Anthony Cannella & Alison Bauer

Interview | Doc Coyle | Guitarist of Bad Wolves | Chicago, IL

Before their ground-shaking and intense headlining set at the Bottom Lounge, we had the chance to discuss the What's In Your Head Tour with Diamante and From Ashes to New on the journey and success of their debut album #Disobey.

Bad Wolves dropped the track "Officer Down" as their entrance song. Witness in the video above, these five Rockstar’s own the stage and crowd the entire setlist: Tommy Vext (Vocals), John Boecklin (Drums),  Doc Coyle (Lead-Guitar), Chris Cain (Guitar), and Kyle Konkiel (Bassist).

During the tracks “Better The Devil” and “Run For Your Life;" the vocalist, Tommy Vext, opened the crowd for a mosh-circle-pit: Head-banging, intense riffs, solos and screams. Yet as the show concluded, Tommy silenced the crowd for a special dedication and moment of silence to the late vocalist of The Cranberries, Dolores O'Riordan, before initiating the cover of "Zombie."  He personally thanked her and her family during this mourning time of her early passing.

We suggest to attend Bad Wolves live, if they play at a venue near you. Scan their music videos and remaining tour dates below to discover why they are powerhouses of metal!

Bad Wolves | Album 'Disobey' ​ Music Videos | 2018

Bad Wolves | 2018 Tour Schedule

Visit: ​https://badwolvesnation.com/pages/tour for official tour dates!

Bad Wolves + From Ashes to New Co-Headline With Special Guest Diamante:

July 1 – XR Club – Amarillo, TX
July 2 – Jake’s Sports Cafe – Lubbock, TX
July 5 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
July 6 – Sunshine Studios Live – Colorado Springs, CO

With Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin + Nothing More:
* 5FDP; Bad Wolves only;
**  5FDP, Breaking Benjamin; Bad Wolves only.

July 16 – White River Amphitheater – Seattle, WA **
July 18 – Spokane Arena – Spokane, WA **
July 20 – Taco Bell Arena – Boise, ID
July 21 – Usana Amphitheatre – Salt Lake City, UT
July 24 – Shoreline Amphitheater – San Francisco, CA
July 25 – Mattress Firm Arena – San Diego, CA
July 27 – Five Point Amphitheater – Irvine, CA
July 29 – Isleta Amphitheatre – Albuquerque, NM **
Aug 1 – Austin 360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX
Aug 3 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX **

Aug 4 – Starplex Pavilion – Dallas, TX
Aug 6 – Snowden Grove Amphitheatre – Southaven, MS
Aug 7 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO
Aug 9 – Heritage Park Amphitheater – Simpsonville, SC
Aug 11 – MidFlorida Amphitheater – Tampa, FL
Aug 12 – Verizon Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
Aug 14 – Keybank Pavilion – Pittsburgh, PA
Aug 15 – BBT Pavilion – Camden, NJ
Aug 17 – Montage Mountain – Scranton, PA
Aug 18 – Xfinity Center – Boston, MA
Aug 20 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
Aug 22 – Lakeview Amphitheater – Syracuse, NY **
Aug 24 – Jiffy Lube Live – Bristow, VA
Aug 25 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ **
Aug 28 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
Aug 29 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
Aug 31 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Indianapolis, IN **
Sept 1 – DTE Energy Music Theater – Detroit, MI
Sept 3 – Darien Lakes Amphitheater – Darien Lakes, NY
Sept 6 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY **

Sept 7 – The Xfinity Theater – Hartford, CT
Sept 9 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH **

Anthony Cannella & Alison Bauer

On June 7, at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL we met with co-lead vocalist Danny Case from the band out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania: From Ashes To New.

After their much-anticipated set on the 'What's In Your Head' tour with Diamante and opening for Bad Wolves, we inquired about their million plus monthly listeners on Spotify, the meaning behind their newest album ‘The Future’ [April 20th, 2018 via Better Noise Records], how their recent "Heavy / Papercut" Linkin Park mashup was created, Danny's inspirations, and some fun facts to wrap up the interview. 

View below to watch the full interview and live concert recap footage!

From Ashes To New opened for Bad Wolves in a compact venue, allowing the crowd to witness the band's engaging talent as they played their hits, "Broken" [Lyric], "Crazy" [MV], and "Gone Forever" off of ‘The Future’ in combination with classics off of their prior album, 'Day One' [2016]. 

Seeing Matt Brandyberry [vocals], Danny Case [vocals], Lance Dowdle [guitar], and Mat Madiro [drums] is quite an experience, due to the fact that the four collaborate in synchronicity with each other.

We see that in the video especially during ‘Crazy’ and ‘Broken;’ the crowd jumps and screams the lyrics back. It seems like Danny and Matt have been collaborating on stage from the beginning; yet Danny just recently joined Summer of 2017.

The band concluded the hour setlist with ‘Through It All’ ['Day One' | 2016]. Matt Brandyberry, the only original band member, made time to explain the hardships when fans and colleagues thought From Ashes To New was over.

#FATN is here to stay. Check out their music videos and tour dates below so you could see for yourself!

Visit: https://www.fromashestonew.com/tour or click the photos for a direct link!

Alison Bauer & Anthony Cannella 

Chicago, IL | Interview & Concert Recap | Diamante:

In our interview we spoke to Diamante regarding 80's female rock influences, her multi-cultural background, attending the School of Rock as a teenager, working with Howard Benson, and her favorite songs to perform live. 

Diamante | 2018 Music Videos 

Diamante | Throwback Music Video 

Diamante has been performing venues since she was fifteen, yet in 2014; this single titled, "Bite Your Kiss" took audiences by a storm. In an interview with I'm Music Mag, she quotes, "That song was really the first song that felt like this is right and this is where I want to go and a lot of people really loved the song, and from there it’s just been a whirlwind and a snowball effect."

Diamante | 2018 Tour Schedule

June 4 The Annex Madison, WI

June 6 Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN

June 7 Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL

June 8 The Machine Shop Flint, MI

June 9 Pierce’s Entertainment Center – Ft Wayne IN

June 11 The Basement Columbus, OH

June 12 The Westcott Theater Syracuse, NY

June 13 Aura Portland, ME

June 18 Chameleon Club Lancaster, PA

June 19 Gramercy Theatre NY, NY

June 21 Soundstage Baltimore, MD

June 23 The Tarheel Jacksonville, NC

June 24 Capone’s Johnson City, TN

June 26 Soul Kitchen Mobile, AL

June 27 Side Track Music Hall Huntsville, AL

June 28 The Metroplex Little Rock, AR

June 29 Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City, OK

July 2 Jake’s Sports Cafe Lubbock, TX

July 5 Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO

July 6 Sunshine Studios Live Colorado Springs, Co

​Author and Photographer – Ian Urquhart 
 
Time to get the aloe out in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. The summer sun decided to show up while bringing a metal concert with it. The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom fell home to a Toothgrinder, Triviumand Bullet for My Valentineshow on May 11th, 2018. If you were lucky and early enough, a few fans had the opportunity to greet some of the bands that were cruising the boardwalk before set time. Nevertheless, all of Hampton Beach was ready to rock. 
 
Leading it off, Toothgrindergraced the presence of the Hampton Beach faithful while Justin Matthews (lead vocalist) rocked an impressive, three-piece suit. Owning the stage with energy and excitement, Toothgrindernot only provided a heavy metal experience, but also found ways to become one with the crowd. Quite literally. With stage-dive after stage-dive, Justin Matthews joined the strong & brave who control the mosh pit while belting out songs alongside vocally-gifted fans. “The Shadow” off of The Phantom Amour (2017) initiated the majority of the crowd movement and participation. Overall, Toothgrinderprovided the electricity needed to jump start this metal-induced evening. 
 
Regardless of where Triviumlies on any show line up, you already know what to expect. Incredibly technical drum fills, head-banging guitar riffs and tongue-exposing solos. Triviumcertainly could have been considered the headliner for this event. However, they were asked to play second and just as everyone expected, they did not disappoint. With eight studio albums to choose from, fans heard a wide variety of songs. With Triviumrockers ranging into many different age groups, having a diverse selection of songs helped connect with the hardcore, dedicated fans while also pleasing the newer ones. This was seen during “The Sin and the Sentence” off of The Sin and the Sentence (2017) while the old-school fans thrashed to the “Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr” off of Ascendency (2005). Trivium always does an incredible job connecting with the fans while also providing an entertaining experience. One can only hope that theywill be rocking stages for many years to come. 
 
With Trivium being a hard act to follow, many seemed curious if Bullet for My Valentinedeserved the headlining spot on this tour. Within seconds of their opening song, “Don’t Need You,” it was evident that they were right where they needed to be. A fresh mixture of songs was played during Bullet’s set in order to capture the attention of new fans while pleasing the dedicated fans of the years past. This was also the first time that New Hampshire was given a chance to officially welcome Jason Bowld as Bullet for My Valentine’snew drummer. Which had zero effect on how well excited Bullet’s performance was. The crowd was sent into a frenzy as the intro to “Tears Don’t Fall” off of The Poison (2005) followed by an overwhelming “Let’s Go!” to kick the song in. Concluding the evening involved one of Bullet for My Valentine’sheaviest songs, “Waking the Demon” off of Scream Aim Fire (2008). It’s possible that the Casino Ballroom floor is still shaking form the circle pit that was created during this track. 
 
Final Thoughts
 
The Casino Ballroom always provides an incredible experience as a concert goer. Whether you enjoyed some oysters on a seaside dock or played arcade games for a couple hours before heading the venue. Hampton Beach can be home to some incredible concerts. To have the opportunity to see two legendary bands perform back to back is something many will take home with them as a one of a kind experience. Although this tour may be over, Bullet for My Valentine will be hitting the road again this fall to tour their most recent album that will be released this month, Gravity. 
 
Until then, see you next time. 
 
Cheers!  

Anthony Cannella

On Friday, May 18 , Sum 41 took a break from the studio and came to the Concord Music Hall to celebrate the 15th year anniversary of the unforgettable album ‘Does This Look Infected?’. ‘Does This Look Infected?’ was Sum 41’s second album, but was known to be their first album where they weren’t afraid to express their aggressive side. Due to that, when the band released ‘Does This Look Infected’ on November 26, 2002, it provided new labels for Sum 41. These labels were, more Standard Punk Rock, Hardcore Punk, and Heavy Metal, since it was darker and heavier than their debut album ‘All Killer, No Filler’. With this album being more on the mosh pit and crowd surfing side, the Concord Music Hall was the perfect venue to host this event. The Concord Music Hall is a compact scene that provides a warm shadowy atmosphere with a ground shaking sound system, which are the perfect characteristics needed to provide the best experience for a true Punk Rock show.  
As Cone McCaslin, Tom Thacker, Frank Zummo, Dave “Brownsound” Baksh, and Deryck Whibley took the stage, they immediately made it clear that this wasn’t going to be your typical anniversary show. Lead singer, Deryck Whibley, explained to the ecstatic crowd that they weren’t going to play the album from start to finish and that they were going to mix things up the Sum 41 way. Not only did the Concord Music Hall get the chance to experience hits from ‘Does This Look Infected?’, but we had the opportunity to experience other live masterworks, such as: Fat Lip from ‘All Killer, No Filler’ and their crowd lifting covers of Black Sabbaths ‘War Pigs’, Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall’, and Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You.'

Overall, Sum 41 gave Chicago a night to remember and stayed true to the Punk Rock fans by giving them exactly what they wanted. According to a recent interview with the Chicago Sun Times, Deryck had no intention of doing the fifteen-year anniversary of ‘Does This Look Infected’. In fact, when asked about it, he replied, “In all honesty, I didn’t even know it was the anniversary. I don’t really pay attention to that kind of stuff. And it just sort of feels like it wasn’t that long ago.” It is no secret that Whibley and the other members of Sum 41 have been dedicating all their attention on concluding their first album since ‘13 Voices’ was released in 2016. It wasn’t until Sum 41’s fan base reached out and questioned the prospects of an anniversary tour. As a response, the band specified, “All right, let's go out and do a short run.”

Should Sum 41 do a ‘All Killer, No Filler’ anniversary tour next? It’s definitely a possibility with these Punk Rock legends.

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