A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
May 9, 2016

On the eve of a performance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Danish frontman Lukas Graham was warmly welcomed to New York City by a vocal and sold out crowd at Chelsea’s Highline Ballroom on Monday night. The seventy minute set was often an energy-fueled romp replete with measured audience clapping and sing-alongs to the brunt of tracks from the singer’s 2015 major label and self-titled debut. The intimacy of the ballroom, though certainly a highlight for fans, was barely able to contain the frenzy of activity emanating inside the space, where given the charismatic vocalist’s stage presence and musicianship, it’s fairly likely that New York audiences won’t catch Lukas Graham in another room this small anytime soon.

The evening kicked off with music of a different genre altogether as Atlanta’s Daye Jack would serve as the performance’s de facto opener. The 20 year old rapper is no stranger to Manhattan. As a music student at NYU, Jack released a 14 track mixtape produced in his own dorm room before inking a deal with Warner Bros. Records. Monday evening’s set would serve as a showcase for an entirely new audience likely hearing soulful cuts like “Hello World” and “Easy” for the very first time. Touring in support of his most recently released EP “Soul Glitch,” Jack looked entirely comfortable in front of a hometown crowd, alternating between singing and rapping with each punctuated beat. Though he worked through an abbreviated six song set backed by his DJ/hype man, Jack’s versatility shined throughout, earmarked by “Piggy Back,” perhaps the young artist’s most fully fleshed out track.

Perched from the Ballroom’s second level, we watched as fans began swarming the stage with anticipation between sets. Amid little pageantry, the seven-piece band would soon emerge, led by Graham, simply adorned in a pair of baggy jeans and a black t-shirt. Following a particularly soulful introduction of “Better Than Yourself (Criminal Mind, Part 2),” the band collectively revved up the octane with feel-good numbers like “Drunk in the Morning” and “Don’t You Worry About Me,” a particularly fun and fast paced track.

Between songs, Graham would address the crowd, often chatting openly and casually about the impact that his father’s death had on him as both a son and a songwriter. And while you might expect such honesty and vulnerability to bring the room down some, this openness allows fans to really identify in Graham’s mourning- and with that, relate to his artistry, making songs like the poignant “You’re Not There” all the more special. Graham’s distinctive high-pitched vocals really shine though when he’s forced to pick up the pace a bit and upbeat, catchy tracks like “Take the World by Storm” and the raucous “Strip No More” show his ability to let his hair down and let loose with his bandmates. Tall and hulking Bassist Magnus Larsson plays as the band’s perfect catalyst, often engaging the frontman in lightning fast knee-lifts during the show, but somehow the singer manages to keep it together and misses nary a beat while doing so.

Lukas Graham’s most successful hit to date has undoubtedly been the release of “7 Years,” an infectious pop track that’s garnered more than 170 million views worldwide as of this writing and has topped charts in more than a handful of countries. The ballad begins with a keyboard introduction but quickly builds to a hip-hop verse in an anthemic love letter about growing up and getting older; fortunately the live crowd was more than ready to handle most of the vocals here with or without Graham’s help. Watching a fully sold out room- filled with folks ranging in age from early teens to fifty and sixty year olds- belt out the same lyrics in unison was a fitting and appropriate sight for an artist who is just beginning his journey in the states and whose music evokes emotion in his listeners that goes far beyond some song on the radio. Lukas Graham seems to have really tapped into something here and evidenced by his sold out show in New York City on Monday night, he and his bandmates are just getting started.

- Dave Gendelson

A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
May 4, 2016

In what can only be described as a savage display of fundamental metal, Swedish-metal five piece band Avatar unleashed a menacing fifteen song set on Wednesday night leaving a New York City crowd awestruck in the wake of their mayhem. Chelsea’s Highline Ballroom hosted the sonic circus that clocked in at just over seventy action-packed minutes, brilliant meshing rock music and stage show theatrics. The house lights quickly faded to black, leaving a visual void that would soon be filled by the band’s frontman and ringleader Johannes Eckerstrom followed by his minions of heavy.

When it comes to stage presence, Avatar wasted little time in establishing their penchant for rocking fast, heavy and hard and would not accept anything less from the more than happy to oblige crowd. Eckerstrom strutted to stage with elements of both lunacy and grace while wielding his scepter as he approached the microphone stand adorned with a chrome skull. At a glance the makeup and wardrobe might appear a bit gimmicky, but that sentiment is quickly put to rest after one pummeling guitar riff. Avatar is quite simply heavy metal incarnate.

The frenzied gig kicked off with the breakneck headbanger “House of Eternal Hunt” from their upcoming album “Feathers & Flesh” (fittingly slated for release on Friday, May 13th). The rhythmic behemoth of a song forced waves upon the crowd and showed the loyalty of Avatar’s fans as they were singing along to every word. From the first note the energy was exorbitant and only escalated from there. “Hail the Apocalypse,” the title track from their 2014 release allowed guitarists Jonas “Kungren” Jarlsby and Tim Ohrstrom to test both the integrity of their fretboards and their neck muscles. The hypnotic and feverish headbanging of the two stirred the crowd as a mosh pit swarmed the standing room floor.

Ominously, the equally groovy “Smells Like a Freakshow” followed and the pit continued to grow. While the guitarists shredded solos and shared harmonies, Eckerstrom with his demonic clown make up, top hat and coattails could be seen drinking out of a black gasoline canister in front of drummer John Alfredsson. The singer’s antics and gallivanting kept the crowd literally on its toes throughout the entire show as Eckerstrom utilized his scepter to conduct the crowd with his every wave.

The aural assault continued with pulse pounding new tracks “Tooth, Beak, and Claw” and “The Eagle Has Landed” along with a diverse spread of songs across the band’s six album catalog. Among the night’s finer moments, the group’s performance of the manic “Bloody Angel” blurred the line between heaven and hell, meshing soft melody juxtaposed with demonic distortion. Equally as raucous, “Ready for the Ride” was a rapid paced song that only slowed for a few seconds during the bridge before giving way to an insane guitar solo. Following a brief hiatus from the stage, the band returned to encore with “For the Swarm,” a cut riddled with haunting harmonies and enough double bass for any metalhead. Keeping up frantic level, Avatar exploded into “Tsar Bomba” and show-closer “Let It Burn,” a song driven by a brutally funky bass line from Henrik Sandelin. Five heads on stage banged in unison, locks of hair swirled simultaneously and an ear-popping chorus was echoed by the vocal live crowd- and there was no more appropriate song to close out the set as Avatar set New York City ablaze.

- Jon Asher

A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
May 11th, 2015

With less than a month before the release of the side project’s second studio album “Cauterize” (out June 9th), Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti and his backing band welcomed a few hundred hard rock enthusiasts into the Highline Ballroom on Monday night. The collective known simply as Tremonti, which initially spawned as a passion project that allowed the long time guitar-player to play frontman, has evolved into a quality standalone outfit, putting out a heavy blend of riff-based rock music as a result of the singer’s masterful playing. Despite the absence of Wolfgang Van Halen for this run (he plays bass on the new album, but is currently on the road with his dad and company), the band’s fourteen song set missed nary a beat in debuting more than handful of new tracks and much of their first album to a supportive New York City audience.

Devil-horns were symbolically raised high in the air in anticipation for the band’s arrival shortly before 10pm as the video board behind the stage began to flash the group’s tattoo-like logo. From the darkness emerged Tremonti himself, with his signature black t-shirt and black wristbands being the only evidence of a rock star about him- his short hair side-slicked and his trimmed shadow of a beard notwithstanding. That is, until Tremonti pounds his first guitar lick- perpetually heavier than you’d expect as a fan of Creed and even harder than Alter Bridge’s more melodic rock tunes. The group’s 75 minute performance reinforced their legitimacy with tracks like show opener “Leave It Alone” and new track “Cauterize” proving to be particularly rousing.

To their credit, the fans came fully prepared for the show- many of whom were donning black Tremonti t-shirts and singing along with the frontman as their heads pounded up and down in uniform fashion. Impressive new tracks like “Flying Monkeys” and recently released single “Another Heart” sandwiched older cuts like “Giving Up” and “Brains,” while Tremonti pulled out a little known cover of Big Wreck’s “Prayer,” performed admirably. The show’s finest moments were during Tremonti’s awesome guitar breakdowns where he’d stand in a shoulder-to-shoulder crouch with bass player Tanner Keegan and absolutely pummel his way through a catchy rock riff.

Though the aforementioned “Cauterize” is slated to be the next release, it’s been revealed that a second album was also recorded at the same time, fueling further fan anticipation for 2016′s rumored “Dust.” With a cohesive performance and a well managed set, Tremonti is certainly making strides as the singer/guitar player continues to craft a niche outlet for himself in an admittedly heavier genre. By handling vocals on his own- and more than capably at that- you get the sense that Mark Tremonti is perhaps most at ease when he’s in full control. Though he often plays second fiddle, the spotlight during Monday night’s performance shone fittingly on Tremonti alone.

- Dave Gendelson

A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
May 4, 2014

It’s rarefied air for a typical heavy metal show to evoke tears from an audience. And even more rare for the frontman of said band to be equally as unable to control his own emotions. But there was nothing typical about Sunday night’s acoustic performance by Sevendust at New York City’s Highline Ballroom, evidenced by the constant flow of tears dripping from the eyes of singer Lajon Witherspoon which served as a physical show of appreciation to the fans which he considers his family. The fans that gave his band the ability to live out their dream. The same fans that filled the sold out Ballroom on this night.

Amplifiers normally stacked to the ceiling were replaced by music stands and wooden stools as the normally raucous rock show would be considerably toned down by the band, but certainly not by a rabid audience eagerly anticipating the five piece band’s arrival to their positions on stage. Touring on the heels of their recently released new fully acoustic record “Time Travelers & Bonfires,” on which Sevendust penned and recorded six new songs to accompany six other reworked versions of previously recorded heavy versions, fans have been gobbling up tickets at their shows at such a fast pace that the group is already beginning to book a third leg of this acoustic run. And after witnessing the spectacle of their 100 minute performance at the Highline, it’s not difficult to see why.

The band’s seventeen song set was broken up into two parts with a short intermission between them and provided a litany of memorable moments.  From the opening chords of “Trust,” Witherspoon and company were remarkably on point adding in some previously forgotten relics from their catalog like “Skeleton Song” alongside reworked versions of the frenetic “Rumble Fish” and among the band’s most successful singles “Denial,” both of which do not appear on the new album.  Yet it was the cuts from their new release that were among the show’s best moments. “Gone” from 2003′s “Seasons” and “Karma” from 2010′s “Cold Day Memory” were each brilliant departures from the originals, sandwiched by a masterful cover of Johnny Cash‘s version of “Hurt,” led by guitarist Clint Lowery on vocals- with the help of the entire standing room audience singing backup for good measure.  Between songs, Witherspoon would describe the emotion invested in the writing of each of them which made the entirety of the show feel like a supremely special, almost Storytellers-style performance in the midst of such intimacy.

Though Sevendust the band is surely about the collective, the acoustic setting allowed each member their moments to shine- be it on a Morgan Rose drum solo, guitarist John Connolly perched on his stool and harmonizing with his mates or bassist Vinny Hornsby, despite yielding the spotlight to the rest of the band, holding down each song with his walking fingers along his oversized strings. But it was hard to take your eyes off of Witherspoon whose connection with the audience at every show is undeniable. With or without the mic in his hand, he spent a good portion of the performance thanking the fans packed in toward the front of the house and touching each of their hands- a fitting show of gratitude for the loyal folks that have been trekking out to see the band perform time after time over the last fifteen plus years. The touching “Angel’s Son” and Sevendust’s very first single “Black” would close out the show in short order but not before the band soaked in every final bit of adulation from their family of supporters, all of them now clapping overhead, and giving praise to a ‘group of rednecks from Georgia’ who it seems, have grown up along with us after all these years.

- Jane Van Arsdale

Nearly a decade since the release of 2004′s “Southside Double-Wide” which featured a collection of heavy songs performed live in a stripped down and acoustic setting, avid fans of the metal band Sevendust have been asking for something similar- a fully acoustic studio record for them to sink their teeth into between albums.  The band, who has as loyal a fanbase as any group in any genre, contemplated several different options to satiate this audience desire, before settling on the recently released “Time Travelers & Bonfires,” a twelve track, full-length album that combines 6 newly written songs alongside 6 acoustically re-worked takes on Sevendust classics.

The new release marks the tenth studio album for Sevendust, whose self-titled debut in 1997 immediately took the metal community by storm.  This new album is clearly a departure of sorts yet still managed to debut at number 19 on the Billboard 200 and at number 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Music Albums chart.  Though the band is unplugged, the performance allows fans to really take stock of Sevendust’s unique vocal harmonies and lets the deep, sultry vocals of frontman Lajon Witherspoon shine in a way that they’ve never really been able to do previously, because their music is typically so heavy and so fast.  Though the acoustic album had initially been considered a novelty, as you’ll read below, the response to date has been overwhelming and the relentless touring creature that is Sevendust is already mapping out a third leg of shows on this run, titled “An Evening With Sevendust.”  Locals can rest easy- the band has announced an intimate show on Sunday, May 4th at the Highline Ballroom, and one which almost certainly will be sold out.  Tickets are available here.

LocalBozo.com was fortunate to speak with Sevendust founder, songwriter and drummer Morgan Rose for an exclusive and candid interview.  Listen above as we discuss the concept behind the release of “Time Travelers & Bonfires,” New York City as the band’s second home, utilizing a PledgeMusic campaign funded by fans’ money to get this album made, thoughts on releasing a live Sevendust record and whether the acoustic shows are less physically taxing on his body.  The interview is a must-listen for any fans of Sevendust- and if you aren’t a fan, well, Morgan Rose just might have the ability to talk you into the building to witness one of rock music’s best live bands doing their thing in a rare and intimate setting.

- Jane Van Arsdale

The audio has been transcribed for your reading pleasure below.

LocalBozo.com:  Morgan, let’s get into the new album.  We’re a week into the release of “Time Travelers and Bonfires.”  It’s got six new songs and some re-recorded acoustic versions of Sevendust classics.  How is the new album being received and how satisfied are you with the finished product?

Morgan Rose:  The response has been overwhelming.  I mean, we went into this thing looking at it as a novelty and looking at it as something special for the people that support the band and you know the people that support us have been asking for an acoustic record so we kind of looked at it like this would be just for them, you know?  And we’d do it together.  When we threw it together, the idea was to do an EP and it took on a bunch of different ways- we looked at it a bunch of different ways.  We were like ‘well, should we just do six of our own songs- the old ones- and do an EP?  Should we do six new songs?  Or wait, we’ll do a full length, we’ll do six new, six old and we’ll let the people pick the old ones and we’ll knock out six new songs and that should be done pretty quick and we’ll get them involved and have a good time with it.’  And now, it’s just taken off.  The shows have been huge.  They’re expecting a pretty high week at Billboard.  I don’t know what the number’s gonna be but I’ve heard some crazy ones, and we’ll see where it lands but this thing that started off as just as I said, as a little thank you to our people has turned into another album cycle.

LocalBozo.com:  Now you mentioned there’s been a lot of clamoring for a new acoustic album since 2004′s “Southside Double-Wide,” but as a band that’s built itself off of its incredible live show, was there any talk of doing a full on live album rather than an acoustic one or was this always the plan?

MR:  Well this was the plan, as I said it kind of took on three different options that we were looking at.  But during this, like we’re filming for a television show tomorrow and when we heard about that we were like ‘man, we got approached by somebody about doing another live acoustic DVD’ and, you know, with the DVD and everything with it and we were like ‘okay, why don’t we talk about doing- because the other thing everybody’s been asking for is a live DVD of us playing the heavy stuff- so we were like ‘maybe what we should do is we should double this thing up.  We’ll do the acoustic live and then we’ll do the heavy live and we’ll double it up and do a two disc set of us in both formats.  So that’s what we’re talking about doing now, something to maybe tide everyone over in between the end of this acoustic cycle and the next heavy cycle.

LocalBozo.com: That certainly sounds like the best way to please everybody.

MR:  Yeah, you know, I mean it’s just another show for us so it’s not like- I mean we’ll do a little bit of post [production] on it to make sure everything’s dialed in but we’re a pretty live band.  We try not to use too many tricks so it should be something that’s pretty easy to do and then maybe while we’re in there doing some post we’ll throw a song or two on there, you know- heavy stuff- just to put a little cherry on top.

LocalBozo.com:  You guys have been doing a good amount of press leading up to the new album and tour- obviously everybody’s talking about the PledgeMusic campaign.  It was a massive success for Sevendust, which took all of two days to raise the money to create the new album.  What is that like for you guys just to know that there’s so much support for a record before it’s even made?

MR:  The people that support this band, that have been there for so long- we know the strengths and we don’t take it for granted.  I’ve said this a million times but I’ve said if you take our best thousand and you put them up against anybody else’s best thousand, we’re just gonna kill everybody because we just have this loyal base of people- and we don’t like to call them fans- it just feels strange, you know?  We’ve never called them fans, we’ve always called them friends and supporters and they have become family to us because now it’s turning into generations coming to see us where people that were, you know, twenty years old coming to see us at the beginning are now 37 years old and now they’ve got their 16 year old kid with them and the kid is into it.  And then his friends are into it.  So the demographic is widening and so when the idea came with Pledge, the people that were running this were like ‘how much money would you need to do the record?’  And we’re like ‘well, we can haul ass through it if we do it like this’ and they were like ‘okay, well we’ll put the money up at this.’  And I was like, ‘that’s going to get hit in no time man.’  And what nobody really knows is that they actually changed the pledge number because it got hit in a few hours.  You know, everybody thinks it was a few days but really, the number was hit in a few hours.  The minute that thing went up, it was like- it crashed the server.  So we were like ‘I told you, you know?’ I said ‘we’re not trying to get rich off of this.  We’re not trying to make money on this thing as far as, you know, from the people, in that way.  We’re trying to do the best record that we can do without using any machine other than the most important machine- which is the people.  So whatever it costs for us to be able to live up there long enough to be able to have the studio, to be able to travel back and forth- that’s what we need to be able to do the thing.’  So they upped the number immediately.  Then in two days, that number was hit and I’m like ‘you guys are not understanding what I’m telling you.  These people are serious business.  I mean, the people that support Sevendust- those people are hardcore.’  So, then it was done.  Then it was like well okay, these people really want to see this thing.  So now, instead of it just being us just doing a record- it started off as ‘we’ll do an EP,’ then it was ‘okay we’ll do a record,’ then it was ‘okay, I guess we’re gonna go on tour with this thing’ to ‘I guess we’re gonna have an album cycle.’  I mean, we thought we were done in a few- I thought I was gonna be done off this whole cycle for the year by now.  And now it’s turning into- they’ve booked the second leg and they’re getting ready to book a third leg of it so half a year of being home just turned into half a year of being on the road.

LocalBozo.com:  To the surprise of no one, the band has mapped out a pretty extensive acoustic tour that runs through the end of June right now.  Are you finding this run of shows to be a bit less physically taxing on your body and for you especially, on your voice?

MR:  Oh yeah.  Yeah.  This thing is a cakewalk.  I mean, I had a stomach virus for two days and didn’t eat for two days and went up and it was nothing.  I still play hard and the guys have to sing, I mean- I don’t do any of the screaming obviously so I don’t have to mess with any of that and there’s some backups that I sing, but overall- it’s a really emotional show.  There’s been nights when I’ve cried up there.  There’s many nights where [frontman] Lajon [Witherspoon] cries up there.  We’ve played shows where I can just see dozens of people in the crowd falling apart and it’s not during “Angel’s Son.”  Yeah they might have emotional ties to that but there’s other songs now.  And there’s old songs that aren’t even really- they weren’t built to be- they’re not ballads, you know?  But the lyrics, they’re so clear now just doing it acoustically- you know, we do a version of “Disgrace” and every night I’ll just sit there and I’ll just have my hands over my face because when we wrote that song- that’s a long time ago.  And it brings you back to that place and you look at your life and it’s like ‘Wow, man.  This has been a long ride man.  This has been an incredibly long ride for a bunch of little rednecks from Georgia that had like 150 people that gave a damn about them.’  And now we’ve got this family of people that we see on the road and you know, you have a lot of time to think about this stuff out here and when you’re on stage, you have– when you’re playing heavy, you’re in the moment.  When you’re doing it acoustically, you can actually absorb what it is that you did.  You can sit there and listen to what Lajon is singing.  I never heard a word of what he’s singing when we’re playing heavy.  I’m in my own world, you know?  Now I sit there and I listen to him and I’m staring at him and I’m like– some of these songs, there’s a lot of pain involved when we wrote them, so it brings that back.

LocalBozo.com: You mentioned the screaming- you’ve got two great singers in the band with Lajon of course and Clint Lowery on guitar, but you’ve carved this little niche for yourself as the drummer that’s mic’d up and you add in your own vocals to the band.  Sevendust as a band, would be incomplete without you screaming on track after track.  What or maybe who, inspired you initially to become so involved vocally?

MR:  Oh my God man.  I actually haven’t been asked that question a whole bunch, but lately it’s been a little bit more than it had been in the past.  That thing started a few bands before I put Sevendust together and really the only reason why I ever did anything like that was in practice.  And I would be writing melodies with the singer and at the time I hadn’t worked on singing and playing drums together so it was hard for me to reach over with a boom stand and sing into this microphone and try to play the drum part at the same time.  So we got one of these headset mics and I had seen Tommy Lee use one and it was no big deal, you know?  I had never wanted to use it.  I had never wanted to sing.  I just wanted to write the melodies with him at practice.  So then we started doing that and then it turned into– his range was a little bit shady at times so it would be ‘well, why don’t you just sing that part there?’ And I’m like ‘Man, I don’t want to sing,’ and I kind of got pushed into singing the part and then gradually, band to band, you know, it got a little bit heavier and then we got Sevendust together and I had been singing a little bit.  Clint has a beautiful voice.  Lajon obviously has a beautiful voice.  And Clint has developed this really low-heavy one but for the longest time, he didn’t do a lot of heavy vocals.  You know, he did a little bit but it was his lower heavy one and this crow-like screeching one I did and we just put it into the mix.  It was nothing that was– we didn’t think anything of it.  We just were like ‘well, that will fill up space.  We’ll have three different voices that will fill up space.’

LocalBozo.com:  And now it’s hard to imagine any songs without your trademark screams.

MR:  Yeah, I hate it man.  I mean it’s like– I actually regret it bad because it’s like, it doesn’t tax my voice as much as what people think.  It’s actually the more exhausted my voice is, the better when it comes to that vocal.  But the sketchy stuff comes when I’m doing the back-ups to like [Black Eyed Peas'] “I Gotta Feeling” or something and it’s gotta be sung and my voice is a little bit ragged over screaming a bunch.  Now I’m realizing that singing screeching like that for so long did a lot of damage to the vocal cords so I can’t really sing the way that I used to be able to sing.  I had this– they used to call it ‘The Crow,’ was the screamy one and then if I sang anything, they called it ‘The Sykes’ or ‘The Bro.’  And that was like John Sykes’ voice.  That was the one that I would sing with so now that one’s kind of leaving me and I’m gonna be stuck with the screechy crow voice for the remainder for the most part.

LocalBozo.com:  How is the acoustic studio material translating to the live show as far as the musical arrangements?

MR:  Well, we brought our friend Kurt from Architect Studios who had done a lot of programming on the record and had played keys on the record and all that.  And he also played bass and did a lot of programming on the [Rose side project] Call Me No One record and he also worked on the “Black Out The Sun” record, you know, so we were going out with this and we didn’t have the means to bring an orchestra out or anything like that, so one day we were like ‘Maybe we should just bring Kurt out here. It’s not like this is a heavy show where we’re gonna have an Iron Maiden like deal, with six guys on the deck, you know, getting in each other’s ways.  Iron Maiden can pull it off because they’re playing in front of 190 million people a night and we’re playing a place that holds 900, five guys on the deck is enough, you know?  So we were like ‘Maybe we should bring him out and let him handle all the stuff organically, because we didn’t want to track all of it, you know, because without it, it made the songs empty.  We didn’t want it to be– we did an acoustic record the way we wanted to do it.  We didn’t want this traditional acoustic guitar, bongos, vocals, maybe a string arrangement here and there and leave it.  We wanted it to be a different type of acoustic record so we didn’t want to run all the tape on it and have all these keyboards and stuff flying all over the place and nobody up there playing them.  So we asked him and he said yeah and I think he’s still the arrangement.  He’s made the show.

LocalBozo.com:  The band makes a stop locally here in New York City at the Highline Ballroom on Sunday, May 4th for “An Evening with Sevendust.”  New York has been almost a second home for the band over the years- what are some of your memories of playing in Manhattan?

MR:  Tons.  I got all the memories.  I mean, we started out as a band that people thought was from New York.  I mean, we’re from Georgia.  We played New York thirteen times on our first record and I was so naive that when we went back on the second record and played it six times, I was like “Man, can you believe that we only played New York six times on this album?”  And people were laughing at me.  They’re like “You’re supposed to go through once.  Maybe twice.”  You know, you can’t keep doing that when you reach a plateau and what we had done in New York was– I remember playing CBGB’s before we had a record deal.  I remember nobody being there but I was able to say, I played CB’s, you know?  I remember when we did get a deal, one of the first shows that we played there was at Coney Island High and again it was about fifty people there and we thought we made it.  Fifty people in New York and a lot of them knew the music and loved the band and we were like ‘God, this is amazing.’  Next time we go through, I think we played Coney Island again and sold it out- a few hundred people.  And then it went to — I’m trying to remember where we went after Coney Island high — but basically, it was a quick shot to– by the time we played there the thirteenth time, we were headlining and selling out Hammerstein [Ballroom].  So basically in less than two years we went from playing in front of fifty people to playing a sold out Hammerstein show, headlining on one album cycle.  And I was in love, you know?  I was like, my family is from New York but I was brought up in the south and there was nothing better than to sit there and look out at the crowd in the Hammerstein Ballroom.  That particular show that we played there, there was a band that was opening up for us and I won’t say who it was.  But I can tell you that the loyalty was built early with this band and that I heard the chanting going on and I was doing a photo shoot.  I said “What is that?  They’re having a good show.”  And at Hammerstein, we were on the roof and I opened up the door and looked down and the entire floor was sitting down on the floor with their backs to the stage and their middle fingers up  and they were chanting “Sevendust” while the band was playing before us.  And I was like “Wow.  We got some loyalty.”  I was like– I wanted to tell them “Come on man, take it easy on these guys.”  But at the same time though it was– I don’t know– it was a semi-euphoric feeling that they loved us that much that they could really care less about seeing anybody but us.

LocalBozo.com:  I’m pretty sure I was at that show and it was pretty remarkable actually.  You guys also played not long after 9/11 in New York and that was a really special scene.  I remember a bunch of the Yankees were there at the time, some New York firefighters- that was a really special scene.

MR:  Yeah man, we’ve just had some really special amazing times in New York.  When we played there after 9/11, that was a huge huge deal, you know?  I remember somebody throwing up a New York Fire Department t-shirt and Lajon putting it on.  We have a love affair with New York City and it is home for us.  We’ve got a few places that we really love but– you know, we’ve lost a lot of– times have changed where the promotion that you get out of radio- to think that there is no more MTV and KROCK support like there used to be for a band like us in New York is sad because, they were going nowhere.  Those people were leaving nowhere.   And they are there.  I mean, we’re gonna play to a sold out room.  It’s not gonna be Hammerstein this time around but we’re gonna play to a sold out room in New York.  They’re gonna sing every song louder than anywhere else in the country.  We’re gonna cry onstage because we love it there so much.  And then we’re gonna roll out and talk about it for a little while.

LocalBozo.com:  Anything else you’d like to leave for the readers of LocalBozo.com?

MR:  Thanks a lot- when I saw that this was in support of that show, I was excited.  We can’t wait- we love New York and I can’t wait to have some real pizza and some real food and to see all of our people there.

Backed by a large video board flashing the band’s name behind a white stand-up silhouette displaying an old-fashioned reel to reel recorder on both sides of the stage, the band casually strode out to centerstage before opening with the haunting “Russian Roulette.” Stamped by Hasek’s signature high pitched wailing amid plodding and slow building heavy guitar riffs, the bandmates weaved through their many slow tempo songs with masterful precision, measured by every crushing blow of Brian Vodinh’s drum smash.

The setlist meanwhile played out like one of the band’s signature songs meticulously, carefully building to the point of frenetic explosion. Tracks like “Chasing the Rapture” and “Fix Me” were especially captivating, with Hasek staring daggers through the eyes of front row fans, singing directly to them with focused intensity. Whipping his microphone cord much like bassist Ryan Collier whips his long hair with abandon, Hasek quickly ditched the hooded sweatshirt which shrouded his paint covered face as his vocals reached the heights we had anticipated. The band steadily built to a climax with each passing song. “Minus the Machine,” “Beautiful,” and the faster paced “Backlash” illuminated the band’s range, while also highlighting their ability to stay true to their own brand of performing- never doing all that much on stage, but simply reveling in every minute of it.

Without the courtesy of an encore, the band approached their final two songs with appreciation, humbled to be headlining a show in Manhattan and for the opportunity at continued relevance for the better part of a decade. Hasek asked that the audience give credit to every musician that took the stage on this night- opener Monster Truck was especially and surprisingly solid- before launching into the band’s super hit “Wasteland” and the unrelenting “Shoot It Out.” Watching 10 Years perform the tail end of their set, you wish that more of their tracks would offer the same unabashed release of energy in that same fast-paced metal inspired fashion. But in retrospect, the build in getting to those final singles makes that very same release of energy all the more satisfying when the climax and the show’s conclusion collide at once.

- Jane Van Arsdale

  

To some, 1999 might feel like just yesterday. But in reality, nearly a decade and a half has passed since a band known as Payable On Death released “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown,” an album that both epitomized both the good and the bad depending upon where you stood on the nu-metal movement and brought the much catchier name of P.O.D. to the very forefront of modern rock music. If life existed in a vacuum, it would be the turn of the century, I would be wearing gigantic JNCO jeans, and we would be talking about how Limp Bizkit was set to take over the world. But as time passes, occasionally we are reminded of our younger days, reminiscing fondly through those nostalgic strolls down memory lane. As such, those who believe that the Christian rock giants faded away after 2002 would have been sadly mistaken on Wednesday night as P.O.D. joined forces with Flyleaf on a co-headlining tour at the Highline Ballroom, to a room jam-packed with rabid rock fans.

The modernized music hall was likely a bit of a different setting than the veteran bands were used to playing. Gone was the full-on standing room only floor, save for the space in front of the comfortable tables and couches surrounding the exterior of the space. Also gone were the lengthy signature dreadlocks, flopping from the head of frontman Sonny Sandoval- in their sted, a short haircut covered by a black baseball cap. Fortunately for us however, the band has maintained every bit of the intensity that has perpetually exuded from their highly underrated stage show- one that for years has brought them to festivals and tours around the entire globe, but one on this night that could barely be harnessed by the confines of Manhattan’s most diverse rock club.

 

Opening the show at a pulverizing pace, the band ripped into “Boom” from 2001′s “Satellite,” perhaps the band’s best known and highest charting studio record. The track, which for years has played in the background of sports highlights, encompassed P.O.D.’s finest qualities as performers- raw, unadulterated emotion coupled with an uncanny ability to connect with their fans from center stage. “Murdered Love” would follow and Sandoval, unable to contain himself began snapping the lengthy microphone cord into the ground repeatedly in a fit of musical passion, as his bandmates surrounded him with playing the song’s blended rhythmic catchiness.

To their credit, P.O.D.’s setlist admirably meshed both the band’s old and new with tracks like “Set It Off” and the reggae-laden “Roots in Stereo,” performed alongside a spirited version of “Youth of the Nation,” during which Sandoval’s microphone was floated out to some lucky fans in the crowd to take turns posing as lead vocalist. For the band’s anthem though, the crowd didn’t need a mic to be heard during it’s unmistakable ‘We are, we are…’ chorus. While Sandoval bounced around the stage in a frenzy, it was Wuv Bernardo’s elevated drumkit in front of an illuminated video board that was perhaps most eye catching as the show progressed. Said Sandoval, “I’m impressed New York City. It’s been a long long time. Thanks for coming out” before the five piece band would briefly break down into a slowed version of “Beautiful.” The rock ballad as the band recovered to amplify a now moshing crowd with hit single “Southtown.”

As P.O.D.’s hour long set ran down, we found ourselves ensconced in a three song chorus comprising some of the band’s most notable hits as “Alive,” “Strength of My Life,” and “Satellite” brought the show to a close. Although the band began their show well after 10:30pm, nobody in the remaining crowd looked exhausted- the least of which was the band on stage, who left everything they had in New York City. And gave everyone in the house a mix of music that makes them jump around and reminisce at once, all during an act that refreshingly still plays to this day.

- Jane Van Arsdale

   

   

It was the fall of 1986 when bass player Jason Newsted, then a virtual unknown joined the ranks of the mighty Metallica, the fiery metal trio who had been looking for a replacement following the tragic death of predecessor Cliff Burton. After fifteen years of head banging shows in clubs, then arenas, and subsequently before sold out stadiums as the band’s popularity grew to unprecedented levels, Newsted found himself ensconced in creative differences with Metallica’s principal members and opted to leave the band and potentially millions of dollars on the table to pursue interests more akin to his own virtues. Fast forward to 2013 after stints with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Voivod, and bringing his Echobrain pet project to fruition, Newsted has returned with a brand new band and a forthcoming brand new album which utilizes his very moniker and his reputation as a full on metal purist as he puts his official stamp on his return to the genre.

In January of this year, the band entitled ‘Newsted’ released a four song EP, creatively titled ‘Metal,’ which successfully sold an estimated 6,000 plus copies upon its initial release, good enough to be ranked in the Billboard 200. Each track is a throwback to the early days of thrash, which old school Metallica fans seem to salivate over with each reminiscing memory. The band’s first single and video for ‘Soldierhead’ is a fast-paced, pounding track that is unrelenting from start to finish. And for the first time in his career, Jason Newsted is tackling vocal duties on the soon-to-be-released album himself, accompanied by drummer and former local Metallica tech Jesus Mendez Jr. and guitarist Jesse Farnsworth. Notably, the band also enlisted Staind’s Mike Mushok to round out the lineup for recording their debut album as well as the accompanying list of tour dates currently slated for about a dozen or so club shows domestically with more festivals and such to be rolled out in short order. Locally, we’ve already secured our tickets for the band’s sole stop in Manhattan at the Highline Ballroom on May 21st and plan on covering the entire show in kind.

The remaining tracks that round out the “Metal” EP are equally as catchy and inspired as the initial single. The slower serpentine pacing of ‘Godsnake,’ the melodic yet heavy ‘King of the Underdogs’ and the riff-laden ‘Skyscraper’ each seem capable enough metal tracks on their own, before considering the collection is just a smattering of what we’re likely to get upon the full album’s release. And if Newsted himself and the record company executives behind this project are to be believed, his penchant for delivering his own brand of creatively inspired heavy metal is as authentic and genuine as ever.

LocalBozo.com was fortunate to grab a few minutes with Newsted frontman and former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. Listen in as we discuss how he assembled this new band, how he’s struck by its initial success and the loyalty of his longtime fans, what kind of stuff fans can expect from the live Newsted shows, and whether or not conceptually, this album was meant to be a throwback to the days of early thrash. Oh yeah, and we also touch upon his time in Metallica. Is he enjoying the creative musical freedoms that he was seeking outside of the band? Does he miss playing within the big Metallica machine? What is his relationship like with the band currently? Newsted also delves into a story about his first time playing in New York City among a slew of other topics in this exclusive and introspective interview. If you are a fan of Metallica and even if you aren’t, Jason Newsted’s love for playing music is real and uncompromised. Just have a listen for yourself.

- Jane Van Arsdale

The audio has been transcribed for your reading pleasure below.

LocalBozo.com: Jason, thanks so much for some time today man.

Jason Newsted: Oh heck yeah, thanks for having me.

LocalBozo.com: Jason, you seemed to assemble this band comprised of musicians with the same sort of metal blood coursing through their veins as it does yours. Talk about how this project (Newsted) came to fruition and how you chose these musicians to be involved.

JN: Jesus Mendez Jr.’s the drummer and Jesse Farnsworth’s the guitar player that made up the trio that recorded the “Metal” EP for the first four songs that everybody is hearing. Jesus started out as a local Metallica road crew guy back in the 90′s and then he was the drum tech on the Echobrain tour. And then we became good friends. Then he started playing over in the Chophouse with me about ten or eleven years ago. So we’ve got a lot of hours under our belts together as a rhythm section. He brought in Jesse Farnsworth about five years ago so as a trio we’ve been playing for about five years and just improv, slab-jams in the Chophouse, getting to know each other’s musicianship as it were. Got kind of a wild hair about recording some stuff when I went to play with Metallica at the 30th Anniversary shows and called Jesse and Jesus back out and I wrote a bunch of songs top to bottom, all the parts- guitar based, drum machines, all that stuff- and gave the music to them and they brought back their artistry and made these songs. So it’s cats that have paid a lot of dues and gotten a little bit of recognition and made their own records and made their own things and different styles of music, but now they get a chance to get some real recognition. They’ve got the hours in but now they’re gonna get the appreciation- in this bad. So that’s where the basis of it started for the trio and then we brought Mike Mushok in from Staind about seven weeks ago after some auditions and now we’re a four piece. We recorded the LP as a four piece and we’re going on out on tour with all these shows as a four piece band.

LocalBozo.com: Now was it your intention to handle vocal duties all along for along for Newsted?

JN: Oh yeah. I’ve been singing and kinda trying to get a little bit more of a singing voice, pulling away from the cookie monster all the time. In the last five or six years with projects that I’ve done and different people I’ve jammed with I’m trying to get a little more singing together and that was the intention. I had my own lyrics and my own words and my own scene and that’s how it developed and I’m very happy about it now actually. It’s a new feather in my cap and a new role to assume and it makes me feel strong man. I really am enjoying it a lot.

LocalBozo.com: The four song “Metal” EP sold more than 6,000 units its first week, it charted in the Billboard 200- for someone who’s enjoyed the success that you have in your career, be it playing with Metallica or Ozzy [Osbourne], how satisfying is that for you to see that kind of initial success for this project and the kid of loyal fans that follow you?

JN: The number one, the iTunes- I definitely thought that was cool. That’s fantastic. I’m all new to this thing- only six months or since this band started have I really embraced any kind of technology or started my website for the first time, and reaching out to people like that. Like the past six months realizing what fans are out there still or what new fans are there and everything. So that’s a whole new world for me. As far as the acceptance of the fans and the comments of the fans and that, that makes me feel great- makes me feel like I did something right along the way and also continue to do something right. This project was initially meant to just be a thing that Jesus and Jesse, and myself had. We said ‘you’re gonna have a cd, and I’m gonna have one and I’m gonna have one and we’re gonna drive around in the truck and jam this out and that’s how it’s gonna be.’ But we went in the initial time- in one week we recorded six or seven songs. Four of those ended up being on the “Metal” EP. Somebody hears “Soldierhead.” They played it for somebody else. They played it for somebody else. And two weeks later, Sony, Universal, Geffen- all these people want part of the music. Now we’re six months in, full world tour right here in front of us. All those labels I just named have been signed in different territories around the world. So it’s kind of a crazy thing. It just happened and by word of thumb or and word of mouth, it became what it became. My initial approach was not anything about it being given to the masses or shared with the masses. It’s something that transpired and so now I’m chasing it man. I’ve been given the opportunity again and now I’m gonna chase it just like I always do with any opportunity I’m given whether its Ozzy or Voivod or whatever.

LocalBozo.com: With some tour dates beginning to pile up, what can fans expect from the songs we haven’t heard released yet and when can we expect the first Newsted album to officially be released?

JN: They can expect more of the same or even better. It’s all heavy music. It’s not all fast but all heavy. I’ll go into this actually from that question. It was a really big day here yesterday at the Chophouse, kind of a landmark day for us. We’ve done demos and stuff here for 21 years with, you know, Sepultura guys and Exodus and Machine Head and all those cats through time. But this was the first time we’ve made an album in my studio- a full worldwide release. The record company dudes came up yesterday into my studio to listen to the music, that’s the first time that’s ever happened here. They came away going ‘Holy shit We really didn’t think the EP was gonna be able to be beat. But you’ve done it.’ I’m getting bumps just saying, just repeating their words. So that’s the first review from the dudes that are gonna work it to the world and they would tell me if it was shit They would just say ‘go back to the drawing board.’ They don’t fuck around, there’s a lot of money involved. So they say it’s either good enough or it’s not good enough but they said ‘you did it.’ So that’s what I got going so far. I like it. I know it’s heavy. I’m proud of the lyrics again. It’s all uniform, I mean it goes together- all the shit goes together. The influences are right out there on my sleeve like always, you know? You can hear the Motorhead, you hear the Sabbath, you hear it all- just like that. But for me, and what they said, they felt it was like listening to a Metallica album in the early days so that’s what we got going so far.

LocalBozo.com: I kind of had the same impressions- was the concept behind the album a throwback of sorts to the old Metallica or is this simply where you were musically as the songs were being written?

JN: Yes, just a culmination of all those different experiences with all the different styles of players, but mostly of course the forte in the metal. And then that’s just what came out and regurgitate all that- I still have quite a diverse listening practice- lots of different styles of music, lots of different languages of music, instruments that people invent themselves, always try to take on different sideways shit while still staying true to my teachers in Sabbath and stuff. So that’s really just what came out. I am metal first, no matter what. I like putting my foot into those other styles every once and awhile, faking my way around some of that with jazz players and stuff but metal is it for me and that’s what just comes out and that’s what came out on the new songs too. I put together 22 songs or something since October, and it’s all metal all the time.

LocalBozo.com: Newsted has more than a dozen dates now lined up at club shows including a May 21st stop locally here in Manhattan at the Highline Ballroom- talk if you can about some of your favorite memories of playing in New York City.

JN: Okay, there’s a couple. I’m gonna start with the very first one. Back in 1986 I joined [Metallica] and I think on the ninth day that I was in the band we were flying to Japan for the first time. We had played a couple of club shows just to kind of bust off the rust and then we flew to Japan. It was Metallica’s first time in Japan and of course my first time in Japan- my first time out of the states was on tour with Metallica in Japan. We were the fucking Beatles when we got there. None of us knew it was going to be like that. It was back entrances to hotels. It was screaming people. It was [Japanese voice] ‘Photo! Photo!’ You know? Crazy. Out of limousines, bouncing off the bumpers of the limousines and crawling over the cars, I mean crazy dude. I was loading my own gear with Flotsam [& Jetsam] for a gig on the 31st of October, for the last gig I played with Flotsam. On the 9th of November I was playing in Tokyo to a sold out crowd. Okay so that was my first experience- I go to Japan and they’re all really nice and courteous and that’s what I had to taste first the promoters- the most courteous promoters on the planet. Then we came from Japan to New York City and got off the bus and got two suitcases stolen in the first two minutes. [laughs] Whew, welcome to the world. And we were all so casual- I was anyway, man I’d just been in Japan where everybody’s all nice and honorable and girlfriend can walk down the street with no worries and that kind of crazy shit. So I came back to New York City, went to L’Amours went to see freaking Cro-Mags and Crumbsuckers and all that stuff man, digging it in the City with James, introduced me as the new bass player. Then we went and played the Felt Forum- that was the first gig that I played in New York, was the Felt Forum. That’s pretty cool. And I wiped out on stage. During ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls,’ but didn’t miss a note- went over on my shoulder, came back around- fortunately in ‘Bell Tolls’ it’s just [bass sounds], you know? Just big old whole notes so it didn’t really matter. But that’s what I really remember about my first New York experience. How’s that? I wiped out on stage bro at the Felt Forum.

LocalBozo.com: That’s awesome man. Listen, you guys are about to get out on the road- What can fans expect from the upcoming live Newsted shows- will the full length album be played in its entirety- can we expect some covers or some tunes from your old bands?

JN: I certainly want to share all the EP stuff with everybody because that’s what they’re gonna be familiar with so that will be within the sets. And on these shows- in these first dozen or whatever that we’re doing through the states to kind of get ourselves together, we are the headliner so I’m doing an hour five or an hour and ten. I have a repertoire of a bunch of other things I could delve into but I’m going to try to keep it to the Newsted band as much as possible. There’s a handful of Metallica things that I feel that I have the right to share with people that wouldn’t be weird. I don’t want to do like riding on laurels and riding on coattails. That’s not what I do. I never have I don’t plan on starting now. You know, there’s two people that ever sang in Metallica in 32 years. James [Hetfield] is one of them and I’m the other one. And so the things that I did sing and the people that know about my vocals in Metallica was ‘Creeping Death,’ and ‘Seek and Destroy,’ and ‘Whiplash’ you know? Old school stuff. Very good chance that I’ll be throwing some of that in just to make sure everybody knows what’s up in between the new Newsted stuff. And then as far as any of the other Metallica music that’s not the old school things, you know I got the writing credit for ‘Blackened,’ ‘and [Where the] ‘Wild Things’ [Are], and [My Friend of] ‘Misery’- so if I delve into that, a little intro here, little bass intro there, or twenty seconds of that, or three minutes of ‘Whiplash,’ that’s kind of what I plan on doing as far as any covers. I’ll always have a handful of Motorhead, a pocketful of Motorhead anyway, to bring that out whenever I want to. I’ve been playing and singing Motorhead since Flotsam days and so we’ll just reach for that when we need it. We’ve also chosen a couple other pieces of cover songs. Jesse Farnsworth is quite a good singer. He sings in his own band and so we’ve got a couple things that he might sing so I can kind of play some guitar and some bass in the set- mostly bass but some guitar too. So that’s kind of what you can expect. It’s going to be positive vibes. I want to make sure everybody knows how happy I am to be there with them and to see them and everything. I’m not going to be too worried about it being ‘Ahh fucking metal!” and all that, because we already are. I just want to bring it out positive and continue to spread that positive vibe that I always have tried to do.

LocalBozo.com: Looking back at your time with Metallica, you’ve sort of become an inspiration for artistic integrity in breaking away from something so successful because essentially your creativity was being stifled. Are you now reveling in sort of the freedom that you were hoping to find in leaving the band?

JN: Oh yeah man and there’s so many factors to that whole thing. But yeah I’m really enjoying myself now for sure. Being the man is a good thing. You know everybody likes a little applause and a little recognition and things like that. I’ve worked a long time to get to this place and so I’m really having a good time with it. I get to sing my own stuff my own way, and play it the way I want to- not necessarily the same every time. I like that a lot. I’m feeling powerful about it. And the thing with Metallica you know, it wasn’t so much that I was stifled as much as I wasn’t ready to do it either. My songwriting capabilities to be up to Metallica’s snuff as far as completing whole songs top to bottom, other than just giving the riffs for ‘Blackened’ or whatever- these things through time- man I threw dozens of riffs at those guys through all the years. It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying to get riffs in there. But as far as development of songwriting and everything, it wasn’t there yet. I’m ready to admit that. There’s no problem with that. I understand that. So it wasn’t all the thing about having two very controlling egos in the band that were, you know, leading our band. It was about me being able to come up with songs that were up to snuff, that were as good as James or whatever. So there’s no hard feelings there about any of that stuff.

LocalBozo.com: Alright now last question: considering you’ve jumped up on stage with them a handful of times since then, do you miss being a part of the big Metallica machine and how has your relationship with the band changed over the past couple of years?

JN: Sometimes, but most of the time not. I feel that I accomplished a lot in fifteen years. You know I played almost fifty countries with those guys, I certainly was able to make smart investments through time- to be able to pay for my nephew’s college and take care of my mom and get her a house- all the things that I’ve always wanted to do, that anybody would like to do if they were in that position I would hope. And so I’m very proud of that. I’m business partners with Metallica for the rest of time. We have collective investments and all this stuff so that’s forever. We’re better friends than we’ve ever been as far as that goes, you know? Everybody’s grown up and knows how to respect each other and each other’s families and things. It’s a good place to be in right now. I’m good where I am. They’re good where they are. The only times it really stings a little bit is, it’s always about the quest. It really comes down to the quest. I want to play as many places as I can play while I’m still able to play. And they went to some places that I haven’t been without me, you know like South Africa, United Arab Emirates, India. I never got to play those places before I got out- they weren’t really open to the westernized rock and roll music when I was still with them. And so now I have my own quest with my own band to get to those places. That’s the only time that I really miss Metallica is going to those really special places. When they’re the ones breaking the ground, that was something that I always took a lot of pride in, is being part of the band when we were the first ones to take our style of music to that region of the world. That was always, you know, whatever region it may have been, that was always such a powerful like victorious feeling and so that kind of thing I miss. But the rest of it- the hubbub and the demand and the sacrifice and being away from family and that kind of thing- I do not miss that part.

LocalBozo.com: Jason, anything else you’d like to leave for the readers of LocalBozo.com?

JN: Just anybody that’s interested in the old school metal and wants to come out and share it with us, I’d really love to see them. That’s all. You know? That’s really what it’s about and I’m happy to be doing it again and I hope that anybody that’s down with the old school metal or even interested- especially people that are skeptical, please come and check it out so we can set you straight.

LocalBozo.com: Fans, “Metal” the four track EP from metal band Newsted is available now wherever you buy your rock music, with a full length debut album to follow in short order. You can catch the band live when they come through New York City on May 21st at the Highline Ballroom and tickets are available now. We’ve been speaking with legendary bass player Jason Newsted, we’re so excited to see you guys on the 21st here in New York, and all the best of luck with the new album.

JN: Appreciate it very much for your help and please direct anybody and everybody that’s interested to newstedheavymetal.com for all the information, new merch stuff, old archival recordings, all that stuff. So I appreciate your help today man. We’ll see you out there.

You really have to hand it to Three Days Grace. For a band used to playing to thousands of fans in their arena rock shows and in ampitheaters, in front of a crowd of just a few hundred New York guests, frontman Adam Gontier and his bandmates absolutely left it all up there on stage at the Highline Ballroom on Monday night at a special performance entitled “An Evening With Three Days Grace.” The ninety minute set was setup as a showcase of sorts for their recently released fourth studio album “Transit of Venus,” but the show was also a thorough rundown of the band’s greatest hits mixed with their distinctive proclivity for performing live.

The makeup of the audience on this night was a bit peculiar for a rock show with dining tables strewn about the otherwise standing room only floor, made up of a preponderance of younger children, women, and kissing couples. But despite the rather diverse crowd, Gontier’s fingerless gloves and black trenchcoat led him to the stage with indescribable vigor. His facial hair matched his tailored mop of hair for a look that simply oozes rock and roll. With an illuminated video board behind them and an arena like light show blaring out toward each of the Highline’s walls, Three Days Grace got right down to business, opening with new rocking tracks “Sign of the Times” and “Chalk Outline,” the first two cuts from the latest album.

Alternating between his regular microphone housed in a standing mechanical arm and an adjacent microphone yielding distorted vocals, Gontier’s signature raspy voice was a revelation live. Neither strained nor weak, the singer paced back and forth on stage nailing just about every note needed in his repertoire, removing the long black coat early on to make way for his black vest and white v neck, showing off his tattooed arms. Stage presence aside, the band delivered for the frenzy of fans bouncing around for a good portion of the show, waiting to hear that one song to release their energies. And with the band nearing ten years since the release of their self-titled debut, it’s easy to forget just how many hit singles Three Days Grace has produced.

Aside from a raucous version of “The Good Life” early on, noticeably absent were live tracks from 2009’s “Life Starts Now.” But songs like the rousing “I Hate Everything About You,” “Pain” and “”Home,” featuring a mid-song breakdown into Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” quickly allowed fans to focus on the show at hand. Behind Gontier sat drummer Neal Sanderson’s elaborate and elevated drumkit, which served as a beat laboratory of sorts while the rest of the band grabbed a brief respite offstage. His synthesized beats coordinated with a lightning fast light show, leading into a short but fun drum solo to engage onlooking fans. Gontier’s return to the stage led to a pulverizing rendition of Apocalyptica’s “I Don’t Care” to which he lent his vocals originally, and fan favorites like “Never Too Late” and “Riot,” which saw the breakout of mosh pits and virtually the entire room of 700 fans bouncing in unison.

The encore provided some familiarity for fans as Gontier stood alone wielding his guitar through a version of Tom Petty’s “Freefallin’” which, despite being interactive for the crowd on hand, would have perhaps best been suited for “Just Like You,” the band’s monster hit from 2003, which remained inexplicably off the evening’s setlist. But rather than take umbrage with the songs that Three Days Grace may have disregarded, it’s better to reflect upon how much good there was with the show. Show closer “Animal I Have Become” was a rallying cry for the New York faithful- their vocals blaring out even above the levels provided by the band on stage. The band’s aggressive seizure of the crowd and of the stage proved once again, that despite misconceptions otherwise, the New York market can in fact support the rock music genre. As long as the music is done right.

Three Days Grace- Live at the Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
October 22nd, 2012
Setlist

1. Sign of the Times
2. Chalk Outline
3. The Good Life
4. I Hate Everything About You
5. Misery Loves My Company
6. The High Road
7. Pain
8. Home (Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ Breakdown)
9. Drum Solo
10. I Don’t Care (Apocalyptica Cover)
11. Expectations
12. Operate
13. Never Too Late
14. Riot
15. Freefallin’ (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Cover)
16. Happiness
17. Animal I Have Become

- Jane Van Arsdale

It’s much easier to dismiss Mark Tremonti as being simply a part of a successful music machine than it is to respect him for being the vital cog that keeps the machine working. Laying down the lead guitar for bands like Creed and Alter Bridge, Tremonti’s work is already well established on some of the most anthemic rock songs of the past fifteen years and yet despite millions of albums sold and millions of dollars in the bank, there’s a work ethic and a creative drive that refuse to allow him to rest. With that in mind, after years of planning and recording finally finished, the axeman released his first ever solo project titled (you guessed it) Tremonti, with the help of longtime friend Eric Friedman and former Submersed (Tremonti produced their debut album) drummer, Garrett Whitlock. Hot off the heels of lead single “You Waste Your Time,” Mark Tremonti led his band into New York City’s HighLine Ballroom Wednesday night, for just the second performance with this lineup of musicians. Performing every song from his debut album “All I Was” a jam packed New York City crowd ate up every second of it.

Watching Tremonti take centerstage, it’s almost like you don’t believe the charade. Escewing the prototype, the guitarist doesn’t sport sleeves of tattoos or ratty long hair. His clean cut approach to making heavy rock, but not quite metal music, is a refreshing change of pace from the cookie cutter bands that emerge every other week, with far less established reputations. Outfitted in Chuck Taylor lace-ups, skinny jeans, and a black ‘That Metal Show’ t-shirt (a shout-out to VH1 host Eddie Trunk, who introduced the band), Tremonti re-arranged the album’s songs in a fun hour plus setlist to energize the crowd on hand- most of whom, unsurprisingly, had managed to learn every word already. Interestingly enough, with just days to spare before the commencement of the tour, Tremonti tabbed Wolfgang Van Halen to be the band’s touring bassist, replacing Brian Marshall (also Creed, Alter Bridge). But the 21 year old virtuoso missed nary a note and slapped his bass to near perfection alongside Tremonti’s wailing guitar riffs.

The show itself managed to have a big show feel around it, despite the band’s collective inexperience performing together. Even the guitarist’s buddies from Sevendust, Eve to Adam, and Like A Storm filed in with the rest of the fans, as a show of support for the new project. Tremonti capably held his own as a frontman with his vocals shining equally as bright as his typical killer guitar playing. But as the band’s focal point, his stage presence still leaves something to be desired, without Myles Kennedy or Scott Stapp parading around or gyrating to his right. That said, the guitarist does know how to author some of rock music’s tastiest licks. From the pulverizing opening of “Wish You Well” to the head pounding “All I Was,” it’s easy to see that Tremonti’s gone to his darker, heavier side for this record. The crowd meanwhile couldn’t have been happier, getting closer to the vocalist during this intimate show than perhaps ever before. Main set closer “Decay” and the band’s finale “Brains,” which initiated the evening’s sole moshpit proved pivotal in establishing Tremonti the band as a standalone outfit far removed from the guitarist’s other projects. And one that perhaps with more time under it’s belt, could succeed the others as Mark Tremonti’s primary focus.

Tremonti- Live at the HighLine Ballroom, New York, NY
September 12th, 2012
Setlist

1. Wish You Well
2. All I Was
3. You Waste Your Time
4. Giving Up
5. Leave It Alone
6. Proof
7. So You’re Afraid
8. The Things I’ve Seen
9. Doesn’t Matter
10. Decay
11. New Way Out
12. Brains