old drummer and bass player and we formed a new band. We started to look for a new singer and while we were auditioning, one night, we decided to have a beer and chill somewhere and we went in a rock pub where Faith was performing that night with her GNR tribute band.  After the show, I asked her if she could be interested in our project… the answer was: Let’s try! Since we also needed a second guitar player, Morris, her guitarist at that time, joined the band as well. After a very few months we lost our drummer cause he wanted to play other genres but we, eventually, found our 5th element:

Fabio. This is how our story began…” Recently Faith left as well the band but another great singer joined us, Irene, she works really hard and, to be honest, I can perceive a bright future for us, we can’t wait to go in the studio with her. You’ll be genuinely surprised when you will listen to her voice!!! Stay connected!

Who are your inspirations or influences?

Morris (Guitar): When you put together 5 different musicians you have 5 different backgrounds, and you have to find out which influences they have in common. Our biggest influence is the band Alter Bridge. When we formed BMD, especially

Laerte and I were obsessed by their sound, I think we started from there! Than, our sound changed during our first year because we known each other better, so our differences made our strength. What advice would offer aspiring performers?

Beppe (Bass): humility! You have to work hard if you want succeed but you have to do that always with humility and respect! Listen to your band mates and doing everything together...that will be a first step to your success. Maybe you don’t become famous but you will always remember that as you did something great.

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

Fabio (Drums): good question ... it is very hard to emerge because there are so many valid bands that deserve better luck ... we focus on writing songs, lyrics and, above all, on live shows, we think that the difference is always what you transmit on stage ...  we received always a good response from the presence on our dates and from our social media.

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

Irene (Singer): We will play at Valhalla Pub in Borgo Ticino, Saturday March 30th, it will my very first time on stage with these guys and I’m super excited about it.  Next step is come out with our first record! We are working hard to write new songs and we will come back in studio in May so I think the next one will be a very demanding year. When the album will come out We hope to start a little European tour.! Stay tuned!

Special thanks to them for doing this interview & I wish them nothing but luck in their success so until then stay awesome & I'll catch you on the flipside! Rock n roll!

Monday, March 18, 2019

DJ Reviews: COREIGN - Lay All Down




Hello everyone DJ Dizzy here & I'm doing a song review of Co reign's "Lay all down"

The song itself has very melodic undertones  but also combines it with the hard rock genre & the singer compliments the song as it matches her voice. It kind of puts me in mind of Evenassance meets Night Wish as you'll hear in the song after hearing this  I have to say that this is very captivating & here's hoping that you enjoy the song as much as I do.


DJ' Interviews:The Red Dogs

Hello again everyone DJ Dizzy here & I'd like to introduce to you a band that's making their North American debut lets take a look at J rock band Red Dogs:


Red Dogs, a Japanese all-girl hard rock/punk band from Osaka - Japan.


The band have released 3 cd's since forming in 2012. 

Firstly "Tricky Triangle" (which has now completely sold out) their second cd called "Break out your radio" and their new cd called 'Howling Red Invasion'.

With Haruka on vocals and bass, Kazumi on drums and Satoko vocals and guitar – these three women commanded the stage with an electric presence, their pop-culture dress at a creative clash with their songs of shaken-up rock slicing at the ears with almost haunting vocal harmonies.
Rock in Japan is still seen as a primarily male genre of music, but that doesn't discourage Red Dogs

They are aware that the odds are stacked against them but that isn't going to stop them in their tracks. Many people think that girls can't be cool as boys as drummers or as musicians in general so they work damn hard to be cool as them. The band wants to show people the power of women and that they can be just as good. Red Dogs really want people to see their shows and think "Wow", explains the band. 

Even though Red Dogs might look like cute girls but they say their live shows are intense, spectacle with thick solid slabs of sound soiled with attitude and specialized in the sort of catchy choruses that could put an ear-to-ear smile on the face of any music fan.

The band describes their music as definitely rock with a punk tempo and some metal core influences mixed in to their sound. Also the band says that even though their music uses mirror melodies the lyrics are positive and "forwarding facing".

Track number one is called "Red Dogs" by Red Dogs
Track number two is called "Large Hill" by Red Dogs.

They can also be watched on YouTube 'live' in Japan 2018.

Special thanks to them for providing this info & I wish them nothing but luck in their musical career. So until then stay awesome & I'll catch you on the flipside! Rock n roll!

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Rocket Power Let's Get Dancin


DJ Interviews: Coreign

Hey there everyone DJ Dizzy here & this time around I'm doing a review of a band called Co reign who are based in Switzerland & specialize in symphonic hard rock. Here's a look at them.

COREIGN is a Swiss Progressive Hard Rock Studio Band

Band Name COREIGN

(Brittnau, Switzerland, Europa)   Band Members

Curry  (voc, dr progr, k, b-voc, composition, lyrics)

Reto     (k, g, b progr, b-voc, composition, lyrics)
Genre Progressive Hard Rock

As a composer couple, they however write songs across many Genres and it thus is very common for them to release also compositions and songs like Symphonic, Ballad, Funk, Blues, Rock, Punk and many more, and in any blend and sort of cross-over style containing Gothic, Classical, Film, Musicals and other elements.

Band founded in June 2016   (former CORE, March 2014 to March 2016)   Discography  * Album Gravity (released March 2018)

* Album Continuity
(released October 2017) * EP Silence

(released July 2017, 6 Songs)
* Album Infinity (released July 2017, 13 Songs)
* Album Lucidity (released April 2017, 13 Songs) * Album Equality (released November 2016, 13 Songs)
* Album Affinity (released September 2016, 14 songs)
* Album Sphere (released August 2016, 13 songs)   Videography First two music-videos with song lyrics on YouTube. More (real) Band videos are planned.   Actual Works / Presentations
* Radio Airplay / Rotations on 150+ Radio Stations worldwide.
* Recording their 8th Album soon to be released.
* Production of Jingles for several Radio Shows.
* Live and/or Online Interviews and Album reviews.  3 Top 10/20 Rankings on Radio Station Shows in last 3 months. * Featured Artist of March 2018 Playlist at Darkland Promotions.
* Featured Song on CoreMusick Promotions Compilation. Special Information

* COREIGN is a studio band. Curry and Reto, a married couple, compose, arrange, play, record, mix, master and produce all by themselves. As a Studio Band they do not perform “on stage”. * Experiences with guest musicians on album Lucidity and Gravity.   Homepage http://coreign.ch   Contact coreign@gmx.ch    (General Information as of April 2018)

Band Biography

While Progressive Hard Rock is sort of a least-deviant drawer to describe COREIGNs style, Curry and Reto, a married composer couple, however write songs across many Genres and it thus is very common for them to release also compositions and songs like Symphonic, Ballad, Funk, Blues, Rock, Punk and many more, and in any blend and sort of cross-over style containing, but not limited to Gothic, Classic, Film and Musical elements. It somehow is this ability of blending many influences into a song, while always sounding in their very unique COREIGN-style that makes this Band a musical Chameleon.

Starting in April 2013 it soon became clear that, when two composers with similar taste and the ability to cover all instruments meet, this would be the blast. Choosing CORE [2013-2016] as their first band name thus was the obvious, reflecting this "inner circle" feeling of the two. While first the production of existing compositions was the goal, they soon started to compose songs together, mixing their wide variety of influences into their new combined song material.
Curry is fond of progressive rock and bands like "Within Temptation",

"Evanescence" or "Nightwish", Reto's influences mainly stem from hard rock, metal and punk bands like "Led Zeppelin", "Cure", "Ufo" and many others. Having Rock Music as their melting point play ground, they released 7 Albums, 1 EP and 1 Single between March 2014 and March 2016, produced all by themselves within an ultra-short time. Using few correction and re-recording, their songs keep a very vivid and live-sounding character that prefers the authentic, direct, raw and pure sounding over the nowadays over-corrected and over-produced.

Due to the fact that there are hundreds of Bands by the Name of CORE, they decided to rename their Band to COREIGN, starting in June 2016. And up to date, they keep a very high pace of producing one new album every few months and are thus constantly working on their next album...
Their goal is to further improve in crafting and technical production, still doing everything on their own: composing, arranging, playing, recording, mixing, mastering and producing; all is done by themselves. And, be assured, they will keep on interpreting "progressive" more as "avant-garde" than as a fixed Genre and they will surprise us again with new compositions, that in a very exact sense would reflect what the definition of Jazz would mean: absorbing just every possible influence, combining it anew, and bringing it out again surprising...




Band Members
Curry

Vocals, drums programming, keys, backing vocals, composing, lyrics.

Born 1982 in Zurich, Switzerland. Started to play instruments (flutes and clarinet) in her childhood. In her youth she started to play piano and electric guitar. At the age of 17 she discovered her passion for the drums. She gathered experiences in several band workshops and played the drums in a rock band. Additionally she started singing.

She composed her first song at the age of 14 and had composed 80 songs already when she met with Reto. Using a Fostex 16-track recorder, microphone, digital Yamaha electronic piano and Roland sound module (different instruments, synthesizer, vocals), she completed the songs to whole arrangements, composed, arranged, played, recorded and produced all by herself. She also composed 2 Musicals. Since she is together with Reto, they compose the new songs mostly together.


Reto

Keys, guitars, bass programming, backing vocals, composing, lyrics.

Born 1964 in Zofingen, Switzerland. Started to play piano and trumpet in his childhood. First TV appearance at the age of 13. First recordings at the age of 14. Joined his first rock band at the age of 17 as keyboarder. Played for many years in several different bands and jam sessions with a lot of people as keyboarder and guitar player.

He composed his first song at the age of 12, started recording with a Teac 4-track recorder on his own and later worked together with other home- and semi-professional studios. He had composed more than 50 songs by the time he met with Curry and since then is composing new songs mostly together with her.

Special thanks to them for their help in providing the info & I wish them nothing but luck in their career & their music. So until then say awesome & I'll catch you on the flipside! Rock n roll!

Thoughts of a DJ: How the 90s shaped the music scene

Hey there everyone. DJ Dizzy here & we're going to cover the music of the 90s.



Now being an 80s baby I just had to put this up here. But anyway the early 90s. 1991 was the year of the music video & live concert boom you had Woodstock 91 which would make a comeback in 98 then to quickly fade into obscurity but the music video boom would prove to dominate the airwaves quite a bit & you couldn't turn on a TV without seeing a show of some kind.
They were everywhere in those days. You could see them quite a bit. There was shows such as:

In Concert 91

Friday Night Videos

Power Play

Hot Country Nights

Video Soul

Rap City

Soul Train

These are just a few examples of how music videos would soon come to dominate. But they also featured live performances & interviews with artists & that's when mainstream music would soon come into play by way of televised live concerts & live performances through music award shows.
Concerts like Lollapaloza, Woodstock 91, & Lilith Faire would bring feature artists of different genres such as rock, rap, ska, & more.

Lilith Faire would feature female performers of folk rock & create a sense of empowerment & inspiration. Woodstock 91 would provide the music scene with art culture  inspired from the 60s but maintain a message of peace & love but after 1998 would soon fade into obscurity.

Lollapalooza would spotlight artists of rap, & rock & would soon continue on even today spotlighting not just big name artists but also indie artists along with the Vans Warped Tour & Bonaroo. as they all continue to spotlight many indie artists of many kinds,

The 90s music scene proved to be a big marketing boom for many mainstream & major music artists
as many companies took note of their success & started sponsoring them & their genres as we'll see in the following examples.

Nestle- Jamming bars

Taco Bell- Rock art cups

Hammer- Pepsi

To this day the early 90s have proven to be a huge inspiration even today & though some songs are still heard from time to time be it on the radio or online you can still see some culture inspired from the decade be it art or music or anything else.

Well that's all I have to share with you so until then stay awesome & I'll catch you on the flipside! rock n roll!


Sunday, March 10, 2019

DJ Interviews: An interview with Wake Theory

Hello everyone DJ Dizzy here & I sat down with a band who answer to Wake Theory & they have a lot to say regarding their beginnings & their music. So I proudly present to you Wake Theory!




How'd you get started in music?


First, let me say thanks for having us for this interview Dizzy! 



Anyway, I was rasied around music all my life, mostly country music but when i hit 15 years old i knew rock was my soul. Its something about rock music that drives me a way that any other music cant.


Who are your inspirations or influences


My inspiration of music was my grandpa... he was the Louisiana state fiddle player for years when i was a kid.. he taught me alot about music and what it takes to write original music and digging deep on what u feel not what other people tell u to feel.


What advice would offer aspiring performers?


Performing should come natural. It isn't taught in my opinion. If u feel it, show it. Do you! Performing is one of the best feeling i have! Nothing better than knowing you are killing it and people are loving it. 


How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?


Me as a singer sets myself apart from other singer with  my voice lol most singers are horrible live.. im not. What u get in our album is what u will get live. Yes it sounds big headed but just catch us live. See for yourself.. talent at the highest level.


Any new gigs or albums in the future?


We have an album recorded and ready to be released as soon as post-production is complete. We’re currently running a gofundme campaign to try and speed up the process.  No set release date as of right now, but it’s coming soon, with tour announcements to follow! 

Special thanks to them for doing this interview & i wish them the best of luck.  So until then I'll catch you on the flipside! Stay awesome & rock n roll!

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Groovy Movies: Little Richard Leads Surreal All Star Jam On 1992 US TV S...

Groovy Movies: Little Richard Leads Surreal All Star Jam On 1992 US TV S...



I had a bit of a hard time with uploading the video but hopefully this should work





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHkUqRmKuP0

Monday, March 4, 2019

Wobbly Bob - Confusion





Here's a video of the band Stone Tape Theory (Wobbly Bob)

DJ Interviews: Broken Empire


Hello everyone DJ Dizzy here & I've sat down with none other than a band who hail from England & answer to Broken Empire who had alot to say regarding their humble beginnings. So lets hear it for them!

Broken Empire is - Ieuan Owen on Vocals, Matt Stevens on Guitar, Marco Arena on Bass, Ricky Hill on Drums)

1. How'd you get started in music?
Ricky Hill - “My Dad is in a very popular covers band, so I got brought up around Rock music and decided that Drums was the coolest instrument to play!”
Ieuan Owen -I remember my older Brother giving me a guitar when I was younger, and I just became mesmerised by how good he was.”
Marco Arena - “My first taste of music was when I was around 8/9 playing piano. It wasn’t until the age of around 17/18 that I came across the bass guitar, and that was mainly because the band I was in at the time desperately needed a bass player. After months of searching and not finding anyone I decided to play the bass myself!”
Matt Stevens - “I was pretty much born with a guitar in my hand! One of my earliest memories of music was seeing Led Zeppelin on TOTP when I was a kid, that basically set me on my way to becoming a guitarist!”

2. Who are your inspirations or influences?
MS - “Mine would have to be Mark Tremonti, Slash, Jon Petrucci and Jason Becker”
IO - “My big inspiration growing up was Metallica! I’d say Killswitch Engage and Bullet for my Valentine had a massive impact in my playing and singing styles, lyrically, technically, and in shaping my taste in music. Right now it’s Parkway Drive - I had the chance to see them recently and their performance was incredible!”
MA - “Growing up it was always Queen and Michael Jackson. In my teenage years it was the two opposite styles in Green Day and Iron Maiden. Another big influence for me has always been Rage Against The Machine”
RH - “Band wise it’s, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, Tremonti, Periphery and Of Mice & Men. But I’d say in terms of my playing I’ve always looked up to Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) and Matt Halpern (Periphery)”

3. What advice would offer aspiring performers?
MA - “Not sure I can, I still need advice myself! Ha-ha!”
RH - “Practice definitely makes perfect! You have to play what makes you happy and what makes a connection with you. I also think playing with musicians that are better than you is good as it really makes you push yourself further.”
IO - “Just express yourself and have fun on stage. It’s contagious!”
MS -The hardest thing for new and unsigned bands is getting your music heard and getting people to WANT to come to your gigs, but I'm a firm believer that if your music is good people will listen. It can't be easy or everyone would do it!

4. How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?
RH - “Well, we have a singer with a crazy Mo-Hawk and a crazy Italian on Bass, so what more do you need!? Musically we are the crossover between Rock & Metal, so have a bit of something for everyone to enjoy!”
MS - “We love playing our music, we love writing our music, and we love it when people love it!”
MA - “Practice as if you are the worst and play as if you are the best! This could also be my answer to what advice I would offer!!”
IO - “We really pride ourselves on how tight we are live, and our songs aren’t half bad either! Ha-ha!”

5. Any new gigs or albums in the future?
RH - “We are shaping up for another busy year this year with loads of gigs coming up including some support slots with our good friends in Stormbringer and Skarlett Riot, as well as some Festivals in the Summer which we are really looking forward to! In between all the gigs we also have our Brand New EP called Fractures coming out towards the end of April! We’ve already released a couple of tracks from the EP and everyone has loved them so we can’t wait for everyone to hear the full EP! Make sure you follow us on Social Media (@brokenempireuk) to keep up to date with all the latest news and announcements!

Special thanks to them for this interview & I wish them nothing but luck on their success & their music. So until then stay awesome & I'll catch you on the flipside! Rock n roll!

Friday, March 1, 2019

DJ Interviews: Stone Tape Theory

Hey there everyone its your good friend DJ Dizzy here & I sat down to interview a band by the name of Stone Tape Theory who had a lot to say regarding their start in music & their success. Enjoy!


How'd you get started in music?

We've all played in bands for most of our adult lives. Myself and our bass player Jay used to play in a ska punk band called Wobbly Bob so this is a slightly different pace to what we're used to. But I've always wanted to play good guitar-based music. My dad used to play Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Hendrix all the time at home so it made sense that I'd end up playing what I knew. I work as a music producer as well so I've had a lot of exposure to unique music, interesting production techniques and a lot of different genres. Wherever this new project goes, it'll definitely break new ground - I'd like to do something really original with it.


Who are your inspirations or influences?

All of us come from different backgrounds musically. Chris (Guitar) grew up on punk so that's definitely a big influence for us. I have a lot to say politically too so that resonates with us quite well; although I wouldn't say the rest of us are punk musicians by any stretch. A lot of our inspiration comes from bands like Them Crooked Vultures, Queens of the Stone Age, and Nirvana. But there's a bit of everything in there. The groove definitely comes from our ska background. I never want to lose the funk. If it makes people dance, I'm happy.


What advice would offer aspiring performers?

Life will get in the way, so get out there now. If you really want to get your music heard you've got to put the time in. It won't come overnight, but it won't come at all if you don't start pushing. Practice all the time, write constantly - don't worry if it's not perfect, no-one's a rockstar overnight. Be honest, put your music out there and welcome criticism - your fans will be all the more loyal for it if they feel like they've watched you grow as an artist.


How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

All bands think they're eclectic, but we're really trying to live that. Having no rules creatively means we're coming up with unique sounding stuff all the time. Sure it all comes from listening to stuff we like but we don't want to just sound like another band - we want to make something people have never heard before.


Any new gigs or albums in the future?
At the point of writing, we're about to play a gig supporting We Are The Catalyst, an awesome rock band from Sweden. There are a few festival dates in the summer but line-ups haven't been announced yet so I can't say much else. We're currently putting together our first album so we're pretty excited. It's about half written and we're just testing the songs out on the crowd right now to see how things work. It's early days for the band at the moment but we're all really excited to see where this takes us!

Special thanks to them for doing this interview & I wish them luck in their careers. So until then I'll catch you on the flipside. Stay awesome & rock on!