DJ's Spotlight: An interview with Big Tobacco Company

Hey there one & all DJ Dizzy here. This time around I've done an interview with a band by the name of Big Tobacco Company. Don't let the name trip you up they're an amazing band from what I've heard by way of their music. One of the members have been gracious enough to do this interview with me.

So, I started because my parents had me take piano and from there I moved on to guitar. I just had a natural knack for it and loved playing.

My biggest influences as far as guitar are Vai, Rhoads and Gilmour. I loved their musicality. It always made sense and fit the song.

It’s been a major impact. Times of my life are defined by certain songs. Music has been my refuge, challenge and mentor through my entire life. I’ve learned things from music that most people wouldn’t make the correlation.

We just released our first album, BTC. It’s available on our website:

So feel free to take a listen to their music by way of this posted link. So until then be righteous

& I'll catch you on the flipside!

http://www.bigtobaccocompany.com/music.html

DJ's Sptolight: An interview with Wildcard

Hello there one & all DJ Dizzy here & I sat down with a rock band by the name of Wildcard. Here's what they had to say about their success so pull up a chair & enjoy!

1. Wildcard was Co-founded by me (Kyle Berrens) and Anthony Merz. We went to the same high school where we both took a class called Music Seminar. In this class, you could bring in any instrument and either learn how to play, or improve your playing. Me and Anthony both grew up listening to our parents' music, so when we met in Music Seminar, we immediately clicked. We knew we could make music very easily together and we both had the desire to be in a band. At that point it was an easy decision to form one. Tyler Johnson has been Anthony's friend for a long time, so when we needed a bassist he answered the call. He learned from scratch to join the band and he has come a long way in a short amount of time.

2. We're very heavily influenced by Rock and Metal bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Rush, Megadeth, etc. Like I said, we grew up with the exact same bands so it allows making music together to be very easy.

3. Music is definitely a form of self-expression for us. Creating a song from scratch is something that is completely your creation, it becomes your baby in a way. Also, being a lyricist I try to write about topics I dont know much about, or want to explore more in depth. I find that when I put my thoughts on paper I learn something by the end.

4. For starters, before you plan to perform, it takes tons of practice. We spend the majority of our time practicing as a band, but it pays off. The other bit of advice is to not get caught up in what other people think about your creation. You'll perform at your best when you are confident and whole heartedly believe in what you're doing.

5. We actually have a gig tomorrow at Hot Rock Sports Bar and Cafe in Warren, MI. We are also playing there June 29th. Aside from that, we are constantly writing and recording music. We're very lucky to have someone like Anthony, who might as well be a riff factory. We're sitting on over 50 riffs right now, so we just need time to sit down and piece them together

Special thanks to them for this interview & I wish them nothing but luck in their success. So until then be radically righteous & I'll catch you on the flipside!

DJ's Spotlight: An interview with Revisiom, Revised

Hello again one & all  DJ Dizzy here & I've sat down with an  up & coming metal band by the name of Revision Revised. So here's they are t talk about their beginnings! Enjoy!

How'd you get started in music?

  It was in high school around 2009 when I started getting involved in wanting to play music, I started with a couple of friends playing covers of The Devil Wears Prada in a small bed room & oh we were bad haha. I always tried learning guitar but never had the patience to actually sit down and do it so that’s when I picked up a microphone, Ive been doing vocals since although I do help structure some of our music and breakdowns, I still can’t play guitar to save my life. 

Who are your main inspirations or influences?

  I first started getting into rock music around the late 90’s/early 20’s. I was specifically huge fans of bands like Linkin Park, Saliva, Soundgarden, Deftones and I still consider them huge influences on me today, When I started to drift into the heavier aspect and listened to metalcore, As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada, Killswitch Engage, Haste The Day, Gwen Stacy was pretty much all I listed to and they have a huge influence on us as a band. Scary Kids Scaring Kids also had a huge influence on me throughout school and to this day, They are still my favorite band of all time and probably will be until the day I die.

How would you say music has impacted your life?

  Playing music has impacted my life in a lot of ways from ruining friendships and creating new ones to being so fed up with the music industry you want to give up. I’ve played in a band since I was 17, I’m turning 27 this year and still giving it my all, It might sound cliche but being on stage is feels like home to me. I’ve always been a depressed person, I’ve always wanted to better myself and let loose and on stage is my platform to do that. I feel lyrically Revision, Revised is very relatable to the masses as I write a lot about my pent up anger about things that happen to people daily. Life isn’t easily and if you pay attention to our lyrics you’ll see that we struggle just like everyone does. Music is my way to release all my bottled up emotions to the world. 

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

  It’s not easy. we’ve been this close to having 4 different deals with respectable labels and it’s still not panned out for us yet but to be successful in this industry, You have to treat your band as a business. Quality is more important than quantity, Invest in your band and make it your baby, It takes money. A lot of money with very little return. Make yourself marketable, pay for quality music videos and recordings. Make yourself stand out and you’ll get noticed a lot faster. 

Any new gigs or works in the future?

  It’s a busy year for us, We’re currently recording our full length album with Nick Ingram of Capital House Studios. Nick is a blast to work with and has some impressive albums under his belt that he’s produced. We are extremely excited to be working with him and for this album to be finished. We have a show lined up for August 8th at the bakery in Charleston, West Virginia with Fit For A King, Like Moths To Flames. That’s gonna be one banger of a show! We are also looking to release the first single and music video for our full length album this fall so keep on the lookout for that! 

Special thanks to them for this interview & I wish them nothing but luck in their success. So until then be radically righteous & I'll catch you on the flipside!

DJs Spotlight: An interview with Ghost Season

Hey there everyone Its your old friend DJ Dizzy here & I just recently interviewed a new rock & metal group called Ghost Season who are an indie band so have a seat & enjoy.

How'd you get started in music?

Dorian: My parents used to listen to a lot of music, a lot of old stuff. I always liked the melancholic stuff so that’s maybe where the sadness comes into our music. I also grew up with bands like Genesis, Wishbone Ash, UFO, Eloy, Nektar and Golden Earring all those progressive bands and a lot of heavy metal. I remember collecting vinyls and saving a ton of money to buy rare stuff, singles and picture discs.
Fun times back then. With Ghost Season I didn’t want to get rid of any of those influences but hopefully create a mix with all those elements in there. It’s hard for me to separate the lyrics from reality in the lyrics I write because I live my life in those lyrics.

Nick: When I was like 6 years old my parents got me into windpipe lesson. Bet you never saw that coming. Well after that I got into other stuff so I dropped music. As I was growing up I started listening to classic rock and metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, Metallica etc. I remember that my dad had an old guitar laying around, it was unplayable, it didn't have any strings. So I remember that I used to grab it and pretend like I was playing when my parents weren't at home haha. Well, you get the idea, I just realized that I had to learn to play the damn thing, it was like a gigantic magnet pulling me.

Who are your main inspirations or influences?

Dorian: I really don’t have any main inspiration you know, this something that will make me want to write lyrics. I only write when I’m sad. I don’t think I can make music when I’m happy. So my influences might be lurking everywhere from a poem, a movie, winter, relationship issues. I have to be a depressed ass to write! It’s totally emotional and some stuff are pretty personal.

Nick: Well, guitar-wise, I really am a kid of Eddie Van Halen. He's a huge influence in modern guitar playing, so actually the majority of guitarists are children of Eddie. Anyway, I'm into all those guitarists of that era that had some beef in their playing and could easily handle writing killer riffs and awesome solos like Dimebag Darrel, John Petrucci, Adrian Smith, Brian May. But I do like how bands like Breaking Benjamin layer simple leads on top of the rhythm parts to add extra texture and depth. Production wise, I try to follow in the footsteps of David Bendeth and Terry Date, they're giants.

How would you say music has impacted your life?

Dorian: I’m in love with music you know and I can’t think of living without playing and writing.
I often think how I’ll be doing it when I get 70 years old, when I won’t have the power anymore.
I always felt a certain safety in rock music. For example with Iron Maiden, it’s your own world,  a world you enter and you close the doors behind you, and it’s your own place where you can hide from the outside world and all the bullshit out there. All the Maiden fans will surely understand. And so that’s how it always was for me. At the bottom line, music is all that stays in the end.

Nick: It has actually affected the most part of my life, the most decisions I've made are always in favor of music, damn I even dropped out of the university so I could dedicate more time to music. Music is like a living, breathing entity, and you become a part of it.

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?
Dorian: I’m not someone who can give advices. Not yet. But I’ll say this. Do not do things you don’t want to do. Even if it’s a contract with a record label for example. If you don’t like the contract don’t sign it.
Do not do something if you have second thoughts. And be yourself, people might use big words and be over the top when it comes to their music, but it’s nice to not have an alter-ego when it comes to them as people. Be who you are. For good and for bad. It makes stuff so much easier.

Nick: Practice hard, if you want to stand out. Nothing beats a good solid act, especially nowdays, where most bands are actually using computer editing to present near-perfect recording but are really shitty live. It's always mesmerizing to see a band that can perform their music so well that you actually prefer it to listening to their cd. And it takes tons of studio practice on that.

Any new gigs or works in the future?

Nick: We recently parted ways with our lead singer and our drummer, so we're preparing a new live set with the new guys. The new album has already been penned down and we'll hit the studio to record in winter. Maybe we'll do a couple of covers and release them in the meantime to give you a taste of what's to come. Old pop rock songs translated to our style, just like we did with Break Me Shake Me on the Like Stars In A Neon Sky album.

So here's hoping that you check out them & their music & I wish them nothing but luck in their career & their success. So until then be radically righteous & I'll catch you on the flipside!

DJ's Spotlight: The music of Jonny Lang

Hey everyone DJ Dizzy here & I'm shining the spotlight on blues rocker extraordinaire Jonny Lang who was born & raised in Fargo North Dakota but now resides in Minneapolis Minnesota. He started  way back in 1997 making his concert debut & since then has had gone on to have quite the music career since those days. He would then make his film debut in the movie Blues Brothers 2000 as a janitor singing alongside the late Wilson Picket but since then has gone on to have quite the fan following.

So without further delay I present to you some concert footage & some recent music tracks of his work which I hope you all enjoy! 

Jonny Lang live in concert & Walt Disney World-1997

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Zr9M8Xkg8&t=1320s

Jonny Lang in concert  Crossroads 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqpTEAOmA9A&t=770s

Jonny Lang Live at Montreaux 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6wkH7g7zM

Sings- album tracks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfmIMISJS9c&list=PLgWmP-F0RTPNeHEqeoPgJaDnbwTFXn12e

Until then be radically righteous & I'll catch you on the flipside

DJ's Spotlight: An interview with Surreal Nation

Hello everyone, DJ Dizzy here & I sat down with another indie band  called Surreal Nation who are based in Delaware,  They had a lot to say which proved to be funny but overall here's the interview. Enjoy!

How'd you get started in music?  

Paul: I am classically trained on the piano and started playing when I was seven. I played several different instruments and was in the school band as well as a couple of other bands outside of school. I started Surreal Nation with Nikki in 2014. We were just doing open mics and small restaurant gigs in our hometown. Next thing we know, there are five of us and we're playing at SXSW and all over the country!

Nikki: I was always in the choir in school. I would sing in talent shows. It's always been a part of my life. 

Jackson: My Dad put guitar in my room when I was a teenager. It collected dust for a couple of years. One day I picked it up, hoping to use it to pick up girls at high school parties. I fell in love with it and haven't put it down since then. I was actually supposed to be a session player on the bass, for Paul and Nikki's second album. They won't allow me to leave!

Gene: I played percussion in the school band from elementary school, all the way through college. I have a degree in music theory. I actually never used a drum set until I started playing "Rock Band!" 

Kevin: I started playing bass in hardcore and metal bands when I was in high school. I knew Paul and Nikki from outside of music. They called me to come over and jam one night. Much like Jackson, I am also being held here against my will!

Paul: Kevin exaggerates. We're actually not sure where he came from. He just showed up one day. 

Jackson: So only Kevin is exaggerating? What about me?

Nikki: Next question...

Who are you're biggest influences & inspirations?

Nikki: Stevie Nicks, because, Stevie Nicks

Paul: Ben Folds, Benjamin Gibbard, and any 70's R&B bands like the Delfonics and The Chi Lites. 

Kevin: Prince. I love his rhythm and all the soul behind his music.

Gene: Quest Love, The Gorillaz, Lenny Kravitz. Anyone with amazing precision like those guys have!

Jackson: The White Stripes because, Jack White. Did I ever tell you guys that I may or may not have a shrine to him in my bedroom and...

Nikki: ...you would wear a wig and dress up like Meg White if it means getting them back together? Yes, once or twice.

Gene: Jackson really really loves Jack White.

    

How would you say music has impacted your life?

Paul: I think that I can answer for the group here when I say that in one way or another, music has saved all of our lives. It has provided us with a much needed outlet and has allowed us to express our creative sides and share our art with so many different people.

Nikki: It's also brought the five of us together, given us a chance to travel, and allowed us to become a big family. It's not just about us, it's about all of our actual families and friends coming together. It's the music that has done this. 

Any new gigs or albums?

Paul: We just released an EP, "I Know Better", on Feb. 20th. We'll be putting out a single some time in 2019.

I hope that you take the time to check out Surreal Nation & their music & here's wishing them luck in their careers. So until then be radically righteous & I'll catch you on the flipside!