Among the hardest working bands in the genre, the five-piece outfit has been slaying audiences for the better part of twenty years. And though the business side of things has certainly changed as far as putting out records and hoping for radio airplay, the band’s approach to touring has not.  Churning out a new album basically every other year, the band has managed to continually reinvigorate a setlist that’s already replete with a ‘greatest hits’ feel to it; but on Sevendust’s most recent touring leg, it seems that their song list is changing more than ever before- and that’s a good thing for fans that hold a date on their calendar every year for the band’s arrival to town.

In anticipation of Sevendust’s return to Manhattan on Tuesday night, LocalBozo.com sat down with lead guitarist John Connolly for an exclusive interview. Check out our conversation below which touches on the likes of Prince’s passing, wrestler turned rocker Chris Jericho, performing in New York City, the group’s approach to making new music and more in the quick, lighthearted read. And if your calendar just happens to be open on Tuesday, May 3rd- grab a ticket to see Sevendust at the Playstation Theater. In 20 years as a collective outfit, the band has never put on a bad show- and candidly, they’ve also never been better.

- Jon Asher

Our Interview with Sevendust guitarist John Connolly has been transcribed for you below:

LocalBozo.com: Sevendust has pretty consistently released an album every other year since you’ve been on the scene. Is there a lot of music stored up or is it a clean slate when it’s time for each album?

John Connolly: Pretty much a clean slate. We don’t have a ton of things that hang around. We write a bunch of demos and start with those or we write it all together.

LocalBozo.com: Wrestling and metal have always seemed to have a synergistic relationship (Motorhead, Metallica, etc) and you did cover Chris Jericho‘s theme, was that for fun as fans or were there talks to do his theme music?

JC: Both actually. Crazy that was 15 years ago, but yeah it was cool. Chris is a great guy

LocalBozo.com: With the longevity that Sevendust boasts, what’s the transition been like from being influenced by metal to influencing metal?

JC:  Not realizing the influencing part. We still find bands that influence us all the time. It’s cool to still grow and try new things 20 years in. We still have our thing always, but we love pushing the envelope.

LocalBozo.com: New Jersey is no stranger when it comes to breeding rock n’ roll and metal musicians. Did you share or cross paths with any Garden State rock alumni on the path up (Zakk Wylde, John McBain, etc.)?

JC: [Drummer] Morgan [Rose] and myself are from New Jersey but we grew up in the south. We didn’t start crossing paths till we started touring nationally.  We came up in Atlanta.

LocalBozo.com: As a New Jersey native is there anything extra special to you about playing New York City?

JC: It always feels like coming home. So many family memories with New York. Such a special place for me. Love playing the city.

LocalBozo.com: There was a pretty quick transition in the last few months from supporting Godsmack to  headlining your own tour-performing live can be tolling, was it hard to adapt to longer sets?

JC: In some ways it’s a little easier.  You can build a flow into a longer show and you can pace yourself easier. Shorter sets are more of a sprint so it’s harder that way.  Playing lots of new and lots of old we haven’t played in years. Longer sets are probably easier

LocalBozo.com: Can we expect the momentum of album releases to continue? Have any new songs been written since the release of “Kill the Flaw?”

JC: No new songs. We will write the new one together but no set timetable.  Discussing the when and where now.

LocalBozo.com: Lots of big losses in music lately with a lot of tributes being payed. Sevendust celebrating the life of Prince on stage at all during the tour?

JC: Prince songs during changeover, Prince intro and [singer Lajon Witherspoon] makes a dedication during the set.

LocalBozo.com: While Kill the Flaw has it’s heavy tracks it was stated that the band would be taking a break from its heavy side-how did that plan develop?

JC: Only for the acoustic record, “Timetravellers and Bonfires.”  All the rest will have all the elements of what makes up Sevendust and a heavy element will always be part.

LocalBozo.com: Jersey’s music, and metal scene in particular, have been pretty robust for decades. What are your memories before you became a musician and were there any in particular that you feel helped shaped you or lead you on the path your on?

JC: Yeah, most of what I grew up with was down south. Up till I was about 8, I wasn’t really into music and that’s when my family moved.  I discovered music in Atlanta……..but KISS was the band that started it all.

The story of the band’s ascent and subsequent hiatus seemingly came about equally quickly, but fortunately for fans, the band officially reformed in 2011 and with their recent release, makes a return visit to New York City with a new drummer but with the same captivating stage presence. On Monday, May 2nd, The Darkness drops back into the iconic Irving Plaza with support from RavenEye and Best Behavior – and (no pun intended) best of all, tickets are just $25. With the local stop in mind, we grabbed a few minutes with bassist Frankie Poullain. Check out our transcript below where we discuss the talented player’s departure from the band, memories of playing in New York and what fans can expect to see when they catch The Darkness on tour.

Our Interview with The Darkness bass player Frankie Poullain has been transcribed for you below:

LocalBozo.com: It’s been roughly five years since your decision to re-join The Darkness after your initial departure. What changes have you seen in the band since you’ve been back that are different than when the group first formed?

Frankie Poullain: I’d say our stagecraft has improved. We’re less raw and bewildered. Less hungover too. Sometimes the hangovers were akin to trauma. The show was an ordeal, at least at first, until the adrenaline cut through and you’d generally be okay. Now everything is more focused, purposeful and powerful.

LocalBozo.com: What did you miss most in your time away from the group?

FP: Adrenaline. Adventure. Brotherhood.

LocalBozo.com: In your time away you released a self-help style book called ‘Dancing in the Darkness.’ How therapeutic was the book writing process for you and have you found that it similarly was helpful to fans and readers as you had expected it to be?

FP: I tried to have fun with it but it’s not really fair to the others in a band to write about collective experiences. I focused on the ridiculousness as much as I could but I’m not sure if that’s actually therapeutic.

LocalBozo.com: The band has undergone a couple of lineup changes in recent years including three drummers in the last two years. Does that affect the band as much as an outsider might expect it to or is The Darkness able to just shrug it off, plug in and play?

FP:  We couldn’t carry on with Ed [Graham] unfortunately and it was fun and enriching to play with Emily [Dolan Davies] on the album – there aren’t many women who can say they played in a ‘cock rock’ band. Now we have Rufus Taylor it feels like family somehow, like it’s meant to be. We make these choices very carefully, we don’t just go for journeymen – breeding and nobility of purpose are the key. And the ability to laugh in the face of adversity.

LocalBozo.com: “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” is such an iconic song/anthem, more than 15 years after its release, and it’s almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t recognize it. Were you aware of how much weight it would carry as your first single?

FP: We sensed something was in the air. It made people smile, transported them out of the early noughties and into an idealized version of the 80′s where Tom Cruise was mixing you a ‘Pina Colada’ and Kim Basinger was rolling around in honey.

LocalBozo.com: Where is the band at today as far as new music being written – or is it strictly tour duty right now?

FP: We’re very enthused by the writing we’ve done with Ru, it’s gonna be heavy, riffy and hopefully ludicrous. We don’t care about good or bad taste. Or rather we have different taste. If we lost our attitude we’d be dead. We have a duty to live.

LocalBozo.com: NYC is a mecca for American musicians. Any memories of your first few trips to the big apple?

FP: We took a Darkness T-shirt wearing donkey to New York fashion week in 2003. That was quite Dali-esque I thought. And of course playing a packed out Bowery Ballroom was fun too, there were a lot of trendies at our shows in those days, hipsters I suppose you’d call them now…. Helping ourselves to the Atlantic back catalogue in the record company offices – CD’s sadly!

LocalBozo.com: We lost a lot of great rock royalty recently. Any words about Lemmy [Kilmister] or David Bowie?

FP: Independent minded pioneers, we should celebrate these people whenever possible and never forget. Don’t let them be a dying breed.

LocalBozo.com: For fans not familiar with The Darkness, what will the experience of the 5/2 show at Irving Plaza be like for the live crowd?

FP: A group of four awkward and eccentric British men attempting to express their sexuality

LocalBozo.com: Anything else you’d like to add for our readers?

FP: Book yourself a VIP upgrade!

Tuesday January 27th marks the release of the seventh studio album from rock outfit Papa Roach, an admittedly polarizing band that’s been derided for everything from their moniker to their earliest days as the face of a now deceased rap rock genre. It’s fitting then that this album is titled with the abbreviation of “F.E.A.R.” or ‘Face Everything and Rise,’ which has proven to be more than a credo when fifteen years ago, a group of young no-name musicians with a cartoonish band name was catapulted to the forefront of rock music with the massive success of a single song. And with each album release, Papa Roach continues to show just how much they’ve evolved.

The 2015 edition of Papa Roach is a vastly different entity than the one that exploded onto our MTV2 screens in the year 2000. Though they’ve mostly moved beyond meshing hip hop with guitar riffs, the band’s penchant for writing catchy radio-friendly rock singles coupled with an unparalleled high octane live show has never been stronger. More of the same can be expected on the band’s latest release where tracks like “Face Everything and Rise” and “Broken as Me” (both available for streaming) are sure to appease longtime followers of the band and electrify audiences in any live setting.

Strategically, Papa Roach and Seether have slated a co-headlining North American jaunt that rolls through the beginning of February, with support from Kyng and Islander. And on Tuesday, January 20th, the four band bill is set to rock New York City’s Terminal 5- tickets are available now. With a new album set to drop and a return to Manhattan imminent, LocalBozo.com grabbed a few minutes with Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix for an exclusive interview. Listen in as we discuss the band’s creative approach to the new record, some of Jacoby’s favorite memories of playing in New York, how the tour with Seether came to be, the difficulty the band faced in trying to ditch the rap-rock stigma, if he gets tired of performing “Last Resort” and much much more. Make sure to grab your tickets for Papa Roach’s jam packed show at Terminal 5 on January 20th now!

- Dave Gendelson

(The Interview has been transcribed below for your reading pleasure)

LocalBozo.com: The new album drops on January 27th. Though it’s titled ‘F.E.A.R.,’ it stands for ‘Face Everything and Rise’- and much of the album from what I’ve heard is pretty uplifting. Talk about the band’s approach to creating this new record and how satisfied you are with the finished product.

Jacoby Shaddix: Very satisfied with the finished product. We definitely approached this record different than we approached any of our other records. We stepped into the studio with essentially nothing written but one chorus to a song called “Broken as Me” and we never do records like that. But the producer and Tobin [Esperance, Bass] and Tony [Palermo, Drums] were all about it. They were like ‘Cool, we could do that no problem.’ You know? And me and Jerry [Horton, Guitar] were kind of looking at ourselves like ‘What?’ So I just had to walk in with faith on that one and just go ‘Okay cool. I’m just gonna jump in this place’ and just see what happens. And we started working on that song ‘Broken as Me’ and as soon as we finished that song it was like a floodgate had opened inside me that was just a creative force that I just- never really experienced that before and I was mad driven man. And we were super stoked at the sound of the first track we recorded and so it was like off to the races after that. And the record just revealed itself over the course of the next two, three months.

LB: You mentioned “Broken as Me”- Papa Roach is a killer live band. The tracks that we’ve been able to stream- “F.E.A.R.” and even “Warriors” seem tailor made to be slotted anywhere in the band’s set and they’d fit in seamlessly with the rest of your catalog. How important is that to you during the writing process – whether or not a song can make the cut for one of the band’s live performances?

JS: We believe that live is the proving ground for rock and roll, and so that’s very important. We want to make music that translates to the live environment right off the bat. I think we’ve been doing this long enough now to know when something’s going to work or when it’s not. There were riffs where we just – ‘Eh, that’s not the deal dude. That’s not the jam, that’s not gonna fit what we’re trying to do.’ But then, when you’re in the studio it’s one thing so then you gotta go out there and really test it on the road and see what does work and so far we’ve been playing “Fear” and we’ve been playing “Broken as Me” and- they translate. They go over really well live.

LB. So you guys just launched a co-headlining run of dates with Seether through the beginning of February, with support from Kyng and Islander. Is this something that the two bands had pegged for a few years now- eventually going out on the road together?

JS: We’ve done a bunch of shows with them, touring and all that, you know? Showing up on festivals and doing shows and we were just looking for a band to team up with and the timing worked our perfect. So it was just like ‘Let’s go do this.’ And now that we’re out here, selling out shows, packing houses and giving the fans what they want, it’s been really good.

LB: Locally, the co-headlining run stops at New York City’s Terminal 5 on January 20th- Jacoby, you guys have been through Manhattan probably dozens of times over the last 15 years. What’s it like for you to play in New York City and are there any specific memories you’d like to share with us about performing here?

JS: I love the city man. The city’s just- it’s unique. That’s the only place that feels like that. It’s a one of a kind place. It’s got that energy, that creative force that’s just alive there. The fans there are always off the chain. We always have really good shows in New York. Last time we were there, we were with Stone Sour (2013) so we’re stoked to come back. We’ve had great memories man. I was there the year 2000 New Years Eve. We played MTV when the ball dropped and that was quite a fuckin’ night for us.

LB: You’ve got some dates lined up through the beginning of February- but you guys are road dogs so I’m sure this is just the beginning of your touring cycle. What’s up for the band when this run with Seether wraps up?

JS: We’re gonna go to Australia and do the Soundwave Festival. Then we’re gonna go to the UK and do some festivals over there- some headlining shows. And then we’re gonna come to the US in the spring and do the festivals over here. And then the summer, some festivals in Europe. And after that, we’re trying to map out what’s next for us.

LB: The band has made some real artistic strides over the past 15 years- how difficult was it for you personally to overcome the stigma that initially pegged you guys solely as a rap-rock band?

JS: You know it took us some years to really prove ourselves. But you know- we stuck it out dude and we wanted to prove ourselves as a valid rock and roll band- and I believe we have at this point in our careers. So now it’s like ‘What’s next?’ Anything goes. And I think that for us, it’s like we’re at a place in our career where we feel just freedom as a rock band. We’re our own band and we do our own thing and we have our fans and we always got a chance to win over new fans and so- come check us out. You know what I mean?

LB: What’s one thing left that you’d like to see this band do that you haven’t yet done?

JS: A sold out, headlining arena tour worldwide.

LB: It’s not that far off man. Last one.  Be honest: do you still enjoy singing “Last Resort” night after night?

JS: Dude, it’s a straight classic man. You know? There’s a lot of bands that try their whole careers to have a classic track and we came out the gates and had one right off the bat. We definitely feel blessed to have that in our arsenal as a rock band. It’s still relevant today, you know? It resonates with the youth, it resonates with our fan base, it ignites an audience every time we play it- no matter what. Anytime.

LB: It was the soundtrack to my high school years. I have a place in my heart for that song. I’ve been a big fan of the band for a long time- it’s been my pleasure talking with you today. Is there anything you’d like to leave for the readers of LocalBozo.com?

JS: You know, in the process of doing this record- kind of stepping out and doing some other things creatively. [I've] Been co-directing the music videos on this album cycle. [I] Did that for ‘Face Everything and Rise’ and we’re coming up with the concept and getting ready to shoot another video for a song called ‘Gravity.’ So I’m stoked about doing that creatively. And then also I released a clothing line called ‘Lovers are Lunatics’ and released that in November of last year- just doing a straight DIY from the ground up, just me and my partner from Detroit. It’s rock and roll inspired street wear. So [I'm] just doing a couple things outside of Papa Roach that’s creative, that’s fun, that doesn’t get in the way of what I do creatively with my band because I’m not the type of guy that needs to start a musical side project. You know what I mean? P-Roach- I get to do everything I want to do.

LB: Papa Roach has put out some of the most commercially successful but also anthemic rock songs over the last two decades and they’re returning to New York City on January 20th at Terminal 5 as part of a jam packed co-headlining bill with Seether. Tickets are available now. Make sure to pick up the brand new Papa Roach album “FEAR” when it drops on Tuesday, January 27th. Jacoby – great speaking with you today man. Can’t wait to catch you in New York.

JS: Alright word man. Have a good one.

To listen to Soul Asylum frontman David Pirner wax poetic about music is to hear a well thought out veteran describe a passion that drips from his lips. If that sentiment isn’t poetic enough for you in and of itself, give a listen to LocalBozo.com’s almost thirty minute audio interview with the singer/songwriter (above), who has spent more than three decades crafting the lyrics and arrangements for the punk turned alternative turned rock band, many of which provided a soundtrack to the 1990′s. Following the release of last July’s three song EP “No Fun Intended,” the band is hopping on a 2014 jaunt with some pretty recognizable names.

The Summerland Tour is a collaborative effort between Soul Asylum, the headliners in Everclear and Eve 6 and Spacehog- all four of whom have enjoyed wildly successful runs in the previous two decades. But combined, the foursome packs together a bill of feel-good tunes that turn back the clock a bit for several fun hours of rock music hit singles. You may recall our last feature on the 2012 Summerland run, where we sat down with Everclear frontman Art Alexakis for a backstage interview- but the upcoming lineup of bands is poised to be the finest yet and with the Tuesday, June 17th show coming to New York City’s Irving Plaza priced at just $47, there’s tremendous value for rock loving concertgoers. Tickets are available here.

Do yourself a favor and listen in to our interview with Soul Asylum frontman David Pirner. He’s opinionated and candid in discussing trepidation for the band playing on a ‘nostalgia’ tour, memories of performing in New York, what fans can expect from the group’s abbreviated set, whether full length albums or EPs are the wave of the future, how his musical interests have evolved, his life in New Orleans and so much more. One of alternative rocks pioneers is both defiantly honest and thought provoking as he provides his views of Soul Asylum’s stature some two decades after becoming a household name. And his passion for music is so infectious, that we can’t wait to catch them live.

- Dave Gendelson

Only a few short days following the release of “The Sum of Who We Are,” Nashville, Tennessee’s Framing Hanley is confident that the new material is their best yet. Funded by fan support on Kickstarter, the group’s writing and recording process was a tumultuous one on the new album, with four years elapsing in between records as a result of legal issues, leaving their record label and a lineup re-shuffling. With all of that now behind them and with the strength of new single “Criminal,” Framing Hanley seems poised for a banner year.

Though their hard rock cover of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” officially put the band on the map reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, it would be unfair to categorically dismiss their original material which tends to breathe a bit of new life into a genre that is currently in a downturn. The new single only adds further depth to a catalog of tracks like “Your Stupid Girl,” “WarZone” and “Hear Me Now,” a fantastic rock song that never truly received its due credit upon its initial release. With the new album finally out to the masses, Framing Hanley is slated to do some heavy touring through the spring and as we’ll learn, continue to do so extensively for the remainder of 2014.

On Monday, May 5th, the band joins Devour The Day for a dual billing double-header at The Studio at Webster Hall with support from Starset and 3 Years Hollow and tickets are just $15. In anticipation for the group’s return to New York City, LocalBozo.com sat down with Framing Hanley frontman Kenneth Nixon for an exclusive interview. Listen in as we discuss the release of “The Sum of Who We Are,” how “Criminal” was chosen as the album’s first single, the pressure of putting out a record funded by fans, whether the band has any additional cover songs in the works, plans for the rest of the calendar year, performing in New York City and much more.

- 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.

Last September, the band Tantric released their fifth studio record under that moniker though the term ‘band’ here seems to be open to interpretation. For roughly fourteen years, Tantric has been comprised of a flux of different musicians, stepping in and out of the picture with the frequency of folks coming in and out of an elevator. Any attachment to consistency with Tantric lies within singer Hugo Ferreira, who as the group’s songwriter, has remained the band’s focal point over the years with his distinctively baritone style.

Tantric formed in 1999 when the bandmates of the recently disbanded Days of the New agreed to work with Ferreira on a new venture. The band’s self-titled debut in 2001 spawned singles like “Breakdown” and “Astounded” which initially seemed to earmark the group for greatness. Problems within the group caused several lineup re-shufflings, leaving only Ferreira as Tantric’s original member.   This lynchpin would seem to embody the better part of the decade that followed for the band with the singer writing and recording much of the music himself and utilizing the hired hands of bandmates to join him on the road to perform under the Tantric name. Over the years the band’s sound has shifted greatly from record to record, a style that had proven beneficial with the release of 2008′s “The End Begins,” an album that featured the presence of the violin and spawned the single “Down and Out,” which re-established the band some. 

Ferreira’s return with “37 Channels” features guest spots from former Hinder frontman Austin Winkler, former child star turned musician Leif Garrett and country music’s Shooter Jennings, but it’s the frontman’s honesty in his lyrics that really shine. Is it the group’s most successful release to date? Hardly. But the music industry has changed drastically over the past 15 years and Tantric loyalists can’t help but be thrilled at some of the stellar tracks on this record currently filling their ear buds.

With Tantric slated for a show on March 11th at New York City’s Studio at Webster Hall, LocalBozo.com was fortunate to grab a few minutes with Hugo Ferreira to preview what fans can expect. Listen in as we discuss the challenges on the four year path to putting out “37 Channels,” the revolving door of bandmates and the difficulty in retaining the band’s sound, performing here in New York City, working with such accomplished guest vocalists on the new album, the change in the music industry and so much more. And be sure to join LocalBozo.com and grab your tickets for the March 11th show in NYC right here.

- Jane Van Arsdale

Any conversations about the finest modern day guitarists begin and end with Black Label Society virtuoso Zakk Wylde. The band’s frontman and former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne for the better part of two decades is a Bayonne, New Jersey native with more than a dozen releases of original material under his belt since forming the band in 1999. In April, Black Label Society releases their first album of new material in more than four years, a process as you’ll learn, that doesn’t take as long as you’d imagine from start to finish, once you hear a sample of Wylde’s tasty licks.

The album entitled “Catacombs of the Black Vatican” sounds to be an extension of the band’s previous efforts- which is surely a good thing for any true fans of metal. But in the midst of its release, Black Label Society underwent a lineup shift as long time guitarist Nick Catanese recently stepped aside to focus on his solo efforts and Lizzy Borden’s Dario Lorina enters the band for the first time. Following a stint out on the “Experience Hendrix Tour” alongside such six string luminaries as Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Buddy Guy, Black Label Society has begun mapping out plans for a full on world tour that begins in the United States, currently slated to run from April to June. After that, the band’s summer plans are anyone’s guess but some international dates and the festival circuit certainly seems likely for the group, led by their iconic guitarist and frontman.

LocalBozo.com was fortunate enough to sit down with legendary metal guitarist Zakk Wylde for an interview that is both funny and candid and exposes the masterful musician as a humble, down to earth rock star who both has an appreciation for where he’s come from and almost downplays his place in the genre. Listen in as we discuss the new shift in the lineup of Black Label Society, the writing of “Catacombs of the Black Vatican,” his most recent run at the Iridium here in Manhattan back in June of 2013, the artists that inspire his incredible versions of cover songs, and recorded just days before NFL Championship weekend, Wylde not only correctly picks the Super Bowl matchup but also makes his prediction for the Big Game. It’s an introspective and fun conversation with one of the most recognizable rock figures of this era and it’s all here, on LocalBozo.com. Black Label Society makes a stop locally at New York City’s Best Buy Theater on Saturday, May 10th and tickets are available now!

- Jane Van Arsdale

Fresh off of winning the 2013 Grammy Award for ‘Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance’ for their hit song “Love Bites (So Do I),” you can’t blame Halestorm drummer Arejay Hale for feeling like he’s on top of the world. His band, a seemingly neverending touring act seems to be just hitting their stride, headlining their biggest venues yet on their domestic fall tour that follows the recent success from the release of their second EP of cover songs (‘ReAnimate 2.0‘). And while songs like “Get Lucky” and “Bad Romance” are now firmly a part of the band’s catalog, don’t expect them to ditch their rock roots just yet.

Collectively, the band Halestorm has roots that date back to the late 1990′s when a then ten year old Arejay was smashing on the drums behind his slightly older sister Lzzy. Fast forward a decade and a half later and the pair have become rock music royalty, with their enigmatic frontwoman leading the way with her pounding guitar licks and undeniable good looks. Their drummer meanwhile is the band’s relentlessly energetic catalyst during every Halestorm live performance, of which the band has finely tuned over the years and years of nonstop touring. Since stepping off of the summertime ‘hardDrive Live Tour‘ alongside hard rock heavyweights Bullet for My Valentine, the band has recently embarked on a headlining run with support from Redlight King and Stars in Stereo, and is eying Friday, November 29th at New York City’s Terminal 5 as a post Thanksgiving feast certain to satiate any live music appetite.

LocalBozo.com was fortunate to sit down with Halestorm drummer Arejay Hale for an exclusive and candid interview. Listen in as we discuss the band’s selection process for cover albums, whether he was concerned that covering the likes of Lady Gaga and Daft Punk would ostracize the band from the metal community, his relationship with his sister Lzzy, the thrill of winning a Grammy, the change in the music business and Halestorm’s relentless tour schedule and so much more. Plus we get into his excitement to perform in New York City and the possibility of another new album being released before the end of next year. You might not find a more genuinely excited and passionate musician that knows better than anyone else that he’s living his dream than Arejay Hale. For more information on the band and tour dates, check out halestormrocks.com and make sure to grab tickets to their 11/29 show at Terminal 5 now!

- Jane Van Arsdale

Mike Greenberg is no stranger to putting his thoughts to paper. Despite a wildly successful career with ESPN as a Sportscenter anchor and co-host of the “Mike and Mike in the Morning” radio show, Greeny as he’s affectionately known cut his chops as a Chicago sports journalist during the early portion of his budding career. With his semi-autobiographical ode to sports fans already penned in 2007′s “My Wife Thinks I’m An Idiot,” Greenberg has, for the first time in his career, turned to fiction with the release of the sometimes funny but mostly heartfelt, “All You Could Ask For.” (Harper Collins)

The story follows the lives of three women, each of differing ages and backgrounds, who despite being relative unknowns to each other, are about to be brought together in a way that none of them would have ever imagined. A sportswriter/talk show host, writing a fictional story about three women? It sounds far-fetched certainly, but Greenberg’s writing style reads authentically even though it hardly sounds like the talking head we are so used to hearing. Although sports fans might have some apprehension about being tasked with getting through such a premise, the story is an easy read- each character picks up seemingly where the other left off to keep the story moving fluidly- and with each page turn you begin to piece together where the author’s focus is headed.

While the early portion of the story is relatively light-hearted, the book’s central focus was inspired by Greenberg’s own family friend Heidi Armitage, who unfairly and rapidly lost her life shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Her story was of such inspiration to Greenberg that all proceeds that he is slated to earn from “All You Could Ask For” are being redirected to The V Fund, a non-profit organization that focuses on cancer research, started in memory of former NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano, one of the most influential figures in sports history. At the very least, each copy purchased of “All You Could Ask For” is going to a good cause, should for some reason you not enjoy the book. But you almost certainly will. The fleshed out characters, the dynamic between them, and Greenberg’s ability to hone into the female psyche make the book a truly fascinating read cover to cover for men and women alike.

With the book tour now underway, LocalBozo.com was fortunate enough to sit down with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg for an exclusive interview. Listen in as we discuss how “All You Could Ask For” came to fruition, it’s potential to be developed into a screenplay, channeling the female voice so accurately, and whether he had any trepidation about including anything too risque in his story. And don’t think we don’t touch on the New York sports scene either as we put Greeny on the spot about the Knicks, the Jets, and what to do about the Darrelle Revis contract stalemate. As usual, Greeny was interesting, funny, insightful, and spot on- and we’d expect nothing less from sports’ most exciting morning man, and potentially its most accomplished author.

“All You Could Ask For,” the first fiction work from ESPN’s Mike Greenberg is released today, April 2nd by Harper Collins Publishing.

- Jane Van Arsdale